Flaming Carrot Comics #1 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

What's in a catchphrase?

According to creator Bob Burden, the Flaming Carrot's trademarked exclamation of 'Ut!' has ties to the Beatles. In an interview in Comics Interview #40 (November, 1986), Burden explained the meaning of 'Ut' as follows:

'At Shea Stadium, when the Beatles were all up there, and the fans were trying to rush the stage, and the police were trying to keep them behind the barricades, George Harrison points to one that gets through, and says, "Ut!" It's like oops! It's just a goofy thing that's kind of childlike and fun.'

In this 2004 issue, the surrealist Flaming Carrot is having to test out some new trademarks. Thanks to a new action figure made of the character, the Flaming Carrot has to test out the worst weapon accessory of all-time- the all-new baloney gun! True, the hero is able to finally do away with his arch-enemy Garbage Mouth. But if the Flaming Carrot wasn't under contract to use this ridiculous new weapon, instead of his tried and true silly putty, sneezing powders, and playing cards, FC could have ended things a lot sooner than he did!

The demise of Garbage Mouth couldn't have come at a worse time for superheroes. It's the age of political correctness and a vigilante superhero is just something the town of Palookaville can do without. Having to learn to be a gentler, kinder superhero is going to be a difficult challenge for the Flaming Carrot. Especially as a tribe of pygmies are building an illegal structure out of baguettes in the middle of the city park. 

To keep him in line, the Flaming Carrot is joined by his 3 girlfriends, one of which is an investigative reporter doing a secret expose on the hero and his bad temper. When the pygmies capture the super hero and force his gal pals to dance around in their underwear, it will take everything in Flaming Carrot's bag of tricks to save the day. Except for the baloney gun. He's not using that stupid thing ever again!

Bob Burden continues to tap into the absurd and bizarre in this 4-issue miniseries that celebrates Flaming Carrot's 25th Anniversary first appearance in the pages of the direct-market magazine, 1979's Visions #1. Originally, Burden had Flaming Carrot's origins being the result of brain damage caused by reading 5,000 comic books in a single setting. Burden noted at the end of this issue that he felt that his creations mental aliments were subsiding in FC's old age. Yet, there's a healthy dose of silliness in this black & white comic. 

Just like with Flaming Carrot's mask, you can't remove the absurd, no matter how hard you try.

This issue was published in joint by Image Comics and Desperado Publishing.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #29 (Comic/Graphic Novel Published by Image) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Slapstick #1

   Slapstick, the zany character from the 90s is back in his own series. The Marvel hero enjoyed a brief resurgence as a member of Deadpool's Mercs for Money in 2015. His small roles  in each issue were self-deprecating and very funny and that's about half of what this issue is. Plus, it's quite violent. Imagine Rodney Dangerfield as Daffy Duck teamed with Moe and Curly of the Three Stooges and you've got Marvel's Slapstick!

    Slapstick is a kind of tragic figure as he's a teenage boy trapped in the body of a living cartoon. Though he loves being a superhero, he's also quite depressed. He's unable to enjoy his basic carnal needs since cartoon characters are created without genitalia. Dinner is kinds of a moot point for him as real food doesn't process in a cartoon stomach very well. Plus, looking like a giant animated clown, nobody takes him very seriously. Did I mention that Slapstick is also mentally unstable. Very mentally unstable.

    In this issue, Slapstick is trying to do the mercenary gig on his own. Since Deadpool never paid him when in his employ, Slapstick stole the Merc With A Mouth's cell-phone and is encroaching on Deadpool's list of jobs. But, it's not quite working out for Slapstick as he gets quite kill-happy and ends up going too far with his beloved over-sized mallet.

     There's elements of Deadpool, the Punisher, and Harley Quinn here and I enjoy it immensely. But will the character of Slapstick be enough of a draw? The growing nostalgia for all things from the 90s will help somewhat. So will a great team-up with the Amazing Spider-Man (that guy seems to be popping up in a lot of reviews lately.) However, the cover of this issue mentions or features neither potential readership draws.

    I got this paper issue early December (it launched as a digital first comic in early October) and read it the same day I bought it. But things got in the way in my posting a review of this issue; work and stuff like that. (Plus, I forgot about...) Two further issues had been released since this one. But I'm not seeing a lot about this issue. What little I do see has been positive. But I think this book is just too under the radar. 

