Superman: The War Years 1938-1945

I've been watching the new World War II docuseries on History Channel hosted by Tom Hanks. Having a history degree, along with my culinary degree, modern pop culture history from 1938-on has been my focus of study for going on 30 years. Thus, being inspired by the show's very holistic approach to the war, I decided it was time to return to Roy Thomas's 3-volume look at DC's trinity and their impact on the war at home and abroad.

I had already read the volume on Batman. So it was up to either reading about Superman or Wonder Woman. With the new Supergirl movie coming out, I used that to break the tie as Superman has a cameo in the film. Don't worry, Princess Diana, your time is coming!

The origins of Superman were basically forged in the furnace of war. His very first story sees the Man of Steel running afoul of war profiteering. Ending with a cliffhanger, the story concludes in Action Comics #2, with Superman forcing the American arms dealer to enlist in the European army that he's been selling weapons to in hopes of achieving an ah-ha moment regarding the error of his ways much like the ghosts do to Ebenezer Scrooge.

Being the world's most powerful man at the time, Superman could easily end the war in a blink of an eye. In fact, there's an imaginary story that poses such a question. But in reality, Superman's might caused a problem for his creative team. Thus, Superman stayed stateside. Having accidentally failed his physical, Clark Kent was tasked to cover the war effort for the Daily Planet, touring military bases and observing maneuvers. Only when mistakes happened did Superman secretly appear to keep up the morale of our fighting forces. If Superman did make a public appearance to the troops it was mostly in an USO-type capacity that showed off his astounding feats of wonder.

There's even a newspaper story included in which a summit between Hitler and Superman is arranged by the State Department. Adolf, along with Himmler, Göring and Goebbels don Superman suits in hopes of swaying the Man of Tomorrow to the Nazi cause. It would be hilarious if not for the fact that those 4 Ratzis were responsible for the death of millions of innocent Jews and gentiles throughout Europe. 

Throughout the book, Roy Thomas offers commentary on how Superman evolved from his inception in 1938, right as Germany is sweeping into Poland through America's entry into the war after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the arrival of actual G-men when a Superman newspaper script came too close to revealing the secrets of the Manhattan Project. (Deemed classified, we never see the script.) Finally by August of 1945, the conflict came to an end and with it, the last of Superman's contribution to the war effort. 

This is a fantastic book, full of stories and covers that I've never seen before and I have read a ton of Superman stories. I'm not at Mark Waid level, but I have read quite a few Golden and Silver Age Supes tales. I'm eager to see how Wonder Woman helped the allies win the war...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out 10 stars.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Tova Sullivan is a 70-year old widow whose son mysteriously died at sea 3 decades ago. They never found his body. Tova has never found closure. She works nights at the Sowell Bay Aquarium not because she's financially desperate. She actually enjoys cleaning! 

During her rounds, Tova interacts with the exhibits at the aquarium. She greets the wolf eels with a hearty hello. While dusting the sea lion statue, she gives it's nose a playful boop for good luck. But when it comes to the site's most popular attraction, she gives what's inside the tank more than her fair share of attention. The exhibit in question is a 60-lb coral orange Giant Pacific Octopus named Marcellus. 

Unknown to Tova, Marcellus is resting in the bottom of his tank with a secret. Before his time in captivity, as a small octopus, Marcellus came across a solemn sight. Decades earlier a young man had drowned inside the crevice of some jagged rocks. All that remained was some pieces of rubber from a pair of shoes that had long since disintegrated in the Pacific. Also surviving the elements was a key chain that contained an odd looking house key. One of which is exactly like the one Tova wears on the belt clip on her hip! 

Another secret Marcellus keeps is that he likes to escape his tank and raid the other tanks in the aquarium for snacks. Turns out a Giant Pacific Octopus can live outside of water for about 15 minutes. The sea cucumbers are particularly tasty. One night, Marcellus decides to raid the break room and ends up getting tangled in some power cords. With time running out, Tova comes to the rescue, forever earning Marcellus' respect. In return for saving his life, Marcellus makes it his mission to inform Tova of his childhood discovery. While an octopus is a remarkably bright creature, there is such a thing as a language barrier between him and Tova.

