Star Trek Vs. Transformers (Family Comic Friday)

IDW has been doing a line of miniseries based on classic cartoon shows from the 70s and 80s. A GI JOE and a Ninja Turtles book have been huge successes. Now the publisher is gambling on a micro-series based on the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon that ran on CBS from 1983-85. I'm trying to get all of these books and I think none of those 'Saturday Morning Adventures' would have happened if not for this miniseries.

This 2018 story joins the Star Trek and Transformers franchises for the first (and so far) only time ever! Drawn in the style of the 1973-74 Star Trek Saturday morning toon and the original Transformers syndicated series from 1984-87. 

The story starts with the Enterprise intercepting a distress call from a mining colony near the Neutral Zone. Expecting to run into Klingons, Kirk finds the colony under attack by aircraft from the late 20th Century! Adding to the mystery is the massive red and blue big rig that comes out of nowhere to counterattack the out of place planes! 

Oh.... Did I mention that the truck just transformed into a big ole' freakin' robot?

This story was just amazing! It had Arak and M'Ress! Klingons! And writer John Barber and artist Philip Murphy figured out a way to make a Transformer out of the Enterprise!

This story was also kinda sad. Or bittersweet. Star Trek: The Animated Series takes place around the year 2269. That means from 1990 to 2269, the literal hundreds of Transformers whittle down to about 6 Autobots and around a dozen Decepticons. Okay, there could be more. But that's about how many Transformers are in this crossover. So, I'm to infer that a whole bunch of characters died from my cherished childhood memories to about 270 years in the future; all thanks to a needless war for power and energy.

I did love the Easter eggs peppered throughout this book. To get to see the Eugenics war and Zefram Cochran and company from Star Trek: First Contact. Though this is supposed to be a family friendly comic book story, it is a bit shocking to see one of those soldiers from World War III taking narcotics in a throwaway panel. It's a lot like those innuendos that get thrown into Disney films. The kiddoes don't get it. But it's something the adults catch on to. Same thing here. It looks like a dude is picking his nose or something. But really, he's getting high as a kite!

There's something here for the whole family. Whole generations of family. The artwork was utterly amazing. The story was action packed and full of the stuff of dreams. If I had seen Optimus Prime transform into an iconic ship from pop culture history, like the Millennium Falcon or a Cylon raider one Saturday morning, I would have spit my cereal out like an exasperated grown-up drinking coffee when they hear something incredible and then done victory laps around the living room.

I don't think I need to have Star Trek and the Transformers ever meet-up again. But I hope this isn't the end of the animated Enterprise joining forces with other animated entities from my childhood.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

G.I. Joe: Dreadnoks Declassified

One of the most exciting villains in the 1980s GI Joe line was the elusive Zartan. A master of disguise with a strange chameleon-like ability to blend into his surroundings, Zartan was the figure all the kids wanted next to Snake Eyes and Destro.

In the cartoon and Marvel Comics, nobody knew who Zartan really was. The leader of a group of bayou bikers, Zartan was the only character who intimidated Cobra Commander. That's probably because old Snakeface knew that at any moment, Zartan could eliminate Cobra's leader and replace him without anyone being all the wiser.

This 2006 miniseries from Devil's Due Publishing seeks to reveal the mysteries behind the villain without spilling the beans on him. In reality Zartan might be Amauri Sanderson, an American soldier who sold government secrets to France. Or he's a mercenary named Lee who sold France's secrets to a central European nation and then double-crossed that country to funnel weapons to Cobra.

What surprised me the most was that the revelation that the man I grew up believing was Zartan wasn't the original Zartan. But it all made for a really great story that provides more backstory in the origins of the rise of Cobra. I always thought that the flashback stories were the best ones told in the Marvel books and Josh Blaylock's story was on par with the amazing pen of original Joe comics writer, Larry Hama.

Along with the main story, there's a back-up short story which also promises to reveal some deep-dark secrets of Zartan's past. Really, the only reveal is that the leader of the Dreadnoks has had so many different secret identities, Zartan can no longer remember who he really is anymore!

I learned from listings for other DDP Joe titles that there are at least 2 other 'year one' type miniseries. One about Snake-eyes. The other about the first lady of American freedom, Scarlett. I want them both. But if I got to pick the one I want to read first, it would be Scarlett's story as I already know quite a bit of Snake-eyes' origin.

The opening story was fantastic! I liked the backup. But it lacked the promise of big shocking secrets coming to light as assured on the back cover of this collection. Despite that story being a recap of the Dreadnok's miniseries, it was a fun read. Lots of action. But also a glimpse at some early Stanley Lau artwork before he started going by the moniker 'Artgerm'!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Willow #1-3 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

During the 1982 filming of Return of the Jedi, in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a young child actor is making a giant impression. Warwick Davis, a British actor with dwarfism, is playing a tiny version of a Wookiee called a Ewok. In his first ever role as Wicket, Davis is showing such professionalism and passion for acting that Star Wars creator George Lucas promises the lad to create a movie for the newcomer to star in. 

Jump to 1987 and George Lucas kept his word. Working on an idea he first developed in 1972 originally called Munchkins, Lucas created the story of Willow. Set in an unnamed mystical world, Willow Ufgood is a struggling farmer and amateur magician with aspirations at becoming chief sorcerer of his race of little people called Nelwyns. 

One day, Willow's children find a baby girl floating on a makeshift cradle in the nearby river. The infant is a Daikini, the name of full-size humans who share the land with the Nelwyns. Tasked by his people to deliver the child to the first Daikini he sees, Willow begins an epic quest that promises to restore freedom to all of the people of the land.

The Daikini child is in reality Elora Danan, an infant princess who has been prophesied to one day overthrow the evil ruler of the land of Nockmaar, Queen Bavmorda. In order to stop Bavmorda, who wishes to sacrifice Elora Danan in a demonic ritual, Willow must find the aged sorceress Fin Raziel. Which Willow does. Unfortunately, Fin Raziel has been rendered powerless as Bavmorda changed her into a possum. All seems lost, unless the aspiring Nelwyn sorcerer can restore her back into human form. 

