Marvel Comics Presents #92

Since Marvel Comics Presents has transitioned from a 2-sided full cover to a flip cover, I'm going to select my favorite of the 2 images to represent the MCP issue I am reviewing. I was getting bored of seeing Wolverine's face all the time. And like I've been saying, some of these Sam Keith covers are horrid. 

The Beast story comes to an end. It was sad. 

The one-and-done story features Northstar from the Canadian super group, Alpha Flight. The story delves into the mutant's past history as an Olympic skier as in the present day, an international terrorist threatens to blow-up a ski tournament. My guess is that the terrorist is going to cause an avalanche with the bomb he's got. Because otherwise, I just can't fathom a bomb doing too much damage in such an open area. 

Oh, and the Wolverine story comes to an end. Seeing as this is the issue in which Wolverine mans up and beats the living snot out of Cyber, who up until this time had been giving Logan fits, I hated the ending. 

Sorry. I'm just getting bored with the same old Wolverine story for each issue. MCP at this point has lost its anthology essence and I'm not overly happy with the results.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars. 

Fun with Little Archie & Friends Special (Family Comic Friday)

When I was a kid having to go to the dentist, they'd offer as a prize a free comic book. Knowing that quantity over quality mattered, I always went for the over-sized Archie digests whenever they were available over a 32-page floppie. While I enjoyed the adventures of teenaged Archie and his pals, whenever you got a story from the gangs days as kids, it was a rare treat. So when it was announced that Archie Comics would be issuing an all-new one-shot from the childhood days of Little Archie, I was beyond thrilled!

The special starts out with Sabrina, the Little Witch having to pet-sit her class goat, Arthur. Just like Sabrina's cat Salem, Arthur can do magic. When Arthur gets loose from Sabrina, he causes some magical mayhem with Sabrina's friends. 

The Fun with Little Archie & Friends Special takes pint-sized Archie, Juggie and the rest on an adventure of a lifetime. And with the fun comes a slew of Archie Comics talent including J. Torres (Teen Titans Go!), Shannon Watters (Lumberjanes), Erin Hunting (The Toothfairy Vs. Santa) and others. Each story not only has a different thematic feel but it's own art style too! Each story was lots of fun. Though I felt that the segues between stories were a little bit clunky. I also wasn't a huge fan of the third story. I think it just wasn't as strong a segment.  

According to one-shot editor Jamie L. Retonte, this issue was designed not just for established Little Archie fans like myself but for newcomers as well. Young and old! Plus, with the assortment of previews coming from Archie Comics, 2022 looks like it's going to be a fantastic year from the publisher! I can't wait!

This is a special that a whole family of Archie fans will love!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #91

The main highlight of this series is a team-up between Daredevil and the Impossible Man! It's an 8-page single issue romp. But 8 pages is enough for once. 

The Impossible Man has been either forbidden from or gotten bored with his interactions with the Fantastic Four. That's not really made clear. In search of a new superhero to pal around, Impossible Man pals around Daredevil. Yes, he helps Daredevil fend off an assault from his old enemy, Kingpin. But since Daredevil is blind, he can't be impressed by Impossible Man's shape-shifting talents, it's back to the FF for the lone survivor of Poppup! Lucky them!

As for the other 3 stories, there's nothing really memorable. In the Wolverine story, Tyger Tiger enters negotiations with a rival crime lord. It's about as interesting as the trade embargo segments from that Republic Senate scene in The Phantom Menace. More of Hank McCoy's past is revealed. We know that Professor X erased the memory of an old girlfriend of The Beast's. We still don't find out the how and why. Then in the Ghost Rider/Cable story, the pair of unlikely allies join forces to save a young girl from a cult of undead killers. Mostly just action and adventure. But nothing really in terms of why this cult wants the girl yet.

An insane tale mixed into the middle of 3 stories that basically put the major players into place for what will hopefully be an action packed issue #92.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #90

Issue #90 of Marvel Comics Presents sees the series go from a single feature to a double! Now appearing in every issue with Wolverine will be the Danny Ketch Ghost Rider. 

In the first story, Ghost Rider teams with Cable in a story that involves a group of undead assassins. Called the Grateful Undead (cute name), these necromantic hit men are on the trail of a young girl. Both Ghost Rider and Cable witness the assault from different angles and in true Marvel fashion, assume that the other is part of these fiends. Thus an epic battle ensues before each other realizes their error and decides to join forces to rescue the lady.

Clearly, this decision to make Ghost Rider another featured player in this series was based on the time period. The early 90s was all about gritty and grim. Other than Wolverine and The Punisher, Ghost Rider was about as gritty and grim as Marvel could get what with demons and serial killers and all the S&M level whips, leather and chains. 

Unfortunately, I feel that with now filling 2 of the 4 segments with permanent featured characters, the essence of MCP has been sorely diminished. This was supposed to be an anthology series highlighting a rotating cast of characters, writers and art teams. Now this series has 2 full-time characters and a regular cover artist, Sam Keith, who is just gonna focus on Wolverine and Ghost Rider on the flip-side cover. I'm disappointed to say the least.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

Aquaman #63 (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Dan Jurgens (Superman) begins a sweeping epic that chronicles the fall of Atlantis.

Things have come to a head with the island nation of Cerdia. Defying international law, the tiny country has waged an economic cold war with Atlantis that suddenly becomes hot. With his requests for aid rejected by the United Nations, Aquaman takes to the late night talk show scene in order to appeal to the public.

The TV appearance is set up to be a farce. But during a segment in which King Arthur is asked to talk to the host's aquarium fish reveals that a bomb is underneath the stage, things turn deadly serious.

Meanwhile, the underwater kingdom of Atlantis is in chaos. Dolphin, the bride of former Teen Titan Tempest, has gone into labor as an unknown force of aquatic behemoths made of living coral begins an attack on the kingdom. Alerted to the onslaught Aquaman and his contingent race back to Atlantis just in time to see Atlantis' volatile power core explode in a detonation of unspeakable destruction.

Unspeakable because that's where the story stops with a promise of more to come in next month's issue.

This issue was a thrill ride from the very beginning. The cover was penciled by the fantastic Michael William Kaluta (The Shadow). It shows Aquaman swimming among his deep sea friends as Atlantis gleams in all its glory behind him. In the immediate background, a pair of angelic mermaids bestow a majestic-looking Arthur Curry with a crown.

