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 #48: April 1990(8.18.20) Credits: grandcomicsdatabase The (commerical) virtues of a Wolverine/Spiderman cover are undeniable and Larsen's able to render each figure with a modestly distinctive physicality, but the cumulative product is underwhelming, partly on account of a drab perriwinkle background and partly as a result of a mystifying orientation to Spiderman's web, which strays oddly out of frame. More significant than the cover is the above fan letter from Susan Grau, who takes aim at the underbaked, anti-animal testing story from MCP#39 and points to some noteworthy vices regarding its portrayal of animal research. Actual arguments in a letter column. The mind reels. A. Wolverine, "Fist Fight" [1/3] Larsen handles art and story here with a self-referentially hacky intro, rife with Spidey lit review, and a pointedly silly misunderstanding-driven-scrap. There's vague mention of mutants and kidnapping, but this is, at bottom, an excuse for Larsen to riff on some iconic Wolverine and Spiderman poses. Gregory Wright is a welcome accomplice, dropping an all cyan colorhold on the contorted Spidey opening splash, though he effectively blacks out an entire panel in some kind of printing mix-up. Larsen's Wolverine has a welcome kind of blocky, clean-cut feel--think Art Adams after reading Elektra: Assassin. There's ample poster fodder here, but it's also impossibly slight storytelling. B. Devil Slayer, "Lost Souls" [3/4] The Flying Dutchman--a pirate-flavored demon--has equipped a handful of mercernaries with some manner of mech suits while conspiring to destroy our unspecified Central American village and, by the looks of things, Devil Slayer has been retooled as a guy with a bandana and a pointy staff thing. To describe this feature as a collage of bad ideas would imply a kind of inconstancy and variation in the smattering of nonsense, but it's an exceptionally flat affair that's reverted to drab, pedestrian line art and color work. Apart from a stray panel where Devil Slayer and the local priest are exploded, the feel here is remarkable only for making a cyborg pirate demon so absolutely dreary. C. Wasp, "Object" The Wasp headlines a capably managed celebrity stalker tale with a modest twist: the young mutant harassing her has been egged on by the Wasp's own quintessential 80s sleaze-bag publicist. In plain contrast to the preceding features, this amounts to a genuine piece of storytelling, but, whatever its merits, the show-stealing pencils and razor-thin inks by Eric Shanower are exceptionally impressive. The super fine linework anticipates some Barry Smith's high points in Weapon X art, but there's an openness and clarity to the work that clearly reminds of some of P. Craig Russell's work. D. Dr. Doom/Storm, "When It Rains..." Storm flies overhead, thinking about how badly she needs a shower, and is scorched by acid run. Discovers Doctor Doom attacking some tanks. Intervenes. Discovers that Doctor Doom is attempting to destroy the factory belching out the pollutants. Some guy named the Jackal shows up. Everyone gets electrocuted. Everyone wakes up? The rain stops? We're in Europe? None of this makes the slightest measure of sense, and Rodney Ramos seems to have paid attention only when Doctor Doom is staring directly off the page. The lone highlight Renee Witterstaetter kitchen sinks the hell out of this lightning strike panel, splashing together all manner of contrast. Power Ranking: Wasp (A), Wolverine (C+), Dr. Doom/Storm (C-), Devil Slayer (F)