    As part of Marvel Infinite Comics digital imprint, that might help this series survive. But again, I seriously doubt it because the word of mouth has been minimum. Maybe my review will help. But I am afraid it might be too little too late. But if you love zany, madcap comics with a slant to the surreal and just the right amount of absurd, then Slapstick is the hero you have been waiting for to return from 1990s limbo.

 (Reader's Note: with some graphic violence, adult language, and some frank sexual conversations, Marvel slapped a Parental Advisory on this series and they mean it. Just because Slapstick looks like a refugee from the House of Mouse, he's not for kids!)

   Worth Consuming 

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
    
     

Tales Designed to Thrizzle: Volume 1

   

Surreal... Absurd... Insane... Funny as Hell...

   There's really no better way to describe Michael Kupperman's 'Tales Designed to Thrizzle.' This 2005 comic skewers just about anything. But what makes it so incredible is that every joke is done with complete seriousness. From parodying buddy cop movies with stories starring the duo of Snake n' Bacon (an actual snake and a crispy piece of meat candy) as well as the unlikely pair of Albert Einstein and Mark Twain to the satire of mass media produced comics like a Bazooka Joe wrapper or those found on the back of a cereal box- nothing is sacred like Jesus' half brother, Pagus! And don't forget the Mannister, the man with the superpower to turn into a banister! Or the forbidden history of when America had a prohibition on pleasure unless it took place 5 feet above or below ground; all of which lead to the rich taking flight in sex blimps. (Don't worry, the lower classes got their kicks in underground sex holes..those dirty, dirty sex holes...)

   Man, I'm getting sucked up in the absurdity. Mostly, because this was how my brain works. In high school, I was a founding member of 2 guerrilla comedy troupes and we'd do all kinds of crazy stuff like this. Only, we either taped it or performed it during lunch... But man, those moments of surreal humor kept me sane during a very rough high school experience and it was great to blow off a little steam laughing my butt off reading this!

   My favorite part of these comics are the ads. They parody just about every odd advertisement you'd come across in an old comic book or in the personals of your local newspaper. Don't skip these! Some of them are so off-the-wall that you'll not be able to help yourself with a chuckle or two- like 'Learn How to Fall Down Stairs For Fun or Profit!'

   Great stuff that can't be beaten. Not everything is a winner but you can't lose checking out this strange but brilliant series.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Wild Piano: A Philemon Adventure (Family Comic Friday)

   Philemon is a young lad who discovers a secret world one day when he accidently falls into his family's well. In this fantastic world, Philemon learns that the letters on a map that spell out Atlantic are actually a series of hidden islands in the shape of each letter. In his first adventure, the young lad met the first outsider to discover the islands, but they got lost along the way back home. With the help of his uncle and his talking donkey, Philemon ventures back to the                A-T-L-A-N-T-I-C in order to save his friend but ends up having to fight for his life by battling a living breathing wild piano.

    Philemon is a popular French cartoon series that recently has been translated into English by the fantastic young adult publishing series Toon Graphics. Not only does the company introduce American readers to some of Europe's most popular comics and artists, but they include extensive learning guides and activities for aspiring cartoonists. It's both fun and educational without being too overt about it!

   Though many of the books reissued by Toon Graphics are aimed at kids, I've learned quite a bit over the past year about many European artists that I otherwise might have overlooked. This series was created by the late Frederic Othon Aristides (AKA Fred) in the early 70s. A French artist born into a Greek immigrant family, the book's ocean motif filled with surreal characters is a fusion of both Fred's heritage and birthplace.

   The back of this book likens the Philemon series to Alice in Wonderland meets Gulliver's Travels and Les Miserables. I can see that but when a co-worker asked me what this book was like, I responded that it was like Monty Python meets the Smurfs. I think both descriptions are accurate. With whimsical beasts, absurd officials, Victorian photography, and the wildest imagination this side of a school full of kindergartners, this book will challenge and delight.

    The Wild Piano is the second book in the series. 'Cast Away on the Letter A' is the first book but my library didn't have it, nor does this book say 'Volume 2' on it. However, you really don't need the book to be caught up with the action in the series thus far. But that doesn't mean you should skip it. I'm on the lookout for Cast Away and I hope to be able to travel with Philemon to all 8 islands of the  A-T-L-A-N-T-I-C.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, Volume 3: King Radical

 

Oooooooh, slanty.