I discovered this 2022 book after seeing a trailer for the Netflix live action adaptation. A mystery starring an octopus as the sleuth! I was already in love with The Sheep Detectives franchise. So it felt like a no-brainer to give Remarkably Bright Creatures a try. Unfortunately I don't have Netflix. (I'm a Ludite, I know) Thankfully, there was the book! Plus, I was headed for the beach and despite vacationing off the Atlantic coast, it was a very fitting read. 

I did read this book as slow as I probably could. That's because I didn't want to reach the end when one of the characters will die. I don't think that's too much of a spoiler. The death is foretold on the second page. If you are one of those bookstore shoppers who needs to read a couple of pages before deciding on whether or not to buy the book, you'll know who dies. This is a book about aging and death, and trying to cope with loss. It's just such a great character. Perhaps one of most endearing in modern American lit.

Thankfully, I wasn't 100% heartbroken by the end of the book. I have to thank author Shelby Van Pelt for giving me ample warning. It would have been a terrible shock to get to page 350 and then BAM- tragic death of a beloved character!!! Still, knowing that the end was drawing near with the turn of every page, my reading pace was significantly slower than normal. 

I've been in Tova's shoes, experiencing a lost that never achieved closure. Just maybe not on such an emotional level. A couple years ago, my goat, Pomegranate, was stolen. Despite spending a lot of time and money, she was never found. I've been wanting to write up a recount of how I dealt with that theft and how God blessed me eventually with a herd of now 10 goats, but I just couldn't find the voice. The unhealed wound just remains raw. But seeing how Van Pelt had Marcellus as the occasional narrator, I think I know how to write it now. I've got almost 2 months of summer break from my teaching job. So maybe I can get it started. 

If anything, this book helped me find an outlet for my unanswered loss and I appreciate that very much.

As for seeing the movie on Netflix, this book definitely makes me more interested in subscribing. But I am still a ways away from that actually happening.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 9 out of 10 stars.

Strange Adventures #244

The publication date for this issue is November, 1973. But it's a dupe. Nothing in this book is new for that time period! It's all reprints from the 50s and 60s. 

Now look, it's not like I despise silver age DC Comics. I cut my teeth on Superman, Jimmy Olsen, and Justice League of America tales from the 1960s as a part of my dad's collection. So I have no qualms with the material inside. It's just that I bought this book with the intention of getting some DC sci-fi from the bronze age and instead got reprints; of which I already own the Adam Strange tale! 

See I paid $4.80 for the book. It's a weird price, I know. But blame the used book store I got this from. However, I am a bargain hunter and if I had known that I already had half of the material contained within this issue, I would have passed. Maybe if the book was $2 I might have bought it if I knew. This is what you get for not busting tags to check the insides. 

The cover story, 'The Prisoner of the Parakeets', was originally published in a 1955 issue of Strange Adventures. Written by John Broome, it tells the story of scientist Atomic scientist John Walden, who's experiments with nuclear weapons accidentally engulfs a flock of tropical parakeets with some of the fallout from a recent test of nukes. The radiation advances the development of the birds exponentially. They become gigantic and they turn into geniuses, even to the point of developing human speech! After centuries of being suppressed by the human race, the parakeets are ready to take over the earth!

The Adam Strange story comes from a 1963 issue of Mystery in Space. Gardner Fox pens a tale that sees Adam Strange rendered impotent by his old enemy Jakarta the Dust Devil. Everything the earthling fires at the terror from planet Rann, the Dust Devil takes and neutralizes it. Now Jakarta is free on planet Earth and unless Adam Strange can find a weapon to destroy his foe, the Dust Devil will become the conqueror of 2 worlds!

The story about the parakeets was very well thought out. It does end of extremely abruptly. But it's a good read. As for the Adam Strange episode, I have just one question: where in the heck is the Justice League? They must be off planet (or visiting Earth-2) because if Jakarta was really such a global menace, they would be called in for assistance. That's a plausible explanation that I could explain. Only why didn't Gardner Fox think to put that explanation for the JLA's absence?! It's a simple plot device that only takes a sentence to establish, that without its presence makes me wonder why Adam Strange goes it alone in this adventure!

