Alien³ #1-3 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

1992's third installment in the Alien movie series could have been so much better than what audiences received. Cyberpunk author William Gibson was originally tasked with writing a script that included elements of the Cold War, government corruption and religious fervor. Rushed to complete before a potential Hollywood strike, producers were unimpressed with Gibson's original treatment. They called it 'uninteresting'. So Fox Studios issued a number of rewrites. A film that was supposed to quickly capitalize on the success of James Cameron's 1986 action heavy sequel, Aliens, languished in pre-production for several years, resulting in some of it's stars to become unavailable or in the case of actress Carrie Henn, who played 12 year old survivor Newt; age out of their roles.

Alien³ would eventually see Sigourney Weaver's character Ripley crash landing on a former prison work colony along with a facehugger that survived from the previous film. Ripley believes that Newt's body is being inhabited by a Xenomorph embryo. However, an autopsy proves otherwise. That's because the facehugger choose another host - Ellen Ripley!

This 3-issue adaptation produced by Dark Horse Comics was written by Steven Grant. Except for some awkward translations of curse words into more comics friendly words and phrases, any qualms with the plot or scripting shouldn't be directed at Grant. The writer was tasked with a script that seemed doomed from the start. The same cannot be said about the artwork.

Pencils and inks for this mini were by Christopher Taylor and Rick Magyar. Their adult Xenomorph warrior referred to as a 'Dragon' Alien, because its 4-legged frame with a long tail was the result of bonding with the penal colony's guard dog, is impressive. But one has to wonder if Taylor and Magyar had ever seen either of the previous Alien films because their facehugger looked like a miniature Xenomorph with hair instead of an albino scorpion. 

Ripley looks like, well anyone but actress Sigourney Weaver. But at least the artists seemed not to confuse her with another actor. The oplikeness of Bishop looks more like Paul Reiser's character of Carter Burke, right down to the curly pompadour hairstyle and long trench coat! As for likenesses of the inmates, that's kinda hard to assess. They're pretty much all clones of one another as a lice infestation on the planet results in all of the colonists shaving their heads.

Alien³ would go on to make an estimate of $160-180 million dollars thanks in part to its Memorial Day weekend opening. Only the third installment in the Lethal Weapon series would outpace the space horror. Despite making three times as much as it's budget, the film is considered the worst of the Ripley films and tied with the franchise crossover Alien V. Predator: Requiem as the most underperforming of the franchise.

This would not be Weaver's final appearance in the Alien series. In 1997, she would return, this time as a clone, in Alien: Resurrection. Time would also see William Gibson returning to the franchise as a comic book writer. In 2018, Dark Horse published a 5-issue adaptation of what Alien³ could have been with William Gibson's Alien 3. 

The covers for Alien³ #1-3 were all painted by Arthur Suydam.    

Completing this review completes Task #7 (A Movie Adaptation) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Potlatch: Comics to Benefit the SPA

I bought this book years ago. Like way before the pandemic years ago. It has to have been sometime between 2015 and 2019 when my wife and I were visiting Asheville NC annually because I remember the store where I got this book. It was an independent art store that sold work by local artists. Obviously, somebody who worked on this project was from the mountains of North Carolina.

Potlatch, which derives it's name from a Native American feast where gifts and large amounts of food are shared amongst different tribes, is an anthology title. The term is also where we get the word 'potluck', which more accurately describes this book as you have no idea what you're gonna get. Past volumes have benefited comic book publishing charities such as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Sales for this edition from 2004 provides proceeds to be Small Press Association.

As with just about any anthology, it's really hard to rate it on quality as the skill levels of the talent ranges from 'why isn't this guy working for Marvel?' to 'when did this guy realize that becoming a professional comic book artist just wasn't in the cards?' A lot of what I read was forgettable. There were a few photocopied mini comics included in my copy. The one about a pair of villains who go on a talk show to explain how hard it is to be the baddie was the most memorable thing in the book. There was also Drake Maxwell, Private Eye. It was about a gumshoe who had to solve an alien abduction. Only the item missing is the alien's spaceship that has been stolen during a recent jaunt to the third rock from the Sun! I also received a couple of stickers of Japanese looking creatures that I think might make a fun prize for a friend of mine, that looked really nice. 

If I paid more than $5 dollars, I was probably gypped. Though it was for charity. So maybe I can be okay with having paid $10. But that's about it. Despite owning it for nearly a decade, this one is going to the used book store, hopefully for some trade credit. My luck, they won't take it because of how independent and unknown it is. But if they'll just take it off my hands, I'd be willing to take as little as 25 cents in trade to get this stinker off my hands.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Stray

There's been more than a fair share of great comic book titles being unceremoniously cancelled, scraped or plain up never getting past the planning stage. This 2001 deluxe format comic by Scott Lobdell and Jimmy Palmiotti might just rank among those titles.

Stray is the story of an aspiring actress whose life turns upside down the day she gets fired from her waitressing gig. We all know that adopting a stray dog on the day you get canned isn't exactly the wisest financial decision to make. But that's exactly what Catherine 'Cat' Denton does. Call her a softie.

Unknown to Cat is at that exact moment an alien life-form named Acturex is hurtling to planet Earth to stop a hidden menace seeking to conquer our planet. Acturex's plain is to merge into the body of Garrick, Cat's downstairs neighbor who's a prime specimen of strength, endurance and good looks. However, a slight miscalculation causes Acturex to merge into the body of the stray living with Cat. And there's no way for the alien to find a new host until his mission is complete.

