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 #30: Late October 1989(4.15.20) Credits: grandcomicsdatabase Steve Geiger shoots for a Lethal Weapon, two-hander vibe with a coiled, Wolverine and Havok action pose, but it's equal parts stiff and dreary despite Craig Russell's attempts at an inking rescue. There's an attractive T'Challa cornerbox with a full pinked out 'Marvel' and, mercifully, it looks as though we only have to suffer one more issue of the horrid title dress. The letters page notes the terrible state of the covers and includes, yet again, a plea for a Peregrine story--this time en francais from a group at Indiana University. Where the heck is this Peregrine partisanship coming from? A. Havok, "Pharaoh's Legacy" [7/8] The awkward insertion of Wolverine in the previous installment pays off a bit here with a straightforward action romp as Havok and Logan brawl through the pharaoh cultists. It remains totally opaque what the specific mythos of the cult consists in and the leaden Egyptian costuming is a missed opportunity to pursue something fun or modestly memorable. Buckler's efforts--again, greatly helped by Patterson--are improved here with more varied layouts and some occasionally dynamic scrapping. We're also (finally) subject to the looming reveal that the oddly underwritten Plasma is Leila transformed, though its lazily folded into a generic brawl and falls impressively flat. B. Black Panther, "Panther's Quest" [18/25] T'Challa squares off with Gore as Slade is held at knife point. We're also privy to Slade's information: that T'Challa's mother, Ramonda, is a prisoner somewhere in South Africa. The pace is, again, slow here, but Colan's work is a swarmy, brushy affair that amplifies the claustrophobia of the cramped setting. Better still, the tight shots of Gore shade into the monstrous and disfigured until Colan pops the lid off with a furious acrobatic splash page and some nicely narrated combat moments. To McGregor's credit, each installment has somehow found a way to conclude with a genuinely urgent knife drawn at some or other character's throat. C. Coldblood, "Rise and Shine" (5/10) Remarkably, this marks the first time the length of a feature has been revised with "Rise and Shine" now extended from eight to ten installments. This is good news, given the divding narrative--Coldblood sauntering around Vegas and the dystopian obstacle course with its weird cyber-intrigue. Mostly, though, this remains a chance to admire Gulacy's work. The centerpiece here is a dreamy, two-page splash washed out in white with some intricate modelling and deft color-hold touches by Oliver. There's concerted effort here and so the recurring question becomes: why did Coldblood never receive his own book, much less stick around in any sense as a character ? D. Leir, "Lord of Lightning" Sue Flaxman returns, after her Wolfsbane story from #22, with a fairly thin battle story featuring what amounts to the Celtic Thor and a less appealing analogue of the Warriors Three. There's enough stilted dialogue and plotting to suggest a "good faith" effort to wheel out genuine Celtic mythos, but it amounts to little. A clear barrier to Leir capturing much enthusiasm is the bland and goofy character design, even while Tom Morgan's efforts here are fairly solid. If you're inclined to view Hercules as low-rent Thor, this is Thor sleeping in a dumpster. Power Ranking: Coldblood (B+), Black Panther (B+), Havok (B-), Leir (C+)