Rogues

It's been a long time since DC or Marvel produced a true crime heist story involving super villains. 2006's Secret Six miniseries might be the closest thing we've had and that was more about baddies acting righteous during a time when the heroes were acting criminal.

In Rogues, Leonard Snart's glory days as one of the Flash's arsh-enemies is long past. In his late 50s, balding, overweight and kept on a tight leash by a parole officer who deserves his own spot behind bars, the former Captain Cold is a broken man. 2 of the Rogues are dead. His sister, the Golden Glider has renounced her life of crime and became an inner city social worker. The Trickster has become a hack magician, performing to elderly crowds. Mirror Master lost his mind in a drug induced haze. Mick Rory, AKA Heatwave, still plays with fire. Only, he does it with an entrepreneurial flare, committing arson by torching buildings for a cut of the insurance check. 

Now is the time to bring the gang back together. For years, Smart has been planning a heist so outrageous, that it's literally a suicide mission. With Captain Cold's guidance, the Rogues are going to infiltrate Gorilla City and rob Gorilla Grodd's personal vault laden with tons and tons of gold. Good thing Smart has decided to recruit a couple of former members of the Suicide Squad to help in executing this insane plan!

Joshua Williamson penned this story which is nearly flawless. I don't even mind that there's zero appearance of any of the multitude of men to carry the moniker of the Flash in this book. My biggest issue is the addition of DEO agent Maggie Sawyer. She's a great player in Metropolis. But she really doesn't seem to have a place in Gorilla City. At least not here in this story.

Rogues was originally released as a 4-issue miniseries in 2022. The first 3 issues were by Italian artist Leomacs. Issue #4 marks the debut of artist Luca Finelli. The transition between the two was flawless. I didn't even realize about the shift change until I was reading the biographies at the end of the book. I don't know who's talent that speaks higher of. But I loved the artwork throughout this entire piece.

This is a Quentin Tarantino level story and that's not just because of the amount of violence. Tons of swears. Tons! And we're talking F-bombs. This might be a DC Comic title but it's a Black Label release. Definitely not for the kids. But a must for fans of the Scarlet Speedster and his gallery of Rogues.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 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.

Ms. Tree's Thrilling Detective Mysteries #2 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Ms. Tree was created by crime novelist Max Allan Collins and artist Terry Beatty. She made her debut in 1981 in the pages of Eclipse Comics' anthology series Eclipse. The idea behind the creation of Ms. Tree was inspired by mystery novelist Mickey Spillane and his character Velda, the spitfire secretary of private eye Mike Hammer. According to Collins "What if Velda and Mike Hammer eventually got married, and on their honeymoon he was murdered?- that's Ms. Tree!

A play on the word 'mystery', Ms. Tree is a widow who takes over her husband's detective agency after his murder. In her first story titled 'I, for an Eye', the private investigator captures the murderer; uncovering ties to the Muerta Crime Family in the process.

This begins a private war between Tree and the Muertas that will unfold for years throughout the pages of her first solo title Ms. Tree's Thrilling Detective Mysteries. Eventually Tree's stepson fell in love and married one of the daughters of the Muerta Family's matrons. The Muerta declared Ms. Tree as 'family' and the feud was quashed before eventually going legit. In this 1983 issue, Tree is ambushed by a highly skilled hit-man, who is also a master of disguise, and is wanted for the murder of the daughter of one of the Muerta brothers. Recovering from her assault, Ms. Tree takes on the case as things have just gotten personal and if she can bring down the mobster who ordered the hit on her hubby; all the better!

Ms. Tree's publication history is just about as complicated as her family tree. After issue #3, the title was shortened to simply Ms. Tree. Eclipse stopped publication after issue #14. Eclipse publisher Dean Mullaney, the book was cancelled due to low sales. However Collins has gone on record defending the book's popularity; instead claiming that once his contract with Eclipse was up, he got a better offer to publisher the continuing adventures of Ms. Tree with Cerebus publisher Aardvark-Vanaheim. 

The legacy numbering for Ms. Tree continued with issue #15 at Aardvark-Vanaheim. When married co-publishers Dave Sim and Deni Loubert divorced in 1984, Loubert formed her own house, Renegade. Ms. Tree, along with titles such as Flaming Carrot and normalman, were retained under the new company as Sims departed with his intellectual properties. Three issues of Ms. Tree were co-published as Aardvark-Vanaheim/Renegade as the company restructured. 

Ms. Tree made it to issue #50, just as Renegade was going defunct in 1989. However, Ms. Tree wouldn't languish in comic book purgatory for long. In 1990, she found a new home as DC Comics. No longer a monthly series, the detective would pop up about every 3 months in the pages of Ms. Tree Quarterly. The title ended with issue #10 in 1993.

It would be almost 25 years before the world saw the return of Ms. Michael Tree, which is not only the first name of her deceased beloved, but her actual birth name as well. Collins wrote a few short stories about the character around the time she was being published by DC. In 2007, Collins collaborated with the imprint Hard Case Crime to produce the full length novel Deadly Beloved. Terry Beatty even got in the act, painting the book's cover. Sister publisher Titan Comics would eventually reissue the entire Ms. Tree comic portfolio with the Eclipse run, all the way through her tenure at DC Comics in a 6-volume compendium. 

Along with the continuing Ms. Tree story, this issue introduces a new vigilante hero called the Scythe. Created by Dean Mullaney, the Scythe is a private investigator named Roger Loring by day. A contract killer called the Button Man is killing detectives who are snooping around a criminal playground called Patterson's Dancehall. Figuring that the mysterious killer cannot assassinate someone they don't know, 'Rog' dons a cowl and wields a whip with a silver hook at the end. 

Frank Miller contributes a 2-page center spread pin-up devoted to famous detective Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe.

Collins and Beatty also contributed to a one-page interactive whodunnit called 'The Mike Mist Minute Mist-eries.