Using her acting skills and various costume changes, Cat Denton now goes on casting calls by day and secretly saves the Earth from alien invasion at night with the help of Rex, her super-powered and psychically linked pooch!

I couldn't tell you where I got this book. I've had it for awhile. Probably came from a grab bag. Having an adorable animal as a main character, I still didn't take any chances before I read this book. Having been burnt before by the shocking and gruesome death of the dog in issue #1 of The Weather Man, I made sure that no animals were harmed or killed in the completion of this comic. Once I broke one of LaVar Burton's cardinal rules of book consumption from Reading Rainbow, I dug into the book and was pleasantly surprised. 

The art looked a little bit off. I at first thought it was computer generated. Once I realized that Dustin Nguyen was behind the inking of Adam Polina's artwork, I knew that this wasn't funky CGI material; this was year 3000 illustrations! My puny human brain just wasn't able to comprehend the evolution of the artistic talent behind Stray.

I don't think the advanced penciling for this story was what has prevented there from ever being another story about Cat and Rex. Its been 23 years with bupkis. Though Stray was a joint DC/Wild storm production, the book itself was published by Homage Comics. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of this venture before(I think). A quick Google search reveals that they were the driving force behind Astro City and Leave It To Chance before Wildstorm quickly absorbed these Indy classics. 

You go to the Homage Comics page on the DC Wiki and Stray isn't even listed as one of their publications. So I think this book might be all we get. Barring some miracle revival. Until then, if you ever come across this book in a bargain bin at your favorite LCS or a Con, you really should consider picking it up. It's a quirky, quick read that oozes heart and creativity. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage into the World of the Weird by Dan Schreiber

Comedian and pod caster Dan Schreiber dips his toe into the water of conspiracy theories and strange phenomena. And by strange phenomena, we're talking things so goofy, even Fox Mulder is skeptical of them! Personally, I feel like Schreiber could have covered a lot more whack job ideas that are floating around out there. But I did think that the writer was very detailed about the theories he researched. Plus I liked that he covered a few subjects that even I, a long term and now repentant conspiracy theorist and devotee of the eccentric, outlandish and just plain odd, such as myself, weren't even aware of.

I also wouldn't categorize everything Schreiber features in this book to be a conspiracy theory. It's not entirely that type of book. Some topics are more based on fringe science and hobbies of nut jobs. Some of which just happens to be proven true. Case in point: the study that plants can communicate with each other. A former CIA interrogator supposedly hooked up his house plant to a lie detector and got some very unusual results. Eventually, the guy quits being a spook, starts up a research center to study plant and human behavior and publishes a couple of books on how plants talk to us that become oddball best sellers. Jump ahead to a couple of years ago and researchers reveal that there's indication of a worldwide network that plants use to communicate to other flora about droughts, floods, and other threats to wildlife.

Schreiber works rather blue. He likes to refer to many of the believers of these conspiracies and fringe ideas as bat CRAP crazy. Only the author doesn't use the family friendly word CRAP. The writer also seems a bit too preoccupied with crazy kinks. A bunch of pages are devoted to dolphin genitals, sex with ghosts and other X-rated situations. There's a few characters from the past 200 years who began cults and alternate religions that used their charisma to score with both male and female followers. I'm actually surprised how little the author focuses on some of those characters, especially Aleister Crowley.

Dan Schreiber also hosts a podcast called 'No Such Thing As A Fish' that delves into hoaxes. Fish and birds are amazingly left untouched in this book. Maybe due to some subjects being considering off-limits due to licensing or advertising agreements with the pod cast. If he's not restricted, I'd like to read a follow up of this book, because while he's a bit cheeky, Schreiber does tell some very good stories; both personally and of historic merit. 

Not a book for kids. But it's definitely a book that skirts upon a lot of the very strange theories being brought about by all sides of the political and public spectrum thanks to events like Brexit, the coming of COVID and January 6th election claims. The Theory of Everything Else may not have the answers you are looking for. However, it can definitely get you headed into the right direction for the origins of the world's most endearing and modern plots, dodges and cabals. And if that's not what you are looking for- Schreiber has plenty to say about ghosts, UFOs, time travel and other elements of the supernatural. Only he views such popular fringe and occult matters differently than most.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers #3 (2nd Series)

Thanks to Darkseid's plan to turn planet Earth into a new Apokolips, the secret of the giant statues on Easter Island has finally been revealed! 

It's been nearly 40 years since this issue was released. So I don't think I'm really spoiling anything. Turns out these statues are actually petrified aliens. 

Okay. But how did they get there?

In the present day, Wonder Woman, Dr. Fate and Green Lantern are tasked with destroying Darkseid's doom seed which is situated on the tropical Pacific isle. Guarding the pod is the energy vampire Mantis. When one of the heroes touches the seed, which has already begun germinating, it sends everyone to the past where they encounter an alien invasion force. 

If you ask me, these aliens look familiar. VERY familiar. Anyone remember the Stone Men from Saturn? Those extraterrestrial foes that Thor battles in his debut in 1962's Journey Into Mystery #83. That's who those giants on Easter Island look like! I wonder if Jack Kirby was inspired by those stone monoliths when he penciled JiM #83. In a meta twist, could the King's Saturn monsters have inspired his Easter Island aliens? If I ever got the chance to go back in time to meet Kirby, this might be the one question I ask him. 