The interior art was penciled by Steve Epting (Captain America) with Norm Rapmund (The Flash) on inks. While on the surface, both Aquaman and Tempest are dressed in their royal finest; a simple black jumpsuit with splashes of color adornments made of shell, sponges and nets. The battle scenes are explosive, literally. And that opening scene of Aquaman atop his trusty seahorse, Storm surrounded by friends and foe alike symbolizing the glory days of Atlantis was awe inspiring.

The only downside to this issue is that I don't have the rest of the story. Looking at a DC database, this issue was the opening chapter of the final tale that would close out the 1992-2001 series run. But a quick search in Google shopping shows that most issues that round things out can be purchased for $4 or less. For $150 plus shipping, you can bid on some of the original artwork on this issue and issue #65. I don't think I wanna go that route. 

A fantastic voyage to the depths of the Atlantic ocean begins in this issue. Hopefully someday in the near future, I'll have the rest of the run in order to find out what happens next!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Completing this review completes Task #23 (Involving Water) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Marvel Comics Presents #89

We've got extensions of the Wolverine/Cyber story and The Beast's European adventure. But the stories that stick out in my mind the most are the pair of one-and-dones.

First up is the British World War II superhero Spitfire. She looks a whole heck of a lot like Firestar. Except for the blonde hair. Being as she made her first appearances in the pages of The Invaders in the late 70s, that's probably why for a very long time I thought Firestar was a mainstay in the Marvel Universe for as long as I did and not just a creation for the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon series.

Next up is a very fun yarn with Mojo! In need of ratings, Mojo and his production crew try to film the Mojoworld's next best thing. 8 pages was just not enough for this story. But I enjoyed every minute of this parody of home videos and the entertainment industry.

This issue was a jump back in the right direction. All 4 segments were enjoyable. But it was the 8-pager single stories that were the real winners.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #88

I did a review of an issue of MCP a couple of days ago. In it, I lamented the choice to make Sam Keith the permanent cover illustrator of this anthology series. I mean if going to highlight different characters, writers and artists, you need to be eclectic. It's bad enough that Wolverine is the cover star of every issue. But now we have every issue starring the same character by the same artist. 

And while I am a fan of Sam Keith, I looked ahead and noticed that some of his covers are terrible. Here's an example of what I was talking about.

Off the the right, Tyger Tiger looks alluring. But in the back center of the cover, we've got story antagonist Cyber looking like a hobo clown. He's all blocky looking. It's like he's wearing a costume of The Thing in a dirty overcoat. And that hat! It's supposed to be a crumpled fedora. But fedora brims don't stretch out like that. I should know. I wear a distressed version of Indiana Jones' classic hat from The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull daily whenever I'm out and about. 

Going back to the cover. to the cover. Then we've got this ghostly half face of Wolverine. I think it's supposed to reflect the internal struggle Wolverine is having thanks to being poisoned by Cyber. But look at the face flap! If Wolverine was a real person having to wear that mask in the real world, that stylized face wing would be like a foot taller than he was. 

It kinda reminds me of the bat-ears Kelley Jones always draws on Batman's cowl. I hate them because I've never understood why the Dark Knight would have such gaudy tall points on his head. And like those renderings, it all looks just ridiculous.

The only thing else of note I want to talk about this issue is one of the 8-page single stories. The last story of this issue stars a character named Volcana. The thing about Volcana that is unusual for its time is that she's a plus-sized superhero character. Yes, she gets teased about it mercilessly from the villain in the story. But in an age where female heroes had Cindy Crawford physiques and showed a lot of skin in outfits that even Victoria's Secrets would say was in poor taste, to have an overweight superhero like this was rare. 

Now, was Volcana really all that overweight? No, not really. As you can see from the image above, she probably was about 30 pounds overweight; which for early 1990s standards was the equivalent of seeing a 1000lb person today. The character actually looks kind of sultry and in today's world, she'd be praised for being a body-positive influence. 

A mixed bag of Marvel Comics. Surely, not as high a quality of the last two issues. But I enjoyed it despite the warts and cellulite. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #87

Wolverine continues to be ultra-freaked out by the blast from his past, Cyber. I love it!

The Firestar story comes to an explosive end. I enjoyed it!

The Beast story is getting really good. The Daredevil anti-hero, Constrictor and the Fantastic Four villain, The Red Ghost and his trio of super-apes, are added players to this tale of espionage and heart-rending romance. 

Finally, there's a single issue story starring The Shroud. His appearances in Spider-Woman or She-Hulk or maybe both, I didn't like them. I think I felt that he was a poorly crafted clone of Daredevil; what with him being a blind superhero. But this character's appearances in MCP have really impressed me. And again, this story that delves more into The Shroud's origin and explains more of his plan to act like a gang leader but really be a front for being a crime fighter made me a little more interested in the character.

And don't think that The Shroud is a poorly crafted clone of Green Hornet. As his gang has some heavy hitters like the Werewolf by Night and the West Coast Avenger, Mockingbird, Green Hornet isn't even in the league of the Shroud.

Another perfect issue. Two in a row. I'm getting a little spoiled.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Four-Fisted Tales

I'm a real big fan of the classic EC Comics from the 1950s. The long-defunct publisher was known for its horror and crime titles. Yes, one series that really stole my heart was Two-Fisted Tales. The creation of the great Harvey Kurtzman, the series showed the guts and no glory side of combat with a message of 'War is Hell'. Equally legendary artists Jack Davis, John Severin, Wally Wood, Alex Toth and DC's King of War Comics, Joe Kubert contributed to the series which lasted 24 issues. Though that might be a small run compared to G.I. Combat or Sgt. Rock, the legacy of Two-Fisted Tales has endured for decades.

So imagine my excitement last year when I read about this really cool graphic novel from Ben Towle (Amelia Earhart: The Broad Ocean.) Even though Four-Fisted Tales isn't related to those beloved EC Comics, the influence is clearly there. The cover, which shows an array of animals trudging behind a soldier reminds me of the Severin covers when the series shifted focus more on swashbuckling tales of action and adventure. There's that signature colored bar the runs vertically on the left-hand side. And the title with the hyphenated words larger than life. Believe me, when I saw this book being advertised in the trades, I thought I had been transported back to a newsstand in 1953!

Four-Fisted Tales explores the impact animals of various species and sizes have made on warfare- both ancient and modern. There's Hannibal's use of elephants to transverse the Alps. The long-standing tradition of cats being made crew members on naval ships. The importance of carrier pigeons on the western front of World War I to coordinate attacks, retreats and rescues. Towle's collection also features loyal dogs, the game-changing horse, even a bear as important tools in assisting in the war effort. Though not every animal is on the side of the good guys, their importance and assistance in never in doubt. 

