Slimer #1

I started this book over a month ago. I had gone to a local comic book store to stock up on some reads for my annual family vacation, which is where I came across this book. I was really excited to get it because I had seen it advertised on FB the week prior and was convinced that it was going to be sold before I got there. But it was my lucky day. 

Anyways I read the first half of the comic and then went on my vacation the next day and we'll, wouldn't you know it's the end of July before I remembered that I still had half of the book left to read. The comic, a spinoff of The Real Ghostbusters starred everyone's favorite ghost, Slimer. Published in 1989, the book had 2 stories, both written by Hilarie Staton. 

First, Slimer accidentally frees a ghost from a containment unit and the ghost could not be any more of a brat. Trying to get Slimer to embrace the mischief that comes with being a ghost, the new spook ends up continuously getting the green ghostie into trouble he didn't ask for. Then while seeking out a really large cake, Slimer unknowingly causes trouble for a hotel full of attendees of a plumbers convention.

In both stories, Slimer can speak full sentences. When did this happen? All I remember as a kid from the animated Ghostbusters cartoon was that Slimer mostly spoke gobbledygook with maybe a 2 year old's vocabulary.  So having him speak so eloquent in this book was a bit of a shock. 

At the beginning of this book, the editing team pat themselves on the back for finally earning the CCA stamp. Sadly, it's really too little, too late for NOW Comics as they'll be filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in just a another year or so and both Ghostbusters comics will be cancelled! I understand that obtaining the stamp was done in order to make NOW Comics more marketable nationwide. But I would have appreciated it more if the folks at NOW would have spent all that time and effort instead on making the artwork look better. Okay. The artwork was spot on. But the coloring was atrocious. It looked like something my mom could have colored with her beloved markers instead of by a seasoned professional

Despite earning the stamp, I was very surprised of the content of the second story because the giant cake Slimer wants to eat will eventually contain a stripper, who shows up to the plumbers convention wearing nothing but a bikini and F-Me pumps. To be fair, the girl is never called a stripper and she never gets into the cake. But man, the Comic Code Authority really let just about anything pass during their waning years it seems.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #36

Eric Koenig begins his commando training as a member of the Howlers. While Stan Lee leaves the readers wondering if Eric has defected as a double agent for the Nazis, the Howlers seem to welcome the German with open arms. Captain Sawyer and Fury are ready to have Eric posing as a German officer in their upcoming mission with full confidence in Koenig's abilities.

The Howlers continue to worry over their recently fallen comrade. I won't reveal who the injured Howler is yet for spoilers sake. However, the early prognosis is not good. The commando took a massive beating in the last issue and opened up a slot for Koenig to join the squad.

The major excitement takes place aboard a speeding train along a snowy Alpine mountain range. If it brings back memories of that scene in Captain America: The First Avenger, you are not alone. I'm wondering if this issue was the inspiration for that very dramatic and important scene in the movie. 

As for the mission itself, it has the Howlers boarding the train which is secretly transporting a German officer to Italy to help Mussolini who's losing his battle with anti-fascist forces and the Allies. The train is disguised as being a hospital transport allowing the Nazis to pass through neutral Switzerland. Fury's men are supposed to  prevent this and hopefully capture the officer while posing as neutral safety inspectors.

It's here where the reader is supposed to be skeptical of where Eric Koenig's loyalties lie because the target is someone who Koenig has known for a very long time and loves like a brother. 

Not the best issue. It's really slow in getting started as the first 10 pages are more filler and mission prep. In other words, it's like a soap opera set during WW2 with the Howlers worrying about the injured commando, Eric reminiscing over his relationship with the mission's target and Nick Fury exposing his soft side for his Howlers. It's all done internally and really bogs the story way down.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #35

After having Happy Sam Sawyer recount how Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan formed the Howlers, the attack on Pearl Harbor sees the death of a friend that was closer than a brother to Nick. In my review of the issue before, I stated that I hoped for the next issue (this issue) to provide the origins of how Izzy Cohen, Gab Jones and the rest joined the team. But I guess seeing several random Joes get draft notices from their local postman isn't very exciting storytelling. Surely one of them signed up voluntarily. Could there be an interesting story about that? 

Instead of going backwards, Stan Lee and Dick Ayers both move forward with the current events of 1942-43. With exception of Fury, the rest of the squad were captured by Nazi forces during a pre-D-Day invasion mission that took place in Greece. Transferred to Berlin, the Howlers undergo torture and questioning by the Gestapo. 

In order to rescue his men, Nick has to team up with his arch rival, Sgt. Bull McGiveney. Normally the Howlers are busting heads with Bull's bunch of soldiers in a macabre sort of friendly rivalry. If you can call fists, chains and 2x4s friendly rivalry.

When the action is over, a Howler will be seriously injured, a Nazi will defect and McGiveney and his men will earn a little bit of the respect of the Howling Commandos.

A really exciting issue that opens up some interesting possibilities with a German defector on the Howlers. For one, can Eric Koenig be trusted? And while I hate to see the injured Howler go, I appreciate the level of realism that the creative team put in this series. Sure, there's a level of comic book grandiosity to the villains. But with at least 2 former Howlers dead, countless injuries, and now another facing a medical discharge, Lee and Ayers really don't hold back on the fortunes of war.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

X-Men #1 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

1991's X-Men #1 by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee holds the Guinness World Record for the best selling single issue of all-time. The total number of copies sold is around the 8 million mark. However, I don't think it's a fair attribute. 8 million people didn't buy this book. There were 4 different variant covers that revealed a massive battle scene between the X-Men and Magneto. Add the fervor of speculators who gobbled up first issues by the long box full, and in reality, X-Men #1 was probably only purchased by 2-3 million individuals. 

The new series was a restructuring of the X-Men franchise. Seeing that there were just too many mutants to keep track of,  first, Marvel killed off a few fan favorite characters with a massacre in Genosha. Then they split the roster in half and blue some of the all-time greats together in a sister series. Then, Magneto, who had become an ally of the Xavier's School for Gifted Children, renounced his membership and fled to the ruins of his asteroid compound to create a refuge for mutants. In return, Charles Xavier returned to lead the X-Men after years away. 

Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Beast, Storm, Gambit, and Rogue. Plus support from the mechanic genius Forge. If this sounds like the lineup for Fox's classic X-Men: The Animated Series, you're almost right. Only Jubilee is missing. But over time, she'll be recruited by Cyclops to join what will soon be dubbed 'the blue team.'

As Claremont was winding down his lengthy run as the X-Men's scribe, co-plotter and artist Jim Lee's star was rising. In just a couple of issues, Lee would also become the new writer of the series. But his tenure would be short. Feeling undervalued by Marvel, Lee and about a half dozen other writers and artists from the bullpen broke free from the publisher and founded Image Comics. 

A rotating lineup of talent would write on the new X-Men title, including Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, and Grant Morrison. After a brief 2-issue fill-in by Art Thibert, before eventually setting on Andy Kubert as the regular penciler from issue #14-59. As for the series itself, beginning with the Morrison run, issue #114, it was retitled New X-Men. Issue #157 lost the 'New' moniker before another change at issue #208. Becoming X-Men: Legacy, the title went back to just X-Men in 2012 for the milestone 300th issue. Never cancelled due to dwindling sales, X-Men #300 concluded many storylines and paved the way to seasonal relaunches in hopes of streamlined numbering of titles.

 However, if you have ever read any of my reviews of the more recent Deadpool series with a nearly annual reset back to issue #1, you'll know that I hate this new way Marvel numbers it's books. It's a leading reason that I have stayed away from most Marvel series of the past decade. But I don't seem to be the only one who hates this new method of doing business. However, despite how much we hate it, it doesn't seem like Marvel will be ceasing this way of conducting business any time soon.

Completing this review completes Task #36 ( Work by Jim Lee, Fiona Staples or Alex Ross) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

And with this review, my 2026 Reading Challenge is COMPLETE!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Archie Comics Celebrates America's 250th

My favorite comic book store came through once again. No- they went above and beyond! In the chaos that is finals week (which is actually almost 3 weeks in length) at the high school I teach, I somehow overlooked this new release. But the guys at Books Do Furnish a Room looked out for me and ordered a copy of this America250 special, knowing that I collect holiday themed books. 

Now if you're someone who feels that America is going in the wrong direction, based on the leadership, you might be thinking that yet another company has sold out to the semiquincentennial fervor. However I don't think that's the case with Archie Comics. For one thing, I own a copy of a 1976 bicentennial special edition of Life With Archie. (That issue's cover by Stan Goldberg, was used as the foundation for the variant cover the guys at BDFR ordered for me.) Archie Comics has never been one to avoid supporting a cause or festivity. And there have been decades full of patriotic stories published starring the citizens of Riverdale all the way since Archie Andrews' first appearance in 1941! So, no, this will not be an issue that could cause you to feel conflicted about your moral stance on the state of affairs of the United States of America. In fact, it might actually make you feel just a little bit more patriotic inside.

My biggest complaint about this special is that there is not an all-new story to start things out like with the Archie Halloween or Christmas spectaculars of the past decade. It's 100% reprints. However they're all reprints that I don't seem to own. So that's a plus.

The first story shows what happens when Betty plans a school wide social studies project in which all of the Riverdale High School students and staff dress up as their favorite figures from American history. Then Veronica travels to Vermont and Connecticut to research the lives of patriots Ethan Allen and Nathan Hale and ends up running into a literal blast from the past. Readers then see what it might be like if Jughead was the POTUS before then exploring the Reggie Mantle administration.

I take that back! There is one thing in this issue that is a part of my holidays collection of comics and graphic novels. From that 1976 Life With Archie is a one-pager quiz about Presidents and the states. Despite having taken this quiz 4 years ago previously, I scored a 6 out of 10. Though in my defense, I accidentally skipped question #6 getting confused because it was too similar to question 5, which asked which state was the birthplace of the most US presidents. I think I somehow thought that they were the same question. Though to be honest, I probably wouldn't have guessed that Ohio was the state of origin of the 2nd most number of Presidents.

Worth Consuming!

Rating;9 out of 10 stars.

Strange Adventures #244

The publication date for this issue is November, 1973. But it's a dupe. Nothing in this book is new for that time period! It's all reprints from the 50s and 60s. 

Now look, it's not like I despise silver age DC Comics. I cut my teeth on Superman, Jimmy Olsen, and Justice League of America tales from the 1960s as a part of my dad's collection. So I have no qualms with the material inside. It's just that I bought this book with the intention of getting some DC sci-fi from the bronze age and instead got reprints; of which I already own the Adam Strange tale! 

See I paid $4.80 for the book. It's a weird price, I know. But blame the used book store I got this from. However, I am a bargain hunter and if I had known that I already had half of the material contained within this issue, I would have passed. Maybe if the book was $2 I might have bought it if I knew. This is what you get for not busting tags to check the insides. 

The cover story, 'The Prisoner of the Parakeets', was originally published in a 1955 issue of Strange Adventures. Written by John Broome, it tells the story of scientist Atomic scientist John Walden, who's experiments with nuclear weapons accidentally engulfs a flock of tropical parakeets with some of the fallout from a recent test of nukes. The radiation advances the development of the birds exponentially. They become gigantic and they turn into geniuses, even to the point of developing human speech! After centuries of being suppressed by the human race, the parakeets are ready to take over the earth!

The Adam Strange story comes from a 1963 issue of Mystery in Space. Gardner Fox pens a tale that sees Adam Strange rendered impotent by his old enemy Jakarta the Dust Devil. Everything the earthling fires at the terror from planet Rann, the Dust Devil takes and neutralizes it. Now Jakarta is free on planet Earth and unless Adam Strange can find a weapon to destroy his foe, the Dust Devil will become the conqueror of 2 worlds!