This was a good issue. It just wasn't what I was expecting. Even the cover was taken from that 1955 issue. But somebody gave Murphy Anderson's pencils a modern day look to it. with some slick inking. I think I'm going have to find out when Strange Adventures becomes a reprint only title, because I would love to have more of this series (I've got a couple of Showcase Presents in my collection), but I want the first runs with material that I don't have elsewhere.

Note: This would be the last issue of Strange Adventures, capping a 23 year run for the fanciful anthology series.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Rip Hunter... Time Master #28 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Noted time traveler Rip Hunter has an ever changing problem on his hands: lately he's been ever changing into huge monstrous creatures!

When a historian colleague finds evidence of a wizard, Rip and company travel 18th century Poland. Once in the past, the time sphere crew are captured by a trio of unusual creatures. The time travelers are taken to an actual wizard! Named Kraklow, the man has in his possession of a clay with special properties. Whenever the wizard uses the magical mud to make an image of a person, that individual comes under Kraklow's spell. A few adjustments later, the wizard turns the human character into a monster., of which years later we would refer to as 'Kaiju'. As soon as Kraklow finishes, the enslaved person transforms into the monstrous creatures of the wizard's imagination.

Using brawn over brain, Rip overpowers the mage and destroys the sculptures, freeing the people of Poland from Kraklow's thralls. The magician claims that he has no more clay which satisfies Rip. However, once back in the 1960s, Rip suddenly turns into a gigantic beast that runs amok. Once his team is able to administer a an antidote, everything seems to have a happy ending. That is until Rip turns back into yet another monster once again! It looks like Kraklow was lying about having run out of his mystical clay and is enacting his revenge on Rip from the past. It appears that another trip in the time sphere is in order to save Rip Hunter from a lifetime of terrifying changes...

This was the penultimate issue of Rip Hunter... Time Master. I don't think that the creative team of writer George Kashdan and artist Will Ely had an idea at this point in time that the writing was on the wall for the series because there's a tease at the end of this issue that this might not be the last we've seen of Kraklow. (Note: it isn't as he'll pop up years later to give the Teen Titans headaches.)

With a publication date from 1965, I think you can accuse the team at DC of ripping off an idea from Marvel. The Fantastic Four's nemesis, the Puppet Master using a radioactive clay of his own to put his does under his power. I guess you could say that Kraklow is an ancestor of the Puppet Master, since the FF character did obtain his clay from somewhere in Central Europe. Perhaps the magic behind Kraklow's clay was radioactivity. It would fit the modern day saying Rip Hunter and the Legends of Tomorrow that 'magic is just science that we don't yet understand.' Plus with radiation experts the Curies coming from Poland, who knows?! It's definitely an idea that got merit for an obscure crossover between the DC and Marvel universes.  

Hey, Big Two! I'm available to help write this script up! 

I loved Rip Hunter... Time Master. My dad had a few issues of the time travelling series in his collection that I later obtained. It was a fun little series that fell under the category of DC's more obscure characters. And for me, the obscurer the better.

Not the best dialogue. Clever plot that just got better the more I reflected on it. A great trip down memory lane as happy memories with my father are few and far in-between. If I could find the other 28 issues, I would snap them up in a heartbeat. 

Completing this review completes Task #2 (Comic from the Silver Age (1956-1970)) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Spy Seal: The Corten-Steal Phoenix #3 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

If Herge's Tintin and Carl Barks' Disney Ducks had a baby together, the end product would be Rich Tommaso's Spy Seal. 

Anthropomorphic seal Malcolm Warner has just been recruited by MI-6 to become a spy. To help him with his training is the veteran secret agent, Kes, a stunning kestrel that acts as a potential love interest for Malcolm. Set in the middle of the Cold War 1960s, Spy Seal's first mission involves finding a Soviet double agent while trying to get behind the secret of a mysterious work of art called the Corten-Steel Phoenix. 

