2017 Comic Challenge 314 Jughead #10

TITLE-Jughead #10
PUBLISHER-Archie Comics

Yeah I got way behind on this series. After meeting her last issue,when she was dressed as a giant burger,Jughead ends up out on a date with Sabrina.

He of course fucks this all up. And she leaves and is very mad. It is after this we "learn" that Sabrina is a witch.

She tries through out the issue to cast spells on Jughead but they all backfire and work out good for him. Like how Jughead ends up being close friends with Reggie.

And with that the issue ends. Of course the next issue with end this story. I do like how they have re-introduced Sabrina to the new Archie universe.

Jughead #10 gets a buy.

2017 Comic Challenge 313 Grendal #03

TITLE-Grendal #03
PUBLISHER-Comico

And with the third and final issue of this run of Grendal we get the tale of the first time Hunter Rose and Argent fought.

Someone has been killed. Hunter takes the dead man's daughter off to safety then goes off. He runs into Argent.

While they fight a police officer and a detective come and start a murder investigation. I am sure back when this came out this scene was pretty innovation,but today in the age of Law and Order being on 20 channels all day long it is kind of boring.

During the fight some guy that looks like John Bryne finds the child.Grabs her and runs off. And the issue ends with Argent defeated and Hunter Rose discovering that the child is missing.

Yeah like the two previous issues I can see why this was a hit back in the early 80s. And it is worth reading. But do not buy the issues. There is much cheaper ways to get them.

Grendal #03 gets a borrow.

2017 Comic Challenge 312 Grendal #02

TITLE-Grendal #02
PUBLISHER-Comico

And with this second issue it is Argent's turn to give us a personal history lesson. It isn't bad and honestly much more interesting than Hunter Rose AKA Grendal's.

The rest of the issue is odd. It feels like I should know who a bunch of these people are. But as far as I know the only appearances Hunter Rose made before this series was in Comico Premier. And I have read those,even if it was a long ass time ago.

The slight change in art style while telling Argent's history is a neat touch. But like with issue one get this as a reprint or in a trade. No way is it worth whatever inflated price Mile High Comics is charging for it.

Grendal #02 gets a borrow.

2017 Comic Challenge 309 The Walking Dead #164

TITLE-The Walking Dead 164
PUBLISHER-Image

Fun issue. Got a bunch of people from Hilltop and Alexandria on horse back leading off packs of zombies from the herd that is inside Alexandria.

And while all that is great,well written and drawn the best part of the issue is Rick and Negan get stuck together inside a tiny shed inside Alexadria. And Negan explains why he is the  way he is to Rick. Kind of surprised but it makes sense.

It looks like our leads have this under control and Alexandria will survive. Then the last page reveals that some of the Saviours are lying in wait. Ready to attack as soon as the herd is gone.

The Walking Dead #164 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 195 The Tick #11

TITLE-The Tick #11
PUBLISHER-NEC

Yep the next to last issue of Tick creator Ben Edlund's run. Years ago I had an almost complete set of the original 12 issue Tick run. All of them first prints. Then lost them all in a fire. So been wanting to get another run,with them all being first prints. Sure I got the trade paperback that reprints all this stuff. But I want the actual issues.

It was about a month ago,same time I found the Miracleman #24. While digging in the buck bins found 3 issues of The Tick. All of them first prints and all issues I needed.

After a few issues with Tick and Arthur on the road,they finally make it to the city. Were they discover the City has so many superheroes there isn't enough crime for them to fight. After meeting the Mighty Agrippa they get invited to the Comet Club. A superheroes only night club. Arthur being a sidekick isn't allowed in and has to goto the rundown Sidekick's Lounge.

While there we learn of Barry,who is insane,and is a superhero named The Tick. So Barry Tick faces off against the big blue Tick. And after a long and pretty funny battle The Tick wins. Which means he gets the rights to the name The Tick. Plus all of Barry's Tick gear.

Pretty much if you have seen the Tick cartoon episode about the Comet Club this is what that was based on. A few things are changed up. But it is pretty much the same story.

2 more things I wanted to point out about this issue. First up is at least the first prints of the Edlund Tick series are oversized. As in they are closer in dimension to Golden Age comics than modern comics. So finding bags,boards and longboxes to hold these isn't that easy. And secondly is the back cover.

