The Partridge Family #16 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Inspired by the real life family singing group, the Cowsills, ABC's The Partridge Family rocked airwaves for 4 seasons, from 1970-1974. In fact, the child members of the Cowsills were originally considered for the sitcom. Officially, their lack of acting experience rules them out of contention. Unofficially, the prima donna antics of the Cowsills' manager, their father, William, might have doomed the children's chances at television stardom.

Once the Cowsills were ruled out of contention, singer and actress Shirley Jones was cast in the mom role. Oldest son Keith would be played by her stepson David Cassidy. There might have been even more of the Cassidy family, as David's father, Jack Cassidy was cast to play Mrs. Partridge's boyfriend who happened to be the Partridge Family's manager. The actor even co-starred in an un-aired pilot, but ABC executives decided to forgo the romance angle between the adults. Jack Cassidy's character was cut while David's role as eldest son Keith was beefed up to make him the romantic heavy as he tested extremely well with young viewers. 

David Cassidy's near Beatles level stardom made him the main focus of the series. By the time this issue hit newsstands, Cassidy was attempting to break out of the wholesome image of Keith Partridge. Maybe that explains why in the cover feature Keith puts his music career on hold and goes out for his high school basketball team. Unfortunately for the rest of the family, Keith is really good at basketball and that means everything else takes a backseat to his current passion- including the band!

Rounding out the rest of the family was Susan Dey as oldest daughter Laurie. Red headed Danny Bonaduce as the smart aleck Danny. Suzanne Crough as youngest daughter Tracy and on drums, Jeremy Gelbwaks as Chris. Not quite fitting in with the rest of the cast and reputedly the target of Danny Bonaduce's incessant bullying, Gelbwaks was replaced after season 1 with actor Brian Foster. 

Actor Dave Madden completed the cast as the band's manager, the long-suffering Reuben Kincaid. Instead of being Mrs. Partridge's love interest, young Danny Partridge would do everything in his power to set up his Reuben with a future Mrs. Kincaid. 

Reuben's role with the family has a lot to do with the plots of the 2 backup stories. First Keith falls head over heels for Reuben's visiting niece. So much that the lad wants to make her a part of the band. Only the girl cannot carry a tune! Then in the last story, it appears that Danny has finally succeeded at playing matchmaker, introducing Reuben to an old friend of Mrs. Partridge.

In the early 1970s, Charlton Comics was still relying on prose stories to help their comics maintain their affordable 2nd Class postage rates. In a clever spin on the requirement, this issue features a 2-page spread of lyrics to several songs that appear on the series. The spread doubled as advertising for a magazine called Song Hits, which reprinted the full lyrics of both crock classics and pop hits of the time. 

If you're a collector who enjoys reading the classic ads in back issues, you'll enjoy this one. But don't expect much of a variety. With the exception of the 3 pages devoted to Song Hits Magazine, all of the rest of the ads are about products pertaining to The Partridge Family and its cast. There's an ad for a beauty and lifestyle book written by Susan Dey, several ads for posters and photo books featuring David Cassidy and on the back cover, information about joining the official Partridge Family Fan Club. 

I was pretty lucky to find an issue that wasn't full of holes from a rabid fan clipping out dozens of requests for Partridge Family merchandise. When I inherited some of my mom's old horror and TV comics, I noticed that her issue of The Partridge Family was all cut up. I couldn't understand why she had left that book in such poor condition especially since she claimed to be a huge fan of the show. After reading through this issue, I now understand as almost every ad had a small order form included.

Featuring art stories by Don Sherwood, there's amazing likenesses of all of the Partridge Family. But I think Sherwood copied the images from publicity stills because many panels are of extreme close-ups and the poses are stilted. As for the stories themselves, they all start out very well in terms of plot and pace. But I think Sherwood was the type of comic book creator who just couldn't stop himself because all 3 stories end abruptly with no real sitcom style conclusion in which the dilemmas are adequately wrapped up. 

Add all these factors together and this issue reads less like an officially licensed comic book adaptation and more like the material for a fanzine.

Completing this review completes Task #22 (Live Action Comic Adaptation from the 1970s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Superman #267 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Superman in the 1970s saw several changes. His vulnerability to Kryptonite was eliminated. Sidekick Supergirl went to college and became more independent. His partnership with Batman, who was becoming more of a darker vigilante hero, weakened, seeing the World's Finest heroes teaming more with other heroes AND VILLAINS, and less with each other. But perhaps the biggest changes for the Man of Tomorrow involved his secret identity, Clark Kent.

No longer working for the Daily Planet newspaper, Kent was recruited by the paper's new owner Morgan Edge, to host the evening news for Metropolis television's Galaxy Broadcasting Station (WGBS). He was also allowed to start dating Lois Lane; although their relationship was more platonic than romantic with Lois often wondering why she hung out with such a milksop as Clark Kent. Making his relationship goals difficult to achieve, Clark found himself in a love triangle for Lois' affections against his WGBS colleague, the macho braggart sports reporter Steve Lombard.

That's where the cover story for this issue begins. Clark and Lois are enjoying time at the beach when Lombard and his nephew appear. Steve treats Clark like the wimpy guy in those Clark Atlas ads, kicking sand in Smallville's face before grabbing Lois for a swim. On shore, Clark learns from Steve's nephew that his father has been missing for several weeks. However, when a sudden whirlpool occurs, threatening the lives of Lombard and Lois, the child exclaims that his father had warned him of such calamity just the night before. Intrigued by this contradiction, Clark changes into Superman and visits Steve and his nephew where the hero learns that the boy has a telepathic link to his missing father, a famous scientist. 

The revelation takes both Superman and the lad underneath the North Pole, where they encounter a long-forgotten subterranean race of flying reptiles called the Miros. With the missing Lombard's expertise in geophysics, the ancient people have been forcing the scientist to siphon the energy of the Earth's sun to power a special device that has been warming the Miros' subsurface habitat. Now with Superman on the scene, the reptilians seek to use the Man of Steel as the new battery for their failing synthetic sun.

