Going on vacation

Going on a kinda short vacation. So no more posts for at least 2 weeks. While on vacation I will be hitting a great comic shop that has tons of cheap back issues. Have a good time while I am gone.

Weird finds for under a buck 01

This was suppose to be a 3 issue limited series. But was switched to 1 issue. Based on the Topps trading card set,which was inspired by the classic "Mars Attacks" card set. Thanks to a scientist messing with time the earth is invaded by a huge amount of dinosaurs. This comic helps flesh out the back story,but sadly only covers about 1/3rd of the cards. Nowadays the card set and this comic are mostly forgotten. And you can get either cheap. I got the comic for a buck from an online retailer,and managed to snag a complete set of the cards plus the stickers,and an unopened waxbox off e-bay for around 10 bucks including postage. If you haven't read the card set I don't see this comic appealing to you,but if you have and loved it this comic is a must buy. 7 outta 10.

Golden age reprints 04

Issue 4 of the Mr Monster Super Duper Special series,this one also is focused on crime stories by Jack Cole."Meet the Split Benny Dickson" is a story written and drawn by Jack Cole. The art makes up for the average story. "Vengeance of the Mounted" is a Mountie crime story. Nice mood and setting,and a bit unusual since most crime stories of this era were set in big cities in the USA. "James Kent" is the final story and again it is written and drawn by the legend Jack Cole. This one has a better story than the first one,and the art is the best I have seen from Cole that isn't a Plastic Man story. Again I paid around $2 for this comic,and it was more than worth it.8 outta 10,would have been higher but the first story wasn't so hot.

Great comics you can share with children 01

Most people of my generation fondly remember the long running Super Friends cartoon. I had known for years that there was also a Super Friends comic book,but until earlier this year I had never read an issue. But when I won a lot of 80 random comics on e-bay this little gem was in the lot. This issues stands out to me mainly cause it is one of the few appearances of the pre-Vertigo Black Orchid. Her powers were never fully explained but it was known she was a master of disguise. Great easy to understand story combined with nice clean art equals a great comic you can share with your kids/nephews/nieces/etc. I have looked around for more issues of this nice and fun series,but the few I have found are either in bad shape or priced over what I am willing to pay. The good story and art,plus an appearance of one of my favorite DC super heroines makes me give this comic an 8 outta 10.

Golden age reprints 03

Issue 3 of the Mr Monster Super Duper Special series. This issue is focused on the crime comics of the golden age. Added bonus is every story has wonderfull Jack Cole artwork. Cole is now mainly known as the creator of Plastic Man. "Murder Morphine and me" has the infamous needle to the eye panel,that gained fame thanks to "Seduction of the Innocent". Nice quick little story that is helped along by the amazing artwork. Up next is "Demons Dance on Galloway Moor" decent story,but the story is outshined by the art. Finally is "A Match For Satan" a story about a criminal who has the gimmick of always having a matchstick in his mouth. This smooth talking guy manages to talk his way outta jail time many times. But finally he gets sentanced to the electric chair. Neat panel at the end that has him being fried by the chair and his ever present matchstick also lights up. Ended up paying $2 for this,but it was so worth it. I wish more fans knew who Jack Cole is. 9.5 outta 10.

I love me some Secret Origins 02

Secret Origins was a mid 80's DC series that I have loved since it started. Each issue would have 1 or more origins of various heroes/heroines. The issue I am talking about this time is issue 5. It has the origin of the Crimson Avenger,who at the time this issue was published was considered the first true super hero in the DC universe. Written by Roy and Dann Thomas and with beautiful art by Gene Colon,this issue was such a hit that soon after its publication DC released a Crimson Avenger mini series. CA is a very pulpish hero in the shadow/spider/grey ghost/etc tradition. Fighting crime with a gun and a mean right hook,he is a hero for a simpler time. Since this story has great writing and AMAZING art I will give it my first 10 outta 10.

I love me some Secret Origins 01

Animal Man is one of my most loved DC heroes. I first saw him in the Who's Who series in the 80's. I managed to track down some of his appearances. Then the Grant Morrison series started up and it became my favorite DC title for it's entire run. Animal Man is Buddy Baker a man who is exposed to a mysterious ray from a UFO. He acquires the ability to absorb the natural abilities of any animal that is with in his range. What makes me love Buddy so much is he is a working class hero. He has a family,wife and two kids. He works as a stunt man ,since heroes don't get paid. And he questions the whole superhero shtick.Then there is Man-Bat a Batman foe who at one time in the 70's managed to get his own title for a short run. He is a scientist who is experimenting with bats to see if it can repair his damaged hearing. Instead he mutates into a half man half bat. More of a tragic hero than a villain he has fought Batman many times,with most stories ending with him being cured. But the cures always last until he is needed again for a story.The Man-bat origin is written by Jan Strnad aka J.Knight and has art by Kevin Nowlen. Where as the Animal Man origin is written by Grant Morrison with art by Tom Grumett. Both of who were the creative team on the Animal Man series that was running at this time. The Animal Man origin is the better of the two art wise and story wise,but the Man-Bat one is still pretty good.8 outta 10

Golden age reprints 02

Ahh the second issue in the Eclipse series Mr Monsters Super Duper Special. This one focuses on public domain horror stories. First up is "The Secret Files of Dr. Drew: Leo's Ghost" written by Marilyn Mercer and art by Jerry Grandenetti. While not the worst horror comic story I have ever read this one wasn't that great. Next up is "The Man Who Never Smiled" written by and art by Basil Wolverton. Great little short story that has a twist ending that even though I saw it coming was still fun. Plus you can never go wrong with Basil Wolverton artwork. "The Metamorphosis of the Gkmloooms" written by unknown and art by George Evans. Again this story isn't the worst but is far from the best. Thanks to middle of the road stories and one great Basil Wolverton one I can't highly recomend this comic. It is another of my dollar bin finds and even then I feel like I paid about 50 cents too much. 5 outta 10.

Golden age reprints 01

Mr Monster was a semi-popular indy hero in the mid 80's. Eclipse decieded to have him host a series that was gonna reprint alot of public domain comic stories from the golden age. This was the first issue in what ended up being called Mr Monster's Super Duper Special. It reprints in 3-d,two stories that were printed in 3-D a long time ago. "Picture of Evil" is a story with art by Joe Kubert,sadly the writer's identity has been lost. Interesting story that is helped out alot by the amazing Joe Kubert art which really pops in 3-D.The next and only non-reprint story is "The Damned" is both written and drawn by Michael T. Gilbert,who is also the creative force behind Mr Monster. This story is like an acid trip gone bad in 3-D. Finally we get to the last story which is another reprint."The Blind, the Doomed -- and the Dead" another great slice of golden age 3-D horror goodness. The art is by Bob Powell,and again sadly the writer's name is lost to the sands of time. I managed to find a copy of this somewhat uncommon issue for a buck. But it didn't have the 3-D glasses,luckily I had also picked up the "Friday the 13th 3-d" dvd so I used the glasses from it. Over all this comic is worth searching out,and if you can find it with the glasses I can see spending as much as $4 for it. But if it is missing the glasses don't pay more than a buck. 8 outta 10.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog. I have been a comic collector over 30 years. I am also a huge fan of cult/horror/sci fi fiction in any form. This Blog is mainly a place to house my various reviews. Hope yall enjoy it.