2016 Comic Challenge 143 Ace Comics #119

TITLE-Ace Comics #119
PUBLISHER-David McKay Publications

Got this recently for a stupid cheap price. I knew the kid on the cover had been part of the Katzenjammer Kids comic strip.So guessed this was a collection of comic strips.

From doing a bit of research,seems this came out around Feb 1947. And was near the end of Ace Comics run. Ace was one of the earliest series that reprinted newspaper comic strips.Seems this title was pretty much nothing but King Feature Syndicate strips.

I opened it up and after a text piece on the inside front cover I was happy to see the first of the reprints was a few pages of Lee Falk's The Phantom.

I enjoy the Phantom. And seeing 5 or so pages of what I am guessing is Sunday reprints was worth what the comic cost me.The art is so good. And I am gonna have to track down the rest of this story line.

The second strip was the Katzenjammer Kids. I have heard of this strip. Mostly cause it was one of the more popular strips to get reprinted in comic book form. It is typical little kid annoys older person comedy. Think a more primal Dennis the Menace. The art is good,has that kind of loose anatomy that works well with humor strips.

Tim Tyler is an adventure strip I have heard a bit about. Looks decent. And it a ok read at best.

Pete the Tramp is one that is unknown to me. Jungle Jim I have heard of,thanks to Dynamite's revival last year and I think there was at least one Jungle Jim serial. Plus these reprints have Alex Raymond artwork. No idea if this is before of after his classic Flash Gordon run.

This Barney Google strip mostly is about Snuffy Smith. Who is in the military.I do wish there was more than this one page in the comic. Snuffy Smith is a comic character I have loved since an early age.

Then onto pages of Blondie. I read the comic strip as a kid. And saw lots of the old Blondie B/w movies. So seeing a strip I like,and episodes I doubt I have ever read,was another nice surprise.

Teddy and Sitting Bull is another unknown to me. We get a young kid that likes to pretend to be a Native American. With his pup playing along with him. Nothing special but not horrible.

Tille the Toiler is once again totally unknown to me. And was the worst strip in this book. I see why I only got 1 page.

And Ace Comics saved the best for last. About 6 pages of classic Prince Valiant reprints. Prince Valiant is another that I got into last year thanks to the Dynamite series. The art is gorgeous. The story is well paced and makes me want to read more.

The inside back cover is news pieces the readers of the comic sent in. A thing I remember the Archie titles doing when I was a kid.

And finally the back cover. Which is a humor strip I seem to remember hearing about years ago.

I enjoyed the hell out of this comic. All but the Telly strip were at least worth reading. With the Blondie,Phantom and Prince Valiant stuff being the biggest stand outs for story and art.

Ace Comics #119 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 099 Oceanverse

TITLE-Oceanverse
PUBLISHER-self published thru Ka-Blam digital printing

Out of every 100 comics I add to my listing at the online comic database I use,there is usually at least 2 or 3 they don't have. Mostly it happens with 70s era Archie and Gold Key stuff. This is the only modern comic that I own that isn't in that database.

So what is Oceanverse? It is 12 pages of what feels like the pitch for a daily action comic strip. You have to turn the comic sideways to read this book. Created by Michael Schwartz,who was inspired by the podcast Comic Geek Speak. At one time he was putting up a new strip in this series every few days. I think he has long since stopped doing it. And I have no idea how many of this collection of the first 20 or so strips got printed.

The inside front cover indicates this issue was passed out at the big CGS episode 300 celebration. I couldn't attend it. But not long afterwards I was mailed my prizes for beating CGS's then resident trivia guy. And as an bonus he threw in this comic.

Oceanverse is about a new experimental submarine. And the mission it's crew is sent on. In the 12 pages we get lots of world building is going on. Which does what it should do. In that it makes me want to read more Oceanverse.The art isn't bad. But I do wonder how it would look with pro-inks and colors.

Oceanverse gets a borrow.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 075 The Far Side Gallery 4

TITLE-The Far Side Gallery 4
AUTHOR-Gary Larson
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-25 cents

When I got the previously reviewed Far Side collection I also got this one.

And like I said before it is hard to review a collection of comic strips. But there is a few things about this collection that make it better than previous one. First the cover not only is diecut,the old lady's glasses,the lenses are cut out. And what you see in them is actually on the inside of the book. Plus her earrings are sparkly.

So you get what I must assume is a years worth of the Far Side strip. Including the Sunday strips. Which in this collection are reprinted in color. One thing I noticed is I doubt these are printed in order. Cause there will be 3 or 4 color strips in a row.

Really there is nothing much else to say about this collection. I enjoyed it. And am very happy to have it.

The Far Side Gallery 4 gets a 4.99 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 072 The Far Side Gallery 3

TITLE-The Far Side Gallery 3
AUTHOR-Gary Larson
FORMAT-Oversized Trade paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-10 cents

I have loved the Farside Comic strip since I first discovered it when I was about 10.I had pretty much stopped reading the comic strips in the paper. Then Far Side got me back into them. And for many years one of my X-mas presents would be one of those Far Side day by day calenders.

A few weeks back was at the library looking at the books for sale and found this along with 2 others for cheap. Grabbed them,figuring it would be a long time until I got around to reading them.

Then last night I was wanting to read. Tried the 4 books I am in the middle of reading,and none of them could sustain my interest. So grabbed the first Far Side book. And less than 30 minutes later had finished it.

There is no way to really review this collection. My only complaint is that the Sunday strips are not reprinted in color. But that is a minor issue.

The Far Side Gallery 3 gets a 4.98 outta 5.