Completing this review completes Task #22 (With an Original Cover Price of $1.00) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 21

This volume covers 6 months of Will Eisner's The Spirit towards the end of its original run. I've been reading these out of order. Normally, that hadn't been a problem as continuity wasn't an issue. However, controversial, but universally loved, sidekick Ebony White is missing from this work, replaced by 2 really annoying sidekicks (and wannabe detectives) Sammy and Willium. (Actually, Willium isn't that bad. But he's no Ebony.) 

Eisner's writing style at this point in time has exploded with creative plotting, experimental narratives and other elements that you'd only find in a masters level English Lit class. Reading this book was like attending a writing clinic. You can see how generations of comic book artists, writers and prose novelists were inspired by Will Eisner's The Spirit. The crazy thing is some of the best Spirit stories don't even have the main character as an active player. Heck, sometimes, he's nowhere to be found!

Something new, at least in the volumes I have read so far, is a multi-issue story arc about a lawman named Dick Whittler. A sheriff from another town, he's called the Spirit in to help with a murder case in which we discover that our hero is the prime suspect. Over the course of 3 chapters, the Spirit must clear his name while proving that Commissioner Dolan wasn't an accomplice to the crime. 

The Spirit is known for solving extremely puzzling mysteries. This volume solved a long-standing puzzle for myself. A couple of years ago, I read The Christmas Spirit. Produced in 1994 by Kitchen Sink Press, the holiday treasury collected all of the Christmas themed stories to appear in the series' original run. One story told of a little girl named Darling O'Shea, the richest girl in the world who wants to capture Santa Claus for skipping her house for the past several Christmas Eves. I wondered who in the heck just this little tyke was and thanks to this book, I finally learned her origins. 

As I've gotten older, heading into my late 40s, I've really been craving the comfort foods of Carl Barks, Stan and Jack, and Don Rosa. Add Will Eisner to that menu. I know that their works have flaws. But nobody is perfect. History is full of prejudices, stereotypes and ignorance. Eisner's Ebony White was steeped in black stereotype and was phased out eventually by the comics legend who was troubled by the character's legacy. When I try to read comics from 'a simplier time', I'm not oblivious to the blemishes. But man are the 2020 such a downer that I need some escape!

My first degree is in history. I love learning about the past. Especially the pop culture era of 1938-2000. And I have found that one of the best ways to learn about this time period is through the entertainment of the day. Who better than Will Eisner to learn about the highs and lows of the American storyteller? He might not have been a perfect man but his works are far superior than a lot of modern comic creators who act like they've never made a mistake in their entire life. 

I'll keep on reading and doing my darndest in trying to collect the entire Eisner library.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Crime Does Not Pay: Blackjacked and Pistol-Whipped

Crime Does Not Pay was a notorious comic book magazine that caught the ire of Senator Estes Kefauver and Dr. Fredrick Wertham. The book was filled with murder, torture, sadism towards women and just about every crime and vice ever imagined. While it shocked small town USA during the Comics Scare of the early to mid 1950s, the book actually earned the support of some very unlikely champions. 

Representatives of the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts of America and educators nationwide praised the book for helping children to the straight and narrow. An overwhelming majority of the stories presented in Crime Does Not Pay were true stories of mobsters such as Lucky Luciano and real life monsters like H.H. Holmes. While the stories were sensationalized to entice readers, publisher Lev Gleason received a number of praises from those working with at-risk youth as seen in a collage inside the front and back covers of this book.

I found this anthology from Dark Horse at a used bookstore about a month ago. My plans were to read it as a part of my 2025 reading challenge. Unfortunately, I don't think there's enough prose material about the history of the book and it's co-creators, Bob Wood and Charles Biro, to count this as a book about the history of comics. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the book. But less than 30 pages of research from Denis Kitchen compared to about 200 pages of comics is a bit of a stretch for item #40 on my challenge.

This is pre-code comics at it's very best and very worst. The storytelling is amazing. There's a slew of comic book legends making their way in the industry in this book such as Bob Montana and George Tuska. However, the gratuitous violence paved the way for a legion of imitators and ushered in the books that would result in the coming of the Comics Code.

At the time of Crime Does Not Pay's debut with the 2nd class mail skirting 22nd issue, EC Comics had yet to introduce its readers to horror comics. Without this title, the Crypt Keeper, Vault Keeper and the Old Witch might never been created. Crime introduced fans to the concept of the host narrator with the top hat donning Mr. Crime. With his dripping fangs, maniacal smile and inch-long fingernails, Mr. Crime was more than just a narrator, he was a part of the story, playing the devil on each crook's shoulder in hopes of helping them execute the perfect crime. Only it was never to be with most criminals being executed by law enforcement at story's end.

Crime Does Not Pay lasted for an impressive 147 issues. However, by the end of its run, the book has become a victim of censorship it brought about, with later titles having far less emphasis over crime and becoming more of a police procedural comic. Ironically, one of the creators of the book would not learn from the lessons against hard living as espoused in the pages of Crime Does Not Pay. In 1958, Wood would go on a week-long bender with a divorcee full of drinking and arguing before ultimately taking the woman's life in a fit of rage because 'she wouldn't clam up.' 

The question I'm left with is 'do I keep this book?' I'm leaning towards no. Not because I hated it. It's more for the fact that this is an album of the series' true crime tales. Had this been an omnibus of several full issues, I would keep it. I think there's too great a chance that I'll find some Dark Horse archives for a good price or some of the single issue reprints making a need to own this book obsolete. So I'll trade it in for something else to add to my collection. Maybe I'll get lucky and find that prose book about comic book history I need for my reading challenge!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

RoboCop: The Official Adaptation (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

There's an infamous scene in 1987's RoboCop in which a thug with a gun holds a woman hostage. The cyborg officer orders the man to drop his weapon. But when the criminal refuses, Robocop shoots him in a very delicate area of the male anatomy.