The story about the parakeets was very well thought out. It does end of extremely abruptly. But it's a good read. As for the Adam Strange episode, I have just one question: where in the heck is the Justice League? They must be off planet (or visiting Earth-2) because if Jakarta was really such a global menace, they would be called in for assistance. That's a plausible explanation that I could explain. Only why didn't Gardner Fox think to put that explanation for the JLA's absence?! It's a simple plot device that only takes a sentence to establish, that without its presence makes me wonder why Adam Strange goes it alone in this adventure!

This was a good issue. It just wasn't what I was expecting. Even the cover was taken from that 1955 issue. But somebody gave Murphy Anderson's pencils a modern day look to it. with some slick inking. I think I'm going have to find out when Strange Adventures becomes a reprint only title, because I would love to have more of this series (I've got a couple of Showcase Presents in my collection), but I want the first runs with material that I don't have elsewhere.

Note: This would be the last issue of Strange Adventures, capping a 23 year run for the fanciful anthology series.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Rip Hunter... Time Master #28 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Noted time traveler Rip Hunter has an ever changing problem on his hands: lately he's been ever changing into huge monstrous creatures!

When a historian colleague finds evidence of a wizard, Rip and company travel 18th century Poland. Once in the past, the time sphere crew are captured by a trio of unusual creatures. The time travelers are taken to an actual wizard! Named Kraklow, the man has in his possession of a clay with special properties. Whenever the wizard uses the magical mud to make an image of a person, that individual comes under Kraklow's spell. A few adjustments later, the wizard turns the human character into a monster., of which years later we would refer to as 'Kaiju'. As soon as Kraklow finishes, the enslaved person transforms into the monstrous creatures of the wizard's imagination.

Using brawn over brain, Rip overpowers the mage and destroys the sculptures, freeing the people of Poland from Kraklow's thralls. The magician claims that he has no more clay which satisfies Rip. However, once back in the 1960s, Rip suddenly turns into a gigantic beast that runs amok. Once his team is able to administer a an antidote, everything seems to have a happy ending. That is until Rip turns back into yet another monster once again! It looks like Kraklow was lying about having run out of his mystical clay and is enacting his revenge on Rip from the past. It appears that another trip in the time sphere is in order to save Rip Hunter from a lifetime of terrifying changes...

This was the penultimate issue of Rip Hunter... Time Master. I don't think that the creative team of writer George Kashdan and artist Will Ely had an idea at this point in time that the writing was on the wall for the series because there's a tease at the end of this issue that this might not be the last we've seen of Kraklow. (Note: it isn't as he'll pop up years later to give the Teen Titans headaches.)

With a publication date from 1965, I think you can accuse the team at DC of ripping off an idea from Marvel. The Fantastic Four's nemesis, the Puppet Master using a radioactive clay of his own to put his does under his power. I guess you could say that Kraklow is an ancestor of the Puppet Master, since the FF character did obtain his clay from somewhere in Central Europe. Perhaps the magic behind Kraklow's clay was radioactivity. It would fit the modern day saying Rip Hunter and the Legends of Tomorrow that 'magic is just science that we don't yet understand.' Plus with radiation experts the Curies coming from Poland, who knows?! It's definitely an idea that got merit for an obscure crossover between the DC and Marvel universes.  

Hey, Big Two! I'm available to help write this script up! 

I loved Rip Hunter... Time Master. My dad had a few issues of the time travelling series in his collection that I later obtained. It was a fun little series that fell under the category of DC's more obscure characters. And for me, the obscurer the better.

Not the best dialogue. Clever plot that just got better the more I reflected on it. A great trip down memory lane as happy memories with my father are few and far in-between. If I could find the other 28 issues, I would snap them up in a heartbeat. 

Completing this review completes Task #2 (Comic from the Silver Age (1956-1970)) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Spy Seal: The Corten-Steel Phoenix #3 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

If Herge's Tintin and Carl Barks' Disney Ducks had a baby together, the end product would be Rich Tommaso's Spy Seal. 

Anthropomorphic seal Malcolm Warner has just been recruited by MI-6 to become a spy. To help him with his training is the veteran secret agent, Kes, a stunning kestrel that acts as a potential love interest for Malcolm. Set in the middle of the Cold War 1960s, Spy Seal's first mission involves finding a Soviet double agent while trying to get behind the secret of a mysterious work of art called the Corten-Steel Phoenix. 

You might be wondering why I started with issue #3. The answer is simple. I don't have issue #1 or 2 of this 4-issue mini from 2008. In fact, this might not even be something that I keep. I found the issue in a comic book grab bag, enthralled by the stunning cover of a speeding train engulfed in what looks like a snowy Alpine scene. Plus Tommaso's name is on the cover and I have had wonderful experiences with his work on many Barks' Library collections and international Disney books.

There's a big difference between the animals in this book and the mice and ducks of Disney. Whereas Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse look like animals, they're treated more as a animal representation of human beings, the animal characters in this story actually are animals. That means that Kes can fly and Malcolm has amazing underwater abilities. It's a good thing the characters still retain their amazing abilities. I just wish Rich Tommaso had told me! There was one scene that left me stunned until Kes flew to the rescue. The female spy kept saying at the first of this issue that maybe Malcolm and her should fly to their next destination. I didn't know that she meant that literally.

I enjoyed what I read. It got action. It's got heart. It's even got a avian female spy that shouldn't be that attractive wearing a negligee... I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the other 3 issues in the miniseries from Image Comics. It's got a kitsch appeal to it and no, I'm not talking about Kes the Kestrel.

Completing this review completes Task #33 (An Image Comic) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Terminator #1 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The first publisher to produce a comic book based on the popular 1984 sci-fi picture, The Terminator was NOW Comics. NOW had quickly obtained licensing rights for several very popular franchises and began 1987 as a force to be reckoned with by the big two comic book publishers. However, things quickly fell apart. Fans hated the color process of books. NOW experienced tremendous delays in getting their books out on time. Eventually the creative staff and the franchise owners began to complain about not being paid; either on a timely basis or even at all.

In 1990, NOW Comics filed for bankruptcy and the license for the Terminator was quickly snatched up by Dark Horse Comics. NOW produced it's final miniseries series based on the James Cameron hit, Terminator: All My Futures Past right as Dark Horse made it's Terminator debut with a 4-issue minute that would eventually become known as Terminator: Tempest, when the story would be collected in trade paperback the following year.

The story takes place 6 months after the futuristic events of the 1984 Terminator movie. In 2029, Skynet's main CPU has been destroyed by John Connor. Kyle Reese was successful in preventing Sarah Connor from being assassination by the time- traveling T-100. However, based on these successes, the human resistance should have total victory over the machines by now. But it appears that the machines were less dependent on a central processing unit than originally thought.

As the resistance conducts cleanup sweeps on machine outposts, it's discovered that Skynet had a second TDE (Time Displacement Equipment) in working use. It's the mission of the team led Colonel to infiltrate the base where the TDE resides. Before destroying the machine in order to prevent another Terminator from making a play on Sarah Connor, Col. Randall's team will step through the time machine. Once back in Los Angeles, 1990, Randall's crew will attack Cyberdyne Systems, hopefully preventing the tech company from developing Skynet. But first, the soldiers must find food, shelter, money and weapons because there's no way back to 2029. Oh, and clothes because everyone that uses the TDE winds up in the past naked as the day they were born.

Unfortunately for Colonel Randall, the TDE in 2029 wasn't destroyed. A trio of T-800 Androids were activated with the mission to find Randall's squad. These terminators emerged in 1990 naked and vulnerable. But unlike the humans, these time travelers have several advantages as they don't need food, money or shelter. Oh, and they managed to sneak weapons through the time vortex in the body of the soldier Randall had trusted with the destruction of the TDE.

John Arcudi was the scribe responsible for this 4-issue miniseries. There's an article at the end of this issue, written by Arcudi, that states he was tasked with writing the script both super fast and under total confidentiality. During Christmas 1989, word had yet broke that Dark Horse Comics was to become the new home for the Terminator franchise. Arcudi was given this project with a very long leash about what ideas he had about the plot. His only real directive was that his script needed to be completed fast as Dark Horse wanted a new Terminator book on shelves as soon as NOW's licensing agreement expired.

To achieve this quick pace, Arcudi along with artist Chris Warner and inker Paul Guinan had to create the book using the Marvel Method in which Arcudi would plot the story, Warner would lay everything out, then Arcudi fills in the dialogue with Guinan finalizing the inks. Not every comic book creator can work this way. In fact, Arcudi didn't even get to see the finished product for this issue until he had already completed his plotting for issue #3! But, despite a lot of flesh and a Robert Kirkman amount of red ink uses for the blood, this was a great opener. 

It really pains me that I was only able to purchase the first half of this miniseries. I've got a decision to make: do I read issue #2 and then wait to one day find the other 2 books for a decent price or do I go ahead and spend some dough to get the rest of this mini PDQ. I could also find a cheap, used trade of Terminator: Tempest and get some trade on my 2 floppies. I definitely want to find out what happens next. I just don't want to spend too much in able to find out.

Completing this review completes Task #32 (A Dark Horse Comic) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Fantastic Four #9 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In 2003, Marvel established an imprint for all ages. Unlike Star Comics in the 1980s, this imprint would star the heroes of the 616-Universe. First titled 'Marvel Age', the plots were taken directly from the earliest issues to bear the Marvel Comics brand name. Written by Stan Lee and featuring the art of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others. Marvel Age Spider-Man and Marvel Age: Fantastic Four. The retellings would be written by the best and brightest of the Marvel Bullpen with Manga inspired artwork by up-and-coming artists from the Japanese inspired medium. 

In this issue which reimagines Fantastic Four #9 from 1962, the Fantastic Four's most deadliest foes, Doctor Doom and the Sub-Mariner have joined forces. Doom has invented a device that can control the gravity of any object. The plan is for Prince Namor to visit the Baxter Building under the rise of a proposed truce. While there he will hide Doom's device inside the recesses of the skyscraper. 

It's actually not very hard for the Sub-Mariner to hide the device. While Sue Storm is Mister Fantastic's girlfriend, she's been developing feelings for Namor during their recent skirmishes with the ruler of Atlantis. Ben Grimm and Little brother Johnny Storm want to mop up the floor with Namor. Sue wants to finally have a chance to sort through her feelings. Meanwhile, Reed Richards smells a rat and right he is! Because Doctor Doom has activated his gravity device, sending the Baxter Building into outer space with the Sub-Mariner aboard! Heading directly towards the sun, with the oxygen running thin, I guess only so much can be said about honestly and loyalty when you make a deal with Doctor Doom!

The writing by Marc Sumerak was quite good. I've read this issue a number of times. The original, I mean. So it is a bit weird to experience this plot with references to more modern pop culture icons like Jerry Seinfeld. Though, did kids from 2005, when this Marvel Age issue was published, know who of the comedian and star of a TV series that went off the air 7 years prior? So the references are a bit awkward- too  awkward. But this is something that the big two publishers have been guilty of for decades. But it's also forgivable. Trying to relate to kids is hard. Not everyone can do it.

What, in my opinion, isn't quite so forgivable is the art. I should be a crime to think that you can't make a comic book for children without dipping into the Manga ink well. Sure, Manga is what has inspired a large number of artists who hit the scene in the past 30 years. But it should not be the only style of artwork that young comic book readers are exposed to. Especially for such an iconic family the Fantastic Four. That ever-changing look of characters based on their emotions which is a Manga staple just doesn't work with The Thing or the Human Torch. Heck, it doesn't even work with the plastic fluidity of Mister Fantastic. You'd think that it would considering that he's stretchy. But here, it just looks weird. Blame artist Alitha Martinez for that. However, I'm really confused as I've experienced some of her work before and it did not look like this. Maybe early in her career she tried the Manga route. If so, I am glad it was a phase or the comic collecting world would have been deprived of one of the most talented female artists of the past 2 decades.

If this  wasn't a FF comic book, I probably wouldn't keep it. But just like when I listen to Queen, a bad Fantastic Four comic is better than no Fantastic Four comic book at all!

Completing this review completes Task #8 (Fantastic Four Comic from the 2000s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

Fantastic Four Unplugged #1 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

It's 1995. The economy of the comic book industry is not promising. The speculator bubble has burst after showing signs of weakness as non-collectors are sweeping in buying massive amounts of first issues while an more established titles all but gathers dust on display shelves. With some readers it will be years before they return to collecting new comics. For Marvel, the situation couldn't be more dire. Bankruptcy is looming around the corner. The standard price of a Marvel comic is now $1.50 an issue. Premium titles are asking for $2.00 or more. Loyal fans are claiming that because of the higher prices, they can no longer buy as many weekly or monthly issues that they could in years prior.

In response, Marvel decides to use an idea that brought huge success to DC Comics in the 70s when they faced a similar economic crisis during the Implosion of 1977-78. The House of Ideas will offer a slightly larger page count (36 full color) slew of monthly titles at a discount price. The main difference is that these books will be comprised of 100% all new material. NO reprints!

The first such title in this line would be based on Marvel's First Family: The Fantastic Four. Titled Fantastic Four Unplugged, each issue would be a stand alone story starring a member of the FF family in a solo adventure. Every issue could act as an entry point to the regular Fantastic Four series. Potentially, it might also inspire fans to investigate a character's solo regular series as was the plan for the forthcoming Avenger Unplugged series.

Issue #1 stars the blue-eyed ever loving Ben Grimm, AKA The Thing. If you're wondering why the debut issue doesn't start the Fantastic Four's leader Reed Richard's, it is because at this point in time Mister Fantastic and his arch enemy Doctor Doom have been declared dead from a recent conflict. 

On a dreary rainy night, everything seems to be going wrong for poor Ben. All of a sudden, a fiery #4 appears overhead in the night sky. Johnny Storm is summoning the team for the next Earth saving emergency! Or so it seems. 

Having commandeered a taxi cab occupied by a really crabby concert musician already late for her next recital, the Thing makes it to a crowded bridge where the Human Torch's summons seemingly appeared from. The police report that a fiery monster is running amok at the center of the causeway. That doesn't sound like Johnny Storm. And it isn't. Instead it's one of the Mad Thinker's Super-Adaptoids and it's attacking everyone and everything in sight. But how is this android functioning with the Thinker supposedly away in a maximum security cell? The Thing will have to figure that out later. Right now he's got lives to save, including that 'screwy blonde musician ' who appears to be next on the Super-Adaptoid's list of victims!

Illustrated by Heltor Oliveira, the art work is definitely a product of the times. Those with powers have a muscular structure that seems impossible even amongst the most built of bodybuilders. The women are impressively stacked and rather ridiculous looking. I've been to my fair share of recitals. Never have I encountered a member of the orchestra wearing a low cut scarlet dress with super high slit!

As for the writing and plotting, it's pretty darn good. Ben Grimm's dialogue and vernacular are perfect. A little wordy but hey, Stan the Man was known to make the Thing a blabbermouth. Excellent level of Ben Grimm crankiness. Plus writer Mark Lackey along with Oliveira really got me with one scene where the Super-Adaptoid confronts a citizen and seemingly decapitates him off screen. We later find out that the guy was just really badly maimed, but survived. Yet the creative team behind this issue had me visioning the worse . It's a textbook example of how much worse things are envisioned by the reader when it's done off-panel. 

A decent issue that also comes with a sort of family tree of the Fantastic Four, along with a file card look at Ben Grimm. Both were really cool. But I must do a bit of investigation. There's a mysterious broken line connecting Doctor Doom with Reed Richard's father. Are they related? Is Victor Von Doom the half brother of Mister Fantastic? Dude, that would be such a freaking awesome plot twist! And I really gotta check this out.

A fair book that is saved by the writing, plotting and its extras. Plus, I must give serious kudos to Jim Calafiore's cover. It really fooled me as I thought it was embossed and 3-dimensional!

Completing this review completes Task #7 (Fantastic Four Comic from the 1990s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Fantastic Four #268 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

This 1984 issue of Fantastic Four has heartbreak, mystery and tons of action. Not to mention a bunch of guest stars!

The story takes place after the Secret Wars. The Thing has temporarily stepped away from the team in order to find himself on the Battleworld. Taking his place is She-Hulk. Jennifer Walters has been on the team for a couple of weeks now and seen action as the FF's heavy. But she's yet to seen the interior of the Baxter Building. Sue Richards has just previously experienced a miscarriage. So in order to give Sue and husband Reed a chance to mourn, Johnny Storm thinks now is as good a time as any to give She-Hulk the deluxe tour of the team's headquarters. 

One of the areas where Johnny takes Jen is to a little seen 'trophy room' full of tech recovered from the Fantastic Four's numerous encounters with baddies. One of the newest additions to the room is the mask of the recently deceased Doctor Doom! And it gives both the Human Torch and She-Hulk the creeps . Rightfully so! Because all of a sudden the mask comes alive and starts destroying the entire building!!!

I had mentioned that this issue had a bunch of guest stars in it. Assisting with the complications of Sue Richards gamma infused pregnancy are some of the Marvel Universes leading experts in gamma radiation. Dr. Michael Morbius, Dr. Bruce Banner, Professor Walter Langkowski (Alpha Flight's Sasquatch) are consulted to tragic circumstances. Even the diabolical Otto Octavius is given a day pass from prison on the good and desperate word of Mister Fantastic. But alas it just wasn't meant to be.

As a parent of multiple multiple miscarriages, I can completely sympathize with Reed Richard's. Knowing my wife was suffering and that my children were at risk, I too would have moved Heaven and Earth to save them. God knows I tried.

Speaking of Bruce Banner- he actually makes 2 cameos! That's because during her tour of the Baxter Building, She-Hulk recounts her origin story to Johnny Storm. Thanks to a blood transfusion from cousin Bruce, Jen first became the Savage She-Hulk before gaining full control of her rage and emotions as the Sensational She-Hulk!

The characters all with beady little eyes. The blondes all with Farrah Fawcett style hairdos. The dark blue uniforms with the white collars. She-Hulk in all her Amazonian stature and allure. This is quintessential John Bryne Fantastic Four! The only thing missing is Wyatt Wingfoot. But don't worry; he's teased to be returning in the next issue.

Lastly, I have to marvel at the cover. It's a combination of an actual photograph of Doctor Doom's mask and John Byrne's version of ray beams shooting out of the mask's eyes! The creator of the real life Doom mask is Eliot R. Brown. Some of you might recognize his work of the famous live action cover of 1985's Amazing Spider-Man #262! Note: The image I have used is a hi-definition version found on Marvel.Com. Here you can see the full outline of the mask and the rivets. On the original cover, all that is really hard to make out. One of the few times that digital beats paper...

A great issue with action, adventure and sadness! But absolutely powerful. 

Completing this review completes Task #6 (Fantastic Four Comic from the 1980s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars. 

New Avengers #1 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

 Avengers: Disassembled.

It was the darkest day for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The Scarlet Witch realized that her twin boys, Billy and Tommy, weren't real. It just wasn't humanly possible for a mutant and an android to produce biological children. Going into severe psychosis, Wanda destroys the Avengers Mansion, murders her husband, the Vision, and kills a couple other Avengers, including one of the Ant-Mans. Public and government sentiment of the Avengers reached an all-time low seeing Tony Stark and Steve Rogers disband the team in return.

Now it's 6 months later. There's one less super group to save Manhattan. Freshly outted as Daredevil, Matt Murdock travels to the Raft, an ultra-top security containment facility for most of Earth's most dangerous villains underneath Ryker's Island. With Luke Cage in tow as a bodyguard, and perhaps to keep up the appearance that he's not really the Man Without Fear, Murdock is conducting legal business on behalf of Mister Fantastic with one of the inmates. 

Meanwhile, a mysterious person has hired Electro to take out the prison's electrical grid and free as many of its occupants as possible. The motive behind this action is just as unknown as Electro's new benefactor, but the member of the Sinister Six is ready to prove the he's got what it takes to bring Manhattan and the World to its knees all by his lonesome. All those he frees have to do is one day owe Electro a favor.

Though issue #1 of New Avengers has quite a bit of action, don't expect the team to be back in action just yet. This issue is to primarily get most of the players onto the game board. Along with Murdock and Power Man, this episode adds Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and Captain America to the fray. There's also Reed Richard's mystery client. But I am pretty sure that there's still a couple more heroes to add to the roster who are unaccounted for.

Brian Michael Bendis penned this opener into a new chapter of the Avengers. I know he's got a lot of detractors out there. But I like him. He's a lot like Tom King in that he makes a lot of enemies by screwing around with fan's favorite characters by either killing them off, or making them gay or trans or making them into bad guys. But unlike with King, I am mostly okay with Bendis' changes because they're very well plotted and make sense. I think Tom King just has a singular plan to ruin my childhood...

David Finch is the artist for this issue. He did an amazing job. However, I think it must be said that it wouldn't have been so amazing if not for the masterful brush strokes of Danny Miki as the inker. It's got that George Perez/Frank Quitely quality to it of which I am such a fan!

The iconic, and oft recreated cover was crafted by colorist Frank D'Armata.

An amazing 2005 issue that kicks off one of my most favorite incarnations of the Avengers!

Completing this review completes Task #11 (An Avengers Comic from the 2000s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Avengers #366 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The cover for this 1993 issue touts that this is a '30th Anniversary Issue'. But for a very large majority of it, this book didn't feel like it led up to the hype. There's 2 stories in what feels like a slightly oversized issue. I didn't count the number of pages but with the prestige format cover, it felt thicker than a standard early modern age Marvel publication. 

The first story sees Captain America, Hank Pym, Natasha Romanoff and a really super powered lady named Sersi, who are attempting a rescue mission of the Black Knight, Hercules and the Inhuman Crystal. Occurring sometime after the destruction of the Kree home world at the hands of the Supreme Intelligence, a rogue Kree General is holding the Avengers responsible for the obliteration of his planet. To exact his vengeance, the Kree warrior has activated a Nega-Bomb, which will destroy planet Earth in about 30 minutes. Just enough time for the Avengers to save the day with a moment of reflection on the part of Hank Pym to marvel at the original lineup of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and to give his seal of approval to the current incarnation.

Story #2 really has nothing to do with the anniversary of formation of the Avengers. Instead, we get a guest appearance by Deadpool!  A couple of B-list villains rob a Manhattan bank in hopes of obtaining the contents of a former weapons master that will lead to the discovery of the world's most deadliest weapon. Throw in Bloodwraith, the demon possessed former squire of the Black Knight, along with the Black Knight himself and you've got a 3-man free-for-all that seems really out of place here.

If you read the editor's note on the letters page at the back of this book, you will learn that this issue was very, very delayed in coming out. That could explain why there's a backup story. Perhaps the creative team was running out of time and thus had the main story come in short. A second tale gets included by a totally different crew to keep with the promise of several super-sized anniversary issues. Toss in one of those breath-taking embossed covers, paint it entirely in gold lamé ink and you hopefully have produced something that will make the Marvel faithful satisfied despite being way behind schedule.

I enjoyed seeing an early Deadpool appearance. He's not as insane and off-the-wall irreverent as the Merc With a Mouth has become in the 21st century. That story was written by Glenn Herdling. Illustrated by Mike Gustovich. 

As for the opener, the script was crafted by Bob Harras with art by Steve Epting. Epting also pencilled the cover..

Definitely a product of the 1990s post-bubble industry. It's full of overly muscular heroes. Scantily clad vixens. Plus a level of violence that looks tame to 2026 standards but was rather shocking 4 decades ago.

Completing this review completes Task #10 (An Avengers Comic from the 1990s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Avengers #239 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

This comic book came out with a cover date of January, 1984. I was 5 years of age. To say that by the time I was 5 that this comic book was my introduction to David Letterman would be a good guess. But you would be wrong.

