Marvel Comics Presents #55

Wolverine and The Hulk are busy getting acquainted. 

Brother-in-laws Stringray and Tiger Shark get into such a ruckus, they end up hurting the one person both of them loves most.

Jack Russell seeks a tribe of berserk werewolves and ends up becoming the target of a religious fanatic who seeks to cleanse the world of his kind.

But the story that gets my attention is the 8-pager set in China. A group of brothers make up a Communist superhero known as the Collective Man. A hero of the People, the government forbids the brothers from going to visit their dying mother. That's really the wrong move as nothing stops a collective man from his mama!

I've never heard of the Collective Man before. The logo on the back cover for the character(s) is so cheesy looking. But this was a very good story that was action packed. I wonder if he makes a appearance in Shang Chi or is this a character too controversial for Marvel to present least they fear the Communist Chinese government's reprisal in the all too important international movie theater market. But I'd be happy to see him appear in the MCU.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

The Batman/Judge Dredd Collection

The 1990s was the cross-publication crossover era. After a brief blip in the late 70s, the DC and Marvel universes went through most of the 1980s without the two sides ever meeting. Then in the 90s with Marvel facing bankruptcy, the worlds of the two big publishers collided. Not to be outdone, the major indy publishers followed suit. Shi meet Daredevil. The Ninja Turtles meet Savage Dragon. And Batman meet everyone!

That's how the DC Universe came to meet the citizens of Mega City One!

In Judgment on Gotham, a futuristic piece of tech transports the feared Judge Death to Gotham City. In a melee with Death, the Batman gets his hand on the dimensional warping gadget and finds himself in Mega City One facing down the one and only Judge Dredd! Meanwhile, back in Gotham, Judge Death forms an unholy alliance with the Scarecrow! 

Vendetta in Gotham sees Judge Dredd in Batman's backyard and he's come with a sentence on the Dark Knight- a death sentence! 

The story Die Laughing is supposed to be the next story. According to the ending of Vendetta in Gotham, that's where things wrap up. Yet, for some reason, The Ultimate Riddle came next. It has Batman, The Riddler and Judge Dredd enslaved by a powerful being who has joined the mightiest fighters in the galaxy in a no holds barred battle royale.

Vendetta in Gotham wraps things up with the Joker joining forces with the Dark Judges in Mega City One! 

Finally, the last Czarnian, Lobo is hired to protect an intergalactic children's host who happens to get kidnapped by the mutants of Mega City One. The story was a wild ride. What would you expect from a 1990s era Lobo story? Not sure why this one was added to a collection of Batman/Judge Dredd crossovers. But I am glad it was. Now if we could get a Lobo/Deadpool crossover!

5 amazing adventures. The level of violence, gore and naked flesh would make this a Vertigo property. But I guess DC saw a cash cow and thought they'd lose sales and they might of! I'm sure 2000AD didn't care one bit. But this is definitely not something for all ages. Maybe not mature audiences only type stuff. But please don't buy this for your under 11 years old Batman fans!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Dio- Holy Diver (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

If you hit record stores in late May 1983 you might have seen a certain debut album with some interesting art. The cover shows a giant demon creature standing over a mountain side as a priest wrapped in chains struggles to stay afloat in the waters below. Welcome to heavy metal band Dio and their debut album Holy Diver.

The religious right had a fit. They argued that the artwork was satanic with a demon killing a man of the cloth. But Dio front-man Ronnie James Dio argued that things were from a different perspective. And that perhaps it wasn't a priest being killed but in fact a monster!

The cover was painted by Randy Berrett and has since become known as one of the most iconic album covers of all-time. The album cemented Ronnie James Dio as one of the preeminent heavy metal headliners after tenures with the bands Rainbow and an Ozzy-less Black Sabbath. But the question still persisted 'What's the story behind the album cover?'

Over the years, Ronnie James Dio and his wife Wendy would conduct charity work for exploited children; later for child sex victims of the Catholic church. In interviews, Dio would claim that his controversial album cover was coming true. Some would question if Dio himself was a victim of molestation, having been raised in the Catholic church. While Dio was not officially listed as having answered in the affirmative, the singer would continue to allude to his Holy Diver artwork as being something 'not as it seems.'

Ronnie James Dio passed away in May, 2010. While he never fully gave away all of his secrets, he left a backstory to the Holy Diver artwork. According to wife Wendy, Dio was okay with the story being revealed after he passed. She just needed to find the right voices to do it.

