Andre. Olaf. Chop-Chop. Chuck. Hendrickson. Blackhawk. Together, these seven men fight to protect right and stop evildoers all across the globe. Prior in World War II, the Blackhawks fought the Nazis and Imperial Japan. After the war, they continued their campaign, only this time against giant robots, aliens from outer space and escaped Nazi War criminals.
This volume of DC Comics Presents covers issues of Blackhawk #108-127; the first 20 issues after DC obtained the rights of the property from defunct Quality Comics. I didn't know that DC did any anti-Communism stories during the 1950s. After the Comic Book scare, DC Comics tended to shy away from such overly controversial subjects. But in the first 5-6 issues, it seems like every villain the Blackhawks faced was part of the 'Communist scourge'. But that plot-line soon softened to having the Blackhawks mostly take on costumed villains. Though now a part of the Atomic Age 1950s, the team did have it's WWII throwbacks, mostly in fighting foes who wish to establish the Fourth Reich.
This version of the Blackhawks was clearly a product of it's time period; mostly with the troubling inclusion of Chop-Chop. Unlike Will Eisner's The Spirit, Blackhawk did not boast a racial caricature of an African American, But they did have an character who started out as a racial stereotype of the uneducated Asian houseboy in Chop-Chop.
By 1955 when DC Comics took over the property, Chop-Chop looked less embellished. But he still spoke in a broken English filled with fortune cookie platitudes. (To be fair, the Swedish, French and German characters also spoke in stereotype.) Plus, he always rode in the back of Blackhawk's plane like a puppy on a ride with his owner. However, as this volume progresses, you start to notice that Chop-Chop is permitted to fly the plane on errands and becomes a martial arts wunderkind who gets the team out of their fair share of scrapes.
I appreciated that DC Comics decided to release this book unedited. In a disclaimer at the beginning of this volume, the publishers admit that Blackhawk had it's racist elements but felt that for historical merit those elements should be included. I think it doesn't glamorize racism. Instead, it shows how far we've come. With the recent cancellation of a pre-Batman Detective Comics omnibus, it's too bad that in only 11 short years, DC no longer feels worthy to share it's mistakes for the next generation of readers.
Lastly, let's talk about the forgotten Blackhawk. Earlier, I named 6 of the Blackhawks team. Yet, there are 7 of them. However, it might as well only have been 6! In most origin accounts, the Polish Stanislaus is the first to join Blackhawk's team and considered the team leader's most valued officer. Yet, in this book, I don't think I would be lying if I said that he only speaks in maybe 8 of the 60 stories reprinted here.
Of all the Blackhawks of foreign heritage, Stan is the only one who doesn't speak with an exaggerated accent or mannerisms. Considering how Polish people have had a reputation as being the butt of many a bar room joke, Stanislaus is nobody's fool. But he's the least used team member. Possibly having 7 characters is just too many to given a proper attention to. Yet all the other teammates have at least one story in which they are the star in this collection. Stanislaus it seems is forever the bride maid.
An interesting look at DC's team of super soldiers from the 50s. It's very much a product of it's time period. The covers are great but the story's tend to fall flat with absurd endings. Plus, for a group having a secret island base, most of the criminal element of the world seem able to stumble across it.
I enjoyed reading this edition, but I don't feel compelled to revisit the Blackhawks of time again. I would love to get my hands on their adventures in the late 60s when they became costume secret agents. But I think I've had enough of them from a time period fraught with racial ignorance.
Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.
After a brief vacation, Family Comic Friday has returned and we brought with us a classic kids comic book from the 80s that you can buy a copy of for just a dollar! Welcome back to print the adventures of Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-ham!
True Believers: Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1
Writer: Tom Defalco, Steve Mellor
Artist: Steve Mellor, Mark Armstrong
Publisher: Marvel Comics
SRP: $1.00
Way back in 1983, writer Tom Defalco along with G.I. Joe's Larry Hama and Mark Armstrong showed the world what would happen if Spider-Man was made of bacon!
Though his origin doesn't appear in this comic book, let's dive into how Spider-Ham came to be In a world not quite similar to our own, Earth-1183 to be exact, a friendly little spider named Peter was bitten by a radioactive pig. As a result, Peter mutated into a swine but still maintained his arachnid abilities.
Adopting the last name of Porker, Peter became a photographer for the Daily Beagle. But now inspired by the superheroes that he photographs on a daily basis, Peter also wears a blue and red suit, masquerading as the Spectacular Spider-Ham.
With the recent release of Into The Spiderverse and next week's debut of Far From Home, Marvel is upping its distribution of anything Spiderverse related. Thus fans young and old can relive the very first appearance of Spider-Ham in this True Believers edition reprint for the price of one portrait of George Washington!
In this issue, Peter is sent to photograph a disturbance at a brand new video game arcade. Someone is sabotaging the games and when the mysterious villain causes game developer Dr. Bruce Bunny to become irradiated by his new gamma Ray game, Earth-1183 will become the new home of the Incredible Hulk Bunny!
I may have my issues with Marvel Comics. But when it comes to re-releasing classic all-ages material for the next generation of comic book fans, I can fault no wrongs! I only wish that this book was released as a facsimile edition. I really think that young readers and their parents would get a kick out of seeing all the old ads for Return of the Jedi, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and games for the Atari video game system.
I love Spider-Ham. It was one of a handful of titles that I subscribed to monthly as a child. Back then, when you subscribed to a book it came to you in the mail. The owner of your favorite LCS didn't hold it for you like they do today. I looked forward to a monthly trip to the mailbox to see what new parodies were dreamed up. From Ducktor Doom to Deerdevil, each issue was a creative delight to read.
If the young readers in your life become huge fans of Spider-Ham and want to read more, then rush back to your comic book store and pick up Peter Porker The Spectacular Spider-Ham Complete Collection Vol 1 TPB. This book collects the entire 17 issue run of Spider-Ham. This issue is also reprinted. But with a nearly $40 cover price for the collected edition, it makes sense to test the Spider-Ham waters with this more affordable release first.
True Believers: Marvel Tails is being re-released as all-ages. This actually surprises me. When the book was first published, Peter's boss, J. Jonah Jackal is depicted smoking a cigar. Also, some of the villains Spider-Ham first encounter are drawn smoking cigarettes and stealing cigarette lighters. There's been a huge effort to eliminate smoking from old cartoons. Since I re-read my 1983 back issue, I'm not sure if the reprints have edited the smoking parts or not. So if smoking is a taboo thing for your younglings to encounter, discretion is advised.
True Believers: Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 and Peter Porker The Spectacular Spider-Ham Complete Collection Vol 1 TPB debuted in print and digital formats on June 26, 2019.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
Fox's run on the X-Men movies comes to a close with Dark Phoenix. With some small adjustments, this movie was one of the more faithful-to-the-comics adaptations. However, this was also one of the most boring films I ever sat through.
If you are familiar with Chris Claremont's 'Dark Phoenix Saga', then you have a pretty good idea about the plot. Always troubled by her immense mutant abilities, Jean Grey (Game of Thrones' Spohie Turner) gets possessed by a cosmic force during a rescue mission in space. The entity causes what little command Jean had on her telekinesis to spiral out of control, resulting in a body count.
It's revealed that Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) had kept a number of secrets from Jean as to how she became a pupil at his School for Gifted Youngsters, mostly through mental barriers established. When the truth comes out, Jean seeks both revenge and answers. Enter the mysterious Jessica Chastain (The Help) who plays an alien with ties to Jean's 'Phoenix force' powers, along with promises to those questions. Now Jean is stuck between the forces of good and evil with control of her new powers with the fragile truce between humans and mutants forged since the previous film hanging in the balance.
I know that I am going to upset a bunch of X-Men fans by saying this; but I really don't like Jean Grey that much. Yes, the 'Dark Phoenix Saga' is awesome, but it's really all of the other characters who make that story so good. It just seems to me that Jean Grey always loses control, dies and then comes back, spending all of her time trying to make amends before going insane with the Phoenix Force yet again.
Then there's the fact that we already had this storyline in 2006's The Last Stand. I didn't feel like I needed to see this plot again so soon, if at all. But I promised my god son we'd go see it. I wish we went to the new Men In Black movie instead...
I thought that the make-up and special effects were quite good. So were the fight scenes. But Dark Phoenix is a movie that is heavy of melodrama and very light on action. I truly think this is the case why the movie had such a steep drop-off at the box office from the first and second weeks. Very few people clamor to see Schindler's List again after first viewing. But they'll jump right back in line for a movie with amazing action and adventure scenes.
Let's also face the biggest problem with the entire X-Men franchise: the timeline. Everything is just so mixed up. For one thing, this movie occurs in 1992, meaning that in 8 years, Michael Fassbender, who plays Magento, is supposed to look like Ian McClellan and Xavier will turn into Captain Picard! I still cannot figure out how Wolverine ended up back in the Weapon X project after being rescued by Mystique...
One thing is certain, the X-Men are better as a TV show than a movie. X-Men: The Animated Series proved this. There's so many plot threads, that with progression jumping 3-5 years into the future in each chapter, 2-3 hours is no enough time to catch up on all the missing parts.
This still isn't the worst Marvel movie I've ever seen in theaters (Thor: Dark World wins that distinction). But this also wasn't a necessary film either. I know Fox wanted to milk that cash cow one more time. But with how money hungry Disney is, I am afraid that all Dark Phoenix did was push back an sort of reconciliation of Marvel's mutants with the rest of he MCU back for years to come!
Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.
In general, when a publisher has a major crossover event, the tie-in issues offer very little to the completion of the story. That's not the case here. In fact, after reading these tie-ins from Teen Titans, Nightwing, Suicide Squad, Green Arrow, Justice League of America, The Flash and Green Lantern Corps, I actually understand the wildly popular Dark Nights: Metal even more!
