Tales of the Bizarro World

Growing up, I loved reading my dad's old Superman Comics. To me, I always felt that the Man of Tomorrow had some of the best villains... The Parasite, Brainiac, that ape with Kryptonite eyes... But the one that always was a delight was Bizarro! A faulty duplicate of the Man of Steel, Bizarro always got things wrong. 

Ugly was considered beautiful. The Earth was supposed to be square, not round. Prisoners broke into jail- not out. That kind of stuff.

This book collects the original 15 back stories that ran in the early 1960s in the pages of Adventure Comics. A couple I had read as a kid and a couple I had read sometime in the last year. I seem to have started this book and when I came to the Halloween issue, I stopped to wait to read it when the holiday came around. And then I forgot all about it until almost a year later. In some ways, I too was Bizarro in my reading of this volume.

Another childhood favorite Superman villain of mine, Mr. Mxyzptlk is featured here. (I love how I still know how to spell his name without looking it up- as long as I do it phonetically.) That imp from the Fifth Dimension has a Bizarro counterpart roaming around a couple of these tales. Instead of creating mischief, this fella tries to do good deeds. 

Along with a good Lex Luthor, who was a refreshing take on the one Superman character I have actually grown tired of over the years, this was a really great read from long ago. I only wish there was a Bizarro Brainaic who would try to put cities into the Bizarro World, and watch the chaos of urban development!

Featuring some Superman legends of the DC bullpen including Jerry Seigel, Curt Swan, and Wayne Boring, I love the cover done by Love and Rockets' Jaime Hernandez.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

DC Showcase Presents: The Spectre, Volume 1

This was a beautiful collection of stories starring one of the most mysterious and most powerful characters in the DC Universe. Originally a creation of Superman co-creator Jerry Seigel, the Spectre is the living embodiment of God's Angel of Vengeance. When police detective Jim Corrigan was brutally murdered, God has mercy on him, and gives Corrigan another chance as long as he willingly becomes the vessel for the Spectre to dwell.

Acting as 'The Voice', the Spectre eliminated evil doers in some pretty gruesome ways. That is until the coming of the Comics Code. At that point, the Spectre continued to battle evil, but he'd mellow out eventually, allowing Corrigan to take the baddies to prison instead of sending them straight to Hell.

It's those less violent stories that starts out this awesome collection. Basically neutered, the Spectre would star in a short-lived series helmed by Neal Adams (Batman Odyssey) that only lasted 10 issues. The character would then languish in lingo only appearing in the occasional Justice League of America or Brave and the Bold adventure. The Batman team-ups are reprinted in this collection, as are some Showcase Presents team-ups with Doctor Fate. (The JLA epics can be found in assorted volumes of their Showcase Presents collections.)

As rules on horror in comics was lessened in the 1970s, DC would attempt to reboot the Spectre in the pages of Adventure Comics. Written and illustrated by Michael Fleisher and Jim Aparo, these are some of my favorite horror comics DC have ever done and they were gory! One issue has a victim cut to pieces with a giant pair of scissors and another have a baddie sliced to literal ribbons at a lumber yard. 

Based on the time period, these new Spectre stories were highly controversial and several issues never saw print until later on in a special 1988 miniseries called Wraith of the Spectre. Thankfully, that's not the end of the Spectre as he would appear in several issues of another horror title called Ghosts.

 In these stories, the skeptic hunter Doctor Thirteen would try to prove that the Spectre was a hoax! But each time Jim Corrigan or the Spectre get the best of Thirteen. I wish that storyline went longer than it did because they were some of my favorite episodes in this collection.

I have a few of these stories in other issues already- especially Wraith of the Spectre and Brave and the Bold tales. But this collection was filled with over 300 pages of material that was all-new to me- plus it was an awesome gift from my wife! I loved the whole thing. 

One little quirk- this book is listed as Volume 1. It shouldn't be listed as anything of the sort. There never was (and unless DC un-cancels the Showcase Presents line), there never will be a second volume. I guess that means I'll just have to collect the further Spectre titles from 1990-on in single issue form. I'm okay with that...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Rust #1

(1992) Adventure Comics. Story by Steve Miller. Art by Phillip Hester & Ande Parks

I had actually read this issue before and I wasn't really a fan of it. The only reason I kept on to it was for a very long while, I believe that you had to keep everything in your collection. Even if it’s stuff you hate.

    This book is kinda the inspiration for a recent project: clean out the junk in my collection that I don't want.

   Rust is the tale of a cop who becomes a living scrap heap after being doused in chemicals. The art was okay though it looked like it was made using magic markers. Steve Miller's story wasn't that bad. Great plot- awful dialogue. The read was better the second time around. But I'm still not going to keep it.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Strange Sports Stories #3 (of 3)

Issue #3 with another pair of
collectible trading cards.

In this final issue of Adventure Comics' version of Strange Sports Stories, the ageless Hall O. Fame spins a yarn about a washed up wrestler who is summoned by a mysterious being to participate in the ultimate battle royale. Thor, Zeus, and John Henry is amongst the participants seeking to become the King of the Ring. Then in the final epic, an armchair quarterback gets to make the play of his life all from the comfort of his home.

   Issue three was a good read. But honestly, this is the most forgettable issue of the bunch. One reason is that the stunning cover depicting a battle of the sexes doesn't even appear in this issue. Another reason is I guess with this being the last issue, the level of care just isn't there. It's like cooking without love. The food might be edible but it's just not as tasty as it could be.

   Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Strange Sports Stories #2 (of 3)

Welcome back to the Museum of Sports History, Trivia, and Oddity with your host Hall O.Fame! First, thrill to the most bizarre team to ever take to the court as a high school basketball prodigy must win the most important win of his life when he is paired with the likes of Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr, and John Wayne, and Honest Abe against the galaxy's best!

 Then a young man with Olympic aspirations becomes the greatest athlete ever when he finds a magic medal. Lastly, with two outs and the championship on the line, a fledgling baseball team resorts to slapstick as their last hope for victory!     

The second of three issues of Adventure Comics' Strange Sports Stories was, well, strange. The opening story seemed to me like something I had read before in the pages of the Tick. In the first couple of issues of The Tick: Karma Tornado, the Tick has been whisked away to an intergalactic Goodwill Games in which he is the captain of a team of athletes comprised of Cleopatra, Booker T. Washington, and a T-Rex! That Karma Tornado story was published almost a year after this issue and I would hate for that awesome tale to have been a rip-off of the Strange Sports Stories opener here...
   

 The other two adventures in this comic were okay. They weren't quite as good as the opening yarn, nor were they of the caliber of the stories that comprised issue #1. But I still enjoyed reading them!

   Along with a couple of pages filled with strange but true stories from the wide world of earth sports, I enjoyed this book, though maybe not as much as the previous issue.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Strange Sports Stories #1 (of 3)

Issue #1 with the trading cards attached.

   Welcome to the Strange Sports Hall of Fame. Based out of Canton, Ohio it's run by the aged Hall O. Fame. Fame has the personal claim to having been involved with every American sport invented in the past 200 years! In his museum are exhibits to not only every sport imaginable but some that are out of this world and everywhere in between.

   Hall O. Fame, along with his robot hostess Miss Sullivan and resident alien sports expert, Bob the Blob, takes his guests on a whirlwind tour of several adventures including a story about a high school running back that happens to be a werewolf, a brave young man with leukemia's dream of being a radical skateboarder, and some strange but true stories of happenings in the world of baseball and boxing.

   I enjoyed this book, thought the art was a little rough. But I happily remember the original Strange Sports Stories that DC put out in the 70s and how fun they were. That's what I expected with this book and that's what I got. But I'm wondering how Adventure Comics, which in no way is affiliated with DC, was able to name this comic STRANGE SPORTS STORIES.

   I would've thought there would be some sort of copyright against that. Maybe that's why this series was limited to only 3 issues. I'm guessing Adventure Comics couldn't pass on the title and so they figured that they bolt and run before DC found out...

   I'm not accusing anyone of anything. I just can't find anything about this series online other than some listings of back issues for sale. If anyone has any further info on this, please drop me a line. I'm very interested in learning more about this little-known series.

   BTW- if you are interested in collecting this book, complete issues come with a pair of really cool trading cards based on characters from this series.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Adventure Comics 80-page Giant No.1

Some of the best and brightest stars of Adventure Comics return for this 1998 80-page special. Most of the tales are fabulous. 

For example, the Bizarro tale about the origin of the Bizarro Code, i which everything is opposite from the ways of earth (such as criminals are rewarded and law-abiding Bizarros are put in jail) was a laugh riot. 

Another awesome tale is the Green Arrow story in which Oliver Queen's son, Connor, tries to follow in his father’s bow training footsteps. I'm not very familiar with the character of Connor, but the writing was very good.

Unfortunately,  the Supergirl tale was a mess. I love Superman's blonde cousin and I’m used to the Kara Supergirl- not this Linda Danvers/ Matrix version. When Supergirl all of sudden sprouts fiery angel wings and it's revealed that her Danvers identity had a past history of sexual abuse, I was completely lost. (Thanks Wikipedia for filling in those gaps.)