Aiding Willow in his quest is the mercenary Madmartigan; a mercenary of questionable character but unsurpassed swordsmanship. A pair of brownie warriors named Rool and Fanjean, whose diminutive sizes make Willow look like a Colossus in comparison add comic relief and some assistance as tiny combatants. Adding to the adventure is the warrior princess Sorsha, daughter of Queen Bavmorda, whom Madmartigan becomes enamored with and just might have a shot with, if she doesn't kill him and the infant first!

Willow was directed by Ron Howard. A protege of George Lucas, Howard starred in the Lucas' 1973 homage to the early 1960s, American Graffiti. With a script by first time movie screenwriter Bob Dolman, Lucas had hoped that Willow would be on par with E.T. as the new all-time money maker at the box office. While the film was a moderate hit, mostly bolstered by international movie sales, Willow face stiff competition against a 1988 American film slate included colossal blockbusters such as Big and Rambo III.

Willow went on to become a kind of cult classic. In the early 90s, George Lucas tasked X-Men's Chris Claremont to pen the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy. Set 15 years after the first film, a teenaged Elora Danan is the central character. Last year, an 8-episode sequel starring Warwick Davis aired on Disney+. Also titled Willow, conflicting reports list the series as cancelled after one season or in indefinite hiatus. 

As part of Lucasfilm and MGM's original marketing campaign, a number of tie-in products were issued. TOR issued a 6-player board game as well as a RPG source book. Tonka's 'action figures' were in reality die-cast figurines much like tin soldiers and lacked vital points of articulation. 

In the realm of comics, Marvel was tasked with a 3-issue adaptation. Star Wars' Jo Duffy penned the script. Artwork was by Bob Hall (Super-Villain Team-Up) with assists and inks by Romeo Tanghal (The New Teen Titans). The miniseries was later collected in 2 formats: as a tabloid sized Marvel Graphic Novel and in as an illustrated edition much like a trade paperback.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #5 (A Movie Adaptation) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Agents of A.T.L.A.S. Vs. X-Men and the Avengers

A premier edition hardback collecting a pair of crossovers starring the Agents of A.T.L.A.S..

A little background information first- The Agents of ATLAS are a group of superheroes who first operated in the 1950s. (Originally, they were a Roy Thomas and Donald Glut concept floated around in the pages of What If... #9 (June, 1978). The group of heroes became official members of the Marvel universe after Marvel editor Mark Paniccia stumbled across the classic issue and inspired Jeff Parker to bring the group into the present day. 

After the events of the first Secret Invasion, the dastardly Norman Osborn negotiated his way into becoming the head of Earth's intelligence community. Not trusting the sometime Green Goblin, super spy Jimmy Woo took the place of the Chinese crime lord Yellow Claw's criminal underworld. With the help of the simian Gorilla Man, telepathic Marvel Boy, Atlantean Namora and the super-powerful robot M-11, Jimmy Woo keeps tabs on Osborn while transforming the criminal elements he's inherited into a force of good. 

X-Men Vs. Agents of ATLAS opens with teammate Venus being kidnapped by a centaur. With the X-Men having just fled their San Francisco area base, thanks to Osborn declaring the mutant enemies of humanity (once again), Woo hopes to borrow the X-Men's Cerebra device to find the missing agent. The unauthorized use of Cerebra sets off a warning alarm and the X-Men return to their abandoned base to investigate. 

In typical Marvel fashion, when the two teams meet, it's a battle royale. Nobody talks. They always start with fisticuffs. Only, there is a slight twist to this battle as members of both teams seem to have a history of fighting each other previously. Yet nobody can actually recall having done so before. 

Then in Avengers Vs. Atlas, the agents respond to a time anomaly in the heart of New York City. Jimmy Woo's team discovers Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the midst of an epic battle with a gigantic entity that seems to be about 1 second out of sync with time. Thanks to Wolverine being a member of the Avengers and having been in the previous story, Logan prevents a typical first meeting melee. That is until the temporal entity engulfs the modern day Avengers and replaces them with the original line-up! 

Now it's Jimmy Woo's Agents of ATLAS against Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Giant Man and the Wasp. And now the battle begins before a chance of introductions. Remember that the Hulk was one of the original Avengers? Hopefully, he won't show up, right?

I absolutely hated the X-Men story. It had too many characters. There was too much back story that one needed to know in order to enjoy the plot. And while I enjoyed the elements of the original X-Men and their first encounter of the Agents, things got really confusing. And honestly, it didn't feel like some of those feelings of deja vu ever truly got resolved. Plus, this story was a two-parter and it felt like writer Jeff Parker was trying to shove an extra large helping of stuffing into a medium sized turkey. And the opening segment was a giant sized Thanksgiving feast of disappointment. 

At least the artwork was exquisite. Carlo Pagulayan illustrated the modern story and his depictions especially of the female characters was alluring. The flashback segments were by Chris Samnee. Those segments evoked the nostalgic feel of the late, great Darwyn Cooke.

The Avengers story was a 4-parter. I loved the first 3 issues. I had a better understanding of the story. I'll admit that reading the X-Men crossover helped a lot with that. The element of time travel and having lots of surprises pop up was great. The ending was really meta. There's a lot of quantum physics involved. And while I understand that the characters got to point B from point A, I have no idea how the Avengers arrive at that point. And I read that segment at least thrice!

The Avengers tale almost salvaged this entire edition. I was just about ready to keep this book as part of my collection. Yet that complex ending was just way too over my head. I'd rather my limited shelf space be devoted to something else. So I'll trade this in hopes of purchasing some else more permanent for my collection.

Oh! And isn't that like the worst cover to a book that you've ever seen in your life? There were so many other great regular and variant covers used in these comics. Why did they choose that monstrosity from Humberto Ramos? It looks like they dislocated Cap's jaw or something!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Where Monsters Dwell #4 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Where Monsters Dwell was a horror anthology series from Marvel Comics. The series, which ran from 1970-75, is a fan favorite among collectors of Bronze Age Marvel Comics as well as devotees to horror and sci-fi. With exception of the covers, the material in all of the issues were comprised of reprint material. Silver Age stories from Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish were the primary sources where the stories were culled. 