 In volume 2, the whole world saw Dr. McNinja and mayor of Cumberland, Chuck Goodrich die in a fiery shuttle crash as they tried to save the world from dinosaurs. Or was it zombies? Or was it zombies riding on dinosaurs? Without it's heroes, a power vacuum forms in the city, as McNinja's arch-enemy King Radical seeks to claim the burg as his criminal base of operations under the guise of being the community's new benefactor. But when a hobo uses a bizarre clause in the city's charter to become the new mayor of Cumberland, it puts a serious crimp in the Monarch of Awesome's style. Though having a powerful mummy for assistant mayor helps too.

    Join McNinja's family, his 12-year old mustached sidekick Gordito, his ape secretary Judy, and the rest of the McNinja gang of oddballs as they try to keep the peace in the good doctor's memory. That's easier said than done now that a powerful demon has come searching for Mayor Goodrich's soul and an insane Jesuit gym teacher has shown up at the local Catholic high-school. And just who is this mysterious new doctor wearing a Lucha libra mask and has the ability to cure a disease that turns people's butts into spiders at night?

   Okay- I can't believe I just typed that last sentence...

   Anyways. I was first introduced to the madcap world of Christopher Hastings and Anthony Clark's Dr. McNinja about a year ago when my library had volumes 1&2 on the new shelf. The udder ridiculousness of a ninja doctor trying to thwart the attempts of a Burger King look-a-like powered by Mountain Dew from taking over the world was just perfect for me.  I love absurd stuff and this is about as surreal as it gets. Time travel, mummy's curses, cities turned into giant robots, zombies, and massive orders of 200 expensive pizzas are just some of the bizarre things waiting inside this book based on the webcomic of the same name.

    Readers of my blog will note that I love the oddball comic series The Tick. But Dr. McNinja is completely different. For one thing, the Tick is a parody whereas, okay, honestly, I don't know what the hell to classify McNinja as... The closest I can I come to classifying this series is that it is a surrealist slapstick comedy a la Buster Keaton or the Three Stooges. In terms of other comic books, this book is a lot like another Dark Horse publication called Axe Cop. Only, this book wasn't written by a 5-year. (And that's not an insult! Axe Cop really was written by a 5-year old, though he's much older now. Google it...)

    I enjoyed this book but not as much as I think I could have. Having been so long since I read volumes 1& 2, I was a little lost trying to re-familarize myself with this series. It's one reason why I like to have all of a series before I read it but when you are depending on the library to help supplement your comic book collecting and reading, then beggars can't be choosers.  But if you are new to this series and somehow get the chance to get your hands on all three volumes at once, I think you'll truly benefit by reading them all in a close grouping.

    Amazingly clean art, crazy plots and even crazier ideas, and tons of surprises, Dr. McNinja, volume 3 is a great read, even if you did forget some of what happened earlier in the story. It's not like we've got the brilliant photographic memory of a ninja or something...

   Worth Consuming

     Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool, Volume 1 (Marvel NOW!, Deluxe Edition)

The character of Wade Wilson, Deadpool has grown on me in recent years. I feel in love with his short lived Deadpool Team-Up. It was wacky and I loved how the character broke the fourth wall, knowing he was really just a character in a comic book. That premise is supposed to make him out as an insane individual with a bloodlust and wonky healing factor. But, I think that knowledge makes Deadpool out to be perhaps the most sane comic book character of them all.

Later on, I read some of the Marvel.1 books. They were designed to help readers, both old and new, to catch up on the many characters and storylines in the Marvel Universe circa 2010. In the collection I read, Deadpool appeared no less than 3 times and each appearance he was zanier and more hysterical than the next. But the end of it, I was a fan.

So, last week, I came across this Deluxe Edition at my local library. Instead of reprinted six issues, I got to read double that amount and for free! It was the highlight of my week. (FYI- breaking my right foot was the lowlight.)

Anyway, in this volume a rogue SHIELD agent, unhappy with the downfall of American patriotism, resurrects all of the deceased former presidents of the United States. When back from the beyond, these founding fathers are so disgusted with what this nation has become, they decide to destroy it and start over. Desperate to keep this under wrap and for CNN not to air footage of SHIELD agents killing our nation’s leaders on live TV, SHIELD decides to hire Wade Wilson to do the dirty work for them.

With a list of 39 POTUSes to kill (along with Carter, who despite being alive still got dragged into this mess), the Canadian Deadpool is about to undergo a bloody crash course in American politics. Some of the highlights are a wrasslin’ match with Abe Lincoln, an outer space star wars battle with President Reagan, some Russian simian astronauts and lots and lots of jelly beans, and a romantic interlude in Marilyn Monroe drag and JFK. (Best line of that scene, when Deadpool’s (whose going commando) dress flies up and Kennedy says “Agh- that wasn’t there last time!”)

The second half of the book involves Deadpool gaining a new voice in his head and trying to save a friend’s life from spending eternity in hades. That set isn’t as funny as the dead presidents storyline but it’s still very good. The best chapter is when we see Deadpool’s 1980s adventures in sunny California during Tony Stark’s Demon in a Bottle days. The artwork was a fun retro look at how comics were when I was growing up and the parody of the Hostess Fruit Pies ads was the cleverest thing I’ve read lately.

I’m completely hooked on Deadpool now! I hope to find more of his stuff very soon. I want it all- back issues, tees, action figures, the Deadpool Animated Series DVD, the home cutlery set, the make you own Deadpool pool inflatable. If it’s got the Merc with a Mouth on it, I want it!

Worth Consuming

Rating: first half 10 out of 10 stars, second half 8 out of 10 stars. Overall rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Tales Designed to Thrizzle, volume 2

In high school, I was a member/ founding member of a couple of guerilla comic troupes. We’d do off the wall stuff like skits, top 10 lists, pratfalls, pranks, and kidnap people’s lunches. The times I spent with my fellow troupe members were the highlight of my school day, unless it was a game day or time for soccer practice. The stuff we did was off-the-wall, odd, and down-right bizarre. I think that’s why I like surrealism and a book like Tales Designed to Thrizzle is about as surreal as it gets.

The book was a short lived and sporadically published Indy comic from 2008-2012. Only 8 issues were ever published and with a $5 price tag and running at about 32 pages a book, I can see why it probably got cancelled. But that doesn’t mean that this book was genius.

Michael Kupperman has a unique art-style that’s part pop art, part retro, part 50s advertisements. This guy could’ve thrived at Sterling, Cooper, and Draper. His renderings of Jack Klugman, Michael Renne, and other famous celebs from the last 50 years are photorealistic. His work is super clean and his color palette is beautiful.

But what makes his stuff so good is the slightly deranged humor. From the adventures of Mark Train and Albert Einstein to a gallery of ‘lesser known’ comic books to parodies of comic book and magazine ads, Kupperman’s stuff is brilliantly weird. In other words, I wish I had thought of it!

There’s at least one more volume out there and I think my library carries it. I hope to get my hands on it soon, because I am hooked on the work of Michael Kupperman and I must get my next fix. If you like humor, absurdity, or parody OR just want to get your hands on some edgy independent comics, I highly recommend Tales Designed to Thrizzle.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Son of Ambush Bug #6 (of 6)

The Son of Ambush Bug ends with the myriad of plotlines being solved. As the Bug finds himself in an off-panel purgatory, the Asian version of the Bug meets his ultimate fate with the King of the Lizards, Arrr-Gyle! is folded away, and the Interferer, the dastardly villain behind the many hits of Ambush Bug, discovers a universe that can never benefit from his powers of altering reality.

 

Of course, the main plotline that involves AB searching for his lost child is concluded as well. But the ending is left to interpretation as to whether it all ends badly or well for the duo. I’ll leave that decision to you. But I must say I hate ambiguous endings. Ever since the movie Castaway, I’ll never been a fan of them.

 

Overall, the series and this issue was neither the best of worst thing I’ve ever read. Compared to the other Ambush Bug stories I have read however, this one is definitely not my favorite, not by a long shot.

 

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

 

 

Son of Ambush Bug #5 (of 6)

 The Ambush Bug is put on trial, but it’s not for the crimes committed by his impostor. No, instead the Bug is accused of violating the sanctity of the DC Universe by manipulating his knowledge that he is a comic book character. The reality altering villain, the Interferer doesn’t like encroachment on his turf and thus has finally found a loop hole in doing away with the Bug since 5 issues worth of attempted murders didn’t seem to stick.

 

  His defense attorney and prosecutor is none other than Mr. Harvey “Two-Face” Dent. Now, one might say that since Dent is a character in a comic and prosecutes the Bug for having such knowledge, wouldn’t Two-Face be accused as well? No, because he’s not manipulating reality and mocking convention like Ambush Bug does.

