Traders Of The Lost Arcs #5 - Power Pack Vol.1 #1-#5

The Traders continue mining Marvel's '80s output on this 5th excursion! What we unearth is not so much a hidden gem as an overlooked curiosity: the pre-teen super-team known as Power Pack! This original and largely self-contained series made in-roads with younger readers even while exploring darker themes and prominent social issues of the day, and ultimately served as a gateway to the wider Marvel Universe through its participation in the decade's biggest crossover events. In this examination of the first five issues, topics include: the background of the concept along with creators Louise Simonson and June Brigman; an introduction to the central characters; new additions to Marvel's interstellar alien races; talking space ships; an origin story rather similar to that of another iconic character; weird powers; anti-mutant hysteria; horse grandpas; later appearances of the Power family, and attempted revivals; a dreadful 1991 TV pilot; and plenty more. As for our review of the story itself, well... let's just say this has proven to be our most DIVISIVE outing yet! Covering Power Pack (vol. 1) #1-5.