That scene is recreated here in this comic book adaptation of the blockbuster futuristic sci-fi starring Peter Weller as the title character. However, this being a Marvel Comic, the events were changed slightly with the gunman being shot in the shoulder from RoboCop's computer accurate targeting system.

Bob Harras wrote the script based on the screenplay by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. Alan Kupperberg and Javier Saltares penciled. It tells of a dystopian Detroit in which crime is so bad, it's police forcehad to be privatized by the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products. Recently, a crime wave resulting in the deaths of nearly 30 Detroit cops has lowered morale to the point that the officers are ready to go on strike. That's just what corrupt executive Dick Jones is hoping for. Without humans to police the city, he can patrol Detroit with his robotic drones, the double-barreled ED-209. If the program is a success, Dick will certainly become the new head of OCP, allowing him to put a massive real estate plan into action. However, when the tank like robot malfunctions, killing a junior OCP exec, the project is shelved to make way for the RoboCop project.

After the death of Detroit's newest boy in blue, the idealistic Murphy, OCP rushes to harvest his body in order to create their first prototype. Supposedly wiped of the memory of his previous life, RoboCop becomes a one-man army against crime. While on a patrol, RoboCop comes face-to-face with one of his murderers, bringing back memories of his life as Murphy and setting the robotic law enforcer on a course of revenge against the gang of men who killed him. 

Marvel Comics hadn't been a stranger to issuing adaptations of R-rated films. However, when originally cut by director Paul Verhoven, the 109 minute long feature was rated-X for gory violence. Scenes of one character turning into a mutated blob thanks to a run-in with RoboCop and a tank of toxic ooze were considered off-the-table for censors. But the director stood firm in his original version of the movie, that is until his kids watched it. 

Verhoven had intentionally tried to make the scenes of gore as well as Murphy's torturous murder, a bit on the farcical side in order to undercut the level of violence. But the director might have gone a little too overboard in his level of surrealism, as his children reportedly laughed their heads off watching the heroes tragic death. Another round of edits and the film garnered not only an R-rating, but also elicited a feeling of unease among the audience of the new cut.

In 1990, Marvel would produce a monthly series continuing the adventures of Murphy and Lewis. The ominous OCP would be portrayed as more considerate of the public good while continuing with their gentrification project, Delta City. This series ran for 23 issues. Marvel would also release a 3-issue miniseries adaptation of the inevitable sequel before losing the franchise license to Dark Horse sometime in early 1992. 

After Dark Horse, RoboCop sat dormant as a comic book character until publisher Avatar Press gained the rights in 2006. Frank Miller, who worked the screenplay for RoboCop 2 and 3 wrote the new series which was based on Miller's rejected storyline for the sequel as well as unused concepts developed for the threequel. As of 2018, Boom! Studios was the last comic book publisher of the franchise, releasing the 5 issue miniseries RoboCop: Citizens Arrest. Nothing new starring Future of Law Enforcement has been released in this current decade.

This book is a colorized reprint of the official 1987 adaptation which was presented in magazine form.

Completing this review completes Task #11 (Pick a Long Box and Read the 6th Book in the Box) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 10

January through June, 1945. The second World War is drawing to a close. Will Eisner is still tinkering away as a warrant officer in Washington, using the medium of comics to teach preventative maintenance. In New York, Eisner's creation, the vigilante detective posing as a criminal warlord, the Spirit, is still being published by talents such as Jack Cole. And yet, Eisner's creation just isn't the same without him.

Under Will Eisner, the characters had emotion. The layouts were brilliant experiments in lettering and design. The plots were simultaneously action-packed and funny. The art evoked empathy, passion and horror. Above all, an air of whimsy filled the corner of every page until it oozed off the paper. 

Without Will Eisner, the Spirit has become a soulless crime book. Instead of being imitated by the rest of the industry, the series has become just another in an endless sea of crime comics that seek to push countless envelopes. 

There are essentially 2 sections of this book. About the first 9 or 10 stories are trash. The artwork is flat but acceptable. The plots are complicated to the point of being unintelligible. The dialogue is like someone took a bunch of Sam Spade and James Cagney scripts and threw them in a blender: cliche without substance.

Then some miraculous changes around that 11th or 12th story. The art begins to pop. The colors are brighter. The story lines are now creative and the dialogue is much more polished. It lacks the charm Will Eisner brought to the characters. None of the writers that contributed to the Spirit at this time seem to be able to get Commissioner Dolan's relationship with the hero right. But it's better than the drivel that filled the first 80 pages of this book. 

I want to own the whole 26-volume Spirit archive. (There's actually 27 books in the set. But I think I own all the material that fills that final book and might not need to possess it.) Anyways, I buy (and read) these out of order. I purchase that which is affordable, not chronological order, based on many of these being out of print. Knowing now that Eisner is absent from the books containing the war years, If I am faced with two volumes of about the same price range that is favorable to my wallet and one is set during World War II and the other is not, I'll take the latter... for now.

A fair read. I wish I knew who wrote those later stories in this volume so I could give proper kudos. The difference between the halves of this volume really are as different as night and day.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

The Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual by Scott Beatty

The official manual to becoming the Batman! True, nobody can be Batman. But, if you ever wanted to follow in his footsteps, then Scott Beatty has crafted a handbook for you. Taking instruction from experts in law enforcement, criminology, first aid, self defense, psychology and weaponry, Beatty utilizes the Dark Knight's casebook to advise up-and-coming vigilantes and superheroes on how to defend and protect themselves from nearly any situation one might face in Gotham City. There's even some tips from magicians and escape artists on how to free yourself from the various traps employed by Batman's rogues gallery.

Need to know how to build up your superhero arsenal of vehicles and gadgets? Clueless on how to conduct your own investigations? Don't worry! Scott Beatty's got you covered! In my opinion, those sections are Scott Beatty's most well researched and written articles. When Beatty tries to explain situations such as how to safely fall off a building or how to repel up that same building, he gets caught up in the technical aspects and I find myself getting lost. Let's face it: no matter how many illustrations one might add as figure examples, trying to get your bearings through instructions on how to be perpendicular with the ground while keeping your arms in a diagonal bend is just too complicated to follow. A series of supplemental YouTube videos would have been greatly appreciated.

The artwork for the handbook is very clean. It has that classic style of Batman: The Animated Series. I like almost all of it. Except for the ears. I don't know why. But David Hahn's ability to draw ears just seems so odd looking. Big cases in point are the auricles of techno villain Gearhead as well as those of Commissioner Jim Gordon. One might think that I'm being petty or nitpicky about this. But the insides of human ears just don't look like that!

A neat concept by Quirk Books. Great use of actual Batman comics and other media. Though I would have liked if this book had stayed either all comics or all movies. Both really muddies the lines of what is canon and what is not. A must for fans of the Batman family. Only just because there is some actual life saving information comprised inside this book, by no means use this to become an actual superhero!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 3

I decided that even though I had a few misgivings, I would push on. I felt that the previous two volumes had some inappropriate panels involving 12-13 year old children. With that, I thought long and hard whether or not to read volume 3 in order to finish the series. Since I also review works to inform parents and guardians about the age appropriateness of comics and graphic novels, along with journaling about my reads, I decided that I needed to complete School Judgment in order to determine if things continue to skirt the edge of decency or not.

So does volume 3 over-sexualize middle school children, especially girls? Oh yeah, it does.

This final volume introduces readers to the third survivor of the classroom massacre, The Bloody Session, that inspired Abaku Inugami to become a lawyer. Named Yui Kijima, she's a ruthless attorney who has never lost a case. And she dresses as a dominatrix which reflects her vindictive and heartless nature. Kijima has arrived because sweet little Tento Nanahoshi is in serious trouble once again! School Madonna, Reiko Shiratori has been attacked, falling into a deep coma and Tento is the prime suspect!

It will be Yui vs Abaku for the fate of Tento Nanahoshi. Should Abaku lose this case, Tento will be sent to Onigashima Elementary, the harshest school penitentiary in all of Japan!

Then fans finally learn the identity of Red Orge, the savage killer of Abaku, Yui and ninja lawyer Kotaro Sarutobi's classmates. It's a resolution that will stun readers. But it will also answer some lingering questions for fans because the final two chapters were never published in print until now! So unless you subscribed to Weekly Shonen Jump's online app Shonen Jump+, first run readers of School Judgment were left in the dark as to the identity of Red Orge! 

Also appearing in print for the very first time is the 2-part prototype of Nobuaki Enoki's vision for School Judgment. Featuring very primitive art from Enoki, there's some elements of the Suzuki Murder and Dismemberment story but overall, it's a new case, with some new characters, between attorneys Pine Hanzuki and Abaku Inugami.

Here we are with a storyline that involves a history of a bunch of first graders being slaughtered, a youth bent on murderous revenge for their killing, and all kinds of fights, assaults and drug use and here I am freaking out over the sultry parts of this book. I don't know why. Maybe it crosses a line for me. As a high school teacher, I witness fights and assaults all day. There's been a couple of incidents of drug use, but it's mostly cigs and vaping that get my students into trouble. Thankfully, nobody has died. But we've had so many freakin' lock-downs that we've all become desensitized to them due to overuse. But when it comes to portraying youths as sexual creatures, as realistic as premarital sex and teen pregnancy is at my school, it's a huge line in the sand that I don't want to be anywhere near.

I know that there's a ton of Manga out there that are a lot more adult than this book. The same goes for American comics and graphic novels. But the fact that the sensuality and T&A that appears in this book involved elementary students was something that gave me a lot of pause. And to have adult men crafting these stories just doesn't seem appropriate to me. If it doesn't seem appropriate for your family, then consider this review my advisory. But will I demand it be censored or banned? As a supporter of the CBLDF, absolutely not. I just hope parents, guardians and adults who might not be in the know are made aware should they deem such work as School Judgment as not right for their families or themselves.

Worth Consuming based on the quality of the storytelling!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Fish Police #1 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The main character of Fish Police is Inspector Gill. With his toboggan cap, vest and pencil thin whiskers, Gill looks like an underwater version of Frank Serpico. He's determined to bring down the organized crime cartel known as S.Q.U.I.D.. However, Gill also gets suckered into a lot of red herrings when many of the tips he receives are from beautiful dames.

The latest sultry siren to entice Gill into pursuing S.Q.U.I.D. is named Angelfish. She claims that her uncle is being forced into making illegal drugs for the gang and wants out. Gill is want to dismiss her until she reveals that her uncle has created a drug called Hairballs that can take it's users to another dimension where everyone walks on land with 2 legs. 

Inspector Gill has the strange feeling that he was originally from the surface world and sees Hairballs has a way of getting back to where he once belonged. The cop takes the assignment only to learn that Angelfish's uncle is perfectly happy where he is as a member of S.Q.U.I.D.. Instead of defecting, he wants the detective to bring back his niece Goldie into the fold. Goldie just happens to be the new receptionist at Gill's precinct and she loves being on the side of the good guys!

Fish Police debuted in a black and white format in 1985. Written and illustrated by Steve Moncuse, Fish Police was originally self-published by the creator's flag Fishwrap Productions. In 1987, Fish Police was picked up by Comico, starting at issue #12. The series soon found a new home with issue #17, being acquired by the Connecticut based Apple Press shortly after Comico declared bankruptcy. Apple would continue the series until 1991, culminating in issue #26. 

The idea of cops and robbers played out by seafood might seem rather ludicrous. However, the concept is done in a very mature, dark manner that shouldn't be confused as child's play. As part of Hanna-Barbera's attempt to produce more adult themed cartoons, Fish Police was adapted as a prime time sitcom in 1992. Airing on CBS, the show featured the voice talents of John Ritter, Ed Asner, and Tim Curry among others. 6 episodes were produced. However only 3 aired domestically before being quickly cancelled due to very low rating performances. 

