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 #21: Early June 1989(2.12.20) Credits: grandcomicsdatabase Walt Simonson returns for a victory lap after his Wolverine cover from #1. The contribution here is, arguably, even more successful with a starkly minimalist, angular Cyclops informed by Simonson's time on X-Factor. There's an incredibly rich amount of shape and dimension extracted from some super minimal linework.The result is a distinctively 80s Cyclops and also about as Toth-esque as I can imagine Simonson getting. The result feels entirely of the moment, falling between the Slim of the 70s and Lee's buff Scott of the 90s. A. Cyclops, "The Retribution Affair" [5/8] Debuting heavy, Conscience, finally plays a role in the story here, serving as the foil to Master Mold's indifference to humanity despite their mutual commitment to wiping out mutants. This is revealed as we learn that the virus' eventual transmission to humans is a matter of indifference to Mold. While this gives Conscience something to do, his madcap dialogue comes off as hacky and stilted rather than arch or maniacal. Visually, things take a downturn here with Carol Riem--likely a pseudonym, given that she has only four or so credits--takes over for Patterson's inks and simply can't sustain the initial design of the Servitors or the textures that Lim and Patterson managed to drum up. B. Black Panther, "Panther's Quest" [9/25] The previous installment carefully catalogued an action-rich but remarkably brief moment of the story--T'Challa saving a child and bearing down upon a soldier. Matters are even slower here, with McGregor riffing languorously on the morality of conflict and Colan falling to capture the compressed but carefully articulated energy of last issue. It seems, too, that the delicacy with which Colan usually captures character faces has lapsed. Things are compounded by some questionable layout choices--a host of white space oddly undergirds the first page and sporadic panels throughout, which sniffs of rushed coloring. We're simply not seeing any deepening of T'Challa's narrative apart, I suppose, from a tacked on panel in which he recalls his mother and, given the length of this feature, it's reasonable to expect something exemplary on this score. C. Paladin, "Let's Take it from Where I Swing in and Rescue You..." Paladin gets the cornerbox on the cover, which is a lovely Cockrum piece from Marvel Premiere #43. The feature is considerably less appealing. Lobdell's conceit of a progressively shaggier dog that runs Paladin through increasingly nonsensical webs of conspiracy is fun from 30000 feet, but it's played for laughs that never hit. The culprit seems to be the misstep of shading Paladin ambiguously between buffoonish twit and competent cad. Ron Wilson's pencils have the feel of a Hernandez Bros homage, but there's none of the discipline and proportional constancy Xaime cooks up. The end result of all this is a slapdash missed opportunity. D. The Thing, "The First Cut" McLaurin, returning after his nice Cloak one-hitter way back in MCP #9, and VanHook round out one of MCP's weakest issues. The Thing is somehow embroiled in an unclearly plotted, toxic romance and runs headlong into an undercooked supervillain exericse. VanHook does craft some nice panels here, which are deepened and well polished by David and Dan Day, but there's nothing approaching coherent sense of place nor any comprehensible narrative. It's a testament to the minor flourishes from VanHook and the Days--namely, a few Thing panels, some tight close-ups, and a Kirby krackle--that elevate this beyond abject disaster. Power Rankings: Cyclops (B-), Black Panther (B-), Paladin (C), The Thing (C-)