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 #9: Late December 1988(11.20.19) Credits: grandcomicsdatabase Wolverine's claws get another lens flare treatment from Brian Murray. The reverse has some clunky, mural composition and a bright, pulpy El Aguila. There's liberal use of either craft tint or (white?) screen tone to pull it all together, and a bold, red MCP to offset the black backdrop. A solid entry topped off with a fantastic Cloak cornerbox from (I think) Rick Leonardi. This is our first issue with two one-off stories, neither featuring a remotely big time character. A. Wolverine, "Save the Tiger" [9/10] This feature's penultimate installment is wholly concerned with two donnybrooks. Jessan squares off with the somehow-still-living Sapphire Styx and the Inquisitor. Janson rides the backgrounds of the smaller panels with abstracted line work to good effect and there's some not-especially-subtle erotic posturing between the female leads. While Buscema offers a weak splash page, there's some memorable figure work as Logan fronts and impales Razorfist. That said, it's difficult to extract the intended feel for Razorfist's unceremonious, mortal faceplant. The next and final installment is liable to be a chatty one, so, as a de facto end to the feature's central violent action, there's meaningful and capably executed stakes here. B. Man-Thing, "Elements of Terror" [9/12] Gerber has managed to evenly spread the action beats across these issues. Here, we're treated to Man-Thing being blown apart from above, while Choate travels to take part in the super soldier trials. While Brad Joyce takes over pencils, Sutton remains on inks, which ensures a constancy in textures that's characterized Man-Thing and his environs. The standout page here, apart from Man-Thing being exploded, is the viscous, sinewy super-soldier experiment pounding upon a door. A vertical stack of inset panels generates an impressive sense of rhythm and still more grotesque body horror. C. Cloak, "In the Dark" As best I can tell, this solo Cloak story is the first contribution from a black creator, Marcus McLaurin. While working through some expansive internal monologue that hits some apt character notes, we're treated to Cloak trying to save a girl drowning in a well while mistaking classic Moloids for her abductors. There's a fairytale feel here and, since Cloak is so visually singular, it's a relief that Tony Salmons manages some vibrant, angular visuals here and his Moloids are especially nice—slight, clambering, vacuous, so, um, quintessentially Moloidian. While the girl in distress proves an afterthought, this is a strong one-hitter. D. El Aguila, "Piece of Cake!" One of the very first Scott Lobdell pieces and therefore marking the dawn of long and checkered career. Here, Lobdell picks up the most obscure character yet featured in MCP, a low-rent Zorro, El Aguila, from Contest of Champions. There's some vapid but snappy dialogue here that riffs on some Princess Bride-esque buffoonery and reflexive genre tropes as well as a not-entirely-terrible Quixote joke. Larry Alexander has a smattering of solid panels, but the brawl with El Conquistador isn’t much more than an excuse to insert Murphy Brown-level banter. By way of previews, the impending string of Lobdell features will be tolerable at best and execrable at worst. Buckle up. Power Ranking: Cloak (A-), Man-Thing (B+), Wolverine (B+), El Aguila (C+)