Xombi: #1 (Halloween Theme)

Well, lookie what I found. It’s the very first issue of Xombi. Actually, there’s supposedly an issue 0, but I didn’t know that till after I read this first issue. After reading the Xombi re-launch trade, I checked my collection and low and behold, I did have the origin issue.

 Here, we learn the how and why David had to become a Xombi. We see glimpses of Nun of the Above and Catholic Girl, and those husk creatures. I still don’t know why those husks wanted David’s nanotech, but it made for a very interesting issue. The final splash page is extremely gory and how the husks seek out their prey is very eerie.

I want to read more! A very good first issue. It moves a tad slow, but I enjoyed it.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 9 out of 10 stars

Fright Factor 6 out of 10 stars.

Weird War Tales #47, Halloween Theme

This issue features a fantastic cover by the essential DC Comic’s war artist, Joe Kubert. The story on which this cover is based has a young boy whose love of playing war games is helping his warlord father turn the tide of battle in a post-apocalyptic world. It’s a very clever tale with some of the most gruesome art of a melting man, that I’ve ever seen and I’ve read tons of EC Comics. It’s truly gory!

Then there’s another nuclear holocaust tale in which a survivor searches for the source of a voice crying for help. It’s got a ghastly ending, but there isn’t any war per say. I guess the spoils of war count as a war tale.

There’s a third story, but it’s really not all that memorable. I guess that’s a shame. But, outta sight, outta mind ya know?

It’s a really freaky issue but still not 100% the quality I expect from Weird War Tales. But it’s not the worst issue I’ve read in this series either.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Fright Factor: 8 out of 10 stars.

Weird War Tales #18, Halloween Theme

 

This cover is one of my favorites of this series. True, I haven’t read every issue of Weird War Tales- YET, but I just love this one.  The stories aren’t half bad either. The first tale is rather lengthy for an anthology title. It involves an American tank driver in Italy whose been bitten by a vampire and thus must either seek out his band of brothers as his prey or stalk the Nazis at night. It’s an okay tale with really gritty art. But, there’s this scene at the story’s beginning where the soldier sees a painting that looks just like him, only it’s centuries old. Then that’s pretty much forgotten and I think that was a waste of a plot device if it’s not going to figure in the climax of the story.

The second story involves a Nazi soldier whose tired of playing second best to his commanding officer. So, with the help of a spectral helper, the Nazi goes back in time in hopes of changing his fortune. It’s a really good time travel tale with a dramatic twist. The only problem with this story is the two protagonists in this story look so much alike as teenagers; I had to read the story twice to figure out who was who. The colorist used an aquamarine hue to the flashback sequences and thus the blonde haired solider and the brunette one both look like they dyed their scalps in blueberry juice. D’oh!

For such a great title, there are plot holes a’ plenty in this issue. It’s really too bad. I love Weird War Tales. This one just isn’t the cream of the crop.

Rating 5 out of 10 stars

Fright Factor: 7 out of 10 stars.

Jack Davis's Tales From the Crypt, Halloween Theme

This little comic is a sample of one of the most iconic and personal favorite artists of EC Comics, Jack Davis. His work is cartoony, yet gory, full of tiny little details, and just amazing. I love artists that take the time to draw every little stitch on someone’s jacket or the minute dings on a beat up 47 Chevy. And that’s the amount of glorious care Jack Davis put into every panel.

This is published by Fantagraphic Books, Not Gemstone. That’s because Fantagraphic was publishing several hardcopy anthologies of some of EC’s best and brightest. This book was a promotional freebie and if it wasn’t that I chanced upon it in a dollar bin, I might never have gotten my hands on this little treasure.

Werewolves, mutant bats, mad scientists, and more abound in this volume. There’s even the classic Tales from the Crypt story “Lower Berth” which tells of the origin of how the Crypt Keeper came to be. It’s an all-time favorite of mine and I’m so very glad to have gotten the chance to read that scary yarn once more.
A classic collection of a brilliant artist of the EC age of Comics.

Worth Consuming.

