Birding Is My Favorite Video Game: Cartoons about the Natural World from Bird and Moon (Updated Edition)

Here's another book I was able to get this book on Amazon, and while not compensated by the company except for getting it for free, I did post this review on their listing for the book. Rest assured, this is my honest opinion and rating of the book.

Create Your Own Comics!: Everything You Need to Know (Family Comic Friday)

I know its been a while since I posted a Family Comic Friday review. With my blood disease (we just don't know which one I have), I'm always tired or wearing out quickly. So I don't venture out as much as I would like. Thus, I haven't been to the library in quite a while. But I was able to get this book on Amazon, and while not compensated by the company except for getting it for free, I did post this review on their listing for the book. Rest assured, this is my honest opinion and rating of the book.

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 25

A couple weeks ago, I was reading a collection of Mike Hammer comic strips from the early 80s when I made a wondrous discovery. Listed in the volume were a slew of other news strip collections available from the publisher. I was beyond thrilled to learn that there was not one but three volumes devoted to a 6-day per week collection of The Spirit comic strips. 

As any established Will Eisner aficionado knows, The Spirit got it's start as an 8-page color insert in the Sunday edition of many national newspapers. But did you know that for about 2 years, readers were treated to 7-days of adventures starring the Spirit, his assistant Ebony and the Central City police force? I sure as heck didn't!

The next day I went on Amazon to try and purchase those volumes. All 3 were available. But at really expensive prices that I just wasn't willing to pay. Then I got the idea that maybe, JUST MAYBE, DC released the dailies as part of the complete Will Eisner's The Spirit Archives. Lo and behold, a volume was produced. The penultimate book in the library has the whole scoop on the Spirit dailies along with a foreword by Tom Spurgeon and a brief introduction from one of those early 80s strip collections by the master himself on the art team behind this version of The Spirit. And I just happened to have this book in my 'to-read' pile and didn't even know that I was sitting on a gold mine!

Will Eisner only got to work on about the first 6 weeks of stories as both the writer, artist and inker before being drafted by the Army. Like a few others in the industry, Eisner attempted to moonlight as the strips artist and inker. But his military responsibilities grew to be too much and he had to go on an indefinite hiatus for the remainder of World War II.

Lou Fine and Jack Cole replaced Eisner in his absence in subsequent order. Both tried extremely hard to make the transition of creators as seamless as possible. While they managed to capture the artwork fairly well (I didn't notice a definite lacking in that quality until about the last third of the book), neither talent could match the genius of Will Eisner. For one thing, their story plotting seems to go in circles. There's a definite lack of creativity. Plus neither Fine nor Cole could portray Ebony White with any sort of dignity. His faces are exaggerated to the standards of the Jim Crow minstrel. His English is severely broken. And instead of being a reluctant hero, Ebony's portrayed more as a buffoon whose fate hinges on pure dumb luck.

The Spirit dailies were a victim of World War II. While popular with readers, a lack of talent willing to take on the assignment, spelled doom for the strip. Jack Cole's Plastic Man had become a hit and he was too busy to continue with the tight deadlines for a daily. So with paper at a premium due to rationing, and other titles more than willing to take Denny Colt's place, The Spirit was cancelled; reduced to merely appearing in newsprint every Sunday.

I think what I liked the best about this collection were the two lost Christmas stories, plus a handful of holiday themed strips. As an owner and reader of The Christmas Spirit, I thought I had read all of the character's holiday offerings. But thanks to this volume, I not only got those untold Christmas tales but at least 1 Thanksgiving and a Halloween haunt to read and enjoy as well!

If there is a lesson to be learned from all of this, it's that if you plan on making a very expensive purchase for an addition to a large comic book collection, be sure to do your research and make sure that you don't own the work in another format. I'm so glad that I didn't make an impulsive purchase without checking my books because I would have spent a lot of money on something that I already had and I would have been furious about it.

Worth Consuming!

Rating:8 out of 10 stars.

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer: The Comic Strip, Vol 2

I've got so many books that I had forgotten that I even owned this. I've been reading a lot of mystery noir lately and I was going through a forgotten corner of my comic book collection where I unearthed this read. So I was already in the mood to finally read it. How long has it been in my collection? I couldn't say other than I've not had it longer than 2007 when I started collecting again after over a decade pause.

From 1985, this collection from Ken Pierce, Inc., reprints the final half of the short-lived Mike Hammer comic strip that ran in nationally syndicated newspapers from 1953-54. Written by the master himself, Mickey Spillane, these stories are as gritty and violent as his novels. Take the wrap around cover image of a partially undressed girl being tied up, gagged and tortured with a lit cigarette being held to the bottom of her foot. It was so salacious at the time, several major newspapers dropped the strip immediately, spelling the end of the strip that ran 6 dailies along with a separate Sunday supplement story.

The cancellation didn't really bother Mickey Spillane all that much. He was getting tired of the grind of coming up with stories that would last about 6 weeks on average. The author wanted to focus on just novels once again. But for artist Ed Robbins, he took the cancellation very hard, causing a rift between the artist and Spillane.

Novelist Max Allan Collins interviewed Robbins for years and the two developed a friendship. Collins' forward to this book details that relationship along with an overview of the Mike Hammer strip and the events behind it's demise. Unfortunately, Ed Robbins died before this book could be published. Though I am happy to report, not before being able to patch things up with writer Spillane.

The stories are quite good. But they are not quite my taste. I prefer Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe stories. But I'd rather read something by Mickey Spillane than anything Dashell Hammett wrote any day of the week. 