My parents were on the young side when they had my in 1977. By 1983, neither were the age of 30 yet

 My mom, a nurse, worked nights. My dad was in college. They were night owls. They were hip-ish. To say that the exploits of David Letterman, his musical sidekick Paul Shaffer and the rest of the Late Night crew was already a nearly nightly session at my home would be an accurate description. The infamous interview between Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman in a cervical collar, was an early childhood memory for me. A traumatizing one. But one that I remember fondly. That's for sure.

This is one of those issues that I owned in my original childhood collection. The one that I foolishly allowed to be stolen when I was in middle school. I don't remember where I bought it. Heck, my dad might have bought it and then it ended up in my collection. But I could guess 3 possible locations that it was bought at: the Grocery Boy Jr., 7/11 or Tales Resold. All from the Raleigh Brentwood area. 

The story is a classic. Wonder Man's movie career has stalled. To help jump start it, Simon's agent gets him booked to Late Night With David Letterman. Unfortunately, since Wonder Man is currently on reserve status with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the show's producers are wanting some more well known Avengers to tag along as well. With heavy hitters Captain America and Thor away on personal missions, Hawkeye and the Vision call in as many favors as they can to support Simon's big break. 

Along with Hawkeye, the Beast, Black Widow and Black Panther are all able to make. (I just realized that it appears that Clint Barton and Vision only made it to the letter B of the Avengers roll call!) Also in attendance is Fabian Stankowicz, a recent lottery winner who's been creating ways to attack the Avengers in order to make a name for himself. Using his knowledge of mechanics, Stankowicz turns Letterman's studio into an arena of death! 

This story also features the SHIELD super heroine Mockingbird. Fresh from their honeymoon, Hawkeye introduced her to his teammates and it's a good thing too because Stankowicz hadn't planned on Mockingbird being in attendance and she pretty much is the catalyst that saves the day! Though Letterman and Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band lend hands as well. 

This issue was part of Marvel's notorious 1984 Assistant Editor's Month event.  In 1983, Shooter and his editors went to the West Coast for Comic-Con and left the junior editors to take over the reigns for a month. As a result, some of the most off-the-wall stories and ideas were brandied about, such as the canon story where Aunt May temporarily becomes a herald of Galactus! I've got a few of these issues. I'd love for Marvel to reprint all of those issues as an omnibus. Though with GI Joe, Conan the Barbarian and other titles not being licensed by Marvel anymore, such a collection might be impossible. Perhaps I will add them to my already rather large wish list...

A fantastic issue that I am more than excited to have back in my collection!

Script by Roger Stern. Art and cover by Al Milgrom and Joe Sinnott. Michael Carlin is the editor to blame for this story!

Completing this review completes Task #9 (An Avengers Comic from the 1980s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Dick Tracy Book 3: Official Movie Adaptation

Len Wein takes over the scripting role for the third and final issue of Disney Comic's Dick Tracy miniseries. Issue #3 is the official adaptation of the live action film starring Warren Beatty, Al Pacino and Madonna. 

I felt like this was a fairly good adaptation of the movie. It's been decades since I saw it. Maybe the 2 prequel issues helped me to enjoy it more. Though I think to consider the 1990 noir film based on the popular Dick Tracy comic strip a children's movie, was perhaps a bad idea. There's a lot of murders and violence. Mostly from Tommy guns and explosions. But at least one character is killed by being buried in a cement coffin called 'The Bath.' Don't even get me started on the abuse the Kid suffers at the hands of Steve the Tramp!

One thing that I didn't realize was how much sex was in this movie. There isn't anything blatant. But the costumes worn by Madonna's character Breathless Mahoney are pretty risque. And the innuendo she pours over Dick Tracy, trying to lure him away from his sweetheart Tess Trueheart was quite silacious. At the time, I was only 12. What did I know???

Kyle Baker was the artist for the entire series. It's interesting work to say the least. The background sets and the NPCs of the story have that traditional early Kyle Baker style that's raw, fierce and sometimes uninhibited. But when it comes to the characters created by Chester Gould, they look like they were penciled and inked by the Dick Tracy creator himself. With one exception: the title character! I'm wondering if there was a clause in Warren Beatty's contract that all promotional imagery, including comic adaptations, had to have his likeness. 

Al 'Big Boy' Caprice, who was played by Al Pacino, had the legendary actor's eyes. But Big Boy is drawn more like Pacino appeared under a good 10 pounds of foam rubber makeup. Madonna's character looks more like a sultry blonde illustrated by Patrick Nagel. It could be anybody in a blonde wig in a slinky dress that hangs onto the body in the right places. 

As for Tracy's squad of do-gooders, Dick Tracy Jr, Sam Catchem and such, they vary in style. The Kid has coal black button eyes whereas Sam looks like Flattop in a bowler with a permanent grin on his face. If you're familiar with the comic strip, based on the artwork, you should be able to figure out some surprise reveals ahead of time. Just keep a detecting eye out.

Lot of fun. I think being in my late 40s, I was able to enjoy this book more than I would have as a preteen. This trip down memory lane has got me wanting to see the live action picture again. That's really saying something because I remember when I first saw the film, I was really blasé about how it turned out. Dick Tracy 1990 has a reputation of being a terrible movie despite really killing it in theaters those first 2 weeks in theaters. It has become a sort of cult classic. Maybe it warrants another view. I'm definitely in the right frame of mind for it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Dick Tracy Book 2: Dick Tracy Vs. The Underworld

The debate will always be 'Who has the best Rogue's Gallery: Batman or the Flash?' Once you figure that out, #3 is undoubtedly that of always honest cop, Dick Tracy! The blood thirsty Flattop, with his horizontal cranium. The Brow, with his multiple folded forehead that rivals that of Duke great, Shane Battier. Names like Mumbles, Prune Face, Itchy and Breathless Mahoney either indicate a physical attribute or character trait that gives the reader a clue as to the type of villain Tracy and his men will be encountering. 

I was 12 when Dick Tracy hit theaters and I admit that I caught the fever. When it was announced that in the 1990 live action film all of Dick Tracy's main foes were assembled in what was built as an all-out gang war with Tracy and his squad in the middle to protect and serve the post-prohibition citizens of the metropolis, known simply as 'The City', I was thrilled! I grew up spending a lot of time on the farm owned by my grandmama and her family. The adventures of Dick Tracy were a weekend surprise as the major newspapers of Raleigh, NC didn't carry the strip. I feel in love with the unique criminals and their clever names. B.O. Plenty! You knew that guy stunk! Although they had been killed decades earlier, I grew up reading the classic Dick Tracy stories that were collected in comic book format. There probably was a paperback collection floating around the house. So imagine my disappointment when 90% of the promised characters get knocked off in the first 15 minutes of the Warren Beatty led movie!

If you are like me and you felt that a majority of the best Tracy villains were killed off way too early, then you will love the first 2 issues of the Dick Tracy comic miniseries produced by Disney during its all too brief experiment as a comic book publisher. Issues 1&2 act as a prequel to the movie. I've learned over the years that the live action film had underwent dozens of rewrites as the franchise rights changed hands several times in the 70s and 80s. So I wonder if perhaps there's was a lot of stuff that was not good enough for the silver screen but still warranted public notice. Hence the prequel treatment.

In book 2, Prohibition finally gets repealed. The illegal trade of alcohol is no longer a lucrative venture. As a result, Prune Face makes a play for the numbers racket run in The City solely by Lips Manlis. When some of Prune Face's gang wipe out a deli that is secretly a front for illegal sports betting of the Manlis gang, Lips' right hand man, Al 'Big Boy' Caprice is incensed! He wants revenge. But Lips is concerned about making waves what with Dick Tracy given carte blanch by the Chief of Police, on cleaning up the criminal element of The City! 

Seeing Manlis refusing retribution as a sign of weakness, Big Boy begins a play to take over. Meanwhile, a group of unknown thugs have knocked over an armored truck. Tracy and his men manage to apprehend all but 1 of the robbers, who flees to the sewers for help from a mysterious figure known only as The Mole! As Tracy investigates a robbery, the FBI send an agent to search for a criminal who might have taken up residence in The City. His investigation and how it ties into the armor car heist will amaze even the most staunchest of crime noir/mystery lovers with a plot that rivals Mickey Spillane, Agatha Christie and James Bond's papa, Ian Fleming.

Showing the origins of the two-way wrist watch radio, along with introducing about another dozen novelty villains of the Dick Tracy Rogues Gallery, book 3 is the official adaptation of the 1990 live action film.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Dick Tracy Book One: Big City Blues (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

1990 saw a longtime dream of actor/director Warren Beatty come true when a feature length live-action version of the crime comic strip Dick Tracy debuted in theaters. Beatty had developed a treatment for such a film in the early 70s. Film rights switched hands many times and yet Warren Beatty was constantly attached to the project, chomping at the bit to play one of his long time heroes. 

Dick Tracy was created by Chester Gould. The police detective with unwavering scruples debuted in newspapers beginning in 1931. 3 years later, Dick Tracy would hit radio airwaves before a string of movie serials would thrill kids and adults alike in 1937 with a 15-parter starring Ralph Byrd. Add in a Dick Tracy cartoon that aired on television during the early 60s, that was the limit to the character's non-print appearances in the media until the 1990s. 

Disney Studios through Touchstone Pictures and Buena Vista Pictures finally got involved in the Dick Tracy project in the 80s. With Warren Beatty leading the project not just as the lead actor but now behind the lenses as director, superstars came out of the woodwork to appear in the film. Al Pacino, Dick Van Dyke, Dustin Hoffman and Madonna, arguably the biggest female pop singer of the time, all signed onto the picture which finally debuted on June 15, 1990.

There was a ton of licensing for the film. Toys, bubble gum cards, clothing, even a video game were released as tie-ins. Disney released a 3-issue comic book miniseries. During this time, Disney self-published their own comics for a very brief 3 year period. They were high quality works featuring art by media juggernauts. Unfortunately, Disney Comics was one of the many smaller publishing houses that couldn't survive when the comic book bubble burst in the early 90s.

John Moore wrote the script for this series. Art was from Kyle Baker. If you were expecting this issue to be an adaptation of the movie, you'll have to wait. Issues #1 and 2 are actually the prequel build-up. The story begins in 1938. Prohibition is about to be repealed. The gangs of 'The City' are in chaos as the lucrative cash flow from illegal bootlegging runs dry. Prune Face is attempting to encroach into the numbers racket controlled by rival Lips Manlis. Numerous small time thugs hide in the shadows in hopes of picking through the debris and casualties left in the war of the growing mob war. 

Most of the City's police force are on the payroll of either Manlis or Prune Face... Or BOTH! That is except for one police detective that wears a bright yellow overcoat and matching fedora everywhere he goes: Dick Tracy. Having recently arrested the son of an important socialite for public intoxication, Tracy finds himself stuck at a desk job. But when his girlfriend, Tess Trueheart's father is murdered while transporting 'kitchen supplies' for Lips Manlis, Tracy disobeys orders. With Tess distraught and the police claiming that Mr. Trueheart was really a smuggler, Dick investigates on the sly to find Mr. Trueheart's killer.

This was a totally unexpected treat. But probably not how you think. I wasn't expecting this to be the comic book adaptation of the film. Based on the cover title proclaiming 'Big City Blues', and how I have learned over the years that Warren Beatty longed a trilogy of Dick Tracy films, I came into this selection of my reading challenge as being a continuation of the 'first film.' I didn't know that I was going to get the inside track on how things lead up to the events of the film. 

A must for fans of Dick Tracy. It took me forever to find all 3 issues. I like to have an entire story run before I read the title. However you won't have to worry about a cliffhanger here. The story ends with a satisfying ending that you could use as the entryway into the film. Or you could wait until you find issue #2. But if you decide to skip ahead as it turns out that issue #3 actually is the adaptation of the movie, you'll be just fine, I think.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #38 (A Crime Comic) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.