Buck Rogers in the 25th Century #15 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In this Gold Key/Whitman Variant issue based on the NBC series starring Gil Gerard and Erin Grey, it's a double feature. 

In the cover story, Buck Rogers' arch enemy Killer Kane has escaped from his prison cell thanks to a new mutation. Able to suddenly change shape and form, Kane plans on killing Buck while crippling the fleet of the Earth Defense Directorate leaving the planet vulnerable for attack by the Draconian Empire. As skilled, decorated pilots die in very unusual ways during routine patrols, Buck and Dr. Huer uncover evidence of a traitor in their midst. But is it jealousy instead of credible evidence when the finger points at an old flame of Wilma's?

The second adventure sees the Earth imperiled once again. Only it's not by any of the multitude of current adversaries doing the threatening. Instead, it's a threat from the very Earth itself and almost 500 years in the past. 

While Buck Rogers was in his cryogenic slumber, the Earth had a nuclear war that almost made the human race extinct. Most of the warheads were launched from Earth's orbit. Now one of those bombs has returned after floating off course for centuries. With time running out, it's up to Buck and his robot sidekick Twiki to navigate the gigantic bomb's booby traps and deactivate it; least the rest of humanity be wiped out!

Both 'That Which Seems to be...' and '10 Levels of Death' were written by B.S. Watson and illustrated by Mike Roy. 

The penultimate issue of the series, Whitman's legacy numbering puts the total series run from 1964 through to 1982. That means issue #1 debuted 15 years before Buck Rogers appeared on TV. Though a single season series had aired on ABC in 1951, the lone issue from the 1960s was based on the newspaper comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan. The first issue to be based on the NBC series was published in 1979. Issues 2-4 are an adaptation of the 2-hour pilot which debuted in theaters before NBC green-lit a full series. The live action series aired for 2 seasons for a total of 37 episodes, with the last episode airing in April 1981. The comic book continued on until May of the following year.

Completing this review completes Task #24 (Starring Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

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.

Mighty Samson #30

It's not really a Christmas comic book. But there are definitely elements of the holidays in this issue. It's been on my radar since I learned about it during the pandemic, when I spent a lot of time researching Holiday comic books. When I finally found an issue for sale, I pounced despite the fact that I probably could have gotten it cheaper somewhere else down the road.

Mighty Samson was one of several post-apocalyptic comics that came about after the premiere of the first Planet of the Apes film. The main character is a member of a tribe of mutants. Both a giant and super strong, he explores the ruins of New York which was devastated by a nuclear bomb. He's joined by a professor and his daughter. While quite brilliant, the professor doesn't quite get the facts about pre-war New York, now N'Yark, that quite right and it's that wrong information where the fun begins.

Samson and his compatriots are in need of supplies. So they head to the ruins of Macy's department store. It's there that they stumble across a few of the balloons used in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Samson attacked one thinking it was a monster lurking in the shadows. But it turns out that the balloon had been revered as a god by a tribe of survivors who dwell in the derelict mercantile. Certain death is nigh!

After that a lot happens. The professor uses his knowledge of science disguised as magic to save their lives. A jealous witch doctor betrays the tribe of Macy's dwellers. A mysterious woman with her lustful eyes set on Samson arrives. As do a pack of mutant birds with the heads of dogs. Arm Samson with some beach umbrellas and put him astride a reindeer balloon and you've got yourself one heck of a story. Cheesy. But entertaining enough that if I ever came across another issue of the Otto Binder created antics of the Mighty Samson, I'd gladly find a way to purchase it.

I know I get mad if I buy a comic book with a holiday cover but there's nothing Christmas, Hanukkah or even Kwanzaa inside. I call such books 'Scrooges'. And if I'm being honest, this isn't a Christmas time cover. Even though Samson and a foe ride Christmas balloons on the cover of this book, nowhere does Gold Key make a claim that this story takes place during Christmas time. Having this book on my Christmas comic wish list was in error. However, any sort of belief that this was a holiday book was a mistake on my part. It was the idea of having survivors of a nuclear use balloons from the Macy's parade that awoken fantasies of a wasteland Christmas!  

This issue really entertained me. I felt the wonder of Christmas along with the happiness of Thanksgiving. Plus cameos from Bullwinkle and Tubby! This book is staying in my collection and I'm keeping it in my holiday boxes. It's a Christmas miracle of guilty pleasure proportions!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney Comics Digest #22

A while back, I was at my favorite comic shop, checking out when I saw this stack of Disney digests. I'm a fan of the books from Gold Key and Dell. I know that these treasuries are in high demand. Plus I just adore the Disney Ducks. So I took a chance and asked if they were for sale. Thankfully they were; but the owners hadn't come up with a price yet. After a touch of friendly haggling, we agreed upon a fair price and based on how much money I had left to spend, I bought 3. 

Wouldn't you know, I then misplaced these for about a year and I would have forgotten all about them if I hadn't been working on organizing my comic book collection during my summer break. 

The cover for this June, 1970 volume is what sold me. It's got Donald and Uncle Scrooge in a victory pose on the very center of the cover. While Scrooge is dressed as a champion prizefighter, his contest to prove he's got more money than anyone in the world isn't quite so pugilistic. Challenged by Flintheart Glomgold, McDuck must liquidate his assets to prove that he's got more money, by volume, than that of his legendary foe. With assists by nephews Huey, Dewey, Louie and Donald, Scrooge has to outfox Glomgold who's clearly cheating. Only without proof, it looks like McDuck's going to lose the contest. Should Scrooge fail, he has to eat his opponents hat, which for the Scottish businessman is a fate worse than death or losing all his money to the Beagle Boys!

A pleasant surprise running throughout this book was the team-ups. In one adventure Tinkerbell saves Dumbo the elephant from the clutches of Captain Hook. In another, Jiminy Cricket visits his bug friends of Silly Symphonies fame for a picnic! Chipmunks Chip and Dale have had a number of capers driving Pluto and Mickey Mouse crazy. But they've never teamed with Bambi's best friend Thumper to get the upper hand over Mickey and company before... At least to my knowledge!

Something Disney was noted for was its nature films. In this issue, we get part 3 of the comic book adaptation of 1953's Bear Country. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short, it's not a read where you have to know everything that has happened beforehand in order to enjoy it. There are also non-fiction one-pagers called 'Real Life Adventures' about dolphins and robins along with a longer essay on famous trains. Being that he was a lifelong railway enthusiast, I wouldn't be the least surprised to find out that old Walt Disney himself wrote that segment. 

Peter and the Wolf, Little Hiawatha, Li'l Bad Wolf, Pinocchio, Cinderella and many more stars of Disney's A, B and C level tiers appear in this digest filled with some puzzles, jokes and stories galore. A really enjoyable gem that felt like those Christmas mornings when I'd open a grab bag of comics up as a gift and just pour over the contents inside while the world outside melted away.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan #2 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

If you were there to ask the average fan of mysteries 'what was the only project to cast as Asian actor to play legendary detective Charlie Chan?', who would correctly respond with a Saturday morning cartoon sitcom? Not many, I'm sure. But in 1972 actor Keye Luke was cast as the lead role in Hanna-Barbera's The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan.

This wasn't Keye Luke's first time in the Charlie Chan universe. Luke played Chan's eldest offspring 'Number One Son' Lee Chan in 1930s in several films beginning with 1935's Charlie Chan in Paris. While white actors in heavy makeup and even heavier accents would portray author Earl Derr Bigger's Chinese-American master sleuth, studios had no qualms with Asian actors playing the supporting roles.

Jumping ahead to the 1970s, you would have thought that Hollywood had learned its lesson about casting Asian actors in Asian roles. At first Hanna-Barbera did just that, using an all Asian voice cast. Unfortunately, it was decided that the accents of the actors were too authentic for American audiences to understand. Ultimately, most of the Amazing Chan's ten children were recast with actors sporting American accents. Along with Keye Luke and Don Messick, who provided the voice of the Chan Clan's family dog Chu-Chu, only Robert Ito and Brian Tochi's original voice recordings made it to American TV sets. Of those new voice actors brought in was a future Academy Award winner. A young Jodie Foster provided the voice of second oldest daughter Anne Chan.

The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan was met with fierce criticism. Some opponents criticized the cartoon of stereotyping Asian Americans, mostly due to the 'fortune-cookie' witticisms spouted by Mr. Chan as he solved cases with his children. The series was also subject to an hearing by the FCC based on a complaint by the Chinese Media Committee of Chinese for Affirmative Action. Ultimately, the series only ran for a single 16 episode season. Reruns would continue to air on CBS until the following summer. The show was then syndicated regularly through 1982.

Thanks to the reruns and syndication package, Gold Key Comics released 4 issues based on the series from 1973-74. The first issue of The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan marked Mark Evanier's English language debut in comics. 'The Hot Ice Cream Man' was an adaptation of the first episode. Issue #2 was an adaptation from the series as well. 

"To Catch a Pitcher' was based on the second episode of the cartoon. It begins with Chan and his sons enjoying a baseball game. When the star of the game winds up missing, Detective Chan takes the case but not before sending his boys home. Not to be deterred, all 10 of the sleuth's kids break up into teams and work the case independently, discovering that a bookie is behind the disappearance after the athlete refuses to take a dive. 

No author byline was given in this issue. The artwork was by Warren Tufts whose other more well known Gold Key contributions included Korak, Son of Tarzan and The Pink Panther.

Completing this review completes Task #12 (A Comic Book Based on a Saturday Morning Cartoon) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marge's Little Lulu #166

I haven't really been a fan of Little Lulu. However, thanks to their addition to the Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics and a classic treasury of holiday comics by YOe Books, I've warmed up to Lulu and her friends. 

I found this 1963 Gold Key book at an antique store over the Summer. There were about 5 Little Lulu comics and while I had those good experiences recently with the property, none of those books were crying out for me to buy them until I got to the last book in the pile- THIS ONE! At 80 pages, there are about a dozen comics stories along with 2 prose tales, all starring Little Lulu. All but one story was set leading up-to or during Christmas. The lone story that wasn't a holiday tale did involve snow. Add the piece about 'Christmases Around the World' on the inside covers of this issue and the whole book was full of festive winter fun!

In the snow story and another set in the Arctic circle, Lulu tells little brat Alvin some of her patented fairy tales with a twist. Lulu's best friend Tubby has some dumb lucky with a dried-out Christmas tree and a missing 50-cent piece in a couple of stories. However, Tub is at his hilarious best when his detective alter-ego, the Spider, solves the mystery of Lulu's missing stocking. 

Lulu is known to be a little selfish and her greed almost comes to bear when she is gifted a new dolly for Christmas. However, Lulu overcomes her green-eyed monster when she runs into a poor little girl whose family can't afford gifts for the holidays, by giving her that prized doll. Yet even that story has a heartwarming twist.

The one thing missing from Lulu's 'Christmas Diary' is her battle of the sexes with Tubby. Tubby and his pals have a club house that bears a sign warning 'No Girls Allowed'. That sexist policy often sees Lulu leading her fellow girlfriends to challenge the boys segregation from the fairer sex. I'm guessing with Santa's arrival being so close at hand, the two best frenemies were able to put away their differences in order to not wind up with lumps of coal in their stockings. 

This was an enjoyable read. A fast read. I was probably done with it in less than a half hour. Yet, this was a nice way to enjoy the holidays set during a seemingly simpler, innocent time. I know of one more Christmas themed Little Lulu comic book out there. It's on my wish list and I hope to find it some day. If I'm lucky, there might be a few more Little Lulu holiday classics that I didn't even know existed. 

Onward to the hunt!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Boris Karloff's Gold Key Mysteries #1

This revival title is something that was on my pull list as soon as I found out about it earlier this summer. In 1960, Boris Karloff, you know, the guy who played Frankenstein's monster and the Mummy in those old Universal films, hosted a horror anthology series on NBC from 1960-1962 known as Thriller. Gold Key released 2 issues based on Thriller, but it wasn't enough to save the show from cancellation. 

In a strange twist of fate, those 2 issues were big, big hits for Gold Key. Not wanting to let a good thing pass, Gold Key signed an agreement with Karloff to continue to use his name and likeness. Starting with issue #3, the comic became Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery. The anthology ran for an impressive 97 issues, ending in early 1980; 11 years after the death of the film legend!

The Gold Key and Whitman books have a cult following. If there's a comic book based on a TV show or movie from the 1950s-70s, there's a good chance, one of these publishers was behind its release. Reprinted editions have been hot sellers with older collectors and good condition first runs are prized finds that bring about coveted likes and jealous comments on social media. 

Gold Key folded in 1984 after Western Publishing was sold off by Mattel. The only way to get Gold Key comic books now was through searching or revivals of popular titles in which someone still owned a trademark. Public domain titles were brought back to life by indy publishers such as Gwandanaland Comics. Then in 2021, comics creator Robert Willis obtained the copyright to the original Gold Key logo and began to work with talent to bring some of those fan favorite titles back.

Boris Karloff's Gold Key Mysteries is the first title to be released by the revitalized Gold Key publisher. After several months of anticipation, plus an extra week of waiting for my LCS to get my copy in, I must say that I was rather disappointed with the end result. 

The book starts off with a rather boorish agent from some unknown government bureau investigating the appearance of a mysterious house that suddenly appears in the deserts of Arizona. This house was last seen in 1980. Now with its unexpected return, the spook wants to know what's inside this haunted house of legend. But he'll have to hurry as the mansion is known to disappear to parts unknown when the sun rises.

At this point, we are introduced to 2 tales. One about a woman whose plastic surgeries impacts her doppelganger in a way similar to Dorian Gray. Then an up-and-coming chef takes advantage of his mentor's unexpected death to cash in on the celebrity chef's name and reputation to a disastrous opening night bathed in blood. After those two stories, we meet the government guy again who is now in Texas with that mysterious house having appeared just recently. Law enforcement, dressed in tactical gear, search the domicile only to run into Boris Karloff.

End Issue #1 with a dreaded To Be Continued!

I don't mind that this series has a running story. I kinda like the idea of Boris Karloff and his Thriller mansion wandering through time and space. Introducing that agent playing Fox Mulder in search of the secret of the old house is a cool way to frame the disappearance of Tales of Mystery the comic into the real world with its 2023 revival. Elvira's House of Mystery and Vertigo's House of Mystery were both horror anthologies that had running story lines involving the hosts interconnected with various stories. I liked both series and thought that integration was great. My problem is how little Boris Karloff there is for a comic book bearing his name. 

Karloff's character only appears on the last page. He says only a single sentence. Then a 'To Be Continued!' I hate cliffhangers. But I hate a bait-and-switch even more. If Karloff had at least appeared in more pages than he did, I would probably be okay with the cliffhanger. But they don't even have Karloff narrating the stories or introducing them. This was not Boris Karloff's Gold Key Mysteries. Instead, the book should be called The Gold Key Mystery is Where is Boris Karloff?

I want to support the new Gold Key. The storytelling was uneven. The artwork was too dynamic to really understand what was going on. Especially that culinary thriller. Yet I can overlook those sorts of technical flaws you'd expect with a TV pilot. It's just based on how little Boris Karloff was in this issue, I'm not sure I would want to keep getting individual issues. Not for $5.99 each. Now I would still be interested in the collected edition and I'm planning on signing up for Gold Key's newsletter. But in terms of budget, I'm going save my money for one of the rebooted publisher's other revival titles.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! #73 (True Ghost Stories)

When Gold Key (later Whitman) started producing comics based on the long-running Ripley's Belieive It or Not! newspaper strip, the publisher had issues devoted to singular subjects. There was an issue devoted to 'True War Stories'. One about 'Weird Stories' in general. A couple of issues about real life demons and monsters. But the subject matter in which Gold Key struck gold was in books devoted to real ghost stories. 

By issue #30, every issue of Ripley's was devoted to the ghost tales. The public must have really eaten these spooky yarns up as another 64 issues of just 'True Ghost Stories' were published before giving up the ghost with issue #94 (February, 1980).

This October, 1977 issue tells 4 ghostly tales. A couple on the verge of divorce are given marriage counseling by a colonial specter. A pair of greedy men are haunted by the man whose untimely death has just made them very rich or has it? A widower and his son are swept away at sea only to be saved by the ghost of their deceased loved one. Finally, a family moves into a coastal cottage only to be visited by 'The Spectral Schooner.'

Yes, folks, it appears that even ships have ghosts.

Honestly, for late 1970s horror comics, this one is rather tame. DC loved to have its gruesome monsters. Marvel played a little too close to the gates of Hell. Charlton had it's horror hosts and femme fatales. Apparently, Gold Key/Whitman had ghosts and they were really tame. I've read early 1960s Comics Code horror scarier than these tales.

What sold me this book was the Ripley's name. I was a fan of the strips, the live TV show starring Jack Palance and I am a fan of the various museums and aquariums. When it came to creator Robert Ripley, the reason I kept coming back to his various endeavors was the provenance. Ripley would at least tell you the location of his strange discoveries. Sometimes you get a name and a date. There's none of that here with the comic book. As much as I would like to believe these encounters with the afterlife really happened, without some factoid with some references added, these ghost tales are lacking something; true or not. 

I'm not really feeling motivated to go out and find more copies of this series. Even the artwork is generic. At its best, it looks like illustrations you'd find on the back of a magazine or Sears Catalog. Or it's what you'd expect from a really low-budget grade school textbook at worst. And this issue really was a mix of both types of artwork by uncredited artists.

Look, if I found a bunch of these in a bargain bin, I'd very well consider getting them for my collection. Less than a dollar a piece would be optimal. Otherwise, if I had to pick between these and the lowest of the low horror offerings from Charlton, I'd go with Charlton every time.

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Bonanza #13

How was the West won? It's a question I once asked my grandpa to which he responded 'You know, that's a very good question.' So good, that he never answered me. Well, if you are to believe this issue of Gold Key's adaptation of the hit Western TV series Bonanza, the West was won thanks to the use of bicycles!

Thieves steal the horses of all 4 Cartwright men: Pa, Hoss, Little Joe and Adam! The only way to get after these varmints is to use this new contraption called a bicycle! But we're not talking about a single bike or even a two-seater. Oh, no! Instead, they all mount up on a 4-person tandem bike!

This has got to be the goofiest Bonanza story of all-time. The family can't use their 2-horse wagon as the animals are too tired. Got to use a bike instead! The Cartwrights at one point rode the bike across an icy pond. One of the sons decides it's faster to use roller skates, but falls through the ice because clearly he's too heavy than a bike with 3 people on it! And for some reason, you have to show how stupid the Indians are and include a scene of the Native people thinking a bicycle is some force of white man magic. 

I'm not making any of this up folks. This all really happened in a title story dated from 1965. 

There are two follow-up stories included in this issue. The middle story doesn't appear to have any characters from the TV show that I recognize. Instead it stars a weary prospector called Bedrock Barnes. Is he like a recurring character? Was he regular filler in the Bonanza books? Not sure. All I know is that Bedrock finds a wrecked ship in the middle of the desert; a ship that contains a valuable lost shipment of gold. Only when he brings help to bring back more gold, it appears that the desert has reclaimed the fabled relic. 

Story #3 does have the Cartwrights in it. It's a very unusual tale about a Mexican grandma who packs heat. It's not as silly as the bicycle story. History has produced some bad ass grannies. I find the story more confusing as the lady is trying to fund a revolution down in Mexico and yet when she reaches her family (which might just be members of her gang), it seems like the Abuela's intentions are a lot more selfish. 

And where do the Cartwrights fit into all this? Adam Cartwright just happens to be on a stagecoach that the old lady robbed. Now she's got him at gun point, forced to carry the gold back to her hideout. Naturally, instead of calling for the Sheriff or US Marshalls, the rest of the Cartwright clan decide to take vigilante justice into their own hands. 

37 issues of Bonanza were released by Gold Key from 1962-1970. While there are some much more attractive covers out there, perhaps filled with less far-fetched stories in them, I found this book in a bargain bin for only a dollar. A sucker for Dell/Gold Key/Whitman comics based on old TV shows, I could not pass this one up. It will stay a part of my collection. This book will also be listed as containing one of the weirdest, wildest, implausible Western tales of all time.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Vol. 3

Volume 3 does see some vast improvements in the artwork and coloring in terms of technical merit. The representations of actors William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and others by Alberto Giolitti continue to be second to none. Well, I take that back Nevio Zuccara, who drew several issues in Volume 1, is just as impressive on the likenesses. But things are still far from perfect on the Enterprise. 

The bridge still looks like the cockpit of the Space SHUTTLE Enterprise with everyone crowded around a tiny view screen. The phasers used by the crew are varied and futuristic. But they are not Federation issue. And while the visuals of the crew being transported is starting to look more like what you'd see on the original TV show, the transporter room looks like it is off to the corner of the main bridge, instead in another part of the ship. 

Captain Kirk finally is portrayed wearing an orange/tan looking tunic. But everybody else, including Sulu and Chekov, who makes 2 brief first appearances, are still wearing green. Bones is finally in blue. But I don't think anybody knows for sure what color tunic Scotty is supposed to wear as he's decked out in blue, green and red in different issues of this series. 

It doesn't look like Len Wein was involved in the scripts at this point. The Swamp Thing co-creator's name isn't listed in the credits at the beginning of this book. In fact, nobody is credited as to have written these stories and that's a shame because many of them were very, very good. 

A Taj Mahal in space! Space Mummies! Kirk on trial for assisting iron poachers! A war between two tribes of teens as Spock races across the galaxy to find a cure for a deadly disease! A brat becomes the leader of his planet after his father is murdered by an unknown assailant. Machine/tree hybrids run amok! All very good stories, though I also saw a couple of these stories when they were TOS episodes 'Court Martial' and 'Miri'. 

Also, I refuse to believe that Captain Kirk doesn't know what a black hole is. Granted, his ignorance was used as a plot device to help educate readers as to what this anomaly in space is. But Kirk shouldn't have been the character used for this scene. 

The space Taj Mahal story is also notable for its artwork of an all-new crew member. The Federation historian Dr. Krisp, is assigned to unravel the mystery as to why almost anyone who visits the intergalactic shrine never returns. Dr. Krisp looks amazingly like Julie Newmar (Catwoman on TV's Batman)! Not sure if Giolitti or Zuccara drew that issue, as Gold Key didn't give artist credits. But BRAVO nonetheless. 

This is my last hurrah with the Checker reprints of the Gold Key books. I've already read volumes 4 and 5. Unfortunately, the publisher went defunct after Vol. 5. That means I still need issues 43-61. IDW released 5 hardcover volumes of these books. But they only went to issue #30 and the last edition was published in 2016. So, it's going to bargain bins and affordable back issues in order to complete my read of this entire innovative series that was a constant work in progress.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Vol 2

I really enjoy reading the Gold Key Star Trek books. True, they are filled with errors, inaccuracies and glitches. But they are still amazingly creative stories that bring the original Enterprise crew back to life.

When I reviewed Volume 1, I noted that the tunics worn by Kirk and Sulu were green and not gold. While Captain Kirk did wear a ceremonial tunic that was green, that shirt is not the worn being worn by him in these books. Then I read an article on Mental Floss. 

A couple of days ago, I learned that the 3 tunics worn by the crew of the Enterprise were supposed to be the colors of red, blue and GREEN! However, due to the lighting of the sets, the green uniforms came out appearing as yellow/tan on screen. I've got some mild color blindness issues, especially with green. Thanks to that online article, I now understand why it feels like my brain was always playing tricks on me when I watched classic Trek. I always felt like when I looked at Kirk or Sulu or Chekov, I was seeing 2 colors at once and I really was!

As for some of the other errors, I don't think I can excuse them anymore. In the forward of the previous volume, the editors remarked on how many of the problem with the early Star Trek books was the fact that artist Alberto Giotlitti and Nevio Zaccara both had never watched the show. They mostly had stills from the series and props to work with in order to craft the artwork. This is why Gold Key printed Kirk's tunic as green- because it was! However, we're now covering books 9-16 and it's 1970-71. The artwork problems should be fixed by now!

The Federation phasers look more like a Klingon disruptor. Spock's ears are the size of my feet! And for some reason, Bones' tunic is green instead of medical officer baby blue. And Scotty isn't wearing his engineering reds. The bridge of the Enterprise- it looks impressive but it's not the Enterprise. The very act of transporting from ship to planet also looks really different- cool- but different. But since none of the artists ever watched the TV show, I can't fault the creative license. 

I will say that the likenesses of the main characters are second to none. By issue #16 of Marvel's Star Wars series, the art team still couldn't get Luke Skywalker to look like actor Mark Hamill. By issue #16 of this old school series, not only does Spock look like Leonard Nimoy, I'm expecting him to jump off the page. Alberto Giolitti's work is that lifelike! But not all Klingons look like French wrestler turned actor Maurice Tillet!

As for the writing, I did see a large jump in quality. Len Wein pens these stories and you can tell that he at least had watched the series. I'm not sure if he was a Trekkie as some of Spock's dialogue seems too emotional. But if you really think about it, it's hard to not be emotional. I tried to write some Vulcan appropriate dialogue in my head recently and it's darn near impossible. But everybody else sounds pretty close to their onscreen counterparts. 

This was a fun read. Quite flawed. But it was an enjoyable adventure that I wish to continue by getting my hands on the remaining 30 some odd issues that I don't own.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! #5 (True War Stories)

In 1965, Gold Key Comics released a book with the cover title of Ripley's Believe It or Not: True Wars Stories. It has one of those World War I planes on the cover and looks great. That is not this book. For some reason, when this comic was released in 1967, it was done as as part of another series based on the amazing world of explorer and champion of the macabre, Robert Ripley- Ripley's Believe It or Not: True Ghost Stories. This all very well may have to do with the limited number of titles the United State Postal Service aloud at the time for comics publishers in regards to first class postage.Regardless of what the issue is, there's a glowing oversight here: this book doesn't have any ghosts in it!

The opening story is set in the waning days of World War II. It tells of a Japanese commander who plans a massive attack on allied forces, even though the Emperor of Japan has declared the country's unconditional surrender. This story about honor and anger ends with that trademark Ripley's twist. But there's no spooks here. 

Stories set during the two World Wars fill the rest of this book. They all contain those killer twist endings. But again, there are no ghosts in this book.

All of the stories in the book are supposedly based on real stories. I would have liked something that expounded on these facts, like a behind the scenes letter from the editor. One requirement for comics to meet first class mailing was to include a prose story of at least 1 page in the contents. This book fills that requirement with 'The General Was a Spy'. Surely, a page or two digging deep into the facts behind all of these war stories would have counted as that prose requirement.

Though credits still weren't a common occurrence in comics yet, experts have determined that Sal Trapani, Andre LeBlanc and Joe Certa were the artists of these stories. Oddly enough, the artwork looked consistent throughout, as done by just one hand. That's the most Believe It or Not thing about this book.

A good collection of strange events in the history of warfare. Whether these were 100% factual or just based on anecdote is something I feel is missing from this book. But I enjoyed the read and I thought the artwork was amazing. But for the life of me, I just don't understand why this book is labelled and categorized as it is.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

PT 109 #1 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

During the Summer of 1942, in the Pacific Theater, young John Fitzgerald Kennedy is given his first command. The aging patrol torpedo boat PT-109 is in need of massive doses of TLC. The 3 engines are considered really 'tired.' There's rust everywhere. And there might not be enough guns on the deck. 

Lt. (JG) Kennedy has 1 week to get the boat operable or else he'll be assigned somewhere else, probably as a lower ranking crew member. With an eager crew, Kennedy manages to get PT-109 ready for its first mission, assisting in the evacuation of some marines pinned down by Imperial Japanese forces. That first assignment becomes a rescue mission as one of the barges used transport troops capsizes in the choppy tropical waters.

After that first mission, Kennedy's crew are transferred to the isle of Rendova. Due to its ideal location near Japanese naval routes, the patrol ship operates as a floating David against Japanese Goliath's, attempting to poke holes in the massive fleet. On one moonless night, PT-109 is rammed by a destroyer. Sliced in half, the crew is thrown into the water. What transpires next is a week worth of Lt. Kennedy led his men between nearby islands in hopes of rescue. Avoiding Japanese patrols,angry natives, and the limits of his physical body, Kennedy fights the unyielding elements without losing another member of his crew. 

PT 109 was a 1964 copyrighted comic book based on the 1963 film of the same name. Both versions lack the hyphen in their titles. The accounts of young Jack Kennedy are based on Robert J. Donovan's 1961 work PT-109: John F. Kennedy and World War II. The semi-autobiographical film was produced by Warner Bros. and starred Cliff Robertson (Charly) as JFK. 

This Gold Key adaptation was illustrated by Dan Spiegle (Space Family Robinson). Spiegle was noted for his eerily exact representations of famous people in the pages of numerous Gold Key and Dell works. The artist's Kennedy looks amazingly lifelike. Only sometimes the lieutenant looks like the real thing and sometimes Kennedy looks like actor Robertson. So there is realism, just not consistency in the renderings.

The cover, which depicts the patrol boat being eviscerated by that Japanese destroyer, was painted by Frank McCarthy. McCarthy first achieved notoriety for having painted a number of realistic covers for the pulp mag True Western Adventures. He was also behind the artwork of many theatrical posters in the 1960s and 70s, including The Dirty Dozen and Where Eagles Dare. The image used on this comic's cover was taken from the theatrical poster.

After World War II, John F. Kennedy would enter the world of politics. A member of the powerful Kennedy family of Massachusetts, the newly established war hero would serve his home state as both a congressman and senator. In 1960, JFK was elected the 35th president of the United States. Kennedy did manage to watch PT-109 at least once in his lifetime. He called the film 'a good product' but with a nearly 2.5 hour run time, the President thought it was a bit long. With the Sept. 1964 publication date, Kennedy likely never saw the comic adaptation as an assassin's bullet would take his life in November, 1963.

PT 109 was a commercial failure. But the film can be seen in regular rotation during certain holiday weekends on AMC and TCM.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #6 (Based on a True Story) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Captain Nice 10211-711 (#1)

Captain Nice is one of those TV shows I remember from my childhood. Seeing it in rerun in the late 80s, Captain Nice was something that aired on Friday nights on WGN or Nick at Nite. I can't remember which. But I do recall that it was something I only would get to watch during the summers as it aired late at night like 10pm or later. 

As a kid, I loved Captain Nice. I thought it was goofy fun even though my mother swore that it was a stupid show. (Though why she'd keep watching it if it was so insipid is a mystery to me.) The William Daniels (Kitt from Knight Rider) series aired on NBC for only 15 episodes in 1967. Obviously, the American public thought this attempt to collect on the Batman TV series craze was pretty moronic. But for a 10-year old Madman, it was pretty funny.

Probably 30 years or so passed before I even thought of this show again. With the occasional appearance of Daniels on some TV show, I honestly never gave Captain Nice another thought. But then about 6 months ago, I started seeing people around the country on Facebook posting pics of finding this rare comic and adding it to their collection. With this revelation that there was a Captain Nice comic book, I immediately became intrigued and added the title to my wish list. 

Jump to early August. I got a tip on some really affordable Dark Shadows comics. That title was on my top 10 list of TV adaptations to add to my collection, so I went shopping. Needing to spend a few more dollars to achieve free shipping, I took a shot at seeing if I could add Captain Nice to my collection as well. The store had one in stock. The price was right. And in a few days, it was in my possession. 

That first night, I gave Captain Nice a read. Immediately, I am struck by a couple of things thanks to the photo cover and a number of stills from the show inside. One, William Daniels looks a heck of a lot older than you would think a young man just out of college would appear. (In reality, Daniels was 40 when the show aired). Second, the actress who played Captain Nice's mother isn't old enough to be a mother. (With that, technically, I am right. Alice Ghostly (Bewitched) was only 4 years older than Daniels in real life.)

As for the comics themselves, what is there to say that wouldn't prove my mother right. There are 4 shorts which are roughly 8 pages apiece. All of them are pretty goofy with Captain Nice bumbling about for 6 pages and then saving the day, mostly by accident, at the end. One story has Nice attempting to stop a rampaging flood. Another has the hero accidentally helping the very arch-villain he's sworn to stop! The best story involves a love triangle with Captain Nice, his sometime girlfriend meter-main Sgt. Kandy Kane and a slinky cat burglar. I cannot for the life of me remember what transpired in the fourth story. But I do know that every story was formulaic.

In every story, Nice as his alter ego Carter Nash is berated by his mother for not trying hard enough to be a better crime fighter. Kandy Kane tries to get Nash to woe her. Then a crime wave occurs. Ma Carter gets even more snarky, prompting Carter to act. Then, Kandy gets romantically frustrated being cast aside by Nash, now acting as Captain Nice, as he tries to save the day. Then the hero goofs frequently. But at least once, he lucks out and saves the day and though things don't turn out ideal, it's good enough for the citizens of whatever town Captain Nice operates out of.