In this issue, there are 4 classic horror stories ranging from ancient terrors to physiological thriller to B-movie sci-fi involving aliens from another world

In Steve Ditko's 'Behind My Door Awaits... Medusa' (Tales of Suspense #10) a seller of curios and antiques may also be the owner of the legendary Medusa of Greek myth. Do you dare open the door to his side room to find out for sure?

Then a sailor finds a message in a bottle from a castaway (Tales of Suspense #12). Knowing that the island where the S.O.S. came from is nowhere near any active shipping lanes, the seaman investigates only to find a hideous beast blocking him at every move.

Also from Tales of Suspense #10, an adventurer learns the deadly secret to why no man returns from Nightmare Valley. 

Finally, in the cover story, 'The Monster in my Cellar' (TOS #12), a pulp writer dreams up the perfect horror thriller only for the monster to become a reality!

Where Monsters Dwell was one of several anthology series Marvel released in response to loosening restrictions of the Comics Code in terms of horror and sci-fi. However, due to cost cutting measures, Marvel decided to use reprints for their new books. Where DC was utilizing new, edgier material with amazing talent like Bernie Wrightson, Len Wein and William Michael Kaluta that pushed the new CCA rules to the limit, Marvel relied on tried and true tales that were previously published under the barriers of the Code. 

By not embracing the future of horror, many of Marvel's new anthology titles failed to catch an audience. Sister titled Monsters on the Prowl eked out 30 issues. The all-horror reprint tale Crypt of Shadows was sealed shut after only 21 editions. Where Monsters Dwell was the most successful of the reprint anthologies producing an impressive 38 issues. 

The popularity of Where Monsters Dwell continued to live on among fans both old and new. In 2005, a one-shot special was released as part of Marvel's Marvel Monsters tribute. In 2017, Where Monsters Dwell became one of Doctor Doom's Secret Wars Battleworlds in a 6-issue tie-in miniseries by Garth Ennis, Russell Braun and Frank Cho.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #18 (A Horror Comic) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Muppet Babies #7 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Jim Henson's Muppet Babies was an animated Saturday morning TV show that aired on CBS from 1984-1991. The series marked the first time that Henson's trademarked puppets appeared in animated form. Whereas Sesame Street focused on education and the more adult The Muppet Show was a tribute to vaudeville and variety shows, Muppet Babies was all about wonder!

Baby versions of Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo and Miss Piggy used their imaginations to make-believe their way through a nursery full of fun. Adventures included a trip to the zoo, adventures through their favorite story books and visits with their future selves as Hollywood stars! Just as with the other Muppet shows, music was a big part of the show with at least 1 big musical number per episode. Over the span of 8 seasons, 107 episodes aired.

One thing that made the Muppet Babies different from other cartoons was how it integrated live-action material. For example, on at least 3 occasions, Gonzo or one of the other characters would open the closet door to their nursery to reveal a roaring TIE fighter from the Star Wars franchise. Clips of Darth Vader, Slimer from Ghostbusters and famous celebrities of the day would appear in unusual places in the nursery, interacting with the ingenious tykes. 

Many of the characters from the Muppet Show would appear as younger animated versions of themselves. Curmudgeons Statler and Waldorf would visit as the uncles of the babies' unrevealed Nanny, voiced by TV's Mrs. Cleaver, Barbara Billingsley. Other voice talents included Howie Mandel (St. Elsewhere), Dave Coulier (Full House) and Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo) A pre-teen Janice from Doctor Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band would babysit when Nanny needed a night off. Kermit's nephew Robin would stop by as a tadpole nestled within a tiny glass bowl. And play dates, such as the one that occurs in this issue, would be scheduled with youngsters such as Bunsen and Beaker.

The single story of this issue starts off with Fozzie running some of his jokes by the rest of the Muppet Babies when Bunsen and Beaker arrive for another day of fun. Bunsen notices that everyone knows Fozzie's stand-up routine by heart. So the aspiring junior scientist offers Fozzie an experimental hat that will help the comedic bear think up some more jokes. Unfortunately, Bunsen gave Fozzie his experimental time travel hat. 

Flying backwards through time, Fozzie keeps running into his ancestors and ruining their punchlines! Join Fozzie and his Muppet buddies as they learn about comedy from the time of Napoleon to Hannibal's crossing of the Alp and ultimately; the prehistoric era!

The Muppet Babies comic book was part of Marvel's Star Comics imprint for young readers. The comic book ran bi-monthly from 1985-89 for 26 issues. The last 9 issues were Marvel releases as Star Comics was shuttered by May of 1988. In 2018, Disney rebooted Muppet Babies as an all-new computer generated series. The new version aired on Disney Junior until 2022 with a total of 71 episodes. 

Muppet Babies #7 was written by Stan Kay (Planet Terry). This issue was penciled, inked and colored by Marie Severin (Spoof).

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #17 (A Star Comic: Marvel Imprint) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Weird Western Tales #50 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Weird Western Tales actually started out as the second volume of the fan favorite anthology series All-Star Western. The first issues featured some basic historical characters like Billy the Kid, Buffalo Bill, and Davy Crockett. DC creations such as Pow Wow Smith and Bat Lash made appearances as well as the demon possessed gunslinger known as El Diablo. In issue #10, readers were introduced to the mysterious bounty hunter, Jonah Hex.                                             

A former Confederate soldier turned bounty hunter, Hex's visage was disfigured by a Native American shaman for allegedly violating rules of combat. This brand was called the 'mark of the demon'. While Hex didn't have any supernatural powers, his stories tended to have an element of the strange and macabre due the nature of his facial injury. 

During this time period, the Comics Code was lessening its rules on horror tales. As a result, DC Comics created the wildly popular Weird War Tales in 1971. Seeing dollar signs, the editors at DC and publisher Carmine Infantino made the call to switch All-Star Western's format and title. The book was renamed Weird Western Tales with issue #12 (June, 1972). 