 

This entire issue contains the most madcap trial since Alice went before the Queen of Hearts. But I loved every page of it. This was what the previous issue was missing- the ability to stick to the plot, mock and parody the comic book industry, and make me laugh out loud. I cannot wait for the 6^th and final issue.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Son of Ambush Bug #4 (of 6)

 

This is seems to forget the plot of the previous 3 issues. The killer of the Bug, the disappearance of Cheeks, and the whole plot involving someone trying to change the DC Universe into their ideal image is completely forgotten. The Arrr-Gyle plot in which AB’s arch-enemy/ dirty sock has an imposter committing crimes as the Ambush Bug is the only thing really addressed from the first half of the series.

 

What we do get is the Ambush Bug and his creators and editor Julius Schwartz playing with the conventions of comicdom, and I’m not talking about that yearly event in San Diego. There is some absolute zany moments that I love and there are points in which I’m burying my head in my hand because the jokes are so lame. Again, it’s only by having Arrr-Gyle trying to frame the Bug for crimes that he didn’t commit that keeps this issue on track.

 

True, I saw the surprise ending a mile away, but at least it allows for plot development but I would estimate that about 60% of this issue is utter chaos. While I like chaos, most of it just doesn’t have a real purpose. Normally, if the Ambush Bug starts going a little insane, it’s to point out the flaws of his surroundings of to poke fun at the comic book industry as a whole. This was like watching Carrot Top, Gallagher, and David Copperfield throw out everything they’ve got in their repertoire and hope that the end result is the next Hamlet. To Geffin and the rest of the DC crew- focus, man, focus!

 

Not Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 4 out 10.

 

Son of Ambush Bug #3 (of 6)

The arch-enemy of the Ambush Bug is a wrinkled up sock called “Arrr-Gyle.” In this issue, the insane sock looks to frame the Bug for a multitude of crimes by having a horde of ravenous laundry pile into an Ambush Bug costume and going on a crime spree.

In the meantime, The Bug continues to search for his missing son, Cheeks, who is now playing soldier in a rotating battlefield of war comic parodies. Along the way, AB also hopes to find the fiend who killed him and sent him to heck! But with a crazed bodysuit that looks a lot like our surreal hero, will the Bug’s killer succeed in killing off the title character again or just take it out on a not quite that innocent pile of dirty socks?

 

It’s not classic Ambush Bug hi-jinx, but it’s close. The art is still in need of help, but the addition of “Arr-gyle” was needed to put a semblance of order back into this mad cap comic.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Son of Ambush Bug #2 (of 6)

 

Somebody is out to kill the Ambush Bug and they are willing to change dimensions, time, and genres to do it. As you can tell from the cover, the fiend succeeds and the Bug ends up in hell. Can a DC Universe exist without an Ambush Bug? Can hell survive with an Ambush Bug?

 

Just how AB finds a loop hole in the system will make you laugh and have you slapping your head at the same time!

 

Now this is the Ambush Bug I remember. Fantastic issue- the art is still rough, but it’s extremely clever and funny.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Son of Ambush Bug #1 (of 6)

When I was about 10, I wanted to start selling comics at the flea market. The idea lasted long enough for me to order a hundred comics for like $25 from an ad in a comic book whose memory has long since been forgotten. I then went to the flea market, put all the books in a box for a $1 apiece and quickly got bored as nobody showed any interest. I didn’t even make it an entire weekend. By late Saturday, the get rich quick scheme was a pipe dream and I spent the rest of the weekend in my cousins’ pool. Needless to say the comics became a part of my collection.

It was because of that “grab bag” of books that I first came across Ambush Bug. I first thought that this comic was about the Son of Ambush Bug. Then I kept reading the word “Ambush” as Amish”- I still can’t figure out how or why. But, reading about the offspring of a retired (or dead) super hero who drove a buggy in Pennsylvania Dutch country just didn’t interest me and it sat buried in my collection until somebody came along and stole my collection.

Flash forward decades later and I’ve got Son of Ambush Bug in my collection again. Only this time, I meant for it to be there. I feel in love with the character thanks to my reading of 52 and the Countdown spin-off mini. I later got the first mini-series and the Stocking Stuffer and my love for the absurd and oh so surreal super-hero was cemented.