Rating 10 out of 10 stars.

Fright factor: 6 out of 10 stars.

Weird Mystery Tales #24, Halloween Theme

 

This is the final issue of the short-lived horror anthology of the mid-70s. It wasn’t that it was a bad horror title so much as it just wasn’t as popular as its sister titles House of Mystery and House of Secrets. Plus, this book was published during the great DC implosion and due to its third wheel status; Weird Mystery Tales was doomed to be axed.

Sadly, this series went out on a whimper, not a bang! The cover story deals with a sidewalk toy salesman whose popular animated bears weak revenge and havoc on the man’s killers. It’s really far-fetched and I thought the ending was ultra-lame.

The second story was a knock-off of 1984, THX-1138, and just about any other big brother time sci-fi work of the time period. Even the “twist” ending was a rip-off of a Shakespeare play. The only saving grace for that story was the lovely artwork of the great Michael Kaluta.

I wasn’t very happy with this issue. It wasn’t scary at all and the plots were poorly structured. The art of the second tale was the only thing I liked.

Not Worth Consuming.

Rating 3 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor: 1 out of 10 stars.

Weird Mystery Tales #23, Halloween Theme

This is a book that I remember having in my collection as a kid. I recently rediscovered it in a dollar box and I’ve been waiting since then to read it for a Halloween scare. The main story is about a slime ball who been selected to participate in a deadly version of “To Beat The Clock.” I loved the odd and dangerous challenges the man had to conquer. It reminded me of Double Dare, but with a greater chance of doom! The shocking twist always stuck with me!

The second story wasn’t as memorable. A couple scheme to kill their rich old relative and find a way to get the gardener to take the rap. The ending twist to this story was predictable but the insanity of the ultimate killer of the scheming lovers is frightening.

If you read the House of Mystery re-launch like I did a few months back, you’ll encounter Cain and Abel’ mother Eve. Well, this is the book of which Eve was the horror host. That was a neat little connect the dots factoid I discovered on my own.

A pretty good book with some delightful scares.

Worth Consuming.

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor 7 out of 10 stars.

Marvelman: Family’s Finest

Ugh. That’s about all I can say. Marvelman is a rip-off of Captain Marvel. That statement is not libel, it is actually fact. After DC’s lawsuit forced Fawcett to stop publication of Captain Marvel and his long line of family members, a British publisher of its reprints found themselves in a bind. The answer was to create a new Marvel- Marvelman. He’s a little boy who becomes a powerful god-like superhero when he utters a magic word. He’s got a legion of sidekick’s with whom have his same powers. There’s even a mad scientist and a black-clad polar opposite to Marvelman called Nastyman.

It’s essentially Captain Marvel without Mary Marvel. And it’s a huge rip-off.

Leading to the confusion and frustration is that this book starts with Marvelman’s first appearance in Marvelman #25!? Wait, what happened in issues 1-24? Well, those issues were devoted to Capt. Marvel. You just don’t realize all this until you get to the historically fascinating articles in the back of the book.

Those appendixes are the best thing about this book. They are chock full of a history of comics that I never knew existed. They also explain British comic books, reprint procedures, even how a Brit book is published. Plus for a nation that’s more frank than the US, they sure are prudish when it comes to comics for kids.

The history lessons are fantastic. The reprints are just awful. I will not be searching out further issues anytime soon. Thank goodness, I found this at the library and I didn’t shell out any cash for it.

Not Worth Consuming.

Rating 4 out of 10 stars.

Fanboys Vs. Zombies #3, Halloween Theme

 

Yeah, I know that I came in on the middle of this series. But, I got it in a grab bag and I thought it’d make a good Halloween theme read. Boy, I wasn’t wrong about that! Here, a group of comic book fanatics take on the undead during an outbreak at San Diego’s ComiCon. Like other zombie works made by fans of the genre, the characters know they rules- like if bit, keeping fighting until you start to turn, then you’re worm food and don’t separate from the pack. Wander off and you are dead! Well, with rule #1, somebody got bit and if it wasn’t for a 5-hour energy drink knock-off to ward off the virus’ effects; one main character would already be toast. (Bad news, the gang’s running out of energy shots!) And for the issue’s cliffhanger, one of the gang went off in search of a hot dog. But, I think they’re going to be alright, because that character is on the cover of the next issue in the back of the book. Who Knows? Not me, because I don’t have issue 4.

