The Little Monsters #39

This is another book that I had on my wishlist where I didn't care what issue I got. I just wanted to own a copy of it. I had seen images of collectors of both comic books and horror merch finding issues of the Gold Key series in the wild and I admit, I got a little envious over it. Then this summer, right before going back to work on another school year, I found a copy in fair shape for a decent price. 

The Little Monsters is one of Gold Key's few independent properties. Known mostly for licensed material such as Star Trek, this series debuted in 1964 as a backup feature to The Three Stooges. By the 1970s, siblings 'Orrible Orvie and Awful Annie were headlining their own series which ran for 44 issues until being cancelled in 1978. This issue was from my birth year of 1977; so its near the end of their impressive run. 

The first adventure sees a visit from a distant relative who creates a tornado every time they laugh. Then the family goes on vacation to a ghost town. While exploring, the siblings discover a window into the past and end up capturing an Old West bank robber. Lastly, Mama Monster enters a painting into an art contest. Only the unseen image is so frightening, it turns anyone who views it into stone!

There might have been a fourth story. If there was it wasn't memorable to me. These stories had a feel that I remember anytime I read a Gold Key humor book as a child. It felt immersive. It felt safe. It felt just a tiny bit off. Like there was a lack of fluidity to the art. It's almost like whomever was illustrating this issue did it for the paycheck. There's no love of the artist's craft in these stories. No care about the characters. A really sad disconnect. 

At least I enjoyed it. It definitely was worth waiting until October to read. But now that I finally have an issue in my collection, I don't feel compelled to go out searching for the other 43 issues starring the Little Monsters.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Archie Comics Digest Halloween Special (Archie Double Digest, Vol. 2 #7)

This might be an Archie Halloween. I have so many issues that are appropriate for the season and with my recent health struggles, I've been needing a pick-me-up. 

My favorite comic book shop came through again ordering this digest sized collection of spooky tales set in Riverdale. I had forgotten all about making pre-orders with everything going on. Great to know that I have the guys at Books Do Furnish a Room have got my back.

Usually, when I get a brand new Archie digest, there's at least 1 story that I have either read before or I own in a holiday collection... Or both. But for 2026, I batted a 1000, because there wasn't a story or fun page that I had encountered before! Let's look at some highlights:

1) Little Archie and pals travel with Mr. Lodge to inspect a new property he bought. The home of a former movie special effects wizard, rumor has it that the place is haunted. The group is naturally uneasy by this. But they press on.Howver, the legend might be true with Little Archie encounters a monster on sight. 

2) An all-new story written by R. Alan Brooks, that pays homage to a location so revered, it's appeared in both the DC and Marvel universe and the interactions of both worlds is considered canon without the need of a licensing agreement. The artistic Scarlet, gets an invitation to host a float in the annual Rutland Vermont Halloween parade. Hoping to spread awareness about Autism, Scarlet starts to panic. With Scarlet's cat Michelangelo as inspiration, friends Chuck and Nancy rally around her to create the most float ever!

3) In at least 2 stories, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, visits ghost towns and abandoned mansions that really do seem to be haunted.

4) Lastly, Archie uncovers a plot to rob the Halloween charity event being hosted by Veronica. 

There was several other stories that I probably have forgotten about. It doesn't necessarily mean that they were bad. I actually changed my opinion on one of the stories. I at first was not a fan of the story about Scarlet. The artwork was by Colleen Doran, of which I am a big fan of her collabs with Neil Gaiman. But her art didn't match what I am used to. Yet when I read the post script and was reminded of the importance of the town of Rutland, I actually fell in love with the adventure. 

Still I am struck by how violent the Little Archie stories are with a madman in a monster suit trying to push the kids off of the roof of the haunted house. Maybe that's why I like the Little Archie stories the best because they don't pull any punches. Not that teen Archie doesn't have it's share of danger and intrigue. But I really think that whomever wrote those tales wasn't a fan of kids.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Melvin Monster #7

This is one of those books where you really want to own a copy of it and you really don't mind which issue it is. Melvin Monster was the creation of legendary humor comics specialist John Stanley. 10 issues of Melvin Monster was intermittently published from 1965-1969. And each issue was scripted and illustrated by Stanley himself.

That's why I wanted to own just a single book from the original run. I have a few comics with material from John Stanley. But this is the first one that is from original printings. So it's like owning an original Mickey Mantle Topps baseball card and not one of the seemingly endless reprints of the Yankees legend.

