Bullwinkle #3 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle debuted in animated form in 1959. The creation of animator Jay Ward, the iconic team of Moose and Squirrel first appeared on ABC and eventually NBC where the show wrapped up it's original run in 1964. Over the next 5 decades, Rocky and Bullwinkle would reappear in reruns and new series with the flying gray squirrel always getting top billing, with exception of a Sunday evening show titled merely The Bullwinkle Show. However, when it comes to their appearance in comics forms, it's almost like Rocket J. Squirrel doesn't even exist. 

The furry friends first appeared in comic book form as part of the much beloved Dell Four Color anthology series. Their first 4 appearances were titled 'Rocky and His Friends' before being switched over to 'Bullwinkle and Rocky'. Despite being named in the title, Rocky disappeared from the front cover, with issue #1270 showing only Bullwinkle and the villainous female spy, Natasha, enjoying a piano recital. Eventually, even the supporting players vanished with solely the starring Moose on the cover and the title reduced to being called solely 'Bullwinkle.' Putting Bullwinkle in the spotlight would be a trend that would continue in comics through the 1990s.

Dell, Gold Key, Charlton and Marvel's all-ages imprint Star would publish officially licensed comics based on the Jay Ward Productions series. Every series starring Rocky and Bullwinkle from 1962-1988 would be published as Bullwinkle and Rocky. For the Gold Key series, of which I read issue #3, the publishing credits on the bottom of the opening page would list the series as only Bullwinkle. 

This issue is framed like a classic Rocky and Bullwinkle episode. The main story is broken into 2-parts. In-between the main story arc, there's a segment starring genius pooch Mr. Peabody and his boy, Sherman. Then to finish out the issue, Rocky recites a 'Fractured Fairy Tale' to his buddy Bullwinkle.

In the main tale, a slight parody of that holiday B-movie classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, the children of the Moon are absolutely ga-ga for the antics of Bullwinkle. Wanting to make the children of the Moon happy, a pair of Moon Men come to Earth in the hopes of luring the moose to the Lunar surface. In order to achieve this, the aliens sprinkle an anti-gravity powder to Bullwinkle's antlers which makes him begin to float. Seeing an advantage of Bullwinkle's magical antlers in the Cold War, spies Boris and Natasha seek to remove them as a potential power supply for a squadron of jets. 

The Sherman and Peabody segment puts a spin on the mythos of Billy the Kid, with the notorious outlaw actually being a pistol packing infant! You'll never look at the story of Cinderella the same ever again after reading her story in Fractured Fairy Tales!

The Moon people story is noteworthy in that all of the Lunar residents look like Quisp, the alien spokesman of the Quaker Oats cereal of the same name. Instead of a spinning propeller atop their heads, the Moon people have shaggy mop tops. But with their pink flesh, bulbish heads and googly eyes, the shared ancestry of Quisp and the Moon people cannot be denied. That's because Jay Ward designed Quisp as part of the cereal's original animated marketing campaign in 1965. Whether the likeness was an homage or accidental influence of the works of Jay Ward on the unlisted and unknown artist of the Rocky and Bullwinkle main story is up for debate. GoCollect.com claims that Al Kilgore was a writer and an artist for the issue. Kilgore did work on the Rocky and Bullwinkle newspaper strip that ran from 1962-67. His comic book work in 1972, however, is not confirmed.  No credits for either backup story are available either.

Rocky would finally receive top billing again in the 2014 4-issue miniseries, Rocky and Bullwinkle, published by IDW. It's a position that the level headed squirrel has maintained with other publications ever since.

Completing this review completes Task #10 ( Funny Animal Book starring a SQUIRREL, POLAR BEAR or ANTEATER) the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Fairest: In All The Land

  

Someone is killing the beauties of Fabletown! Working on a list of potential victims from the seer Woman of the Ford, super-spy Cinderella must become a gumshoe (as Bigby is still missing and Beast is forced into exile on the farm due to his unpredictable changes back into a monster.) Reluctantly, Cindy accepts the mission and along with Hadeon the witch turned magic car and several animals from the farm, the princess is tasked to find the murderer within 7 days or those slain can never be returned to life. 

   Meanwhile, in the missing Mayor's office of Fabletown castle, the Magic Mirror and several of the Barleycorn Women work to try an assist Cinderella from afar. Someone found a way into the office and stole a vanishing cloak and a powerful sword from the armory. But without an entrance into the room, how could anyone have gotten in and out without being seen by the Mirror?

   'In All the Land' was a great read. As a stand alone graphic novel from both the Fables and Fairest titles, this book seeks to fill in some important gaps before writer/ creator Bill Willingham concludes Fables with issue #150. Helping him along is over 20 artists, inkers, and colorists, including series regular artist Mark Buckingham, Gene Ha, and Ming Doyle.

    The book does start off a little slow. The first dozen or so pages are in text form (with illustrations) but by the second act, the book really gets going. With flashbacks to the 60s and 70s, readers will finally get a better understanding of the motivations of some of the series most famous and infamous characters. (Hopefully, we might get a return to the Fables universe from time to time with several miniseries being devoted to the history of Fabletown, USA. Fingers Crossed!!!)

   Lots of great Easter eggs, cameos, and loose plot threads almost a decade old are waiting for loyal readers of Fables like myself. I just hate to see that dynamic series go, but I'm glad to delay its demise a little longer thanks to gems like this.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Fairest, Volume 4: Of Men and Mice

   When a mysterious group of assassins attempt to kill Snow White, the Sheriff of Fabletown calls on his secret weapon to get to the bottom of things- Cinderella. But when those same assassins destroy Cinder's shoe store, it's clear that she's also a target. But why and who's behind it? Cinder believes that her fairy godmother is behind these attacks but when a sniper's bullet leaves the loopy godmother in a coma; the list of culprits gets longer. The search for answers will have Cinderella crisscrossing the globe in an adventure that introduces some never before revealed Indian fables as well pitting the one-time princess against a murderous stepsister.

   This volume is an exciting journey that reveals the secrets behind Cinderella's magic night at Prince Charming's castle. But I'm not  sure why Cinderella is featured in this series. The glass slippered beauty has been the subject of two miniseries titled 'Cinderella' so why was this action-packed origin story published in the pages of Fairest?

    I understand that Fairest is a series devoted to the mighty ladies of Fabletown and yes Cinderella is both A) a lady and B) a resident of Fabletown. But I would think that since Cinderella is the star of her own titles then the six issues published in this volume should have been devoted to another fair lady of the Fables series who's yet to have her season in the sun. That's not to say that this volume of Fairest is not essential reading for any fan of Fables.

    The actions in this storyline have ramifications that are currently affecting that epic series as it nears its final 150th issue. The foreshadowed return of Bigby Wolf and the escalating civil war between Rose Red and Snow White plays important components in this book. Because of those tie-ins, this volume is actually a very good starting point for fans of Fables who've yet to give Fairest a chance. If you love the mystery, action,  magic, and sex appeal of Fables then you need to try on Fairest.

   Trust me, it will fit.

     Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.