Archie Christmas Spectacular 2025 #1

I've said it once and I will say it again: the Archie Christmas Spectacular is the holiday release I look forward to the most. Maybe it's a longing for nostalgia in my getting older. Maybe it's because I love Archie. Maybe it's because I love Christmas. More than likely it's all 3!

This year's offering features Dan Parent, my pick for the definitive modern era Archie creator. Parent has a love of classic Archie while not being afraid to embrace modern norms. Case in point: the fan favorite Kevin Keller, Riverdale's first gay character. While Dan Parent has been quite progressive, his all-new story features a trio of classic Christmas characters from Archies past.

Christmas fairy Sugarplum insults Jingles the Elf when her first pick for her date to the North Pole Christmas Dance- Archie- is snapped up by Santa's daughter Noelle. In response, Santa's helper promises revenge.Jingles snatches up Veronica and he does it by deception, transforming himself into a hunk. Sugarplum ups the ante by turning herself human and bringing Reggie to the North Pole. Soon, it's a love triangle of Yule tide proportions with Archie and the gang smack dab in the middle!

This special also features 4 additional stories which are supposed to be reprints but were all new to me! Dan Parent pens and pencils 3 of them and they all pay tribute to the publisher's rather large and somewhat forgotten cast of supporting characters.

Betty and Veronica flashback to the Little Archie days thanks to being hypnotized. Foes from Sabrina the Teenage Witch's past threaten to disrupt Riverdale's New Year Eve festivities. The last pair of stories star Jughead's cousin Wilbur Wilkins. Wilbur and Archie both go ice skating only to be outdone by Juggie. Then in a story penned by Tom DeFalco, Wilbur has trouble finding the perfect gift for his secret Santa. Featuring dozens of characters from over 80 years of Archie Comics, it was a real Who's Who and it had a great punchline.

I did find that a couple of the stories were a bit clunky; especially the all-new tale. I just don't think 5 pages is enough for an epic level opener. The Halloween special had this problem too. If the high ups at Archie ever read this review, I hope that they might consider devoting more pages for the all-new feature in the holiday specials. I think 8-10 pages would be acceptable and if the cover price had to go up 50 cents to do it, I would be okay with that.

Massive kudos once more to my favorite LCS. They've been managing to get me the classic variant covers for the holiday specials lately. Once again, I got the cover I wanted. It's an all-time Christmas classic by Dan DeCarlo. I must have been really good this year!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Archie & Friends: Summer Lovin' #1

This summer time fun special was something I meant to read when it debuted in 2022. Unfortunately it got buried in my ever growing to-read pile, only to see the light of day just recently.

The main story introduces a new love triangle to Riverdale. Veronica's cousin Harper has returned for the summer. This means for Reggie a chance to restart his relationship with the teen. However, there's a new player in the mix, Eliza Han, an African-Korean American with ADHD and is pansexual. At the summer carnival both Reg and Eliza vie for the affections of Harper. But it looks like love will have to wait when everyone gets sick from riding the Gravitron. 

The opening story was written by Tee Harper with artwork provided by my favorite modern Archie artist, Dan Parent. I was surprised that the main feature was only 6 pages in length. Especially since the cover promises an introduction to Eliza Han. Instead, the back-up feature took up the majority of this book, which was 32 pages in total length. It involves Archie trying to win the affections of Veronica by practicing for the Riverdale beach windsurfing championship. Did I mention he's rather bad at it? Written by Tom DeFalco, the story features an often forgotten member of the Archie-Betty-Veronica love affair; one Ms. Cheryl Blossom who decides to train poor Archie just to get revenge on Veronica.

The back up was illustrated by Pat and Tim Kennedy. The brothers artwork looks really new and I know that it's a newer story because Kevin Keller is a main character in the story and he's only been around since 2010. What I want to know is this: was the windsurfing story brand new or like with other specials of the past, a reprint? 

With a Halloween or Valentine's Day spectacular, the reprinted tales look older. Why didn't the editors pick such a more modern story to fill in the gaps? And if it's an all-new story as well, I'm crying FOUL! Why does this one-shot get special treatment of original material but the holiday annual books get stuffed with stuff that I've more than likely already read!?

I've said it before and I will say it now: I'm willing to pay $3.99, up from the standard cover of $2.99 for all my Archie specials to contain more original stories than 1 measly 6-pager. C'mon Archie Comics! You do so well responding to fan demand, let's make this happen!

Before I go... Great cover by Bill Golliher. Love the Easter egg to the birth year of Archie!

