All Select Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special

The Blonde Phantom of the 1940s is nothing like the one Spider-man teams with in Marvel Adventures. It’s a bit like a Black Canary knock-off. The mystery of a murdered husband was very good and I liked the twist ending, but the heroine was lacking in substance.

 Then there’s the Marvex reprints about an alien robot who turns against his evil masters and becomes a hero on earth. I liked the two chapters but for some reason Marvex’s appearance changes from human looking to oxidation copper green. No explanation is given.

 Mike Allred contributes with a tribute piece on Marvex and it’s funny. Probably the best thing about the whole book.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Daring Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1

One of the few times where the cover is the best part of the entire book. It features a man called the Phantom Reporter, poised on a rainy stoop with zeppelins in the background, guns cocked and loaded, about to leap off the rooftops onto an unseen aggressor. The scene looks like it’s almost in motion and I kept coming back to it as it is visually striking.

But, the story was almost pure crap. The secret identity is nothing more than a purple cape on a beat reporter. It seems everybody knows the Phantom’s real identity and the classic 40s tale isn’t any better. In fact, that story has choppy plotting and the scenes segue ways are non-existent. It’s a poor-man’s Superman, minus the powers, costume, and better writing.

Not Worth Consuming

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars