Super Duck #1

Golden Age superhero turned comedic foil Super Duck returns to print in an all-new miniseries from Archie Comics. While this premise might seem great for the kiddies, this is one for the grown-ups!

Super Duck #1
Written by Frank Tieri and Ian Flynn
Art by Ryan Jampole
Covers by Ryan Jampole, Derek Charm, Andy Fish, Eric Gorham and Erica Henderson
}Published by Archie Comics
Retail: $3.99

Super Duck made his very first comic appearance way back in 1943. Appearing in the pages of Jolly Jangles #10, Super Duck was yet another attempt by a publisher to chase in on the ultra popularity of Superman. Some may call Super Duck a parody. Others might call him a waterfowl carbon copy as Super Duck’s original costume even had a diamond emblem very much like one of the chest of the Man of Steel.

Just a year later, in 1944, Super Duck would undergo some massive changes. Thanks to a threat of litigation from DC Comics, the suit and cape were gone. Now Super Duck wore a black shirt with red lederhosen and an alpine hat. The heroics were replaced with Donald Duck-like slapstick. Until 1960, the only thing super about this character was his name.

The character of Super Duck was gone. But the Cock-eyed Wonder was never really forgotten. Reprints of his Disney-type yarns would be reprinted up into the early 1980s in digests such as Laugh and Jughead. In the past few years of the revitalization of Archie Comics, there’s been sightings of Super Duck advertised in the background of various comics and even a character of two of the CW series, Riverdale has been reading some back issues (or so I’ve been told). It seems that you just can’t let a good duck die…

In this new series, Super Duck’s time of being just another funny animal appears to have never occurred. The greatest hero of Ducktropolis (now called New Duck City) is still wearing the tights and cape, fighting an assortment of evil scientists and giant robots.Things have changed in that Super Duck’s latest battle nearly kills him and they should not be so as the pills the hero takes are supposed to make him invulnerable!

With his popularity dwindling and his powers fading, what is an aging mallard to do in a world that is quickly becoming not his own?

There’s a definite Howard the Duck vibe going on here. First of all in the irreverence and satire. Ravencroft’s Frank Tieri has been known to give his stories a dash of grim yet tongue-in-cheek humor. But I think the real reason I feel like this book should be running for President is due to the scene in which there's this dominatrix hen with gigantic - er, let’s call them assets, shall we? I’m starting to wonder if this heroic drake reads Playduck?

That’s not to say that I didn’t like this book. It was very funny. The back-up feature set in Super Duck’s glory days was a brilliant parody of super heroes. Plus, I thought that the artwork by Dexter’s Laboratory's Ryan Jampole was awesome. It’s deceptive though!

With a wholesome history and even more chaste looking main character, it would be easy to assume that Super Duck is an all-ages property. But there’s plenty of mild swears, deranged violence and over-sexuallized birds in this book to be rated PG-13 at least! So parents, if you find this title misshelved in the kiddies section of your favorite LCS, don’t pick this up for your little one! Make this version of Super Duck a new addition to your personal grown-up collection!

Super Duck #1 debuts in print and digital formats on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Olivia Twist #1

Take the beloved Charles Dickens character of Oliver Twist and make him and his street-wise friends female. Then put Olivia Twist in a dystopian future. Add some cruel and unloving orphanage caretakers and you have a turn-of-the Victorian Era story for the post-millenials.

Olivia Twist #1
Written by: Darin Strauss, Adam Dalva

Art: Emma Vieceli

Published by Dark Horse Comics

I was all set to make Olivia Twist #1 my selection for last week’s edition of Family Comic Friday. The first half of this modern retelling of a classic work of English fiction was making for a really good read. This obviously wasn’t all-ages fare. There’s some adult on child violence in the work-farm orphanage in which Olivia lives. But the original Dickens tale was far from peaches and cream and still we require students to read Oliver Twist is middle school and high school.

But when Olivia meets the female version of the Artful Dodger, that’s when any thought of making this book be the highlight of my weekly family friendly series went right out the window. Dodger cusses like a sailor. And we’re not talking ‘hells’ and ‘damns.’ No, the Artful Dodger goes straight for the big one! That mother of all dirty words that resulted in little Ralphie having to wash his mouth out with soap (and risk premature blindness) in A Christmas Story.

One F-bomb, I maybe could let slip. But the last 10 pages read like Tarantino’s take on Oliver Twist. The story itself was quite good. It’s a shame about the language. But for readers in high school and higher, this is something that I recommend.

Many lovers of classics get upset when their beloved childhood stories get rebooted and retold. I for one have nothing against such a retelling as long as the time in right. The last time I recall the story of Oliver Twist being retold was in the Disney feature Oliver and Co. That was about 30 years ago. It’s not like the story of an orphan waif in search of a loving home is being rebooted every couple of years. So I am perfectly fine with the work done by Darin Strauss and Adam Dalva.