I am assuming Ben Edlund drew that. I do not remember the Tick every wearing any gear like that. But who knows it might have been an idea for a future issue. That never happened after Edlund abandoned the Tick franchise. Yeah I am one of those fans who is still waiting on issue 13 written and drawn by Ben Edlund. And yes I know it will never happen,and that years back NEC put out issue 13. But that issue is just based on Edlund ideas and has someone besides Ben drawing it.

The Tick #11 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 192 Dragonforce #01

TITLE-Dragonforce #01
PUBLISHER-Aircel

Oh Aircel,the IIRC insulation/AC company that Barry Blair talked into funding a comic company in the mid to late 80s.And while this series was co Creator by the previously mentioned Blair,creepy fuck that he was,Dale Keown co created,drew and writing it.

I remember when this came out it was one of them titles that the shitty comic shop in Biloxi,Diversions,after a week had jacked the price up to $5. Yeah that store fucking sucked and ripped off/ran off many a fan. I never bothered with much from Aircel back then. But after many buys of say 20lbs of random comics I acquired a later series that reprinted this original Dragonforce series. Of course this reprint series came out around the time that Dale was huge cause of Hulk and then Pitt.

The series isn't bad. The writing does suffer from the flaws that anything written by a lifelong fanboy does. But the art is pretty damn good. Keown this early on in his career had a polish to his work that it seems to take most artists at least a few years to get.

Dragonforce #01 gets a borrow.

2016 Comic Challenge 186 Shi #02 Fan Appreciation Edition

TITLE-Shi Fan Appreciation Edition #02
PUBLISHER-Crusade Comics

This is another of my X amount of random comics in a bag for cheap finds. I had read a handful of issues of Shi back when it was coming out. And did enjoy it. But never really followed it.

Bill Tucci handles the art and writing. You can tell he has at least the entire first story arch plotted out.

Now I want to track down and read at least this entire first story arch of Shi.Which to me is a good sign of a comic.

I am gonna hold onto this comic.Mostly cause I like the cover. But as for the rest of the series I am gonna look for trades.

Shi Fan Appreciation Edition #02 gets a borrow.

2016 Comic Challenge 156 Chainsaw Vigilante #01

TITLE-Chainsaw Vigilante #01
PUBLISHER-NEC

I enjoyed the Chainsaw Vigilante appearances in the various Tick comics I had read. So finding this issue for 50 cents I had to get it.

Well honestly the cover is the only reason this is worth the 50 cents I paid. The issue is mostly Chainsaw dealing with being defeated by the Tick in The Tick #10. Most of the issue he is out of costume and having long boring as fuck discussions with some woman.

I found it odd that almost every page had between 7 and 9 panels. And so many panels meant the art looked cramped. Seems Zandor Cannon does the art and story. Maybe if he focused on just one this would be a much better comic.

Chainsaw Vigilante #01 gets a Pass.

2016 Comic Challenge 141 X-O Manowar #00 GOLD

TITLE-X-O Manowar #00 Gold variant
PUBLISHER-Valiant

Anyone that was into comics in the early to mid 90s remembers Valiant. And almost all of us wanted one of their Gold variants. Back then the above issue was going for between 50 and 100 bucks. I never had a Gold variant back then.

Back in 2008 I was talking to one of my older cousins. And he mentioned he had 3 longboxes back at his house. And he didn't want them. So before I headed back home I stopped by and got them from him. In those boxes was piles of early 90s Image and Valiant stuff. And it was in these boxes that I got my first Valiant Gold variants. Of course now that once 100 buck X-O zero gold is now at the most a 30 buck book.

But under that shiny gold and chromium there is a damn good story. Aric is a visagoth. Who gets kidnapped by a group of spideraliens. While on their ship he meets an old man. Who looks a lot like Elvis. Elvis gives Aric a map to the Spider Alien's biggest weapon. Which is the X-O Manowar armor. Aric dons it and escapes back to Earth. But cause of various time space things it is now the modern day.

I had the normal version of this comic back when it came out. Mostly cause X-O was the only Valiant title I bothered reading every month back then. Jorge Gonzalaz and Bob Layton scripted this issue. And Joe Quesada handles the pencils.