For the first half dozen issues El Diablo and Jonah Hex rotated as the star of Weird Western Tales. Assorted Western themed horror tales rounded out the issue. Issue #17 saw Jonah Hex becoming the main feature of the series and within another dozen issues, Weird Western Tales dropped the back-up features. Hex's last appearance in the series was in issue #38. Readers fell in love with the character and by April of 1977, Jonah Hex was starring in his own self-titled issue. 

Issue #39 saw the character of Scalphunter becoming the star of Weird Western Tales. In his debut we learn that the Scalphunter was a white man named Brian Savage. Abducted by the Kiowa Indians as a child, the Native Americans raised Brian under the name Ke-Wok-No-Tay, meaning 'He Who Is Less Than Human'. Skilled at combat, Brian left the tribe going by the name of Scalphunter. 

Scalphunter eventually learned that he had a little sister and that's where this issue picks up. Heading over to Atlanta, Scalphunter follows up on a tip that takes him to a Confederate Army occupied mansion. Inside, he finds numerous members of a prominent family placed under house arrest under suspicion of being a spy for the North; including a pair of criminal who tried to kill Scalphunter previous in New Orleans and his baby sister, Samantha Savage!

Featuring artwork by Dick Ayers (Rawhide Kid), the script was written by Gerry Conway (Superman). Cover artwork by Ross Andru and Marvel Fanfare's  Al Milgrom.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #47 (A Western) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Weird Western Tales #15

Up until issue #36, the former Confederate bounty hunter, Jonah Hex was the star of this Western anthology series that delved into the realm of the bizarre. But for some reason, Jonah Hex is absent from the ranks of the trio of stories that comprise this issue, #15. 

Instead, the star of this issue is a character known as El Diablo. The first DC Character to bear the moniker, El Diablo was Lazarus Lane. It's a suitable name as a lightning strike causes Lazarus to exist in a vegetative state. Brought back to life by a Native American shaman, Lazarus' body is now home to a demonic 'spirit of vengeance' (similar to The Spectre), known as El Diablo- The Devil.

In El Diablo's tale, Lazarus witnesses a lawman shot down in cold blood. He too is about to be killed when his Indian caretaker, Wise Owl, rescues him. As a result, the bad men flee. Later that night, Lane's body is over come by the spirit within him and El Diablo rides to bring this gang of murderers to justice.

The second story is about a man who kills his employer. Facing the hangman, the murderer beats the rap. Later that night at the local saloon, he confesses to the crime! Unable to retry the killer due to double jeopardy laws, the judge that presided over the case seeks a way to bring about justice. Ultimately, the stress of such a task kills the judge. However, a guilty conscience over the whole matter is now causing the outlaw to have visions of the magistrate's ghost coming to after him with a noose. 

Great twist ending.

And then we have the last story. I HATED IT! It's about a twisted travelling preacher calling himself 'Doc Satan.' The satanic minister comes to town offering not salvation but damnation! The townspeople have until midnight to make the ultimate decision: allow Doc Satan to buy their souls or suffer in eternal torment. Needless to say, the citizenry are none too happy about this threat and try to fight back. Unfortunately, the flames of hell win this battle.

I like horror stories. Monsters, ghosts, slashers and madmen. All things I can deal with. But I do not like stories involving demons and those who worship such beings. The El Diablo story wasn't my cup of tea, based on the source of where the character gets his powers. Yet, Lazarus Lane reminds me a lot of Johnny Blaze in that his role as a spirit of vengeance to the devil is unwanted. Thus, there's a bit of a moral dilemma in which the character is trying to redeem his soul. So I can tolerate such a narrative. But story number 3 was just evil, evil, evil and I did not like it!

In fact, after I completed this comic, I promptly went outside and put this book in the recycling bin. I couldn't trash it as I feel like books don't deserve to go to rot. But I also didn't want to keep this book in my house any longer than I had to!. I could have sold this book. But again, that would mean keeping the book on my premises any longer than I had to. And I did not want to gain from the profits of such a dreadful read. If you are interested in a free comic book, you've got until 10am tomorrow before the recycling truck makes it's weekly run.

By the way- I can't tell you who wrote and/or illustrated that story as there aren't any credits listed. It seems like whomever created that demonic fable didn't want to be associated with it in any way. 

As for the other contributors to this issue. Cary Bates wrote the El Diablo tale with amazing art by the late, great Neal Adams. However, that between legs from behind scene was absurd. And I don't think the physiology was right either. Gil Kane story number 2 with script by Jack Oleck (The House of Secrets).

I'm open to getting my hands on further issues from this series. They just better not have any stories that are as evil as that anonymous one or they'll end up in recycling as well!

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars

Star Wars: The Marvel UK Collection (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Marvel UK's Star Wars comics of the 1970s and 80s were quite a bit different than their American counterparts. For one thing, they were released on a weekly basis. Each issue only had about 8-10 pages of Star Wars story. So it might take 6-8 issues (2-3 months) for a storyline to resolve itself. Stories starring Star Lord, Alpha Flight and a segment called 'Tales of the Watcher' were comic segments that filled the rest of the weekly series.

More of a magazine than a traditional comic book, Star Wars Weekly would also include articles, interviews, contests and games, and activities for fans. Free gifts such as cut-out models of X-wings, attached sticker sheets and magic tricks meant that it's nearly impossible to find issues 100% intact. 

Most of the stories were reprints of the American Star Wars comic stories. But for one reason or another, the adventures often were released out of order. Often, shipping delays of the print plates were the result of the tales being published differently from that of the American run. However, the British version was also where rejected Star Wars tales got a second chance at life.

The frigid story 'The Kingdom of Ice' was originally slated to be published over a half dozen issues of the youth magazine Pizzazz. However, the publication's cancellation resulted in the story never reaching a conclusion, unless you happened to be a reader of Star Wars Weekly!

