Star Wars Adventures Vol. 2: Unexpected Detour

Since my library has about 20 volumes of Star Wars Adventures, and I'm not able to go to comic book conventions right now due to the lack of cons during a pandemic, I plan on saving some money by reading the whole run. Unfortunately, my library prohibits patrons from checking out more than 3 books from the same series at a time. No prob. I can make do with multiple trips.

The main feature of this volume is a 2-parter starring Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. Taking place immediately after the Battle of Yavin, Leia is hoping the win will encourage more planets will join the Rebellion. But when Luke falls into the hands of the Empire, that victory rush might be over pretty quick. It's up to the Princess of Alderaan to don an Imperial uniform and do a impossible rescue herself!

Finn stars in another main feature story. It's from his time as a First Order stormtrooper and it offers a clear glimpse into why Finn was never meant to be a vindictive killer. This one has a great twist ending!

'The Tales from Wild Space' back up features are mixed bag. Actor Alan Tudyk pens a story starring his character from Rogue One, K-2SO. While Cassian Andor goes in search of parts to repair his ship, K-2 becomes the unwilling babysitter of a trio of precocious Wookiee younglings. Then those precocious Porgs from the new trilogy are the stars of a story that has Rey and Chewbacca going out of their minds as the alien birdies make a mess of the Millennium Falcon. 

Lastly, there's a story starring a character I'm not at all familiar with at all. He's a young lad named Mattis Banz. Banz is a character from a series of young adult Star Wars novels and he's apparently canon. This story is from his time as an orphan at a farm colony and shows how the spark of justice and heroism was within him at such a young age.

Of course, my least favorite story was the Mattis Banz story. Not because it was of poor quality or anything like that. It's just that Banz is placed within the pages of this book without any sort of introduction; like all Star Wars fans are supposed to know who he is. Luke, Chewie, Darth Vader- those are characters in a galaxy far, far away that need zero introduction. As I doubt very many young Star Wars fans have read the books he appears in, Mattis Banz is a character that needs inauguration!

Confusion aside. this was an enjoyable read full of exciting stories and great art by the likes of Derek Charm, Eric Jones and Annie Wu.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Marvel Comics Presents #14

Darn You Marvel Comics! You broke my #1 rule! YOU KILLED THE DOG!

In the first chapter of Panther's Quest, a random pooch saved Black Panther from attacking mercenaries. In round #2, those same mercs killed the doggie and for a Comics Code authorized issue, the death was rather gruesome.

Thankfully, the Steve Ditko crafted Speedball one-shot and the Fabian Nicieza penned Nomad short were light-hearted and enjoyable. As with the next-to-last chapter of the Colossus story, it was about as good as I remembered it. 

So once again 3 out of 4 ain't so bad. Just try to be a little more PETA friendly Marvel!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Astro City, Vol. 17: Aftermaths

This volume is Astro City's last with DC Comics/Vertigo as its landlord. With this in mind, Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross and Brett Anderson craft a trio of stories that poignantly closes the chapter on this fabled metropolis.

We first meet G-Dog. A chance encounter with a magical amulet melds a small time crook with his new dog, Hank. First experimenting as a villain, Hank's instinct to be a good boy slowly changes Astro City's newest hero over to the side of the angels.

Before I go on with my overview of this volume, I have to admit: I cheated. The rule for me with any comic book story is 'don't kill the dog!' or whatever cute little fuzzy there is. So I had to read ahead. 

SPOILER- the puppy dies. Thankfully, it's not a shocking death like in The Weatherman. But gosh darn it. No matter how much I prepared myself, I was devastated. Though I wasn't so sad for Hank. He seemed okay with his passing and so I was okay with it. I was in tears for Pet Patrol, Hank's animal teammates who must move on without their canine heavy. 

The second story is about a superhero named Resistor. Anytime a protest goes awry, this hero empowers the persecuted to become human shields from counter-protesters.  It was an interesting story told from the point of view of a reporter who is convinced that her estranged father is behind the creation of the Resistors. 

Lastly, the story of Astro City comes full circle as we revisit Michael Tenicek. Michael first appeared in the Wizard co-produced Astro City #1/2. In that opening salvo, which introduced Astro City to the DC/Wildstorm universe, a cross-time battle of heroes and villains ended up erasing Michael's wife Miranda from existence. Given a choice to move on or allowed The Hanged Man allows Michael the opportunity to forget his bride. But in a tragic twist, Michael decided to for-go that choice and moves on with his set of fractured memories.

Now 25 years have passed. Michael has started Miranda's Friends; a support group for the citizens of Astro City whose lives have been impacted by the influence of those ubiquitous heroes and villains and the tragedy that follows in their wake. Mysterious benefactors have honored Michael's sacrifices by paying for his bills and every needs. Thus 7-days a week, multiple times per day, Tenicek takes care of the lost and broken, all the while basically ignoring his own broken heart. But when a new addition to Miranda's friends attacks him as being a faker who feasts on the emotional needs of the support group, Michael Tenicek will finally have to face the pain of having memories of a woman and romance that both was very real and never occurred at all.