You might be wondering why I started with issue #3. The answer is simple. I don't have issue #1 or 2 of this 4-issue mini from 2008. In fact, this might not even be something that I keep. I found the issue in a comic book grab bag, enthralled by the stunning cover of a speeding train engulfed in what looks like a snowy Alpine scene. Plus Tommaso's name is on the cover and I have had wonderful experiences with his work on many Barks' Library collections and international Disney books.

There's a big difference between the animals in this book and the mice and ducks of Disney. Whereas Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse look like animals, they're treated more as a animal representation of human beings, the animal characters in this story actually are animals. That means that Kes can fly and Malcolm has amazing underwater abilities. It's a good thing the characters still retain their amazing abilities. I just wish Rich Tommaso had told me! There was one scene that left me stunned until Kes flew to the rescue. The female spy kept saying at the first of this issue that maybe Malcolm and her should fly to their next destination. I didn't know that she meant that literally.

I enjoyed what I read. It got action. It's got heart. It's even got a avian female spy that shouldn't be that attractive wearing a negligee... I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the other 3 issues in the miniseries from Image Comics. It's got a kitsch appeal to it and no, I'm not talking about Kes the Kestrel.

Completing this review completes Task #33 (An Image Comic) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Terminator #1 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The first publisher to produce a comic book based on the popular 1984 sci-fi picture, The Terminator was NOW Comics. NOW had quickly obtained licensing rights for several very popular franchises and began 1987 as a force to be reckoned with by the big two comic book publishers. However, things quickly fell apart. Fans hated the color process of books. NOW experienced tremendous delays in getting their books out on time. Eventually the creative staff and the franchise owners began to complain about not being paid; either on a timely basis or even at all.

In 1990, NOW Comics filed for bankruptcy and the license for the Terminator was quickly snatched up by Dark Horse Comics. NOW produced it's final miniseries series based on the James Cameron hit, Terminator: All My Futures Past right as Dark Horse made it's Terminator debut with a 4-issue minute that would eventually become known as Terminator: Tempest, when the story would be collected in trade paperback the following year.

The story takes place 6 months after the futuristic events of the 1984 Terminator movie. In 2029, Skynet's main CPU has been destroyed by John Connor. Kyle Reese was successful in preventing Sarah Connor from being assassination by the time- traveling T-100. However, based on these successes, the human resistance should have total victory over the machines by now. But it appears that the machines were less dependent on a central processing unit than originally thought.

As the resistance conducts cleanup sweeps on machine outposts, it's discovered that Skynet had a second TDE (Time Displacement Equipment) in working use. It's the mission of the team led Colonel to infiltrate the base where the TDE resides. Before destroying the machine in order to prevent another Terminator from making a play on Sarah Connor, Col. Randall's team will step through the time machine. Once back in Los Angeles, 1990, Randall's crew will attack Cyberdyne Systems, hopefully preventing the tech company from developing Skynet. But first, the soldiers must find food, shelter, money and weapons because there's no way back to 2029. Oh, and clothes because everyone that uses the TDE winds up in the past naked as the day they were born.

Unfortunately for Colonel Randall, the TDE in 2029 wasn't destroyed. A trio of T-800 Androids were activated with the mission to find Randall's squad. These terminators emerged in 1990 naked and vulnerable. But unlike the humans, these time travelers have several advantages as they don't need food, money or shelter. Oh, and they managed to sneak weapons through the time vortex in the body of the soldier Randall had trusted with the destruction of the TDE.

John Arcudi was the scribe responsible for this 4-issue miniseries. There's an article at the end of this issue, written by Arcudi, that states he was tasked with writing the script both super fast and under total confidentiality. During Christmas 1989, word had yet broke that Dark Horse Comics was to become the new home for the Terminator franchise. Arcudi was given this project with a very long leash about what ideas he had about the plot. His only real directive was that his script needed to be completed fast as Dark Horse wanted a new Terminator book on shelves as soon as NOW's licensing agreement expired.