This issue contains a backup story. Part of the 'Private Life of Clark Kent' series of tales, 'The Man in the Public Eye!', sees Clark Kent being put on a massive public relations campaign. Station boss Morgan Edge thinks that while Kent is a top notch newscaster but he's got the personality of a cold fish. Edge arranges for the newscaster to participate in a number of sporting activities in hopes of making Clark Kent appear more manly. As much as Clark tries to appear weak in front of the WGBS cameras, dumb luck mixed with his Kryptonian superpowers have the newsman looking really 'super., like when he accidentally knocks out the heavyweight champion of the world after a sparring match. Thankfully, the audience of Metropolis is eating up Kent's antics and it's sending ratings for the 6 o'clock news through the roof. Now if only Clark can screw up royally or else somebody is going to make a connection between the reporter and Superman!

Both the secondary story and the cover tale 'World Beneath the North Pole' were written by Elliot (S!) Maggin. Curt Swan drew both tales. He was assisted by Murphy Anderson on Superman's Arctic adventure. Bob Oksner gave assistance on the Clark Kent led tale.

The cover was drawn by Nick Cardy.

Completing this review completes Task #16 (A Superman Comic From the 1970s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Western Gunfighters #33 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Marvel's anthology series Western Gunfighters, which ran from 1970-75, was the second series to be published by that name. From 1956-57, Marvel, when they operated as Atlas, produced a series that spawned only 8 issues. The series began with issue #20, taking over the numbering from another Western title, Apache Kid. With issue #27, two other Western anthologies took over the numbering from Western Gunfighters.

The second volume lasted almost 4 times longer than it's predecessor, going for 33 issues. The first 7 issues contained a mix of all-new material and reprints, before switching entirely to previously published material with issue #8. The cowboy Ghost Rider was the main feature in those first few issues. Other new characters introduced in Western Gunfighters volume 2 included Jerry Siegel's Gunhawk and Roy Thomas and Mike Fredrich's short-lived and seldom remembered Renegades.

Referring back to the title's origins, reprints of the Native American hero Apache Kid were a frequent back-up feature since issue #1. In this issue, the Apache Kid, who poses as a white teenaged cowpuncher in order to infiltrate desperadoes who want to harm his tribe, joins a gang of white men who dress up as Apaches with hopes of causing a war with the US Calvary. Once the Army wipes out the Apaches, the gang hopes to lay claim to the tribe's valuable land and resources. The story featuring art by Werner Roth features two of the fastest quick-changes in the history of comics to a point, they make both Superman and any version of the Flash look slow. 

The cover story reprints a classic tale of Kid Colt. Written by Denny O'Neil, the Kid is given the chance at a pardon after he saves the governor of an unnamed Western state from train robbers. Sadly, Kid Colt must continue to live his days as a wanted man when he traded his chance at freedom in order to save the politician from assassins. Once more, the artwork is by Werner Roth.

Lastly, a loner named Gun-Slinger, along with his dog Lightning come across a prospector with aim to kill the pooch. A pack of wolves caused the prospector to lose a wealthy claim and now he's ready to kill anything that comes his way looking like a lupine. It's a story about redemption and forgiveness featuring art by John Romita, Sr.

Issue #33 would be the final issue of the series. It's demise was brought about by shrinkflation. When the reboot first debuted, it was a 52-page plus special for all of 15 cents. As the page count shrunk and the all-new material disappeared, the price rose to 20 cents and then 25 cents before Marvel let the title out to pasture.

Gil Kane was the cover artist for this issue.

Completing this review completes Task #47 (An Anthology) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Weird Wonder Tales #18 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Weird Wonder Tales was just one of the many horror titles that Marvel published in the early 1970s thanks to the lessening of restrictions on such titles by the Comics Code. There was only one problem with these type books in the eyes of 1970s readers: based on the reprinted material inside, the Marvel horror anthologies were tame compared to what DC and Charlton were putting out. These stories were also way past G-rated compared to the horror material Marvel was distributing in magazine format which had some mild nudity and swears in them. 

Starting with issue #19, Marvel made the one-time Avenger Doctor Druid the series host, hoping that continuity would earn readers. Unfortunately, the experiment was a failure and Weird Wonder Tales was cancelled 4 issues later with issue #22. The ultimate irony is that nearly 50 years later, many of Marvel's horror anthologies from the 70s are sought out by collectors as the reprints they contain are affordable alternatives to the original issues from the 50s and 60s. This was the last issue under the title's original format.

In this issue there are 2 stories. The cover story, (I Created) Krang!, is a double sized giant monster story by Stan Lee and brother Larry Lieber with art and inks by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. A scientist seeking to use enlarged insects as environmental replacements for fuel burning vehicles travels to Europe where a rare tree might hold the key to gigantism. The assistant steals some of the resulting formula and puts it atop a seemingly harmless ant. However too much is applied and the ant grows to the size of an elephant. Even worse, the ant has developed super intelligence, forcing the scientist to make more formula in order for Krang to create an army of oversized insects and thus conquer the world!

The backup feature combines horror and ancient myth. From the early 1950s, 'The Cartoonist's Calamity' was featured in the pages of Venus #17. The story stars the character of Aphrodite. Growing bored with life as a goddess, the daughter of Zeus comes to Earth where under the name of Venus, she becomes the editor of a struggling fashion magazine. In this tale, her head cartoonist Jimmy Rogers has been acting erratically. Venus goes on to discover that Jimmy has been moonlighting for a horror comic; only now Jimmy's terrifying visions have come to life and are driving their creator insane!