Melvin is a diminutive green monster with a pointy head. He kinda looks like a kid's version of the Frankenstein monster. It's his dream to one day be admitted to the local monster school. But he keeps getting turned down because he's too sweet and innocent. His father is a hulking purple version of his son and is called Baddy by family and friends. Melvin's Mummy is a literal mummy. 

It took me a little while to catch that joke about Mummy mummy.  Or is it mummy Mummy? I was too busy trying to figure out how a monster and a mummy could have a child that didn't require cloth strips. It was a real Munsters conundrum, like how a Frankenstein monster and a vampire procreate a child werewolf... But once I understood the joke, I got a real kick out of it. 

Most of the stories star Melvin. At least twice he tries to convince the witch headmistress of the monster school to admit him. One has Melvin sneaking out of town to enjoy nature. Another has Melvin trying to stay clear of his family pet, a crocodile named Cleopatra, that would rather have Melvin as dinner instead of as a loving master. One story focuses on Baddy trying to stay awake to see the fights on a TV. 

As for Baddy's birthday party on the cover, it doesn't appear as a story inside. Just a cover gag. 

Something else missing from this book is a one-page prose. Even by the late 60s with the USPS removing that first class requirement, having a story or page of informative columns was still being practiced by Gold Key and Dell. So I'm interested to know why this issue is missing such filler. I don't mind not having it as most of the prose addition isn't really that good.

But as for this 1967 issue, it was a humorous way to spend an October evening. I see shades of Little Lulu and best friend Tubby throughout as well as the Addams Family with everyone's macabre approach to life. Definitely a keeper in my collection.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney's Donald and Mickey: Treasure Menace in Venice (Donald & Mickey #3)

I selected this 2017 Disney issue from IDW because of the cover. The image shows Donald and his nephews in the canals of Venice being menaced by a phantom. It had a Scooby-Doo edge to it and for a October read, it was a good choice.

In the title story, Scrooge McDuck foreclosures a bad debt and gains a derelict Venetian opera house. To save a buck, Scrooge sends Donald, Huey, Dewie and Louie to renovate the place. On day one, the ducks learn that the opera house is haunted by the ghost of a famous playwright who fled Italy in disgrace. Supposedly the phantom is looking for a treasure that he buried and left behind for nearly 500 years. And wouldn't you know it; on the first night in the haunted palace, that very ghost has shown up to chase away Donald and his wards!

The second story starred Mickey Mouse and his friend from the future Eega Beeva. In 'The Terrifying World of Tudor', the animals of Earth have begun to act suspiciously. On top of that, the bees have all disappeared. As more animals keep vanishing, Mickey learns that an alien entity has been offering the disappearing breeds the chance to live in paradise, away from menacing mankind. After Pluto and all of his canine kin have disappeared, Mickey is visited by, wouldn't you know it; a blasted 'To be continued next issue...'

Now as much as I hate finding out the I don't own the continuing issue of a story opener that I just read, I hate what happened here even more. This issue was marketed right on the cover as a one-shot. One-shot means one and done. There is no issue #2. Even worse, IDW doesn't tell you where to find the closer. No wonder IDW was stripped of the Disney license after only 5 years with no renewal. If stuff like this was how IDW treated a beloved property, I can imagine that they lost devoted fans and readers pretty quick. Disney is not known for letting their fan base be disappointed for very long.

Upon some further research, I learned that while this issue was labeled as a one-shot, this oversized issue was part of a series of quarterly annuals. Each sold as a one-shot! and yet inside the cover, it is listed as the 3rd issue of Donald & Mickey!  So I will be on the lookout for the Donald and Mickey: The Terrifying World of Tudor 'one-shot' for the rest of the story because I really did enjoy the opener and I want to know what happens. Plus, these Disney stories from Italy and Denmark, Sweden and places elsewhere are growing on me. They've got a clean, classic look and they're some of the more imaginative stories being produced in the creativity desert known as the early 21st century. 

Lastly, one thing about the art in the first story that just really bugged me. As you can see from the image of the cover, the menace is clearly a human male. This is exactly what the ghost looks like in the story. But when locals tell the legend of the playwright who later haunts the opera house, he looks like one of the Beagle Boys; complete with black bulbous nose. That sort of overlook is irksome to someone who gave up drawing as a teen because I never could get my characters to appear the same!

Worth Consuming but fraught with frustration. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Men-Thing by R.L. Stine

Legendary children's horror writer R.L. Stine takes a shot at the Man-Thing in this 2017 miniseries. I like Man-Thing. I also like his DC clone, Swamp Thing. So finding this book at an Ollie's for less than $4 was a done deal. But instead of reading immediately when I bought it over the past summer or spring, I waited until it was October. 