From early on, George Lucas put severe limits on Marvel's Star Wars titles. For one thing, none of the major characters could die (or if it appeared that they had died, it couldn't be permanent). There were a few other restrictions based on Lucas's plan for the sequels. The most important rule the publisher could not break was that Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were forbidden from meeting each other in print!

Most of the rejected stories happened within the first year of the series. Once Marvel had a good idea what Lucas was looking for, the rejections ceased. Yet, it's not like these rejected tales never saw the light of day. Aside from appearing across the pond in Star Wars Weekly, the discarded tales were collected in a pair of Marvel Illustrated paperback books in the US. These collections now command a hefty price tag, generally with a current asking price of $40-100 each. 

Shipping delays from the American office would force Marvel UK to come up with some original material of their own. Alan Moore (Saga of the Swamp Thing) cut his teeth on no less than 3 shorts. They show flashes of Moore's genius as well as love for complex storylines that were very much not typical for a galaxy far, far away. Moore's 'Tilotny Throws A Shape' is a metaphysical piece where main character Princess Leia barely has anything to do with the plot. Yet the unexpected conclusion ranks up there with some of the greatest twists endings ever created by the staff of the legendary publisher EC Comics who made such finales an art form!

The Marvel UK Collection is over 750 pages and when it sold new in 2017, it retailed for $100. Ollie's would end up selling copies of this book for $29.99 in 2021. This anthology is massive, but as Star Wars Weekly (later going to monthly) ran for 171 issues plus and sister title Return of the Jedi Weekly squeaked out another 155 editions, it would be impossible to reprint all of the contests, articles and IQ quizzes that were included in these comics. That's probably a good thing as many of the pieces are repetitious to an ad nauseam degree. Plus a lot of this material has typos, erroneous facts and answers to solutions that are just plain wrong. 

At least fans can rest assured that all of the comics that ran as first run material in the UK are present in this gigantic tribute to Episodes IV-VI of the Star Wars trilogy!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #31 (Book over 500 Pages) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #32

Continuing from the last issue, the Mystery Inc. squad re-emerge from their adventure with the Atom in the subatomic realm in order, only to find themselves dwarfed by another diminutive superhero, Atom Ant! 

After restoring themselves to normal height, the detectives learn that a bunch of monsters have been terrorizing the local residents of the city park. Since monsters are a part of the Mystery Inc. wheelhouse, the gang is on the case! But their new partner might not be any help. A giant picnic spread has appeared and Atom Ant is under the creator of this feast's spell!

The Scooby-Doo Team-Ups are at their best when it involves a DC character. The Hanna-Barbera stories aren't bad as Scooby and his friends do exist in that shared universe. But only when the character is one that I am familiar with and the writer is Sholly Fisch, those stories are best. Issue #32 has one thing going with it- Fisch crafted this tale!

I'm not familiar with Atom Ant. I know he's a Hanna-Barbera character. He's a super hero. And he's got an arch-enemy known as Professor Von Gimmick.

Other than Atom Ant being a tiny hero, I don't really see much of a reason to select Atom Ant as the guest star of this compared to Captain Caveman or Dastardly and Muttley. Even Droopy Dog would have been a better selection as he was a private detective once. This issue marked the first time in 19 years that Atom Ant even appeared in a DC Comic. And the character wasn't in any of the Hanna-Barbera/DC crossovers. 

So why pick this C-list character? Was it another Dan DiDio pipe dream in tribute to his childhood Saturday mornings as with the former editor adding the Impossibles to the ranks of 2017's Future Quest? Or maybe a lifelong dream of Fisch's or artist Scott Jeralds? Either way, this was a good read. I just didn't enjoy this one as much as I could due to the lack of familiarity with the character.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #31

The teen detectives of Mystery Inc. are summoned to Ivy University at the request of the Justice Leaguer, the Atom. In his scientist secret identity, Atom has uncovered evidence of a 'ghost particle.' He'll need to shrink down into the quantum realm to investigate this new molecule more closely. But since the Atom isn't an expert on phantoms, that's why Scooby-Doo and his pals are on the case! Armed with the same devices that the Atom uses to shrink, the detectives take a tiny trip through the subatomic universe and wind up in a medieval society!

This land is Archaea! That means we've dove into Sword of the Atom territory! These ghost particles turn out to be a sort of mystical barrier put around Archaea by a despotic sorcerer! Always one for adventure, the Atom hatches a plan to free the kingdom and it will take every trick in the hero's shrinking device to bring forth freedom!

The Sword of the Atom minis were a pair of fantastic fun reads that combined swashbuckling adventure with science fiction and fantasy. I was thrilled that Sholly Fisch and Dario Brizuela decided to pay tribute to that period of DC history! But Scooby, Shaggy and the rest just aren't needed for this story!

In reality, this is an Atom adventure through-and-through. I guess DC Comics figured they needed to include Mystery Inc. into this venture in order to make it interesting for the younger set. However, I think this tribute could have worked as a 3-issue miniseries without any presence of the Hanna-Barbera universe. Maybe the editors at DC might come back to this story-line with their line of graphic novels for middle schoolers. I really think they might enjoy it!

A great story in which Scooby-Doo is almost a NPC. Atom is the star and I didn't want the fun to end!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Darkwing Duck: Just Us Justice Ducks: Disney Afternoon Adventures, Vol. 1 (Family Comic Friday)

The Disney Afternoon. From 1990-97, Disney ran a 2-hour block of TV shows in the late afternoons after school let out. The event was syndicated, but eventually ran on the Disney Channel. Shows like Ducktales, Tailspin, The Adventures of the Gummi Bears and Darkwing Duck ran in a rotation that was a direct competition to Fox Kids. As part of the Disney Afternoon marketing campaign, Disney's publishing imprint released a monthly magazine called Disney Adventures.

Along with features on upcoming Disney TV shows and films, Disney Adventures contained comics! Stories based on the Disney Afternoon line-up, along with adaptations of long-form Disney films were released on a semi-regular schedule. As many of these stories were multi-parters, this rather irregular schedule meant that part one of a Ducktales story might be released on issue #1 but part two might not appear in print until issue #5!

Disney Afternoon Adventures Volume 1 was released in the summer of 2021. So yes, I am a little late maybe on reviewing something new. But the reason I found out about this book in the first place is because Volume 2 was released just last month and seeing the advertisement for that collection got me rather interested! Plus, I've really been digging some volumes from the Carl Barks Library lately and I've been wanting so more Disney goodness to read.

My kid sister is 12 years younger than me. So I am rather familiar with the stories despite the fact that I was 12-15 when the shows these comics were based on aired. Well, Ducktales actually came out in 1987 and I am a fool for anything with Uncle Scrooge in it! But everything else in this book was stuff that I probably was too old for. Yet, because of her, I'm actually pretty familiar with most of the material in this book. 

There's a lot of short stories in this edition and they are rather fun little reads. But the highlights of this book are the two larger stories that take up much of the real estate of this 200-pager. First up was a comic adaptation of A Goofy Movie. The second tale was a 5-part adventure that crossed-over all the way from Tailspin to Darkwing Duck, with Goof Troop, Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers and Ducktales filling in the gaps! A crossover that wasn't really a crossover, it was an epic romp on par with the works of Carl Barks, Don Rosa and William Van Horn! 

By the way- did you know that Tailspin took place 50 years before Ducktales and the other members of the Disney Afternoon? I didn't either. But now I understand why there weren't any flying pirates in modern day Duckburg!

I really enjoyed this book. I just wished that Fantagraphics did a better job letting fans know where these stories originally appeared. In the Carl Barks books, the level of research and background material on the Donald Duck stories is professional grade stuff. Here, we get a small bit of info on the material of origin on the ISBN info page and it's printed in a font of 3 at best!

A 3rd volume is scheduled for release in July. Hopefully, I can get both volumes for a good price. And hopefully, the amount of background material will get even better. Sure, these volumes are targeted for millenials and their children. But surely, even 30-something comic book lovers will delight in knowing more about the publishing and design history of these stories!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

True Believers: The Other Hulks #1

Marvel's True Believers comics were an amazing assortment of one-shot reprints of great moments in Marvel history. And they were only $1! The House of Ideas released a slew of them, typically about 3-4 a week, usually to coincide with the debut of a more expensive trade paperback. They were great previews of the more vast material on the market. An excellent way to introduce kids to comics affordably. And for a bargain hunter like myself, cheap ways to own more expensive and harder to find back issues. 

And then 2020 hit. Comic book publishers, like just about everything else, shut down. And we never heard from True Believers ever again!

This 2019 one-shot looks at some other characters to carry the moniker of The Hulk. We're not talking about Gen. Thunderbolt Ross as the Red Hulk or Jennifer Walters as She-Hulk. No Hulkling or Totally Awesome (but really not) Amadeus Cho. In fact, both of the Hulks in this book pre-date the Bruce Banner real-deal by almost 2 full years!

The first story taken from 1960's Journey Into Mystery #62 doesn't really introduce us to a character known as Hulk. Instead, we meet for the first time the cybernetic behemoth and eventual Incredible Hulk foe, Xemnu! His debut story is titled 'I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk' and it's told from the perspective of small town electrician Joe Harper who stumbles across Xemnu's crashed space ship on the way to a repair job. 

Harper notices the electronic attachments on the unconscious 'hulk's' body in a nearby swamp and figures that if he can repair those parts, it might save the alien and potentially benefit mankind. Only the alien, now referring to himself as Xemnu, promises to destroy the earth in efforts to escape back to the stars. Using hypnosis, Xemnu's plot almost works as the populace builds the creature with a new spaceship with enough nuclear power to rip Earth in half upon liftoff. That is until Joe Harper reveals that he wasn't really hypnotized and saves humanity by....

Oh, no you don't! I'm not going to spoil it! You'll just have to read JITM #62 for yourselves to find out what happens.

The second story is from Strange Tales #75. Also from 1960, this story is about a mad scientist who plans revenge on the world by creating a massive robotic 'hulk.' Once inside the robot shell, the scientist will have unlimited power and strength to become the ruler of Earth. All of this just because some guy accidentally broke one of the professor's experiments. 

Like many odd and eerie tales of the era, this story has a great twist ending. In the vein of EC Comics. Just not as gory or violent. But definitely a vindictive comeuppance against a bitter villain!

I love these old stories from when Atlas comics was just transitioning into Marvel Comics. Featuring artwork by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers, and potentially scripts by Stan Lee, I've never comic across a bad story from this era. I'd really love to know what collections these 2 stories are a part of. They'd make great additions to my comic book collection and I assume the bigger works would make great reads just like this comparatively small 30-pager.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Looney Tunes #262

Daffy Duck is the star of this issue. More importantly, the focus is on Daffy's amazing superhero character Stupor Duck! Starring in a trio of stories!

Based on a 1956 Looney Tunes short of the same name, Stupor Duck is a parody of Superman, The Man of Steel. By day, Stupor Duck is Cluck Trent, a mild mannered reporter for a Large Metropolitan Newspaper, whose nose for news is questionable at best. In fact, that spotty track record is what kicks off our 3-story tribute to the Mallard of Steel.

In an all-new story by Derek Fridolfs, Cluck Trent finds himself out of a job. With the paper going digital due to a lack of sales, the managing editor sends Trent packing. With no employment, this means more time to be Stupor Duck. Only, the superhero makes a gigantic mess of everything along the way. 

The second adventure is a reprint story in which Stupor Duck attempts to help a citizen, played by Porky Pig, with the washing machine that took his money! Reprint story #2 (story #3 overall) is a tribute to legendary DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz who firmly believed that putting monkeys on the cover of his books resulted in massive sales. Here, Stupor Duck takes on a giant gorilla that is terrorizing the fair city. 

The two reprint adventures told more cohesive stories. The first adventure is an awful lot like that 1956 cartoon in which we see more of an array of super-heroic feats that end in hysterically bad ways. Like for instance, at one point, Stupor Duck comes across some bank robbers. But instead of seeing them as bad guys, the hero thinks the criminals are bank patrons who are having trouble accessing their funds. In the end, Stupor Duck helps the crooks rob the bank, feeling like he's a hero who just helped out a bunch of stand-up townsfolk. Add about 3-4 mishaps and Cluck Trent's job search has been all but forgotten while the city reels from the destructive good intentions of Stupor Duck!