There's even a little bit of that Harvey Kurtzman anti-war message in this book. Which if keeping with the spirit of the original series, I completely understand. But it also makes for the epilogue to have this fun and educational graphic novel to end on a low note. I acknowledge; war isn't pretty. But with some of the more light-hearted and heart-warming stories that fill this book, I didn't expect it to end on such a bummer.

I'm hoping there will be a volume 2. I feel like there are so many more stories out there to be told of how the animal kingdom has been used to expand and conquer the kingdoms of human history. 

Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures, Vol. 2 (Family Comic Friday)

My local comic shop will sometimes order things for me based on previous orders. I don't really have the heart to say no, unless they order something I already have. But today's review is one of those recommendations that hit a bullseye.

Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures is the all-ages version of Marvel's more mature comics series. I haven't been reading any of this, mostly because my Star Wars era is Classic Trilogy. (The first is the best!) The premise is that centuries before the rise of the Skywalkers, the Republic is at its zenith. The Jedi are highly revered and Yoda is old, but not that old. 

The safety of the galaxy is threatened by two fronts. A carnivorous species of plants called the Drengir is viewing the inhabited planets of the Republic as their own personal smorgasbord. Meanwhile, a group of space pirates called the Nihil see the Great Expansion of the Galactic Republic as a threat to their territories and way of life. Using a specialized type of hyperspace that can bend the rules of physics, the Nihil can attack anywhere at anytime without warning and without remorse. 

The first collection of stories introduced all of the major players to this story. As I've come in somewhere in the middle, I was a little bit lost. Thankfully, the writers do a fairly good job keeping the readers on top of things. And whatever questions that still remain a quick jaunt to Wookieepedia provides me those answers I seek.

Besides Yoda, there aren't very many characters from any of the movie trilogies. And for now, Yoda is M.I.A. Yet without these familiar faces, this series is very much Star Wars. There's swashbuckling adventures, crossroad level life-changing choices and Jedi. Lots and lots of Jedi. The good thing about these stories is that despite not having those icons of Star Wars that are beloved, there is a theme and feeling that young readers will love. 

My first toe dip into the Era of the High Republic. And I had a blast. My heart still belongs on Hoth, Bespin and a certain princess. But I enjoyed this collection enough to want to both get my hands on volume 1 and find out what happens next! I think the young reader Star Wars fan in your life is gonna feel the same.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #86

The newest tale that dives into the long and mysterious past of Wolverine continues to impress me. Cyber is a villain that terrifies Logan to his core. I love it!

This entire issue really impresses me, actually. 

The Firestar story really heats up as Angelica Jones plans an assault on the government facility that has captured her father. At the risk of her personal freedom at the hands of both the US government and Emma Frost's Hellfire Club. I'm loving the anti-hero dynamics of Freedom Force- the mutant version of Suicide Squad led by Mystique. I'm lamenting that this team never saw their own personal series or mini.

Hank McCoy becomes embroiled in an international incident during some sort of genetic symposium. We start to see parts of his past along with a developing subplot that will see The Beast becoming an ersatz secret agent. I'm excited about the prospects.

Lastly is another story starring the bounty hunter, Paladin. He takes an assignment to protect the owner of a minor league baseball whose life is threatened. But the assailant has a bomb and so Paladin must save the entire stadium. That is if his client ups his handling fee...

A flawless issue of MCP. A rarity in this series for sure.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars. 

Marvel Comics Presents #85

A new Wolverine story begins in this issue. Big surprise there. Actually, I have mixed feelings about this. And the negative I have isn't really about Wolverine. It's about the cover artist.

For roughly 85 issues, there was a different cover artist. That all changes here as Sam Keith becomes the permanent cover artist. I am a fan of Keith due to his creation The Maxx. Both the comic book and the animated series that appeared as part of the MTV series Oddities. (I'll admit; before researching just a few moments ago, I thought The Maxx was on Liquid Television. Oops!) Anyways. So I like Sam Keith. But I am not digging his take on Wolverine. 

Okay. Let me retract slightly. This cover and the next couple are decent. But as I've been looking ahead on what's to come, there are some real stinkers. I'll be pointing them out as we come to them.

Now what I am liking about this new Wolverine tale is the story itself. Wolverine is back in Madripoor. That's a plus for me. He's in a relationship with Tyger Tiger. Another plus. And penciler Sam Keith is making her look really alluring. Another plus. But the thing that I am liking about this story is the antagonist, a mutant called Cyber.

This is Cyber's first ever appearance. But in the story, he's got a history with Wolverine. Right now, it's not revealed. But apparently, just the mention of his name is enough to make Wolverine put his tail between his legs and fall into a cold sweat.

Finally, after years of being this little wise-ass who can't be beat, there's someone who makes Wolverine feel like a defenseless child. Yes. I know we just sat through 12 chapters+ of a Weapon X story that saw Logan suffer terrible torture under the guise of laboratory experiments. But deep down, Logan was still fighting his oppressors, even if most of it was subconscious. Here, Wolverine is rattled deep to his core. And I love it!

Meanwhile, the Firestar story continues with nothing really new happening. A new multi-parter starring X-Man, the Beast, attending a symposium in Europe and facing a deep, dark secret from his past. Finally, Scott Lobdell and Ron Wilson craft a fun Speedball story. Once again, my interest in the New Mutant character is whetted by the talent of MCP. I may have to find some back issues or a trade because I am really enjoying these stories.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Desperadoes: Epidemic!

Back before the pandemic shut everything down, I used to go to a few $1-only used bookstores. I'd work for a 2-4 hour shift, earn some trade credit and come home with a slew of books. That's where I got this DC/Wildstorm graphic novel. If I could get a comic book or graphic novel or trade for just a few minutes worth of organizing and shelving, I was all for it.

The pandemic is also why I held off on reading this book. Now I know that the pandemic isn't over. But in the midst of COVID being at its peak, I just didn't feel like reading a book called 'Epidemic.' 

The book takes place during the time of the Old West. A quartet of fugitives on the run for a crime they didn't commit, wind up in a quiet New Mexico town. Winter storms are blowing through making it to where these desperadoes can't quite see the warning signs to stay away. 