I think waiting was a good choice. The story is very unlike any Man-Thing story ever made, unless it was as a parody. That's because this version of the character can actually talk. Somewhere before the events of this adventure, Man-Thing was able to restore his original identity. Once again Army researcher, Ted Sallis, in mind only, he follows his dreams of becoming a movie star by moving to Hollywood. 

While in California, Ted gets attacked by his mindless old self. Suddenly, Sallis is back in the Florida Everglades. But something is seriously wrong in the swamp as gators are suddenly 30 feet tall, birds are randomly exploding and the roots of the trees are strangling the aquatic life to death. Man-Thing goes to find the Oldfather, a timeless keeper of the Nexus of All Realities. While in his domicile, Sallis discovers that the wizened man is missing and that the door to the Nexus has been left a jar! 

I swear this is not a What If... Or a What The?!,,, story. I've researched since reading this trade paperback and R.L. Stine's treatment of the Man-Thing is considered canon. But it wasn't something that sticks however. The whole affair is treated as either a dream or the result of the chaos brought about by the door to the Nexus of All Realities being left open. 

Here's the thing, while the Nexus has been a part of Man-Thing lore all the way back to 1972, a mere year after the debut of the character, this Oldfather guy had only been around since the second issue of this miniseries. And he has not been seen since. I know that I hadn't read a lot of Man-Thing stuff after the early 80s, but I knew that this guy was pretty unfamiliar to me. Usually, when this happens, I think to myself that I must have forgotten something as the Oldfather is presented as someone who's been a part of Man-Thing lore since his beginning. But no, this is a Stine creation.

When this mini was first published as 5 individual issues, Stine included a backup horror feature, very similar to how Marvel horror was presented in the 70s. Each tale of terror was very good. In fact, in terms of the dialogue, they were light years ahead of the main feature. I think the story about the neighborhood watch on alert from a series of werewolf attacks was the best. The last story about a father not thinking that the boy dating his only daughter is good enough for her was the weakest. Creepy as all get out. But it was left too ambiguous at the end and I hate loose ends.

The horror tales were what I was really expecting. 5 tales done like an E.C. Comics horror anthology. Only instead of a chatty host, it has the silent Man-Thing encountering a league of deplorable people who somehow wound up in the Everglades. As those who know fear burn at the Man-Thing's touch, when the main character goes to touch these folks, Man-Thing is able to experience their story. 

That's what I thought from the cover showing Man-Thing in Hollywood. I never thought in a million years that the muck monster would try to become a movie star. 

You know, if R.L. Stine would return to the character and try my idea, t would be willing to give the author a mulligan on this series. Enjoyable as it was, it had it's faults. I think Stine was trying to make a Goosebumps story starring the Man-Thing and it just doesn't work. Man-Thing is too serious of a character for that. But pairing of Stine and Man-Thing has promise. It just needs to be done in a serious way and I think you've got to make Man-Thing more of a observer than an active participant in the action. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Harley Quinn x Elvira #6

The time for the epic first meeting of Harley Quinn and Elvira has come to an end. All of the loose ends get tied up nicely. Unfortunately, this issue was more of a static chapter as a lot of the action is relayed passively. Who am I kidding?! It's all done in past voice.

Plus it gets schmaltzy. Both leads know that it's time to part. Elvira finally admits that she's fond of Harley and Quinn is sad to see a new friend depart. 

The first issue involved Harley missing Halloween due to a stomach bug. In true Chekov fashion, the 'gun' that appears in Act One, returns. Harley gets her Coney Island style Halloween bash, complete with parade, with not just the Mistress of the Dark in the grand marshal role, but Harley as well. So while the October/November festivities disappeared from the plot in issues #3-5, seemingly for good, this series ended up being a Halloween adventure.

The big question now is how to catalog this book in my collection database and where to file it. I think since Harley is the first name mentioned in the title, I can at least eliminate putting this 6-issue DC/Dynamite Entertainment collaboration under the letter E. But do I put these issues in my Harley Quinn short box or in my growing allotment of Halloween tales?

Worth Consuming!

Rating 7 out of 10 stars. 

Overall series rating: 7.7 stars.

Harley Quinn x Elvira #5

Harley Quinn and Elvira travel the far reaches of space, all thanks to the Zardoz clone, Vartox! In need of companionship for a major intergalactic wedding joining two powerful families, Vartox travelled to Earth to find Power Girl. She turned him down. So off to Transylvania Vartox went to ask Harley Quinn to be his plus one. Upon arriving, Vartox saved both Harley and Elvira from vengeful Sid, now just a floating head in a massive robot body. Vartox landed his space ship on Sid, squashing him flat ,and earning 2 lovely ladies to bring to the wedding.