Written and illustrated by Bill Everett, the horrors Jimmy Rogers creates seem ripped directly from the sketchbook of Basil Wolverton. When it comes to the lettering, it must have been by the same fella that crafted the stylized font for the word 'Comics' on the Action Comics logo. Just about every speech bubble using that style instead of italics for expressions of disbelief and shock!

The material in this book might not be the most terrifying horror title to ever grace market shelves. But this was a 1970s horror anthology that has since earned the respect of collectors, if not about 5 decades too late. 

Cover by Jack Kirby, Klaus Janson and Danny Crespi.

Completing this review completes Task #13 (A Horror Comic) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Li'l Kids #3 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Li'l Kids was an anthology series from Marvel that ran for a dozen issues sporadically from 1970-1973. Like many of Marvel's horror anthology books from the same time period, Li'l Kids was made up primarily of reprinted material from Marvel's days as Atlas Comics. The focus was humor stories starring children.

According to Grand Comic Database, all of the stories in this issue were previously printed in the pages of Li'l Willie Comics #20 (July, 1949) and Little Lizzie #5 (April, 1950). While records of talents used during the Golden Age of comics were incomplete at best, GCD can confirm that Horace Elmo penciled and inked the opening Li'l Willie farce and that David Gantz worked double duty on both of the Little Lizzie yarns. 

Stories in this issue include:

• Li'l Willie and his best friend George scam a way to visit the circus without a ticket.
• Little Lizzie tries to cure her hiccups.
• A young girl helps two fighting tots both get to view a baseball game.
• Lizzie then has to do her chores before going out to play with her friends.

The only original material of this issue is the cover. If the characters look like they belong in Riverdale instead on the cover of a Marvel mag, that's because it was penciled by Archie Comics veteran Stan Goldberg. Signing his work as Stan G., Goldberg was assisted by John Verpoorten. The cowboy themed scene was lettered by Morrie Kuramoto.

Starting with issue #10, Li'l Kids began to include a brand-new feature; the cover-starring Calvin. An African-American boy of about 10, Calvin's off-beat adventures were written and illustrated by Kevin Banks. Calvin nor any of the reprinted moppets that graced the pages of Li'l Kids seem to have made further appearances in Marvel works after the series was cancelled with issue #12.

Completing this review completes Task #42 (A Comedy) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #130 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Thanks to an encounter with a psychic, reporter Lois Lane is subconsciously informed of Superman's secret identity. Unaware to this event, Lois has a series of nightmares in which she murders her co-worker and best friend Clark Kent. In the dream, as Kent falls, his superhero costume is revealed to which the shock of murdering the Man of Steel awakens Lois in a cold sweat. As Lois tries to make sense of this reoccurring dream, she is constantly attacked by a pair of crooks. Narrowly, the journalist escapes doom. Yet as Lois composes herself, the bystanders claim that no such attacks occurred. Could the nightmares and now supposed phantom attacks be a sign that Lois Lane is losing her mind?

The feature story in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #130 was penned by Cary Bates. 'The Mental Murder' is a mystery that keeps the reader guessing most of the time. However, if you've figured out the real identity of Lois' psychiatrist, you'll realize that Superman will do anything to protect his own self interests if it means keeping the world from knowing that Clark Kent is the Last Son of Krypton. 

Cover and interior art was by John Rosenberger with inks by Vince Colletta 

The backup story stars the somnambulist superhero Thorn. The second character to bear the name, Thorn's secret identity was Rhosyn 'Rose' Lynee Forrest. Created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru, the character debuted in issue #105 of Lois Lane. In her origin story, Rose becomes distraught at the death of her father, police officer Phil Forrest at the hands of a gang known as The 100. The desire for revenge triggers something in Rose's psyche to the point that whenever she went to sleep, she would switch personalities. Instead of sweet, innocent Rose, Rhosyn would transform into the vicious, athletic street vigilante Thorn. 

'Nightmare Alley!' sees Rose changing both personas, clothes and hair color into Thorn as she finally uncovers the identity of 1 of the 3 men who murdered her father. Unfortunately, the quest for vengeance will continue for the young lady when the thug is killed by an unknown assailant before revealing the identities of his co-conspirators. 

Artist Don Heck provides pen and ink to Kanigher's script.

Completing this review completes Task #14 (Main Character is a Woman) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

The Unofficial Marvel Hostess Ads Collection

From 1975-82, the heroes of the Marvel Universe had a secret weapon: baked goods from Hostess! To battle the bad guys, the stars of the House of Ideas used Twinkies, chocolate iced cupcakes and the ever arresting Hostess Fruit Pie in ways more effective than your run of the mill Spidey-sense or enchanted Asgardian hammer. 

It's a theory that I would love to test out now. You have a villain plotting destruction or theft. You first try your super powers to overcome the antagonist. But it doesn't work. So using your wits and a large amount of sugar, fat, flour and real fruit filling, you fling a couple dozen goodies from Hostess (then owned by International Bakeries) at the enemy and the day is saved!

Trident Studios has done it again! This time, the Esty seller and publisher, has collected over 80 one-page ads starring your favorite Marvel superheroes as well as some of the most iconic baked goods to ever be sold at your local convenience store!

The malefactors that peppered these advertisements were generally generic rogues. A zany costumed cad with a gimmick was the typical character who couldn't resist golden sponge cake or tender, flaky crust. Characters such as Captain Marvel, Iron Man and Daredevil would occasionally take on space aliens, inter-dimensional monsters or even the militia of a banana republic in these ads. However, on more than one occasion, the heroes took on legit enemies, such as the god of mischief Loki and the Red Skull, complete with Cosmic Cube! The combined might of Abomination and the Wendigo actually beat the Incredible Hulk to a pulp in one ad which sees ol' Mean Green having to be revived by some kids carrying Hostess pastries with them.

There was even some a-list help for the good guys in these ads. The Lady Sif and the Voluminous Volstagg give the Mighty Thor a hand in a couple of ads. Nick Fury appears in no less than 3 ads with Captain America and the Agent of SHIELD actually saves the Sentinel of Liberty with some fruit pie know-how of his own! Peter Parker's girlfriend Mary Jane Watson appears in several of the Spider-man ads. She often makes comments about how Petey always disappears when criminals arrive on the scene. Yet, Mary Jane never makes the connection that Spider-man comes about during those moments of 'cowardice.' 

3 of the Fantastic Four go it alone in a series of ads. Mister Fantastic, The Thing and the Human Torch all have solo adventures. I'm thinking either Marvel or Hostess--- OR BOTH!, didn't think women would make good sales people for boys and their need of fried dough. Personally, I think She-Hulk or Spider-Woman would have made great spokes models for Twinkies. Don't feel quite so bad for Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. She, along with son Franklin Richards, do make an appearance in one Fantastic Four team ad with Marvel's First Family going on a canoeing trip somewhere in the American mid-west. 

I greatly appreciate the efforts made by Trident Studios to bring as many of these ads together as possible. Once again, the print job on these pages are just amazing. Whatever remastering that was done on the ads was well worth the effort. The coloring was so brilliant. 

I don't think I can judge this book on the ads themselves. They were hokey then and they are hokey today. Don't believe me??? Those Hostess ads are still the thing of parody and satire in memes and modern day comics, such as Deadpool. The plots were really far out, as was the dialogue. Yet, how much of a story can you do in just 1 page? The artwork was always superb, though I am not sure who was really behind which work. I know that Sal Buscema, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito crafted some of these ads. Just don't ask me which ones that they did. 

These ads brought back a lot of memories. Oh, to go back to a time when all our problems could be solved with cake. I only wish that I had a couple of those fruit pies on hand as I read this book. That would have made this sugary trip back in time all that more the sweeter!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

(Note- The Unofficial Marvel Hostess Ads Collection is not an officially licensed product. It is a labor of love that saves collectors hundreds of dollars if they were to try and collect the 80 plus comics from which these ads were culled.)

Spidey Super Stories #38 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Spidey Super Stories was a segment that appeared on the last three seasons of the educational children's series The Electric Company. From 1974-77, the character of Spider-Man wasplayed by puppeteer and dancer Danny Seagren. Seagren's performance made him the first actor to portray the wallcrawler in live-action form and was the first time in 30 years that a Marvel character wasn't animated on screen, second to 1944's Captain America movie serial.

Spider-Man didn't speak out loud. To encourage young viewers in reading, Spidey's dialogue was spoken in word bubbles and his fisticuffs special effects of 'Pow' and 'Bam' were shown as comic book panels to minimize the violence level, as well as for educational purposes and budget cutting reasons. Spidey never battled anyone on par of a Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus. Instead, Spider-Man fought were small time crooks or goofy new super-villains often portrayed by the Electric Company's regular cast of characters. Perhaps Spidey's most memorable and deadliest foe was the menacing Dr. Measles who in one frightening episode infects Spider-Man by reaching into his medicine bag and throwing dots of the virus right onto his costume 

In a licensing agreement to the likes you would probably never see these days, Spidey was given to the Children's Television Workshop free of charge. Stan Lee and Marvel believed that having Spider-Man would be amazing free advertising for both Marvel and his regular titles The Amazing Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up. With the CTW partnership, Marvel produced a third series, Spidey Super Stories, devoted to young readers. At 36 pages with no ads, SSS would sometimes include a list of words to look for as well as other vocabulary related fun and games. Unlike the live-action segments on PBS, super-villains and heroes alike guest-starred in these comics as well as characters from the show such as Jennifer of the Jungle and her simian side-kick, Paul the Gorilla and the funky threaded Easy Reader whose face was used to endorse each issue as 'easy to read.'

A number of Marvel talent worked on the comic. Jean Thomas (Night Nurse) penned the first 15 issues. Jim Salicrup (Fantastic Four) took over as regular series author afterwards though Bill Mantlo (Rom: Spaceknight), Sesame Street editorial director Deborah November and Michael Siporin shared responsibility for the 3 short stories that make up this issue. First, Spidey must save Aunt May from the clutches of the Scorpion. Then the stars of Electric Company make up the cast of characters in a story where Spidey and the Carol Danvers Ms. Marvel must save a ballet dancer from an evil choreographer. Finally the Thinker takes a brand new subway train hostage. As Peter Parker is aboard working for the Daily Bugle, he can't find a quiet place to change. So it's up to the Fantastic Four working from the outside to stop the runaway vehicle from crashing into Coney Island. 

Artwork from this issue was by regular series artist Win Mortimer (Superman) with assists by Don Perlin (Werewolf by Night) and Mike Esposito (Wonder Woman). 

Spidey Super Stories lasted 1974-1982; going on for another 5 years after the Electric Company was cancelled. The cancellation was not due to popularity. It was a massive hit. But the show's lack of being able to really create stand out characters such as sister series Sesame Street kept the publicly funded program from being solvent with licensing of toys and dolls. The few Electric Company products to hit the market were mostly series of books, records and a Fargo North, Decoder character board game from Milton Bradley. It is said that having Spider-Man added to the show's format helped the series to linger on a couple extra seasons which also relied more on repeated material to help stay solvent. The comic was the Electric Company's most popular tie-in, running for an impressive 57 issues. However, with the Spidey Super Stories being owned and read by young children, quality condition issues are harder to find and pricey on the collecting market.

Completing this review completes Task #3 (Comic from the Bronze Age (1971-1985)) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

A Christmas Story Christmas (2023)

For some reason, I didn't get to see this movie when it came out last year. Was it streaming only and I didn't subscribe to it? That seems right. Not being able to see the sequel to 1983's A Christmas Story is one reason why I read In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash instead last year. Thankfully, this year, it was showing a couple of times on Freeform or some other cable channel and that I didn't have to wait 3-5 for it to debut for regular customers. 