Worth Consuming!

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Generic Comic #1

Never before has a comic book cover offered so little that it has inspired generations of fans to seek it out as a part of their collections nearly 40 years after its release.

According to the cover, this one-shot offers a self-doubting superhero with real life problems, a villain with a shtick out to rule the world, a good looking (but otherwise absent) girlfriend, family drama, conflict, twists, turns and fisticuffs. Basically the sort of stuff you would find in just about any other Marvel Comic on shelves in 1984.

Marvel's Generic Comic was the idea of then Marvel editor Larry Hama. Hama had been toying with the satirical idea of a story that checked off all the boxes of the Marvel style of comics a year or so earlier. Hama had planned to include such a story in the pages of Marvel's humor mag Crazy, when the publisher unceremoniously pulled the plug on the MAD Magazine imitator. 

Larry Hama was not a creative force known to let a good idea die, no matter how generic. Over the course of about a year, Hama kept pitching the idea until editor Tom DeFalco caught on to the concept and the project was greenlit. Steve Skeates was assigned writing duties for a project he went on to proclaim the most fun project he had in his career up to that point.

Generic Comic tells the origin story of a character commonly referred to as The Unnamed Super-Hero. With his brother Bobby in a coma and a girlfriend tired of waiting for a proposal, he's desperate for a long promised promotion. A collector of glow-in-the-dark chatchkes, the lad gains all around super powers when he smashes his Three Mile Island snow globe in frustration. Along with abilities of flight, speed and super hearing, the young man's lanky body begins to rival that of a bodybuilder. 

Seeing a chance at changing his fortune, the man decides to become a super hero. Thanks to an ad in the morning paper, he heads down to a superhero supply store for a costume. All he can afford is a generic all-white bodysuit complete with equally plain domino mask and cape. It's not much to look at. But at least it matches his hair which turned white thanks to all that radioactive day-glo.

Things begin to look up for the newest hero of the world designated Earth-84041. He performs a couple of acts of heroism. A couple of goons are defeated. However, this string of good luck comes crashing down when the Unnamed Super-Hero meets the Unnamed Super-Villain who comes complete with a special hypnotic helmet that causes the protagonist to lose his confidence and become a quivering ball of jelly!

It seems rather odd that Marvel would back such an unusual project. Especially one that openly mocks the very formula of the House of Ideas. One theory is that Marvel supported the project in order to secure the copyright to the terms 'Super-Hero' and 'Super-Villain'. If you use a magnifying glass or a dose of super-vision, readers will notice that under the copyright information on the bottom front page, it does indeed state that Marvel co-owned both terms. If it's true, this seems like a legal blunder on par with Marvel's earlier attempt to enforce their copyright on the word 'Zombie.' However, some fans dispute this theory claiming that the copyright statement was a joke put in by Hama or DeFalco.

Unfortunately to this day, we still don't know how illustrated and inked the book. Not a single by-line credit is attributed to anyone, anywhere in the book. Despite both Hama and Skeates discussing their roles in creating the Generic Comic in interviews, it's a real head scratcher that nobody has ever asked for them to identify the missing staff members who contributed to this uniquely common work.

Worth Consuming!- if only for being such an oddity!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Archie Christmas Spectacular 2023 #1( Family Comic Friday)

It took a few extra days, but the holiday comic book that I look forward to the most every year finally arrived! This year's Archie Christmas Spectacular introduces a trio of new characters to the Archie universe. Jangles and Sourplum are the antithesis of the good magical Christmas characters Jingles the Elf and Sugarplum the Fairy. When their boss Grumpus kidnaps the good sprites, he orders Jangles and Sourplum to destroy the Christmas festivities being organized by Archie and the gang at Riverdale High.

I'm actually friends on Facebook with the writer of this all-new holiday story, Tom DeFalco. I actually claim this friendship instead of marking it as just following a celebrity because in the past we've both gifted each prizes on Candy Crush. Recently he shared an early glimpse of the new characters on his FB page. I thought that Jingles and Sugarplum were being redesigned and I hated it. Once I realized that artist Holly G! was creating their polar opposites, I actually began to dig what the artist and DeFalco were attempting to pull off.

That opening story was just too short. At only 5 pages, it's just not enough room to really dive into the motivation of the Grumpus character. He claims to have a past beef with Archie and his pals and I recognize the villain's lair from previous Halloween stories. I feel like the story of the Grumpus is far from over. Sadly, I also feel like I'll have to wait a whole year for next year's Christmas annual for the conclusion.

