Comments on: The Worst Kept Secret

By: Lt. Clutch

Lt. Clutch — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:47:42 +0000

Not to take anything away from Byrne, but Shooter’s Avengers work is the reason I got into Marvel comics. I liked Secret Wars more as the years went by. Shooter had great takes on Reed, Cap, the X-Men, Colossus on his own, Magneto/Xavier, Molecule Man and most of the bad guys, including Galactus, and Doom. In fact, Doom alone MADE that series and Zeck was rushed the worst in the last issue which saw a whole bunch of inkers finishing the series up. Art Adams is in there somewhere near the end.

Shooter’s Human Torch was a jerk, though. The formerly bad-ass Klaw was now a cowardly toady who went completely bonkers, Hawkeye was kinda off, not as feisty as he appeared in other books. But the story was solid overall, I would recommend reading the trade in one long sitting. Spidey beating up on the X-Men and Titania are priceless moments. Bob Layton’s two fill-ins where the Hulk lifts that mountain up were also sweet. Give it another try, guys…it’s been 25 years.

Secret Wars II, though? I almost quit reading comics after that came out. I could not make heads or tails outta it. It seemed like Shooter’s evil twin had written it, whatever the heck it was.

By: Shellhead

Shellhead — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:44:07 +0000

I LOVED Secret Wars!! I STILL love Secret Wars. It captured my imagination like no other mini-series before or since. SWII did suck though. Oh well, can’t please everyone, I guess.

By: Caped Crusader

Caped Crusader — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:24:00 +0000

Hellpop mentioned Crisis On Infinite Earths, and for me, that's why I'll agree with Jason's take on Secret Wars without hesitation. While it didn't capture my imagination the way Super Powers did, I loved the Secret Wars action figure line, so I made sure to get my hands on the books of the same title. I forgot about it just as quickly as I finished the first couple of issues. On the other hand, Crisis hooked me on superhero comics the following years, and specifically on DC titles. The Marvel crossover didn't even come close to having a similar effect on me. Prior to Crisis, I read some Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man here and there, and I loved Frank Miller's four-issue Wolverine series. The only title I absolutely had to have, though, was G.I. JOE. Growing up on that book, I was practically baptized in Mike Zeck's artwork, so I've always paid special attention to it over the years. Looking back as an adult, I can't think of another example of his work that feels as... blah as Secret Wars.

By: Hellpop

Hellpop — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:23:17 +0000

Gotta back Otter up here: Secret Wars was not very good, especially when compared to CRISIS, which was more or less contemporary (and just like the SW toys were vastly inferior to Super Powers). I’ve read that Byrne quote before; Shooter also apparently generated a lot of ill will among the freelancers by giving himself such a high-profile assignment that he made a fortune on.

I have two memories of Secret Wars: one is that the first issue made me absolutely, positively hate the Wasp for all time (go back and read her dialog and you’ll see why), and two, I distinctly remember being in a bookstore an I ran up to a few friends of mine with issue 11 while they were trying to sneak peaks at the adult magazines. “Look,” I said, “it’s Doctor Doom’s face!” “Um, we’re looking at something more important”

By: David

David — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:58:57 +0000

Mr. Otter,
Think we might see these as singe packs down the line? They paired the characters I want with ones I don’t. That brown costume Wolverine is way better than the one out now (I don’t like the Origins line’s claws).

By: Jeff Cope

Jeff Cope — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:35:58 +0000

Jason, to be honest that wouldn’t be the only reason I’d buy it. I want a copy of the story, the TPB is out-of-print (while they push the Omnibus, I assume) and it’s just one of those iconic comic moments I wouldn’t mind having in a deluxe format…

…now, being actually able to afford it is a different story altogether. Maybe I can find a deal at SDCC…or maybe just find the trade there…

By: Cantina-Dan

Cantina-Dan — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:48:29 +0000

Interesting Byrne quote. Thanks for posting that.

By: Jason Geyer

Jason Geyer — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:06:39 +0000

Jeff, don’t buy a copy on my account, it’s not the world’s best article (there just isn’t much info about Secret Wars to be revealed). At some point I’m sure Chip and I will do an archive and incorporate it all.

By: Jason Geyer

Jason Geyer — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:31:51 +0000

Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what John Byrne has to say:

“And then Shooter himself went on to do the biggest piece of crap that sold through the roof: Secret Wars. And I think that in his own mind he had to justify that somehow, he had to tell himself that Secret Wars sold because it was brilliant.

And it was really Secret Wars, I think, that pushed him over the edge, because from that point on we would get make-readies back with his notes on it that would always say “See Secret Wars number whatever for how to do this right”, and that kind of stuff. I’m sorry, I wouldn’t look at Secret Wars to see how to make toilet paper right. I’m sorry, it’s just – it was crap.

What was Mike Zeck’s great line at one point…? Shooter had completely rewritten something and made Mike redraw it. And I asked him why, and Mike said, “Because it wasn’t dull enough”.”

And like Jeff said, it was meant for readers to think, “Cool! All the heroes in one story!” and it accomplished that goal. But the actual characters in the book don’t act like the characters did in their own books at that time at all.

By: Howard the Duck

Howard the Duck — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:03:28 +0000

Well, I have to say that you have an incorrect opinion(yes, that’s possible) about the first Secret Wars 12 issue series. It most certainly does not suck! Not in any way, shape or form. To each their own, I guess.

Secret Wars II, well that did kind of suck.