There have been at least 2 other sequels to A Christmas Story. 1994's It Runs in the Family, later retitled A Summer Story is set in the summertime. It has a couple of actors from the 1983 film as well as Jean Shepherd narrating. Then there's the direct to video A Christmas Story 2 which is considered by many to be a stinker. (I've never seen it.) Though touted as an official sequel to the first A Christmas Story, it's not at all based on any of Jean Shepherd's writings. Considering that and the fact that the creator of these characters died 3 year's prior with no involvement in the 2012 movie, let us decree that A Christmas Story Christmas is the true third film in the trilogy.

The movie opens in the early 70s. Ralph is married with 2 kids living in the Chicago area. He's taking a gap year to try his hand at becoming a writer. Only none of the publishers based in the Windy City want to touch his 2,000 page sci-fi manuscript. If he cannot get his book published by new year's, Ralph will have to go back to a regular 9-to-5 job and give up his dream of becoming an author. 

Ralph's parents are due to drive up to spend Christmas with him and his family when he receives the news that the Old Man, deftly played originally by the legendary Darren McGavin, has passed away. In turn, this means that Ralph's family will instead go back to his hometown of Hohman, Indiana to spend the holidays. 

Wanting to capture the Christmas magic his father was known to be a master of, Ralph plans to make this the best Christmas ever for his wife and kids. With the help of his old friends Schwartz and Flick, Ralph's got some great things planned. But as family injuries mount up, the Christmas presents bought at Higbee's wind up getting stolen and a pair of bullies on snowmobiles terrorizing the neighborhood, Ralph is at his breaking point where he's got writer's block crafting his most important work ever: the Old Man's obituary. 

A Christmas Story Christmas doesn't hold a candle to the 1983 film, which in my mind is a classic. A lot of other people now think of it as one of the best holiday films of all-time. Only I was a fan when it came out on video for the first time in 1984. I didn't have to let it grow on me to love it as others have had to recently. The 1983 film is in my top 3 for sure. While the 2022 follow-up didn't even make it into the top 10 of my favorite holiday movies, it did capture the magic of the first film very, very well.

Having most of the original cast helped. Peter Billingsley was Ralph, only older. I'm not sure if that was his natural voice or he did an accent; but he sounded so much like Jean Shepherd, especially during the narration of the movie. R.D. Robb and Scott Schwartz brought the humor of the best friends Flick and Schwartz, now older but still driving each other crazy. I won't spoil any further cameo treats.

In terms of new actors added to the mix, I thought Julie Hagerty was great as Ralph's mom. Don't get me wrong, Melinda Dillon who played Mom Parker in the first movie was fantastic. I understand that due to her poor health, Dillon was unable to participate. But Hagerty brought that dry humor that made her such a great character in the Airplane films, to the role. I thought the actors who played Ralph's kids were amazing as well. Though, Ralph's son Mark, looks like his real father might actually be town barkeep Flick. Henry Miller who played former high school quarterback turned barfly Larry Novick, stole every scene he was in. And then there was Ralph's wife.

Erinn Hayes plays Ralph's bride Sandy. She's known for playing this more sophisticated wife to schlubby husbands. I don't know why they keep using her for that kind of role. Ralph isn't a schlub. Never has been. He's a dreamer that just can't figure out how to make his dreams become realities. Hayes, while not portraying her normal boorish character, just didn't fit in with the rest of the cast. 

I loved the ending. It, along with probably 90% of the other scenes in this film paid homage to the first movie. I wouldn't mind revisiting Hohman, Indiana again. Both for a rewatch and for a potential series. There's so much material from Jean Shepherd that could be used as a limited series that went back and forth from the depression era to the 1970s. Though, I imagine with the absence of McGavin, who plays a massive part in this movie, despite having passed about 15 years prior, might make the earlier stuff unfilmable. Still, I hope this isn't the end of the A Christmas Story original cast in these roles, because it really feels like more is on the horizon. 

Maybe not a new classic for the holidays. But it's definitely a film that warrants watching to catch up on the Parker family and their friends after A Christmas Story comes to a close with the eating of Chinese turkey. Mini Marathon, people!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy

For those of you wanting an omnibus type collection of the earliest stories of Marvel's Star- Lord, this is the book you've been asking for. If you loved Marvel's edgier magazine publications of the 1970s, you'll delight in the first half dozen or so stories. For someone like myself who prefers their heroes to be a little more pure of heart, you will probably hate the first half of this collection. This isn't the Chris Pratt Star-Lord that fans fell in love with at the cinema in the past decade.

Early 1970s Star-Lord is a massive jerk. The chip Peter Quill bears on his shoulder to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of reptilian aliens is understandable. Thinking everyone is beneath him when he grows up to join NASA is unprofessional. The way Quill becomes Star-Lord is just unforgivable for a hero.

NASA high ups pass Quill over for the chance to become Star-Lord. Unable to accept their judgement, Quill hijacks the project, seemingly killing guards and the Star-Lord candidate. He then disappears, only to come face-to-face with the mysterious being who bestows the Star- Lord powers. It is here that Quill is given a chance to enact his revenge on the aliens that killed his mother. Whether this really happened or was a fantasy granted to Quill in order to heal emotionally is a source of great debate. But where are the repercussions for Quill's assault on the NASA base? How come the authorities never seek to punish Quill for how he came about to become this elusive hero? With many knowing that Peter Quill is Star-Lord, that lack of consequences is implausible to me.

Once Star-Lord's adventures begin to appear in traditional floppies, the tales get better. Chris Claremont and John Byrne help to restructure Star-Lord as to being more of a real hero instead of an interstellar Frank Castle devoid of any humanity. Though I swear that the Carmine Infantino penciled stories uses artwork that I have seen used in issues of Star Wars! But if you ask me, Star Lord doesn't get darn near perfect until the mid-1990s.

