Essential Avengers Vol. 3

There's a singular reason to own this book. Sure, if you've got volumes 1-3, you're going to want volume #4. But even if you weren't interested in the material of Essential Avengers Volume 1-3, if you are a fan of the Marvel universe, and you don't mind your reprints in black and white, you will want to own this book because of the Kree-Skrull War!

There have been several cosmic brouhahas in the multitude of pages coming from Marvel Comics. But to truly understand the origin of those conflicts, such as Annihilation, you've got to delve into the adventures of Earth's Mightiest Heroes from 1969-1971. 

Never to be an Avenger Rick Jones finally gets a chance to be a hero. Only because of a strange twist of fate, the one time Hulk sidekick isn't allowed to be his own man. Instead, a pair of cosmically powered bracelets force Rick to become bonded to the Kree warrior Mar-vell. Whenever trouble arrives, Rick activates the bands and he switches places with Earth's newest hero, Captain Marvel- into the Negative Zone!

Jones and Mar-vell's occupation in that inter-dimensional Hell sparks the attention of the Negative Zone's tyrannical leader Annihilus. With the Fantastic Four away, it's up to the Avengers to monitor any disturbances in the Zone. As a result, Jones and Mar-vell's link is severed. Now both can exist on Earth-616 at the same time. This the wheels that will cause an intergalactic war between Kree and Skrull- with Earth in the exact center crosshairs- begin to turn.

Roy Thomas does it yet again! With art by Sal Buscema and Neal Adams, this really is a volume not to be missed. That is if you can find it.. Out of print for over a decade and highly sought after by collectors, the Essential Marvel books are increasing difficult to find. Especially for a good price. But if you happen to come across one in decent shape that's affordable, you should grab it without question! Though you might ask why the editors included an issue of The Incredible Hulk in this volume. While you are supposed to read that issue after a crossover of sorts in the pages of The Avengers, the super team don't even appear in the Hulk book except for a cameo in the recap section of the tale. A good story but really could have been avoided if they just included some sort of blurb that the Avengers didn't have any active role in the Hulk's adventure in a pocket universe in the sub- atomic realm.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: 'Return to Plain Awful'- The Don Rosa Library, Vol. 2

Don Rosa gets a lot of hate from Duck fans. But no matter how much a collector might despise his work, the harshest critic of Don Rosa is Rosa himself. And I just don't know why. 

Rosa is a disciple of the greatest Duck creator of them all, 'the good Duck artist' Carl Barks. And sure, you never want to exceed your hero. But while Don Rosa is no Carl Barks, I think it should be said that Carl Barks is no Don Rosa either!

The artist originally born as Keno Rosa has a style in the vein of Harvey Kurtzman with tiny little inclusions of hidden images and inside jokes- usually in the background. I absolutely love that. Each Duck story of Rosa's that I read, I feel like a detective trying to find all the Easter eggs hidden in every panel. Thank goodness Rosa wrote his own commentary situated at the end of this volume as sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I just can't find where he hid the word 'D.U.C.K.' in the art of the first page. (Note: you should also be on the lookout for hidden Mickey's and portraits of Barks throughout...)

In this volume we get to enjoy a number of adventures throughout Duckburg and the furthest reaches of the globe. The cover story sees Uncle Scrooge tagging along with his nephews to Plain Awful in hopes of securing the market on square chicken eggs. But he'll have to beat rival Glomgold Flintheart to Peru first! 

My favorite story has Scrooge declaring his money bin a sovereign nation. The headaches that come about with tariffs, passports and an invading army of Beagle Boys makes this story so relevant to today's headlines that you would swear that this story wasn't written over 35 years ago.

There's a couple of real hidden gems that I don't feel like Rosa gives himself enough credit for. First is a storyboard for a never published promotional comic highlighting Donald and his nephews' inaugural trip to Disney MGM Studios. As it's Rosa's only story to have Donald and Mickey interacting in the same universe, it's not to be missed! Then there's Rosa's only foray into the DuckTales realm. He only penned it and it's less than 8 pages, but this prehistoric time travel romp with Magica De Spell was so fun!

I needed this book as a bit of retail therapy and a pick-me-up after a very difficult weekend. I had a ball with this book. I laughed, I examined and I appreciated the artwork and I distressed. I just wish Don Rosa knew how much somebody appreciated his body of work. He's ton better than he gives himself credit for!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Monster Fun Easter Special 2022

This Easter special is from 2022. Direct from the UK, because of customs, it came about 3 months after Easter had occurred that year. Then it took me 3 years to remember in time for the holiday that I had this book to read.

Easter comics are pretty rare. I think I can only think of enough to fill one hand worth of fingers. And with exception of 1 book, a Marvel one-shot from the 90s, none of the rest of them involves the death and resurrection of Jesus. But being a fan of holiday comics, I was excited nonetheless for a Springtime treat.

I got halfway through this magazine sized read when I started wondering what was Easter about this book? There was a story about a robot commando, a girl who's special makeup turned her into a monster and Dr. Frankenstein's monster losing yet another brain. Other than the cover that cleverly placed the stars of this book having an egg hunt on Easter Island, there wasn't a single appearance by a bunny was to be had. Tons of cats in a caper involving the felines trying to take over the world. But not 1 fluffy rabbit.

Then at the exact mid point of this issue do we finally get an appearance of the Easter Bunny. It's a funny fable about how a young boy gets to eat all of his family's Easter candy because he defeated the Easter Bunny. (At least that's what he tells his younger sibling.)  Then a temp agency where you hire monsters run by Dracula, decorates for Easter. Lastly, a little demon girl tries to help the Easter Bunny escape from the pits of Hades- to disastrous effect! Throw in a couple more creature capers and you've got about 9 stories with only 3 being holiday themed. 

I don't fault the 'Leopard From Lime Street' story for not taking place during Easter. It's a serial and possibly changing things to fit into the spirit of the season could upset the story flow. One story sees a little vampire girl going on a Spring vacation with her adopted human family. So while not a holiday book, it at least was seasonal.

Look, I get it. Easter isn't an easy holiday to craft stories about. There's only so many ideas involving bunnies and egg hunts you can come up with without getting stale. And very rarely do even Christmas comic books delve into the Christian elements. But  if only a third of your book is even focused on secular Easter festivities, maybe call it a 'Spring Holiday Special' instead.

I like Monster Fun. I think the stories are funny and I enjoy the art. Their Halloween and Christmas books have become must haves for me. I just wish that I wasn't set up for an accidental 3 year wait to fall so flat in terms of the amount of holiday material that I felt I was promised.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Bizarro World (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Bizarro World is a loose sequel to 2001's Bizarro Comics. Whereas the earlier book was a collection of vignettes and previously cancelled material from some of the industry's top Indy talent, book-ended by a story in which Mr. Mxyzptlk is aided by Bizarro to save his 5th dimension home from an alien invader, the later work was a strict anthology in every sense of the word.

Featuring the talents of the Hernandez Brothers, Evan Dorkin, Raina Telgemeier and a host of others, 2005's Bizarro World pales in comparison to it's processor with one major deviation: Christmas stories! 

Andy Merrill and Roger Langridge's 'Jing Kal-El' is an oddball Elseworld in which we see what would have happened to the Last Son of Krypton if his rocket ship had crash landed into Santa's work shop at the North Pole. In 'Batman Smells', actor-comedian Patton Oswalt reveals the origins to the alternate lyrics of Jingle Bells. Artist Bob Fingerman takes viewers on a tour through Gotham City sewers and the Batcave in order to discover the answer. A couple of other stories have scenes that take place in otherwise non-holiday themed tales. But it adds to the unexpected merriment of an otherwise lacking anthology.

For being a graphic novel named after the Superman Family character, Bizarro is noticeably absent from a majority of this book. He does appear in the title story by Chris Duffy and Scott Morse, explaining that 'Bizarro World' is a DC Comics themed amusement park designed from a Bizarro point of view. However, the real Bizarro #1 is a closeted intellectual who milks his backwards persona for profit. Only those riches come at the cost of the anti-villain's dignity. A Harvey Pekar penned farce also stars Bizarro bringing the total number of appearances to 2. 

Not counting the cover by Jaime Hernandez. Batman is the winner of most starring roles in this book with a grand total of 8! The Legion of Super-heroes comes in third with a trio of appearances.

While a very Batman heavy book, just about every character in the DC Universe appears in this book, if only for just a 'Wheres Waldo?' type-cameo as part of the background scenery of a panel. Supergirl, The Spectre and Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth are among the characters who star in this collection of over 2 dozen short stories that look at DC Comics with an askew view.

