“Steve Gerber was a madman”-Ralpha Macchio

I love Steve Gerber, let me get that out of the way. Here is a guy who did not give a flying fuck on what Marvel thought of his work and it made the stories amazing to read. Howard the Duck, The Defenders, Omega the Unknown; the list goes on. Unfortunately he passed away a couple of years ago so his brilliance has disappeared. Or did it? Somehow, someway, Gerber had one final script that never got published based on another character he was famed for: Man-Thing. While it is a little weird to think Marvel is being so kind to their past (normally, if you aren’t Stan Lee they don’t give a shit about you) but it’s best not to dwell on politics. We have a new, Steve Gerber story with possibly the best artist to convey his madness.

Now it has been a while since I’ve read his Man-Thing run and this mini is a sequel to a story that appeared in ‘Man-Thing #12’. But to be honest this story doesn’t really confuse you on that notion and more importantly Marvel is putting that story in a back up (it appears) for the entire mini. So you’re getting twice the Man-Thing and Steve Gerber love (with the back up with Steve Buschema/Klaus Janson on art) in one issue! The story in question is very Steve Gerber….in that it’s fucking crazy. A man, who’s given up on life, is imagining his cartoon characters come to life and they are tormenting Man-Thing. So far there’s no connection to the two but clearly this man has some dire thoughts about the future and I know it’s only going to get weirder as the mini goes on. If you’re new to Gerber then this is going to be mighty hard to follow at times. But for a guy like me, this is just pure gold.

If a final Gerber story isn’t your bag then how about Kevin Nowlan on art? Apparently Nowlan was going to do this mini a long time ago and only now does he have the time to do it. Thank god he decided to stick with this because this is one gorgeous looking book. His designs are amazing; realistic with the backgrounds and characters but with the fantasy elements he can immediately make it look cartoony. In fact, the special effects and cartoon characters look digital and it’s the one time where I can say it doesn’t bother me to see blatant CG used in a comic. The coloring is probably digital too but he sets the mood so easily whether were in the Swamp or adding a shadow to a character’s face. This is a great, painted look and I can’t imagine anyone else drawing this story and make it look so good.

I knew I was going to like this mini but I had no idea how much a person can like it. This was basically a home run for me the moment I opened the issue. This is a great, final send off to the legendary Steve Gerber and I know this is only going to get strangers as the mini goes on. Add in some of the best artwork you’ll see in a Marvel comic with Kevin Nowlan and I can’t recommend this book enough to anyone. Maybe this isn’t the best mini to introduce someone to Steve Gerber in one way, but in another way it might be. Sure it has a bit of a continuity to it and it’s “technically” a sequel; but if you want to see one of the master’s at work one more time then this is a fun book to get into the man’s career.