The artwork was inconsistent if you ask me. The Archie's are drawn in their traditional style with dark thick lines. However, Jingles and Sugarplum are illustrated in very thin lines, lacking definition. Plus the new villains are really pointy to the point of being Gothic Manga and their poses are too stiff. I used to wonder why all the characters in a comic book were always crafted in a similar art style whereas in real life everyone is different. Well, thanks to this story, I understand now that an uneven art style just doesn't look right.

This spectacular has 2 additional stories. Two of them are classics starring Jingles, Sugarplum as well as Santa's only daughter, Noelle. Another tale has Jingles assisting a Riverdale youth with a reputation of being a jinx. The final adventure has Archie and Jughead getting into trouble when they take Jellybean and friends to the mall to see Santa. Not sure why that last story is devoid of one of those magical Christmas characters. It too makes the total read of this special a bit uneven.

For the past dozen or so years, these annuals have been priced at the bargain price of $2.99. Well apparently Scrooge is in charge of marketing and pricing with this edition now priced at $3.99. I understand inflation happens. But for that extra fee, I expect the all-new opener to be longer than it was or for there to be 2 new holiday romps instead of so many reprints. Especially since 2 of those older stories were just featured in the Archie's Christmas Wonderland treasury that dropped earlier this year.

I had a lot of fun with this annual. It just lacked consistency in the art and I was shocked by the new sticker price. Grumpus might be a cranky version of Krampus, but nowhere near as evil. This should be a Christmas present that all ages will enjoy. It just lacks some of the quality and charm of editions past.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Archie Halloween Spectacular 2023

I saved my favorite for as close to last as I could stand it. For about 5 years now, the comic book devoted to Halloween I look forward to most annually are the Archie specials. Same goes for the Christmas edition. I think it's because of how timeless they are. So full of nostalgia, humor and wonder. Plus they have moments of spookiness without being too scary. 

This year's offering is a love letter to the dark side of Archie Comics. I didn't realize this, but in the 1950s and 60s, Archie and his gang interacted with a bunch of classic monsters and aliens. While the stories might have been tongue in cheek, the artwork of the ghouls and goblins was pretty darn intimidating. In the all-new opening story, Tom DeFalco pens a tribute to those glorious looking frights.

Last year's Halloween annual introduced readers to Trick and Treat; a pair of Halloween imps who like to visit Riverdale every October 31st. While I wasn't as enthusiastic about their debut, these two have become fan favorites. So a return was almost inevitable. In DeFalco's tale, Veronica's father is allowing the students of Riverdale High to use one of his abandoned properties as the site for the annual Halloween party and haunted house. In the minds of Archie and Jughead, this place already is haunted. Trick is inspired by the old comics books that Treat has been reading and uses the creatures from them to scare Archie and Jughead.

At the end of the book is a gallery of all the old Archie Comics issues that inspired this debut story. There's also a great 2-page article about the history of Archie books and why horror has always been an element in them. Did you even know that the Archie sister imprint Red Circle had straight up horror anthology tales? I had always thought that more adult Archie books of terror was more of a modern invention. Gee, was I wrong.

There's 4 reprint stories included in this book. One looks like it's from the 80s. Starring Betty and Veronica, the girls spend the night presumably in this same abandoned mansion in hopes of proving ghosts exist. Then there's a more modern tale involving some newer characters including a goth girl and a young boy of Indian decent. That's got the gang cutting through a graveyard on Halloween night in order to get to a Halloween party quicker. Bad idea there. The last newer looking story has Sabrina having to think fast when a rival witch attacks her at Veronica's Halloween bash- in front of mortals!

The 4th story was from the 50s, I think. Or the very early 60s. It's a classic that I've read before in which Dracula tries to trap Archie and Jughead. Only the two teens are completely oblivious that they're in near mortal danger. Every time the Count tries to prove to the fellas that he's a monster, one of the boys dismisses it as being lame. It was drawn to be very spooky. But it was so funny.

I thought the all-new story was just too short. But I really appreciated the nods to the past. I also don't quite get all the love for imps Trick and Treat. For one thing, Treat has a noose around their neck and I'm very surprised nobody has cried fowl on it and the implications of lynching. Besides, I'm more of a Jingles the Elf fan. Though I would love to see a Trick and Treat meets Jingles crossover! Maybe we could see these two worlds collide in a Thanksgiving Day special. If you ask me, an Archie look at Turkey Day has been sorely missing from my annual holiday comic book reads. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Speedball: The Masked Marvel

One of the highlights of reading the complete 125 issue run of Marvel Comics Presents were the pair of stories starring the teen superhero known as Speedball: The Masked Marvel. Co-created by Steve Ditko and Tom Defalco, Speedball was an interesting mix of teen angst, youthful enthusiasm and brilliantly creative villains. Plotted and penciled by the legendary Ditko, the pair of stories were a feast for the eyes. And immediately, I took it upon myself to get a copy of this 'omnibus'.

Speedball's story begins with young Robbie Baldwin, a star athlete, bright student and a BMOC in a small Connecticut community. One day during Robbie's part-time job as an assistant at the Hammond Research Lab, the teen is accidentally bathed with strange kinetic energies. As a result, whenever Robbie experiences the slightest bit of inertia, he transforms into the Masked Marvel and bounces around like a bouncy ball until he runs out of energy or finds a way to settle himself. 

The scientists who conducted the experiment know that somebody interfered with the experiment that gave Robbie his powers. But they think it's the lab's mascot, the feline Niels, who is obviously showing signs of the same blast of energy that powers Robbie. The teen is tasked with capturing Niels in order for the researchers to determine if the strange energy field is lethal or not. This comedy of errors is a running gag throughout the entire series which only lasted 10 issues. But it's an important plot device as Robbie just wants to be a normal kid once again.

In typical comic book fashion, Robbie's family is oblivious to the fact that their son is the town's new hero called the 'Masked Marvel'. Only Robbie himself refers to himself as Speedball because of the tiny energy balls that follow him when in costume. Robbie would love nothing more than to tell his mom and dad about his powers. But to do so could jeopardize Robbie's father! See, Mr. Baldwin is the town's assistant District Attorney. The town in which the Baldwin's live has a law against masked vigilantes. Robbie fears that should his secret come to light, it will mean disgrace for his lawyer father. 

Honestly, Robbie should lighten up a bit. His parents are doing a good enough job turning the whole town against them. When a skeleton is discovered within the walls of Robbie's high school, fingers point at both Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin as being the prime suspects. This results in a loss of jobs for Robbie's mom and a near disbarment of dear old dad. 

It says a lot about the writing when the reader is just as interested in the supporting characters as the main character. Roger Stern and Jo Duffy make the mystery of who killed the family friend of the Baldwins just as engrossing as Speedball's battles against an assortment of masked baddies. I was so hooked on the secret of the corpse's killer that I stayed up later than normal a couple of nights in a row to find out 'whodunnit!' 

Masks are a big theme in this book. Steve Ditko was a master of bizarre faces and Speedball's Rogue's Gallery, while rather inferior compared to a Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus, are some of the most creative of all-time. 

I wish the original Speedball's story didn't have to end!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider-Ham- The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 (Family Comic Friday)

I gave up. Instead of trying to buy the complete 17 issue run of Marvel's Star Comics imprint devoted to the funny animals of the Marble Universe, I gave it and purchased this massive collection. 

I was missing about a dozen issues of Spectacular Spider-Ham and each one was running about $5-7 per issue. In fact, there was 1 issue that I couldn't find selling for less than $125. So I gave in and bought this book for less than $30, used. (It also helped that I had Amazon gift cards.)

Resting in May Porker's basement is a tiny spider named Peter. While working on an atomic hairdryer, May receives a large dose of radiation. This turns her temporarily rabid and May bites Peter as a result! 

The bite turns Peter the Spider into Peter Porker, a bi-pedaled swine with an eye for photography. While working as the main photographer for the Daily Beagle, Peter Porker makes a living selling photos of himself as the Spectacular Spider-Ham. These antics as a costumed hero brings Spider-Ham face-to-face with a myriad of super villains including Duktor Doom, The King-Pig and the mysterious Bee-Yonder. 

Don't feel too bad for Spider-Ham. Helping him out against these villains are allies such as Captain Americat, Nick Furry, Agent of SHEEP and heroic psychiatrist Doc Clamson. When the heroes of the Marble Universe aren't able to give Spider-Ham a hand, our friendly Neighborhood Spider-Ham can rely on his non-super-powered friends like girlfriend Mary Jane Water-Buffalo and the junior newspaper reporters of the Daily Beagle!

The stories are extremely fun. They can also be funny. However, this is a work of parody and some of the gags just don't cut the mustard. But the creativity of co-creator Tom DeFalco (Archie Christmas Spectacular 2022) and assists by writers such as Fred Hembeck and Mike Carlin (Star Trek) are unmatched. 