Completing this review completes Task #12 (An Anthology) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

DuckTales #4 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers. TailSpin. Darkwing Duck. Without the success of their predecessor DuckTales, none of these classic Disney cartoons from the late 80s-early 90s would have existed. In fact, the Disney Channel as it operates today as a leader in children's programming as well as the streaming juggernaut Disney+, if not for the pioneering nature of DuckTales.

Production for DuckTales began in 1986. At the time, it was a big gamble for Disney who was fledgling against a wave of new animation studios that was poaching quality talent away from the House of Mouse. In 1985, Disney saw a moderate success with the weekly TV series Adventures of the Gummi Bears. Debuting on NBC, the show was an all-new property, though loosely based on the popular gummy candies. It's surprise popularity enticed Disney to begin production on a daily syndicated series that would air in the late afternoon when children would be home. It needed to be based on a Disney icon. Instead of focusing on Mickey Mouse producers wanted a lead character with a bit of an attitude. And of you wanted attitude in the Disney universe, you headed over to Duckburg, Calisota!

Based upon the classic Duck universe comic stories of Carl Barks, DuckTales was an adventure heavy animated series that saw Uncle Scrooge and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie seeking treasures from across the globe; even the Moon! Enemies such as the Beagle Boys, Flintheart Glomgold and Magical De Spell would be the standard flies in Scrooge's ointment as he constantly looked for new ways to fill his already overflowing coffers. 

To the dismay of Duck fans, Donald Duck would be missing. Due to an internal edict by Disney, the main trio of Mickey, Donald and Goofy were forbidden from being used in the newly developed television animation department. Thus, Donald was sent away to join the Navy (He already had the hat and tunic!) and the larger than life Launchpad McQuack was introduced to pilot Scrooge and his nephews around the world. (The policy forbidding the use of Disney's major Golden Age characters would be overturned in 1992 with the release of the syndicated series Goof Troop starring Goofy and his son Max. Again, thanks to the popularity of DuckTales!)

As DuckTales quickly dominated the airwaves, Disney immediately looked for ways to market the series through merchandising. The first thing Disney approved was a comic book series by their American license holder of the Disney comic book rights, Gladstone. The first few issues had Studio Program material featuring Donald in the episode based adventures. Yet on the covers it was  Launchpad on the engaging with Scrooge and family; not Donald! The rest of the book was filled with a classic Barks story, which also featured Donald.

I realize the mastery of those stories in my older age. But for a 12 year old who was a fan of the TV show as well as a subscriber to Gladstone's comic adaptation, the stark contrast of art styles between the TV show and 1950s Disney Ducks was confusing. Having Donald acting out stories that he wasn't even involved in on the TV didn't help matters much either. Once Disney 's Studio Program realized that Donald was absent from the series, the remainder of the first volume of DuckTales' 13 issues featured Launchpad instead. Those first tales featuring Donald are now considered non-canon by fans.

In 1990, Disney revoked the licensing rights form Gladstone. The studio decided to publish their own comics. Len Wein was hired as the Editor-in-chief. With a full length feature film hitting theaters later in the year, Disney Comics published the second volume of DuckTales. The 18-issue series was nothing like Gladstone's book. An all-new multi part story saw Uncle Scrooge, the nephews and Webby, the granddaughter of McDuck's housekeeper, Mrs. Beakley attempting to recover Scrooge's lucky dime from the clutches of Magica De Spell. 

In this issue, the Duckburg estate is celebrating the safe return of Webby from being held captive by Magica. As a present, Scrooge takes his nephews and Webby on a cruise where bad weather causes McDuck to be swept overboard. He awakens, marooned on the tropical island of his dreams because the native monkeys pay him in trade for coconuts and other fruits in rubies, diamonds and emeralds. However, everything becomes less than ideal when a giant ape arrives on the scene literally throwing his weight around!

While the story ends with a 'To Be Continued' blurb, thankfully things on Ape Island satisfyingly end to prevent readers from having to wait for Scrooge's rescue in issue #5. 

Volume 2 ran for 18 issues right up until the publisher imploded in 1991, cancelling all but a trio of series. DuckTales #4 was written by season one screenwriter Frank Ridgeway. Covers and art by Cosme Quartieri and Robert Bat.

Completing this review completes Task #4 (A Comic Book Based on an Animated TV Show) the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Green Arrow #75 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Most anniversary sized issues seem to fit into one of 3 main categories: a major team up that fans have been clamoring for, a death or resurrection of a major character, or a major life event like a wedding, promotion to a team or new child. Very rarely it seems these very special issues act in celebration of the vast history of the character or team that the subject of said comic is truly reflected in terms of an 'anniversary.' Yet that is what Mike Grell and Rick Hoberg achieved in issue #75 of the 1988-1998 series of Green Arrow.

