AMAZING ADVENTURES #5
(Cover uncredited)
Published and © by Marvel, Mar. 1971
Synopsis: Black Bolt leaves the Great Refuge on a scouting mission — and Maximus takes advantage of his absence!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Neal Adams
Inker: Tom Palmer
Review: Not many would want to follow Jack Kirby on the Inhumans, but Neal Adams makes it look easy. While the King’s installments had a Silver Age vibe, Adams and writer Roy Thomas take the Inhumans Bronze. A nice chapter of this serial adventure, with a strong cliffhanger ending.
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“… And to All a Good Night”
Synopsis: A young man mixed up with the wrong crowd grows suicidal at Christmas. Can the Black Widow keep him alive?
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Gene Colan
Inker: Bill Everett
Review: Roy Thomas struggles with the noir tone, but delivers an excellent shock ending. The art is, not surprisingly, quite gorgeous.
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Grade (for the whole issue): A-
Second opinion: “Pretty sweet little tale …” — Brian Cronin, talking about the Black Widow story, for Comic Book Resources. … “… Adams’ art added to the verisimilitude with a series of portraits that expressed the full range of human emotions … .” — Pierre Comtois, Marvel Comics in the 1970s.
Cool factor: Great early Bronze art.
Not-so-cool factor: Roy Tomas’ “hip” dialogue can be painful at times.
Collector’s note: The “Amazing Mails” letters page includes an LOC from future DC bigwig Paul Levitz.
Character quotable: “You would have bothered him with … trifles.” — Medusa, politically sensitive, as always.
The Inhumans story
collected in:
The Black Widow story
collected in:
This is the strongest issue in the series, in my opinion. Adams/Palmer and Colan/Everett in one comic is an unsurpassed treat for comic art lovers. Check out some pages here:
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=3702
… and please sell me your originals… I LOVE ‘EM!
And to all a good night…
Sean
Sean:
Thanks for stopping by, and for sharing those pages! There is certainly a subtlety to Everett’s inking that is lost in reproduction. (And I can see why Page 3 is a “grail page” for you!)
Cheers,
Andrew