To put this story in the setting of a dreary future in which the United States no longer exists is actually a smart, though daring move. The type of reader Dark Horse is trying to appeal to are devotees of The Hunger Games and the Maze Runner. To set this 3-issue miniseries in a dystopian setting is a perfect hook for that audience who often struggle with the question ‘Should America for all it’s wrongs still exist?.’ Plus, the dreariness of this time period is almost as hopeless as it was for Oliver back in Victorian England.

The artwork by Doctor Who artist Emma Vieceli was also right for this. She doesn’t make this futuristic landscape look very promising. Even the rare time we see how the upper class lives, their mansions manage to look ominous and foreboding. But some of the color palette just didn't match the scenery. It WAS too cheerful!

Dark Horse might very well be on to something. Should Olivia Twist manage to be a hit, I think the publisher should consider producing further classic’s with a modern twist. I only recommend staying away from Frankenstein and Dracula, which have both been rebooted to death. But what about role-reversed Rescuers or the Hunchback of Notre Dame being set in South Bend, Indiana? I would be willing to give those new looks at timeless classics a read.

Olivia Twist #1 debuts in stores nationwide tomorrow.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Flintstones, Volume 2: Bedrock Bedlam

The rebooted adventures of everyone's favorite stone family concludes in this volume. Mark Russell's (PREZ) take continues to be both edgy and classic at the same time. I actually hated to see this series go. It was refreshing to have a socially conscious comic book to read without every punchline ending with the words 'Donald Trump.' This series actually proves that in the modern world you can skewer all sides of the same coin without getting old and predictable.

I didn't have a perfect experience with this book. Sadly, one of my favorite characters got killed off and it actually left me a little heartbroken. Thankfully, there's a happy ending of sorts to that tragedy. But GEEZ- what did XXXXXXXXX have to die?

An enjoyable read with art by Scott Hanna, Rick Leonardi and Steve Pugh. Plus, don't skip over the gallery section as there's a slew of really great variant covers and sketch pages.

I can't believe I am gonna say this but hopefully, this isn't the end of the new Flintstones!

I want a return trip to Bedrock!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars!

Suicide Squad/ Banana Splits Special #1

  Cashing in on the success of the more adult reboots of popular Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as Scooby-Doo, DC Comics released a number of one-shots earlier this year. One such title was the Suicide Squad/ Banana Splits. The selection of the Suicide Squad was the obvious choice. Fresh of the success of last year's smash movie, the covert team of metahuman criminals have reached near Batman-level popularity. Obviously, everybody also remembers the Banana Splits! They were the stars of a short-lived variety show that aired on NBC Saturday mornings.

      Wait, you don't know Fleegle, Bingo, Dropper, and Snorky? Don't worry, I don't either.

       The Banana Splits are an odd choice to headline a Hanna-Barbera themed crossover. The show doesn't exactly have reputation of being a big hit, much less a cult hit. Sure, the show was an early production by Sid and Marty Krofft. But during marathon's of Krofft series on Boomerang or Nick at Nite, the Banana Splits are never shown because the rights are owned by Hanna-Barbera. Plus being musicians, they looked like a scary version of the Chuck E. Cheese band. Yet, when you consider that Killer Croc and King Shark are members of the Suicide Squad, this pairing might actually be a bright idea.

       The Suicide Squad/ Banana Splits Special starts off with the Splits being arrested for being mistaken as metahuman criminals. Sent to Beve Reve prison, the Banana Splits are recruited into Amanda Waller's Task Force X. Their mission: to retrieve and rescue the Suicide Squad whom have become captured during a recent assignment.

       The story was actually decent. I enjoyed the banter between the members of both groups.  and was actually wanting the Banana Splits to remain permanently with Task Force X by story's end. DC took a gamble with this story written by Mark Russell and it paid off. Another thing that helped was the cohesive art style crafted by Ben Caldwell (PREZ.)

        Each special comes with a back-up feature that gives yet another Hanna-Barbera character a modern reboot. This second feature stars Snagglepuss. His tale was considered quite controversial when it was released earlier this year. In this 1950s era set story by Exiles' Tony Bedard, Snagglepuss is a gay playwright whose been brought in front of Congresses' House Committee on Un-American activities. People have joked for years that the pink mountain lion was gay. This story just confirmed it. Regardless, the Snagglepuss was a brilliant allegory on the Red Scare that gripped the middle part of 20th Century America. 

         This book was a pleasant surprise. I really didn't think the Banana Splits were worthy of a reboot. Plus, I wasn't sure if having Snagglepuss get outed would work. Yet this book was a success all around. Well, except for one thing. The Snagglepuss back-up ends with a 'To Be Continued' blurb. Yet I can find no evidence of any continuation of the story. Thankfully, it doesn't end on a cliffhanger but this lack of closure still bugs me.

     Worth Consuming!

      Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

 

Future Quest #1 (Family Comic Friday)

  Normally when I review a book for Family Comic Friday, I make as many attempts as possible to find an all-ages rated book. However, this week, I decided to review a comic that was based on something from the 70s that would have been all-agesback in the day, but in it's rebooted form is now considered rated for readers aged teen and up.

    Earlier this year, DC Comics announced that they were releasing 4 new comics based on classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 60s and 70s. The 4 titles were reboots of the Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Wacky Races, and many more animated shows that adults from my generation just adored. Of the reboots, I chose the one that is considered by fans to be the least retooled (and closest to the original source material): Future Quest.

   The comic, being a reasonable facsimile to the original shows of which the characters that star in this series originated, has the crossover of all crossovers. When a series of temporal paradoxes explode over the Florida Everglades, Jonny Quest and his friends investigate. In these portals are characters such as Space Ghost, the Herculoids, Mightor, and many more of your favorite Hanna-Barbera action and sci-fi heroes from years past. But quick on Jonny's heels are the forces of his arch-enemy, Dr. Zin, and they have the tools  to collect the strange beings bleeding over into our universe and the resources to make them an army of unmatchable power!

    The brains behind Future Quest are X-Men: First Class' Jeff Parker, along with Adventures of Superman artist Evan 'Doc' Shaner, and living legend Steve Rude! They did a fantastic job bringing the heroes of my past into the present and made them exciting and new without changing the formula too much. Many reboots of cartoons from the 70s are done tongue-in-cheek or barely resemble the original with updated outfits or modern trends. Here, everybody looks classic but with just that little modern day touch of class and there's one very good reason for this- Darwyn Cooke.

    Just before Darwyn Cooke (Justice League: The New Frontier) passed from his horrible fight with cancer, he developed all of the designs of characters to be used in this book. As it is with all of his works, Cooke was very devoted to nostalgia but he wasn't afraid to change things up when warranted. Even though Darwyn didn't get to personally complete this project, his deft hand is evident in each and every panel.

     I loved this first issue. Was I 100% sure who everyone was or had a complete understanding what was going on? No! But, I liked what I saw and I and very much willing to continue with this series. Of the 4 reboot titles, this one spoke to me the most. There's no goofy Mad Max element or veiled allegory to the economic disparity of poor and the 1% as in Wacky Raceland or retooled The Flintstones. This felt like something that I would be proud to share to the next generation of readers and it's why I shared my review here with you now.

    Speaking of the next generation, this book is rated Teen. Under DC's personal guidelines, the book is recommended for ages 12 and up. But other than a couple of panels of mild violence, there's nothing really objectionable. Sex appeal is at a near zero. The language was extremely tame. The idea of inter-dimensional crossover between universes is perhaps the most grown-up thing in the book. I mean, we are talking about quantum physics here, folks.

    So if your child hands you a copy of Future Quest and asks you to A) buy it or B) read it with them- choose option C and do both! This was a fun trip down memory lane and I am sure that the guest stars that keep popping up over the course of this series will continue to thrill and delight. Who knows, for a Space Ghost Coast to Coast fan like me, I might luck out and get a chance to see my old buddies Borak and Brak!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Batman: Earth One, Volume 1

   Convinced that there's a massive cover-up behind the death of his parents, Bruce Wayne becomes a costumed vigilante in hopes of bringing down the corrupt Mayor Cobblepot. Welcome to the world of Batman: Earth One. Here Detective Jim Gordon has been so beaten down following the murder of his wife, that he's a shell of the cop he once was. Harvey Bullock is a Hollywood cop newly transferred to Gotham in hopes of solving the Wayne murders and restarting his TV career, and a sadistic killer called the birthday boy is kidnapping young girls in hopes of reliving his first kill.

   Written by Geoff Johns, if this isn't the blueprint to the FOX TV show, Gotham, I'll eat my hat! Johns is DC's chief creative officer for its TV programming and there is just so much of Gotham in Earth One just as there is oodles of Earth One in Gotham. I love Gotham, it's an amazing show and I am in love with Batman: Earth One.

   Now here's where things get tricky for me. I've read volume one of Superman: Earth One, now I've read this volume as well- but what do either have to do with the New 52! universe? In the New 52!, there's an Earth 2, which houses most of the Justice Society heroes. Thus, I'm assuming that the red underwear-less Superman and the Jim Gordon Batman operate on Earth 1! Is there a difference between Earth 1 and Earth One besides spelling? 

   This kind of multiverse overlap is perhaps my biggest problem with the New 52! DC. It doesn't keep me from enjoying these stories but it does detract from my understanding of them. Perhaps the Earth One books are set aside much like the Ultimate universe was apart from the Marvel-616 one? But eventually, they both crossed over... So who really knows!

   Regardless, with excellent writing by Johns and killer art by Gary Frank, I am on board with this new take at the Dark Knight.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.