This collection includes a 3-issue miniseries by Timothy Zahn that reboots Star-Lord with the new character of Sinjin Quarrel. From 1996, this story sees Peter Quill as having faded into the stuff of legend, having last appeared publicly a dozen years ago. Sinjin is a type of pre-cognitive judge assigned a post on a backwater planet ruled by a greedy landowner. Quarrel's psychic abilities bring him into contact with Star Lord's famed 'Ship', which has been in suspended animation since Quill's disappearance. 

Sinjin Quarrel agrees to temporarily become the new Star Lord until Peter Quill can be located. However, Sinjin Quarrel lacks the special abilities that the original Star-Lord had. So he'll have to rely on subterfuge brought about in cooperation with Ship to become the hero he was always meant to be.

Other than that 3-issue mini, Sinjin Quarrel has never made a return to print. Yet, he's the better Star Lord. His partnership with Ship was the stuff of buddy-cop legend. It reminds me of The Greatest American Hero where an average Joe is given a super-powered suit, only to lose the instruction manual. Why didn't this version take off? The artwork by Dan Lawlis was amazing. The writing was fantastic. I can't hold my breath on this version of Starlord (the updated version lost the hyphen in their name). It's been nearly 30 years since Sinjin Quarrel's first appearance and when the Marvel Wiki database lists that story as probably not even being canon, it looks like the Peter Quill version is here to stay.

If it wasn't for the inclusion of several Marvel Premiere and Marvel Spotlight issues that I need for my collection but don't want to pay the insane asking prices for as individual issues, I would be taking this book to a used book store for trade. With their inclusion however, it looks like this collection of Star-Lord stories are also here to stay

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Plop! #14

1973-76's Plop! was a sister anthology series of DC titles such as House of Mystery, House of Secrets and Secrets of Sinister House. Even though Plop! was hosted by horror hosts Cain & Abel as well as the lesser known Eve, this series was not a horror title. Instead, Plop! was a title devoted to the oddball and weird. There was definitely an element of humor running throughout this book as the majority of the stories and one-page gags revolved around the use of the word 'plop' to end the tale or for the punchline.

With Sergio Aragones, Basil Wolverton and Wally Wood all working on this book, Plop! felt like MAD Magazine lite. The trio had all at one point or another worked on the definitive humor mag of the 20th century. Aragones is a living legend, one of the last bastions of the William Gaines era of MAD. Wolverton was renowned for his grotesque creators such as the 'World's Ugliest Woman', Lena the Hyena and the cult-classic sci-fi storyline, 'The Brain Bats of Venus'! But it's Wally Wood that interests me the most!

Wallace Wood was one of the superstars of EC Comics. Known for work on such titles as Weird Science and Weird Fantasy and developing fan favorites in the Comics Code era such as THUNDER Agents, Wally Wood's artistic talent was set at 11. A tragic figure in comics, Wood battled a number of unexplained health issues and alcoholism, while maintaining a portfolio of work unparalleled to most.

The subject matter of the two main stories is rather varied. In the first yarn, a pair of spinster sisters are visited by their long-lost brother who returns home seeking his share of the family fortune. The ladies claim that they're flat broke. However, with the mystery of a forbidden, locked door, the brother is convinced that his share of wealth lies on the other side. Story 2 is a Marv Wolfman/Wally Wood collaboration. It has an aspiring knight looking for his place at King Arthur's Round Table. If he can rescue a damsel in distress, it will surely cement this squire's reputation. In a nearby castle, the young man finds a woman being terrorized by demons. Eager to save her life, the knight is faced with a dilemma that could make him a hero but it would damn the world in return.

Both stories were very good. The medieval story bears that signature MAD Magazine touch of adding funny signs and Easter eggs throughout the background scenery. The inheritance tale had just enough mix of kook factor and suspense to make the tale weird but not scary enough to warrant a place in DC's pantheon of horror titles.

The one-page gags were all weird. You can see a production number in the bottom corner of most. The numbers vary in range. I'm wondering if these were gags that were considered too unusual for MAD and not spooky enough for the House of Mystery. 

A good read that lacks the satirical edge of MAD Magazine as well as the adult edginess of EC Comics. I blame the age in which this work was produced. The 70s was a time of relaxing the rules of the Comics Code. If Marvel had produced this book, some of the material would have pushed the envelope. With DC, they were willing to tackle the ghouls, demons and other monsters finally allowed by the CCA. But when it came to counterculture and anti-establishmentism, DC just didn't do enough to be edgy. It would take a few more years before the publisher would be truly willing to stick it to the man. And when they finally do, Plop! would be a cancelled memory.

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: Batman, Vol. 6

This addition to my collection was thanks in part to that brief period in time when wholesale emporium Ollie's bought several dozen truckloads of DC and Vertigo overstock. I think it was 2017 or 18 when those of us fortunate to live near an Ollie's could go to the discount shop and buy massive treasuries of DC's finest for pennies on the dollar. I lived within an hour of 6 locations and I was able to make huge additions to my collection without hurting my budget.

Unfortunately, being that DC's inventory was being liquidated en masse, it really was a crap-shoot as to what each store got. For instance, the Durham, NC location got 30 copies of the Strange Adventures trade from 2010 but only 1 copy of the Silver Age Suicide Squad Omnibus. That's how I ended up with Showcase Presents Batman, Vol. 6. 

The black & white reprints of Showcase Presents were highly coveted by us bargain hunters. I was able to get both volumes of The Atom's exploits. I got all 3 Aquaman books. I even found a copy of the massive collection of reprints of the events of the Great Disaster, featuring the Atomic Knights. Yet, for some reason, every location in central North Carolina got dozens of Batman, Vol 6. No 1,2,3,4 or 5. Just #6!

