Mr. Monster's True Crime #2

There's a pretty well known copy of the pre-code version of True Crime Comics. Illustrated by Jack Cole, the image has a young lady with a gun ducking behind a gangster who is shot by a policeman. The hail of bullets spells out the word 'RAT' on the criminal's chest. While this issue doesn't feature that iconic art work, the story that image is based on is in this book!

Mr. Monster's True Crime #2 completes Michael T. Gilbert's tribute to Jack Cole's work on the late 1940s crime comic originally published by Magazine Village. A part of the Mr. Monster Super-Duper series of tributes to comics published before 1955 and the establishment of the comics code, this is the last issue featuring to the more grown-up crime works of the Plastic Man creator. 

Though all 3 of the stories contained in this issue claim to be based on true stories of deceit and murder, there's more sensationalism that facts behind the scenes. The opening story is the one I mentioned earlier in this review. It tells of one Bennie Dickson and how he turned to a life of crime, wooing a 17-year old girl into his sordid world of bank robbery and murder. 

We then head to the Great White North where a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is murdered by a bootlegger and in retaliation, his brethren prove that the Mounties always get their man!

Finally, readers are introduced to the man whose addled visage does grace the cover of this issue. James Kent is an escaped convict whom the publishers promised a reward of $100 for his apprehension. The story features narration that over exaggerates the criminal's paranoia at looking over his shoulder at every turn in a manner similar to what EC Comics will soon be issuing in its crime books. I understand why Gilbert used the cover image he did for this issue. I just don't understand why he didn't include the opening story in Mr. Monster's True Crime #1 since that issue used the RAT image!

If you're looking for Michael T. Gilbert's most popular character, Mr. Monster, you'll only see him on the opening page. Otherwise, this might be a Mr. Monster special, but it's really all about Jack Cole. 

Be sure not to miss the informative article by noted crime author Max Allan Collins who gives a fantastic account of Cole's limited run on the original True Crime series of which this two-part special is based on.

A lot of excitement and a must for fans of post World War II comics that are unable to afford the originals. But for me, I really wish that there was more Mr. Monster to be had!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Mr. Monster's Hi-Shock Schlock #2

Michael T. Gilbert's Mr. Monster wasn't so much his creation as it was a re-purposing of an forgotten monster-fighting hero who was languishing in the public domain. Gilbert mainly gave Mr. Monster a new identity in Doc Stearn; a scholar whose parents were killed by monsters. In turn, Gilbert turned his Mr Monster into a parody of a slew of monster fighting heroes who came before him; including Blade, Van Helsing and a hearty dose of The Punisher. And Mr. Monster got a girl Friday in the bombshell Kelly, who is seemingly way smarter at this monster killing thing than old Doc Stearn.

After the initial run of Mr. Monster original stories, MM took over as host of a slew of anthology titles at Eclipse devoted to reprinting other obscure public domain works. Hi-Shock Schlock focused on stories so outlandish that you had to see them to believe them.

I never really examined the cover to this book too closely when I bought it about a year ago. I was just excited to find a handful of Mr. Monster titles. Yes- there really was a series called Toni Gay. And it really did co-star a boy named Butch Dykeman. The series was apparently a parody of a teen girl comic series called Toni Gayle. Gilbert, along with myself are astonished that this book made it past the stodgy censors of the 1950s. But since the main store was pretty tame with Toni and Butch getting lost during a horseback riding trip, maybe the names were overlooked despite their obvious anti-gay overtones.

Then there's an adventure starring Frank Thomas' The Eye which is exactly what it sounds like. A giant disembodied eyeball that goes around enforcing vigilante justice with a healthy dose of supernatural power behind it all. This story was a pleasant surprise as I remember having read about the eye a while back in the pages of the League of Regrettable Superheroes. It was kinda neat getting to read about something I had read in a comic book history book of not-so-great ideas in superhero characters.

Lastly, to fill in the book, (rounding out this trio) Gilbert features a story by Basil Wolverton. Gilbert seems to be a big fan of the absurdist creator who loved stories about weird creatures from Venus and Mars. This story occurs on Jupiter where a man with large arms gets twisted into a literal pretzel and needs help from an impish hero named Jumping Jupiter to get untangled. 

Plus, there's a couple of amazing articles about the history of these and other comics peppered throughout the issue that are not to be missed!

I am getting to that stage in my life where I am greatly appreciating those classic comics from days gone by. Right now, the world is too angry and tense. Being able to escape to a time which seems simpler despite humanity having a long way to go in becoming civil just seems to be what the Doc Stearn ordered for this Madman. 

It's not perfect. But it is perfect for me.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Mr. Monster: His Books of Forbidden Knowledge, Volume 1

The legend of Doc Stern, Mr. Monster, begins in this collection of first appearances by Michael T. Gilbert and William M. Loebs. In the early 80s, Gilbert refurbished a one-shot character from a 1940s anthology to craft one of the most over-the-top characters in all of comics history. (Yes- reboots were happening even in the 80s. But they were good back then!)

The legend of Doc Stern varies from issue to issue. Was he the lone survivor of a zombie apocalypse? Was he trained by mysterious monks in the art of war? Regardless of his origin, Mr. Monster has one goal in life- to destroy all monsters. But Doc Stern seems to help the creatures of the night more than he winds up extinguishing them!

This book opens the case files of Mr. Monster. From a reluctant werewolf to a living trash heap; these ghouls boggle the imagination. And they also straddle the line of good taste. 

Michael T. Gilbert was firmly set in the camp of 1980s creators such as Frank Miller and Alan Moore (who penned the foreword.) Miller and Moore were renegades who saw the Rambo-eqsue excesses of the Reagan Era and made it even more violent and absurd. Helping Gilbert with this is Bill Loebs. Long before he took the reigns of Wonder Woman, Loebs cut his teeth on Mr. Monster and he did a fantastic job! Loebs is so much like Frank Quietly or any of the usual gang of idiots from MAD Magazine as he puts so much fine detail into his work. Being a satire, Loebs peppers the panels of Mister Monster with dozens of tiny jokes. And I so loved his Will Eisner-like experimentation with titles and credits. 

This is a wild collection of stories. I've got to admit, these tales are extremely creative. The dialogue is insipid. Some of it might be parody. But it's some pretty B-movie level stuff. But I loved the encompassing brilliance here. It's like an issue of Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre but on steroids!

Lastly, I need to brag. I bought this book new. Despite being published nearly 20 years ago, I found this book, shrink-wrapped at a comic book store in Greensboro. Having the book on his shelf for decades collecting dust, the owner gave me the book for a good discount. But that's not what I want to brag about!

Inside the book was a limited edition book plate that was signed and numbered by Michael T. Gilbert. While that itself was cool, what made it cooler was that this book was numbered 1 of 999! I've gotten low numbers before. I think a 7 or maybe 11 was my record. But never a #1! This was an awesome unexpected addition to my collection!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.