Talking Pixs

In between “work”, I’ve been revisiting old issues of Marvel’s Avengers, covers and reading the storyline synopsis.

Somewhere in my memory banks, there are off on recollections of plotlines and intermittent appearances (cameo?) of non-traditional characters including Starfox and Thanos (to name but two).

I know I can easily Google the keywords for possible hits, but, heck, the (online) flipping through of each issue is way more fun.

(Of course, it would be even better if I actually had the physical copies in mint / near mint condition TQVM!)

Anyway, re-reading the old issues reminded me again why I fell in love with the (old days) Japanese Manga, especially Kazuo Koike’s Lone Wolf and Cub and Kasuhiro Otomo’s Akira & Domu.

Typical of Americans (apologies for the crude generalization, but it is true’s isn’t it?), their comics are talky.

They yak and yak.

The villains, for example, will often explain at great lengths whatever nefarious scheme to conquer the world / destroy the Avengers / carry of Mantis / rule the universe etc etc.

Or they’ll try to wear down each other with words before fights: “I will pummel thee with my bone-crushing, boulder smashing, steel bending fists of death!!!” against “Bah!! I have withstood the death dealing / worlds’ destroying / armada wrecking rays of XXXXX that you puny fists will be less than nothing!!!”

Something like that.

Like I said, great fun. Corny but fun.

The aforementioned Japanese works though worked differently as the story flows almost seamless with the words complementing instead of telling the tale.

I was literally dumbstruck when I picked up my first ever copy of Koure Okami (Lone Wolf & Cub), reveling in the simplicity of its storytelling.

Before that (remember I was still quite  teen then, ya), I didn’t realized that you could actually gets the pictures to tell the story.

Of course, the modern day Avengers have curbed (not totally, though) most of these, urm, flair.

And, yes, they are still great fun.