This volume covers the beginnings of the Denny O'Neil era of the Caped Crusader. (His first run. After a 6-year return stint to Marvel, O'Neil would begin a second memorable stint as a Batman writer in 1986.) The first thing O'Neil and his Green Lantern/Green Arrow collaborator Neal Adams would do to Batman was make him the Dark Knight again. The 1960s ABC series would make the Batman Family quite campy. Now it's the 1970s and everything is dark again.

Batman would face one of his greatest foes in this run, Ra's al Ghul. Whereas with a villain like the Joker or Two-Face, Batman would beat the crap out of them and return them to jail quick. With Ra's, Batman plays the long game. It's further complicated by the addition of Ghul's daughter Talia, with whom the Batman has a mutual attraction with. Over the course of a half-dozen issues, Batman and Ra's al Ghul have a worldwide pissing match, with the eco-terrorist trying to size up The Detective as his potential replacement and Batman trying to figuring out just what his new foe is up to.

That's just the Batman books. In the pages of Detective Comics, Frank Robbins, Dick Giordano and others are making Batman earn his reputation as the World's Greatest Detective. These stories are a mixed bag. They don't feature any of Batman's main villains. Mostly just small time crooks, murderers and in one case, a prison riot full of white supremacists and black power soldiers.  

Robbins' art is excellent. His ability to be the next Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is something else. Some mysteries are really good. Many are missing something. Mostly clues. Well, they're there because Batman reveals them at the end of each story. Frank Robbins just seems to forget to let the readers in on things. 

Thankfully, you don't need Volume 5 to get caught up on things in this edition. Unlike the Marvel black and white reprints (Essential Marvel), the DC collections don't make readers have to get the next volume in order to wrap up a storyline. I would love to get my hands on the first 5 volumes. What I really wish is that there was a volume 7, and then 8, and then 9. One of the biggest crimes against comic books was having both DC and Marvel scrap these fan favorite collections in favor of very expensive, page lacking color collections. That's big business for ya...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Vol 2

I really enjoy reading the Gold Key Star Trek books. True, they are filled with errors, inaccuracies and glitches. But they are still amazingly creative stories that bring the original Enterprise crew back to life.

When I reviewed Volume 1, I noted that the tunics worn by Kirk and Sulu were green and not gold. While Captain Kirk did wear a ceremonial tunic that was green, that shirt is not the worn being worn by him in these books. Then I read an article on Mental Floss. 

A couple of days ago, I learned that the 3 tunics worn by the crew of the Enterprise were supposed to be the colors of red, blue and GREEN! However, due to the lighting of the sets, the green uniforms came out appearing as yellow/tan on screen. I've got some mild color blindness issues, especially with green. Thanks to that online article, I now understand why it feels like my brain was always playing tricks on me when I watched classic Trek. I always felt like when I looked at Kirk or Sulu or Chekov, I was seeing 2 colors at once and I really was!

As for some of the other errors, I don't think I can excuse them anymore. In the forward of the previous volume, the editors remarked on how many of the problem with the early Star Trek books was the fact that artist Alberto Giotlitti and Nevio Zaccara both had never watched the show. They mostly had stills from the series and props to work with in order to craft the artwork. This is why Gold Key printed Kirk's tunic as green- because it was! However, we're now covering books 9-16 and it's 1970-71. The artwork problems should be fixed by now!

The Federation phasers look more like a Klingon disruptor. Spock's ears are the size of my feet! And for some reason, Bones' tunic is green instead of medical officer baby blue. And Scotty isn't wearing his engineering reds. The bridge of the Enterprise- it looks impressive but it's not the Enterprise. The very act of transporting from ship to planet also looks really different- cool- but different. But since none of the artists ever watched the TV show, I can't fault the creative license. 

I will say that the likenesses of the main characters are second to none. By issue #16 of Marvel's Star Wars series, the art team still couldn't get Luke Skywalker to look like actor Mark Hamill. By issue #16 of this old school series, not only does Spock look like Leonard Nimoy, I'm expecting him to jump off the page. Alberto Giolitti's work is that lifelike! But not all Klingons look like French wrestler turned actor Maurice Tillet!

As for the writing, I did see a large jump in quality. Len Wein pens these stories and you can tell that he at least had watched the series. I'm not sure if he was a Trekkie as some of Spock's dialogue seems too emotional. But if you really think about it, it's hard to not be emotional. I tried to write some Vulcan appropriate dialogue in my head recently and it's darn near impossible. But everybody else sounds pretty close to their onscreen counterparts. 

This was a fun read. Quite flawed. But it was an enjoyable adventure that I wish to continue by getting my hands on the remaining 30 some odd issues that I don't own.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 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.

The Human Fly #13 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

On a sunny day in 1976, stuntman Rick Rojatt strapped himself atop a DC-8. Dressed in a dazzling red and white hooded costume, Rojatt was affixed to a metal harness. Touting himself as the Human Fly, Rojatt toured parts of the Mojave desert and Texas in a way very few passengers ever have. The plane reached speeds of over 250 miles. Everything appeared to be going fine until the DC-8 hit a storm cloud. The pelting of rain drops proved to be too much for Rojatt, as the stunt man sustained bruising over his entire body. Eventually, he passed out from the pain.

Back on land, Rojatt spent nearly 2 weeks in the hospital recovering from the stunt. Undeterred, a year later, he repeated the stunt. The second time around was a much better experience, except for the part when his mask flew off and he had to squint for the rest of the flight. Later that same year, Rojatt ended his stuntman career breaking Evel Knievel's record by successfully jumping over 19 buses during a concert in Montreal. 