To achieve this quick pace, Arcudi along with artist Chris Warner and inker Paul Guinan had to create the book using the Marvel Method in which Arcudi would plot the story, Warner would lay everything out, then Arcudi fills in the dialogue with Guinan finalizing the inks. Not every comic book creator can work this way. In fact, Arcudi didn't even get to see the finished product for this issue until he had already completed his plotting for issue #3! But, despite a lot of flesh and a Robert Kirkman amount of red ink uses for the blood, this was a great opener. 

It really pains me that I was only able to purchase the first half of this miniseries. I've got a decision to make: do I read issue #2 and then wait to one day find the other 2 books for a decent price or do I go ahead and spend some dough to get the rest of this mini PDQ. I could also find a cheap, used trade of Terminator: Tempest and get some trade on my 2 floppies. I definitely want to find out what happens next. I just don't want to spend too much in able to find out.

Completing this review completes Task #32 (A Dark Horse Comic) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Fantastic Four #9 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In 2003, Marvel established an imprint for all ages. Unlike Star Comics in the 1980s, this imprint would star the heroes of the 616-Universe. First titled 'Marvel Age', the plots were taken directly from the earliest issues to bear the Marvel Comics brand name. Written by Stan Lee and featuring the art of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others. Marvel Age Spider-Man and Marvel Age: Fantastic Four. The retellings would be written by the best and brightest of the Marvel Bullpen with Manga inspired artwork by up-and-coming artists from the Japanese inspired medium. 

In this issue which reimagines Fantastic Four #9 from 1962, the Fantastic Four's most deadliest foes, Doctor Doom and the Sub-Mariner have joined forces. Doom has invented a device that can control the gravity of any object. The plan is for Prince Namor to visit the Baxter Building under the rise of a proposed truce. While there he will hide Doom's device inside the recesses of the skyscraper. 

It's actually not very hard for the Sub-Mariner to hide the device. While Sue Storm is Mister Fantastic's girlfriend, she's been developing feelings for Namor during their recent skirmishes with the ruler of Atlantis. Ben Grimm and Little brother Johnny Storm want to mop up the floor with Namor. Sue wants to finally have a chance to sort through her feelings. Meanwhile, Reed Richards smells a rat and right he is! Because Doctor Doom has activated his gravity device, sending the Baxter Building into outer space with the Sub-Mariner aboard! Heading directly towards the sun, with the oxygen running thin, I guess only so much can be said about honestly and loyalty when you make a deal with Doctor Doom!

The writing by Marc Sumerak was quite good. I've read this issue a number of times. The original, I mean. So it is a bit weird to experience this plot with references to more modern pop culture icons like Jerry Seinfeld. Though, did kids from 2005, when this Marvel Age issue was published, know who of the comedian and star of a TV series that went off the air 7 years prior? So the references are a bit awkward- too  awkward. But this is something that the big two publishers have been guilty of for decades. But it's also forgivable. Trying to relate to kids is hard. Not everyone can do it.

What, in my opinion, isn't quite so forgivable is the art. I should be a crime to think that you can't make a comic book for children without dipping into the Manga ink well. Sure, Manga is what has inspired a large number of artists who hit the scene in the past 30 years. But it should not be the only style of artwork that young comic book readers are exposed to. Especially for such an iconic family the Fantastic Four. That ever-changing look of characters based on their emotions which is a Manga staple just doesn't work with The Thing or the Human Torch. Heck, it doesn't even work with the plastic fluidity of Mister Fantastic. You'd think that it would considering that he's stretchy. But here, it just looks weird. Blame artist Alitha Martinez for that. However, I'm really confused as I've experienced some of her work before and it did not look like this. Maybe early in her career she tried the Manga route. If so, I am glad it was a phase or the comic collecting world would have been deprived of one of the most talented female artists of the past 2 decades.

If this  wasn't a FF comic book, I probably wouldn't keep it. But just like when I listen to Queen, a bad Fantastic Four comic is better than no Fantastic Four comic book at all!

Completing this review completes Task #8 (Fantastic Four Comic from the 2000s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars