Nick Fury Vs. Fin Fang Foom #1 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In 2024, shortly after stepping down as the head writer of Captain America, Marvel Comics announced that J. Michael Straczynski would be crafting an anthology team-up series. There would be no set main character, like with Marvel Two-In-One which saw the Fantastic Four's ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing pairing up with a different character every issue. This twist for the new series would be having 2 changing and unlikely characters interacting with each other. A sneak preview of the first issue showed the cover by Gary Frank depicting Rocket Raccoon dining inside the castle fortress of Doctor Doom!

In December, the idea of a monthly title was scrapped. But instead of Straczynski's hard work being banished to the Marvel vaults, it was decided that a slew of one-and-done specials would be produced. The 'Unlikely Duo One-Shots' would see Spidey taking on not the Sinester Six but a full SIXTEEN, the Voluminous Volstagg assisting Captain America and Ghost Rider offered a chance to be the galactic herald of Galactus. But the book that I absolutely had to have in my collection was the war time meeting of Nick Fury and the alien dragon Fin Fang Foom.

Set in October, 1940, World War II is raging across the globe, but the United States has yet to officially enter the conflict... officially. A few months earlier, Fury and his childhood friend Red Hargrove undertook a clandestine mission to the Netherlands. Now barnstorming throughout Europe in a dilapidated Fokker, Fury is once again recruited by Happy Sam Sawyer to investigate the disappearance of a number of planes owned by an American company in war torn China.

The American company is actually a front for a group of US Army based mercenaries called the Flying Tigers. Planes flying reconnaissance for the Chinese army fighting off the invading Imperial Japanese forces, have disappeared without a trace. Needing fearless pilots with military experience, Fury and Hargrove are perfect to uncover the secret of the missing airplanes. On one such mission, Fury attempts to get a closer look at a mysterious cloud that upon further investigation looks a lot like a dragon. But clouds aren't supposed to be green, have teeth and dive at you from a steep angle at a very high rate of speed!!!

J. Michael Straczynski does a fairly decent job of keeping this story in line with the established Marvel Comics canon. Fury and Hargrove 's first mission for Happy Sam in the Netherlands in Sgt. Fury #7 is referenced several times. Defeated at the hands of American mercenaries, Fin Fang Foom sets his hibernation chamber to reset for reemergence in 1961; the very year the character would make his Marvel debut in the pages of Strange Tales #89. Too bad Straczynski doesn't seem to know American history! The author has the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor a year too early!

Can somebody say 'No Prize?'  Or is this part of a new timeline some fans are debating that will see the Axis powers somehow winning World War II? What unfolds in Stracynski's remaining one-shots due out this Summer could hold the answer.

Featuring artwork by Elena Casagrande. Cover by Gary Frank.

Completing this review completes Task #13 (A war Comic) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy

Spiraling out of the events of Heroes in Crisis (which I have not yet read), Poison Ivy has returned from the dead. But Ivy's resurrection hasn't been easy as there appears to be something in the fabled Green causing the villain to turn into a literal vegetable. Leave it to BFF and soul mate Harley Quinn to do whatever it takes to fix her friend. And when it turns out that the Floronic Man, Jason Woodrue is behind Poison Ivy's flawed regeneration, Harley will go full Thelma and Louise in a cross-country escape!

This was a great Harley Quinn story in which you can tell how much she loves her best pal, Red. Jody Houser really captures this unique relationship extremely well. There's lots of great twists and turns in this road trip farce. Well, until the last chapter. For some reason the Supergirl writer takes a great story sprinkled with comedic fisticuffs and shove in as much 3rd action carnage as unnecessarily possible. What does Jody Houser think this is- a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie?

The artwork by Adriana Melo (Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor) was good. But the cover artwork by Elena Casagrande (Catwoman) was superb! Too bad we couldn't get the entire story illustrated by her!

It was a good story that had an ending that just went off the rails. I'm okay with the disappointing end. But the last chapter that got us to it was a real put-off that ruined an otherwise flawless story.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.