Marvel Comics Presents ran for 175 issues from 1988 until 1995. Each issue included four eight-page stories with typically two or three on-going features (and no ads). It spotlighted some of the leading creators of mainstream comics over a period of precipitous economic growth and even more rapid decline. Reading through it is an opportunity to revisit any number of weird aspects of 90s superhero comics. This blog is a primitive, oddly regimented, manifestly scattershot crawl through an often disappointing but occasionally splendid comic. All image copyrights are Marvel's. Issue credits linked below. Updated on Wednesdays. Marvel Comics Presents #15: Late March 1989(1.01.20) Credits: grandcomicsdatabase The last few issues have been a case study in the perils of Colossus as a cover character. Here, Ron Lim's Colossus improves notably on previous efforts, though the odd foreshortened proportions render him Puck-like in stature. A more notable development: the introduction of a letters page, called "Marvel Readers Present." Not much by way of interesting content, but the snafu regarding the miscrediting in issue #1 is remarked upon and we're promised a Paul Gulacy feature and Le Peregrine story in issues to come (though the latter will be about two years late). A. Colossus, "God's Country" [6/8] This is a narratively sparse installment of "God's Country" with Colossus busting heads and asshole/patriarch Bruce securing his home while manically chaining up the two women inside. Leonardi has been quite successful in establishing physical atmosphere, but here the contrast between his increasingly gummy Colossus and the clean, silhouetted farmhouse doesn't quite jibe. Figure and ground start to look too incongruous. Despite those concerns, the strongest visual sequence of the feature arrives with Zackery thrashing around his room only to discover ominous ticking. Nocenti's dialogue falls mostly flat here, but some of the bizarre lines about the Cold Warriors program mark the first time I've had even the vaguest interest in these characters: "In one fight, I lost my heart! They replaced with with the heart of a baboon!" B. Black Panther, "Panther's Quest" [3/25] Colan's strong showing continues. We're treated to a slow boiling installment centered around T'Challa's receiving a thrashing at the hands of South African thug. It's a gorey affair made still more gruesome by T'Challa being trapped in coils of razor wire. McGregor slowly builds tension, though, for a 25 part story, it's a dicey choice with regard to pacing. The high point, which is a nice accompaniment to the Zackery sequence in the Colossus installment is a nifty nine panel grid that admits of vertical or horizontal readings, featuring Slade--T'Challa's informant--escaping, T'Challa contorting, and the goon monologuing. Neat stuff, helped along by Tom Palmer with a slightly bolder touch than we've seen so far. C. Marvel Girl, "The Maiden Phoenix" An odd little story with gothic horror overtones but no genuine tension or fright. Jean Grey is lured by a malleable sort of vision of the Phoenix into the Morlock tunnels and briefly does battle with the ersatz Phoenix force. Bobbie Chase--a long-time editor but rarely a writer--manages an fairly resonant reveal, however: the vision is induced by a disembodied, now-dead Morlock child. Unfortunately, the dialogue over-narrates matters and squelches any real ambience. The Dwayne Turner pencils, helped by solid Phoenix colors from Andy Yanchus, continue the trend of Paul Smith-inspired work in recent MCP issues. D. Red Wolf, "Desert Tears" A follow-up to a fill-in issue of Daredevil (#258) featuring Bengal and Red Wolf with a wildly over-written Vietnam backstory. The story here is a threadbare, soul-searching mish-mash that ends with Red Wolf affirming his will to live after reconciling with his guilt over the war. But none of that really that matters at all, since Owayodata the Wolf God of the Cheyenne gets a splash page and spends most of the issue yelling at Talltrees about getting his act together. Nicieza is entirely out of his depth here, not quite juggling backstory and internal strife; however, Saltares has some real fun rendering the Wolf God as something that prefigures Mortal Kombatesque character design. Bonus points: mercifully, Saltares nicely handles Red Wolf's helm, which, in the wrong hands, is a blistering disaster. Commendably high weirdness levels here even if the story is a train wreck. Power Ranking: Black Panther (B+), Colossus (B), Marvel Girl (B-), Red Wolf (C+)