Star Wars 3-D #1-3 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

1987 was the 10 year anniversary of the first Star Wars film. In what was supposed to be a time filled with celebration and fanfare, 1987 was not a banner year for the average Star Wars fan. Star Wars: Droids and Star Wars: Ewoks; a pair of all-ages comics published by Marvel imprint Star, were cancelled by Springtime. Star Tours, a Star Wars themed Disneyland ride and a 10th anniversary convention were held. But unless you traveled to California, you couldn't enjoy them. Older fans could enjoy a new computer game as well as a RPG game- if you had the money and/or friends to play with! At least Mel Brooks entertained moviegoers with his Star Wars parody, Spaceballs.

It was a dark time for Star Wars fans, especially if you loved it in comic book form. That was until December of that year!

California based Blackthorne Publishing was a small novelty publishing company known for making 3-D comics based on popular properties such as Dick Tracy and the California Raisins. It was a small coup to win the Star Wars franchise away from major publisher Marvel, despite the waning interest in the George Lucas property. 

Issue #1 was billed as a 10th anniversary issue. Written by Len Wein, the premier issue sees Luke Skywalker and C-3PO returning with Han Solo and Chewbacca to Tatoonie immediately after the destruction of the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin. Skywalker wishes to honor his fallen Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru while being led by the Force to find a new caretaker for the Lars Homestead. The Force leads Luke and company to Mos Eisley Cantina to a massive and mean smuggler named Throgg. Featuring art and pencils by Glen Johnson and Jim Nelson, the climatic bar fight in this issue makes the misadventures seen in Episode IV look rather tame in comparison.

Patrick Zircher assists Len Wein in the next issue which reveals how the Rebels ended up seeking sanctuary on the ice planet of Hoth. Inks for this issue were by David Cody Weiss. 

Series editor John Stephenson pens the third issue which takes Luke and Leia to Dantooine. There, Luke is kidnapped by a group of Dark Force sensitive beings called Fairfolk, who subject the aspiring Jedi to a number of tests devised by Darth Vader. The combined artwork and inks by Cesar Magsombol are the weakest of the trio of issues, looking hardly anything like any of the characters.

Star Wars 3-D was a quarterly publication. The printing process to make the images appear 3-D was a costly technique in both terms of time and money. At least 3 additional issues were planned. Unfortunately, the 1988 Michael Jackson project Moonwalker led to the downfall of the young publisher. A ridiculous licensing fee for the franchise in addition to the book's failure to entice customers resulted in financial woes that Blackthorne could never rebound from. An IRS audit and a lawsuit against distribution company Sunrise Distribution didn't help matters. Outsourcing and layoffs dominated Blackthorne in 1989, despite being the 5th largest comic book publisher at the time. Ultimately, many of Blackthorne's planned titles, including issues 4-6 of Star Wars 3-D were cancelled and the company folded in 1990.

Completing this review completes Task #33 (A Star Wars Comic or Graphic Novel) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Marvel Premiere #35 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Having just escaped Communist spies, test pilot Chuck Chandler thinks it will be smooth sailing from now on. Jumping into an experimental rocket plane, Chandler is hoping to break some world records. Unfortunately, lady luck is not on Chuck's side. His plane is captured by a Skrull scout skip. 

The story of Chuck Chandler is set during the 1950s. With mankind on the verge of space flight, the Skrulls are interested in determining if the planet Earth is a threat to their empire. Chuck is to be interrogated before being returned to terra firma with his mind wiped. However, the pilot finds a way to escape in his test plane while sabotaging the UFO. 

On his way back home, the energy waves of the exploding Skrull saucer flood Chandler's plane. Upon his crash landing, Chandler emerges from the wreckage unscaved. Everything looks like it's going right for a young man who's had a very eventful 24-hours. And then Chuck Chandler disappeared.

The only person to witness Chuck Chandler's disappearance is his brother Hal. After the funeral, Hal discovers that an image of Chuck is embedded in his eyeglasses. In one lens, Chuck is green. The other, red. Hal's eyewear has turned into a macabre sort of 3-D glasses!