X-O Manowar #00 Gold variant gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 113 The Ferret #01

TITLE-The Ferret #01
PUBLISHER-Malibu Comics

Ferret was the Protectors' version of Wolverine. In his normal life he is your average rock guitarist. But once he throws on his costume he becomes the Ferret. Out of all the spin offs from the main Protectors comic this was the best.And also the one that ran the longest.Now it is hard to tell from the above picture but the cover and entire comic was die cut in the shape of the Ferret's head.

Like with Airman we get R.A. Jones writing this title. But they did get a decent artist to handle the interior art.Dean Zachary handles the pencils and Ken Branch is the inker.The cover was done by Mike S Miller and Dean Zachary.

I noticed that in these solo Ferret stories he took on lots of drug dealers and street level villains. So while he was a Wolverine clone,his rogues' gallery was more like say Daredevil's or Green Hornet's.

Sadly like all the Protectors stuff ,the Ferret had a short run. Lasting only 10 issues. Now all I gotta do is find issues 4 and 8 and I got a full run of this series.

The Ferret #01 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 111 Black Hole #01

TITLE-Black Hole #01
PUBLISHER-Kitchen Sink Press

I know that sometimes with indie comics they come out late. But this series is one of the worst examples of this. Starting in March of 1995.And the final issue came out in December 2004. Oh yeah forgot to mention this series was only 12 issues long.

Part of it might be this series started off at Kitchen Sink Press,who went bankrupt in the mid 90s.So only the first 4 issues came out for them. The rest were published by Fantagraphics.

The comic is about a new disease that is spreading thru the teenage population.If you catch it,it causes your body to mutate. And out lead finds a bunch of these mutated teens living not that far outside his town.

Written and drawn by Charles Burn,this is a series that after reading this first issue I knew I had to get the rest of the series. Thankfully I didn't start reading issue 1 until a couple of years ago. So now all I gotta do is track down the trade or hardcover collecting the entire run.

Black Hole #01 gets a Buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 039 Brat Pack Maximortal Super Special #01

TITLE-Brat Pack Maximortal Super Special #01
PUBLISHER-King Hell

Starting right at the end of Brat Pack #05,this comic was Rick Veitch's attempt to test the waters and see if their was an audience for his King Hell universe. Since only this issue and issue 2 came out I doubt there was a big audience. I didn't even know this comic existed until I found it while digging thru the cheap bins at 5 Alarm Comics.

Dr Blasphemy is confronted by Maximortal. And we get glimpses at where Veitch is wanting to take this story line. Lots of meta-fictional stuff in this comic.And at the end Maximortal gives Dr Blasphemy a copy of the first Maximortal comic. Which shocks the good Dr.

The artwork is great as pretty much everything Rick Veitch does. And if you have read Brat Pack and Maximortal,which I have read,the writing in this issue is damn good. But if you haven't I doubt it would make any sense to ya.

Brat Pack Maximortal Super Special #01 gets a borrow. Unless you are a huge King Hell fan then it is a Buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 035 Hate Jamboree

TITLE-Hate Jamboree!
PUBLISHER-Fantagraphics

I started reading Hate around issue 3. Before that I had read a few issues of Peter Bagge's Neat Stuff. And Hate took my favorite character from Neat Stuff,Buddy Bradley, and moved him from suburban New Jersey to downtown Seattle.

After 30 issues Mr Bagge was ready to end Hate. And Hate Jamboree came out about a month after Hate ended. It is packed with interviews with pretty much everyone who worked on Hate. And goes into lots of detail on how and why Peter Bagge created Buddy and then decided to move him to Seattle.

The interviews are great. But my favorite part of this comic is all the hard to find artwork and comics it reprints. Peter Bagge did lots of stuff from various indy music magazines. And also did some work for various porno magazines.

Now if you have never read Hate this comic I would think would have no interest for ya. But if you are a Hate fan or a fan of Mr Bagge this is a great read.

Really the only bad part of this comic is it is slightly taller than a normal comic. So storing it is a bit of a hassle. Plus the cover is made out of really cheap paper. It feels a bit like newsprint.If you are one of those comic fans that has to have everything in mint ...well finding this issue in mint condition might be a bit hard to do.