From 1992-93, Marvel reprinted the first 6 issues of Fish Police in full color as a promotional tie-in for the animated series. With the show's abrupt end, Marvel also pulled the plug on the comic rather quickly. For the past 30 years, Steve Moncuse has teased plans for a Fish Police revival. Other than a short story that appeared in a 2013 issue of Dark Horse Presents, nothing new has been forthcoming.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #28 (A Story About Fish) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Crime Patrol #11 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

(Issue read was Crime Patrol #5, the Gemstone Publishing August, 2000 Reprint Edition)

Though 1950-55 was the heyday of EC Comics, William Gaines and company were perfecting their brand in the late 1940s. Starting out as International Comics before a name change to International Crime Patrol, what would become just Crime Patrol with issue #7, focused on gritty violent crime stories. The police might not get their man. But justice was always done by the end of each story.

In 1949, when this issue was originally published, publisher Gaines and editor and artist Al Feldstein had begun to experiment with horror. That's why the middle story, 'The Werewolf's Curse'!, was included in a book devoted to criminal activity. As readers of Crime Patrol began to write letters praising these tales of terror, Gaines and Feldstein saw the merits in releasing an all horror comic. Crime Patrol #15 introduced readers to the Crypt Keeper who hosted the Feldstein tale 'Return From the Grave' Two issues later, Crime Patrol morphed into The Crypt of Terror, hosted by the ghoulish Crypt Keeper. Another two issues later, the publication would make more final name change to Tales From The Crypt and the short-lived Age of EC Comics was born. As a cost-cutting measure with US Postal Service permits, the numbering was never altered throughout the publication's lengthy evolution.

Crime Patrol #11's first story claims to be a true life tale taken from the files of the FBI. Proclaiming that the names were changed to protect the innocence, the true crime moniker was more than likely a story gimmick to sensationalize the kidnapping of a wealthy socialite for ransom by a couple of small time crooks. 

The third story is an account of a female pickpocket forced into working as a card sharp for a seedy carnival owner. There is no mention of this tragic tale being based on reality or not.

As for the middle feature, 'The Werewolf's Curse!', it's based on a classic horror trope. A pair of siblings have inherited a castle. Legend has it that the fortress is cursed by a werewolf which both heirs laugh off as pure legend. That is until their faithful dog and the caretaker of the manner are both mauled by an unseen assailant. This story lacks the signature twist ending that would become the staple of the EC line. Instead, the reader is left to wonder if there really was a curse of a lycanthrope or if the countryside was terrorized by some other unknown beast that could walk on two legs.

With this issue, featuring art and story Al Feldstein with contributions by Richard Krause, Howard Larsen, H.C. Kiefer and a dramatic cover by Johnny Craig, this isn't a perfect EC Comic, but you can see that things are slowly falling into place for William Gaines and company.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #18 (An EC Comic (Reprints are allowed) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Richie Rich: Vaults of Mystery #28

A villain from Richie Rich's past returns. Known as the Iceman, this fiend has the ability to freeze things. When Richie uses a heat ray gun that he borrows from Rich Labs, he accidentally turns the Iceman into the Scorcher! Now with the ability to produce intense flames, you won't believe what the Poor Little Rich Boy used to cool off this hot shot baddie. Or maybe you will. This comic was published by Harvey Comics...

Then Richie gets the upper hand over a girl who tries to scare his girlfriend Gloria.

Lastly, a bogus fortuneteller tries to separate Richie Rich from some of his money. But in a strange series of events, just plain dumb luck keeps dogging the swindling swami at every turn. 

Vaults of Mystery was known by Harvey Comics fans to be a series that was a bit more mature than its numerous Richie Rich sister series. In an earlier issue I've read and reviewed, Rich is shot at, kidnapped and his pop even packs a piece! Now just 14 issues later and that saccharine humor mixed with misunderstandings and happenstance just oozes through every page. I don't like it. I don't know why, but I prefer the edgier Richie Rich. I don't want Cadbury to die in a hail of bullets or anything like that. I guess with the more serious storytelling, I feel more mature. 

Honestly, I'm not surprised someone hasn't rebooted Richie Rich into a grittier, unfeeling rich boy yet.  It would be perfect fodder in the vein of Riverdale or Nancy Drew. Oh, don't worry. It's coming soon one day. But until then, it's a MEH from me.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Torsobear, Vol. 3: Back on the Blocks

I waited a year to read Volume 2 of Torsobear because the story I had begun was such a gut punch of a story. Innocent and sweet looking toys doing very nasty things. It was definitely something that I needed to recover from in order to continue.

While Volume 2 was nowhere near as good as the opening salvo, it continued to be a story that made the reader feel uneasy. Only this time I wasn't going to wait another year to finish the storyline.

Ruxby is back on the force. Only now he's doing crowd control with SWAT as Toyburg has descended into chaos. In the fallout of the Torsobear/Copycat killings, Mayor Huntington has turned the city into a police state, arresting innocent people while the real Copycat Killer pulls the strings literally from behind the curtains. 

There's also unrest in the lands across the Lemonade Sea. Only now this struggle is over class warfare as wealthy toys get richer while the poorer, less advanced playthings get poorer. 

I really didn't like this final volume. Sure, the Copycat Killer storyline gets really confusing and meta. Yet if the various writers and artists behind this project would have just stuck with that plot, things would have been okay. Instead, a lot of space in this book was wasted on what felt like a play date version of Les Mis. If the creators had wanted to do a follow-up volume of the class warfare struggles that occurred at the same time as the events in Toyburg, I would have been good with that. See, Volume 3 also finally reveals what happened in the Saturday Morning War which essentially led to the formation of this vast play-land. Spending time on the secondary plotline took time away from the origin story that was needed because if you look in the background, the Copycat Killer was there involved in the war. His motivations are overlooked because the creative team decided to throw 'a batteries not included' version of The Communist Manifesto into the mix.