The opening and closing stories were very good. Tenicek's story was the perfect ending to this series. I love how the saga came full circle. 

The Resistor story was okay. One would think it was rushed to reflect the changing culture of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. However, those tragedies took place in 2020 almost a full year after this story debuted. So, there's a sort of eerie forbording, especially with a small scene in which both BLM and the police are attacked by snipers. 

But the VIP of this volume was the G-Dog story. It both broke my heart and warmed it at the same time. When Doctor Monkey is rebuffed after offering G-Dog membership into the Pet Patrol team, I felt so bad for the genius Capuchin monkey. Knowing Hank's time is growing short, the decision to have G-Dog have as much fun as possible with the Pet Patrol just made me so happy. But again when tragedy struck, I was grieving for Doctor Monkey and his teammates. Hopefully, their story isn't over. Oh man- wait a minute. The series is over... 

THINK AGAIN!!!

I decided to research if this is truly the end for Astro City. Thanks to an announcement from about a month ago, Astro City will be re-incorporated into the Image Comics lineup. Hopefully, the Pet Patrol will be back on rounds when the comic is revived in March, 2022! That would be such a treat and a great tribute to Hank! And fans such as me!!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #13

This issue signifies the beginning of a 25-part epic starring Black Panther. 25 issues! That means that this story won't end until issue #38! 

Holy Cow! Most stories have been 6 or 7 parts in length. Yeah, that Man-Thing story was 12 parts long. But if you were composing a plot point graph, this story would surely be your outlier!

In the aptly titled 'Panther's Quest', T'Challa violates about a dozen UN treaties as he illegally enters South Africa. Only the King of Wakanda isn't in the nation to end apartheid. He's in town to investigate claims that his mother might still be alive and held captive in one of the countries' capital cities of Cape Town. If T'Challa can stay under the radar, this should be an easy mission. However, there's 24 more parts to this story. So of course, nothing is going to go easy on the Avenger.

Along side the Black Panther story, there's a fun one-shot starring Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. This adventure takes place during a time when the Richards have decided to go on sabbatical from the Fantastic Four. Living under aliases, the two heroes hope to raise their children in suburbia away from the likes of the Big Apple and the threats of Doctor Doom and The Mad Thinker. 

Feeling a little bored, Reed decides to work on the gutters of his new house. Things are going great. That is until the ladder falls, stranding him! With neighbors all around, Reed can't risk  using his powers; lest the Richards peaceful time in the outskirts will be over quick. 

You won't believe how Mr. Fantastic gets out of this pickle. And he sure as heck won't be living it down any time soon!

A great pair of stories. The latest chapter of Colossus' 'God's Country' was good. But the mom in the story seems to be having some sort of breakdown or something due to her past and it's just not being properly explored. The Shanna The She Devil one-and-done was forgettable. I keep getting her confused with Sheena... and Nyoka the Jungle Girl and countless other deepest darkest African queens of the jungle.

3 out of 4 ain't bad.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Superman Smashes The Klan: The Graphic Novel (Family Comic Friday)

Based on 'Clan of the Fiery Cross', the classic story from the Superman radio story of the 1940s, racism rears it's ugly head in Metropolis. Set in 1946, the same year of the radio play, a new family has moved into the suburbs. 

The Lees are a Chinese-American family transplanted from the city's Chinatown thanks to a new job offering for dad. Though welcomed by the neighbors, the Lees aren't appreciated by all, when a fiery cross is lit in their front yard. As the family become the victims of increasing levels of violence, not only will Clark Kent and Lois Lane champion the Lee's cause- they'll also be under the protection of the Man of Steel! 

I've been longing for this story for a good 2 years. 2019 when the announcement for this graphic novel was announced. 2020 when the book dropped but I couldn't access it at my local library due to COVID. I must say, this was worth the wait. 

Superman Smashes the Klan is a powerful tale written by Gene Leun Yang (The Shadow Hero). I think setting this book in the 1940s with the 1940s era Superman was a smart idea. Mind you, during this era, Superman was strong and mighty. But he wasn't the god-like character he is today. This Superman doesn't use heat vision or cold breath. He can't fly-yet. And based on his fractured memories of his birth family, this Man of Tomorrow doesn't really feel like a part of the human race. Thus by having Superman being less powerful, it makes his war on racism and hate that much more poignant. 

A lot of time is spent from the perspective of the Lee children, Roberta and Tommy. The addition of rather young Jimmy Olsen helps keep their part of the story in the DC Universe. But I feel that there's just not enough Superman in this here Superman tale. 