While Rock Rojatt never performed another stunt again (that we know of), it was not the end of the Human Fly. Intrigued by Rojatt's mysterious costume and unique stunts, Marvel Editor-In-Chief, Jim Shooter, got the idea to base a comic book on the exploits of a famed stuntman. Originally, Shooter wanted the book to star Evel Knievel. But allegations of spousal abuse, drugs and a very real assault on an exec with 20th Century Fox led Marvel to look elsewhere. Enter the Human Fly!

The first issue of The Human Fly hit stands with a September, 1977 cover date. With the headline 'The Wildest Super-Hero Ever- Because He's Real!', the stuntman traveled the world performing a number of impossible feats. The Fly would often play the hero as the charity events he performed as would have burglars or other criminals looking to rob the spectators. 

During his exploits, the Human Fly would interact with established members of the Marvel Universe, such as Spider-Man. Just like the web-slinger, the Human Fly had a J. Jonah Jameson type foil in the likes of Carl Braden, a news producer who believed that the mysterious stuntman was a fraud. As you can see on the cover, the Human Fly will have to save his biggest hater's life when the two collide during a speedy descent down a North American mountain slope.

For the 2 years that The Human Fly was in publication, Rick Rojatt would conduct his publicity tour in his Human Fly persona. He visited children's hospitals, county fairs and made appearances on several talk shows including Johnny Carson. The comic book version of The Human Fly would last see print with issue #19.

A backstory was given for the comic book version of the Human Fly. On the back roads of Asheville, North Carolina, a vehicle carrying a man with his wife and kids is run off the road, resulting in the family's death. The man survives and has 60% of his body replaced with metal rods and pins. Facing a painful and long recovery, the man teaches himself to walk again and decides to spend his next life as a stuntman. 

Whether or not this is the actual origin story of Rick Rojatt is up for debate. As Rojatt kept a very private life and remained in costume throughout his career, much about the man is a mystery. In the letter page of this issue, The Human Fly indicated to fans that he was planning on recording a rock album. Some researchers believe that after the comic was cancelled, Rojatt moved to the Pacific Northwest to fulfill his dream of becoming a musician. 

The exact whereabouts of Rick Rojatt remain unknown to this day.

Story by Bill Mantlo.
Art by Frank Robbins.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #36 (fictional comic based on a real person) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The 25 Baubles of Pop Culture! Advent 2022 Day 20

Today's post is brought to you by the letters M and C and the number 20.

I was so excited when Sesame Street popped up on that random generator. Next to superheroes, Sesame Street is my earliest exposure to the realms of pop culture and Christmas coming to meet. I had a copy of Merry Christmas From Sesame Street, an LP album that featured a number of songs and several skits. 

The album was released originally in 1975 to great fanfare and even earned a Grammy nomination for the Children's Television Network. 3 years later, the TV special Christmas Eve on Sesame Street reused much of the material on the album. This resulted in the album being re-released and that's how I got a copy of the record. The coolest thing about the album was that it opened up in the middle and looked like a giant comic book. I spent hours studying that layout while listening to Bert, Ernie, Big Bird and Grover celebrate the holidays. 

My favorite character on Sesame Street is Grover. I love Disco Grover. I know the difference between near and far. I've been known to rock a recitation of The Monster at the End of The Book. And I chuckle every time I think of Grover starring in a version of The Night Before Christmas where he is a mouse who you will notice is not stirring (his bowl of cookie dough!) But my favorite version of the blue fur-ball is when he dons a cape and knight's helmet and becomes Super Grover! So in honor of that, I'm sharing this PVC ornament of SG in flight. 

Next, I'm sharing this pair of ceramic ornaments of Oscar the Grouch and Bert. They're from sometime in the 90s and I remember these as my sister had these. For several years, these two hung from my mom's white artificial tree. Where they are now, I have no idea. But I would love it if my sister has these and is sharing them with her little ones. 

Another character I have fond memories of is of the elephantine Mr. Snuffleupagus. I remember when he was Big Bird's supposed imaginary friend as he'd always disappear when someone would come along. Eventually, the residents of Sesame Street finally meet Snuffy and now he and his family are prominent members of the neighborhood. This 1992 ornament from Grolier has Snuffy wearing a Santa hat and carrying a tree in his trunk. (Hey- it's a pun!) I especially love how the character has snow on his back and one of Ernie's Twiddlebug friends is sledding down Snuffy's back. 

You can't mention Snuffy without including his best friend, Big Bird. I'm really fond of this imported glass ornament of Big Bird in his nest covered in lights and donning a Santa cap. I only wish he had a little bit of snow on him like he did when sleeping in his bed during the Christmas Eve special.

I also want to share this one also made from Grolier. It's off the detective Muppet Sherlock Hemlock. I'm not sharing because of any fond connection to the character or anything like. I just greatly appreciate how an obscure character like Sherlock getting the ornament treatment. 

Let's wrap things up with today's DIY ornament. Here's a list of what you need:

SUPPLIES:

• Salt Dough Ornament Recipe (Click on the link to get the recipe)
• White, Black, and Blue Paint
• Paint Brush
• Ribbon
• Scissors
• Glue

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the salt dough ornament recipe. Before putting the dough into the oven to bake, cut out 2 circles.  We pressed a small glass into the dough to create the right size shape.
2. Form 2 round balls out of the dough and gently press them onto one of the circles for Cookie Monster’s eyes.  Form 2 round balls and an oval and gently press them onto the other circle for Elmo’s eyes and nose.
3. After the dough bakes and is completely cooled, paint Cookie Monster’s face blue and the eyes white with black dots.  Paint a black half circle for the mouth.  Paint Elmo’s face red, nose orange, and eyes white with black dots.  Paint a black half circle for the mouth.
4. After the paint dries, put a coat of Mod Podge over the ornament.  This step is optional but it helps protect the ornament and keeps the paint from chipping.
5. Cut a ribbon that is about 4 inches long, fold it in half to create a loop, and glue it onto the back of the ornament.
6. After the glue dries, hang the ornament on your Christmas tree.