The best story, that love triangle, at least doesn't follow that formula completely. Mom is mostly absent from that yarn and Nice ends up in the dumps. Literally!

This was a fun trip back to the 1980s. Sure, this book was down right goofy. But it was an entertaining goof. I don't feel like I wasted money on a dud. This was a parody of superhero stories. Maybe not perfect. But from the mind of the legendary humorist, Buck Henry (Saturday Night Live), the whole project has a little gravitas to it. 

I can't imagine many of these are still out there on the market. Like I said, it's rare. But rare doesn't always mean valuable and the few I've seen online aren't too expensive. So if you are looking to add a book to your Dell/Gold Key collections, this one shouldn't wipe out your bank account. 

Now ain't that nice?

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Invaders #4 (Classic TV Comics Week)

I've discovered a new favorite show over the Summer. Well, it's new for me. The show is called The Invaders. Having run from 1967-1968, it starred Roy Thinnes as David Vincent; a man who witnessed an alien threat to the earth and seeks ways to stop their invasion of our planet.

MeTV has been showing reruns late nights on Saturday and I've been enjoying it very much. There's a slew of stars, many not yet at the height of their popularity, such as Dabney Coleman, Barbara Hershey and Jack Warden. There's even some sci-fi legends appearing on this show; such as Michael Rennie (The Day The Earth Stood Still) and Kevin McCarthy (Invasion of the Body Snatchers.) Seeing David Vincent travel the country in an attempt to find allies as he single handed tries to stop the Invaders has been a lot of fun.

In this comic, David has apparently finally found an ally; an older gent named Edgar Scoville. Together, the pair face the Invaders in two stories. The first, titled 'The Doomsday Window', is about a mysterious device that can pull in objects from another realm. The Invaders seek to use it to help bring more of their kind across the far reaches of space fastest than travelling via a flying sauce. It's got a great Twilight Zone-esque ending. In the second story, Vincent and Scoville learn that not all of the Invaders want to conquer the earth. 

I really like the premise that some of the aliens were actually allies. Unfortunately, that idea never really came to fruition as A) this was the last issue that Gold Key published and B) The TV series was soon cancelled; never to be renewed for a third season.

There was a revival miniseries that might have lead to a new series in the 90s. Scott Bakula took over for Thinnes, who did appear in the two-part event. But ratings stunk. Many fans do see similarities between The Invaders and The X-Files and consider both to be in the same universe. I'm one who likes to think that's so. But other than X-Files creator Chris Carter claiming to be a huge fan of The Invaders, the link has never been made official.

This book is proof that if you take the time to search through random boxes of comics, you can find some great stuff. I wasn't looking for this book. I was actually on the hunt for issues of Gold Key's Man from U.N.C.L.E. comics and other stuff based on classic TV shows from the 60s. I just happened to luck out an find this near mint beauty. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Volume 1

Collecting the first eight issues of the equally much loved and much maligned Star Trek series from Gold Key. The publisher first debuted the sci-fi series in early 1967. All artists and writers had to go on was a series bible written by Gene Roddenberry and photos taken from the filming of the pilot episodes 'The Cage' and 'Where No Man Has Gone Before.' So there were quite a few errors in these early issues, such as:

• Mr. Spock uses contractions and has emotions. 
• Nobody except for Spock wears blue or red smocks! It's all greenish gold.
• Mr. Scott is thin and blond. He looks more like Jose Tyler, the navigator on 'The Cage', then he does actor James Doohan.
• and my favorite- the transporter room is a combination between the room from 'The Cage' and is encapsulated within a transparent chamber.

Despite the mistakes, the Gold Key/ Whitman Variant Star Trek is still a thing of beauty. The artwork was so detailed and rich. The stories were complex. They might have been cookie-cutter plots with some off-the-wall dialogue; but the creativity and applications of physics and science was astounding. Considering how little the writers and artists such as Nevio Zuccara and Alberto Giolitti had to go on, it's amazing how close to the real thing Gold Key got to Roddenberry's vision of 'Wagon Train in space.'

There's now only 2 volumes in this reprint series from CheckerBPG to find. Unfortunately, the company never got to releasing books covering issues 41-61. But I'll find them all one way or another, warts and all.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

The Nurses #2

The Nurses was a CBS medical drama that ran from 1962-1965. Due to another show from ABC with the same name, the show changed it's name to The Doctors and the Nurses. The show starred Zina Bethune as intern nurse Gail Lucas. Her nurse mentor was played by Shirl Conway.

I found this Gold Key comic during my annual pilgrimage to the 301 Endless Yard Sale. I paid $2 for it and when I saw it, I knew I had to have it. In fact, I think the comic book called out to me. Yet for all that, I know nothing really about this book, other than what I researched. 

I know nothing about the show's stars or really the show itself. Except, that I remember my mother telling me a very long time ago that she loved the series. She claimed that it was one of several TV shows that inspired her to become a nurse. So, I really did have to have this comic book you see.

For a comic book adaptation from the 1960s, this is actually one of the better ones. I've been learning that when a TV show inked a deal with a comic book publisher, there was very little time to mock up issues- nor was there very much info on what to go on. For example, when Marvel got the rights to Star Wars, several characters hadn't even been cast or designed yet. That's why Jabba the Hutt looks like some weird great turtle dude instead of a slug. When Gold Key, the very publisher of this comic book, got their hands on Star Trek, they colored all of the uniforms wrong and supposedly made Uhura and Sulu white in one issue by mistake.