During a New Year's Eve celebration in downtown Seattle, Oliver Queen is near fatally wounded by an arrow welding assassin. Because of his war on organized crime in the Emerald City, Green Arrow has been targeted by the Yakuza, who are trying to gain a foothold in the Pacific Northwest. As Oliver recovers, the three ladies in the Archer's life, long-time love Black Canary, mother to one of his children, Shado, and Marianne, a youthful woman who writes fairy tales and just declared her love to Ollie at the beginning of the story. Even the mysterious assassin is found to have a deep bond with Green Arrow in this retrospective of a character that editor Mike Gold compared to a cross between 'Robin Hood and Peter Pan' in his farewell address to the readers in the letters column.

Rick Hoberg provided the pencils and inks for this oversized issue from 1993. Mike Grell does double duty as the cover artist in a powerful image that features all of the main characters of this story.

Completing this review completes Task #9 (With The Word GREEN in the Title) the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Deadpool #0 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Wade Wilson is on assignment deep in the Heart of Texas. He's supposed to recover some top secret files when his target is intercepted by a foe that was supposed to be dead. 

That's comic books for you... Nobody stays dead.

But Deadpool really needs those files. Normally if a mission goes south, the Merc With a Mouth would just float on over to the next job. However, successfully completing this task means earning an expensive surgery for his pal Blind Al. So Wade follows the trail of the missing data all the way to the lab of Armin Zola.

Zola has been cloning some of the Marvel Universe's most forgettable characters from beyond the grave. Though who could forget Daredevil's arch-enemy Porcupine Man?! Needing those files and not morally objectively against killing mindless clones, the mutant assassin has a literal field day killing off the Marvel Universe's z-list.

This special was a collector's edition insert in issue #87 of the now defunct Wizard Magazine. An official tie-in for 2nd volume of Deadpool, that ran for 69 issues plus an annual from 1997-2002, this issue was written by Joe Kelly. It's rather different from the Deadpool comics published in the past decade. For example, Deadpool riffs on the hermaphrodite nature of one of the characters for several panels. While the character is known for not bowing to any sacred cows, except for his daughter Ellie, Deadpool's reaction to the dual sexual nature of the resurrected character Vamp-Animus borderlines on cruel. It's definitely not a reaction that the now accepting pansexual mutant would make in current comics culture. Wade's reaction to the discovery of the clones of Uncle Ben and Aunt May nude and in asexual embrace? Classic Deadpool!

Featuring art and cover by Yancey Labat, this 12-page issue actually expands to 16 pages as it includes a behind the scenes section. It featuring original sketches of the cover to Wizard Magazine #71 by Ed McGuinness cover along with never-before-seen (and deleted artwork) from Pete Woods.

Completing this review completes Task #23 (Book Found This Year in a Bargain Bin) the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Steed and Mrs. Peel #1 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The quirky spy series The Avengers originally ran from 1961-1969. Contrary to popular beliefs, The Avengers didn't air on the BBC. Instead it was part of the programming for ITV. Also known as Channel 3, the independent free-to-air public broadcasting network had a budget way smaller than the state-run British Broadcasting Channel. So in 1965, American broadcaster ABC bought the series, making the names John Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel household names. The series made actress Diana Rigg a cultural icon. 

After The Avengers ended in 1969, it seemed that the show was doomed to languish in reruns. Surprisingly, the episodes that started Mrs. Peel's replacement Tara King, were lasting hits in France. As a result, champagne manufacturer Laurent-Perrier created an advertising campaign starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Linda Thorson as King. 

The success of the campaign brought about interest in a reboot. Macnee returned as Steed in the retooled New Avengers. As Patrick Macnee was pushing 50, The New Avengers featured younger actor Gareth Hunt taking on the more strenuous stunts as trained martial artist Mike Gambit. Playing the role of the beautiful but deadly Purdy was the blonde actress Joanna Lumley, about 2 decades shy of her role as the boozy Patsy Stone on the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.

This 1990 3-issue miniseries takes place in between the events of the original series and the 1976-1978 reboot. Written by Grant Morrison with art by Ian Gibson, the Acme Press/Eclipse Comics published series sees Steed reuniting with Mrs. Peel after it has been revealed that a mole has infiltrated the never named branch of British Intelligence that Steed works for. After a military strategist is murdered and Tara King is incapacitated, Steed turns to the only person he can trust: Emma Peel. 