I think I might like to get the rest of this series. It was funny and clever. Not quite Shaun of the Dead funny, but it had promise. It’s like Shaun and Clerks had a baby. A little crude, some swears, and tons of pop culture and zombies! Good stuff.

Worth Consuming

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor 5 out of 10 stars.

Xombi, (2011) Halloween Theme

Cover to issue 1, later used as the cover to this trade paperback.

 I know not to judge a book by its cover, but when the cover has a pissed off looking nun packing heat, then I have a feeling that your into something freakin’ awesome! And man, was I right. This is DC’s first attempt to bring the Milestone universe into official post-52 canon. While pronounced “Zombie”, the Xombi is not of the “Living Dead” category. This creature is a Dr. Kim whose been resurrected with nanobytes that pretty much make him indestructible. Although human contact while recovering from an injury is a bad idea as the nanobytes will absorb that living tissue as a means of cellular growth.

  I know it sounds complicated and in a way it is, but I still liked it. Being incapable of death, the Xombi is recruited by a group of experts on the arcane, including those pistol packin’ penguins, and together they try to save earth from supernatural forces. In this volume Xombi and crew must prevent a madman from overtaking a group of mystical airborne fortresses and destroying the earth. There’s some really ghoulish looking creatures, many of which look like they’re from Pan Labyrinth. While there are some supernatural shenanigans going on here, it’s not enough to scare me off.

I consider it a slightly less demonic version of Hellboy, another favorite of mine. Extremely well written and fantastic art. I would definitely read more and I am very interested in finding the original Xombi series from the 90s!

Worth Consuming.

Rating 9 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor: 4 out of 10 stars.

Crime SuspenStories #8 (Halloween Theme)

Another offering in the EC Comics collection reprinted by Gemstone Publishing. This isn’t a horror tale, but it does offer a story hosted by the Old Witch of Haunt of Fear fame. That story involves a chemical tenderizer of meat products. That story had a misdirect that I overlooked until the last second and shocked the bejeezus out of me as well as involved a chuckle (man am I sick!)

Another tale was a twist on the escaped homicidal maniac urban legend while another tale was on betrayal and a pair of mixed-up gravestones. It’s about a group of youths playing morbid pranks on the community- no wonder these titles became the target of nervous moms in the 1950s.

The final story was a tale I had heard before, by one of my former pastors! Who knew that EC Comics could be used in Sunday services! That was so awesome! I love it!

Not a very scary comic, but it’s got its moments. It was yet another EC classic and I loved every page and panel of it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating 10 out of 10.

Fright Factor: 5 out of 10.

Storm Surge: A Destroyermen Novel, by Taylor Anderson

 

The men of the Us destroyer Walker continue their battle against the Grik on an alternate earth. It’s D-Day as a massive assault to liberate parts of India and rescue the stranded Allied American-Lemurian forces finally falls into place. I love how D-Day fell on 6^th of June, 1944 and yet nobody on this earth knew because they’ve been stranded from our world for over a year.

  Some lingering mysteries are finally answered and solved while a few more pop up in their place.  I think that the series is about due to come to an end. Don’t get me wrong, I love this book and while it took me a very long time to complete it, which was because it’s the last book in the series thus far. So I devoured about 30 pages at a time and then savored the book by putting it away for a raining day.

    However, this is like book 8 and I’ve read well over 10,000 pages about the war against the Grik. I would hate for this series to were out its welcome. I don’t think with the scope of a war in both Asia and the Americas that this series could be completed in one 340 page volume such as this one. But I think the Destroyermen should be seeing peace within at least 3 more books and no more than 5!