If anybody reading this review can confirm such, please leave a message in the comment section! I'm dying to know more about the design of this issue's aliens. 

Another fun issue in the true Jack Kirby style in the time honored Justice League of America formula.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

ET-ER, Vol. 2

AWA Studios' ET-ER is a series that I just don't understand why it's not gotten the love it deserves. The 3-story first issue debuted in 2021, just a few months after comic book publishers were forced to shutter their print runs due to the pandemic, and were once again able to re-open. With a massive delay such as that, it took a long time for Indy publishers to get back on schedule. The fact that it was almost a year until Vol. 2 came out doesn't really surprise me. What shocks me is that it's been about 18 months since this second issue hit shelves and it doesn't look like the doctor will be in anytime soon. 

The premise behind ET-ER is rather novel. It's literally universal healthcare. In the first of three tales, a distant colony planet is attacked by massive insectoid creatures. Driven mad by a virus, a medical team is sent to inoculate the hive, as well as any humans stupid enough to get in their way.

Episode #2 sees an intergalactic ambulance driver rushing to save the life of a transplant patient. With hyper-lanes shut down do to a crash, the space-faring paramedic will have to cut a narrow path through an asteroid field in order to keep his precious cargo alive.

The last story sees a fledgling documentary filmmaker succumbing to both the stress of not being the next great interstellar director and the narcotics he's turned to in order to keep working. 

3 great medical themed sci-fi stories. That opening tale reflects the poor choices and disinformation spread during the height of the pandemic. The middle story made me go down one path only for that twist ending to gut punch you like many good medical dramas do. Honestly, the final story was a bit too off-the-wall. However, if you'd ask my wife, who works in a medical clinic (on Earth), cases involving drug addicts take some really bizarre turns. As I am never been a part of the drug culture, maybe I just didn't connect to the premise as much as someone who has experimented with mind-altering substances might have.

I may not be a fan of AWA Studios co-founder, Axel Alonzo. But I am one to admit when something is worth reading and ET-ER is so worth reading. I just wish fans would enjoy it as much as I do or that AWA Studios would take a greater leap of faith with it. 

Some of you may be wondering why I waited a year and a half to read and review this book if I'm such a fan of it. Sheepishly, I must confess, I misplaced this book. I've got about 2 long boxes full of stuff to bag, tape, organize and add to my collection. ET-ER Vol. 2 was an unfortunate casualty to that overstock. I don't regret having that many books unaccounted for in my possession. I've been taking great steps to fix that over the past few months with reorganizing things. I just hate that my delay on reading and reviewing this awesome one-shot may have resulted in AWA Studios pulling the plug on ET-ER for good.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Men In Black International

2019's Men In Black International was the first film in the franchise to not have Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones. That's not to say that this film lacked star power as to why this has become the least successful of the MiB movies. Chris Hemsworth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson and Tess Thompson all star as members of the covert operative team that protects the Earth from alien invaders. Instead, what I think hurt this film was a number of things. Not having Smith or Jones hurt. Prior to 2022's infamous slap at the Oscars, Big Willie was still a massive movie draw in 2019. Without either original actor, I think a lot of folks saw this as a reboot instead of a continuation of the series as Emma Thompson's Agent O as well as many of the beloved aliens from the franchise make return appearances.

Having Tessa Thompson as the female lead had a lot of fanboys crying that this was going to be a 'woke' picture even though there have been strong female characters in the MiB movies before. Just not one in the main star role. That woke assessment really could not have been further from the truth. This is a film about a young girl who encounters an alien and witnesses fer parents getting neuralized by the Men in Black. Seeking to know the truth, the girl spends the next 20 years trying to get behind the truth of that faithful encounter, going as far to infiltrate the organization. The woman is quickly caught. But her tenacity impresses Agent O who puts her on a probationary status as the newly minted Agent M. 

M is sent to the London office where Agent O feels that a mole is entrenched within itself within the ranks of agents. Agent M meets the dashingly handsome Agent H who is billed as the savior of the earth from a wretched group of aliens called the Hive. Yet Agent H acts anything but heroic, often coming in late, sleeping at his desk and who's ineptitude has unfortunately caused a huge diplomatic issue by allowing a member of an intergalactic royal family be assassinated under his watch.

The dying royal family member tells Agent O to trust no one. This is the second time in as many days somebody has warned the probationary agent to be suspicious of everyone. However, Agent H is just about the only MiB member that Agent O knows and thus she must team up with him to find out who murdered the extraterrestrial diplomat and who at MiB London was behind the execution.

Tessa Thompson's swagger was less annoying than Will Smith's. She's cool and yet very vulnerable like Alice in an X-Files version of Wonderland. There's a lot of Thor in Chris Hemsworth's Agent H to the point that there's at least one God of Thunder gag in the film when H uses a hammer to battle a gigantic alien enforcer. 

The film does a good job making you think you know who the mole is and then having that character earn your trust and having to start the deduction process all over again. A couple of years ago, the big ending had actually been spoiled for me. Yet despite knowing who the villain really was, I keep falling for the red herrings. In my opinion that's an example of a good movie, not a stinker.

