The Tick 20th Anniversary Special #1(2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

One bright shiny day at the Brockton, Massachusetts location of New England Comics, a lanky young man places a sketch on the store wall. At the request of one of the store managers, Ben Edlund submitted a portrait of an all-new costumed character called The Tick. Is he a hero? Is he a villain? Nobody knows because this was a character that Edlund came up with spur of the moment. 

A few weeks later, Edlund is asked to flesh out the character into a 3-page tale that would appeal the 14th and 15th volume of the New England Comics Newsletter (July-August & September-October 1986). The character was a hit with customers who quickly demanded more adventures. 

Seeing an opportunity in the burgeoning Indy comics craze of the mid-80s, NEC signed a deal with Edlund to create a new comic series based on the Tick. Originally, Tick was designed wearing a furry brown costume. But a fan vote updated the character into a sleek, navy blue uniform with animated antenna. Ben's dad helped to design the logo while the minuscule printing company Associated Printers (later Morgan Printing Inc.) jumped into the realm of comic book fabrication for the very first time. It took about 2 years, and with the Indy comic bubble having burst, about a dozen distributors, but the Tick #1 was shipped out to fans and nationwide comic sellers in 1988. Fingers were collectively crossed.

And the Tick was an immediate hit!

Jump forward to 2006 (or 2007 according to the publication date) and New England Comics was celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the creation of the Tick! A beloved animated series on Fox Kids, a cult-classic short lived live series on Fox, a secret fan club, and dozens of comic books and tons of merch later and the Tick still thrived. Naturally, it was time for a tribute one-shot. 

With The Tick 20th Anniversary Special, NEC culled from the numerous talented writers and artists who had previously worked on the character as well as other members of the Tick universe. The Man-Eating Cow, the Chainsaw Vigilante, and sidekick Arthur are among those who make appearances. (But where's Paul the Samurai?!) Creator Ben Edlund along with his dad, crafted a new 4-page center spread story that some consider the epilogue of the long-delayed Tick #13. And non-associated talent such as Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT), Scott Shaw! (Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew) and Fred Hembeck (Dateline: @#$%) make contributions as well!

While the grab bag of work is a mix of brilliant tributes and sorely-lacking fantasy, the price of admission is the lengthy articles that dig into the early history of The Tick. I really learned a lot and since the print was ultra small, I felt like I read a coffee table book's worth of comic book history. And eye strain to boot!

While I wasn't a big fan of the tributes, I definitely want more Tick. I also want to complete my collection of Tick back issues. If this book was meant to be an smorgsabord of Tick bites, it definitely whet my appetite and a trip to NEC's online Tick store is in my future.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #7 (Already in Your Collection) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The Tick 2018 Free Comic Book Day Edition

Another annual romp with The Tick and Arthur and friends. This edition focuses on some little known versions of Mighty Blue Justice.

Years ago in an unknown land, there's a King Tick whose life or death or whatever will result in the fall of his kingdom. Or maybe it will usher in a glorious new age. Apparently, this was some idea of Ben Edlund's that was hinted at during his initial run on The Tick but never came to pass until now.

Then we go back to land of Tick and Artie. This is an actual tick and an actual moth who are the heroes of the insect world. I own the Tick and Artie series, I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. 

In between these alternate tales of The Tick, we've got a couple of regular universe stories. One involves Tick, a massive appetite for food AND justice and a hapless pizza guy. The other involves Tick being the best man at Rubber Duck's wedding to Bee. We get RD's origin story and some wedding rehearsal insanity. It is the classic type of Tick story I would expect from NEC.

AS I said, the wedding story was the best of all four. The first tale would have been better enjoyed if I understood the backstory a little more. The middle stories were okay. The pizza guy story had some funny moments but the art was amateurish for a NEC publication. The Tick and Artie story was amateurish but that's the point as the series is supposed to be thought up as a child would if they had to create adventures of a superhero dressed as a tick and a moth. Plus, it was a one-pager and not meant to be very thought provoking.

Based on the awesome cover, this issue was a little disappointing. Especially since this FCBD offering was supposed to build interest in the new Tick series that was debuting at about the same time as the annual comic lovers event. 

Yah- it's a free Tick comic book. Boo- it's not the best one ever offered by NEC. Not by far.

But as I feel about it like I feel with the band Queen, the worst song of theirs is better than no song at all. Just sub the word comic book in place of song.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

The Tick Omnibus, Volume 3 (2nd Printing)

No, there's no Christmas story here.
This is the cover to what would have been
Tick #13.

  The third omnibus featuring some mighty blue justice roughly completes Ben Edlund's epic run of the Tick. Though this only collects issues 11-12 there are tons of great extras in this book including Edlund's very first sketches and appearances of the Tick in other media plus a sneak peak of issue #13.

    I had said that Omnibus 3 'roughly completes' the first series and I wasn't lying. There was a long-rumored 13th issue but it's publishing was very unlucky as it took over a decade for Edlund to finally complete it! (And you thought it took a long time for Marvel to finish up Ultimate Hulk/ Wolverine!)

   Aside from an epic cliffhanger that wouldn't be resolved anywhere near when this book was published, there wasn't very much to hate about this collection. Yeah, it's a short omnibus but at 100-pages and with lots of great extras it's worth the $12 cover price. Or go to the New England Comics website and get it for only $6!

  So, let us talk about the stories themselves. Issue #11 is the original story in which the epic Tick cartoon episode "The Tick Vs. The Tick" was based. Yep- it's the first appearance of Barry, the Comet Club, and the Sidekicks Lounge! The only thing missing is the Evil Midnight Bomber Who Bombs at Midnight (Yeah, baby, YEAH!)

   Then issue #12 wraps up a nit from the Tick that I couldn't figure out for the longest time. When Tick beats Barry, he and Arthur are given the rights to the former Tick's name, mansion, and his secret lair. (So that's how Tick got it!) But alas, when it looks like the Tick and Arthur are about to be ambushed by the Terror and his team of henchmen, we get that famous 'To Be Continued' that won't be resolved anytime soon.

   Still, as I said this is an essential volume and I loved just about every minute of it. Oh and I'll get that Edlund follow-up some day.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

The Tick Omnibus, volume 2: Thvrsday Ad Infinitvm

Hey, don’t ask me what the title of this book means. Ask me how ecstatic I was to find this for a literally a song. I’ve seen Omnibuses of the Tick on Amazon and they are expensive. I found this at a comic book store in Chapel Hill on the used shelf. Yeah, the cover price was originally $10.95 and I paid $10. However, I’ve seen this thing list new for $30-50! So, this was a treat.

In this book, the Tick meets Chippendale Chairhead for the first time, becomes allies with the Man-Eating Cow and goes on the most convoluted road trip in the history of American travel. For once, I actually wanted Arthur to kill Tick for being so annoying and stupid travelling the open road. But I loved every minute of it, too! All this insanity and more awaits in the pages of this omnibus.

I love the Tick and the Ben Edlund stuff is just the best. It’s the crème de la crème and a pun was intented due to the Man-Eating Cow! I’ve not really found a lousy Tick comic, but the best is the works by character and series creator Edlund. Yes, the book is in black and white with occasional splashes of red. But that’s how the book was first published, so I don’t mind. What makes this book unique is that the original ads as well as editorial comments and letters pages are reprinted with the stories in their original formats. It’s really cool.

I love it and yes, I want more!

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

The Tick: The Naked City

 

The Naked City is a collection of the earliest Tick comics ever published. Now reprinted in startling color, marvel at how Tick escaped his mental institution hum-dum existence and became the hero he is today. From meeting with a certain reporter who looks an awful lot like George Reeves to teaming with a samurai named Paul and eventually gaining a side-kick named Arthur, who looks like a moth, a comic legend is born!

  The best part has to be the Ninja shrubbery (Nothing to see here. Yes, I’m a shrub) I so want that T-shirt.

  Classic stuff, very hard to find, but worth every minute of searching.

  Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.