I want to talk about the artwork. The main artist has been Juan Samu. (Amanda Conner, who's been on co-author duty with husband Jimmy Palmiotti, had been doing the dream sequences, throughout.) Samu's Elvira has been okay. But his Harley looks so much like Margot Robbie in the face. It's been very impressive. Now with Vartox looking like his inspiration, Sean Connery, I've really been in awe of Samu's work. Is it picture perfect? Not at all. It's more like caricature. But it looks like the actors who these characters are either been portrayed by or based on. 

Only one issue to go. So far, it's been a roller coaster. Thankfully, there's been more peaks than valleys. Hopefully as we roll into the last leg I'm hoping that it will be a satisfying conclusion. At least the penultimate chapter was a near perfect read that is leaving me hopeful.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Harley Quinn x Elvira #4

Harley and Elvira are on the run. Naturally, the Mistress of the Dark knows a guy in Transylvania who's a count, sleeps in and has a castle. They never say that it's Dracula. But maybe they couldn't because of copyright or something. 

While at the castle, the girls clean themselves up and give the Invisible Man the memory of a lifetime. The brides of the Count see Harley and Elvira as competition. And the disembodied brain of Sid, the sleazy TV executive who got blown up by the girls in issue #1, has a new robot body and is on his way to use it to exact revenge.

This was a good issue. Very sexual in nature. The bathing scene is about as close to an adult book you can get without losing your Teen Plus rating. But who are we kidding? Ratings these days are really arbitrary. What DC considers to be Teen Plus is a lot more tame than what Dynamite Entertainment considers. As Dynamite is the main publisher, you may find several scenes to be way more titillating than a DC Harley Quinn regular title.

So buyer beware if you're purchasing this book for a younger reader who is a big fan of Harley Quinn or you might be introducing them to puberty a lot quicker than expected.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Harley Quinn x Elvira #3

That merc job Harley Quinn accepted to help pay for the big Halloween in Summer bash starring Elvira went terribly wrong. Never let the Mistress of the Dark drive while wearing stiletto heels! Now Harley and Elvira must enlist Power Girl to help them escape until things smooth over.

More about the mystery woman from the last issue is revealed. She's the vengeful granddaughter of the guy Harley blew up because he cancelled Elvira's weekly late night horror film TV show. Turns out that the old guy, named Sid, survived. Well, some of him survived and what's left of him has been taken to a literal mad scientist for a new body.

While again not much happens in terms of moving the plot along, this issue was very funny. Elvira was less belittling to Harley and was more trying to get into Power Girl's tights. The flashback to the blotched hit was shocking but hilarious. Plus I really like Harley's pal Tony. Though is he wearing a fishnet polo shirt or is it a regular shirt that happens to be the same color as his skin tone? That's a question that has been bugging me for years.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Harley Quinn x Elvira #2

I read the first issue about a year ago. Thinking it was a one-shot, I was disappointed that this Halloween themed issue was set to continue into an  All Hallow's Eve 6-parter that would conclude sometime the following spring. So I have been sitting on this series for quite a while, waiting for this year's Halloween season to complete.

Quick recap: Elvira's weekly late night horror film festival has been unceremoniously cancelled. Irate with the news, Harley Quinn goes to complain about it to station management, only to blow up a big wig's mansion. On the run, Harley offers to let the Mistress of the Dark stay with her and her Gang of Harley's at their Coney Island compound. To seal the deal, Harley offers to pay Elvira to stay and plan the ultimate Halloween bash on the roof of the Harleys' base of operations. The fee: $5000 a week. The problem: Harley is about as broke as a investor after the tech bubble burst in early 2000.

Now on to the events of this issue...

Harley gives Elvira the tour of her new home. Inneundos aplenty. Harley reveals her Halloween bash plans to the Gang of Harleys. With very little money from their mercenary business trickling in, Harley agrees to a big score. They'll take out an evil contractor who has been destroying the competition literally. Elvira in the smallest waitress dress legally allowed in a Teen+ comic, will be the distraction as Harley and her team will infiltrate the construction company and unleash her version of insane justice. 

This was one of those issues that basically gets the players on the board. But nobody really makes a move yet. A new player is added to the mix but what they're ultimate role will be is still left murky. 

As much as I would love a comic book that focused on the day-to-day grind Clark Kent and the staff of the Daily Planet go through to report the news, I don't think I could stand a series that was just like this issue, covering the monotony of mercenary life. As much as I love Harley Quinn, I don't think I could stand long visits to her home. She's not very clean or organized and she seems okay with that.

