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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Get Smart #7 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Get Smart was a comedic satire and parody of the secret agent movies and TV series that dominated the 1960s. Created by the dream team duo of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart aired on NBC from 1965-70. 

The title character of Maxwell Smart was played by comedian Don Adams, then known by legions of kiddos as the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo. Smart was an agent of the good guys CONTROL. Designated as Agent 86, Smart was considered the agencies top agent. Though he was an incompetent boob.

The real brains of CONTROL was Agent 99. The sultry partner of Maxwell Smart was played by Barbara Feldon and it was 99 who got Smart out of a lot of the scrapes that he often found himself in. Dumb luck is what got Agent 86 out of the rest of his predicaments.

Throughout much of the series, there was a definite will they/won't they romantic vibe between 86 and 99. This is large part to Smart being oblivious to Agent 99's advances. The pair finally became husband and wife during the show's fourth season.

The baddies of the show were the evil agents of KAOS. Smart matched wits with an assortment of villains. But Max's main arch-enemy was Siegfried. Played by future Love Boat crew member Bernie Kopell, Siegfried was a top operative whose position in KAOS was always changing; often due to losing out to Max and the agents of CONTROL.

As with many sitcoms of the 1960s, Get Smart was made into a comic book tie-in. Dell  Comics produced a total of 8 issues from 1966-67. Some legendary names worked on the early issues of the comic. Steve Ditko, Sal Trapani and Dick Giordano are attributed as having worked on some of first 4 issues. Unfortunately, for this issue, #7, I can't find any sources stating who was behind the scripts nor artwork.

There are 3 stories in this issue. The first adventure takes Max to Egypt where he is tasked in preventing KAOS from getting their hands on an ancient scroll. While it's never revealed just what is so important about this parchment, the ending gag is that Max discovers the phrase 'Made in Japan' on the artifact.

Story #2 has Agents 86 and 99 going down into the briny deep to investigate the operations of a KAOS submarine. However, the mission takes a high flying turn when an airplane removing buoys from the ocean accidentally snag the bathysphere containing the two CONTROL agents!

Lastly, 86 and 99 infiltrate KAOS headquarters as a married pair of recruits. Only 99 is wearing a mustache and Max is in drag! 

Dell's adaptation captures the zany spirit of Get Smart very well. Likenesses of Don Adams and Edward Platt, who played the Chief of CONTROL operations were very good. The oddest thing about this issue was that all 3 stories were titled as 'The _____ Caper'. This is clearly a parody of how all of the episodes for the quasi- comedic spy series The Man From UNCLE which would title all of its episodes as 'The ________ Affair.' A quick search through IMDB.com and one will note that this wasn't the style of Get Smart at all. Definitely, the brilliant satiric idea from one of the Dell Comics creative team.

1970 would not mark the end of Maxwell Smart. He would return alone in a maligned 1980 feature film called The Nude Bomb (AKA- The Return of Maxwell Smart.) Despite the film being a failure, Don Adams would frequently be cast as Agent 86 in a number of commercials including ones for K-Mart and Toyota New Zealand. Barbara Feldon, Bernie Kopell and several other regulars from the TV series would return for a 1989 made-for-TV movie titled Get Smart, Again! Its relative success sparked a minor revival in the franchise with a short-lived 1995 Get Smart revival on Fox that starred Andy Dick as Max's son. 

And of course, there's the fan theory that beloved animated character, the bumbling Inspector Gadget is in reality Maxwell Smart having been converted into a cyborg. Though Gadget is voiced by Don Adams, it's only a theory. But the parallels of ineptitude between the two characters is unquestioned. 

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #4 (Based Off a Live-Action TV Show) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.