An example that I think this film was nowhere near as bad as critics rated this film was how they took an actor that I absolutely hate and make me fall in love with their character. I cannot stand Kumail Nanjani. He always has this look on his face like he's just smelled something really awful. His distracting facial feature is a big reason I have yet to seek out Marvel's The Eternals despite being a huge fan of Jack Kirby. Yet, here Nanjani is the voice of a diminutive alien guard named Pawny, who clings on to Agent O as his new Queen. Even though I knew it was Kumail Nanjani voicing the role, I was able to overlook my abhorrence of the actor and actually really become a fan of his character. 

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of scuttlebutt on social media was that this film was going to be the woke version of Men In Black. The first two MiB films starring Will Smith makes more commentary on race than this film. In fact, I don't recall a single reference to Agent M being black. There are a couple of jokes about how the Men in Black also have women in the ranks and neither jokes are all that good nor necessary. Especially as the follow up joke involves a character who wasn't even introduced in the movie yet when Agent O made the first comment about the organization. I'm thinking a big scene was cut for time or relevance. 

If anything ruined this movie, it was the use of Chekov's gun. It's a principle that states if something appears in the first act, like a gun, it must make a needed return appearance in the third act to complete the progression of the plot. A throw away line by one of the Men In Black that flashy-things Agent M's parents had me ready for the big reveal as soon as I saw that mystery character return in the final act. Maybe a lot of folks missed the Easter egg but I didn't and that ruined a big plot twist... and I had been spoiled on who the big traitor in the movie was months prior!

Do I need to see this movie again? Just like with the second MiB movie, I do not. But I would not balk at a sequel to this film. Though instead of being an international film, let's go intergalactic! You know there has got to be some humans living on other planets as operatives. How else will Earth know if some alien baddie is on their way? Okay, sure satellites can help. But there's got to be more to it. I would be okay if Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth came back. I would love to see Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones back in action. But let's face it. The actor we want to see return is Bill Hader who's Men in Black agent posing as Andy Warhol was single-handedly the best scene in the entire franchise!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Quantum Leap #13 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

"Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. 

He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better.

His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so, Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home."

This was the introduction to the classic 90s sci-fi series Quantum Leap starring Scott Bakula as Beckett and Dean Stockwell as Al. Created by Donald P. Bellisario, Quantum Leap ran for 97 episodes (including a 2-hour pilot movie) on NBC for 5 seasons from 1989-1993. 

In this time travel based series, Sam Beckett traded lives of an assortment of people. During his adventures through time, Sam would become a woman, an elderly black man, a Navy Seal, a minor league baseball player, a young man with Down Syndrome and the notorious Kennedy assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.  Every life that Sam took control over, he would have to correct some sort of mistake in the time line in order to get closer to going back home to his time period of year 1999.

From 1991-93, Innovation Publishing produced 13 comics based on Quantum Leap. The premise of unique circumstances behind Sam's leaps continued with the time traveller switching places with a death row inmate, part of a pair of identical twins and a department store Santa in the series' lone holiday comic. Issue #13 was to be released as a one-shot special titled 'Time and Space'. However, due to production delays, this project became what would be the series' final issue documenting Sam Beckett's 1963 experience of leaping into an extraterrestrial aboard an honest-to-god UFO.

Issue #13 ended with a soft cliffhanger. After saving a human couple who were abducted by the aliens, Sam leapt into the body of a toddler. Issue #14, which was titled 'Two Dweebs and a Little Monster', was to be the first of a 3-part trilogy in which Sam leapt into the bodies of youngsters. The first chapter would have Sam's host being kidnapped by a pair of bumbling brothers seeking to sell the child to baby brokers. But with NBC cancelling Quantum Leap and Innovation founder David Campiti's departure leaving the company in disarray, the comic adaptation was sacked. A promised annual with Sam leaping into the body of a heart surgeon in the middle of an operation with his patient flat-lining on the table, was also cancelled. 

The biggest problem of Quantum Leap wasn't the fan base. They were loyal and vocal. Even through season 4, some episodes drew audiences of up to 18 million viewers. NBC just didn't have faith in the show. The home of the peacock changed Quantum Leap's schedule 8 times in the show's 5 year run! Thus a major complaint from the fans were that they never could find the show!

The plug was finally pulled by NBC execs on May 5, 1993. In the episode titled 'Mirror Image', Sam leapt into his body. Only, he didn't return to his time period. Instead, Sam found himself in a bar in Western Pennsylvania on the exact day and time he was born. Facing a bartender who claims to be in control of Sam's leaps, Dr. Beckett is given a choice of going home or correcting the biggest mistake of his time travel career. Ultimately, Sam leaps to the 1960s, informing Al's then wife Beth, that Al is alive and imprisoned in a Vietnamese POW camp.

As a result of Sam's sacrifice, history is changed. Al and Beth remain married upon Al's freedom. The couple wind up having 4 daughters, one of which would be involved with Project Quantum Leap. Dr. Sam Becket (sic) never returned home. 

Speak about fan outrage! NBC received countless phone calls requesting at a chance to bring Sam home. A letter campaign was launched. For decades, Scott Bakula teased fans with hints of a feature-length movie to bring Sam Beckett home. Finally in 2022, the Quantum Leap project was revived, ironically on NBC. Only, Bakula was a no-show and sadly Dean Stockwell had passed away the year prior.

The spirit of Al Calavicci is alive and well in the new series as the backstory of the reboot tells of how Al never stopped searching for his friend. As mentioned earlier, daughter Janis, would have a troubled relationship with project coordinator Magic Williams; the now older Navy Seal that Sam had leapt into. Though new leaper Dr. Ben Song went back through the Project Quantum Leap accelerator to save his fiancee from an evil leaper, season 2 provides hope that Ben might run into Sam Beckett before returning to 2022 California. Right now, Scott Bakula denies being involved with the reboot. But Leap fans can dream. 

And yes, while I realize NOW that I read this book previously, I actually don't remember it! So, is it really a re-read???

Script by Christine Elaine Hantzopulos. Art by Luke Ross. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #23 (A Time Travel Story) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Little Archie #180

The thing about that was so striking about Little Archie was how incredibly dark this title could be. On several occasions, Archie and his pals have been kidnapped, pistol whipped, held hostage, punched, you name it. And this is supposed to be the kid friendly title!

And yet, I love it! 

I don't know why. But I LOVE Little Archie. Maybe it's because of the more adult situations that occurred. I wasn't being talked down to by the writers. With the classic Archie, everything is very saccharine. Things are more goofy and lighthearted with the teenaged version of Archie. I mean, I can't recall a time when somebody tried to kill high school aged Archie in a non-crossover classic story. Yet, it seemed like every other issue that someone has Little Archie or one of his friends in their crosshairs. This just happens to be one of those issues where nobody is out for Little Archie's blood.

In the cover story, it's Christmas Eve! Something is making a clatter on Little Archie's roof. Only it's not Santa but an alien in a UFO. The extraterrestrial is lost and needs directions. In order to communicate, the alien gives Little Archie a special helmet. Once on his way, the UFO allows Archie to keep the special headwear and holiday mayhem explodes as the device allows the tyke to read everybody's mind!

The secondary cover story stars Little Sabrina. Actually, the focus is on Salem, Sabrina's pet and feline familiar. With the holidays approaching, Salem is missing his family and thus plans to spend Christmas with them. Only, Salem's reunion isn't quite as inviting as the kitty had expected...

There's a third story in this book that is not holiday themed. When big bully Fangs ruins Jughead's lunch of burgers and shakes, Little Juggie snaps and knocks the villain's lights out! This stunning event leads Principal Weatherbee to draft Jughead onto the Riverdale Elementary boxing team. But Juggie's an eater, not a fighter!

First of all, what elementary school has a boxing team? I could see Riverdale High having a boxing team. The Jr. High, maybe. But not a school of 4th and 5th graders!

Then there's Salem. In this issue, Salem is reddish/orange. In the teenage comic version of Sabrina, he's black. 90s TV show, subsequent cartoon and  2010's Netflix series- all black. Is this a one-time oops? Or is Little Salem always this off-color? I'm eager to find out the answer. I just won't be able to find out in the pages of issue #181. This issue was the last of the series.

It's a great issue starring Little Archie and friends. Nowhere near as violent as some issues have been. But I felt that that pull no punches sort of attitude that has permeated the world of Little Archie is still in this book. Maybe not turned to an 11. But that's okay. It is supposed to be a Christmas issue. Plus, a special appearance by L'il Jinx! with a couple of one-page gags!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Turkey Day One-Shot

I closed my 2022 Thanksgiving comic book readings with this 2021 horror one-shot from Source Point Press.

A small town in Illinois is about to host its annual community theater Thanksgiving pageant. This year's organizer promises a huge surprise is in the works. Meanwhile, an alien invasion force has landed in a nearby field chock full of turkeys. Taking over the brains of the delicious fowl, the alien army waddles over to the theater house in order to make their first kill, though the theater goers think this is all staged as part of the big surprise. Truly, this will be a Thanksgiving Day to remember when everyone realizes that these guys aren't here to just 'talk turkey'.

I bought this book right after Thanksgiving last year. So I've been waiting just about a full year to enjoy this sci-fi black comedy. This book was grim, gory, irreverent, and fun as hell! I loved just about every moment of it; though the story did take a turn I wasn't expecting at all. And I thought that homage final page, which was just darn near perfect. 

I did briefly think that this book made a slightly wrong turn adding in a certain former POTUS in a cameo towards the end. Just seeing his face made me feel for a brief moment of 'here we go again' with some sort of political statement. But the use of this character for 1 panel was actually pretty funny and it added to the dark humor tone of the story. 

I'm going to let you dear readers in on a little secret: I am terrified of turkeys. They're mean. They're evil. They'd kill you if they had the chance. But over the past year, I've made friends with a turkey at a local farm. Though she has a different name, I've started to call this bird 'Swanson' after the turkey TV dinner. Over this time, I've come to realize, 'Swanson' is a salt & pepper hued turkey. All the turkeys in this comic and countless viewed videos of poultry on human violence have been perpetrated by brown feathered turkeys. Thus, I change my stance that only those brown feathered foul are direct ancestors of velociraptors! 

Being a comedy, did this book do anything to make me less afraid of turkeys? No, not really. In fact, when the alien leader plucks out a turkey's eye in order to take over its brain, I wasn't mortified like in previous books where other adorable animals are hurt or killed. If anything, I think the use of turkeys are things of holiday horror are a thing of brilliance and I would strongly recommend to SyFy channel getting the rights to this comic and turning it into next year's Thanksgiving movie ASAP! It's campy like Sharknado and bloody like The Evil Dead. I'm sure doing so would make this the next Turkey Day classic for generations of families to come!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Chilling Adventures Presents: Archie's Weirder Mysteries #1

Just as 1999 was turning into the year 2000, Pax TV was airing an animated series based on the Archie Gang. Called Archie's Weird Mysteries, the cartoon focused on B-grade movie monsters, ghosts, and Dilton's science projects gone wrong. While the series spawned a comic book, Archie's Weird Mysteries was more of a spiritual relative of an early 1990s Archie Comics cult fav of mine, Dilton's Strange Science.

Jump to 2022 and Archie's Weirder Mysteries has returned. Only instead of being an all-ages affair, this one-shot special is set firmly in the mature rated Archie Horror universe of titles. 

There are 3 stories in this special. First up is Betty, Monster Hunter. Though this time after finding a crashed flying saucer, Betty is now an Alien Hunter. That's because one of the occupants of the UFO is missing! Evidence points to the creature being a shape-shifter. So when Betty goes to Pop's Choc'lit Shoppe accusing everyone of being an alien in hiding, nobody bats an eye...

The second story stars Dilton and Ethel as they travel back in time to 1990s era Riverdale. More on that one a little later. The final adventure is set about 50 years in the future. Josie of Pussycats fame, seems to haven't aged a day. This really bugs the heck out of rival Alexandra Cabot and prompts the now middle-aged rich b*tch to seek ways to recapture her lost youth.

The Betty story was great. I've not read any of the series starring this version of her and in the past, hadn't had any desire to do so! Not anymore!

The Ethel and Dilton story was really good. Though I wasn't a fan of how Dilton looks like a muscular jock instead of a wimpish nerd. However, having the duo go back in time to visit the parents of Archie, Betty and Veronica was really intriguing. There was an element of the cult film Empire Records to this story and I'd be all for Archie Comics doing a limited series about the life and loves of the parents when they were the age of their current children. 

The Josie story appeared to be a sequel of sorts to the Ethel and Dilton tale. That's because both stories involve a physician by the name of Dr. Masters; a creep interested in eternal life-stretching medical techniques. I wasn't familiar with this guy. But a quick Google search revealed that he was the start of his own Archie Comics drama series in the 1960s. As short lived as it was, I loved how Archie Comics still tries to keep it's legacy characters, alibeit EVER so minor, around for a good yarn or two.

A fun read. With mature language- I didn't know Betty could say the word 'shit'!?- some blood and gore and possibly a little sex, this is a one-shot Halloween time fun ride that is NOT for kids!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #141

Guess who's starring in the single issue feature, again. Yep. It's Iron Fist. I swear, with having Wolverine, Ghost Rider and Iron Fist in every issue, the original concept of MCP being an overall anthology series of the Marvel Universe is essentially dead. 

On the flip side of this, change is about to come as the 3 multi-part stories are all in their penultimate segment phase. 

Wolverine discovers an inter-dimensional portal. If he can close it up, he'd get rid of those pesky aliens and hopefully free a bunch of islanders from mental enslavement. 

The Spellbounder story has been anything but spellbinding. I read this story but I mostly am just going through the motions with it.

The Ghost Rider/Double Dragon- I mean the Masters of Silence team-up, is just about to face the big boss. 

You know, if this entire issue had been an 90s arcade game, I think I would have been all over it. A Street Fighter type game with Ghost Rider, Wolverine and Iron Fist. Epic. Since these type of games were quartets, I wonder who the fourth character would be... Luke Cage? Punisher? Hellcat? I'd love to visit the alternate earth in the multiverse where this video game idea is a reality...

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars. 

Marvel Comics Presents #140

Wolverine is now officially teamed with Doc Samson. Recently freed from his mental enslavement by extraterrestrials, Samson is working to free other humans from their torments. But can the good doctor really be trusted?

The Ghost Rider story that pits him with the Masters of Silence is still action-packed. But that now seems to be all of the story. It's like a Double Dragon video game now. Just continual fighting until you get to the big boss.

I'm just not a fan of that Spellbinder story. This is not because the character is a female. Not at all. It's because the story bounces from reality to induced fantasy; often without warning. And I swear this is just a grown-up version of Rainbow Brite. 

And for our one-and-done story, guess who's back! If you guessed Iron Fist, give yourself a cookie! I mean it's not like the Marvel Universe has other characters or anything. Unfortunately, I don't really remember anything about it either. 

This issue is like a ski slope. You start off on the highest high. But as you make your way through the book, you keep getting lower and lower. Only this time its lowering in quality, not height.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #139

For the past two issues, Wolverine has had his tropical island vacation ruined by some pesky aliens, a navy blue gorilla and a seemingly possessed islander. In the past 16 pages of story, Wolverine has had this notion that he knows who the islander is. This chapter reveals that yes, Logan does know who that fella is- Hulk psychiatrist Doc Samson! Now we've got a Wolverine team-up!

The Ghost Rider/Masters of Silence story is a pretty good kung-fu caper. It has a lot of Bruce Lee movie type elements to it. 

I really don't know what to think about the Spellbounder story. The lead character at the point can't really tell what's real and what is illusion. In my bones, I also feel like this story steals a lot from Rainbow Brite. I don't know why. That's just the vibe I get. 

Our one-shot story stars that Captain America foil, Batroc the Leaper. When a bank is robbed by a diminutive goon with psychic powers and his gang, a desperate bank manager hires Batroc to recover the stolen cash. For a fee, of course!

