The Mighty Crusaders, Vol. 1

I'm a big fan of MLJ/Archie's Red Circle line of heroes. They're just so darn difficult to find. Their golden and silver age books are ultra rare and too expensive for my wallet. The bronze age titles weren't massive sellers and so there's not a lot of those issues floating around. In the 90s, DC had the rights to them and touted them as !mpact Comics, only to be brought down once more by poor sales. (I'm doing pretty good at collecting these ubiquitous dollar bin floppies.) Then there's the modern age stuff. Why didn't anybody tell me that there was modern day Red Circle books out there?

Under the imprint Dark Circle, Ian Flynn and Kelsey Shannon linked together every incarnation of the Red Circle heroes in this 4-issue miniseries from 2017. It's been a couple of years after the last version of the Mighty Crusaders disbanded after the colossal battle with longtime Crusaders enemy, the Brain Emperor. Friends died in the conflict. Public support for heroes waned. Communities rebuilt. But now with the return of a second generation of super-villains, Joe Higgins, now referred to as the Broken Shield believes that the time for another incarceration of the Mighty Crusaders has come.

Unfortunately, this new group is far from a cohesive unit. Their leader, the latest to carry the name of the Shield, Victoria Adams, is too much of a loner and has trouble delegating to her teammates during a crisis. It doesn't help that legacy hero, the Fly, undermines the struggling new leader's every command. It also doesn't help that Higgins added another legacy, the over-confident Web to the lineup without the Shield's knowledge. Old-timer Steel Sterling is secretly battling the effects of time. Former Crusaders leader the Comet is with the team. However, the nightmares of that climatic fight with the Brain Emperor have left the hero's confidence rattled. Then there's the wild cards: Jaguar and Darkling. The Jaguar is teetering on the edge of insanity as the ancient god that shares her body is demanding sacrifice while the mysterious Darkling, the most powerful of all the Crusaders, is only on the team to prevent her from becoming a villain.

This book also comes with an exclusive short-story about the Mighty Crusaders predecessors, the New Crusaders. Also written by Ian Flynn, this story is supposed to bridge the reader between the two more recent superhero teams. I probably would have liked this story if not for Flynn himself. In this book's foreword, Flynn warns readers that the new team might have connections with the New Crusaders that left them confused. Thus the inclusion of the prequel story. Well, I actually felt like the main story didn't need the extra tale and that short was more confusing and unnecessary than Ian Flynn intended. Possibly even worse, that clunky short had an unintended consequence; it's put me off from wanting to read New Crusaders: Dark Tomorrow. 

Kelsey Shannon's art was so lively and animated. In fact, it looked like the storyboards that you might see for a cartoon show. There's been rumors of a Mighty Crusaders cartoon series since the 80s. I've pretty much given up hope on that project. So if Shannon's artwork is as close as we'll ever get to seeing the Red Circle heroes on the tube, I'm fine with that.

A very good opening salvo. I love that these guys can't seem to get along! I'm excited to see what's on store in volume 2. I just don't know where to find it. I found this book on a total lark at Ollie's and I didn't see any other similar books. Well, it turns out that's because there is no volume 2. Despite a promise of more story and this book being labeled 'Volume 1', these guys just didn't catch on and were quickly shelved. The Red Circle guys just can't catch a break!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Archie's Valentine's Spectacular 2024 #1

The 2024 Archie Valentine's Day special has arrived. Once again, Archie is introducing us to some all-new characters. But the players are not human but manifestations of the spirit of the holiday. Not only has that idea been used in previous Halloween specials but several Archie Christmas Spectaculars as well. 

At first I was having fatigue in what I thought was the overuse of the plot trope. Yet the characters of Flowers, Hearts and Candies were really well written by Ian Flynn and they were so funny. It also helped that Archie editor Mike Pellerito admits that the idea of the trio of characters was based on those previous holiday annuals. If the Archie talents understand that they might be dipping a little too frequently into the same idea well, I guess I can let things slide for another year. But I expect the next couple of years to give these characters a rest. I like tradition. But there's such a thing as taking a break from time to time to keep things fresh as well.

One tradition that I hope never stops is the new larger amount of material. My biggest gripe with all of the Archie spectaculars are that they are too darn short. It feels like the editing staff listened to me as there was 2 all-new stories (though a repeat of you bought this year's Valentine's Day themed Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #347) along with 3 classic tales and a Bite-Sized Archie short.