I am wondering if knowing next to nothing about this series was what made it a good read. I didn't have any background knowledge in this series to be upset if there were any mistakes. The artwork itself looked really good, like of a young Neal Adams quality. Plus, the stories themselves were very interesting and engrossing. 

There was also a pre-9-1-1 story about a pair of men called the Rescue Crew who have to save a man having a heart attack from a ship leaking gas. But in order to move the man, they have to use Oxygen, which is highly flammable. It was a very creative story for 1960s drama comics. Unfortunately, I can't find further info on that series either and I really would like to find more of their exploits. 

A great gem of a comic. It was retro. It was in really good shape. Plus it's kinda fueled my new addiction- finding comic books of movies and TV shows from the 50s-70s.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Twilight Zone #47

Based on the classic and oh so creepy anthology series from the 1960s. This 1972 comic from Gold Key is part of a long running classic series in of itself. Featuring cover art by fan favorite George Wilson, I thought that the monsters on the covers were giant plants, like corn, out for revenge against those who might enjoy their kernels of goodness. But the monsters are rather different in the book and made for a very creepy story.

I also felt that perhaps these monsters might have in some way been inspiration for the Graboids in the Tremors series. There's some very interesting similarities. So, while unlikely, it's possible.

The opening story was something else. It's of a thief who goes back in time to a period of knights and fair maidens. The criminal ends up switching places with a wizard and in typically ironic Twilight Zone fashion, gets his just desserts. I was totally on board with this element of the story. 

(WARNING SPOILER) However, when we cut to the wizard, he's nothing but bones and rags. Now everything I know about time travel thanks to decades of watching Back to the Future and Doctor Who tell me that the wizard should have arrived in 1960s in the exact spot he traded places with the crook- stuck in a high rise elevator. But he shouldn't have turned into a skeleton. Right? Or did I miss something here?

This being the silver age of comics, there was also a 1-page prose story included. These were required until right about 1980 for certain comic book titles to retain their first class mailing status. It was kind of a mess as well. Certain parts of the story didn't really add up. Sadly, much care was never done with those tales as they were begrudgingly done just to maintain the postage rates.

There's some quality Dell Twilight Zone issues. This isn't one of them. Only one story was really great. The other fell apart at the end. At least I only paid a buck for it. Some of these high grade Twilight Zone books can be very pricey.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek Gold Key 100 Page Spectacular #1

     Collecting some of the earliest Star Trek issues by the now defunct Gold Key Comics. The point of this 100-page special isn't so much as being able to full some key missing issues in your collection- though that helps. Instead, this special highlights some of the very odd discrepancies between the classic sci-fi series and the comics.

     Continuity and production errors include:

• Captain Kirk and Sulu's tunics were green- NOT Gold!
• Scotty looks less like James Doohan and more like Robert Stack of Unsolved Mysteries fame.
• In most panels, Spock's ears take over 3/4 of the side of his head.
• The nacelles of the Enterprise spits fire.
• The Klingons all look like Mr. Clean in purple onesies- in other words: white, bald, and in need of a diaper change. 

     I could highlight some further errors, but I don't wanna spoil all the fun.

     The problems that occur in these issues is something I never really thought about, but it explains a lot. Comics based on movies and TV shows usually go into production before the product ever airs. So all the writers and artists had to go on are production photos, some rough drafts, and maybe some sketches. The rest is just made up. Thankfully, if a series gets popular, the production team of the comic book can start to make the two entities sync up

      This was a very interesting read, especially the essay at the end of this volume that delves into the backstory behind the early days of the very first Star Trek comic book. As a fan of MST3K, I had a lot of fun with this book in which you can't really complain about the flaws as that's really the whole point of this special.

      As I had mentioned earlier, this collection also isn't really ideal if you are looking to complete your Gold Key run. But as the first issue, collected here, is valued at anywhere between $500-$1600 depending on edition and condition, this is an affordable way to get your hands on the story without breaking the bank. 

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

   

Star Trek The Key Collection: Volume 5

  

    The fifth volume of the Checker reprints of the Gold Key Star Trek comics from the 60s was an even better thrill ride than the previous one. The art was so much better in this one and the writing was very, very good. Let's discuss the art first.

 In the issues of volume 4, Spock's ear were drawn to such a degree they were freakin' huge. They took up most of the side of his head. Thankfully, the ears here are much less pronounced. The likenesses were amazing as well, especially of Kirk and Scotty, who plays a much larger role in these issues.

    The art of the Enterprise featured dynamic exteriors (AGAIN) and very good facsimiles of the interiors. The renderings of the aliens were pretty good too. I had to remind myself that with these issues being published years before the Star Trek films came out, that the Klingons were not going to be sporting their now iconic cranial ridge.

     Speaking of Klingons, they were featured in a clever story in which Kirk must go undercover to expose a Klingon gun running scheme in order to overtake a dilithium rich planet along the Neutral Zone. Another great tale features Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and McCoy racing against time when a radiation leak begins to turn them into children. Along with a cryogenically frozen professor and a time-travelling romp through the 1850s and 60s, this volume was near flawless in its delivery.

    Sadly, this appears to be the last volume in the series. Though Gold Key published about 30 more issues before ending in 1979, this volume was last issued in 2006. Along with that, the Checker Book Publishing group went out of business in 2010. Though I can find all five volumes on Amazon, I've not found another publisher that has issued reprints of the remaining issues- yet!

     IDW Publishing, who currently owns the rights to the Star Trek comics franchise, has issued two volumes reprinting the Gold Key series. But there are only two volumes thus far and they're only at issue #12.  So, only time will tell, unless I get lucky in the bargain bins.

Worth Consuming
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.