Swamp Thing Annual #1 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

 In 1982, Bernie Wrightson and Len Wein's creepy creation, the Swamp Thing, made its motion picture debut. Written and directed by Wes Craven, the film tells a mostly faithful origin story of Dr. Alec Holland and how he is transformed into a being of sentient plant matter.

While working in a secret government lab deep in the swamps of Florida, Dr. Holland has created a formula that can transform barren deserts into futile farmland. His sister Linda, has also discovered that a single drop of the formula can also double as a powerful explosive. Anton Arcane, a despotic paramilitary leader, has caught wind of the chemical and attacks the lab in hopes of making the formula a part of his ever growing arsenal. During the assault, the chemical is spilt on Holland and he immediately catches fire thanks to its volatile properties. To extinguish himself, Holland jumps into the murky swamp and seemingly perishes.

Meanwhile, Alice Cable, a new government attaché to the project, flees with one of Holland's notebooks. With Arcane's operatives trailing her, Cable must find a way to alert Washington to the attack. However, the commandos get the better of Cable. With the notebook in their possession, there's no longer a need to keep Cable alive. But right before they silence the government agent, a mysterious creature emerges from the muck. It's the Swamp Thing and boy, is he mad!

The live action film was produced by Swampfilms and distributed jointly by Embassy Pictures and United Artists. It started Ray Wise as Dr. Alec Holland.  Adrienne Barbeau played Alice Cable. Renown French actor Louis Jourdan was the evil Arcane. Dick Durock would don pounds of rubber and fake moss as the title character. Over the next decade, it would only be Durock's body in the Swamp Thing suit. The imposing 6'6" actor would star opposite Heather Locklear in 1989's campy Return of the Swamp Thing. A year later, Durock would return for an hour long TV series on cable's USA Network. The series would run 72 episodes over 3 seasons. 

None of the subsequent Swamp Thing adaptations to star Dick Durock would receive the comic book treatment. This oversized special was written by Bruce Jones. Mark Texeira penciled; Tony DeZuniga inked. The cover image is of the original theatrical poster. It was painted and airbrushed by celebrated fantasy and sci-fi artist Michael Whelan. 

Completing this review completes Task #30 (A Movie Adaptation) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

ET-ER #1

When an up-and-coming emergency medicine doctor witnesses an after hours car crash in the hospital parking lot, she scrambles to the scene. It's a decision that will change Dr. Chen's life forever. A team of orderlies quickly arrive and take the victim to the basement. But there's no emergency ward in the basement! Is there?

Underneath a major medical center somewhere in the United States, there's an emergency room for intergalactic patients. And they serve anyone, anytime. From a convalescent that is a literal planet killer to an invalid with a weaponized immune system to a medium-sized green man in desperate need of a universal translator, Dr. Chen will learn the true meaning of universal healthcare. That is if she decides to join the staff of the ET-ER.

I wasn't expecting this story to take place on Earth. I was thinking that the ET-ER was going to be like Grey's Anatomy on Deep Space Nine. Instead, this series is more like Men In Black meet Chicago Med. But I loved it. 

This late 2021 series was lauded as a one-shot from AWA as part of the publisher's Upshot imprint. Upon finishing this book, I was disappointed, thinking that my visit to the emergency room to the intergalactic stars was over. But I am happy to say that another issue is on the way sometime this year. There's a Frank Cho cover coming that I may have to pounce on!  I'm so ready to schedule a follow-up visit with this team of extraterrestrial physicians.

Oddball drama with sci-fi medical science. Featuring a slew of talent including Dan Panosian (Alice Ever After) and Mark Texeira (Moon Knight), it's the best care anywhere!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection

I've wanted this collection for quite some time! 

Back in the 1980s, when you got either a Masters of the Universe action figure or vehicle/playset, you got a free mini-comic. Generally what happened was on you way home from the store, you would read the minicomic in order to learn more about the item you have just bought. (Yes, I realize now that these books were basically 8-12 page ads. But they were so much fun to read!) Once you got home, you'd take your new toy and act out the adventures in the book. Or you'd nag your parents to buy the missing characters from the book. 

Over the years, finding those minicomics would become a mission for many fans such as myself. I don't have room to display dozens of action figures and playsets. But I have a couple of inches of space in one of my long boxes to house a complete run of minicomics. 

Turns out that the minicomics are even harder to find than the figures. That's because the minicomics would get lost or thrown away or damaged. In the over 10 years plus I've been collecting as an adult, I've only found one He-Man mini comic. It was only a couple of bucks but not in the best of shape with some apparent water damage. 

Thankfully, someone at Dark Horse decided to hunt down those lost treasures. And they went above and beyond including not just the complete run of MOTU, but the inserts from She-Ra, Princess of Power, the 1989 space reboot of He-Man, the original storybook set of 4, and some never before published minis as well!

This collection is massively small. It has well over 1100 pages. Yet, it's just slightly bigger than the size of the mini-comics. So the transferring of original works to copies prevents the artwork from looking stretched-out!

This massive volume includes early work from some of the industries legends such as Bruce Timm, Lee Nordling, Stan Sakai, Mark Texeira, and Robert Kirkman! 

It's really hard to complain about this book. Yes, some of the stories are quite silly, if not ludicrous. (They were written for kids aged 5-10!) The volume, it's got just about everything a MOTU minicomics collector would want- except for the final 8 minicomics produced for the He-Man classics line. I'm not sure why those weren't included unless Dark Horse was afraid that the book and it's costs were getting too out of hand. 

This book, from 2015, originally retails for $29.99. If you are patient, like I was, you can find it for a very good deal on Amazon. If you are wanting to revisit the wonder of being a He-Man fan back in the 80s, this is the perfect MOTU collection for you! And it will save you money and time for something else instead of trying to complete this set individually. 

Now if only DC Comics would release a collection of the Super Powers minicomics, my mirco-sized comic book searches would be complete!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam Special #1

When prospector Yosemite Sam finally strikes it rich, it brings about the attention of some unsavory characters. Seeking protection, Sam hires the baddest bounty hunter in the Old West, Jonah Hex as his body guard. This usually isn't Hex's thing but he's got a week to kill before the fee for his latest capture gets delivered. 

Then in the second feature by Bill Matheny and Dave Alvarez, it's bear season and Sam and Hex reunite when their paths cross. Jonah is on the hunt for a renegade while Yosemite Sam is trying to catch a nasty bear that has become the stuff of legend for it's destruction of property. There's absolutely nothing that could link the two prey, is there?

The Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam Special was really good. It was another great DC/Looney Tunes crossover that got overlooked by the magnificence that was the Batman/Elmer Fudd Special. When I saw the preview cover, I noticed that Foghorn Leghorn was on the cover. He's a giant talking chicken! So, I couldn't figure out how they were going to explain him in this book. Thankfully, writer Jimmy Palmiotti  (Harley Quinn's) explains it as Leghorn is a circus freak with feather who doubles as a strongman. 

The interior art was great. I really like Mark Texeira's (Black Panther) style. It's quite gritty and rustic. But I didn't like the cover so much. Hex looks great. Foghorn's okay. But what is wrong with Yosemite Sam? Isn't he supposed to be bowlegged? Texeira makes him look too static for some reason. But man, doesn't Jonah look awesome? Okay- my favoring of the cover was 50/50.

A really good Western/cartoon crossover with just a small cover issue or two...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.