Mrs. Peel has been spending her time away from the intelligence community with her husband in the South American jungle. An anthropologist, Mr. Steed was presumed dead, which led to Emma becoming an unofficial agent for the British crown. When Mr. Peel was found safe and sound, Mrs. Peel left to reunite with her spouse. In this miniseries, Mr. Peel is alive and well, observing native ritual sacrifices. It's a subject that clearly doesn't hold Emma's interest and she's more than willing to help out her old partner for old times sake.

This series, like other subsequent titles based on the British TV series, are titled Steed and Mrs. Peel. Not The Avengers. That's because in the United States, Marvel Comics owns the naming rights to The Avengers as well as The New Avengers. It's made for a little bit of confusion amongst comic collectors looking for the adventures of John Steed and Mrs Peel in print. Muddling things is the fact that because John Steed and his revolving door of partners debuted on the boob tube and later the silver screen in a 1998 American made film starring Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman, the British franchise has naming rights over Marvel when it comes to live action works. Thus, the cinematic adventures of Earth's Mightiest Heroes must be officially titled as Marvel's Avengers. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the first Avengers film goes by the name Marvel Avengers Assemble.

In 2012, Acme/Eclipse's 3 issue miniseries was reprinted as a 6-issue limited series by Boom! Studios before releasing a regular series penned by Mark Waid. Both publications by Boom! were released as Steed and Mrs. Peel.

Completing this review completes Task #21 (Written by an Author From the UK) the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Essential Avengers, Vol. 3

Volume 3 of Essential Avengers sees yet more roster changes. BIG SHOCK there. The King of Wakanda and the android Vision joins the ranks of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. With that last inclusion, that also means we're introduced to the robotic menace: Ultron!

This volume covers issues that first debuted from 1968-70. I knew that the Vision makes his debut during this period of time. But I thought we were at least 5 years, maybe more, away from Ultron coming into being. So having him pop up was a real surprise. Too bad that Ultron is probably my least favorite Marvel villain of all-time. Here's a character perfectly designed to destroy humanity and yet, Ultron always loses- seemingly destroyed. But no! Ultron keeps coming back in a new, bigger and badder upgraded body. Why won't he just die?! 

The addition of T'Challa adds a touch of royalty along with a heavy hitter to the ranks of the Avengers. Why the Black Panther doesn't use his political clout more during this time period is beyond me. Instead, T'Challa takes on the secret identity of Luke Charles, a inner city school teacher. Towards the end of this volume, we do experience the struggles of the Civil Rights movement through the Panther's eyes when those slimy racist goons of the Serpent Society rear their ugly heads back onto the seen. They're not as scary as the original version of the group seen in the previous volume. Still, it doesn't make their message of hatred and bigotry any less palatable. Beating DC Comics to the punch with relevant comics by almost a full year, I don't know if making the Black Panther the champion of the battle of inner city racism and inequality was Roy Thomas' idea or that of editor Stan Lee. Whomever it was, they were visionaries whose contribution should never be erased from bookshelves!

Another major character undergoes a change; although their metamorphosis is less internal and very much overt! Clint Barton hangs up his purple tights and arrows and takes on Dr. Henry Pym's mantle of Goliath, the giant Avenger. No, Hank hasn't retired from superheroing. But now a married man and operating as the schizophrenic superhero Yellow Jacket, Pym doesn't have time for seeing the sites of the Big Apple from 20 feet in height. After the death of his brother, Barton needs a change. Losing the love of his life, the Black Widow, to her career as a SHIELD operative may have something to do with the change in identity...

Compared to the last volume, there's a lot more of original members Thor and Iron Man as well as Captain America in this book. They're all still on reserve status. But it's nice to see them in action when things look their bleakest like in the alternate reality thriller of Avengers, Annual #2 in which the original Avengers killed off all of the other heroes in order to usher in a Golden Age of Peace and tranquility under the benevolence of the Scarlet Centurion. 

It seems that with the loss of new recruits balanced with the assistance of the Big Three, the more things change for the Avengers, the more things stay the same.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Pseudoscience: An Amusing History of Crackpot Ideas and Why We Love Them by Lydia Kang, MD & Nate Pederson

Myths and legends. The unexplained. The macabre. The paranormal. These are all subjects that I like to read about. This book by Lydia Yang, MD and Nate Pederson looks at an assortment of strange and unusual phenomena and attempts to disprove it through scientific fact. Your usual suspects are explored here: UFOs, ghosts, cryptids and the Bermuda Triangle. Then you have your lesser known unsolved mysteries like spontaneous combustion and ley lines. Then you have things that even a lifelong lover of all things this side of Ripley's Believe It Or Not have never encountered such as the all but forgotten 20th century school of thought/cult of Lawsonism.