  I love the very technical approach Anderson has to ever little weapon and massive ship. It makes me feel like I am right there alongside the Destroyermen. The last 50 pages were action packed and I hated having to put the book down for any interruption of any means.

I can’t wait for the next volume! Write faster, Mr. Anderson! (PS, I have to wait 8 more months till the next book! Please, say it ain’t so!!!)

Worth Consuming

Rating 10 out of 10 stars.

(Tales Designed to Carry an…) Impact! #3 (Halloween Theme)

Okay, I am not really sure this book qualifies as a Halloween themed book. This EC title is one I’ve never read before and until I found it recently at a comics shop, I’d never even heard of it. Thinking it’s EC and with the menacing old man on the cover, I thought it might be a horror book. Yet two of the stories have a happy ending and a third is tragic but at least inspiring and nowhere near as gory as something like Vault of Horror.

There is one story about an old man who takes the rap to protect his son from going to prison that has a somewhat terrifying ending. Plus a couple of stories have that creepy, I’m not sure where this is going edge. But it’s not a scary book. Thriller, sure I could qualify that as such. However, the 3^rd tale is really something you’d find in a Romance comic. Plus, I don’t think they drew the ugly duckling heroine all that ugly. And the final story about a little girl who sells lemonade in front of a grumpy old man’s soda shop is so cute and makes you have that fuzzy feeling inside; I’d think it’s more of a Christmas tale without the decorations and snow.

But, this is all quality EC Comics stuff. Each story has the patented EC twist ending. However, it’s not gruesome as many of the defunct company’s most notable works is. I will most certainly get more of this title in the future due to the quality writing and fantastic art. But I’ll not consider this a “horror” title ever again.

Worth Consuming.

Rating 10 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor 2 out of 10 stars.

The Marvel Mystery Handbook 70th Anniversary Special

 

This handbook is exhaustive and exhausting. Filled with almost 100 entries, it covers just about every major character created and used during Timely Comic’s first year of publication. It’s designed in the style of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe. Only, I like those books because the art work was original and beautifully done. Here, it appears images were either ripped from the 1940s books or taken from 2009’s Marvels Project. I wasn’t as impressed.

   I learned much from this book. But it was a lot to read. I had finished my last 70^th Anniversary comic a month ago. But with tons and tons of very fine print paragraphs to sift through, I could only devour maybe 4-6 pages at a time and that was if I was lucky!

   There are lots of spoilers here. That why I read this last. It’s a challenge to read and only the most dedicated fan would really appreciate this work.

Rating 7 out of 10 stars.

Tales from the Crypt #1 (Papercutz) (Halloween Theme)

 

  Well, it’s not from EC, but it’s not terrible either. The kids comics publisher Papercutz produced this short lived revival series in 2009. Reviving the Crypt Keeper and his old cronies Vault Keeper and the old Witch, this series focus on the signature shock ending while trying to be kid friendly. It’s like Goosebumps only tamer.

   In issue one a couple decides to cash in on the artworks of their recently deceased neighbor while an avid toy collector finds the ultimate toy deemed “for serious collectors ONLY!” The first story is a very close clone of the old EC comics. It’s pretty gruesome for a kids comic and enjoyable. The toy collecting story tries too hard to be funny. It falls flat. EC was noted for being sometimes both frightening while parodying American life. This story tries to mock nerd toy collectors who live with their mommies. This story mostly ends up with egg on its own face.

If I found more of these issues in a dollar box OR cheaper, I’d snatch ‘em up for kicks. But, it’s not something that I’ gonna add to my wish list or anything.

Rating 5 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor: 5 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Adventures- The Avengers: Iron Man

 

  The Original Marvel Adventures line-up was classic. Wolverine, Spider-man, Storm, Captain America, Iron Man, Giant Girl, Hulk, and later Ant-Man and Tigra. They were funny, smart, and it was the perfect formula. Why did Marvel have to muck it up?

   “Iron Man” is the first volume chronicling the new line-up. From what I’ve read, with the team seeking UN approval and setting up a new base, this appears to been a reboot, somewhat eliminating the previous team I held so dear. Frankly, I’m not so keen on it.

