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 #4: Early October, 1988(10.16.19) Credits: comicbookdb Milgrom delivers the first disastrous MCP cover, which most prominently features Razor Fist's strikingly round buttocks. Over-inked into coloring book territory, there's also no excuse for turning "razor fists" into what look to be dolphin fins. The remaining stories each receive a vertical slice of a disconnected triptych on the rear. While the white wordmark is commendably subtle, only the Mignolaiesque Thor warrants a second look here. This issue marks Michael Higgins departure as co-editor with Terry Kavanagh remaining and due to ride with the book for over a hundred more issues. A. Wolverine, "Save the Tiger" [4/10] A quick one-two narrative movement with Logan tortured by Roche and then apparently successful in escaping after a passable bout with Razor Fist. There's a really nifty Orzechowski lettering move which draws some hefty dialogue across a tier and two panels via connected balloons. More generally, Orzechowski is doing splendid work keeping Claremont's Logan monologues from enveloping the pages here. As befits the prominence of his butt on the cover, Buscema's Razor Fist steals the pages and panels with a goofy salute to Logan and a continued, miraculous ability to cross his "arms" in the background of two separate panels. Whether this is physically possible is becoming a central mystery of this feature. B. Man-Thing, "Elements of Terror" [4/12] Gerber and Sutton are humming nicely here with some crafty but clear layouts and an especially deft action scene. The senator’s transformation evinces some gooey, unpleasant textures and shapes from Sutton but the more haunting tropes continue to be the vague insistence on “freedom” as grounds for murder and medical malfeasance. We're witness to the first appearance of the "Freedom Science Studies Institute" which is a darkly perfect gag. How exactly witchcraft is going to intersect with the government conspiracy yarn remains uncertain and Man-Thing is squarely in the back of the narrative frame, but there’s a Gerberian wackiness animating the dark tones here. Bill Oakley commendably riffs on the Suttonian ghoulish, body melt transformations. C. Shang-Chi, "Crossing Lines" [4/8] We're still without any kung-fu, but things pick up slightly here with three developments: (i) despite what seemed a sure fake out, Moench shows that Leiko's hand was, in fact, severed, (ii) The Cat is enlisted for an impending rescue operation, and (iii) the putative heavy, Argus, is revealed to be a doughy, balding American, who looks eerily like Flash villain, The Turtle. The flat pencils (or perhaps slipshod inks) do little match the rising narrative action, but there's some success in intimating that the next installment will be worthwhile. Hopefully. There's also a bit of evidence that Moench isn't to blame, give the finer touches--e.g., Cat pulling back a beaded curtain in a throwback to his first appearances in Shang-Chi. D. The Thing, "Silent Thunder" Likely the last installment of Milgrom's Fear Eater stories, but probably the freshest and most enjoyable. By now, the Fear Eater is firmly in moustache twirling monologue mode, which pairs well with some Thor bombast. More importantly, the psychological bent is a bit more nuanced with Thor reconciling himself to an illusory mortality. There's also some nice Milgrom panels that capture the Simonsonian vibe from then-recent Thor. Despite the still tenuous grip on how the Fear Eater bends reality, there's a fun exclamation point on this thread with the Fear Eater errantly starving himself by entering Daredevil, who will drive the next one-issue feature. Power Ranking: Man-Thing (A-), Wolverine (B+), Thor (B-), Shang-Chi (C+)