From just reading Dark Nights: Metal only, I didn't understand how the evil Batmen had managed to capture so many heroes and villains. I also didn't understand Dick Grayson's supposed draw to the mysterious metals. Those elements are cleared up thanks to these issues. Plus, if you are a fan of Harley Quinn, she's done to perfection here!
This volume was a great teaming of the talents of Joshua Williamson, Jeff Lemire, Ethan Van Sciver, Liam Sharp and Tyler Kirkham. I am a big fan of their work on their individual titles. It's Scott Snyder, Geoff Johns and Bendis who are getting the chance to create the all-encompassing stories. But I would like the earlier group, who worked on this volume, to get a chance to tackle a multi-title crossover event. I think that they'd be amazing at it. This collection is proof they've got the chops!
One tends to over look the tie-in issues in a company wide event. That would be the wrong way to go with this awesome volume!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
The Mystery Inc. gang take a road trip to Gopher Gulch. But instead of a thriving small town in the middle of the American West, the detectives find a ghost town! That is, except for it's sheriff, Quick Draw McGraw!
It turns out that the town is actually being haunted by a ghost and it scared all of the residents away. Desperate to catch the varmint, Quick Draw and the Scooby join forces to get to the bottom of this mystery.
And if they can't get the job done, then McDraw's alter ego (and cheap Zorro imitator) El Kabong might. But don't count on it.
This issue was entertaining. But it doesn't rank among the best of the Hanna-Barbera pairings in this series. Sholly Fisch falls into some of the traps that almost put me off this series when it first began. The jokes were stale. Plot was a little bit on the predictable side. But at least he artwork was very good.
Looney Tunes' Mitch Jeralds captures all of the characters very, very well. At least he doesn't use Photoshop in order to make shortcuts with he background and all. That was a big no-no that other Team-Up artist, Dario Brizuela is often guilty of.
A fun read. Just not one of my favorites in this series.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
I'm on Vacation!
Family Comic Friday will return next week!
See you then!
I love bizarre things. The weirder, the better. If it's surreal, it's my cup of tea. But I have to say that this graphic novel has got to be the most unusual thing I happen to have ever seen, no read, in my entire life!
Giraffes on Horseback Salad is a forgotten (and never used) Marx Brothers script written by Salvador Dali! One part movie. One part history exhibit. It's a forgotten part of Hollywood History.
Created on the cusp of the Second World War, Dali was finding ways to understand the chaos that was engulfing his naive Spain and beloved ports of call along Eastern Europe. In this story, Harpo Marx plays Jimmy, a Spanish expat, whom is considered a business genius. Unhappy in love, Jimmy comes across the Surrealist Woman and finds a kindred spirit. Now in love, Jimmy wins the heart of the lady. But his old girlfriend sees the Surrealist Woman's presence as an act of war. Now the forces of order must duke it out with the devotees of the unusual and dreamlike with all of reality hanging in the balance.
This project was a true labor of love from a group of Marx Brothers fans. Those who love the antics of Chico, Harpo and Groucho might be the only ones who enjoy this book. Well and those that love Dali. I happen to be in both camps. But my God, I had some real issues with this book.
For the most part, I tried to be impartial as best I could. Dali was no Hollywood screenwriter. Besides, history proves that Dali's attempts to bring his artistic visions to the silver screen were met with less than stellar results. Giraffes on Horseback Salad was based on a rough, and I mean ROUGH, draft. In 1937, Dali submitted his proposal to the Marx Brothers and MGM Studios. Only Harpo appreciated. So for over 80s years, this project languished in archives and legend. But there was one thing I just couldn't overlook...
Harpo speaks!!!
I sat in on a interview with G.I. Joe's Larry Hama. He recalled that when studios were working on the first Joe film, Hama had only one stipulation. Producers could do anything they wanted with Hama's creation of Snake-Eyes as long as he didn't talk. Well, I feel the same way about Harpo Marx.
Harpo has always been a sort of pantomime clown. In the numerous films, skits and other appearances, the only way Harpo would or could communicate was with a squeak horn. Yet, in this book/movie, Harpo's character of Jimmy extremely verbose and it just doesn't seem right. In Mel Brooks' Silent Movie the only character that speaks at the very end is the renowned French Marcel Marceau with a witty 'That's All Folks!' Giraffes on Horseback Salad being a surrealist comedy, if Dali had Harpo talk at the very end, I'd be okay with it. Alas, that does not happen.
Giraffes on Horseback Salad was full of informative back story. The artwork was straight out of a Salvador Dali sketchbook. And some of the jokes were vintage Marx Brothers. But as a complete read, this book was quiet uneven. If you feel lead to give this a read, be sure to keep in mind just what you are in store for- utter madness from two masters of the surreal.
Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.
