Whenever I am diving into the really cheap stuff–we’re talking the stuff that’s beat-to-shit, so it doesn’t matter if you keep it–old issues of What If …? are always a good bet. Plus, my kid likes the series, so I can just offload the books onto them. And they’re mostly one-and-done stories (although there’s the occasional two-parter). Issues #48 and 49 were in a cheap bin at the Baltimore Con this year, and instead of reading them right away, I saved them for a break from #WarComicsMonth.

“What if Daredevil Had Saved Nuke?” spins a plotline out from the “Born Again” storyline and issue #49’s “What if the Silver Surfer Possessed the Infinity Gauntlet?” addresses an alternate reality within Jim Starlin’s Infinity Saga (of which I have read the first two parts). So we’re about midway through the series and not exactly to the point where they were really stretching for ideas, but we’re getting there.

I think that’s the case for issue #48. I enjoyed “Born Again” (although I’m due for a reread) but remember that Nuke was one of the aspects of it that dated the storyline. I think that Frank Miller was doing a take on the then big-time action heroes perhaps mixed with an insane version of The Punisher. So in this case, Nuke lives and has to finish his mission, so to speak. It’s not a terrible issue but not one of the more memorable ones. A decent deal for the very little I paid for it.

The Silver Surfer story is a bit more interesting. With Adam Warlock and Thanos having been part of their big crossovers for a few years, it was definitely timely. And the Silver Surfer’s status as one of the preeminent cosmic characters in the Marvel universe makes it intriguing. It is worth reading, too, because Ron Marz writes it and he handles the Surfer very well. He doesn’t go full heel turn with this and instead explores the idea that absolute power, even when benevolent, is not a good thing to have.

So What If …? continues to be fun, especially on the very cheap, and while I’m not looking to complete a run or anything, I’m glad so many of these comics are easy to find.

Keep, Sell, Donate, or Trash?

Donate (to my kid’s collection)