See, this town is in the midst of an influenza epidemic. Now under quarantine, the main characters of this book will have to make due until warmer weather comes and hopefully this outbreak will subside. One decides to help the local doc. Another decides to help rebuild the town church. The rest decide to help by hunting and gathering. Only, underneath all this death and attempts at normalcy, there's something sinister afoot. Something ancient. Something evil. And it's about to reawaken...

I was rather disappointed at this horror western. I enjoyed the western aspects of this Jeff Mariotte (Zombie Cop) and John Cassaday (Planetary) creation. I Was sorely put-off by the sinister horror sections towards the end of it. 

Some of this is my fault, based on the green thing on the cover, I was expecting the antagonists to be aliens. Not some kind of occult evil. See, demons and devils aren't really my thing. I like horror when it's monsters or madmen. But the supernatural isn't really my bag. 

I realize that I read Doctor Strange and Hellboy. I enjoy the 70s horror anthologies of DC and Marvel. But when you start getting into an area like Amityville Horror or The Exocist with demonic possession or deals with the devil, I just don't like that stuff. And that's what Desperadoes: Epidemic! morphs into. You start with a Doctor Quinn: Medicine Woman type adventures and wind up with Linda Blair and pea soup.

I think had I known that this story was not about little green men but big lime-colored demons, I probably would have passed. 

Cowboys Vs. Aliens this is not!

Not Worth Consuming!

Rsating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #84

The Weapon X origin story comes to an end with this issue. I just don't understand why this story is so beloved. It's got to be just the association with Wolverine. He remains to this day a popular character.

Don't get me wrong. The story is one of those guilty pleasure type things because of the level of death and destruction. But all that gore takes place in a VR simulation. I can't quite put on how this story got approved by the Comics Code Authority. It had to be the use of a simulation to get this thing by the censors.

There's only 1 other segment in this issue. Part 3 of the Firestar story has the mutant risking her personal freedom to safe her father. On one side is the White Queen, Emma Frost. On the other, Freedom Force. One looks to enslave Firestar as part of their evil cadre. The other is under orders from the American government to bring the teen hero in by any means necessary.

3 chapters of the Weapon X story. 1 chapter about Firestar. I'm glad that MCP doesn't deviate too often from the 4 8-page segment formula. It just doesn't work when Marvel strays from this and this issue is proof of that.

Sorry, Barry Windsor-Smith. I'm just not a fan.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #83

Fire seems to be the theme in this issue. 

First off, you've got the cover in which the Weapon X project attempts to destroy Weapon X with a napalm-like chemical. Jump to chapter 11 of the Weapon X origin story and it appears that Logan's ashes can regenerate just as well as a bloodied corpse could.

Then chapter 2 of the Firestar story continues with Angelica Jones risking her personal freedom to save the life of her dad.

There's an 8-pager starring Johnny Storm. His opponent is an all new character called Moth who has the ability to absorb flame. Let's just say that the story was explosive with a somewhat sad ending...

Only the one-and-done starring Hawkeye is the only story in this issue that appears to be fireproof. So, yeah with 3 out of 4 stories utilizing fire, I would have to say that this is indeed a fire themed issue of Marvel Comics Presents and the results for this whole issue was en fuego!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Strange #1 (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In the December 1969 issue of Doctor Strange (#183), Stephen Strange swore off the dark arts and went back to practicing medicine as a consultant. It seemed that after years of battling Dormammu, Nightmare and Baron Mordo, the one thing Doctor Strange didn't have a defense spell for was low sales cancellation. 

Then in 1971, Strange once again donned his magic cloak and the Eye of Agamotto to save the world as the Defenders in the pages of Marvel Feature #1-3. Soon, the Defenders got their own title and popularity in the team plus more relaxed rules about the supernatural in comics approved by the Comics Code Authority led Marvel to test out Doctor Strange as a solo character once again.

After a 2-issue run starring Adam Warlock, Doctor Strange took over as the feature character of the tryout series Marvel Premiere. Spanning issues #3-14, Doctor Strange took on the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme with the death of the Ancient One. He then battled a vampire-like serpent cult and took on an apprentice in the form of his lover, Clea. Apparently, the changes were good enough for the fans and the House of Ideas as Marvel issued a new Doctor Strange series with a cover release date of June 1974.

The first story in the second volume of Doctor Strange sees Clea improving in her magical prowess. To lighten Strange's pensive mood, Clea produces a bunny from a hat. This prompts Strange to declare it time for bed and has faithful manservant Wong assist him with preparing for sleep. 

As this happens, a sinister figure lurks outside and using magic, causes Clea's rabbit to become gigantic. In a panic, the rabbit escapes by crashing out of one of the windows in the Sanctum Sanctorum. Since these are non-defensive actions, the defrocked Catholic cardinal turned self-proclaimed God's personal weapon against evil, Silver Dagger is able to penetrate Strange's home. Silver Dagger mortally wounds Strange, steals the Eye of Agamotto and kidnaps Clea before magically disappearing. 

Near death, Stephen calls upon the Orb of Agamotto. But due to its necromantic powers, the Sorceror Supreme is thrust into a bizarre pocket universe that is governed by anything but the laws of reason! Oh, and there's a talking caterpillar a'la Alice in Wonderland too.

Compared to the stories in Marvel Premiere, this opening salvo into the second Doctor Strange series was top notch. The stories in Marvel Premiere felt a lot like a kid who gets new responsibilities for the very first time and goes nuts. With the rules lessened on elements of the supernatural in comics, those stories seemed ready to push the envelope into elements of evil not seen in sequential art since just before the Comics Scare of the 1950s. Now in Doctor Strange #1, it feels like the CCA saw what Marvel was trying to do and started to impose some new parameters.

With the new guidelines set, the quality of the work actually improves in my opinion. Steve Englehart (The Avengers) continuing from Marvel Premiere, had the head writing duties and he crafts a tale that is very Doctor Strange but also very Steve Englehart. There's a very tongue-in-cheek manner to this story, what with a former priest learning the dark arts to defeat agents of Satan and Clea's pulling the literal rabbit out of a hat trick at the story's beginning. 

Assisting with the story and on pencils was Frank Brunner. Already a master of horror comics from mags like Vampirella and Creepy, Brunner's style was Gothic meets animation; which is ironic as Brunner later went to work in Hollywood for companies like Disney and Hanna-Barbera. Brunner also has the distinction of being one of the few artists of my youth who used thin lines instead of thick in his artwork and that I liked!

