Power Pack #20 [1986] (Random Comics Theatre)

Random Comics Theatre 

Power Pack #20 [1986]

This is in the middle of series co-creator Louise Simonson's run on the book. The other co-creator, June Brigman, had left a few issues earlier, so there are a few issue before the next regular artist, Jon Bogdanove (who would later have a long and successful collaboration with Simonson across town), begins his run. But the artists they got are no regular fill-ins, with a few issues by Brent Anderson and this issue by Bob McLeod. That's appropriate, since the guest stars this issue are the New Mutants, a team that McLeod had co-created a few years earlier, and Simonson was his editor on those early New Mutants stories.

There's also a very nice cover by the unusual team of Mike Mignola and Terry Austin.

As I've noted before one of the things I liked about this series is the way it integrates into the wider Marvel universe. While the regular guest stints and crossovers could in many books be more of a marketing ploy (and I'm sure that played a factor in this book as well), they worked well in this book because Simonson played with the idea of the kids experiencing these odd characters for the first time. She also usually did a good job of making sure everything that needs to be explained was on the page. Slightly less good of a job this issue, but my vague understanding of the X-Men family of books (which Simonson had been an editor for and would soon be a writer for) were pretty convoluted at the time. There's something going on with demons from an alternate dimension, Limbo, trying to invade the Earth, which builds up slowly and eventually culminates in the Inferno story that Power Pack are part of almost two years from now. At this point the demons are trying to steal some babies for a sacrifice, which brings them to a hospital where the Power Pack kids' mother is in critical condition from recent events in the book. The demons decide to try to use Katie and her energy powers for the sacrifice, bringing the kids together with the New Mutants to stop it.

Fun issue, a little confusing without the full context, but a lot to like. Especially nice to see McLeod doing full art. I'm mostly familiar with him as an inker, which he always does very well, but I really like his full art, like some of his New Mutants work before this and some Superman work he did a few years after this.