NFL SuperPro # 8
Writer: Matthew Morra
Penciller: Herb Trimpe
Inker: Milke DeCarlo
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Marie Javins
Cover Date: May 1992
Rating: 
For this week’s installment, I’ll take a look at NFL SuperPro #8; This series chronicles of adventures of Phil Grayfield, an ex-football player turned sports journalist who got bathed in a chemical substance that gives him increased strength and endurance. Now wearing a very expensive football uniform, Phil begins fighting crime as NFL Superpro. And with this issue, we see the rivalry between Phil and mob boss Marco Sanzionare as the former hires Crossbones to take out SuperPro.
The addition of Captain America was a wonderful touch but also a way for Marvel to boost sales on this title (Much like the appearance of Spider-Man in the first issue) and what you’ll enjoy about Cap’s role as guest-star is that he never takes the focus away from SuperPro as the former handle his own against Crossbones and at the same time continues his feud with Sanzionare, and I really liked how Crossbones is portrayed here because just like in Cap’s own title, he still comes across as the arrogant and sarcastic henchman that we know him to be. And while it does come across as being sappy, I did enjoy the detective aspect of SuperPro as he uses that skill to help clear his friend Ron Macedon, who got arrested after drugs were found in his locker (And it didn’t help that Crossbones left a clue behind!)
Herb Trimpe’s artwork in this issue was decent, but after reading this issue, it looks like he was moving forward with his Jim Lee meets Rob Liefeld style that dominated most of his work in the 90s (See his work on “Fantastic Four Unlimited”); But the story is entertaining and NFL Superpro really lives up to being one of the craziest concepts that Marvel came out with back in the 90s but will we ever get a reboot?! Well, that’s squarely up to The NFL but the twelve-issue run of NFL Superpro will clearly be held in high regard for both die-hard football fans and comic book fans looking for something that fits the superhero genre but with a bizarre and unique twist.
Well, that’s it for me. I’ll be back next week with another review so thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time.
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