Happy Horror Days One-Shot

I've been learning over the years how the holidays are filled with creepy characters and horrible stories from around the world. So who better than Archie's horror imprint to provide some festive frights? From 2022, Happy Horror Days offers 3 tales designed to bring holiday fear instead of cheer.

Frank Tieri returns to the Jughead: The Hunger universe he created with a story that answers the question: What would happen if Krampus ran across the path of a hungry werewolf? 

Then Veronica makes an Icelandic immigrant's first Christmas in Riverdale hell by berating their fashion sense. Little does Ms. Lodge know about the legend of the deadly Yule Cat.

Finally, under pressure from his parents, Reggie wishes for a girl he can take to Christmas dinner with. Little does he know that his prayers have been answered by a pair of devilish imps.

The opening story was more black comedy than horror. Lots of funny banter that if the main Jughead: The Hunger books are anything like this Krampus caper, then I most certainly wanna get my hands on them. The other two stories were like most classic horror comic tales. It's the twist endings that elicits the scares. The closing panels to both stories were absolutely creepy. But I think it's that last panel of the Reggie story that is really going to stick with me for a while.

I loved this anthology. The annual Archie Christmas specials are the books I look forward to the most each holiday season. They bring forth a magic of the holidays and this special is no different. Except that it's black magic instead of Christmas magic. I'm kicking myself for not having read this one sooner because I feel like if I had given praise to this one-shot sooner, we could have had 2 more years of scary Archie Christmas comics.

Well, there's always next year.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Super Duck #1

Golden Age superhero turned comedic foil Super Duck returns to print in an all-new miniseries from Archie Comics. While this premise might seem great for the kiddies, this is one for the grown-ups!

Super Duck #1
Written by Frank Tieri and Ian Flynn
Art by Ryan Jampole
Covers by Ryan Jampole, Derek Charm, Andy Fish, Eric Gorham and Erica Henderson
}Published by Archie Comics
Retail: $3.99

Super Duck made his very first comic appearance way back in 1943. Appearing in the pages of Jolly Jangles #10, Super Duck was yet another attempt by a publisher to chase in on the ultra popularity of Superman. Some may call Super Duck a parody. Others might call him a waterfowl carbon copy as Super Duck’s original costume even had a diamond emblem very much like one of the chest of the Man of Steel.

Just a year later, in 1944, Super Duck would undergo some massive changes. Thanks to a threat of litigation from DC Comics, the suit and cape were gone. Now Super Duck wore a black shirt with red lederhosen and an alpine hat. The heroics were replaced with Donald Duck-like slapstick. Until 1960, the only thing super about this character was his name.

The character of Super Duck was gone. But the Cock-eyed Wonder was never really forgotten. Reprints of his Disney-type yarns would be reprinted up into the early 1980s in digests such as Laugh and Jughead. In the past few years of the revitalization of Archie Comics, there’s been sightings of Super Duck advertised in the background of various comics and even a character of two of the CW series, Riverdale has been reading some back issues (or so I’ve been told). It seems that you just can’t let a good duck die…

In this new series, Super Duck’s time of being just another funny animal appears to have never occurred. The greatest hero of Ducktropolis (now called New Duck City) is still wearing the tights and cape, fighting an assortment of evil scientists and giant robots.Things have changed in that Super Duck’s latest battle nearly kills him and they should not be so as the pills the hero takes are supposed to make him invulnerable!

With his popularity dwindling and his powers fading, what is an aging mallard to do in a world that is quickly becoming not his own?

There’s a definite Howard the Duck vibe going on here. First of all in the irreverence and satire. Ravencroft’s Frank Tieri has been known to give his stories a dash of grim yet tongue-in-cheek humor. But I think the real reason I feel like this book should be running for President is due to the scene in which there's this dominatrix hen with gigantic - er, let’s call them assets, shall we? I’m starting to wonder if this heroic drake reads Playduck?

That’s not to say that I didn’t like this book. It was very funny. The back-up feature set in Super Duck’s glory days was a brilliant parody of super heroes. Plus, I thought that the artwork by Dexter’s Laboratory's Ryan Jampole was awesome. It’s deceptive though!

With a wholesome history and even more chaste looking main character, it would be easy to assume that Super Duck is an all-ages property. But there’s plenty of mild swears, deranged violence and over-sexuallized birds in this book to be rated PG-13 at least! So parents, if you find this title misshelved in the kiddies section of your favorite LCS, don’t pick this up for your little one! Make this version of Super Duck a new addition to your personal grown-up collection!

Super Duck #1 debuts in print and digital formats on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Comics #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Every once in a while Family Comic Friday comes across a book that looks like it would be great for all ages but really isn't. That's why this weekly column was created- to help parents and guardians be able to make a more informed choice about the comics their children read. So without further to do, let us take a look at the Marvel Comics one-shot Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Comics #1.

Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Comics #1
Written by Frank Tieri and John Cerilli
Art by Jacob Chabot
Published by Marvel Comics
Retail: $3.99

2019 marks the 80th anniversary of Marvel. As part of a year-long celebration, the publisher is issuing a number of one-shots based on lesser known titles from the past 8 decades. Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Comics was a comedic funny animal title from the Second World War. Created by future MAD Magazine legend, Al Jaffee, the book followed the misadventures of a pig and seal pair of pals. Ziggy was street smart and eager to make a quick buck. Silly was kinda a doofus, blindly following his friend into trouble.

In this story, set in the modern day, the duo have parted ways. Silly has struck it rich on his own with a beautiful wife and a multimedia empire. But Ziggy has fallen on hard times as his poor attitude has turned off what few friends and fans he had. That all seems about to change when Fantastic Four foe Doctor Doom invites the pair to Latveria to perform a private comedy show in the despot's honor.

Upon reuniting with his former partner, Ziggy learns that he is still in Silly Seal’s will. Thus begins a plot in which Ziggy will make Silly run afoul of Doom and help the swine to cash in with the inheritance!

Let's first talk about the quality of the story and art. There were several laugh out loud moments. I loved the obscure Easter eggs throughout the book. Frank Tieri (Gotham Underground) and John Cerilli (Deadpool) created a story that was funny and for once not fraught with thinly veiled political attacks.

Marvel still manages to get political with it's Stan’s Soapbox tribute to Stan Lee. But it seems that the House of Ideas is trying to curb it's very leftist barbs that have alienated a lot of fans and contributed to the resulting near collapse of the comics industry, within the story itself. Kids need a chance to be kids. There's too much stress in the real world and entertainment, especially for children, needs to be a place for escape. Educating children through entertainment is acceptable. But youngsters don't need to be stressed out with such ‘deep thinking’ issues as the Russian ties of the Trump Administration or the horrors of sexual assault in regards to the me too movement; both causes Marvel has relished in making the focus of many of it's titles

I actually got to have some mindless fun with this book. A large part of that was thanks to artist Jacob Chabot. The Hello Kitty artist’s artwork was also very good. It's got a cartoony style that still manages to fit within the Marvel Universe. I've not seen Doom's Doombots look so resplendent in a long time. And again, those Easter eggs to characters thought long lost. But it's those hidden objects that might have given this one-shot the rating it got.

While Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal looks like something kids would enjoy, the comic bears a parental advisory on the cover. It's a rating that I am not sure is warranted. Ziggy does try to kill Silly. But I've seen Tom and Jerry do far worse than what the piggy does here. There's a few ‘hells’. But nothing worse than that in terms of language. A character does swear but it's represented with pound signs and punctuation marks. I don't know of a Sunday funnies strip that doesn't do the same and they're considered fine for general audiences. So why is this book not rated for younger readers?

I think the main reason for the advisory is the fact that the book is deceptively naughty. The book would be more appropriately rated for teens. But because the characters are cute looking animals, I think Marvel wants to avoid a controversy with parents, so they slapped the parental advisory on the cover.

In all honesty, erring on the side of discretion was probably a smart thing. Ziggy's room is littered with empty beer bottles and cigarette butts. Speaking of heinies, there is a naked butt. Just the rear end- no body is attached. But the most suggestive part of this book has Ziggy taking a pretty gal up to his apartment to meet Silly Seal in return for implied ‘favors.’

Plus, the Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool, makes an appearance in the story. It's a comic book rule of thumb that anything with Deadpool is considered appropriate for older audiences only! If you live a household with a wide range of ages, this is the type of book your eldest would want to read. But little bro or sis is gonna to want to read it too!

I know this sort of thing quite well. I'm 12 years older than my sister. And while I had to sit through my share of Barney and Winnie the Pooh, my mom tried to balance things out by letting me watch stuff my age like Speed or Terminator. Naturally, my sister wanted to be grown up like her big brother. And thus a 4-year-old learned some interesting ways to use the F-word.

Of all the books I've ever reviewed for Family Comic Friday, this one bears the greatest need of parental discretion. If Deadpool is a staple in your household, you've got nothing to worry about as this is way tamer than anything starring Wade Wilson. Ziggy and Silly is an enjoyable book. It's just not the kind of thing for all-ages. I think it's a special that is worth consuming. But whether it should be considered by your household is a not up for me to decide. That's Question that must be answered by the parents and guardians.

Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Comics #1 debuted in print and digital mediums on March 6th, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys

   Being good now is hard work. It also doesn't pay very well. So Harley Quinn starts up the Gang of Harleys. It's their job to take on those messy, low paying jobs when Harley is busy doing other stuff. But when Harley is abducted by a deranged fan, the Gang of Harleys will have to become a team fast or they might be known forever more as the Gang of Dead Harleys!
    
 Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harley's was a crazy romp into the world of the Joker's Ex-Girlfriend. Frank Tieri and Jimmy Palmiotti do a great job making this story as nutty as possible. But this storyline seems awfully familiar to one recently developed by the House of Ideas. So I must ask which came first: The Gang of Harleys or Deadpool's Mercs for Money? It's so weird how DC and Marvel publish similar story-lines so darn close to each other. And let's be honest here folks, you know that a Gang of Harleys/Mercs for Money team-up that is just begging to be written!
     
      The Gang of Harleys is one of the most diverse groups in comic book history. There's a black Harley on the team as there also are a Jewish one, a Hispanic, an Asian, and an Indian member. There's even a homosexual male named Harvey Quinn in the group. Plus assisting the team is a dwarf and a handi-capable person! So why didn't this 2016 miniseries get any praise for it's all-encompassing line-up? You couldn't scroll down Facebook without a Marvel series getting props for it's diverse line-up of books! Why doesn't the Gang of Harleys get some much deserved love for this?

     I'm also surprised that this book didn't achieve some notoriety for it's true villain- a Donald Trump-style businessman. This Donald 'clone' is the real reason for Harley Quinn kidnapping. Again, there were so many stories about comics that mocked Donald Trump over the past year and a half. Yet, when his persona comes into play in this story, I was completely surprised! (Yes- great job for the folks at DC for keeping the spoilers under wraps but I really hate the DC doesn't get it's fair share of reporting on pop culture media sites!)
       
The artwork by Mauricet is very good and I just love the Amanda Conner covers. But why didn't Conner do the art for the whole book? It was sorely missing here! No offense to Mauricet, it's just that when you see Conner's beautiful work gracing the cover, you expect to see a book full of Amanda Conner artwork!

    Worth Consuming!

     Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.