Torsobear was a large project that came about thanks to crowdfunding and a lot of word of mouth. It's been about 5 years since this third and final volume was published. Those behind this project are probably done with Toyburg. I, the reader am not. There was so many questions left unanswered. While I in no way want to undo the happy ending, I want more answers. What was Copycat Killer doing in the Saturday Morning War? How did the Mayor come to power? What role did Hazbrow play in the war? And who killed Strax Power?

Maybe a companion piece could be forthcoming. I could see a story where as the citizens of Toyburg re-build, they uncover clues that reveal the answers to my questions and more in flashback. It could work. 

Thankfully, if a Volume 4 ever comes to fruition, it will probably be a couple of years before it comes out. GOOD! Parts of this story freaked me the Hell out. When Copycat paints a demonic set of teeth over the crescent moon, it reminded me of the frightening moon that hangs over Christmasland in Joe Hill's NOS4A2 and the graphic novel companion piece, Wraith. 

The artwork was superior once again. So many freaking awesome Easter eggs! Some great parts that were crowded out by a tangent that was unnecessary. I'm just so disappointed in how an idea with great promise fizzled at the end.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Cover Not Final: Crime Funnies

My local library had a display of works by local authors. That's where I found this digest sized work. There was the mischievous looking criminal standing in front of a car wreck touting 'Crime Funnies' on the cover. I thought it looked fun in a wicked sort of way and gave it a read. 

I could not have been more wrong. 

The book starts off with a song that doesn't rhyme. Though I did learn something from this ballad. It seems that all of the segments of this book take place in a world where music is outlawed and where putting a piece of artwork in front of someone's door is a threat worse than death. The little imp from the cover appears in a few stories. He's known as 'Career Criminal', though his crimes aren't all that dastardly. A couple of other places and background characters pop up in the other stories making for a Pulp Fiction type work. But that's about the only things that are cohesive in the book.

Max Huffman's work is psychedelic. Very experimental to the point of being beyond an underground comix. The colors are extremely vibrant. But I just didn't really know what the hell was going on here.

The fact that I am giving this work any stars is due to the fact that each story has an engrossing start. Yet all of these stories have an abrupt end with nothing ever completed. Heck, a couple of tales felt like nothing was ever even attempted. The opening story about a hardened 70's style private detective who discovers that his uncle is missing ends with the guy losing his train of thought... THE END. I felt so cheated and I only checked this book out. Thank God, I didn't pay  for this book which retails to almost $10!

If there was a formula to this book, I clearly missed it. 

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 2 out of 10 stars. 

The Question, Vol. 2: Poisoned Ground

I started with Volume 2. This might sound like an odd thing to do. And I agree, it is. I found this, along with about 30 exact copies of this book, at Ollie's for only $4. Featuring writing by Dennis O'Neil, I just couldn't pass it up. Unfortunately, there weren't any other volumes in the series for sale. 

I waited a few months in hopes of finding book one before just saying 'the heck with it' and going ahead and giving this book a read. And it wasn't a hard transition to start with issue #8. The Question is news reporter Vic Sage. He's helped by a scientist nicknamed Tot who provides Vic with a mask that makes him appear faceless and a special gas that seals the mask and changes his hair and physical appearance.

Vic had been left for dead and it was that incident that led him to turn into The Question. Able to do things that the corrupt police force of Hub City refuses to act upon, Vic Sage uses his leads as a newscaster to take on the dangerous criminal elements that operate in his home town. There's no question at all that this hero is a vigilante.

Perhaps the most confusing thing that Dennis O'Neil added to the mystique in this 1980s era reboot was Vic's real name. Retconned to have been an abandoned baby raised by nuns, the sisters gave him the name of Charles Victor Szasz. Well, there's a Batman villain named Victor Zsasz. That deranged serial killer was created in 1992 by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. Were they influenced by Denny O'Neil? What's the connection? Why is it when I Googled these questions, others readers seem to not have any answers to this either?

The one thing I loved about this gritty 'mature audiences' version of a classic Charlton legacy character was how this Question seems to be more like the way I wish Batman would be like. See, I don't play Batman video games for the very reason that those games are more fighting and less mystery solving. I love the Dark Knight more when he's the great detective as opposed to some sort of glorified mixed martial artist. And this version of the Question is an exciting detective written by a Batman legend! I just wish he had better dialogue.

The scripts read like really bad imitations of Philip Marlowe. The plots are great. But Vic Sage's dialogue both in and out of costume are full of really bad jokes and even worse attempts at being R-rated without totally going full-on explicit.

The artwork is by Denys Cowan. It's gritty, sexy and pretty darn glorious. But man, did DC editors seem to let some things slide. In one issue, Vic notices an attractive co-worker eating a bar of fudge. When Cowan shows her eating the confection, well let's say- that's not how you eat fudge... And no, you don't have to have a dirty mind to make the true connection. 

I really liked what I read. I'd love to read more. No way in heck am I going to pay the prices Amazon sellers are asking for the companion volumes. They're out of print and asking prices are about $50 per volume. There's an omnibus, almost 1000 pages in length. I might be persuaded to purchase it, if I could find a copy for less than a $2.00 discount off the cover price. 

This version of the Question is gritty and very smart. But it's also cheesy. It's 80s cheese; so it's a good cheese. But it's also something that unless the price is right, something that I won't be reading further adventures anytime soon.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Real Clue Crime Stories #9 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Inspired by the success of Lev Gleason Publications' Crime Does Not Pay, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon decided to make a crime comic. As a result, Hillman Publications produced the title Clue Comics. It featured true crime stories that both glorified the underworld lifestyle of sex, murder and greed utilizing a narrator that foretold each tale as a fable for sticking to the path of the straight and narrow. After the third issue, Kirby and Simon were able to convince editor Ed Cronin to add the word 'Crime' to their newest creation. As a bit of a compromise, the word 'Real' was also added since the stories told in the publication were based on true stories, even if these tales were embellished quite a bit. 