To mark the 10th anniversary of Ronnie James Dio's death, Dio's widow selected 30 Days of Night's Steve Niles to take the singer's notes and turn them into a cohesive story. Artist Scott Hampton (Black Widow) would illustrate. Together, readers were taken back in time to an age of magic and dragons. 

On a secluded island, Father Emil seeks to convert it's pagan inhabitants to Christianity. The elders imprison the priest in hopes of teaching him a lesson in tolerance. But when it's revealed that the holy man has been poisoning the children with lessons on hate, the adults find that they make have to put an end to Father Emil.

The story was quite good. But I was really hoping for a foreword or even an afterword to delve more into the mind of Ronnie James Dio. The priest on the cover of the album is wearing modern vestments. I would have liked to known if setting the story in what I assume is medieval times was intentional or a game time decision in hopes of not offending the Church. 

Scott Hampton's artwork was really chaotic. Some characters looked cartoonish while others looks amazingly lifelike. There's also a lot of nudity in this book (and why are they floating?!). With the druid-like village and excessive skin, this book felt a lot more like a prequel to The Wicker Man than a tell-all about what really happened between the demon, Murray, and the drowning priest. 

This graphic novel clocks in at 124 pages. All story. No backstory. And backstory was why I bought this book! I guess I'll just never know the full ins-and-outs of the artwork to Holy Diver!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Completing this review completes Task #22 (With a music or art theme) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Vampirella Valentines Day Special (2022)

I wrapped up my Valentine's Day readings with a real vamp. Four stories of love and romance from Dynamite Entertainment.

The first story was the best. A retiring detective reflects on his first encounter with Vampirella which was a Valentine's Day night to remember.

Then Vampirella must protect New York City from a pair of elemental kaijus.

In a story set during the days of the Old West, a pair of outlaw lovers seek refuge from a mysterious benefactor known to help gunslingers arrange a much needed disappearance.

Lastly, Vampirella travels overseas to investigate reports of a Valentine's Day killer.

I've been reading comic books for like 40 years. This is the first time I've ever read a Vampirella comic. It is because of how she's dressed? More than likely. It's definitely not because of the horror aspect. I try to shy away from sexpot characters. But my favorite LCS knows I'm a big holiday comics collector and they ordered this for me. They've made good recommendations for me in the past, so I went with it. They did a good job on this.

Only the first story involved sex. Even then, it was off-screen stuff. And still, it was the best written of the quartet. I wasn't sure if the Old West story involved Vampirella or not. Or one of her multiverse alternates. (I might not read Vampirella stories but I am aware of her exploits from reading the previews.)

Have I become a Vampirella fan? Will I be requesting more Vampirella in my in-box? Probably not. But I will be open to collecting more holiday adventures starring the iconic horror dream queen. 

Happy V-Day!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Strange Love Adventures #1

For the past couple of years, I've been lamenting both the pricey $9.99 MSRP and the lack of quality of the over-sized DC holiday specials. Well, it's Valentine's Day and I laid down a Hamilton for this years romance offering. 

And I must say- this one was great!!! 

Instead of trying to make a political statement (or insult it's bread & butter readers), DC actually crafted 8 stories that were entertaining and fun! They all had heart, which is probably a good thing since this is a Valentine's Day special. True, not every story takes place during V-Day but love is definitely in the air. 

Highlights include: 

• Harley Quinn goes on the rebound from the Joker once again to become the Bride of Black Adam?!
• Sgt. Rock is sent to dinosaur island and makes allies from unlikely pair of love birds
• Alfred reflects on his time as the patriarch of the Batman Family
• Billy Batson calls upon Clark Kent to help him navigate his first date
• Iris Allen and the Flash go on a Valentines double-date with Grodd

I am surprised that DC didn't focus on same-sex relationships or gender identity in this special. While the Alfred story is about the bonds of family love and the Harley story ends with her and Poison Ivy having a romantic night together, the majority of these stories are about heterosexual relationships. I really would have thought that DC would be all about Love is Love in this special, which for a special about love and romance, would have been completely appropriate. I'm just thankful that for once DC left out references to Trump, Global Warming and more of it's triggering soap boxes. 