I read Doctor Strange #1 as part of my continued reading through the Marvel Essential collections of Doctor Strange tales. So far, I am liking what I am reading and I look for the remaining 2 dozen or so issues remaining. If Englehart and Brunner continue on as they have in just the first issue, this Essentials volume is going to be explosive!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #26 (With A Magical Element) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Happy Easter, 2022!

 

High Rollers

Who can forget the action drama High Rollers? The 2008 blockbuster was filled with A List in roles you never imagined some of your favorites ever playing.

Jamie Foxx played CQ, a captain in one of L.A.'s deadliest gangs.

Will Smith starred as Trey Loc, the coke-addled leader of a South Central drug empire.

Thandie Newton portrayed Rita, a desperate woman willing to make a deal with the devil to save her family.

Ben Stiller as Machete, a smarmy bookie with a knack for the ponies.

Wait a minute? You've never heard of this film? Oh, that's right. That's because High Rollers was a 2008 graphic novel from Boom Studios. But I didn't lie about the amazing cast that fills these pages. Artist Sergio Carrera (Green Lantern) illustrates a slew of amazing talent as the players in this story that has no heroes; only devils and fallen angels. Carrera also casts Matthew Modine, Jason Stratham and Outkast's Andre3000 in important roles in this story. There might be other celebs in here that I just don't recognize. But thanks to the likenesses I did recognize, High Rollers feels like watching a movie from an alternate earth.

High Rollers is written by crime novelist Gary Phillips (Perdition, U.S.A.). With titles like Peepland and Vigilante: Southland under his belt, this is not the author's first and only foray into comics and graphic novels. However, I liked his overall story a lot better than the prose chapter that introduces all the major players at the beginning of this book. I am also glad I didn't give up on High Rollers because of that opening segment.

The prose part of High Rollers is filled with dime paperback cliches. The dialogue reads like a stereotype of blacks and South Central gangs. Not the kind of stuff I'd expect from an award winning author. Phillips in an interview with Greg Rucka (Whiteout), found at the back of this book, mentions that editor Mark Waid (Daredevil) made some notes on story improvement that Phillips wasn't a big fan of. But he did agree on some 'compromises.' With such a large cast and how the story begins in the middle of CQ's latest assignment from his boss, perhaps some story setup was needed. However, the quality of those pages didn't meet the superiority of the majority of this book.

This story is presented in 4 chapters. Chapters 1-3 of High Rollers is action-packed as CQ rises in the ranks as head of the gang. The first half of chapter 4 continues at that pace. But the way everything feels rushed to the conclusion, I wasn't satisfied with the ending. I like more definite endings. High Rollers concludes with the promise of more to come. Yet, it's 14 years later and there doesn't seem to be a sequel out there. 

I also know that we aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover. But when the cover includes items that you cannot find anywhere in the book, that annoys me. The outline of the stripper is okay as even though there are no scenes occurring in a strip club, it is mentioned a couple of times that some characters enjoy the company of them as lovers. However, there are playing cards on the front and a roulette wheel on the back cover and that's not the kind of gambling that occurs in High Rollers. Machete is a bookie to whom Rita's husband is greatly in debt. I'm also assuming that the 'high' in the title is in regards to the drugs dealt by CQ's gang. 

High Rollers was originally released as a 4-issue miniseries. The prose prologue was added just to the graphic novel. So if I had read the floppies instead of the trade paper back, I might have a slightly different attitude towards the beginning of the story. That still leaves the ending, which in my mind is still unforgivable. 

Also, I read this as a trade. So while I understand that my attitude towards the cover and chosen title might also be varied, my feelings towards this format remains the same. It's like watching Blade Runner. You have differing attitudes to the director's cut version you view. Still, the interior artwork was an amazing star-studded affair that kept me reading. So did the improved storytelling. I would just recommend that you find the back issues instead of reading the trade if High Rollers is of interest to you!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Blancaflor: The Hero with Secret Powers: A Folktale from Latin America (Family Comic Friday)

Family Comic Friday has a book for those young ones who are fans of Encanto! Most stories starring a prince have a damsel in distress. This time it's the young lady to the rescue! From Latin American folklore, I am pleased to present to you Blancaflor!

Blancaflor is the daughter of an ogre. This ogre has plans for having a prince for dinner. But not as a guest. As the meal! 

The ogre's plan is to have the prince attempt 3 challenges. Challenges that are quite impossible to complete. For the past few months, the ogre blessed the prince with a good luck spell. Now that spell has worn off. The prince doesn't know this and still thinks he'll be lucky enough to beat the ogre in order to win a major prize! Looks like filet of prince will be on the menu!

Well it turns out that Blancflor is smitten with this prince. In order to not hurt his pride, she will secretly help the prince complete his three challenges. But the prince isn't gonna make this easy. He's a real dimwit!

This amazing graphic novel was written by Nadja Spiegelman. Nadja is the daughter of Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, both characters in and creators of Maus II! It was just happenstance that I am reading works from the entire Spiegelman family this week!

I was also digging the artwork. It's by acclaimed Spanish experimental cartoonist Sergio Garcia Sanchez. It's a lovely mix native Mexican and European influences throughout. His double-page spreads are lively and fluid. There's so much movement despite not being part of an animated feature. Blancaflor is a family affair for Sergio Garcia Sanchez. His wife Lola Moral colored this book. And in a extra feature in the back of the book, Sergio and Lola's children, who are both professional artists, contributed stylized versions of the Blancaflor cast of characters. 

This isn't my first experience with Nadja Spiegelman or Sergio Garcia Sanchez. They were the creative duo behind another Family Comic Friday classic, the labyrinthine Lost in NYC. This is also not my first experience with publisher Toon Graphics. They continue to kill it with their multicultural stories by some amazing and somewhat legendary talent. And from the list of other titles available from Toon Graphics, it looks like Family Comic Friday won't be out of an assortment of amazing titles for weeks to come.

Now if only my local library has these books.

I mentioned Encanto earlier. I know that this book has zero connection to that film. This is a Mexican fairy tale. Encanto is based on Colombian lore and history. But if the young reader in your life is a big fan of that film and you're looking for similar works that could piggyback on that interest, this is a great family fun read! It can help spread interest in Latino culture and it promotes reading from a female heroine perspective which is rare in American/European folk lore; but a mainstay in Latin American storytelling.