The stories inside involves private eye Mike Hammer being targeted by an unknown assailant when the NYPD erroneously claims that the detective saw who killed a man he found dying in the streets. Mike and trusty secretary Velda then help a naive young couple who are swindled by a pair of loan sharks. Hammer also falls for a girl (the same one being tortured on the cover), who is trying to help her brother flee from gangsters that thinks he stole a jackpot's worth of dough from them. Lastly, Mike gets a paying customer for once; a dying old man who's desperate to reunite with his prodigal son one last time.

I think the most striking thing about this book was how different Mike Hammer looks in the strip compared to the detective I grew up watching on TV. I'm used to envisioning actor Stacy Keach in my head with his gray business suit and equally gray fedora with slicked back hair and mustache. That's because that's exactly what the actor looked like on the CBS TV series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer in the 1980s. Here, Hammer is short and stocky, with a buzz cut, a nose that has obviously been broken many times, and wearing really shabby looking clothes. Obviously, this is what Mike Hammer is supposed to look like as I highly doubt Mickey Spillane would have let Ed Robbins draw his signature character any other way. But it's a stark contrast from what I grew up watching.

I was satisfied enough to not need to search out volume 1. I enjoyed what I read here. But not enough to keep it. So I felt like I was nonplussed with needing to read further. That is until I found out that one of the stories contained in volume 1 is a Christmas Mike Hammer adventure. Well, let's put that on my holiday comic wish list.

Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in!!!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Still Pumped From Using the Mouse

We all have that one book that no matter how much we enjoyed it, it takes forever to finish. Not because we hated the book (I had already mentioned we enjoyed it.) Nor because we wanted to savor it, because we don't want it to end because we love it so much. Instead I'm talking about the book that for one reason or another, we misplaced it. 

It could have been because we had to stop reading after getting sick and just not felt like reading. Or we packed it to take with us on a trip and when we got home, we forgot to unpack our bag of reading materials. Or it could be because you had to move the bed and accidentally put the book in your pile of books to sell back at one of your favorite used bookstores. In my case, when it comes to this collection of Dilbert comic strips, I actually did all 3!

I started this book almost 2 years ago. I got a really bad flu and my head and eyes hurt so much that I replaced reading (and pretty much everything else) with sleeping. Then I took this with me to read during a trip to DC for our 25th anniversary and somehow put a whole bag of books in the closet, forgetting that it existed for almost 6 months! Then around after the holidays, I made the mistake of putting this collection in a pile of books I was going to take for exchange for some valuable trade credit. Good thing I looked through the pile before I took it in or I would have sold it without completing.

I know that Dilbert creator Scott Adams has come under fire for some very controversial political statements in recent years. That's not why it took me forever to finish it. I just kept losing this book. Heck, I'm still not even sure how I wound up with this book in the first place.

Still Pumped From Using the Mouse is the 4th collection of Dilbert comic strips. Published all the way back in 1996, the cartoons were from 1994-95. Despite being 30 years old plus, I felt like the subjects were even more topical today. Work-life balance, corporate jargon and buzzwords, efficiency and the dangers of dating in the workplace (though way more humorous here) are covered here and I reality I couldn't tell if Dilbert's office was operating in the 90s or the 2020s. There's a week's worth of strips where a little girl blames the previous generation about failure to save the earth for her peers that could have been about Greta Thunberg if published today. And don't get me started on Dilbert's pet Dogbert. His attempts to enslave the populace via technology just screams how pervasive the Internet has become in our lives, especially through social media and influencers. 

Well, I finally finished this book. NOW I can add it to my stack of books to sell for another round of trade credit. It was funny and very relevant, despite being decades old. It just proves how brilliant the comedic mind of Scott Adams is, no matter how much you might disagree with his most recently troubling comments and views.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Simon's Cat

I've been familiar with the animated short series Simon's Cat for several years. Not from it's home on YouTube however. There's an annual film festival devoted to cats that shows at the Carolina Theater in Durham. It's a yearly fundraiser for feline rescue and the folks behind Simon's Cat donate a short or two for the event. The cartoons are hilarious and very well animated. I had no idea that there was a comic strip series about Simon and his perfect pal- until now!

I completely understand that this book was published in 2009; AFTER the animated series debuted. But I'm still excited to find Simon's Cat in another medium in which I can enjoy the exploits of the white fluff ball known simply as 'Cat'. 

Simon Tofield has 4 cats of his own. The quartet are his inspiration for the main character; especially Simon's buddy Hugh. After reading this book, I'm wondering if Tofield might have secretly put some cameras in my house because I can totally see my cats, especially teeny tiny Harley, doing some of the things Simon's cat does. 

There's one multi-panel strip where Simon puts a brand new collar on his cat. The kitty acts very appreciative. But it's soon revealed that Cat will be adding his new neck-ware to a cache of discarded collars. After reading that short, I am convinced that's what Harley has done with the half dozen or so collars we keep buying her, only to soon go missing. 

I'm not really sure if I could say that I've read this book. There's no words. Not even a meow, bark or birdy tweet. It's like if you listened to an audio book. Without reading any words, have you really read the book? So with the first collection of Simon's Cat strips, I guess I looked at it instead of having read the book.

If you're like me, you might not like seeing animals hurt. I can't recall how many times I get attached to an animal in comics and graphic novels that I find myself making sure that the pet makes it to the end safely. I just can't stand to see animals harmed senselessly or violently. However, you may find yourself a little shocked with some of Cat's antics.

