House of Mystery #220 (Dec. 1973)

Dear Cain,

After reading House of Mystery #220 I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person that finds butterflies to be a little creepy. I mean they are beautiful at a distance. But, close up, like under a magnifying glass, they kind of look monstrous. And after reading the story They Hunt Butterflies, Don't They? I did some research. There really are carnivorous butterflies. They really do exist. Like I said—creepy.

I also liked The Hunter. I like stories about horrible people letting their sin guide them to their downfall. But, maybe next time instead of a big game hunter it could be a billionaire CEO that lets their desires defeat them. That would certainly be an issue worth reading.

Thanks for another fun time at the house.

Your friend,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

Beware #7 (Mar. 1974)

Dear Editor,

I'm a fan of the Beware line of '50s horror reprints. Most of the issues that I've read have been the normal mystery with a twist at the end. But, Beware #7, this was the first one that left me feeling a little unsettled.

Double Feature was the type of story I was expecting—creepy with a fun twist ending. The same with Storm Walkers but with out as good of an execution. Then I got to When Warren Woke up. I don'' know why but that just really creeped me out. And finally was The Lonely man. The last page of that one gave me a chill.

Thanks for this great collection.

Greatfully yours,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

The Eternals #3 (Sep.1976)

Dear Mr. Kirby,

I just read The Eternals #3 and I have to say you certainly have me interested here. The main character Ikaris is neat and all but the Deviants are really what I want to read more about. I want to see if their plan to act as the Devil will work on the humans to get them to fight the celestial—the space god.

But, back to Ikaris. There is some stuff I don't understand about him. He changes from his t-shirt and jeans into something more simple. But that more simple outfit is a blue full body unitard, with a chest harness, kilt, red knee high boots, and red gauntlets. Maybe it's just me but that doesn't seem more simple.

Then there is another thing about him. So he just rescued this girl from a 50 imprisonment. A rescue that means she will never see her father ever again. Of course, she is distraught and upset. So how does he react to this? He jumps out of the plane that he is flying with his mind and shows off his ability to fly—almost giving the girl a panic attack in the process. I don't get what he was thinking. Was it "I know how I can help her. I'll give her a panic attack. That will get her mind off loosing her dad." Or was it "This girl is bringing me down with all her bad vibes. I need some head space. I'm jumping out of this plane." Either option it is pretty clear that Ikaris, an eternal, is not human.

Even with Ikaris's weirdness I am looking forward to reading more and finding out what happens.

Thanks,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

The Uncanny X-Men #174 (Oct. 1983)

Dear Louise and Chris,

Oh man, X-Men 174 certainly had me wanting to read more. On its face it may look like not much happened in the issue. But it asked so many questions that I simply must read the next one: Will Scott join the Starjammers? Why can't the Prof. read Madelyne's mind? Since when could Kitty fly? What's up with Storm? Who was that preacher on the plane? And of course what happened at that ending?

I recently read an issue of The Avengers where they had a similar issue. The plot simply had less action than you would expect. The thing is they didn't pull off what you did here. They had me wanting to put down the comic and never pick up the title again. But here I just can't wait.

So a job well done. You are clearly a notch above the rest.

Your continued reader,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

Weird Secret Origins (Oct. 2004)

Dear Editor,

Wow, Weird Secret Origins is a fantastic anthology. Let me just go down the list of stories that you included in there: Dr. Fate, Enchantress, Animal Man, Congorilla, El Diablo, and Spectre. Then there are also mini explanations on Bizarro World and Metamorpho. It's a ton.

I will say some of these stories feel very dated. I mean, Dr. Fate's story is like a collection of all the things I don't like about golden age comics. For that part the sexism in Spector's origin is also astonishing.

On a whole this is a great read. The stories span an interesting spectrum from fun adventures to bizarre to dark and almost sinister. Animal Man and Congorilla are on the fun adventure side. Then, Enchantress is a little bizarre. And, of course El Diablo and Spectre are on the dark side.

I think the biggest surprise for me in this book was El Diablo. I've tended to stay away from the western books. I just assumed that the would be all the same story over and over. But, if I can find more stories like El Diablo's origin I would certainly want to put them into my regular cycle.

Thanks,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

The Demon #16 (Jan. 1974)

Dear Jack,

The Demon #16 was a lot of fun to read. It had a ton of great action. However, my favorite part was when Warly was tricking Glenda. It's interesting that he didn't lie the whole time. Is that a limitation of his? It would be neat if he was an evil man who's greatest power was to tell the truth that he wanted you to hear. I mean what could be more treacherous than that?

I wonder what Morgaine's plan was for Etrigan. It sure looked like she was enjoying torturing him but I doubt that was her end goal. Maybe it was to try and get the Philosopher's Stone but that doesn't seem like enough for her either. I guess I'm just going to have to keep reading to see what she really wants.