   Captain America and Iron Man are still with the team and I love that Thor is involved this go round. But the comic banter is provided by Nova, a poor man’s Spidey. He’s annoying as heck. Black Widow and the Vision are members, too. Individually, they don’t really do anything for me, but I do like the dynamic of how Widow is trying to help Vision become more human.

   They real mystery to the mix is the inclusion of Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. Why isn’t she with the Fantastic Four? Why is she here? And why is Reed Richards keeping taps on her through Black Widow. It’s a mystery and I like mysteries. But in this very small digest, the mystery remains unsolved. I hate THAT!

Also, the volume is titled Iron Man, but he’s a minor player in all four stories. It would’ve been better to title it after Sue Storm or Vision; two characters that eat up a large chunk of the plots. I’m just not sure I am a fan of this new format.

Rating 6 out of 10 stars.

EC Comics Sampler (Halloween Theme)

One of my all-time favorite comics of all-time is the EC Comics of the early 1950s. EC Comics was founded by The Gaines. Poppa was the grandfather of the first comic book, taking reprints of newspaper comics and selling them on cheap pulp paper for a dime a pop. His son William Gaines would go on to craft some of the most innovative, controversial, and brilliant comics of all-time. EC was noted for its shock and twist endings. They were the company trademark. Sadly, a demented children’s therapist, Fredric Wertham and a Senate Sub-committee would cause EC to shut down publication of their titles. Gaines would suffer for a time financially, but he eventually got the upper hand, creating the biggest thumb noser of all- MAD Magazine.

This sampler was a free comic book day offering that I happened to get my hands on in a dollar box by shear chance. While I have every intention to get my hands on (reprint) copies of the complete EC line, I just had to pounce on this! Featuring a crime story, a sci-fi epic, a horror tale, and a scene from the Korean War, this sampler shows why EC was the leader in not just the shocking twist ending, but a bastion of fantastic artists, writers, and some of the best art and stories to ever seen print. It’s also a great edition to whet my appetite for even more EC fright fests during what remains of this Halloween season.
Brilliant, superb, spectacular stuff- All Worth Consuming!
Rating 10 out of 10 stars.
Fright Factor: 8 out of 10.

That One Spooky Night by Dan Bar-el (Halloween Theme)

  In this collection of 3 Halloween night comics a young girl learns a lesson in witchcraft, a set of twins go on an underwater rescue, and a group of friends meet the new girls in town. The last story is a little scary, but the other two tales were classic! Even the slightly scary tale had a brilliant twist. I’ve never read Dan Bar-el’s work before. However, he’s got that classic “spooky-fun” touch that I just adore in the works of fellow young readers graphic novelist’s Doug TenNapel and Johan Sfar.

   My only beef was that the three tales didn’t intermix.  All three stories took place in the same town on the same night. So, I would’ve like it if the group of friends pulled a prank on the twins, while the twins could’ve popped up in the background of the young witch’s story walking home from school. It would’ve added some depth to the storyline and created a real community that’s a sign of a greater storyteller. It’s just a missed opportunity that would have taken a great collection of stories and turned it into a classic of kids lit.

I did like the very fun twist ending. It was a great touch. Worth Consuming.

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor: 4 out of 10.

The Shade, TPB (Halloween Theme)

 

Here’s what I originally knew about character called the Shade:

1.    He’s a DC villain who can control darkness, using it as a weapon, tool, or means of escape.

2.    He was from Earth-2 and was a nemesis of the original Flash, later seen in the classic Flash issue where Barry Allen meets the golden age Flash

 

3.    He was a sometime member of the Legion of Doom in the Justice League cartoon series.

That’s all I knew, but when I found this at the library, I figured I would give it a short. I like when comics focus on the villain, even to the point of giving them their own series. Villains are much more interesting because their moral code is all over the place. The Shade doesn’t disappoint. Here, he’s found love and wants to settle down. It’s just his pesky past that keeps getting in the way. After a blotched assassination attempt, the anti-hero goes on a world-wide quest to track down his supposed killer. It ends up being a trip down memory lane.