I can't recommend Blancaflor enough! It's a quick but satisfying whimsical read that doesn't follow the stand rules of prince and princess fairy tales! We might not be allowed to talk about Bruno. But Blancaflor is going to be forever on my lips as a suggestion for great family read!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #82

A multi-parter featuring Firestar (Angelica Jones) begins in this issue. I remember the heroine as the fire half of Peter Parker's Fire and Ice powered allies from NBC's Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. I knew that when the cartoon debuted in 1981, Firestar was created specially for the show. Apparently Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, wasn't available due to licensing rights. Plus, NBC wanted to add a female hero to appeal to girl viewers. What I did not know was that Firestar ever debuted in comics later on.

The character's comic book debut was in a 1985 issue of The Uncanny X-Men. Later on, Firestar got the miniseries treatment. But this issue was my first print encounter with a character I've known since I was in Pre-K. And to experience this was so cool!

In this opening chapter, Angelica Jones is laying low as her father is terrified for her safety. He's convinced that should the US government uncover her whereabouts, Angelica will be submitted to harsh medical testing as Firestar is a mutant! 

Honestly, I didn't know this! I just figured Firestar was bitten by a radioactive bonfire. Okay. Not really. But you could have knocked me over with a feather when it was revealed that this character has the X gene.

Also appearing in this story is the Freedom Force. The Marvel Comics version of the Suicide Squad; this is a clandestine team of mutants lead by Mystique with the promise of pardon upon successful completion of their government sponsored missions. 

It appears that Papa Jones was right. Angelica uses her powers against dad's wishes and this sends Freedom Force after her. But also on Firestar's trail is the White Queen, Emma Frost, who wishes to turn Firestar into a disciple of evil. If only she had listened to daddy...

A good chapter with a great reminder from my youth. The Weapon X story continues to be gory. But I also know that it's all part of a VR simulation. Iron Man and Luke Cage also appear in this book. I read these stories a while back- I'm catching up on a lot of reviews- and I just can't recall either. So, if you balance things out, this just isn't a great overall issue despite a very solid opening chapter starring Firestar and some dastardly mutants.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Though Art Spiegelman's Maus and Maus II are several decades old, both graphic novel accounts of the artist's parents Holocaust ordeal have reentered public consciousness recently. In the past several months, several state and local school districts have waged war on allowing the award winning books on library shelves.

I had read Maus many years ago. I got all the way through Vladek and Anja Spiegelman's attempts to flee the encroaching Nazi forces into Poland and Eastern Europe. Their story ended with the pair taking some bad advice about where to escape from the Germans and ended up as their captives. 

For one reason or another, I didn't read Volume 2 for another 7 years. At first I was misinformed. A so-called comic and graphic novel expert told me that the edition I read was a combination of both books. I thought it odd that we never learned about the final fate of the Spiegelmans, but I went with the advice. By the time I figured out that whomever told me what they did about the complete Maus didn't know what they were talking about, the pandemic hit and more comfort food type reads took my priority. Thankfully this reading challenge and recent current events sparked renewed interest in completing the story.  

I both love and loath this book. I hate the accounts of Nazi atrocities, rampant carnage and needless death. But I love this record of endurance, redemption and forgiveness. This book hits very hard for me. My wife is a Polish Jew. Her family too is from Lodz. Her immediate family immigrated around the turn of the century. But knowing that her family lost contact with numerous branches of her family treat after World War II and just visualizing her or her relatives having to face this- it just killed me.

In 2017, I went with my wife's family to the National Holocaust Museum in Washington. It was a soberly powerful experience. They say that smell is the biggest trigger of memory and I am a super recognizer. I'm great with faces and I can recall smells from memory with incredible detail. So when I read the account of Videk spending countless days on end in a train car with other Auschwitz prisoners left to die, my brain went back to the train car at the museum. There was the odd smell of meat that could have been appealing if not for my knowledge of what happened in that vehicle. And last night, recalling all that, I just lost it for a little bit. 

In book one, Art Spiegelman's exploration of his parent's time during the Holocaust helped him to process his mother's suicide. In this volume, Spiegelman comes face-to-face with his surviving father. Vladek's abusive nature toward his second wife, his constant need have his son under his thumb and obsessive hoarding of materials and food are all brought about from the trauma of life in a concentration camp. Being as I use my exploration of pop culture and history to journal through my personal foibles, I can understand why Spiegelman completed these accounts, no matter how terrible those family histories were. Writing is therapeutic. 

For this part of my reading challenge, I chose this book because I needed to read something that was on the New York Times Graphic Novels bestsellers list. As of April 13th, Maus is currently at #2. This book is #13. I wonder if Art Speigelman had any idea when this edition was published in 1991 that 31 years later, we would not only still be reading these books, but fighting for the right to carry them in both public school and community libraries. I don't think he expected there to be such a ruckus over these graphic novels. According to a scene in this book, people called for the original Maus to be banned as early as 1979-80. But unfortunately, the controversy behind the right for this work to be published, let alone read, continues to this day as well.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #6 (Currently on NY Times Best Sellers List) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The Cartoon Guide to Physics (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

This 1990 illustrated guide to physics is broken into 2 parts: mechanics and electricity AND magnetism. The first segment can be summoned up by Isaac Newton's 3 law of motion.

1. A body at rest persists in its state of rest, and a body in motion remains in constant motion along a straight line unless acted upon by an external force.

2. A body's acceleration is directly proportional to the force exerted on it and is in the same direction as the force.

3. To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

(from owlcation.com)

Add in gravity, a bunch of equations that supposedly proves the theories behind the science and some history, you've got section one in a nutshell.

Section #2 isn't quite so clear. There's a lot about magnets. A lot about how we get electricity thanks to particle charges. Add in the best explanation I have ever seen about Einstein's theory of relativity that didn't use the old adage about putting your hand on a hot stove for a minute vs. spending 30 minutes with a beautiful woman. Then throw everything out with the paradoxes of quantum mechanics and I might be able to explain how to change a light bulb while putting a magnet on the door of your fridge. 

UCLA physics and astronomy professor Larry Gonick teams with Discover Magazine's Art Huffman to teach the laws of the physical universe in The Cartoon Guide to Physics. The duo do their best to explain physics. It just whenever you add letters to numbers (or substitute them), my eyes glaze over. 

For a very long time, I thought I just couldn't understand math. Then in my senior year of high school, I was finally diagnosed with math dyslexic. Once I understood that, my love of science abounded to a point that I daily use physics, chemistry, biology and even math in my career as a professional chef and culinary teacher.

As part of the reading challenge, I was to read a book about science. Since I enjoy physics, especially time travel and how simple machines work, I gave this book a chance. 