The Batroc story was a laugh riot. Such a romp by Silver Surfer scribe Mike Lackey. The artwork is by someone referred to as Pedi. Whoever this person is, they're a complete unknown. The Marvel Wiki has nothing about this artist other than listing the work on this story. Not even a place of birth! Google searches just take me to pedicure artists. So if I had to describe the style, I would compare it to that of 'Mazing Man's Stephen DeStefano. It's vibrant. It's impressionistic. And it's kinda wacky. 

A good offering of segments. Though, I really think the Spellbounder tale has turned into something I'd expect from a girl-centric weekday cartoon series from the 80s. If the creators of it didn't steal some element from Rainbow Brite, I'll eat my hat.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Quantum Age

After having explored the origins of Black Hammer (with Black Hammer '45), I then continued on to discover its future.

The events of The Quantum Age take place about 100 years after the disappearances of Abraham Slam, Black Hammer, Barbalien and the rest of the occupants of Black Hammer Farm. 

Now don't be duped by the back cover or what some other collected volumes of Black Hammer related books say. The events in this storyline do not occur 1000 years into the future. It's a typo. I think someone just added an extra 0 and proofread just didn't catch the mistake during the editing phase.

Black Hammer '45 was a tribute to war comics. The Cthu-louise one-shot and Madame Dragonfly FCBD entry were tributes to horror and suspense comics that were noted for their twist endings. And The Quantum Age is Jeff Lemire's love letter to DC's Legion of Super-Heroes and Marvel's mutant titles. 

While I was intrigued by the artwork of Black Hammer '45, I was a bigger fan of Wilfredo Torres's (Marvel Legacy Legion) work in this book. Maybe because it was less impressionistic than Matt Kindt's (Mind MGMT) stuff. Or maybe I'm less of a fan of water colors than I am with more traditional comic book coloring methods. 

There's a bunch of surprises and twists to this book. I had mentioned in a previous review of a Black Hammer collection that there were a couple of characters who I felt that their story wasn't over. Well, I was right. I will not spoil it here. But if you go digging through my other reviews, you'll learn just who those characters were. Well, two of them. Jeff Lemire managed to surprise me with a third reveal that I wasn't expecting.

And there was one character that I fell in love with and I had to read ahead to make sure they survived. I am glad to say that I got my wish. And if I hadn't, man was I going to be pissed!

I actually didn't want this story to end. Or maybe I should say, hopefully, there will be more coming. According to articles I've read, Jeff Lemire plans to close the door on Black Hammer in 2023. So maybe in these next 18 months, I'll get my wish and get to revisit The Quantum Age one more time.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Big Book of the Unexplained

Of the several editions of Big Books that I am reading during social distancing, The Big Book of the Unexplained was the one I was looking forward to the most. And it was the most disappointing. 

Written by the creator of Deathlok, Doug Moench, I was really excited to read this collection of accounts of the strange and unknown. I love UFOs, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and all that paranormal stuff that has us stymied. I'm the type of person that feels that there's got to big a hint of truth to these accounts. They may not be what we think they are or happened how we might recall the events occurred. But I am sure a lot of it was real events.

The host of this book is Charles Fort, a research of the paranormal and macabre around the turn of the 20th century. Had I not read within the past year or so a book about the Fortean Times, I probably wouldn't have any idea who he was. But I did and I appreciated his appearances throughout the book. Well, at first.

However, Moench keeps having Charles Fort talking about this cosmic trickster. And he keeps getting all whimsical and philosophical about this being. Maybe he's talking about God or gods. But that's beside the point. Moench devotes a lot of his time to this powerful being instead of focusing on what I was hoping for- lots and lots of accounts of the unexplained. 

While I appreciate the use of a narrator or host, they haven't seemed to really work in the Big Books. The 70s book had a host and it was the weakest part of that entire volume. I feel the same about Fort here. But unlike in the 70s book where the host was only at the beginning of each chapter, Charles Fort is at the beginning and ending of each section. Rod Sterling or even Jack Palance, he is not!

When it focuses on the unusual, it's good. But it goes off on tangents a lot!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents Strange Adventures, Volume 2

A great time capsule of the late 1950s science fiction. 9 out of 10 stories are about aliens from another world. Some of them are benevolent. Most want to take over the Earth or destroy it outright. The other 10 percent of stories involved inter-dimensional travel, attempts to prevent the destruction of the planet (usually thanks to time travel), or some strange new invention that goes horribly wrong.

DC was able to capture the fears of a nation in the pages of Strange Adventures. The red scare. The cold war. Nuclear war. 

But DC was also able to latch upon the wonder of the nuclear age. Space travel. The automation of industry. Hope that one day, universal peace could be achieved. 

Legends of not just the publishing company but the golden and silver age of comics worked on this volume. Gil Kane, Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and many more. This was a beautiful collection of sci-fi comics.

But there was one trope that got old and it got old pretty quick. The main way that the aliens are able to communicate with earthlings is thanks to telepathy. If it wasn't for mind reading, the different races wouldn't be able to interact. There'd be no story. Thankfully, DC Comics understood this as one of their tales actually asked the question: how could humans and alien species interact without the use of mental telepathy? 

After that story, you'd think that telepathy tales would be considered off limits by the editors. Unfortunately, that same old tired plot device was continuously used. OVER and OVER...