The artwork is all quite good. But the work of Steve Mellor and brother Mike in the debut story is perhaps the most striking. There's a hint of art deco to the first issue that was originally published as Marvel Tails. Everyone looks like they are drawn with italics. In fact, Captain Americat looks like he's walking on a ramp throughout the whole thing! But I love it!

I've shared works starring Spider-Ham in several Family Comic Friday postings before. But the reason I share this book in particular is mainly because of the rating Marvel gave this work and it's dead wrong. Marvel has this book rated for readers aged teen (and higher). Yet, with exception of that first story, which was released as a Marvel title, issues #1-17 of Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham were originally released as part of Star Comics, an imprint for readers aged 10 and under! 

Unless Star Comics readers in 1984-1989 were much more mature than the Gen Z readers of today, I don't see a reason this book should have been rated for Teens. In fact, Amazon grades this book as suitable for those in preschool and higher. Now, I think that's a bit young as there are some decent sized words in these books and the scripts are a tad wordy. But at least that recommended age range is closer to whom these comics were originally geared towards.

Over 400 pages with tons of inside jokes and Easter eggs. This is definitely a work that the parents and grandparents who grew up with Spider-Ham will enjoy perusing with the young readers in their lives!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Archie Christmas Spectacular 2022

This is the holiday special I look forward to the most every year. DC Comics does a fairly good 80-page giant every year. But they usually have more on the side of quantity as opposed to quality. With the Archie Christmas Spectacular- it's quality all the way. I just wish these guys were longer. 

These annual Christmas presents are typically 32 pages long and only the first story is brand new. In this one, Jughead has stolen his last holiday pie if lunch lady Ms. Beazley has anything to say about things. The all-new story was written by Facebook friend and Candy Crush pal Tom DeFalco (Spider-Girl). The story was great and very festive. But at only 8 pages, it was just too gosh darn short!

The other 24 pages are always filled with classic holiday Archie stories. One of those tales is by quintessential modern Archie creator Dan Parent and it stars Santa's platinum blonde daughter Noelle taking a much needed break from the North Pole. Story #3 is a Betty and Veronica adventure set at the annual Lodge Christmas party. The last story is one titled 'Santa Con Carne'. It's got a great classic 1950s Archie look to it, thanks to the Fab K-Bros. Unfortunately, I've read this one before. 

Having been an avid Archie read for 4 and a half decades, I guess I got lucky with only 1 of the 3 reprints having been something I've read previously. But I just gotta ask (once again) why can't this special have more original content?! I understand that by having so many reprints in these that the publisher is able to make more money on a $2.99 holiday special since you don't have to pay as much for an already published work as opposed to all-new material. But couldn't Archie Comics either make the all-new story twice as long (16-pages) or have 2 debut 8-pagers in these annuals? Or dip a toe into the Sabrina pool or Josie and the Pussycats? Or my personal favs- Little Archie or L'il Jinx. Heck, I'll take something starring that Wilkins Boy. I just want more material that I've never read before!

A great read. Worth waiting until almost the last minute to read. But I really want more new-to-me material in forthcoming Christmas Spectaculars.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

True Believers: Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 (Family Comic Friday)

After a brief vacation, Family Comic Friday has returned and we brought with us a classic kids comic book from the 80s that you can buy a copy of for just a dollar! Welcome back to print the adventures of Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-ham!

True Believers: Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1
Writer: Tom Defalco, Steve Mellor
Artist: Steve Mellor, Mark Armstrong
Publisher: Marvel Comics
SRP: $1.00

Way back in 1983, writer Tom Defalco along with G.I. Joe's Larry Hama and Mark Armstrong showed the world what would happen if Spider-Man was made of bacon!

Though his origin doesn't appear in this comic book, let's dive into how Spider-Ham came to be    In a world not quite similar to our own, Earth-1183 to be exact, a friendly little spider named Peter was bitten by a radioactive pig. As a result, Peter mutated into a swine but still maintained his arachnid abilities.

Adopting the last name of Porker, Peter became a photographer for the Daily Beagle. But now inspired by the superheroes that he photographs on a daily basis, Peter also wears a blue and red suit, masquerading as the Spectacular Spider-Ham.

With the recent release of Into The Spiderverse and next week's debut of Far From Home, Marvel is upping its distribution of anything Spiderverse related. Thus fans young and old can relive the very first appearance of Spider-Ham in this True Believers edition reprint for the price of one portrait of George Washington!