As funny as his attempts to hunt fish, mice and birds are, he is a natural born hunter, carrying out his natural instincts to hunt for food. And Simon really does like to consume. In fact, I would argue that Cat's appetite rivals that of the ultimate fat cat, Garfield. However, a few of the kitty's actions borderline on cruel; like the single page illustration of Cat burning ants with a magnifying glass.

Killing for food is a-okay with me. Killing for the fun of it is just beyond the pale. Being that Simon Tofield is from the United Kingdom, maybe ant holocausts are considered funny. But here in the States, such actions are considered a gateway drug to becoming a psychopath or serial killer.

Maybe some of these jokes don't translate well with American readers. There was a couple of gags that I just didn't understand no matter how hard I tried to figure them out. But I enjoyed this book enough to give another volume a read in the near future.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This is Little Lulu by Marge

I've really grown to become a fan of Little Lulu in the past couple of years. I credit A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics for that. As a kid, I just couldn't appreciate it's brilliance. That's because cartoonist John Stanley knew how to write as kids think and talk. Little Lulu and her pals have brilliant ideas. They just lack years of experience and wisdom for those ideas to always work properly. But when one of those ideas succeeds, it's absolute genius!

This 1956 Dell First Edition book features work from Stanley as well as Little Lulu creator Marjorie 'Marge' Henderson Buell. You can tell which works are the works of whom. Buell's Little Lulu is taller, thinner and has pupils. Marge's strips are also generally one panel jokes and done in pantomimes or minimum dialogue. John Stanley's Little Lulu is shorter, more cartoonish and full of masterful dialogue. Plus her best friend bears the name Tubby instead of Joe.

This book and it's reprinted content was written during a time when cartoonists, especially comic book creators, didn't receive billing for their work. Buell managed to keep credit as Lulu's creator after she gave up illustrating the strip with the birth of her first child, by becoming the franchise's creative consultant. I know for sure that one story is the work of John Stanley thanks to the Smithsonian book. It's a favorite of mine, starring Tubby as his super sleuth alter ego, the Spider, suspecting that the reason Little Lulu's father shaved his mustache is because he's on the run from the police!

The rest of this book is material that I've never encountered before. There's a variety of seasonal stories involving Valentine's Day, Christmas and Halloween. The best story of this bunch involves Lulu hosting a ghost party where everyone dresses as ghosts. One kid mentions that he's not wearing anything under his sheet and that's a plot device that leads to hijinks that made me chuckle so much. I was laughing at such a frequency at this yarn that I peaked my wife's attention by wanting to know what was so darn funny.

Finding this book was an absolute fluke. I was looking through a pile of old Archie digests and this book just happened to be stuck in the middle of the pile. The selling price was a little bit higher than I would normally pay. But I happened to purchase it with trade credit. One thing is for sure, I want more Little Lulu and Tubby adventures. I think I might be searching for a treasury on Amazon in the very near future. Getting a complete run of these works might complete with my search for Carl Barks, Don Rosa and Will Eisner omnibuses.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Snoopy's Thanksgiving

Fantagraphics celebrates Thanksgiving Peanuts style in this hilarious 2014 collection of strips from Charles Schulz. 

First, Snoopy ventures out West to visit his brother Spike who lives in the desert with a bunch of bunny-eating coyotes. Then Charlie Brown tries his luck selling Thanksgiving wreaths before Woodstock has a panic attack that he's going to be the main course at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. 

Silly birdie. Doesn't Woodstock know that his friends eat jelly beans, milkshakes and toast for Turkey Day?

There's a few one page shorts as well as a couple of strips blown up and spread out in separate panels over several pages to give readers just over 60 pages of Thanksgiving fun. I'm surprised that this was published by Fantagraphics. Not that they couldn't produce this or anything about the quality. It's just that the format looked more like a series of books about Snoopy and friends that the greeting card magnate Hallmark used to produce in the 90s and early 00s. I'm now wondering if Fantagraphics was tapped to produce those books for Hallmark much like how Dynamite Entertainment and Dark Horse are publishing Marvel's outsourced material...

If you're stressing about having the relatives over for the holiday, then take a much needed break and enjoy the exploits of a boy named Charlie Brown and his dog.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Spy Vs. Spy 2: The Cloak and Dagger Files

Black Spy vs White Spy. Are they birds? I've always wondered if they were birds because of the beak-like noses. 

I couldn't tell you where I got this 2007 collection of later Spy vs Spy strips. My guess would be Ollie's. But I'm not sure. The strip of two similar looking secret agents trying to steal the secret plans of the other while attacking them with booby traps was originally created by Cuban political cartoonist, Antonio Prohias. An earlier volume paid tribute to Phobias time at MAD Magazine. This book would feature the numerous artists and writers who were tasked with filling the Spy vs Spy creator's shoes.

I knew that this book was a volume 2. I didn't know that it was not going to have any of the original Prohias works in it. But I'm not too upset as he had retired from MAD before I started reading the magazine as a kid. There were several articles in the book including a section by current Spy vs Spy artist, Peter Kuper, whose use of stencil and spray paint have given the series an industrial artistic look. His section explains his creative process. How Mountain Dew came to do a series of live action Spy vs Spy commercials and how Spy vs Spy became a video game are other interesting features. But I think it's a forgotten piece of Spy vs Spy history that was most interesting: a newspaper comic strip.

For only 39 weeks in 2002, newspapers across the country ran a Sunday funnies strip involving White Spy and Black Spy trying to outdo each other. The pantomime strip was novel in that it looked just like you'd see in the pages of MAD, except in a paneled format like a strip. However, with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan occurring at the same time, it was felt that such a strip like Spy vs Spy seeing one or both of the characters blowing up and maiming the other, that it was the wrong time for such antics in cartoon form and the strip was quickly cancelled.

One area of Spy vs Spy history that I didn't see in the book was the animated shorts seen on Fox's MAD TV. Maybe they were included in the first volume. But with this being a chronological account of life after Prohias, it's absence seems strange.

Also, can someone explain to me why the occasionally appearing Grey Spy, a voluptuous blonde in a grey dress never gets her comeuppance? If she appears, she always gets the best of the two spies. They never manage to get her. Just like how Wile E. Coyote can never capture the Road Runner!

This was an okay book. The articles were needed as there's almost no words in the strips. Plus, this is not a book for folks who need reading glasses. To include as many strips as possible, a bunch are shrunken by at least half and with needing to pay attention to detail, the smaller size can give you blurry eyes at best or as with me occasionally, a migraine.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Twisted Toyfare Theatre, Vol. 6

I splurged on a second volume of Twisted Toyfare Theatre. This volume features an introduction from professional wrestler Rob Van Dam. I didn't realize that he was such a geek. Had I, I might have been a fan of his.

I'm noticing in this volume several names pop up. Matthew Senreich and Tom Root among others. Add Seth Green to the list and you might be saying ' Oh, yeah. These are the guys behind Robot Chicken!' That means that TTT is either the father of the Adult Swim series or it's the TV adaptation. That's really interesting considering that DC Comics actually threatened to sue Toyfare for using their characters in satirical ways for TTT but on Robot Chicken, with Cartoon Network being a Warner Bros. property, DC Comics works were skewered almost in every episode. Just goes to show that anyone is willing to have a good sense of humor if they get paid for it. 

As with all the other volumes I have read, there's just too many segments to pay adequate attention to. Daredevil takes actor Ben Affleck to court for the hero's portrayal in the Daredevil movie. Hulk and Spider-Man attend a showing of Episode II: Attack of the Clones while fans also get a chance to see what Star Trek III: The Search for Spock would have been like if it took place in the Star Wars Universe. We see deleted scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and then take a tour of Cobra headquarters after dark, when everybody should be long asleep.

'The Official Handbook to the Twisted Toyfare Theatre Universe' was as usual, a delight. But those 'Slideshow' one-pagers that take screenshots of classic cartoons and rework them into skits was something that the editors should have buried long ago. I feel shame that I ever was a fan of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors...

The main segments were great. A really neat glimpse at the genius behind Robot Chicken. But those creative forces should stick to using toys for the jokes. Riffing on classics just wasn't in their wheelhouse.

Sadly, this will probably be the last volume I'll be able to get my hands on. Volumes 8-11 are out of print. Apparently, the print run was really small as sellers are asking prices that I'd expect to pay for an Action Comics #252. Maybe I'll get lucky some day. But it will probably be a while before that happens.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Ripley's Believe It or Not!: Great and Strange Works of Man

I think my love of the great and strange came to me honestly. My mother and her father were big fans of Ripley's Believe It or Not. I remember my grandfather had an entire series of the Ripley's paperbacks that reprinted decades of odd and macabre strips to the general populace. Then there was the TV series on ABC hosted by the great Jack Palance. It was a documentary series that often scared the pants off me... in a good way.

The comic strip has been running strong for over 105 years. It's been nearly 65 years since creator Robert Ripley died and newspapers worldwide are still running accounts of unusual people, freaky coincidences and brain teasers that defy explanation. And let's not forget those Ripley's museums and aquariums. Those can be some fun places to spend a day exploring the world of the unknown.

This 1992 paperback was released as part of a series of anthologies honoring the 100th anniversary of the birth of franchise founder, Ripley. However, Mr. Ripley was actually born in 1890! Though, I guess such oversights are allowed. Thanks to Ripley's 1929 strip that confirmed at the time that America had no official National Anthem, a campaign championed by John Philip Sousa helped correct that oversight through a 1931 act of Congress finally making the Star-Spangled Banner our nation's official song thanks to President Hoover's signature. But that all sounds so much like Robert Ripley. To him, the journey to knowledge was more important that the facts, as bizarre as they might be. 

This TOR paperback focuses on the varying creations of man. From colossal statues made of solid pieces of marble to microscopic works that fit on a grain of rice, there's virtually no limit as to the imagination of the human race. 'Great and Strange Works of Man' wasn't my favorite collection of strips. It wasn't because a bunch of these cartoons came about after Ripley died. Instead, I was sickened by how much wasted wealth and resources went into making these monuments of pride and gluttony. 

For example, towards the end of the book, there's mention of a 300lb solid gold bath tub in the shape of a phoenix which wealthy bathers can use in a hotel in Japan. Based on the price of gold today (June 30, 2024), that bath tub is worth over $8.3 million dollars. Could you imagine how much that precious metal could be used to help Japan's homeless population instead of being used so the ultra-wealthy was stew in their own bubbly filth? Maybe 15 or 20 years ago, such facts about opulence might enthrall me. Instead, as a public school teacher married to a social worker, I see how much so many struggle with so little in today's world and it's off-putting.

Does this book swear me off seeking out other Ripley's material? Not in the least. There were 5 other books in the centennial series of paperbacks. I think I'd be more open to reading about prehistoric creatures, odd places or those strange coincidences than giving this book on excess a permanent home in my comic book and graphic novel collection.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Newspaper Comics, The Complete Comics Vol. 2: 1982-1983

When I reviewed Volume 1, I said that it was unlikely that I'd ever get my hands on the second book any time soon. Volume 2 is listed as out of print. The cheapest copy I could find was $110. That was just too rich for my blood. Then my wife made a very good point: with the book being out of production, the asking price is only going to go up and up. I happened to have about $80 in Amazon trade credit. So when deducting that from the asking price and adding tax and shipping, I only paid about $40 out of pocket, which was still $10 less than the original MSRP.

The stories of Volume 2 continue with the Enterprise on the trail of a Klingon cruiser. Kirk and crew must intercept the vessel to prevent an escalation in the war between the Federation and Klingon Empire. This leads the Enterprise crew to a planet inhabited by cyborgs with the Klingons the latest victims of the planet's Overmind super-computer conversion process. 

Other than the story being a bit long, it was rather good. Plus, I seemed to have gotten my money's worth as it appears that its addition to this book is a must have story among Star Trek fans. That's because the tale called 'Restructuring is Futile' is considered by many to be the unofficial origin of the Borg! (Though I think that the story from TokyoPop's Star Trek Manga series is a more definitive origin tale.)

There are 10 stories, making for a total of 20 comic strip stories through 2 volumes. Thomas Warkentin only pencils one story. In my mind, he's the definitive Star Trek strips artist. Ron Harris, pencils the first 3 or 4 stories. He's almost as good as Warkentin. Ron Harris uses proper shading, includes great backgrounds into the panels and does very good representations of the actors. Although, they look more like themselves from TOS and not TMP. 

Towards the end of 1982 going into 1983, the series was in decline. Not just in terms of quality but with a number of readers. Only a handful of newspapers continued to run the strip, even after the amazing success of Star Trek II: The Wraith of Khan. Yet, the artists chosen to replace Ron Harris are no Ron Harris and definitely not in the league of Thomas Warkentin. I've seen high school and college newspaper artwork better than what you see in stories 15-19. Heck, I think I could have done a better job than whoever penned (definitely not penciled) story #16! 

Okay- so the artwork diminishes. However, thanks to the addition of Gerry Conway as head writer, every story was a ton of fun. Fans of Larry Niven will want to get their paws on this book as well. Niven's most famous species, the feline Kzinti, guest-star in the story titled 'The Wristwatch Plantation' for a Star Trek/Man-Kzin War crossover! And man, am I a sucker for a crossover. 

The magic of the Star Trek newspaper strip wasn't lost from Volumes 1 to 2. The stories were far more superior to the quality of such TOS stinkers like 'The Way to Eden' and 'This Side of Paradise.' In terms of visual quality, I think the even the worst Star Trek episode was more visually appealing than those middle stories.

Bittersweet to say good-bye to these stories. Star Trek comics, covering any series, is just a type of sequential art comfort food to me. But I am glad that the series ended when it did. I don't think I could afford a Volume 3!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Newspaper Comics, The Complete Comics Vol. 1: 1979-1981

Celebrating a forgotten period of Star Trek comics. From 1979-1983, select newspapers nationwide carried the further adventures of Kirk, Spock and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew in comic strip form. Unlike the Gold Key Comics version or Marvel's short-lived run of adventures, the Star Trek comic strips are the rarest of the rare because most newspapers decided instead to run the Star Wars strip along with the continuing escapades of Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon in the funny pages.

Set immediately after the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this book covers the next 5-year mission, which coincidentally is being explored right now in the IDW Publishing miniseries Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Echoes. These 23rd century episodes are full of Klingons, with their new head ridges, along with many of the races introduced in the 1979 Robert Rise flick such as Arcturians, Saurians and Zaranites. But sorry Next Gen fans, not a Romulan in the bunch!

This joint IDW/Library of American Comics collaboration was published in 2012. I didn't even know this thing existed until I saw a post about this in one of the Star Trek Comics groups I am a member of on Facebook. I learned about this collection from Rich Handley, who wrote the foreword and helped with the editing, from a post. Thus, in the manner of complete transparency, I am not in any way being compensated for a review of this book. (Unless Rich follows through on the No-Prize I requested when I found an error in one of his story recaps.)

The main genius behind many of these stories is Thomas Warkentin. He provides nearly flawless older representations of the Enterprise crew. It's forgivable that Lt. Ilia appears in the first story, despite having died earlier in her lone canon appearance during The Motion Picture. The quality of the stories, the artwork and just how in character everybody is is top notch! 

After about a year, Warkentin left the strip. He was replaced by Sharman DiVino and Ron Wilson. The stories were just as good. The art was just as stunning. Only for some reason, both Spock and Kirk have been de-aged to look like their 1960s incarnations while Uhura, Scotty and the rest remain their middle aged selves. 

Both this volume and volume 2 are out of print. Amazon at least still has a few copies of this edition left at the original cover price of $49.99. As for the companion piece, it's really expensive. Not just on Amazon but everywhere that claims to have a copy. $119 and up! No joke. And no way I'm going to ever get my hands on a copy for that price, right?

If you do go searching for Volume 2, it can also get a little confusing. Eaglemoss, which is a publisher out of England, released the entire 1979-83 run of the strips in 3 volumes. They can be purchased on eBay for around 25-40 pounds. Not sure what the dollars to pounds conversion rate is. And since I already have volume 1, I'm not about to go that route. Plus, with UPS about to go on strike, I'm afraid if I order from the UK, it'll be the 23rd Century before I receive them.

A great read of long lost tales exploring the final frontier! Including a fantastic look at the ST:TMP McDonald's Happy Meal boxes that featured comic strip art by Thomas Warkentin!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

The James Bond Omnibus, Volume 001 (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, From A View To A Kill, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball.

I'm familiar with all of these James Bond adventures thanks to watching all of the films with my dad and grandpop as a child. But I've never read any of Ian Fleming's novels that gave birth to the world's greatest spy. Thus I was very excited when I found this anthology at my favorite used book store- Books Do Furnish A Room. 

Prior to debuting in the movies, Ian Fleming signed an agreement with The Daily Express to adapt his books into newspaper dailies. Fleming was hesitant at first. He didn't want his works to be dumbed down to an elementary level. Fleming also didn't like on how Bond was originally designed. But I'm glad he finally settled with John McLusky!

The Bond strips were McLusky's first gig. An art teacher at the Slade School of Art, McLusky drew Ian Fleming's creation in a way that is really eerie. That's because McLusky's Bond looked just like Sean Connery- almost 5 full years before the Scottish actor would take on the role in 1962's Dr. No.

The interesting thing about these adaptations are how different they are from the live-action films produced by Albert Broccoli. Comparatively, the strips could be considered dull. For example, in Moonraker, Bond doesn't go into outer-space and there's no blimp or Golden Gate Bridge in the adaptation of A View To A Kill. Broccoli clearly felt that in order to enthrall audiences, the wow factor needed to be set to 11. But here in these comics, Fleming crafted some very elegant mystery-thrillers that are very British.

Casino Royale is perhaps the weakest of the stories. For one thing, it was Ian Fleming's Bond debut. Pilots always have kinks to work out. Plus, that story was adapted by Anthony Hern; who just doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on the character. The other stories were adapted by Henry Gammidge with the except of Dr. No which was written by Modesty Blaise's Peter O'Donnell. Dr. No wasn't bad. But Gammidge really seemed the ideal writer for the James Bond comics. 

1962's Thunderball was perhaps the most clunky story. Ample time is devoted to Bond's time at a health spa in which he runs afoul of a Tong gangster. The plot to steal 2 nuclear bombs by Ernst Blofeld and his cronies at SPECTRE is drawn out to perfection. But the ending is rushed to just 2 pages with zero actual appearances by baddie Emilio Largo or Bond Girl Domino Derval. 

For a solid minute, I felt that maybe some pages were omitted from this volume. But the numbering of the strips don't skip. I later researched this and discovered that The Daily Express temporarily ended it's relationship with Fleming and rushed a quick ending to the story. After Fleming and Daily Express editor Lord Beaverbrook settled a dispute over the comics strip rights to The Living Daylights, Bond would return to print in 1964. 

And that's where we end volume 001. Well, not quite. Ever heard of the Bond story Risico? Neither had I. It's a short story buried within the pages of For Your Eyes Only. So far, there has never been a Bond film called Risico. But maybe! 

Risico reads a lot like Ian Fleming's anti-drug opus. In this story, Bond goes to Italy to end the heroin trade that has been flowing into the UK. Just about every character makes PSA sounding statements about the evils of opium and heroin. It almost feels that Ian Fleming watched a few episodes of Dragnet while writing this book. Good story but very propagandized. 

The first James Bond Omnibus was a delightful read. The right artist was selected for the strip. It took a little while, but this strip also found it's voice. If you've never read the original works but are more than versed in the films of James Bond, this is a wonderful look at a little known corner of MI6. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #19 of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 'That was made into a movie.'

Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures

A few years ago, I read the complete Al Williamson run on the Star Wars comic strip. In all three volumes, called Classic Star Wars, there were forewords in each that proclaimed that while the Williamson stories are good, the Russ Manning era of the strips were far superior. Being a huge Star Wars lover, I had to know what the fuss was all about. So Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures was quickly added to my wish list.

After months and months of searching, I finally found a copy of this book which I could afford. Some sites had this book listing for upwards of $80 as this Dark Horse edition was out of print. And don't even ask about the 9 individual issues. I never could find a web site or LCS that carried these in the bins. 

Anyways, after finding this book, I immediately took to reading it. It's a mix of several stories that continue the struggle between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire. As per George Lucas' instructions, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader cross paths but never officially face-off. This makes for a number of stories that contain close calls and non-canon baddies. 

The most memorable of these is a holographic agent of evil code-named Blackhole. It appears that this villain is going to be the main villain in the strip. But after the third story run is complete, he disappears- literally. He's never seen nor mentioned again. 

Also never mentioned again is a massive Rebel database named Mistress Mnemos, who promises to investigate Blackhole and just doesn't seem to get around to it. 

There's also this lizard Imperial officer referred to as Major Rahz. He's really awesome looking but quite unusual for Star Wars. Remember, the Empire wasn't known to be very accommodating to non-humans. Other than this guy, I think Admiral Thrawn is the only true alien species member to hold rank in the Empire. While very non-canon, I did think this dude was pretty cool!

One neat storyline reveals how the Rebels were able to purchase and maintain a fleet in the shadow of the Empire. This had always been a question to me. And while I am sure that the reveal has been retconned time and time again, the answer I found in this book was forever acceptable. 