Perhaps my least favorite thing about this 12-issue series is the art. There are so many different arts, probably used for each period of the Shade’s life. But, with so many artist styles, it’s a little hard to keep the Shade out of costume straight with a dark hair random guy in a black suit in the background. The write was fantastic and didn’t leave me feeling unease.

 Though not a Halloween comic, with Egyptian deities, vampires, aliens, magicians, the undead, sinister business men, and angels and demons; it’s a pretty good read to get one in the haunted spirit without tons of gore and graphic violence. It’s not the ‘perfect comic”, but at times, it comes pretty darn close.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor: 5 out of 10.

The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics (Halloween Theme)

 

Coming in at over 530 pages, the Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics is well, Mammoth. It’s why I’ve not read very many books this Halloween season. Though, technically, I’ve read about 50 horror comics. Of these 50 entries, probably a dozen comics are what made up an entire issue. Most stories are from anthology horror comics, like Panic or Ghostly Tales.

Sadly, there aren’t any DC or Marvel offerings, though much is made of their horror titles in the 2-4 pages long chapters that introduced different periods of horror in the medium. The best stories are from the 40s and 50 and the 60s and 70s chapters. The real crime is that the granddaddy of all horror comics, EC Comics is notably absent from this book. The 80s comics are very good too, but the contain graphic nudity. The 90s and beyond chapter is the weakest in my opinion, mostly because of the witchcraft (which just isn’t my cup of tea) and a focus on gore over story substance. The 90s chapter also had a couple of picto-collage stories which combine photographs with CGi-type effects. The jury is still out on whether I’d consider those actual comics or not, but I liked what I read.

There are quite a few gems in this anthology along with a couple of stinkers. I couldn’t read the Lovecraft rendition of the Dunwich Horror because of the horrible imagery used .There was another tale that was just full of pagan worship that turned me off as well. For that reason, I’m gonna sell this book to a used book store for some trade credit. Yet, there are other Mammoth editions about crime and sci-fi comics that I am very interested in getting my hands on, so I am not opposed to this series, despite a few bad apples.

An enjoyable book that packs a heavyweight punch.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Fright Factor: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Goon Volume 11: The Deformed of Body and Devious of Mind

This is perhaps the most unique offering in the Goon series. First, there’s a tribute to those who died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of the early 1900s in a 2-part tale that sees the Goon coming to the aid of the oppressed union man, as well as the rise of Zombie Priest from his defeat in aftermath of the Return of Labrazio trilogy. 

  Then the Goon meets a real-life celebrity when the reigning queen of burlesque, Roxi Dlite, comes to town and steals more than just Franky’s heart. Then the Goon and Franky go on a much needed vacation but end up fighting a tribe of wild hoboes that have made off with the duo’s wieners. (Get your mind outta the gutter, I’m talkin’ frankfurters here.)

The Goon has made a much needed return to the goofy yuks and bizarre storylines than make the series such a pleasure to read. The art continues to be amazing and the test sketches of Dlite are really good “art exhibit” quality pieces.

A favorite chapter of mine of this classic series that continues to blow my mind.

Worth Consuming. 

Rating 10 stars out of 10 stars.

Betty And Veronica Double Digest #155 (Halloween Theme)

Though the cover touts this as a Halloween spectacular, not every entry is Halloween themed, or at least trying to spook the reader. I’ll count the Sabrina the Teenage Witch stories as Halloween and there’s a couple of science fiction type entries. So, with those adding to the action Halloween tales, just over 50% of this Betty and Veronica Double Digest is actually Halloween related.

  There is one all-new tale in which the girls put on a Halloween party in a reputed haunted house. It was a two-parter and was actually a little spooky. However, most of the scary tales end up like an episode of Scooby Doo, with the Archie gang pulling the mask off of a monster and it turns out to be some obscure character that you only saw for a second in the beginning. And he would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those pesky kids!