Hate Jamboree gets a BUY!But only if you are a Hate/Bagge fan.

2016 Comic Challenge 033 Brat Pack #05

TITLE-Brat Pack #05
PUBLISHER-King Hell/Tundra

Set a bit over a year since the last issue. Rick Veitch starts the issue off showing us how in a bit over a year all of the Brat Pack have become corrupt pieces of shit.

We see the priest from last issue. Who is trying to hang himself in the bell tower of the church. But his former alter boy,who is now Chippy,shows up. And lets the priest know the rest of the Brat Pack is waiting inside the church.

Down in the church we get more images of how bad off the Brat Pack is now. With the King Hell universe's version of Speedy smoking crack. Kid Vicious,who is the sidekick for the fascist Judge Jury,is now a roided up mess. And the single female member is preforming a coat hanger abortion on herself.

Then a coffin rolls itself into the room. We know it is being remotely controlled by Dr Blasphemy. I had been wondering why the heroes even bother with having sidekicks. When the sidekicks really don't do much. And once the coffin is open we find out why. Seems all the Brat Pack members are part of a huge merchandising deal. Which is how their heroes get the money to fund their war on crime.

Of course this is a trap set up by the evil Dr. And all of the Brat Pack dies. The heroes show up. And manage to capture the Dr. They rip off his mask and we find out the Dr is really the priest. Then while all the heroes are gathered in the bell tower horrible weather hits. Which we find out is caused by Maximortal's return. And the series ends with that happening. Plus we find out that this universe's version of Green Arrow,well his butler is the real Dr Blasphemy.

I can see once again why Mr Veitch changed the ending a bit for the trade paperback. The one in this issue is kind of confusing. And if you haven't read the Maximortal series ,well this ending doesn't make a lot of sense.

Now I am wanting to go and re-read the trade. Just so I can see what all was changed. And I also really wish  Rick Veitch was able to finish up the King Hell storyline he started with Maximortal. I know years after this series ended he put out a two issue series that was suppose to connect and explain the gaps left after reading Maximortal and Brat Pack.

Brat Pack #05 gets a BUY!

2016 Comic Challenge 032 Brat Pack #04

TITLE-Brat Pack #04
PUBLISHER-King Hell/Tundra

The priest who has been helping the heroes get their new sidekicks has had enough. One night the Midnight Mink and Chippy come to visit him. And the priest whips out what appears to be an Uzi and shoots Mink multiple times. But Mink brushes this off like it is nothing.

Now I was wondering how this could be. When since Mink is basically Batman,that means he has no powers. But a few pages later Mink lets Chippy know about Mink's previous relationship with Maximortal/True-man.

Seems Mink found out he has infected with HIV. So Maximortal gave Mink a blood transfusion. Which not only would hold the virus in check. But also gave Mink fast healing.

We then find out that each of the heroes has a connection to Maximortal. And once he was gone is when they took over. And also when the world really went to shit.

Chippy also meets the last living member of the previous Brat Pack. Who we find out is the previous Chippy. And I must assume that Mink gave that Chippy some of his blood. Which is why he survived.

Brat Pack #04 gets a Buy!

2016 Comic Challenge 031 Brat Pack #03

TITLE-Brat Pack #03
PUBLISHER-King Hell/Tundra

With the Brat Pack dead,the heroes are wanting replacements. And most of this issue is about the new Chippy. Who is the Midnight Mink's sidekick. Think of Robin and Batman.

We also see the other 3 heroes getting their new sidekicks. And get more of an idea how corrupt and morally bankrupt these heroes are.

Then we see that it looks like one of the previous Brat Pack members isn't dead. And is now living in
he bell of the church's tower.And of course Dr Blasphemy is curious how this one member survived. And I had no idea how they did.

Brat Pack #03 gets a Buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 030 Brat Pack #02

TITLE-Brat Pack #02
PUBLISHER-King Hell/Tundra

With this issue we see the heroes getting their new sidekicks. And everything that has ever been hinted in the subtext of heros like Batman,Punisher,Wonder Woman and others is brought right in to the forefront.

But as we get towards the end of the comic all these new sidekicks lose their parents in mysterious circumstances. I get the feeling the Doctor Blasphemy is behind all this.

