Quarter-Bin Podcast #82Vision & Scarlet Witch #3 & #4, Marvel Comics, cover-dated January & February 1983.
"Blood Brothers" and "Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself," by Bill Mantlo, with art by Rick Leonardi, Ian Arkin & Brian Garvey.
What happens when Professor Alan tackles the next two issues of a very early Marvel limited series? Are any longtime story elements brought to a conclusion? Does the series wrap up in a satisfying manner? Does the Vision learn important lessons about the human institution known as In-Laws? Listen to the episode and find out!
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Promo #1: To The Batpoles!
Promo #2: The Nexus of All Realities
Next Episode: Phantom Stranger #21., DC Comics, cover-dated September/October 1972.
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Source: In the Ballpark
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ReplyDeleteGreat episodes Professor! As a Vision aficionado I was excited when I saw the promos for the these episodes, and they were a great jumping on point for me for your show. I'll definitely be playing catch up now.
ReplyDeleteI decided to listen to both episodes before commenting, so this might be somewhat long winded. It was worth the wait for me though to binge listen to both back to back.
Though I developed a fascination with the look of the Vision from a very early age, the cover to Vision and Scarlet Witch #1 was the first time I learned his name and a hint of what his powers were, and helped cement my love for the character. The the book came out when I was in elementary school, but I didn't have an opportunity to read it until recently (thank you Marvel Unlimited). I admit that I stared at the image of the Vision in his civilian clothes over his costume (that collar!) for several minutes, not only because it is striking, but because I was trying to wrap my brain around it. Until recently, shots of the Vision out of costume were rare, and they may have been unheard of in 1982, and at first I wondered if possibly Bill Mantlo had thought that the Vision's costume was a part of his body. When Wanda removed her overcoat, revealing that she had been in costume as well, for nothing more serious than an evening stroll, that I got the impression that Mantlo was conveying that, while Vizh and Wanda wanted to be accepted in suburbia they weren't trying to blend in, that they wanted a normal life but not necessarily a human life.
You're very right that Mantlo was diving deep for appropriate villains in issues 1 and 2. I had never heard of Isbisa before, and Samhain appears to have been created specifically for the story in issue 1. An interesting bit of trivia I discovered was that Isbisa's name is actually a Shazam-like acronym for the different technological eras of humanity: Ice, Stone, Bronze, Iron, Steam, and Atomic. The bit where the Scarlet Witch tells the doctor at the nursery "My husband is just called Vision" would be reflected in Steve Englehart's 12 part VaSW mini in 1986. In the final issue, after Wanda names the twins William and Thomas, Wonder Man makes the remark that "William Williams" might be a challenging name for the boy. Wanda replies "Its just Billy and Tommy -- and Wanda and Vizh!"
Issue 3 is probably my favorite issue of the series. The coma sequence where the Vision sees the burning body of Jim Hammond floating in the void then becomes merged with it is brilliant. Wonder Man's hair is killing me in the scene of him pulling the subway car, though. Oh well. It was the early 80s.
"I am Bova, midwife of Wundagore, a new woman evolved from a cow by the lord High Evolutionary". As Rob Kelly is fond of saying, to those of us that read comics that makes perfect sense, but to the rest of the world its complete gibberish.
Again, two great episodes. I really admired the respect you showed to my favorite comics couple and the rest of their extended family
Thanks for listening, and thanks for this well thought-out feedback.
DeleteThese issues were very enjoyable reads. It's encouraging when nostalgia is rewarded!
Getting caught up on my Quarter Bin fix! Loved your two episodes dedicated to Vision and Scarlet Witch. While they have never been favorite characters of mine, I do love this era of Marvel. Interesting they way this mini-series was laid out. I'm actually intrigued by this and would love other series to try this format. The one-and-done story is a lost art, and linking it thematically is a nice bonus. I'm so over the stories that never end in comics nowadays.
ReplyDeleteAlso enjoyed your episode on JLX and JLX Unleashed. I read all the Amalgam books when they came out, but really have no strong memories of these issues. It was fun to hear which characters were mashed-up together, and hear the twists and turns with continuity. Looking forward to more "dead universe" stories on future episodes!
Keep up the great work! And no more of this $0.33 equals a quarter nonsense!! You are an economics professor for goodness sake!
I am with you 100% on limited series like this. Reading this one totally turned me around on what a mini can do. And yes, even in the context of a longer narrative, there is nothing wrong with a story that has a beginning, a middle, and (scary thought, I know) AN END!
DeleteThanks for listening, and thanks for the feedback. Yes, this network may every now and then, in rare situations, that I assure you are few and far between, make gentle fun of you ... but we kid because we care.
And technically, the Professor is a Finance Professor, which is way cooler than economics, by the way.
A Finance Professor?!?! Then he should be even more enlightened in the catastrophic $0.08 difference between $0.33 and $0.25!!!
Delete#NoExcuses!
Aahh, I'm not that good with numbers.
Delete