For an Archie Comics tale, it wasn’t that bad. But, if you’re going to title some a Halloween issue, I’d expect at least 95% of the tales to be Halloween-like in some way.

Worth Consuming.

Rating 7 out of 10 stars

Fright Factor: 4 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge: Hound Of The Whiskervilles (Halloween Theme)

Another Halloween ashcan I got for free- that just happens not to be an ashcan at all. This frightful offering is a reprint of a classic Carl Barks (The definitive Disney duck cartoonist of all-time!) in which Uncle Scrooge goes to Scotland to learn of his family history. In Scotland, Scrooge comes across the Hound of the Whiskervilles, a demon dog that supposedly scared off the McDucks.

 It’s a slightly spooky tale that is very entertaining. It’s very smartly done and while the title of the monster parodies Sherlock Holmes, this isn’t a Holmes themed book by any means. Of course in the end, Scrooge finds a way to profit from the entire deal. But even the way he comes about doing it is very intelligent. How strange that Disney comics tend not to insult the intelligence of the reader! I love that.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor: 3 out of 10 stars.

 

Little Archie: The House That Wouldn’t Move Halloween Ashcan (Halloween Theme)

 

I got this as Halloween give-a-way a while back. Why it’s called an ashcan, I’ve never really know. Ashcans’ are small pamphlets in which a comic book publisher produces rather quickly in order to secure a patent, trademark, or rights to a title before a competitor can. However, these books were given to comic book stores as freebies for trick-or-treaters of all ages. It’s a very clever advertising tool. But by industry definition, it is NOT an ashcan!

This freebie stars Lil Archie and Lil Betty and their adventures with a ghost from the Civil War. As his haunted home is in danger of being demolished in order to make way for a highway, the ghost teams with the kids to save it! I enjoyed this story. But now that I read what I wrote, this sounds and awful lot like what happens to Arthur Dent in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy!

There’s also a very cute 2-page story involving Lil Archie and a cat. It reminders me of life as a multiple cat owner and I thought the punch line was awesome!

I couldn’t tell if the Lil Archie stories were reprints or new tales. I don’t think they make that tile anymore. However, compared to some of the Free Comic Book Day offerings by Archie Comics in years past, this is by far a book of superior quality than the dreck they pawn off today. This is a Nostalgic Archie story that makes me long for the days when Archie Comics were fun and entertaining.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Fright Factor: 1 out of 10 stars.

The Flash TV Special #1

In 1991, The Flash joined an elite group of superheroes by becoming one of a handful to ever get his own live action TV show. It didn’t last long and probably that was due to 1) not following the Barry Allen comic book archetype and 2) there were few if any really good bad guys for him to fight. I’d rather see the Flash fight Capt. Cold than a Korean gang attacking bodega owners. Plus, a superhero whose super power is super speed doesn’t translate well to the small screen. Regardless, I liked what I saw, but I had a feeling deep down that the show would get the boot. It was more of a surprise that the show lasted an entire season than not getting picked up for a second.

So, when I found this is a dollar bin, I swooped it up! The two tales based on the show are okay. The writing’s good and the art is good. But, somehow, this Flash doesn’t translate to the comic medium very well.

In the back are several articles about how the show came about, interviews with some of the actors, a segment on how a TV show is filmed and a season one episode guide. Those segments are the real meat of this book and were the most enjoyable. Hey, it’s even inspired me to find that old show on DVD and relive a few pre-teen memories.

It’s okay, but not great.

Rating 5 out of 10 stars.

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #11. (Halloween Theme)

 

The epic 2-part story of the Wuz-Wolf concludes with Peter Porkchops finding a way to become Iron Pig again. It’s a fairly creative way to end the story- but it just seems a little too…oh I don’t know, convenient. To have a piece of metal just happen to contain the very particles that causes you mutation show up in the hands of your arch-enemy. It’s just very neat and tidy. I was disappointed.