The second new feature has Sabrina the Teenage Witch trying to summon Cupid in hopes of persuading Jughead to finally ask Big Ethel out. Instead, she conjures a demon that ends up being the antithesis of everything Cupid stands for. It was a good story. Though that evil creature wasn't my type of thing. Plus, I never knew that Jughead knew that Sabrina is a witch!

I liked 2 of the 3 classic stories. Sadly, the Dan Parent yarn about love triangles in the Archie Universe was the weakest of the three. I say unfortunately because I feel that Dan Parent is the best modern Archie creator out there but this experimental piece was in need of more data gathering before going to press. Plus I didn't understand that Bite-Sized Archie web comic preview. 

I enjoyed this Valentine's special. It's just in danger of getting stale if the creators keep relying on magical representations of the embodiment of the holiday of the month in future editions. In terms of the reprints, it's not feasible to expect every selection to be something everyone likes. So I'm not taking away points for that Dan Parent piece. But there was a real chance that I could of deducted more points if Hearts, Flowers and Candies hadn't been as funny as they were. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Mega Man #20 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The character of Mega Man was created by the Japanese video game company Capcom. Known as 'Rock Man' in his native Japan, the character debuted in the self-titled Mega Man video game in 1987. While the first Mega Man video game was produced for the NES, Nintendo Entertainment Center, the franchise has released over 3 dozen sequels and numerous spin-offs for various gaming systems over the years

Now here's a fact that most don't know about the character. Mega Man is the name of not just one character; but a whole series of robots created by Dr. Thomas Light. Mega Man robots are not just protagonists. They are villains too. The deranged Dr. Wily developed the Mega Man model robot with Dr. Light and eventually Wily showed his true colors, producing his own line of evil Mega Men androids in many attempts to conquer the world. 

Since the inception of Mega Man, a number of manga works have been produced involving the vast cast of franchise characters. Though Udon Entertainment and Viz Media have released a few of those works to American audiences, a large number of Mega Man manga have never been imported from Japan. 

In 2011, Archie Comics obtained the license of the Mega Man franchise. Instead of re-releasing English translated manga works, the publisher went the route of producing a series of all-new art and stories. 2012 marked the 25th anniversary of the very first Mega Man video game and Archie Comics pulled out all the stops. Along with a Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man team-up that due to shipping delays, didn't hit shelves until the following year, Archie Comics sought to create 12 months worth of stories that celebrated the extensive history of the Capcom property.

In this issue, Dr. Wily has unlocked the formula for time travel. Just as the scientist and his army of evil robots are about to conquer the future, Rock, the original Mega Man robot arrives on the scene... and is immediately swept through time! Going through various time periods, including his immediate past, the far flung future and even all the way back to prehistoric times, Rock experiences aspects from the first Mega Man game to 2011's Mega Man 10! 

If the reader of this issue is not the biggest of Mega Man fans, the story, while epic, is very overwhelming. If writer Ian Flynn or the editing team could have included an appendix that pointed out which video games were reference during Rock's various jumps through time, not only would this story have read a lot more clearer, but it could have invited new and emerging Mega Man fans into the franchise. Without it, this issue feels very unwelcoming to newcomers. 

Art by Gary Martin.

Cover by Mike Norton. 

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #20 (Based on a Video Game) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

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.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle and Whisper #1 (Family Comic Friday)

A villain is on the loose in Spiral Hill Village. He looks like Sonic the Hedgehog. He sounds like Sonic. But believe us, it’s not everyone’s favorite blue speedster! Join the original characters Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf as they team-up to stop this impostor hedgehog in IDW Publishing’s new miniseries Tangle and Whisper in this week’s Family Comic Friday.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle and Whisper #1Written by Ian Flynn
Art by Evan Stanley
Published by IDW Publishing
Pages: 26
Retail: $3.99

Sonic the Hedgehog’s buddy Tangle is a rambunctious sort of fellow. He’s really out of sorts than usual because he’s so bored! Looking for some adventure, Tangle dreams of being a hero like Sonic. But he’s kinda afraid to do it all by himself.

The boredom seems to have passed for Tangle when he discovers his friend, Whisper the Wolf targeting poor Sonic with her laser blaster. But it turns out that there’s more than meets the eye to this caper when Whisper reveals that the character she’s been hunting isn’t Sonic the Hedgehog but a shape-shifting villain!

