Something Sinister Going On

First Look for January 06, 2018

Usually when secret government programs are involved I think there’s something sinister going on. The same can be said whenever Loki is around. So today I fully expected some villainous activities in both comics. Journey into Mystery #92 didn’t disappoint but Letter 44 #7 was fairly legit. The only governmental program going on was Project Monolith and I already knew that was mostly to protect humanity rather than for nefarious purposes.

Letter 44 #7

Letter 44 #7 by Charles Soule and Joelle Jones. Published by Oni Press, 2014.

This issue takes a break from the fast paced craziness that ran through the past 6 issues. It actually goes back in time before the Clarke was launched, to the recruitment process for the crew. We learn basically the origin stories of Charlotte and Dr. Rowan and how they came to be members of the Clarke crew. For Charlotte, the story begins in Brazil as she’s on an anthropology expedition with her lover and a fellow scientist. Her quick thinking saves the day from a tribe that doesn’t appreciate their research and then we jump to her Nobel Prize ceremony which she receives in physics. While at the reception, she’s approached by Bill Lee who urgently wants to speak with her. She blows him off of course.

We also learn about Dr. Rowan who is on an expedition to Siberia supposedly looking for industrial diamonds at a meteor impact crater. As soon as the three man team finds that the gems are actually high quality we see that they never got permission to drill ice cores in the area and they’re thrown into the gulag. Fully expecting to be there for a long time, Dr. Rowan is surprisingly called in to meet with Bill Lee who promised to get him and his team outta the Russia. Lee indicates they need a geologist for a space mission but since it’s not a mission going to mars, Rowan declines.

We then jump back to Dr. Hayden and see that she’s had a miscarriage. Actually, it’s the 3rd she’s had with her current lover, Jean. Being an asshole, he leaves her, but shortly after he’s gone, Bill Lee shows up. His new strategy is to point out that he needs her for a mission to save the world. He shows her a folder on Project Monolith, and she’s incredulous. And she agrees to join up.

Back with Dr. Rowan, who is back at Harvard, Bill Lee shows up to meet the professor. Even though Mr. Lee indicates he can take care of any financial issues the doctor has, Rowan still refuses to sign up for the project. But when Mr. Lee tells him that Charlotte has signed on, he quickly joins the team.

On the whole it was good to see how some of the band got together but my biggest question for the back story is what ever happened to the 9th crew member. There were supposed to be 9 crew on the Clarke but we’ve only seen 8 plus the baby at the end. In any case, there was much less intrigue, political infighting, and alien technology in this issue than the others but it was still a well told story and the art by guest artist, Joelle Jones was well done, if different that what I’ve come to expect from the series.

You can find first looks at other issues in this title linked in my January reading list.

I rate this issue a B.

Journey into Mystery #92

The Day Loki Stole Thor’s Magic Hammer by Stan Lee and Joe Sinnott. Published by Marvel Comics, 1963.

Loki is back at his antics and trying to destroy Thor, but he’s still tied up in Asgard. His magic makes him formidable though, no matter where he is, and he magnetized the uru chains he’s held by. Since uru is the same material Thor’s Hammer is made out of, it attracts the hammer and pulls it across time and space from Thor’s hand, across the Bifrost bridge to Asgard where it shatters the chains. Loki is free and Thor is without his hammer…great!

So Thor prays to Odin and is brought back to Asgard to find his hammer and where Loki creates trials that he hopes will destroy the hero. Thor’s industrious though and he fashions a makeshift hammer outta whatever happens to be around. First a wooden hammer from trees that Loki animated to attack, then from stone when the wood burns.

As it turns out, the stone hammer contains uru and is drawn to the shattered chains where Thor’s hammer is. With his hammer back in hand, Thor contacts Odin who promises to make a better prison for his villainous son.

You can find first looks at other Marvel 1963 issues linked in my January reading list.

My first look rating for this issue is B-.