Underdog #1: 2017 Free Comic Book Day Edition (Family Comic Friday)

  For today's Family Comic Friday, I'm reviewing a book (and previewing a series) that will appeal to readers young and old. Kids, parents, and grandparents will enjoy reading it together or separately as it's a comic that brings back a classic cartoon favorite- Underdog!

 
      From this year's Free Comic Book Day, this comic, now a monthly series published by American Mythology, promises all-new tales. Like last year's Pink Panther comic, this issue also includes a classic Underdog tale from 1972! But let's look at the new story first.
      The all-new tale involves a criminal named Phoney Bologna. This baddie replaces the real McCoy with cardboard replicas. Nothing in Underdog's city is safe. Not diamonds. Not banks. Not even phone booths! How can our hero in his civilian guise as a shoe shine boy become Underdog if he can't find a phone booth in which to change in?
      Then in the classic reprint story, a super-villain with the powers of a mighty hurricane is wrecking havoc on Underdog's fair city. The lovely reporter Sweet Polly Purebreed is on the case, hoping for the scoop of a life time and ends up in the fiend's clutches! Can Underdog save his lady love before it's too late?

        I remember watching Underdog cartoons in rerun syndication with my mom as a child. It was a funny show that spoofed superheroes- particularly Superman. I never could figure out which I liked better- Underdog or Mighty Mouse? Doesn't really matter as they are both classics in their own right. 
         American Mythology is doing a fantastic job bringing back classic cartoons and TV shows back to the new generation of readers. I'm really looking forward to the return of Rocky & Bullwinkle in comic form later this summer. Yet the question remains, is Underdog really relatable these days, especially when the live-action version from a few years back bombed so miserably?
       The live-action film didn't really follow the spirit of the cartoon very well. Several things Underdog, the comic book, has going for it is that it's all-ages, about superheroes, and the characters are rendered in their classic styles. So adults will at least know the character.
       This comic is completely 100% family friendly. Parents and guardians will love that. Plus, the first issue of the regular series dropped just a couple of weeks ago, so your favorite comic book shops should still have copies in stock. If they don't; just ask! Many comic book stores will be happy to add issue #2 to their orders for June/ July.
  
     Worth Consuming!

     Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.