Archie Giant Series #467

From 1979, the star is Sabrina the Teenage Witch. There are several stories inside ranging from 1-page gags to tales of about 6-8 pages in length. Every entry is Christmas themed. The twist: how witches celebrate the holidays. Sabrina pretty much wants a modern age. Warlock cousin Ambrose prefers a traditional Christmas. Aunt Hilda has zero clue how to host a Christmas to remember, despite being countless centuries old. Sabrina and Ambrose try to educate Hilda on the holidays. But it fails miserably.

Doesn't Sabrina have a second aunt? Despite being on the cover, younger Aunt Zelda is absent from the interior of this book. It's not explained why. But the kinder, viridescent haired relative to Sabrina Spellman is nowhere to be found. She's not even mentioned in passing. It's almost like someone cast a spell of forgetfulness about her...

Featuring the talents of Archie legends X, Xx and Xxx. Why the X's? Because this book was released during a time when Archie Comics didn't give listing credits to authors and artists. But I wouldn't be the least surprised if Dan Decarlo was among those legends who worked on this book.

One might think that the name of the book is 'Sabrina's Christmas Magic' and that this is the 467th issue of that series. In reality, this is a part of the Archie Giant Series. As a child, I really thought that there were 400 plus Christmas themed issues starring Sabrina and family. The title also is not  Archie Giant Series Magazine like the top banner says. This name confusion often gets on my wife's nerves to the point that if at a con, she'd throw up her hands and give up digging through the long boxes to me and my wish list. So, I totally understand the perplexity over the unofficial and official titles of this book as well as the overall series.

Festive fun with a Halloween touch.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC Super-Heroes Post Cereal Superheroes Collection, Vol. 1: 1979 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

1979 was a banner year for DC Comics fans who liked Post Cereals. If you were a regular fan of Alpha-Bits, Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles, or several other sugary treats, you could have instantly won one of thousands of great prizes including superhero themed kites and flying discs, bicycles, or a trip to Hollywood California. But the thing every kid wanted in these boxes of cereal were the free mini-comics!

Post Cereals offered 4 different books. They starred Batman (with Robin, the Boy Wonder), Superman, Wonder Woman and a group adventure including Aquaman! Each book was 16 pages in length but they didn't look like comic books. Instead of looking like a tabloid, these books were oblong in shape. Measuring 4.5"x3.5", each page had only 2 panels going from left to right. They kinda resemble an old fashion map atlas. 

As with most promotional giveaways of the day and age, no artist or writer credits are given. But the covers all look like the work of the amazing Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, who was DC's go-to promotional art guy during this time. It also could have been Dick Giordano who assisted with such projects when Garcia-Lopez was swamped, and had an art style that matched well with him. Giordano also inked a lot of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's promotional projects, so it could have been both!

As for the interior artwork, I just am not sure. The Superman story looks like it was taken from stills of the Super Friends cartoons that ran in various incarnations from 1973-85. Unfortunately, the story didn't match the quality of the artwork despite an assist from Lex Luthor as the issue's antagonist. 

The best story was a rodeo romp pitting the Dynamic Duo versus the Penguin of all people! With nothing remotely bird related, this caper was very un-Pengy-like and quite refreshing. The Wonder Woman story pitted the Princess of Themyscira against her arch-enemy, the Cheetah in a typical cat-burglary story. Story #4 had the DC Trinity teaming up. Aquaman is also in the story. But in typical time period fashion, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman have to save the king of Atlantis from a space alien who wants to make the underwater hero an exhibit at his planet's zoo.

I recently got to read all 4 books without having to pay an average of $30 per mini-book. And how was that possible you might ask? It's all thanks to Trident Studios. DC Super-Heroes Post Cereal Superheroes Collection, Vol. 1: 1979 is the Etsy seller's latest unauthorized collection of mini-books. Taken from the books of the seller's personal collection, there are a few blemishes related to the original print. But the colors are vibrant and rich and the images are ultra-clean. Once again, this collection is 50% larger than the originals, for minimum print requirements. Yet, this is actually not a bad thing for those adult readers who might need readers...

