Micronauts #4
Published and © by Marvel and © Mego, April 1979
Title: “A Hunting We Will Go!”
Synopsis: Baron Karza’s tyranny continues on Homeworld while, on Earth, the Micronauts search for Bug and begin repairs on their ship.
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Penciler: Michael Golden
Inker: Joe Rubinstein
Review: Following the breakneck pace of Micronauts #3 (see review), writer Bill Mantlo elects to switch things up. This issue is almost all subplot: More tyranny and political unrest on Homeworld. The Micronauts split up to fix their ship and search for their missing teammate. And what’s brewing at the secret science lab with the oh-so-ominous acronym, H.E.L.L.? Mantlo also throws in some characterization (albeit clunky), so he’s clearly setting things up for the long haul. Unfortunately, the lack of a main plot makes this one an overall snooze, despite more excellent art from Michael Golden and Joe Rubinstein.
Grade: B+
Second opinion: “This is turning into one of the FUN books of the year.” – Al Schroeder II, AFTA #3, April 1979 … Recommended by The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (second edition), 2003.
Cool factor: It’s a pretty book …
Not-so-cool factor: … now the writing just needs to catch up.
Notable: This issue also includes a schematic pinup of the Micronauts ship, the Endeavor.
Character quotable: “All my sensors indicate that the undercurrent of tension running between the commander and the princess is that emotion commonly referred to as … love! Yet they seem unconscious of it! I wonder why?” – Biotron, unwise in the ways of human emotion
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Sequential Reaction (v1) on April 11, 2016.