It looks like Tangle is going to finally get his adventure without having to do it all alone. If only Tangle can get Whisper to agree to let the hyperactive lemur to be her partner!

If you are a regular player of the number of Sonic the Hedgehog video games that have been produced over the past 30 years, then you are probably wondering just who are Tangle and Whisper?! Both characters are original to the Sonic comics created by IDW Publishing. Fan favs, readers have been asking IDW’s editors for more adventures starting the duo and those fans have gotten their wish with this book.

Ian Flynn has been writing the adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog ever since issue #160 from way back when Archie Comics had the rights to the franchise. So just about nobody out there has a better sense of the scoop of Sonic and friends to pen this tale than him. (It also helps that Flynn created the characters of Tangle and Whisper!)

The idea of a villain impersonating Sonic isn’t really a new idea. But the fact that this ‘mimic’ can pose as anyone makes for an exciting twist. However, I did feel that some of the dialogue was stunted. More than one character speaks a sort of broken English. Not being the world’s expert on Sonic the Hedgehog, I didn’t know if this was meant to be for so many characters. But it made for a slightly difficult read for me.

The artwork of Evan Stanley was very good. Another veteran at the Sonic books, his pencils are way more polished that some of the artwork of those very early Archie Sonic books. I wish that Stanley had did the art for all of the covers because a couple of those variants are just so chaotic looking. They’re such a jumble of characters that it looks like our heroic lemur and wolf got their tails tangled together.

Tangle and Whisper #1 is a follow-up to April’s Tangle and Whisper #0. That book is a sort of origin story intro. While it provides a good introduction to these two new characters, you don’t have to had read that issue to be able to follow the action in this first issue.

If the young reader in your life already plays the Sonic video games, then you shouldn’t have any objections to the adventures and dangers inside this issue. Some parents may take issue with Whisper’s use of a laser rifle when combating the baddie. Also, the villain uses a knife to make a threat to some of the characters in this issue.

Sonic has fans of all ages. But adults should not have to worry about the dialogue, while not verbally correct; it wasn’t dirty and there’s no scenes of a suggestive nature.

Tangle and Whisper #1 sets up an interesting story with promise. Compared to most ‘team-ups’ this one had a good pace to it in the opening act. I hope the variant covers and the dialogue gets better though.

Tangle and Whisper #1 debuted on July 31st, 2019 and is available in print and digital formats.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Superman Special #1

There's just two more weeks until Bendis officially takes over as the writer of the Superman Family. But before that happens, a trio of current writers of the Man of Steel have been allowed to tie up some loose ends.

In For Those Who Serve, Peter J Tomasi has Superman and Son returning to 1940s Dinosaur Island to save the last surviving member of the Losers.

Mark Russell's Strays and Strangers sees the Man of Tomorrow reflecting on the life lessons the Kent's taught him when he was growing up.

Then in Ian Flynn's Split Decision, the Atomic Skull is on the road to redemption as a member of Maggie Sawyer's Metropolis Special Crimes Unit. But when his next mission pairs him with Superman against the Skull’s old partner Shockwave, conflicts arise. Which side will the reformed criminal ultimately stake his claim to?

With all of the Superman Family titles getting cancelled to make way for Bendis, I understand DC's need to publish this one-shot. But while this was an enjoyable special, the level of importance to each story seemed anything but. For one thing, I was expecting another teaser into the Bendis Man of Steel miniseries, like in DC Nation #0. The only real mention of the Superman event of the decade was a two page ad listing information that isn't new if you already follow social media groups devoted to the DCU.

The cover price of $4.99 also seemed steep for the level of action and adventure in these stories. The Superman Special was bigger than a standard Superman Rebirth issue. But still, without a real draw, like a never before published Otto Binder Superman adventure, this issue shouldn't have been priced higher than $3.99.

One saving grace for the book is the artwork. I loved Kaare Andrews TAS stylization of Superman and the Atomic Skull. Plus Bryan Hitch’s 1980s throwback artwork was perfect for the story of Clark's childhood. But I was mixed on Scott Godlewski’s art. His dinosaurs and representation of Superboy Jon Kent were exceptional. But there was just something off about Godlewski's take on the Man of Steel.

Overall, this book is a good Superman title, but unlike it's name, there just isn't anything special about this Special.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Superman Special #1 debuted in stores and digital platforms on Wednesday, May 16th, 2018.