There are 3 sets in the entire Post Collection. The cereal company ran a second run of mini-books in 1980. A little later on, Canadian Post cereals offered a set of minis that included the likes of Supergirl and The Flash. Interested fans can purchase all 3 sets combined on Etsy and individually on eBay. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #37 (A Book You Didn't Know Existed) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Walt Disney Uncle Scrooge

I found this 1979 collection of Uncle Scrooge stories at my favorite thrift shop right before the pandemic. I started reading it immediately but it wasn't until yesterday that I finished it. That's because of the inclusion of Uncle Scrooge's very first appearance titled 'Christmas On Bear Mountain.' As a major fan of holiday comics, I just couldn't pass up a chance to read that Christmas themed story during the holiday season. 

All of these stories were crafted by the legendary Carl Barks. With over a dozen stories, this fantastic treasury of Disney Duck stories reinvigorated my childhood love of Uncle Scrooge and the TV series Ducktales. (I was such a fan growing up, I once got to meet the animators for that show and I still have the sketch of McDuck one of them made for me!)

The biggest problem I had with these reprints were how small the panels were. Every one of them is roughly the size of a deluxe postage stamp. It does make for some migraine inducing reading. But I think if the size of the panels were any bigger, you wouldn't get as many tales as you do in this book. Magica de Spell, The Beagle Boys, and Flintheart Glomgold rear their ugly heads in this book. They are inspirations for Ducktales along with some legendary stories that also star Donald, Huey, Dewy and Louie with a return to McDuck's Scottish Highland roots, his Klondike gold mining days and much, much more.

Be sure not to overlook the introductory articles on Carl Barks as well as a near verbatim transcript of Scrooge's very first appearance in animated form. Both are fun looks at the early days of Uncle Scrooge. Though, I am not really sure whats going on with the photos in the Barks interview. There's tons of beautiful pics of a recent vacation of Barks and his wife. But they aren't in any of them. Odd.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Dennis The Menace: Bonus Magazine Series #188

I got a chance to shop at one of my favorite used books stores today. I hadn't been there since before the pandemic. So it was nice to have a little normalcy. Even it is was only for a brief appointment time. But while I was there, I found a bunch of dollar gems for my collection and this was one of them.

I loved reading Dennis the Menace comics when I was a kid. One of my favorite stories was about this coming eclipse and how Dennis learned from a teacher how to view the solar event with some cardboard contraption. I had always wondered how you put such a thing to practice and it wasn't until that total eclipse we had a few years ago that I finally figured it out. 

Anyway, back to this issue. There were 3 stories in this comic. The first story had Dennis learning all about horse racing and then dreaming that he was a jockey. The last story has Dennis going camping with his Dad and getting lost in the process. Both had slightly predictable endings. But they had that charm I remembered so well from those comics I read as a tyke. 

The middle story was a pre-holiday surprise. It involves the Little Match Girl, from that tragic Christmas story, getting a lesson from Dennis about fire safety. Thanks to the inclusion of Aladdin, his magic lamp and it's genie, this version of the holiday horror tale doesn't end tragically. Since it's a pretty far out adventure, I am wondering if Dennis dreamed up this story as well.

This was a charming time capsule for only a buck. Sure, it wasn't in mint condition. But for being over 40 years old, my copy was in pretty decent shape. And that's how I feel about the story and art. For being a kids comic from when I was just 2 years of age, it has aged decently.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

The Brave and the Bold #148

If it wasn't for finding nearly a complete run of the issues missing for my Brave and the Bold collection thanks to Ssalefish Comics, I wouldn't even be getting to review this holiday treat from 1979. 

Batman is on the trail of a gang of buttleggers. No, this isn't some odd combination of Uggs and Yoga pants. Apparently, that is the correct term for those who illegally steal and smuggle cigarettes for sale. Commissioner Gordon is stymied by the thefts and the Caped Crusader is oddly giving his friend a hard time about it. 

Also having a hard time is Plastic Man. In this story, Plas has just established himself as a hero, having renounced his wicked ways after gaining his powers of elasticity. But walking the straight and narrow doesn't pay the bills like being a gangster does. So Plastic Man has to take a job being a bell-ringing Santa in a fancy holiday display at a Gotham City department store. 