I was also a little unsure about one of the characters. The chief of police is African American and I'm not sure how likely it would have been in 1946 for the head of security for a major American metropolitan area to be of color. I understand that by having the chief a black man, it makes the struggle between the boys in blue and the thugs in white robes more poignant. I just don't know how plausible this would've been in real life. (I welcome factoids in the comments to assist with this quandary!)

Great artwork. Yang collaborator Gurihiru gives this book a very retro while still looking sleek and cool. Superman and his city are illustrated in an art deco style not seen since the Max Fleischer toon takes on the Man of Steel.

I loved this read. Well worth the wait and incredibly meaningful!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Blue Devil Annual #1

This wasn't the last Blue Devil issue released for it's 1984-86 run. This annual WAS the last issue I read, however. So technically, when it comes to DC Comics, they saved the best for last.

Something is causing the supernatural heroes of the DC Universe to fight each other. Manbat is going for The Creeper's throat. Madame Xanadu and the Phantom Stranger are about to hex each other into oblivion. And thanks to about $6 million dollars in damage to his hard work for an upcoming flick, Blue Devil is about ready to rip the Demon, Etrigan's head off!

Just what or who is behind this madness? Throw in Felix Faust, Black Orchid, Nebiros, the demon who caused Dan Cassidy to become fused within the Blue Devil suit, and a bunch of baby imps and it's an all war!

This was the essential Blue Devil issue! The desert setting for the final showdown. The banter. The action. I wanted more of this. 

One could argue that the foundations of Justice League Dark are laid in this annual; even though it took about 3 decades for it actually happen. I think you could also argue that the other supernatural team that Blue Devil was a member of, Shadowpact, was birthed in this over-sized issue. 

Another factor in the positive for this issue is that not only does Blue Devil co-creator Paris Cullins pencil the cover, he also illustrated the whole shebang! Cullins left the series after less than a dozen issues and the art quality dropped significantly. I'm really glad that we got his artwork in this epic story! Having Cullins in on the action really was the cherry on top to this perfect read!

Summer Fun indeed! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Essential Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, Vol. 1

I just cannot get enough of the exploits of one Nick Fury. Whether he's an agent of SHIELD or the newest incarnation of The Watcher, if it's got Nick Fury in, I want it. And that's the case with Nick's time as a grunt Sargent during World War II. 

Fury has a squad of 6 men. There's former circus strongman, Dum Dum Dugan. Trumpeter, Gabriel Jones. Kentucky jockey, Reb Ralston. Brooklyn mechanic Izzy Cohen, whose Jewish heritage makes the war on Hitler that much more personal. Hollywood hunk Dino Manelli. And recent college graduate Junior Juniper. Fury along with the rest are under the command of one Captain 'Happy' Sam Sawyer; who just happens to be anything but cheerful.

Now, you may be wondering where's Pinky Pinkerton; the British playboy turned commando? Well, turns out he wasn't an original member of the Howlers as Fury's squad is known as. But an early shocking death will bring forth the Brit's membership onto the team within the first half dozen issues. An unknown element for it's time, having a good guy die (and stay dead) added yet another layer of realism.

One thing many don't realize it that while Sgt. Fury came about as a bet between Stan Lee and Martin Goodman, the crux of this comic book was a result of Jack Kirby's time as a solider in the European theater. The ideas behind this book were a therapeutic way for Kirby to deal with the horrors of war he experienced. For this reason, it was one of the few titles that Kirby didn't mind when Stan Lee overtook as the alleviation of his PTSD was worth the backstabs from the Marvel editor-in-chief. 

There's a lot of wild stories in this volume. Sgt. Fury meets his match when he is introduced to Baron Strucker. The Howlers take on assignments in Africa and the Pacific theater where Pinky's origin is revealed. Catch a glimpse into the future when the Howlers reform during the Korean Conflict. Oh, and in the most crazy story of them all,  the Commandos kidnap the Fuhrer!

Over the summer I completed a graphic novel biography about Jack Kirby. It was that book which inspired me to finally bite the bullet and get serious about completing my Sgt. Fury collection. But this task wasn't easy as just about half of the issues in the titles' 167+ run are reprints. And some issues were reprinted more than once! Being a gigantic bargain hunter, I went for the cheapest option which meant that my entire run is a mix of first run and reprints upon reprints. It took a while, but I got this run complete.

I'm very thankful Marvel did a volume of Marvel Essentials on the Howlers. A first issue is valued at about 4 grand. This collection contains issues 1-23 and the first annual; all of which would probably cost me just under $10K to own. This book is out of print. So I did pay a bit more than the original cover. But I saved a lot going this route.

Sadly, Marvel never made a volume 2. Shortly after this book was published, the House of Ideas decided to end this beloved line of black and white reprints for more expense all-color anthologies made on high quality paper- the Epic Collections.

 If you ask me, I'd prefer giving up the color and paper quality in exchange for saving cash. But Marvel never bothers to refer to me. 

That's okay. I'm sure I'll get my chance someday.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.