I like the Looney Tunes comic book very much. It captures the spirit of the original cartoons very well. Knowing that this was an all-Stupor Duck issue is why I wanted it. This issue did not disappoint. There's just so much going on in that first story. I feel like maybe 10% of the antics of Stupor Duck could have been trimmed back in order to circle around back to a closing gag that would have again featured Cluck Trent's job search woes. I think that would have made for a better ending than the one we get. But the two reprint stories were masterpieces and I understand why DC decided to reissue them in this tribute to Stupor Duck. 

Now, could we get an all-Duck Dodgers issue as well?

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

DC Special #28

In the penultimate issue of this DC anthology series, there are a total of 3 stories, all about 'earth shattering disasters.' Well, technically 2 stories are actually earth shattering. The other is a disaster but of a different magnitude altogether. 

In the first story, Gotham City is racked by a series of earthquakes. Only these tremors aren't natural but man-made by a technological madman calling himself Quakemaster.

In the final story, the Legion of Super-Heroes discovers that the Metropolis of 2977AD is in peril. For the first time in centuries, the city is without power and engulfed in flames. Someone has sabotaged the power sphere that energizes Metropolis. Being nuclear in origin, the power station is about to reach critical mass, threatening to meltdown in a China Syndrome type catastrophe and destroy the planet once the generator reaches earth's core. 

The middle story stars Aquaman. While he is ridding the seven seas of a band of hi-tech pirates, the King of Atlantis stumbles upon an ecological disaster. A giant oil spill. Only this mass of petroleum is alive and growing, feasting on ships and sea life that crosses its path. Teaming with the Navy, Aquaman tries to stop this menace. But as the blob gets closer to a major coastal city, the Navy proposes using A-bombs to destroy it. Seeing another ecological disaster on his hands, it's up to Aquaman to find a solution before the bombs go flying!

I think it's interesting that Gotham City had trouble with earthquakes about 30 years prior to the disastrous events of 'No Man's Land'. This story forms a bit of a continuity error as one of the characters makes a comment that the bedrock underneath Gotham isn't ideal for quakes. Apparently in the 3 decades leading up to the massive tremors that will render Batman's hometown a disaster area, nearly a billion years of geology occurred below to make the topography below more suitable for aftershocks!

I found the Aquaman story hitting a little too close to home. Currently in the South Atlantic, a 5,000 mile long swath of seaweed is making its way towards Florida. The level of destruction isn't as catastrophic as what the growing massive of oil in the story was predicted to do. But the amount of damage to that area's sea life and the proposed level of breathing problems the decaying algae is predicted to do before this ecological disaster is through is rather terrifying. 

As for the Legion of Super-Heroes story, I was non-plussed. The story was written by Paul Levitz, who many consider to be the best Legion writer ever. Yet with all the flash forwards and a baddie who I really thought was a Legionnaire, I didn't feel like I was in the presence of a master. As publisher of DC, Levitz was great. But that was in the 90s and 00s. Maybe 1977 Paul Levitz still had a lot of practice ahead of him to get great. 

I don't know why I do this. I seem to spend money on really exciting looking DC anthologies from the 1970s and wind up being disappointed. The artwork of all 3 tales was amazing and it's definitely the appeal of the covers, along with childhood nostalgia that got me to purchase this. I'm probably going to fall into the trap again sometime in the future. But at least I didn't pay more than a dollar for this book.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

DC Special #27

In a story that takes place simultaneously in the prehistoric past, modern day 1977 and the year 2056, a series of events are conspiring to destroy the very fabric of space and time. The time travel villain Chronos is releasing dinosaurs into the 20th Century in hopes of keeping a pair of intergalactic time cops busy while the fiend goes back in time to steal a comet from a race of dino-people!

Oh my god was this story a jumbled mess...

I've not really been a fan of the character of Captain Comet. In my opinion, DC needs to stay away from mutants. That's Marvel territory. To me, he seems like a second rate Man of Tomorrow.

Now the presence of Silver Age fixture Tommy Tomorrow in this story with the added mix of time travel- that's DC's bread and butter! And that part of the story comes along fine. Having Captain Comet and Hawkman tackle some time displaced thunder lizards was a lot of fun. Having a Jurassic age race of dinosaurs who worship a giant comet is really stupid. The addition of Chronos was fun and his diversion was rather smart. But there's a ton of stuff going on here and 34 pages just isn't enough room to get it all in. 

DC's answer man, Bob Rozakis, penned this story. I think if he was allowed to have a 2-parter, this would have been a much better story. But 1977, when this story was published, was during the dawn of the DC Implosion of titles. So the publisher was doing everything it could to get works published during a time when sales were at a near all-time low without sacrificing titles. Hawkman and Superman as members of the Justice League are in this story. And the JLA satellite is a setting that bookends this book. Why couldn't they have added a couple of more Leaguers and made this a two-part Justice League of America story? It would have worked, I tell ya!

It's not for me to question why DC did what it did. This was a dire financial time for the company that only a 1978 live-action feature of the Man of Steel would solve. But the possibilities of what if are just mind boggling. Oh, wait- What If... that's Marvel territory. Oops...

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool, Vol. 1: Secret Invasion

The Skrull Empire has infiltrated planet Earth. As the Skrulls can transform into anybody and anyone, nobody can be trusted. Always one to take the winning side, mutant mercenary Deadpool has defected to the Skrull Empire. But can Wade Wilson be trusted? Is this Deadpool a Skrull as well? Why am I asking so many questions?

Having the zany, wacky, CRAZY Deadpool join the side of the Skrulls, a super-serious race with zero funny bones is a lot like Bugs Bunny giving Elmer Fudd or Yosemite Sam fits. Wade Wilson has a reputation of being extremely undependable. And his loyalty is like that of Lobo or Boba Fett- in the hands of the highest bidder. 

Daniel Way (Wolverine: Origins) is the writer behind this chapter of the Secret Invasion. While this was a insane sci-fi adventure tale, it's lacking the level of surrealism that a Deadpool story by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn would have. And yes- I prefer that take on the Merc with a Mouth much more than Daniel Way's. So this book wasn't bad. It just isn't an edgy enough take on the character. 

One thing that added a lot of enjoyment to this read was the artwork by Paco Medina and Carlo Barberi (Ultimate Comics: X-Men). The scene where a Deadpool convinces a bunch of Skrulls to morph into him was rather hilarious. And the femme fatales that occupy the second half of this book are very alluring. 

I just wish Daniel Way's writing was as thrilling as the artwork.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

What If? Dark Avengers

I really think What If?, the alternate reality series from Marvel Comics, works better the more you're familiar with the subject content. There are 6 issues reprinted in this collection. Of those 6, the stories I liked the most was a switcheroo in which Tony Stark becomes the roommate of the dreaded Victor Von Doom instead of Reed Richards and a bloody romp in which Deadpool becomes the host of the symbiote Venom. Stories involving Spider-Man succumbing to some weird spider curse and Norman Osborn's reign of terror that comes about with the leader of SWORD conquering Asgard were my least favorite stories because I haven't read Grim Hunt or Reign. (Okay- who am I kidding, the Spider-Man: Grim Hunt one-shot was hot garbage.)

The remaining 2 stories were fair reads. Mostly because I am quite familiar with the characters and have a passing knowledge of the original stories. Wolverine: Father explores what would happen if Logan raised his illegitimate son Daken. This wasn't a story based on an established story. Instead, this truly was a What If? story that explores the conflict of nature vs. nurture. Tale #6 has Hawkeye succeeding in killing Norman Osborn preventing the madman from taking over the super-spy agency SHIELD and preventing the Dark Reign of super heroes from happening. This story was a thrilling manhunt as the superheroing world has to undo the damage Clint Barton caused and that means having to take down one of their own!

I want to own all of the What If? stories. But cost is something that is keeping me from owning some of those stories as individual first run issues. Thank goodness for collections such as these. That Deadpool/Venom issue is not cheap. I think the most affordable copies I have seen are being listed for $200 each. I got this traced paperback used for less than $10. I'll take affordability over authenticity any day!

This volume reprints what is considered the 200th overall What If issue printed over the Marvel properties vast print runs since it first debuted in 1977. That anniversary issue has a bunch of cool extras like a story that ponders what if the Watcher killed Galactus?, a reprint of a Daredevil story from the first series and overview of all 200 issues published from 1977-2011 (when this collection was first print). That database was actually a big help with some missing gaps in my collection.

I would assume that the quality of 5 of the 6 stories was really good. I just wasn't familiar with everything in order to get the most enjoyment of this read. That's okay. I saved a ton of cash on that Deadpool story. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World: A History by William Alexander

It doesn’t happen that often. But I read something that wasn’t a graphic novel or comic book. My bride tries really hard to broaden my horizons by making suggestions of things she finds at our local library. She understands my philosophy that life is too short to not read comic books. But I think she also wants to experience the joy of finding something non-comic book related that I will read.

10 Tomatoes That Changed The World is a mix of culinary history, multicultural travel guide, botany text book and farmers almanac. Just don’t expect there to be exactly 10 tomatoes being focused on in this book. Instead, after chapter 3 or 4, the focus will be on a variety of tomato and not just a single love apple that caused humanity, especially the Italians and us Americans, to vastly change how and what we ate.

Rocketing towards the end of the book, author William Alexander looks at how the Roma tomato gave birth to the modern pizza, why tomatoes from Florida taste awful (especially when raw) and if the hothouse tomatoes of Canada will save our planet from global warming. I found the history of the tomato fascinating. The author does a great job capturing how curious cooks and farmers around the world took a chance on the lowly tomato and developed the vegetable-not-fruit into one of the most abundant and popular foods on the market today. My eyes did glaze over a bit when William Alexander talked about plant genetics. But that boredom is possibly not any sort of fault of the author’s. I got bored with those sections of the Botany class I took in college. 

One thing notably missing from this book: the origins of the La Tomatina festival in Spain where people throw tomatoes at each other and if that has anything to do with throwing the savory-ish fruit at terrible comedians!

William Alexander does put a lot of himself into this book. That irked me a tiny bit until I read his ‘About the Author’ blurb on the back cover flap and realized that it was just his writing style. He’s almost like a culinary investigative reporter taking us onto the scenes of the culinary crime he’s researching. However, I did feel like there were a few times that he spent too much time on a series of clues that were just red herrings.

In chapter 10, Alexander keeps alluding to the final scene of this Chekov (the Russian playwright, not the Russian helmsman of the USS Enterprise) play in which some guy's cherry trees get cut down. It all has something to do with sustainability and ecology. I didn’t see the connection really. Truly, I could overlook some of these tangents. But the one thing about this book that still gets up my crawl has to do with a pizza maker from Naples.

In chapter 4, the author goes back in time to talk about a 19-year old pizza maker named Luigi Mattozzi. On May 4th, 1850, Luigi and his family have to move to a new apartment as that was the day all apartment leases were to be vacated citywide. 4 pages later, Mattiozzi’s family is mentioned once more in terms of describing how a period family lived in Naples. And that’s it for Luigi and the fam. So my question is- did I miss something? This seemed like such an odd thing to bring up this random guy and not tie him in directly with the origins of pizza which are covered truth and folklore alike to great detail. Yet, not having any sort of closure about this guy is keeping me up at nights!

I may have to do something I rarely ever do: write the author. I really gotta know why Luigi gets this sweeping introduction and then bupkis. 

As for reading further works by William Alexander, I am open to check out his works on the expense and headaches of gardening as well as his look at the history of bread-making. I think I understand the author’s writing style much better now. I just hope he doesn’t bring up more random people in those works without giving them a proper sendoff into the history books. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.