For the most part the writers are fair and even a touch open minded. Right off the bat, they promise to not disprove any mainstream religions. Things like Atlantis could be real and while the authors destroy the concept of astrology based on the fact that Pluto is no longer a major planet in our solar system, they admit to sometimes reading their horoscopes because 'its fun.'

One subject that I felt did show a bias was the chapter on climate deniers. Personally, I agree that something is wonky with our weather. But I don't blame it solely on the human race. I really think something is off with our planet's axis because I don't remember it still being sunlight at 9:30pm during the summer when I was a kid. Yet, while the authors expressed hopes that maybe there really is a Loch Ness Monster, they both seem to close the door on any other explanation to climate change than it's all because of fossil fuels and deforestation. I agree that has something to do with it. But I feel like there's an unspoken element out there that is also contributing to climate change and that it's being kept hush-hush.

The authors have a pair of similar books that I actually have been wanting to read for some time now. After reading this 2025 book, I am still open to getting those sister volumes. There is a light-hearted element to (most of) this book. Mostly, it's relegated to the captions for the photos and some were really funny. I liked how the majority of the chapters details events and happenings as factual before going back and tearing down the subject matter with a scientific approach. It helps to give this book a very open minded feel to it because who knows, maybe one day we will be visited by aliens flying around in a flying saucer. It's doubtful. But it's not a concept that has been 100% disproven yet.

If only the authors had kept this approach to every chapter. I wouldn't have felt like I was tricked into a promise of scientific exploration of the unknown and wound up attending a very fierce-toned TED talk on climate change.

Grateful Dead Comix #1 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Despite the cover indicating that this is #1 of Grateful Dead Comix, it's actually the 6th issue in the series. Issues #1-5 were originally published by Kitchen Sink Press in a larger magazine sized format. Sales were fairly decent and Deadheads, fans of the world famous Grateful Dead, loved seeing their favorite songs brought to life in 4-color form. However, rising costs in the production of the book, especially in terms of multicolored ink and paper, resulted in editors needing to shrink the size of the book done to the standard comic book size of 6.625 inches x 10.25 inches. 

Unfortunately, the new format as well as renumbering of the book couldn't keep the book from becoming a victim of the dramatic drop in overall sales of comics in the early 90s. The retooled Grateful Dead Comix was cancelled in April, 1994 after just 2 issues. It didn't help that it took nearly a full year for issue #2 to see print. Knowing how some fans are picky about their collection of hardcover and softcover collected works all looking uniform, the format change was probably met with some level of complaint as well.

The issue contains full comic adaptations of 2 Dead songs. Reed Waller and Kate Worley interpret Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter's 'Ripple' as a woman remembering a lost love through the items she finds in her attic. Paul Ollswang's depiction of Hunter's 'Attics of My Life' seems to stay away from the bowels of the sky parlor; instead focusing on a strange man with antlers who battles fierce beasts in a land of feminine-looking sprites. 

This issue also continues a project by Tim Truman. Based off of the never produced 6 song concept album 'Eagle Mall', Truman crafts a story full of creatures and characters that look like they were taken straight out of the animated cult classic film Heavy Metal, engaging in an epic war on an unknown battlefield. This segment features songs #4, 'Lay of the Ring' and #5, 'At The Pass'. Songwriter Robert Hunter worked with Tim Truman in this attempt to finally see his passion project come to fruition. The following issue promised to bring 'Eagle Mall' to an stunning conclusion. 

Grateful Dead Comix didn't just cover visual representations of the band's songbook. Previous issues covered legendary sets performed by the Grateful Dead, including their 1967 performance at the Monterey, CA fairgrounds. Cartoonist (and Deadhead) Terry LaBan, contributed to a frequent series called 'True Life Experiences of a Reluctant Deadhead'. Another segment was on tap for the next issue. Other future plans for Kitchen Sink's franchise license included a special edition hardcover collection of issues #1-4. Limited to 500 copies, it included a bookplate autographed by guitarist Jerry Garcia.

Completing this review completes Task #34 (With a Three Word Title) the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.