Real Clue Crime Stories made its newly named debut with the June, 1947 edition. The life story of the notorious gangster Ma Barker and her family of killers were the cover feature; though historians now believe that this story was made up by the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover to cover for the accidental death of the elderly matriarch during a shoot-out in 1935. 

For the November, 1947 issue of Real Clue Crime Comics, I was able to verify that 4 stories are in fact about real life criminals. Opening story 'Kid Twist' is about the Austrian-Hungarian/Italian gangster Max Zweifach (Zwerbach), who led the Max Eastman gang until he was gunned downed by a team of a rival gang and his own men in broad daylight. Then meet Jack 'Legs' Diamond, a crime lord who became so fearful of being killed, he sets himself up in a literal fortress in upstate New York and runs his operation by plane and proxy.

 'The 9 Lives of Michael Malloy' would be a hilarious story, if it wasn't true. Malloy is a drunkard who claims that he is near death. So a group of friends at the tavern Malloy frequents decide to take an insurance policy out on him. But Malloy just keeps breathing. So, they poison his beer. And Malloy just keeps drinking. After several murder attempts, the fellas finally kill off Michael Malloy. Only now, the insurance company smells a rat. This interesting story was featured on an episode of Mysteries at the Museum and was the inspiration for the episode 'One for the Road' on the NBC 80s anthology series Amazing Stories.

The last verifiable story is the required prose tale Hillman needed to maintain first class postage rates for the comic. It tells of the counterfeit ring of 'Count' Victor Lustig that ultimately brought the con man down. Though he managed to rake in millions of dollars in 1930s and 40s greenbacks, Lustig's most interesting con was his selling of the Eiffel Tower... twice!

The penultimate story of this issue is about a Revolutionary War era highwayman whose generosity turns out to be his downfall. The final tale is a take on the urban legend in which someone is challenged to go to a graveyard at midnight and to plunge a knife into a famous grave. In typical fashion, the knife manages to snag the clothing of the participant. The belief that the dead have risen from the grave due to this insult scares the defiler to death. Only with this being a crime comic book, there's a devious twist at the end. 

The cover and the first story were illustrated by Dan Barry, who drew a ton of beloved comic strip characters including Flash Gordon, Tarzan and Spider-Man in a career that spanned 6 decades. The only other artist who provides a signature is Art Helfant, a gag artist who crafted the 3 one-page funnies that add a slight doze of brevity to an otherwise intense and melodramatic book.

Kirby and Simon left Hillman in 1948. Yet despite this departure, Real Clue Crime Comics lived on. 5 more volumes of 12 issues each were published from 1948-52. A 6th volume was begun in 1953, amassing 3 issues before Hillman decided to shutter its comic book unit. Hillman Periodicals continued to publish a number of general interest and right-wing opinionated magazines until 1961 when publisher Alex L. Hillman sold off his very popular digest-sized Pageant to McFadden Communications. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #13 (With the word 'Clue' in the Title) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Batman: Noel (A Madman Re-Read)

When I first read this book, it was 2012. The copy was property of my local library. I wrote up a review as I normally do. Then I apparently forgot all about it.

I think it was last year or maybe 2020, when DC Comics reissued this Gotham City take on Dicken's A Christmas Carol. My favorite comic book shop held me a copy just in case I needed it for my collection; which I did. I recalled having read this holiday graphic novel as I remembered coming across my review in the database of my blog. Yet, I still couldn't remember anything about this book.

During the past couple of weeks, I've been re-cataloging my comic book collection. With it being the holidays, I decided to tackle my Christmas and Thanksgiving books for a while. It's where I came back across this book. Noticing that I hadn't even taken this hardcover out of it's protective plastic wrap, I decided it was time to stop having my mind come to a total blank when I try to remember what occurred.

Batman: Noel retells the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge with Batman in the miser role. As Batman tracks down his arch enemy, the Joker, the Dark Knight is visited by a trio of characters that represent his past, present and future. 

The Bob Cratchit role is played by a down on his luck father who joined the Joker's gang in hopes of raising some cash to bring his crippled son, Timothy, some holiday cheer. However, when the cash drop goes horribly wrong, Bob and his son will find themselves stuck in the middle of a final showdown between two mortal enemies on Christmas Eve, of all times and places!

The artist behind this graphic novel is the amazing Lee Bermejo (Joker). I've been enthralled by his work for a very long time. His covers are so detailed and lifelike. It is hard to believe that Lee Bermejo is self-taught. If anyone can draw Batman as a living, breathing entity, it's Bermejo. Batman: Noel marks Bermejo's writing debut and I think he knocked it out of the park. I just can't understand why I forgot having read this book previously.

I know I've read a lot of comic books in the past. But usually, if I've forgotten having read something previously, I wind up at some point finally remembering it. Not this time. This makes me wonder if when 2032 comes around that I'm going to have to read this festive fight fest again just to jog my memory. 

A gritty holiday fable that doesn't disappoint.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

American Mythology Monsters Vol. 2 #1

I'm not really sure why I had this issue filed as a Halloween comic book. Despite the monsters, the horror, and the gore, there's nothing to tie-in Halloween. None of the trio of stories are set during Halloween. There's not a single jack-o-lantern or kid trick-or-treating in this black and white comic.

I also thought that this 2021 book was a one-shot. Instead, it's the first issue of a 3-part miniseries. That means that all 3 stories end in cliffhangers. However, all 3 stories that comprise this story have endings that if the editors or authors didn't put a 'to be continued' blurb at the end of each segment, you wouldn't know that this any of these stories had continuations. So I am actually okay with that even though comics unexpectedly ending with cliffhangers are major pet peeves of mine. 

Despite my accidental belief that this was a Halloween one-shot special, that mistaken believe isn't what irked me to no end! It's the banner on the bottom of the cover! It says 'The Frankenstein Monster! The Mummy! The Werewolf! Reimagined!' Well, despite there being a Frank and a Wolfman on the amazing cover pencelled by Neil Vokes (Untold Stories of Spider-Man), there is not a single mummy in this issue. And None of the stories are about a Frankenstein monster or a lycantrope!

This was a major print issue that somebody in the editing department made a giant goof on. You see, the 'reimagined' banner was used in the first volume of American Mythology Monsters. And those monsters were used in that series! The logo looks completely the same, with the exception of a pair of Roman numerals I's. I'm thinking whomever designed the cover used the same template for the 2021 follow-up, but they forgot to change that pesky banner on the bottom of the cover. 

The stories themselves were decent. The first story is about a man whose visit to the doctor for a wound that will not heal could bring about the end of the world. The middle story seems like a typical crime noir about a coal magnate trying to silence a rabble-rousing union rep. About halfway, the story goes from criminal to kinky to killer to just plain mysterious. Our last story is about a scientist whose desperate to save her son from a dread disease and accidentally kills herself from an untested cure. Buried in her family plot in New Orleans, the researcher returns as a cross between a zombie and a vampire. 

That last story was definitely a reimagining of both the zombie and the vampire- combined into 1. The first story was one that I really have not a care in the world if I ever find out what happens next. Good story. Just not my thing. But that middle story. Man, it was intriguing. And dirty. And bloody. I really need to know the rest of that story. But what I am really wanting to read more about isn't even something that is officially part of this story.

At the end of this comic, there's a 5 page preview of a comic book based on the slasher flick villain Victor Crowley from Adam Green's Hatchet series of films. In the preview, a group of filmmakers and their guides are in a swamp looking for an elusive type of Bigfoot known as a Skunk Ape. Instead of finding the cryptid, the documentarians find Victor in the swamp. Oh, and then the Skunk Ape appears! As soon as that glimpse at that book was over, I was crying foul! I wanted more! I'm definitely on the hunt for that one-shot special.

I enjoyed this read. But the flaws of the cover threw me way off and hampered my enjoyment. One story was a dud. One was so-so. One was fantastic! But my biggest enjoyment was the sneak peak of Hatchet: Unstoppable Horror in the advertisement section of the book.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Movie Classic: Who's Minding The Mint?

This is a new addition to my collection that I've been looking forward to for quite some time. Who's Minding The Mint? was arguably my mom's favorite comedy film. I was introduced to the movie sometime around age 7 or 8 because I remember watching it the night I met who was to become my Aunt Cheryl and a couple of new cousins. Anyways, this became a movie that we'd watch whenever it came on TV, usually WGN from Chicago or TBS from Atlanta back when both were considered luxury channels on cable and not your standard editions on streaming these days.

The plot of the 1967 film is of a caper that was pretty much unheard 50 plus years ago- to print several million dollars in new bills overnight in the US mint in Washington. Today, with computers and other tech, such a caper isn't uncommon in film or even TV. 

Jim Hutton (Ellery Queen) plays Harry Lucas, a treasury department employee who lives beyond his means. To keep up appearances as a hip young bachelor, Harry furnishes his apartment and wardrobe on a trial basis. This includes chauffeured cars! Because of this, Harry's boss thinks he's embezzling funds from the mint. Plus, he's jealous that a very demure treasury employee has a crush on Harry, though the young man thinks only of her as a friend. One day, Harry accidentally takes $50,000 with him and destroys it in his garbage disposal. With his boss already suspecting Harry of being crooked, Harry has got to come up with something to replace the money and fast!

Harry has a friend nicknamed Pop, who was forced to retire just before he was about to become a printer for the mint. Pop is more than happy to finally get his hands on those presses. But he'll need a safe cracker to open the vault that holds the plates. Plus, they need a fence who can get supplies on the cheap, a tour guide of the underground sewer system leading to the mint, someone to build a boat small enough to fit through a manhole cover, and a lookout! Now Harry's $50K caper has ballooned into a $10 million dollar heist!

Along with Hutton, Who's Minding The Mint? had an all-star cast! My Darling Clementine's Walter Brennan played Pop. (To this day, I am a huge fan of Walter Brennan and will watch anything he's in!) The Rat Pack's Joey Bishop, TV legend Milton Berle, Victor Buono (Batman's King Tut), Bob Denver (Gilligan's Island) and Dorothy Provine (That Darn Cat) rounded out everyone involved in the crime of the century. M*A*S*H*'s Jamie Farr plays an important part as cousin Mario.

I've been wanting this book since I found out it existed pre-pandemic. Then I just couldn't find it anywhere. But then one day recently on a whim, I decided to go searching for it, finding a very good condition copy on Amazon of all places. I made sure the first night I added this bad boy to my collection that I read it cover-to-cover!

The renderings of the characters were really good. It wasn't SOP to list the artist credits just yet though DC and Marvel were taking big strides to do this by 1967. Thus I can't give credit to who the artist was. But I will surely offer the team praise. 

The anonymous writer of this adaptation did a great job too. I've noticed that with some comic book versions of films from this era, Dell had a bad habit of running out of book and basically shoving in a very abrupt and hasty ending; sometimes to the point, the end of the story split out to the back cover! (See my review of the John Wayne vehicle The Horse Riders as proof!) But with Who's Minding The Mint?, this 4-color version of the movie had good pacing and felt very faithful to the source material. 

Not every joke and character makes it to the screen. Corrine Miller's character of Harry's sexpot love interest Doris was probably cut because her presence probably violated Dell's wholesome promise of comics parents will approve of. The lengthy joke about sex rituals recorded in a recent issue of Playboy was definitely edited out. I'm not really sure why I thought that scene would be in this comic. But I did! Still, I was extremely happy with my purchase.

Now if only I could find this on TV. I'm really wanting to see it on celluloid of all a sudden.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.