Eric Perry

Here's the back cover of the book. My phone's camera doesn't always take color-accurate photos. The cover looks really dingy here; however, it's really not that bad.

After a little while tending to other things, I finally had the chance to get back into this collection. My next book was Special Marvel Edition 5. From brawling to battling, Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos took quite the path from cover to cover in this one. There was even a scene which heavily implied they gunned down a Nazi spy who had joined their group. To make things more palatable for the readers (I suppose) Marvel had the spy shoot and miss first. I couldn't help but think of Han Solo and Greedo...when they did a retcon to the Cantina scene. Of course, a handful of GIs were able to take on a staggering number of enemies and make it through without losing a single member of their ranks. Dodging bullets and shrapnel with aplomb, they made their mission seem almost easy...just another day at the office for the luckiest sons of b**ches in the E.T.O.

Perhaps not coincidentally, here is the back cover.

While I'm a fan of the cover art, my favorite part of this comic was Ms. Marvel hitting The Destructor with a motorcycle. When I saw these two panels, I instantly thought of that scene from Scrooged when Bill Murray said, "...the b**ch hit me with a toaster..."

The next book was a copy of Ms. Marvel 2. Admittedly, I was already a fan of this series and had four issues before picking up this collection. I didn't have anything quite so early in the run, though.

One of the ads in Sub-Mariner 29 caught my eye. I imagine many of us would love to go back in time and pick up Bronze Age comics off the spinner racks. I wouldn't mind picking up sealed copies of The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin albums, either.

The next book in the collection is Sub-Mariner # 29. It appears to be the oldest comic in the lot. The text seemed ever-so-slightly larger, which made reading it easier on the eyes. Some of the dialogue had an Old English flavor, though, so it took a little more thought to read. (Let's be honest, phrases such as "hie me to thy side" and "doth return apace" aren't commonly spoken these days.) The story featured Hercules, The Huntsman, a trio of "monsters from some madman's nightmare" thrown in for good measure...and Zeus. The actors in this play made the battle scenes truly memorable for everyone. Everyone, that is, except Namor. All in all, it was an entertaining read. I believe it's the first Sub-Mariner comic I've ever read. Up to this point, I had typically been into "street level" superheroes, especially Daredevil. I feel my horizons expanding...

I believe you're correct about Stengel. You're absolutely correct about Ruth.

It was a quote from Ken Burns' Baseball, spoken by Robert Creamer. The full team was not mentioned. I agree regarding DiMaggio, by the way.

Cool piece. I had never seen that before. My comment regarding Berra being on the team, and not Mantle, was a quote from Ken Burns Baseball. It's quite possible the speaker (Robert Creamer, a writer from Sports Illustrated, I believe) was talking about Casey's starting 9.

LOL - it was my opinion; no fixing needed. Munson was taken too soon. There's no telling how his career would have ended up had cruel fate not stepped in. As for Berra; he was top-notch, both as a man and as a player. I think he was a bit underrated, if such a thing is possible. Casey knew - he put Berra on his all-time team...and left Mantle off that list.

I've been a sports card collector for ages, so this back cover was great to see. Despite being a lifelong Phillies fan, I can appreciate the immensely talented Johnny Bench. In my opinion, he was the greatest catcher ever to play in the National or American Leagues.

The second book was this Spider-Woman # 2. Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman) makes her way through London and tangles with a villain named Excaliber. At the end, she finds herself with an unexpected ally who plans to accompany Spider-Woman as she makes her way to America. Unbeknownst to Jessica, a different man is about to take a leave of absence from SHIELD, book a flight to the US, and follow Spider-Woman.

I'll do better than a spoiler. I just finished reading the second book and will post a couple pics...

This cool little insert was in the middle of Star Wars 7. Not Mark Jeweler's; however, I thought it was neat to find.