The main reason anybody would want to own this book is that it contains one of the earliest appearances of Boba Fett! He crosses paths with Luke and Han; hinting at what trouble he'll be giving the Rebels in the Empire Strikes Back. I'm very interested to see if funny pages containing any of the strips from this story are considered highly sought after collectibles from fans of those who wear Mandalorian armor. 

I really can see where people would enjoy the Russ Manning stories. But are they superior to Al Williamson's run? Not in the least! Manning's artwork was quite cartoonish. It very fluid and fanciful. But it doesn't come close to Williamson's photo-realistic art that I remember enjoying every Sunday at my Grandmama's house. 

I think the reason Russ Manning gets so much love is that the artist was in the final stages of cancer when he accepted this project. I've heard that superstar talent such as Archie Goodwin filled in for Manning during some periods of time from 1979-80. You even get a sneak peak at what Al Williamson will be bringing to the series in the Boba Fett segment! 

These artists were true heroes as the kept Manning's name on the artwork so that he could keep his health insurance, even though Manning never even touched the storyboards. Being that Star Wars was Manning's last project, I am okay with the comics legend getting as much love as he did. But I still prefer Williamson's work on the Star Wars comic strip.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

LOAC Essentials Volume 13: Charlie Chan by Alfred Andriola, 1938

They say 'don't judge a book by it's cover.' But it was the cover that really enticed me to put this book on my wish list. The stunning sketch of actor Warner Oland in full make-up as the Chinese detective Charlie Chan really caught my eye. 

I understand that the series of films starring white actor Oland as a Chinese super-sleuth is 'yellow-facing.' And to have Chan's son played by Keye Luke (Gremlins), an actual Chinese actor was a huge racist slap in the face. But there's no arguing that the quality of the movies on which this comic strip was based, were some of Hollywood film noir's best motion pictures. 

I've really been falling in love with collections of classic newspaper strips. The artwork is some of the best of all time. Famous names such as Alex Raymond, Dick Giordano, Alex Toth, Russ Manning and Al Williamson got their start in the so-called funny pages. Plus, the storytelling was top-notch. Yes, there was a little redundancy in order to help readers who missed a couple of day's worth of strips get caught back up. However, I have come to see how these artists took creative measures in order to keep things from getting stale. 

Alfred Andriola, the creator behind classics such as Dan Dunn and Kerry Drake, not only had to make the characters in the strip look like their real life counterparts; Andriola had the added challenge of making the mysteries to be easily solved by the readers while not glossing over important clues. Remember, some of these stories transpired over 2-3 months of time. So it was easy to forget that Character X was revealed to be left-handed in one of the earlier strips.

Andriola wasn't always successful with the plotting. On more than one occasion, Andriola would mention a clue that was never revealed prior. I think the artist was hoping people would think that they forgot such mistakes over time. But as I read this book over the period of about 10 days, I didn't forget! 

One thing that never translated well in either the strips or this collection were colors. Originally printed in black and white, you wouldn't know if a character had green eyes unless someone mentioned it. Well, the color of a character's eyes has a lot to do with the big reveal of the killer. Yet, Andriola or his avatar of Charlie Chan never once mentions the person's eye color! Not at all! That's a mistake I cannot forgive!

Around 3 years worth of stories were created for the funnies. This volume by the Library of American Comics covers roughly the first 365 days of strips. I really enjoyed this read, warts and all and I hated that it ended so soon! Hopefully, the publisher will be producing a volume 2 very soon! If so, you can be sure that I will be asking for it as a gift!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Flash Gordon on the Lost Continent of Mongo

Fierce warriors, ancient beasts and the forces of Ming the Merciless await Flash Gordon in this 1967 paperback!

Al Williamson (Star Wars) worked on the Flash Gordon comic strip in the 1960s. It's where he really honed his skills to where he became my all-time favorite Star Wars artist in the 70s and 80s. This book blows up the panels of the Flash Gordon daily strip to where only one or two segments appear on each page. But the art is incredibly crystal clear. Why today's publishers can't enlarge pictures without making things look fuzzy and pixelated in beyond me.

In this collection of 3 stories, Flash Gordon, along with Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov, embark on an expedition of an uncharted region of the planet Mongo. From just about the very start, the expedition goes poorly, being attacked by hostile natives. In the initial scuffle, Dale is kidnapped. Can Flash Gordon save his beloved? Will the expedition yield the secrets of Mongo? And why didn't the trio of heroes bring some extra muscle and weapons with them?

This was a visually enjoyable read. But there was an X-factor that I just wasn't a huge fan of. For one thing, Flash Gordon seems kinda stupid here. I remember that he was portrayed as a sort of dumb jock in the 1980 live-action movie. But I really thought that Flash was a near genius in the comics. I guess I remembered them wrong. 

Yet in the 1980s Guardians of the Earth comic book, Flash is the team leader and pretty straight-forward as the master planner. Maybe when Flash gets older, he gets wiser? Still, this is not the 'savior of the universe' that I am accustomed to.

The three stories also seem to follow the same plot. Flash and his team get attacked. Dale is kidnapped. Dr. Zarkov is no help as he gets injured. Flash scouts out his enemies. He then runs afoul of some monstrous beast and discovers something that will help him in the process. Gordon carries out his attack, saves the girl and returns to camp with Dr. Zarkov miraculously healed. The End. Repeat as needed.