The title “Son of Ambush Bug” is supposed to be a rip on bands in the 60s that would title their follow-up albums as “Son of…” Though, I don’t think that answer, which is given in the letters page at the end of this issue, is all that accurate. In this series, a villain that has the ability to change the reality of comic book characters steals Ambush Bug’s beloved doll-child, Cheeks. The cherubic Cheeks is turned into a gritty parody of War comics and retitled Cheeks: Combat Medic.

The disappearance of Cheeks leads the Ambush Bug on a cosmic retooling session that would’ve left the Crisis on Infinite Earths spinning on its ear, if it had an ear. Along the way, Ambush Bug shifts realities becoming a Japanese Kaiju hunter, a PI, and the target of a secret organization that doesn’t like the fact that AB knows he’s a fictional character existing in a comic book universe.

The book has promise. It’s not a good as the first mini-series. However, I found myself laughing aloud often. The art is rough. It’s slightly early Keith Giffen and that doesn’t reflect his best work. But, I don’t read Ambush Bug for the art. Okay, maybe I do a little.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Ambush Bug #1

What can I say? I love Ambush Bug. He’s wild, crazy, and totally bizarre. He’s also a comic book character that knows HE IS A COMIC BOOK CHARACTER! He also can’t figure out why nobody else around him knows that but him.

This Keith Giffen creation celebrates his first solo issue by going out and getting a sidekick to help him solve crimes. His first challenge is a bunch of Right-wing terrorist whackos who’re planning on blowing up a building filled with nuclear bombs. Oh, and one of their grandmothers who voted for Jimmy Carter!

 

You can’t make this stuff up! A solid dollar bin gem that I might find myself reading over and over from time to time because it was that much fun and totally insane!

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Ambush Bug #3

Okay- Ambush Bug and Darkseid are going to battle to the death for real- only not this issue. Instead, the Ambush Bug has decided to take advantage of the new DC universe brought forth by the Crisis with a small selection of Who’s Who. Just don’t expect any big names in this guide. It’s for all the forgotten characters, like Egg Fu (who will one day return in the pages of Countdown). Oddly folks like Space Cabby and teen leader of the free world, PREZ, are noticeably absent.

Meanwhile, Jonni DC, Johnny’s sister, has her own problems as the new universe is wrought with continuity problems that only she can correct.

Once again, bizarre content, brilliant fun. 

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Ambush Bug #2

 

If you are expecting to see the Darkseid/ Ambush Bug battle as cliffhangered in the last issue, you’ll have to wait. Instead, part-time PI Ambush Bug takes a case involving a giant mutated koala bear named Quantis. I usually hate it when a super villain’s real name is a tease to their MO in terms of crimes committed. For example, a moniker I do like is Edward Nygma or E.Nygma for the real name of the Riddler. But to have a guy named Charlie Tunna get turned into a radioactive fish villain is too much.

Yet, to have the koala’s name be Quantis is really clever, because few people realize that Quantis is a name for an airline that serves Australia almost exclusively and koala bears are from Down Under as well.

Lots of great gags and easter eggs. I really enjoyed it.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

"Batman: Mitefall"

NOT WORTH CONSUMING

I’m not really sure that this tale qualifies as an Elseworld. It doesn’t carry the imprint, but it is a spin-off of the “Legends of the Dark Knight” series that’s comprised of Elseworld-like adventures. The only reason I read this book, much less added it to my collection is that it was included on Wikipedia’s list of Elseworlds titles.

The art doesn’t work. It’s too raw and childish. Although O’Neil’s art is a perfect fit in his work on “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” series. But here, it’s much too jumbled.

Also, the storyline is a complete mess. Now in all fairness, this problem may stem from the fact that I did not know that this was a sequel to a story arc in the “Legends of the Dark Knight” series. Yet, while I am inclined to collect that series in the future, I’m not in dire need to read the prequels any time soon.

Superman and Batman: World's Funnest by Evan Dorkin and Friends

WORTH CONSUMING!

This is one of my (new) all-time favorites. Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite destroys every possible world in the DC Universe (Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, and even the Crisis itself). And it boasts an all-star cast of illustrators. This is very much in the realm of “Matt Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe”, only funnier.

Essential for DC fans, even if you don’t like Elseworlds.

Once I finish with all the Elseworlds, I may re-read this tale to bring the whole series full circle.