Welcome to Marvel Saga, a new monthly podcast from the creative minds behind Comic Reflections and the Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER!
Comic Reflections, hosted by Nicholas Prom, looks at comics from the Silver and Bronze Ages. The Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER!, co-hosted by Jerry McMullen, is a weekly show looking at comics, movies, and TV shows with reviews, previews, and interviews.
In this issue, the origins of Namor and Doctor Doom, the legendary pirate Blackbeard is a Grimm figure, and we say goodbye to Uncle Ben!
Categories: Jerry, Podcast Episodes
We’re Having a Crisis! Episode 05 
We’re Having a Crisis! Episode 04 
We’re Having a Crisis! Episode 02 
WORST. COMIC. PODCAST. EVER! 
1. Please pardon me, but I keep going back to the first issue of Marvel Saga now that I’ve read through it and get weirded out by how it canvases at minimum a million years of history across a page or two before committing two whole panels to World War II. If Marvel Comics has a religion, it’s continuity. As much as I want to be understanding about the book’s goals, the zealot in me screams “heresy!” But then, I kind of love how pages 4-5 bullet point where so many key Marvel figures were when the Fantastic Four were preparing their trip into space. It’s lovely how hindsight allows for the foreshadowing of canon, and based on the first story, we’ll get the necessary backstory on each player as they emerge within the Marvel Age… except when it comes to James MacDonald Hudson breakin’ all the rules and unraveling that approach. If we allow for 1978’s Guardian, why not start the book with Logan (oh wait, BWS’ Weapon X hasn’t happened yet) or the adventures of post-war Charles Xavier? Because that would be odd and sort of suck, but the editors wanted to reprint as much John Byrne artwork as they could while launching the book, so here’s Guardian. Okay, I’ve purged, I can let this go now.
2. All apologies to Ron Frenz for misidentifying him as Ron Wilson, and to offer a painfully backhanded compliment as to why, Frenz’s work is usually more distinctive than what we’re seeing on these covers. Part of it is trying to mimic a variety of styles on #1, but that’s much less apparent #2, which is serviceable but not sensational. I suspect it’s more Al Milgrom’s fault there, because his inks make the cover look mostly of a piece with his later work on Spectacular Spider-Man and Incredible Hulk. I like #3’s a lot better, with Byrne’s inks only overwhelming Frenz on Doom’s awesome smoldering mask. Namor and the Invaders are definitely recognizable as Frenz, and are better for it.
3. Probably the first Sub-Mariner comic I read (after being introduced to him in animation) was a What If revolving around Paul Destine and Byrrah, so this issue made me proud about knowing a chunk of Namor history before this educational production came along.
4. This was my introduction to Dr. Doom’s origin, which remains cool despite also being ridiculous (not unlike Doom himself.)
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