Not a bad title. Like any anthology, you have to take the good with the bad. That goes for writing and art as well. Thankfully, I got this little gem in a dollar box. In fact, I may have paid less than that.

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #32

The final chapter of this current Legends storyline has Wonder Woman and World War II anti-hero Fury battling it out over a false sense of entitlement. See, Fury bonded with Wonder Woman's mother during her time-travelling antics during the second world war. Fury took it to mean Hippolyta was in reality her mother. It was in reality nothing more than a kind hearted woman taking an orphan child under her wing during the horrors of war.

    The biggest conflict is between Wonder Woman and Superman. For this entire storyline, Wonder Woman has been juggling with her heart over whether of not to accept a date with a despot to end a bloody civil war. Superman has been taking the whole thing on the chin, agonizing over whether of not Diana will go so far as to sleep with this rebel leader. It's very 8th-grade romance if you ask me.

    Honestly, with a story like this, it surprises me when people get all bent out of shape that Wonder Woman and the Man of Steel are currently an item in the New 52. Hint of a romance between these two characters has been hinted at since the early 70s and the love affair went so far that in days of John Bryne's post-Crisis Superman run in the 80s,  the two went on a date in Action Comics #600.  That attraction fizzled after only one outing and a kiss that grossed Wonder Woman out (I.E. like when Lorraine kisses Marty in Back to the Future and says "it's like kissing my brother.)
 
 The romance has turned into so much more over the course of the past 25 years with Elseworlds stories such as 'Red Son,' 'Whom Gods Destroy,' and 'Kingdom Come' and it's sequel 'The Kingdom' having a now widowed Superman marry Wonder Woman and have a child. (Technically Kingdom Comic isn't an Elseworlds title as much as an alternate timeline story, as that series does not carry the Elseworlds Compass logo. Yet The Kingdom does carry the Elseworlds imprint.)
   
    A very satisfying ending to a very good Wonder Woman story. It featuring some great art, sexy covers, and some great plot twists and surprises.

   Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Wraith of the Spectre #3 (of 4)

Jim Corrigan finally gets his wish and becomes human once again. However, it takes a gunshot wound for the hard-boiled detective to finally figure out that the supreme bring has lifted his responsibilities of being the Spectre off his shoulders. This probably isn’t the best time for Corrigan to no longer be invulnerable as he’s attracted the attention of a deranged mob boss with a penchant for …Rubber Ducks???

I liked this issue very much; although the use of a rubber ducky to help a crime boss make his decisions is a little weird. Who does this guy think he is, Ernie from Sesame Street? The end to this series was fantastic and I won’t give away what happens. It’s that good.

Oh, and yes, you read that right- these four tales were the end of the reprints from the 1970s run of the Spectre in Adventure Comics. “But, this is issue 3 of 4- how can that be?” one might ask. Due to the controversial nature of the Spectre, especially in his sadistic methods of capital punishment, the Spectre was yanked before Michael Fleisher had the chance to wrap the series up into a neat little package.

If you ask me, the way the last story ended was sufficient to me. However, the people in the DC archive found 3 never before published scripts that were supposed to be in upcoming issues of Adventure. I look forward to reading those as I really love this series. Plus, the great Jim Aparo will be penciling them!

Ghoulish fun that’s 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.

Star Trek #3, 1995 Special

This special is all about Kirk and his nephews in light of the aftermath of the events of the classic Trek episode: Operation Annihilate! In the first tale, Kirk and his boys stumble across an Orion invasion while dealing with the demons of having lost both a dad and mom.

The second tale involves Kirk’s only nephew to appear on the show, Peter and his attempt to travel back in time to stop the death of his parents from occurring. It’s a powerful tale and has a great tie-in easter egg with the original series.

The art is very good. But, it’s the powerful storytelling that steals the show.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Rust, Created by Steve Miller #1

In a foreword by creator Steve Miller (probably not of the Steve Miller Band, but not positive), explains that this take on his creation is slightly different that the Rust people might know. Well, I got this book in a grab bag and I’ve never heard of Rust, so it’s all new territory for me.

Here a cop is shot, left for dead, and thrown into a batch of industrial solvents. The chemical company has an idea what’s happened and they work around the clock to put the kibosh of things. Eventually, the cop wakes and is turned into a big heaping pile of rusted metal.

 

The premise isn’t too bad. Being all gruff, orange, and comprised of garbage, he’s kinda like a dirtier version of the Thing. I was actually set to want to read more issues (if I ever came across them), but then I read the complete issue guide to the first Rust series, then published by the defunct Now Comics.

What I read from that was a cross between Swamp Thing, kiddie porn, and a zombie apocalypse. It put me off from ever reading this series ever again. Not my cup of tea.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.