I also didn't like how Elvira is treating Harley. Yes, I know that Elvira is known for being condescending to others, especially prudes and slimy guys who think they've got a chance of bedding her. But Harley, even in her twisted mind sort of way, is legitimately trying to be friends with Elvira. It's Harley's most fatal flaw: blindly seeing everyone as a potential BFF. Poor kid must have a billion scares along her spine from being stabbed in the back so much. 

An okay issue that made my heart more sad than glad. As much as I love the comic book characters that are the outsiders, from working with teens who feel alone, I'm starting to wish that those characters with mental illness weren't looked as damaged goods. Sure, their skewed perspective is funny and with my mental illness, I take solace in their adventures. But they've got value as much as anyone does and you'd think other super heroes and oddball characters like Elvira would acknowledge that. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Planet of the Apes Vs. Fantastic Four

Issue #4 sees the crossover between the Fantastic Four and the residents of the Planet of the Apes coming to an end. I loved the ending as we find out why Doctor Doom had an interest in helping the Crimson Ghost become the de facto leader of the simian world. It opens up a possibility of a sequel. I know that I said in the review of the last issue that I don't want to see a sequel. And when it comes to the FF being involved, I don't. But I would be open to the X-Men or the Avengers taking a trip to the far flung future. Or maybe have Cornelius and Zira land on Earth-616. They do somehow time warp to modern day earth in the third movie in the original franchise. And their epic space flight is shown at the end. 

Don't worry I didn't spoil anything. Blame the cover for that. 

Speaking of the covers, I kept wondering why Sue Storm looks like Pam Anderson. And why was the look of  Marvel's First Family so darn familiar. That's because the main cover artist is Greg Land, who did some of the covers for other FF series in the past. I think one of those series was Ultimate Fantastic Four. 

An enjoyable read that ended at just the right time. But be sure all of your pages are properly cut. My second and third pages weren't and I went through the entire issue wondering how some serious plot changes occurred. Thanks to the conjoined pages, I had skipped it altogether and I didn't figure it out until after I finished the issue. So that is why my rating is just a bit lower than the other 3 issues. Yes, poor production values of the work are something I consider when evaluating them.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

The Flintstones and the Jetsons, Vol. 1

It's finally October. After a rough, rough September, I am so glad we're now in the 10th month of the year. I choose this collection of the first 6 issues of the 1997-1999 series because of what was awaiting me in issue #5. But first, a recap of some of the stories from America's favorite Stone Age and Space Age families.

The first issue is a quasi-crossover. It starts with Fred and Barney meeting the ancestor of the Jetsons, Gorge Jetstone. The newest employee at the rock quarry, Jetstone is a terrible bumbler. Yet somehow he manages to get Fred's promised promotion when Gorge accidentally discovers fire. Then George Jetson meets Spacely Sprocket's newest employee, Ferd Flintson; a descendant of the Flintstones! Here George and Ferd compete for a new promotion by being the first one to bring an emergency sprocket to the history museum.

Other stories sees Fred and Barney transformed into women by the Great Gazoo. Mr. Spacely gets turned into a baby when a practical joke from George backfires. When George and Jane go on a romantic weekend getaway, Judy and Elroy throw a huge house party. Dino becomes the one first purple dinosaur on TV and then back in the future, in a story that while supposed to be funny, is eerily a modern day horror, George is required to train his robot replacement.

These were all very funny stories. The art was good. But I couldn't tell whether the inking was bad or if it was something off about the print process. That's because in several stories, especially the Jetsons episodes, the dark brush-like outlines of the characters looked pixelated instead of smooth. I guess it's a good thing that the inking wasn't the reason I got this book. My interests were all due to the holidays. 

In the Flintstones story of issue #5, the Flintstones and Rubbles celebrate Halloween with their frightful neighbors, the Gruesomes. In keeping with the tradition of having real modern day celebrities given the stone age treatment, the guest star is a prehistoric ancestor of Marilyn Manson. 

I just couldn't wait and got into early Halloween reading mode by reading the Gruesomes story last night. I apparently couldn't wait for Turkey Day either, as in the next issue, Fred and Barney go hunting for a dodo to grace their Thanksgiving Day table spread. It was a heartwarming story and a surprise as I only knew about the Halloween tale before I bought it. 

With just a single holiday story, I'd be tempted to sell this for trade credit. But with 2 of them and Thanksgiving comics being so rare, this volume is definitely now a permanent feature in my holiday comic book collection. Now if I could just figure out which holiday to catalog it under.

Oh, and just so you know. Volume 1 is the only trade produced from DC based on this series.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.