Can you see why I wasn't such a fan of this book? Flash doesn't come close to ending his expedition in this book. The third story does have a happy ending. But more adventures on the lost lands of Mongo are teased in what I assume are further editions. While I would like to know what happens next, the predictability of these adventures haven't swayed me to scope out the internet to find book 2.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Superman: The Silver Age Dailies 1959-1961 (Volume 1)

  A part of the Library of American Comics series, this volume collects the complete 1959-61 run of Superman stories that appeared in newspapers nationwide. Most of the Superman stories that ran in the funny pages were recycled from comics that were published months earlier. For those who may collect the DC editions that reprint the stories from Action Comics and Superman, it's more than likely that you already have almost all of these tales in your collection. 
      Only the first story- Earth's Super-Idiot is an original adventure. Although some elements of the yarn were borrowed from a story printed in Superman #135 (The Trio of Steel.) I know for sure that I've read a couple of these adventures before such as the 'Superman of the Future' and 'The Mad Woman of Metropolis' in their original form.
      In order to build interest and assist readers who may have forgotten what happened the day prior, the last panel of one strip is often repeated in the first panel of the next. This repetition gets a little old but it's not the worst thing in the world. It still makes for a fun read of silver age fables starring the Man of Steel. 
       One thing that is a little confusing is the numbering of the stories. This is volume one of Superman: The Silver Age Dailies. Yet, the first epic is numbered at Episode 107. The publisher, IDW, is also reissuing the older tales from the Golden Age. But that numbering is starting at Episode 1. As there's only that first volume available, it may be a little while before IDW gets to Episode 106.
        The Silver Age Dailies, Volume 1 features artwork from some of the most legendary Superman artists of the era. Wayne Boring, Stan Kaye, and Curt Swan all craft some amazing images of the Man of Tomorrow along with Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and Lois Lane. (In my opinion, the Curt Swan stories are the best drawn.) Every episode is written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and some are quite good. But the allure and wonder of these Superman tales are all thanks in very large part to editor Mort Weisinger. 
         Weisinger would bring mock-ups of ideas to the kids in his neighborhood and let them decide the next adventure of the Man of Steel. The idea was a huge, if not a tad far-fetched success. However, it's one reason why the Silver Age sagas of the Last Son of Krypton are still popular with fans today.
          An enjoyable chronicle of Silver Age Superman in which I hope to obtain further volumes in the series. Being an oblong book and very heavy, it's a little unwieldy- especially when trying to read it in bed. I recommend a desk or recliner when reading.

     Worth Consuming!
  
      Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
       

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 3

   Today marks the first 40th Anniversary of 2017 that I will explore as a Madman Turns 40. It was on this day in 1977 that the Amazing Spider-man comic strip debuted in newspapers nationwide. 

    The daily comic strip has the distinction of the longest written series by living legend, Stan 'The Man' Lee. When the strip first debuted, seminal Spider-man artist John Romita (SR.) brought the wall-crawler to life. Now, it's co-written and drawn by Stan's little brother, Larry Lieber. 

Promotional image that debuted in Sunday papers on Jan 2, 1977
alerting fans of the new strip that would begin the next day.

     It's kinda fitting that this strip began in 1977. Until I was about 12, Spider-man was a my favorite Marvel character. I remember being thrilled when the live-action series came on TV (It had already aired by the time I saw it, but a local TV station, WPTF-28 (now defunct) aired the very short-lived series in half hour increments during the day when I was 3 or 4. One really cool promotion for the series going into syndication was a meet and greet with Spidey at the Belk's at the Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. I still have the autographed photo they gave out... somewhere.)
     
    Anyways, before I go, I thought I would share with you what the very first strip looked like and what today's strip morphed into. Sadly, it's not some sort of anniversary strip honoring Stan and Larry.

Jan 3, 1977

Jan 3, 2017

(Many Thanks to David Kolf and the rest of the Back Issue Magazine community for making me aware of this cool anniversary!)

Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre (AKA: The Red Book)

My personal copy of the 'Red Book."

  Earlier this year, I entered the realm of crowdfunding. I noticed on a website that artist/ writer Batton Lash was in need of funds to get his latest collection of Supernatural Law comics published. So, I headed over to Kickstarter and made a pledge based on the reward I wanted should Lash's latest project become fully funded.
    Instead of asking for an autographed copy of A Vampire in Hollywood, the book Batton Lash was able to get completely funded, I went for a more obscure reward: this book that I am reviewing now. 
    Known as the 'Red Book' because of it's scarlet cover, this volume is Lash's first ever collection of his earliest comic strips to feature Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd; the Counselors of the Macabre. (Interesting side bit, Wolff and Byrd don't even appear in the first two strips! Published in 1987 by Andrion Books, this book has been out of print for decades. Figuring I had a better chance of obtaining a copy of A Vampire in Hollywood than finding a rare book that even Amazon doesn't have in their data base, I choose this as my prize. 
    The 'Red Book' contains adventures including a vampire dentist, a woman seeking divorce because her pushy husband is causing her to disappear, and a trip to London to defend a gentleman werewolf. Along the way, you also get to relive the college years origin of how the two supernatural lawyers met. Rounding out the book was a Christmas themed parody of that Dickens classic, which I waited to read until last in order to be more in the holiday spirit. 
    For being essentially the pilot episode for Supernatural Law, this collection wasn't bad. In his early years, Lash would use up to 8 panels in a comic strip and in this reprinted form, the reading was really tiny. (I could only read a couple of pages at a time before I started to get a headache.) But as an added bonus, even though it wasn't specified on the Kickstarter agreement, my copy was even autographed by Lash himself! 
     A treasured treasury that is hard to find but worth the search.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.