Despite some supernatural or sci-fi elements, this issue’s tales hardly live up to the monster mayhem promised by the cover. The four main stories in this anthology are all written by artist Gray Morrow. Perhaps not surprisingly, his rendering and layouts prove more accomplished than his tales.
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Soldiers modeled on classic horror monsters storm a French castle where Nazis are building android duplicates of world leaders. This debut of the Creature Commandos, crafted by J.M. DeMatteis and Pat Broderick, shows potential, but weak backup features bring down this issue’s overall grade.
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The X-Men’s Danger Room session takes a potentially deadly turn when Warhawk infiltrates the mansion and seizes control. Fill-in art from journeyman artist Tony DeZuniga derails the momentum of the new X-Men creative team, albeit temporarily.
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Dashing young doctor Lannie Hill uses the tiger powers he developed in Africa to avenge his murdered sister. Ernie Colón’s art is the main draw to this first issue, which is written by Gabriel Levy.
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Moro Frost “dies” in World War II, but the Scorpion lives on to battle the Golden Fuhrer in 1975. Not horrible, but this revamp by Gabriel Levy and Jim Craig pales in comparison to Howard Chaykin’s version of the Scorpion.
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The X-Men race to the Savage Land to join Angel in battling a recently unleashed Sauron. The regular X-team of Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum team on a solid-but-not-spectacular X-outing.
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An archeological expedition takes Nova and E-Man to Egypt – and on an adventure to a super-science city in the past! The lead story, by Nicola Cuti and Joe Staton, hasn’t aged particularly well, while the backup, by comics legend Steve Ditko, isn’t much fun.
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When Nova’s friend goes missing, E-Man discovers a greedy plot that’s turning human beings into batteries. While not as strong as earlier issues, this third outing of Nicola Cuti and Joe Staton’s energy hero remains enjoyable.
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The Doomsday +1 team ventures to what appears to be an other-dimensional paradise – but a dystopian underbelly lurks. Joe Gill and John Byrne’s initial six-issue run of Doomsday +1 fizzles at the finish line.
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When Yang’s cousin Sun returns to find drug dealers squatting at the family homestead, much kung-fu action ensues. Joe Gill script is better than some of his Charlton output, while Sanho Kim’s art is oddly appealing.
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