Greatfully your reader,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

The Avengers #175 (Sep. 1978)

Dear Editor,

Please congratulate Cockrum and Austin on the amazing cover for Avengers 175. While you are at it, extend that to Wenzel, Marcos, and Rache—the inside of the issue was beautiful as well.

But, I'm sorry to say that this may be the first and last time I pick up an Avengers comic from around this time. Nothing happened in the whole issue. I understand that when telling a prolonged story that some issues may have less happening than others. However, here we have an example of not a single plot point being hit. They spent the whole issue asking a single question and getting no answer. The only thing that did happen was the reader being shown some minor insight into the current antagonist. But this information could have been shown at anytime and wasn't significant enough to have it's own issue.

Please, I beg you, have the heroes do more! They could get in a fight. They could find an important clue. They could do anything. They just need to move the story forward. Please…

Regretfully your reader,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

Green Lantern #76 (Apr. 1970)

Dear Editor,

First, let me say thank you for making this reprint. The original costs more than 6 months of my comic budget. Without this reprint this story would have been almost certainly out of my reach.

It is nice to see heroes trying to take on some real issues. And, it's great to see them get the best of that horrible landlord. But, what would have been even better is if they couldn't have just sent him to jail. What if he didn't try to kill the green guys? What if he didn't break any laws? How would the heroes have handled that?

The comic touched on this a little but real issues can sometime have legal answers that are diametrically opposed to the moral answers. I would really love to see Green Lantern have to deal with those issues.

This comic certainly has me wanting to read more about these adventures of Green Lantern and Green Arrow. I hope I can get my hands on some.

Thanks!
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

The Phantom Stranger #3 (Oct. 1969)

Dear Editor,

I just read The Phantom Stranger #3. This was the first time I read a Phantom Stranger comic. It is an interesting format. It's neat how the book is like an anthology comic but the stories are from the point of view of the characters. I dig the idea.

The execution however, was not great. The first two stories were kind of flat in my opinion. They just didn't draw me in. But, the third one was great. I was there the whole time wondering what was going to happen next.

I do have a question though. There is one frame, just after Phantom Stranger saves Dr. Thirteen from the ax man where it looks like the Phantom Stranger shot the ax man with a yellow light. Is that what happened? It isn't really clear. Neither Thirteen nor the Phantom Stranger say anything about. It could have just been the Phantom Stranger pointing at the ax man while the artist highlighted him… I don't know. But I would like to. A little help?

I realize this might not be the most positive letter you've received. But I'll tell you this: I can't wait to read more Phantom Stranger stories. I want to find out more about him. I dig him.

Thanks,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

The Uncanny X-Men #173 (Sep. 1983)

Dear Louise and Chris,

X-Men 173 was a fantastic Wolverine story. It had all the stuff it needed. He beat up people for information, he sneaked around a building, he had that epic fight with the Silver Samurai, and then with that twist at the end we got to see his sensitive side. It was all there.

I do have some questions though. First, did Storm just straight out kill that dude? I mean he wasn't a mutant and she hit him with a lightning bolt. Couldn't she have just slammed him into the wall with some wind?

Also, everybody is stunned that Cyclops shows up with Jean Grey's look-alike. But, none of his "friends" pull him aside and tell him that this doesn't seem healthy? The guy is dating somebody that looks like the doppelganger of his dead lover… that's messed up. The Prof. should maybe think about having a one-on-one with Scott.

Thanks,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

The Brave and the Bold #28 (Mar. 1960)

Dear Editor,

First, thanks for making the 1992 reprint of The Brave and the Bold #28. If you hadn't I'm not sure I would have been able to read this story.

I enjoyed the story. I must say that it feels very campy now. Was it originally written that way? I mean look at the character of the hipster Snapper. I have a hard time believing anybody actually talked that, with all those "ville"-s: "Antsville," "Tranceville," and "Speedsville." Isn't it a bit much?

Also, I would have liked to see more of what the world would have been like if Starro had taken over. It would have been neat to see how the League handled a world of mind controlled people.

That brings me to the best part of this story—Justice League of America. This is a fantastic team up. I love how there wasn't an origin story. It was just there. I want to read more!

Thanks,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA

Weird War Tales #102 (Aug. 1981)

Dear Editor,

WWT 102, now that was a mixed bag. Dog Tag Lottery was decent but reminded me a lot of a twilight Zone episode called The Purple Testament. Grudge Match in the Grave was pretty confusing. A Wish to Die ended too soon. And, Astral Attackers felt flat.

But, the Creature Commandos story The Children's Crusade—fantastic! It had everything I could want from WWT: fighting, moral ambiguity, and an unexpected ending. More of this please!

Thanks,
Jeff King
Pittsburgh, PA