Okay, so Strange Adventures wasn't perfect. But it was a perfect representation of an imperfect time in American history. Communism made us crazy. But the hope of a better tomorrow showed a light at the end of the tunnel.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Invaders #4 (Classic TV Comics Week)

I've discovered a new favorite show over the Summer. Well, it's new for me. The show is called The Invaders. Having run from 1967-1968, it starred Roy Thinnes as David Vincent; a man who witnessed an alien threat to the earth and seeks ways to stop their invasion of our planet.

MeTV has been showing reruns late nights on Saturday and I've been enjoying it very much. There's a slew of stars, many not yet at the height of their popularity, such as Dabney Coleman, Barbara Hershey and Jack Warden. There's even some sci-fi legends appearing on this show; such as Michael Rennie (The Day The Earth Stood Still) and Kevin McCarthy (Invasion of the Body Snatchers.) Seeing David Vincent travel the country in an attempt to find allies as he single handed tries to stop the Invaders has been a lot of fun.

In this comic, David has apparently finally found an ally; an older gent named Edgar Scoville. Together, the pair face the Invaders in two stories. The first, titled 'The Doomsday Window', is about a mysterious device that can pull in objects from another realm. The Invaders seek to use it to help bring more of their kind across the far reaches of space fastest than travelling via a flying sauce. It's got a great Twilight Zone-esque ending. In the second story, Vincent and Scoville learn that not all of the Invaders want to conquer the earth. 

I really like the premise that some of the aliens were actually allies. Unfortunately, that idea never really came to fruition as A) this was the last issue that Gold Key published and B) The TV series was soon cancelled; never to be renewed for a third season.

There was a revival miniseries that might have lead to a new series in the 90s. Scott Bakula took over for Thinnes, who did appear in the two-part event. But ratings stunk. Many fans do see similarities between The Invaders and The X-Files and consider both to be in the same universe. I'm one who likes to think that's so. But other than X-Files creator Chris Carter claiming to be a huge fan of The Invaders, the link has never been made official.

This book is proof that if you take the time to search through random boxes of comics, you can find some great stuff. I wasn't looking for this book. I was actually on the hunt for issues of Gold Key's Man from U.N.C.L.E. comics and other stuff based on classic TV shows from the 60s. I just happened to luck out an find this near mint beauty. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 15

Consume mass quantities, people as we celebrate another 40th anniversary today. It's on this date in history that the Coneheads debuted on Saturday Night Live!

(L-R) Curtin, Aykroyd, and Newman as
the Coneheads, 1977.

  Over a 3-year period, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, and Laraine Newman would portray the Coneheads; an alien trio with large conical bald heads, trying to integrate into society while posing as a French immigrant family. Aykroyd, who created the idea of the Coneheads, was Beldar, the patriarch, was an instructor as a driving academy. played the matriarch Prymatt and Newman was their daughter Connie.

Image from the very first Conehead sketch.
January 15, 1977
Steve Martin (center) played a census taker.

 During the run of the Coneheads, the aliens learned new earth cultures, such as trick-or-treating, going to the movies, and were even contestants on the Family Feud. They managed to turn the canival ring toss into a form of foreplay. But what the Coneheads were most known for was the consumption of mass quantities.

    The Coneheads would drink an entire six-pack at one time. When learning to smoke, they lit the entire pack of menthols on fire. Liquid paper, wood shavings, and shaving cream were destined to become the Coneheads next snack.

Character study of Aykroyd's Beldar Character,
from the 1983 animated special.

  In 1979, Dan Aykroyd and buddy John Belushi left SNL. The Coneheads went with the comedian. But that wasn’t the end of the Coneheads. In 1983, Rankin Bass produced an animated special about the Coneheads in hopes of becoming a full series. Though it featured the voice talents of the original actors and now considered a cult classic, the cartoon Coneheads never made it past the pilot.

Official trailer to the 1994 live-action film.

The Coneheads returned again, this time is the 90s as a feature length film. Newcomer Michelle Burke replaced Laraine Newman in the of role of Connie. A Marvel comic about the family's exploits after the events of the film was also released. Both were bombs. But the 2015 commercial where Beldar and Prymatt converse with Jake from Planet State Farm was a critical success and a very memorable Super Bowl ad at that. (Laraine Newman would return to the role of Connie later that year as the Coneheads take Jake to France.)

   

Cover to the first issue of the
short-lived 1994 Marvel comic.

Finally, I have to admit, my wife got it right! A few years ago, she made me the really awesome shirt which lists all kinds of great things that were introduced in 1977 (including a certain Madman.) She had Coneheads on the list. I never told her, but I thought she was wrong and that they came about way earlier, like in 1975 when the show debuted.

   
  Here’s your credit, Pumpkin!

Blip! (Family Comic Friday)

 Blip is an adorable early reader graphic novel about an adventurous but lonely robot searching for a friend that he can talk to. Along the way, he'll meet up with hungry alien fish, mischievous creatures and even a human astronaut. But alas, none of them understand his 'blips.’

   Another success by Toon Books! I love that they support up-and-coming cartoonists as well as little known but in no ways inferior international authors like book creator Barnaby Richards. This is the Londoner’s first book, but his robot creation has been a pet project for years. I hope we’ll see more of him.

   One more thing I love about Toon Books is their commitment to raising up the next generation of graphic novel and comics readers through their different levels of reading difficulty. (Check out back for the primer for parents on how to read a graphic novel!) With the simple words and bright colors, this is a perfect book for getting Kindergarten aged and younger children reading.

   So check your local library for this book like I did. Or go to Amazon where you can check out the first few pages of this amazing book.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.