There are 2 hosts for this book. The adventurous Ringo and his fellow astronaut, an unnamed hostess with the letter L on her belt. Ringo tends to get into trouble and gets easily confused. The hostess usually conducts her experiments with panache. Their visual aids make the confusion brought upon by the equations easier to understand many of the principles explored in this book. But I think an animated version would be a lot more helpful that using charts with arrows flowing this way and that. 

Of the books I have read for this challenge, this has taken me the longest. Some nights I could breeze through 2-3 chapters. On others, I could only make it through a single chapter before my brain just turned to mush. I learned a lot. But when it comes to the theoretical stuff, I think I am just too much of a realist (or maybe a literalist) to understand it all.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #48 (About Science) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Suicide Squad: The Silver Age Omnibus, Vol. 1

In anticipation for the 2016 Suicide Squad movie, DC Comics released a slew of material. This hardcover collection was one of them. But don't expect to see Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang or Amanda Waller in this book. In fact, don't expect any superheroes at all!

This Silver Age Omnibus is basically broken into 2 parts. The first section reprints the issues #25-27 and #37-39 of The Brave and The Bold prior to it becoming a Batman team-up series. The section part collects a handful of stories from the war anthology title Star-Spangled War Comics.

The Brave and the Bold stories are the ones that are perhaps the most connected to the modern Suicide Squad that most fans know and love. Also called Task Force X, this team is summoned to action when the military fails. The team is led by Rick Flag Jr. and is comprised of a field medic, a physicist and an astronomer; all who were the lone survivors of horrible tragedies. Promising that their colleagues deaths would not be in vain, the members of Task Force X are highly trained operatives who are willing to give it their all, including their lives as a Suicide Squad! 

If the second half of this book looks like it's a collection of stories from the War That Time Forgot, give yourself a cookie! Almost a dozen stories of World War II adventures atop Dinosaur Island star a group of Allied special forces operating in the Pacific known also as the Suicide Squad. But there is no apparent connection between this version of the team and the Brave and the Bold group other than the name. Oh, and that of both having the same creator. 

Robert Kanigher (E.C.'s Psychoanalysis) created both versions of the Suicide Squad. And both versions are of differing quality. The Task Force X stories utilize giant monsters (later reanimated dinosaurs), science, and insipid romance. Rick Flag and field medic Karin Grace are secretly in love with each other. But Flag refuses to acknowledge the affair because it might upset the other two Suicide Squad members who are also pining for Karin. So all this running around gets tiring pretty quick. But not as quick as the dialogue in the Dinosaur Island stories.

The first 2 stories involve characters that are all rather likable. I don't think Kanigher was a big fan of this because after that first couple of tales, the replacement characters become really unlikable. I mean to the point that you wouldn't mind if they all got eaten by dinos or killed by the Imperial Japanese. 

In these remaining tales, you have a pair of Suicide Squad members pitted together. One hates the other one (and vice-versa) to the point that they constantly threaten to kill each other should the other one turn chicken or turn their back on the other. And the dialogue gets repetitious. And do I mean repetitious. 

For example, in one story, a soldier accuses the other of chickening out a total of 4 times in the span of 3 pages! With the same phrase 'Are you chickening out on me?' Another story has a different solider taunting another to shoot him in the back 6 times in a span of 4 pages! I thought this was supposed to be the greatest generation!

I'm not making this kind of thing up! It's one of the biggest criticisms fans of the Golden and Silver Age of comics have about Robert Kanigher. That sort of one-note level of dialogue and his ability to piss off the artists he worked with!

I had read all of these Dinosaur Island stories before in the pages of Showcase Presents: The War That Time Forgot, Vol. 1. But I never noticed how monotonous the dialogue could be. Maybe that's because that volume had all of the Silver Age Dinosaur Island stories and not just the Suicide Squad ones. But I am amazed how much I overlooked this!

Lastly, what is up with the numbering of this book? It's listed as a Volume 1. What are they going to consider a Volume 2? There's nothing else involving the Suicide Squad to publish from the Silver Age! Everything else was Bronze Age or newer stuff. I'd be okay if this book was listed as an Omnibus with a Volume 1 because I understand that poor sales can kill a proposed reprint series. But it aggravates my OCD to no end when you improperly title something. 

Also- that's a great Easter Egg by cover artist master, Michael Cho. Unfortunately, the trade paperback cover doesn't have it!

Fun Fact: Showcase Presents: The War That Time Forgot is also listed as a Volume 1. However, there was still enough material from the 70s and 80s to publish a second. It'd be a small volume. But at least it was still possible aside from this book.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Metal Men

My first experiences with the Metal Men was reading about them as the backup feature of  issues of my dad's comic book collection. I remember my dad telling me that they were all humans that died and had to have their consciousness inserted into robots. (I've never found evidence of this. But for a few issues, the Metal Men wore human disguises to protect their identities. So maybe this is what my dad was thinking about.) 

Anyway, I really enjoyed the fantastic adventures of Dr. Magnus and his Metal Men: Gold, Platinum, Lead, Tin, Mercury and Iron. They fought a lot of science based villains and used their imputed knowledge of science, physics and chemistry to save the day. The Metal Men also had the ability to mold their shape and join as a kind of early version of the Transformers into large pieces of equipment or flying machines. Knowing even at a very young age that all metals except Mercury are pretty rigid and solid was the only fanciful downside to my complete enjoyment. What can I say? I was an early realist, much like Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Just not as annoying.

This hardcover collects the 2007-08 miniseries that continues Magnus and his Metal Men's story from DC's weekly series 52. Along with the addition of brand new team member Copper, the Metal Men are under the microscope thanks to Dr. Magnus' corrupted actions with the mad scientists on Oolong Island. (What do you expect when you almost cause a third World War?) 

In the present day, the Metal Men have been captured by Checkmate. They will remain under quarantine until the covert agency can determine if the Metal Men are threats to humanity thanks to a techno-virus that is corrupting anything with a microchip and a CPU. Meanwhile in the ancient past in the waning days of the Roman Empire, a nameless evil seeks revenge for the loss of a primitive version of the device that powers the Metal Men, as well as enables these solid titans to mover like a fluid. (Finally, I have an explanation for this!)

Anyways, the thief of this device has repercussions in the not too distant past during the early days of the creation of the Metal Men. Having bidden its time for centuries, the Nameless seeks a genius who can reconstruct the missing machine. People like Da Vinci, Edison and Einstein weren't brilliant enough to rebuild it. Only Dr. Will Magnus had the foresight to take the fiend's blueprints and make life out of nothing!

Written and illustrated by Duncan Rouleau (Ben10), this miniseries' storyline is taking place essentially during 3 points in time, at the same time. We also get glimpses of an apocalyptic future that may or may not be at the hands of the Metal Men. There's even some parts taking place out of time. This all makes for a very confusing storyline. Thankfully, I still had a vague recollection of what occurred in 52. I think without that I would have been a lot more lost than I was. 

With the time travel part aside, this was still a confusing book. Duncan Rouleau adds a lot of technobabble, science talk and chemistry into this story. Did he forget that this was supposed to be a work of science FICTION? I'm sorry. But anytime you add letters to numbers, my eyes glaze. When it came to these parts of the story, I glossed over as much as possible. 

The artwork was amazing. I've no complaints there. And the new character and the origin story of the Metal Men were great. I felt that there was finally a good explanation as to why the Metal Men can change shapes. Plus, to explain that the robots are also not 100% made of the metals of which they are named explains how Dr. Magnus could afford to build them. Unfortunately, this just wasn't enough to combat the mind-bending quantum physics and min-numbing science and math that overtakes the majority of this miniseries. 

I think you can blame story plotter, Grant Morrison for this. He tends to overreach with his ideas. I guess Duncan Rouleau wasn't able to reign that overactive imagination in too much with the final product. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #81

Weapon X's slaughter of his captors continues. But this time, I know that it's all an experiment done by a virtual reality simulator attached to his noggin! You can fool me twice, Marvel and Barry Windsor Smith! But not thrice!

The Wargod story starring Captain America was great. Too bad the twist was spoiled in the last issue. Also, too bad that they didn't mark that last issue with a 'To Be Continued.' I really thought this was a one-and-done story. (Okay- maybe I did get fooled thrice!)

The one-shot stories are amazing. The Scott Lang Ant-Man story proves just how good a character Scott Lang is! It got Lang pulled in 3 directions- struggling ex-con, single dad and super hero. Classic Marvel-type story. I loved it.

Then Daredevil takes on slum lords. When an elderly woman refuses to leave her tenement, the landlord hires some thugs to evict. The finale is thrilling and falls into that supernatural mystique of how Matt Murdock's costume plays on the fears of villains and even the elect!

I love it when superheroes take on your standard thug. It helps make them seem more real to me than battling your Red Skull, Doctor Doom or mere Batroc the Leaper. Probably my favorite segment of the book. But even with the Weapon X ruse, I really enjoyed this issue!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #80

I'm a little annoyed. Not because of this issue. Instead, I'm peeved because last night I had written up this wonderful review for a good 30 minutes, only to have the entire thing lost because Blogger or my WiFi or both were temporarily disabled. I also discovered that other minor changes I had made to some other previous posts didn't save either. So, forgive me if I am just too mentally tired to do as great a job on this revision as I had on the first draft.

Barry Windsor Smith continues to fake out the readers by showing us another Weapon X escape and assault on his captors. Only this time, instead of this being all part of Logan's imagination, this is a simulation done by a virtual reality headset attached to Weapon X's head like a visored helmet. Needless to say, the professor in charge of the project is literally crapping bricks because with every kill Weapon X makes in this program, feedback seems to indicate that Logan really enjoys it.

The next story stars Captain America. But the title character, at least according to the editors is a brand new armored character named Wargod. This story has a great twist ending that I did not see coming a mile away.

Mister Fantastic challenges a troubled youth to better himself instead of wasting his time playing video games. Now if this story was done today, the kid could have made a very compelling case that there is money to be made in becoming a professional video game player. But in 1991-92, the award money for winning a video game competition was small potatoes. This was a good story. But it really was dated.

Lastly, Jo Duffy (Power Man and Iron Fist) returns with an 8-pager starring Misty Knight and Colleen Wing: The Daughters of the Dragon. I thoroughly enjoyed their appearance in issue #42. This detective style story was just as great as the first. Yet, it is beyond me why Marvel never had the insight to produce a Jo Duffy penned Daughters of the Dragon book as either a regular series or a mini. This was a major missed opportunity I think for the House of Ideas.

Even though I keep getting mixed-up and confused from the Weapon X story, this was a great issue. 3 fantastic one-and-done tales. A couple of which post some what if scenarios based on publishing choices and not the work of Oatu the Watcher.

Hmmmm... This wasn't a bad rewrite. Okay, I'm a little less ticked off now...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Aw Yeah Comics! Vol. 3: Make Way for Awesome (Family Comic Friday)

Today I am reviewing a book that I probably would have shared sooner but the pandemic closed out my local library for a very long time. Literally, I went like 2 full years without complete access to tons of great all ages books thanks to the lockdown. Even though this book is 6 years old, I am very behind. So bear with me if this is a book your family has already enjoyed.

Aw Yeah Comics! Vol. 3: Make Way for Awesome continues the awesome adventures of Action Cat, Adventure bug, Awesome Bear and their crime fighting pals! The creation of Family Comic Favorites Art Baltazar and Franco, the majority of the stories in this collection is produced by collaborative friends of the Aw Yeah Comics family of comic shops in the Chicago area. Though Baltazar and Franco aren't as active in the books collected within, you can still see their influences on every page. 

In this volume, our heroes take on Evil Cat, a rectangular swine fiend named Parallel-O-Ham (great pun name!), space aliens, ghost bugs and possibly an evil jar of pickles! There's a follow-up to the King of Atlantis story from early on in the series. Plus, expect some surprise crossovers from some beloved Dark Horse Comics characters that are usually seen in comics aimed at adults. It was really fun to see characters such as Savage Dragon in an all-ages setting for once!

And who doesn't love how Zombie Cat is basically designed in the motif of J'onn J'onzz, The Martian Manhunter? His body is the same color green. His outfit is also teal. And the missing eye being marked with a red X just like the harness on J'onn's chest. I got that reference!

This is the third collection of books. I've previously reviewed volume 1 on this blog. Hopefully, I'll be reading and reviewing volume 2 sometime soon. That means that the enjoyment doesn't have to end for me yet. That is unless my library is without volume 2. For some reason, my branch has a bad habit of not purchasing every book in the series. But if they pulled through this time, I'm in for a treat!

A great collection of stories that the kiddies and adults will enjoy. Being an older book, used and new copies can be purchased on Amazon for a fantastic steal. Since they're at a good price, pick up 2 copies. I'm sure the young readers in your life are going to love this book so much, they're going to wear it out with constant re-reads.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.