Now if only DC would carry this formula to it's Halloween and Holiday specials. But with the forthcoming deaths of most of the heavy hitters of the DCU, I'm not holding my breath. At least this special was satisfying!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Archie's Valentine's Spectacular (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

It seems only natural that Archie Comics has decided to issue an Archie Valentine's Day special this year. Since his very first appearance in the pages of Pep #22 (Dec. 1941), love has always been on Archie's mind. 

The first love interest for Archie was Betty; as she was moving into the redhead teens' Riverdale neighborhood in that first story. 4 issues later, Archie's love life was forever complicated when the wealthy Veronica Lodge moved into town. 

For decades, the eternal question was 'Betty or Veronica?' In 1982, the love life of Archie Andrews got even more complicated with the arrival of the spicy redhead, Cheryl Blossom. In recent years, Archie has even developed a relationship with Josie and the Pussycats bassist Valerie Smith. 

In this Valentine's Day special, a new love of Archie's is introduced. A songstress named Taylor Sweet, has become the latest pop sensation thanks to a love song based on a failed relationship with Archie. If you figured out that Taylor Sweet is a play on Taylor Swift- give yourself a cookie. Now if you can figure out if Archie is supposed to be Harry Styles, John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal- you win the game. Though with Archie's red hair and penchant for the guitar, the safe money would be on Ed Sheeran!

There are 3 classic Archie love-stories added to this special. Betty and Veronica take readers on a history of romance from the prehistoric age up through the Elizabethan era. Then Midge suspects that their might be some pent-up romance behind the practical joke war between Jughead and Veronica. Obviously, the real meaning behind it all is much sillier than that. Lastly, Betty and Veronica become fans of the works of a new romance novelist. Nobody knows who the writer really is. But when Ronnie finds an unpublished manuscript on Mr. Weatherbee's computer, surely the Bee can't be the hot new writer! Can he?

This was an endearing V-Day special. But it was far from perfect. For one thing, the artwork in the opening story was uneven. Taylor Sweet wasn't drawn in the Archie way. It looked like somebody drew a character from the Jonny Quest universe in with the Archie Gang. Things just didn't gel properly.

Then there is the romance novel story. It's definitely a product of times gone by. Nowadays, if a school official was revealed to be the brains behind a fiery romance novel, there would be hell to pay. Have said official share their sexy works with their students, A) the employee would be terminated and B) parents would file a lawsuit to have such works scrubbed from library shelves. I'm not being political with this statement.As a public school teacher, I'm just stating fact. 

Despite how controversial that last story could be, it was also the best of the bunch! That's because it was the work of Dan Parent, the definitive modern Archie creator! Again, just stating fact!

Dan Parent also crafted the cover. It features several of the many loves of Archie Andrews. But the truest romance on the cover doesn't even involve the world's oldest redheaded teen. It's Jughead and his affection for a properly cooked Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe cheeseburger!

Ah. Young love at it's most innocent.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #14 (Published This Year) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Red Sonja Valentine's Day Special

Love, Hyrkanian Style!

Red Sonja is the target of a love potion gone wrong. Expect lots of magic, blood and mayhem.

I'm not sure why I didn't read this when new last year. Pandemic was probably behind it. My favorite LCS may not have been open to the public. Or I was just not comfortable leaving my house at the time. But for one reason or another, I didn't own this book until sometime after February 14th.

I've got mixed feelings about this book. I really didn't have a clue where the book was going for the first about dozen pages. I didn't get the joke on the inside cover with the credits. I really thought there were 6 different short stories in this. So, I was really confused as to why the first story was so freaking long. 

Then you got the fact that Red Sonja lives in a time prior to the existence of Valentine's Day. How can this be a Valentine's Day special? Sure, 'love' is in the air and there are cupids in this book. But, it's like when there is a Flintstones Christmas Special. Christ was not born during the time of the giant lizards. These kind of anachronisms just irk me. 

The story overall was very well written. It's by Fables' Bill Willingham! Of course it's well written! I thought the middle spread of 'Red Sonja's Dating Tips' were hilarious. It too was anachronistic. But it was intended to be humorous. It did not irk me. 

I also loved the retro variant cover. Though I must be honest. I thought that Red Sonja was kissing one of the characters from Planet of the Apes. Silly me..,

Enjoyable. Not really Valentine's Day. But I see the effort and I appreciate how Dynamite Entertainment is attempting to start up a run of Valentine's Day specials. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.