In this issue, Peter is sent to photograph a disturbance at a brand new video game arcade. Someone is sabotaging the games and when the mysterious villain causes game developer Dr. Bruce Bunny to become irradiated by his new gamma Ray game, Earth-1183 will become the new home of the Incredible Hulk Bunny!

I may have my issues with Marvel Comics. But when it comes to re-releasing classic all-ages material for the next generation of comic book fans, I can fault no wrongs! I only wish that this book was released as a facsimile edition. I really think that young readers and their parents would get a kick out of seeing all the old ads for Return of the Jedi, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and games for the Atari video game system.

I love Spider-Ham. It was one of a handful of titles that I subscribed to monthly as a child. Back then, when you subscribed to a book it came to you in the mail. The owner of your favorite LCS didn't hold it for you like they do today. I looked forward to a monthly trip to the mailbox to see what new parodies were dreamed up. From Ducktor Doom to Deerdevil, each issue was a creative delight to read.

If the young readers in your life become huge fans of Spider-Ham and want to read more, then rush back to your comic book store and pick up Peter Porker The Spectacular Spider-Ham Complete Collection Vol 1 TPB. This book collects the entire 17 issue run of Spider-Ham. This issue is also reprinted. But with a nearly $40 cover price for the collected edition, it makes sense to test the Spider-Ham waters with this more affordable release first.

True Believers: Marvel Tails is being re-released as all-ages. This actually surprises me. When the book was first published, Peter's boss, J. Jonah Jackal is depicted smoking a cigar. Also, some of the villains Spider-Ham first encounter are drawn smoking cigarettes and stealing cigarette lighters. There's been a huge effort to eliminate smoking from old cartoons. Since I re-read my 1983 back issue, I'm not sure if the reprints have edited the smoking parts or not. So if smoking is a taboo thing for your younglings to encounter, discretion is advised.

True Believers: Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 and Peter Porker The Spectacular Spider-Ham Complete Collection Vol 1 TPB debuted in print and digital formats on June 26, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Essential Marvel Two-In-One, Volume 3

The team-up adventures of the Fantastic Four's Blue-Eyed Benjamin Grimm continue in the pages of Essential Marvel Two-In-One, Volume 3. 

This book begins with a massive story about The Thing becoming a security adviser at Project Pegasus. The Marvel equivalent of Project Cadmus, The Thing teams with a number of superheroes such as Quasar and Goliath as an odd assortment of villains try to break in and out of the research center.

After his tenure at Pegasus is complete, Grimm teams with an assortment of characters from the Marvel Universe including the Avengers, the Howling Commandos, and the original Guardians of the Galaxy. That last crossover will result in a strain in the relationship of the Thing and his gal pal Alicia Masters. Thus, the last third of the book gets a little sappy. 

Featuring Tom DeFalco, Chris Claremont, John Byrne, George Perez, and many more from the Marvel Bullpen, this was an great collection of issues from the late 70s rolling into the early 80s despite the corny lost love angle. Fans should really study the Claremont and Byrne issues as they highlight the gelling partnership between the duo that would most redefine the X-Men to become the most popular superhero group for a generation. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Hulk Smash (the) Avengers

  This trade collects the 5-issue miniseries, of the same name, that examines the Hulk's tumultuous history with Earth's Mightiest Heroes. From becoming a founding member of the Avengers and quickly their arch-enemy all the way through to about 2010 when Bruce Banner temporarily lost his gamma powers and a mysterious new RED Hulk come on the scene, just about every major time period of these two colossal icons of the Marvel Universe is contained in this book!

   Along for the journey are some of the original creators behind these classic events. Featuring the writing and artistic talents of Avengers legends such as Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern, Ron Frenz, Michael Avon Oeming and many more, the only notable absences from this collection were Stan 'The Man' Lee and George Perez, who has the distinct of being the only many to draw every Avenger and Justice Leaguer ever! (Another presence sorely missed is the late Jack Kirby, who co-created the Avengers with Lee. If I had it, I'd poor a little ink out in his illustrious honor.)

   The book was a wild ride of different incarnations of the team as well as different versions of the Hulk. Along with the original Green Machine and Avengers line-up, readers of this collection will get a peak at the Gray Hulk, Banner-mind controlled Hulk, plus cousin She-Hulk, best bud Rick Jones,  along with the West Coast Avengers and the New Avengers.

   A must read for any collector of the Hulk or the Avengers (or both!)

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.