ALF #13

I found my first Scrooge of the season. This 1989 issue of ALF has a holiday cover with the furry alien covered in Christmas wrapping and that's just about it for holiday cheer. 

There are 2 stories inside. First, ALF soups up his space ship into a rad race car in order to challenge a drag racer and claim a large cash prize. Then ALF activates his old cleaning droid to repair some of the damage he made in the previous story. Only the robot goes a little crazy and places the entire house into lockdown until it can determine if the Tanner family are a threat to ALF's comfort and safety.

There is a special insert. It's a holiday card from ALF and his human family. This is the only Christmas themed material in the entire book. This also includes ads! I suspect that most copies of this issue is missing that centerpiece as this was a book geared towards children. 

This issue was published right around when Marvel was shuttering their all-ages imprint, Star Comics. Though this issue says Marvel on the top left corner, there are still subscription ads for the few remaining kids books being published by the House of Ideas as Star Comics. There's also a coming attractions page that bears the Star Comics moniker. 

In my opinion, Star Comics was one of Jim Shooter's best ideas. I loved these books and despite being in my very late 40s, I am trying to collect the entire imprint run without having to take on a major loan to do it. I would have been perfectly happy with this book if it had a cover that reflected one of the 2 non-holiday stories contained within. I've read that towards the end of the Star imprint, Marvel was trying to use up all of the artwork that they had paid artists for. That could explain why this issue had a Christmas cover despite not being a Christmas comic. Unfortunately, it got my hopes up for a festive read and for that, I must rate this book accordingly.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

ALF Holiday Special #1

Right around 1988-1991 ALF ruled the world. The sitcom about a furry Alien Life Form that crashed into the garage of the unassuming Tanner family was great for kids. But when you get older, you notice how insipid the whole thing was. 

The idea behind the show was that the Tanners wanted to protect ALF from being turned into a lab experiment by the US government. But boy, was ALF rude and crude and implusive. I really think after a week, I would have turned him in myself. 

ALF's downfall was that because he needed to be hid from the world; and so he was limited to just the property of the Tanner household. Yet in some strokes of genius with this holiday special, ALF was able to trek out in public.

In one story, the mom Kate takes ALF Christmas shopping by having the fuzzball pose as a toy. As with any holiday shopping, there's chaos and ALF gets separated from Kate. Things go from bad to worse when somebody accidentally mistakes ALF as being on sale. Now it's up to Kate to save the day! 

Another story has the Tanners taking ALF on a holiday ski trip. With enough coats and scarfs, nobody can tell that there is an extraterrestrial underneath all those layers. It's up to ALF to save the day when an avalanche snows the family in!

Lastly, this issue is truly a holiday special as the final story is set at New Year's Eve. Once again, ALF can't mingle with the guests. But when each of the Tanner family comes to check on the little guy, they end up having more fun with him than their neighbors. 

There were a few other stories in this comic book. But those 3 were the highlights. Compared to the TV series, this was way more enjoyable. The scripting by Michael Gallagher featured dialogue just as lame as in the show. But the stories were more creative. The art was cartoony. But for a kids comic, it's not bad. E.C. Comics legend Marie Severin does several assists while Dave Manak (Bullwinkle & Rocky) is the main feature artist.

When you want to add a little bit of the 80s to your holiday reads, this is right up there as a main choice. It's not Shakespeare. I guess that's not a bad thing. I mean whoever thinks of Shakespeare as a holiday go to?

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.