On Christmas Eve morning, somebody steals the display. Also missing is Plastic Man who manages to leave a clue before his disappearance. Now Batman must save Gotham's Christmas by hightailing it down south to sunny Florida before time runs out!

A very unusual contrast of Christmas scenery in this story. The first half is perfect- snow, cold and ice. The second half is tropical, sunny and hot. And why I don't want to ever live in Florida if I can ever help it. Christmas is meant to be enjoyed when it's cold. 

I absolutely love the cover and interior art by Jim Aparo and Joe Staton. Aparo is my second favorite Batman artist of all-time behind Neal Adams. And Staton was such a master illustrator. But man, did this story have some really odd parts to it. 

For instance, when the decorations are stolen, the Mayor of Gotham City declares a state of emergency. I've read hundreds of Batman comics where the Joker is threatening to destroy Gotham with his gas. Or Bain wants to blow up the City. Or Mister Freeze is going to create a permanent winter. Yet in each of those instances, never once has the Mayor made such a proclamation. But he's willing to send out the National Guard when someone steals the town's nativity scene?

Then there's Batman's whirly-bat. I love the little helicopter. But are you telling me that Batman's corvette style Batmobile could really fit that thing in the trunk? No Way!

Bob Haney penned this Christmas themed story and he's usually very good at writing the Brave and the Bold stories. But this time around it was just a little bit inconceivable!
Still a fun read, but riddled with plot holes.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Time Warp #1

This short-lived, but superb sci-fi anthology featured stories about “doomsday and other strange things.” Each issue featured 8 different tales with twists right out of the EC Comics playbook. Comic legends Denny O’Neil, Paul Levitz, and Steve Ditko contribute. Michael Kaluta did some super cover work that harkens back to some classic 1940s-style pulp art. He missed his calling if he never did a Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon book.

Time Warp only lasted 5 issues and though they weren’t massive hits, they’ve formed a sort of cult status among collectors, especially those of anthology comics. I was lucky to find this copy in a dollar box and I hope to find the other 4 issues. Though, I suspect that I’ll have to cough up big bucks for those.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

    

Adventure Comics #465

Not all comics are created with the same love and attention that it deserves. This 1979 Adventure Comic is a gigantic flop! Yes, I have said how 80 and 100-page giants were like finding gold. But sometimes, you end up with pyrite.

In this issue we get 4-stories. There’s a Deadman story about racial violence in an big city neighborhood. That’s a great story. Deadman is a favorite of mine and the tale was d
one to perfection. So far, so good.

Then Aquaman fends off  a Neo-Nazi plot when he discovers a secret base in North Pole. Aquaman acts like he’s on these fascists’ side but really he’s bidding his time until he can uncover their sinister plot. Again, a very good story starring a childhood favorite of mine.

Then we have the Flash who after he prevents a super-sonic jet from destroying Central City, finds that he’s become attuned to the thoughts of an invading race of something. The mystery is who or what is behind this invasion. I thought the answer was clever. However, the science behind how the Flash creates a wall of sound to keep the jet from crashing into downtown is ludicrous. Yes, you can create a wall of sound but it wouldn’t act like a rubber ball and bounce the plane harmlessly back into the air. It would rattle the ship apart and cause mass causalities!

Then for our final tale, the classic Justice Society of America team-up to stop a rare poison stored in a capsule that’s about to dissolve, from  destroying all of mankind. Okay- with Ebola and nerve gases and stuff, yes I can believe that a toxic of some sort could cause lots and lots of death. However, is there a hospital in not just America but the entire world that would store such a dangerous poison in a) a capsule that would melt after too much exposure to the elements and b) locked in the filing cabinet of the hospital’s records department?!

If this was Mythbusters, a giant BUSTED sign would pop up right now as there is no way in the world this could happen! OY! The whole scenario reminds me of a riddle in which a doctor holding a jar announced he had in his hands an acid that could melt any material and his wife called ‘Bulls-it’ because if that was true, the vessel would be dissolving as he spoke.

They say don’t judge a book by its cover. Yet, with this awesome cover filled with dozens of awesome DC Superheroes, the adage doesn’t ring true. This issue is mostly filler and not very well plotted.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.