One night, Hal falls into a trance. During his slumber, Chuck emerges from Hal's glasses with new and fantastic powers. Now with the power of 3 men, Chuck can leap great heights, perform amazing feats of strength and outrun the fastest cars 1950s Detroit has to offer. Only there's a catch- Chuck Chandler can only exist outside of his brothers eyeglasses for only 3 hours at a time!

Created in 1977 by Roy Thomas (Aargh!) and Jim Craig (What If...), the 3-D Man was created as a tribute to Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's niche superhero Captain 3-D. Thomas wanted to create an entire series based on 3-D Man in a 3-D format. However, production costs just weren't feasible. So a 3-issue try-out in the pages of Marvel Premiere was the best Roy Thomas had to settle for. 

Ultimately, only the most ardent of comic book fans remember the 3-D Man. After appearing in Marvel Premiere #35-37, the character only popped up in a scattered number of books. A pair of Incredible Hulk issues, a brief appearance in Contest of Champions and a spot on Jimmy Woo's 50s era Avengers in What If... #9 would be 3-D Man's sole contributions to the Marvel Universe until a return almost 2 decades later as black man named Delroy Garrett (first known as Triathlon.)

Unfortunately for the Chuck Chandler 3-D Man, when Marvel made the events of that What If... issue a part of mainstream continuity in the 2006 miniseries, Agents of Atlas, the character was left off of the roster. Agents of Atlas writer Jeff Parker claimed it was because he only wanted to use characters from 1950s Atlas lineup. Since 3-D Man was created in the 70s as a retcon, Parker didn't make the nearly-forgotten character a part of that team. However, it may also have something to do with the fact that Kurt Busiek along with George Perez who created the Delroy Garrett 3-D Man, wanted to leave the character alone for other projects. As the contemporary 3-D Man did join a modern version of the Agents of Atlas, that theory holds a bit more water.

Since it's been over a decade since the original 3-D Man's last official appearance in a book, the Roy Thomas creation sadly looks to become nothing more than a small entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Though who knows? Maybe the time will come for minor 70s characters to make a return to Marvel Comics for a nostalgic mini-series much like 2007's The Twelve. But until then, it's a safe bet that we won't be seeing Chuck Chandler any time soon.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #12 (Published the Year You Were Born) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Legends of the DC Universe 3-D Gallery

 Man, was this book a disappointment. It's been the final book on my Legends of the DC Universe wish list forever. Last week, I finally found a copy, at a price just outside of my comfort range. After a busy week of work I was counting down the days until I had a chance to sit back and read it. And wouldn't you know- it's a freaking gallery book!

With exception of the illustration credits inside the front and back cover, there was nothing to read. Yes, there were some lovely illustrations. But when you expect to get to sit down and read a comic, you expect there to actually be words to read.

If you’ve been a long-time reader of my blog, then you will know that this is a huge pet peeve of mine. To buy a comic book and it basically be a portfolio feels like a waste. Oddly, enough, these gallery books are amongst some of the most sought out. They’re pretty expensive too. I think the reason this book was much more pricey than the others in the Legends series is because the book is in 3-D.

The comic (if you can call it that) comes with 2 pairs of 3-D glasses. Thus, in order to view the pictures, you have to tear the glasses out of the book. As I expect most copies of this book don’t come with them, it has made this book much more rarer.

I decided not to destroy my copy. I would rather hold on to this book as Near Mint than to enjoy it. Yes, that’s very rare for me. Maybe a collector is looking for this book and I can pass it along to them- for a price. I’m hoping I can get my hands on a pair of 3-D glasses elsewhere.Then I might enjoy the book as it was meant to with hurting the value.

Really folks, if I knew that this was just a book of artwork, it wouldn’t have been on my wishlist for so long. I didn’t have the word ‘gallery’ on my list, thus the oversight. Plus, I was so overjoyed when I found this at the comic book store, I overlooked that word. I know, it is my own damn fault for not paying attention. Maybe you are like me and extremely frugal when it comes to your purchases. If so, hopefully, you will appreciate my efforts to enlighten you on what this book really is all out.

Featuring art by masters such as Gene Ha, Dave Johnson, and others. The pictures are great. But this Madman needs words in his comics!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.