  I was not disappointed in the Rubber Duck back-up story. The villain he fights, the Salamandroid, is drawn in such an exceptional high quality. It may not be DC Earth Prime quality, but I could’ve seen this guy fighting the Thundercats. I was impressed.

A fairly good issue, it’s just not my favorite, by far. Here’s hoping the next issue goes back to those higher standards of quality than this one.

Worth Consuming

Rating 7 out of 10 stars.

Ambush Bug #1

What can I say? I love Ambush Bug. He’s wild, crazy, and totally bizarre. He’s also a comic book character that knows HE IS A COMIC BOOK CHARACTER! He also can’t figure out why nobody else around him knows that but him.

This Keith Giffen creation celebrates his first solo issue by going out and getting a sidekick to help him solve crimes. His first challenge is a bunch of Right-wing terrorist whackos who’re planning on blowing up a building filled with nuclear bombs. Oh, and one of their grandmothers who voted for Jimmy Carter!

 

You can’t make this stuff up! A solid dollar bin gem that I might find myself reading over and over from time to time because it was that much fun and totally insane!

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Captain America: The Bloodstone Hunt

Finally, a 90s Captain America story I like- no make that love! Captain American and Serpent Society member Diamondback are sent on an epic quest to find 5 shards of the Bloodstone. Their competitors in this race is Baron Nemo (II) and his hired help of Batroc The Leaper.
  The book  reads like a James Bond movie going from exotic locale to exotic locale. There’s fun, spills, sex, and just a little bit of imagination. Also included is a two-part story that ties up some loose ends involving Crossbones and why he’s been so hell-bent on retrieving the stones too!


Cover of the 90s edition of The Bloodstone Hunt.

   It’s a fantastic book that I found recently on steep discount at one of my favorite comic shops. I enjoyed just about all of it. The art was excellent. The story was very good. I just felt that chapter one was way too short. It was just a prologue, but I would have loved to read the Captain America Jr. story that was featured in the back of that issue as well.
   At least this gives me hope that more of Capt’s stories during the 90s was of this high quality and it inspires me to search out further adventures.


Worth Consuming.

Rating 9 out of 10 stars.

 

 

 

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #10. (Halloween theme)

In what is probably the first of my ghoulish reads for the 2013 Halloween season, I read another issue of Capt. Carrot. In this tale, Pig Iron is confronted with a character from his past- a diabolical wolf whose been curse into a Wuz-wolf- “part wolf and all man!” It’s a neat twist for a world made up of animals.

  The gang at DC have done it again making yet another connection to the funny animal books of the 1940s- as both the wolf and Pig Iron in his depowered form of Peter Porkchops were both featured in numerous DC issues right around the time of the second World War. It’s extremely clever and I believe the right direction for this title to go in. The secondary story featuring Fastback and his domestic troubles in finding employment were quite good. I just couldn’t believe some of the puns in that story were actually of X-rated films. I guess comics about funny animals just aren’t for kids after all!

Worth Consuming.
Rating 9 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life #4

A Fairy Tale Life comes to a close with the Doctor learning the answers to the following mysteries:

A) Where have all the tourists go?

B) Why doesn’t anyone know that the dragons, horses, fairies, etc are really robots?

and C) Why has the planet’s medical contamination unit targeted anyone who gets sick and injured, like Amy, for death?

As I write these questions, I realize a huge plot hole. If the entire planet is automated and the humans actually human, how do they eat? I would assume that if the horses and ducks are robots, wouldn’t the cattle, pigs, and other animals be animatronic as well?

The story was pretty good. The art got better though I feel bad that artist Cary Yates got replaced in issues 3 and 4. Hopefully, it wasn’t for poor artwork, though I did say in issue 1, his likenesses of the Doctor and Amy were not perfect. (They did get better by issue 2.)

Fables’ Mark Buckingham had some great covers and the alternate covers having Amy and the Doctor acting out classic fairy tales was really cool.

I enjoyed this miniseries. It had its flaws, but like a Queen song, the worst Doctor Who tale is better than no Doctor Who tale. And this 4 issue story wasn’t that bad.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.