Brat Pack #02 gets a Buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 029 Brat Pack #01

TITLE-Brat Pack #01
PUBLISHER-King Hell/Tundra

Been at least a year since I read this seemingly forgotten piece of classic indy comics. So this time instead of grabbing my trade off the wall,which has a different ending,I dug out the issues. Pretty sure outside of issue 01 all the rest of my copies are first prints.

We start off seeing a slum like city,that is named Slumberg. A call in radio show gets a call from someone calling themselves Doc,which is all about the city's group of teen sidekicks. The Brat Pack of the title.

There is your Robin analogue,taken the Robin and Batman relationship past the levels Whertham saw. A Punisher like hero with his kill them all partner.And others.

But not long after we get to know these teens they get bamboozled and killed. Seems Doc is actually Doctor Blasphemy. And he did this to set the Brat Pack up and kill them.

I am always surprised that this doesn't get broughten up when the talk of the grim and gritty series like DKR,Watchmen and Moore/Gaiman's run on Marvelman/Miracleman happens.

Brat Pack #01 gets a Buy.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 059 Astro City Tarnished Angel

TITLE-Astro City The Tarnished Angel
AUTHOR-Kurt Busiek
FORMAT-Hardcover
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-Free

I didn't start reading Astro City until around issue 8 of the second volume.And I read it until there was very very long delays between issues. With the Tarnished Angel storyline being the last one I read. Then back in 2008 I had managed to Stump the Rios on the Comic Geek Speak podcast 2 times. So I got an email from Peter Rios asking me what I would like as my 2 prizes. I wanted a CGS shirt and then asked him what trades/hardcovers they had as prizes. Saw they had this one and asked for it. About a month later I got it.

Originally published as issues 14 thru 20 of volume 2 of Astro City. This is the story of Steeljack. A super villain that has skin made of some kind of weird metal. Which means he can not be harmed easily. Plus he has super human strength. At the beginning of the story he is getting out of jail after spending right at 10 years for some crime.

Steeljack wants to got straight. He moved back to the slums of Astro City. But finds out no one wants to hire a super powered ex-con. And his parole officer basically tells him to just leave the country.

Then the families of various super villains he worked with in the past make him  a deal. It seems someone is killing off the low level super villains. And because of who they are the cops aren't really bothering to look into this. So their families hire Steeljack out to find out who is behind these killings.

Over the course of the 7 issues we get to learn so much about the various villains of this comic universe.Steeljack really really wants to put his criminal habits into his past.And the main thing in his past he wants to correct is that his mother never got a tombstone.

Steeljack figures out who is behind the killings. And tries to get some of the various heroes that populate Astro City to help. But because of his past they ignore him. So it is up to him to save the lives of a huge group of low level criminals.

The story is so well written. The mystery of who the big bad villain is can be solved with just the clues the reader is given. But it isn't so easy to figure out that you guess it as soon as you meet the person.

The artwork is amazing. The covers are all done by Alex Ross.With Brent Anderson doing the interior art. I love how Ross and Anderson make Steeljack look like Robert Mitchem. And the image on the cover was created just for this hardcover.

After the issues we get 14 pages of character sketches from Alex Ross. It is always neat to see how the character's look evolve between their creation and when they first appear. Then there is 14 pages devoted to sketches and pictures showing how Ross did the covers.

Plus you got the neat extras for this hardcover. Like the dust jacket. That seems to be made out of heavier paper than most dust jackets are. And I really like the built in ribbon bookmark.

Astro City Tarnished Angel gets a 4.11 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 029 Nexus Archives volume 2 by Mike Baron and Steve Rude

TITLE-Nexus Archives volume 2
AUTHOR-Mike Baron
FORMAT-Hardcover
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
COST-98 cents

I have read scattered issues of Nexus.And enjoyed what I had read. But as far as I know these hardcover archive collections are the only non-floppy format collections. And this hardcover from Dark Horse comics is well done. The paper they use is great. It makes the art and colors look great,but isn't that super glossy paper I see in most trades. As you might be able to tell from the picture this is an ex-library book. The reason why I haven't bought any of these collections before is the cost. The hardcovers reprint 7 issues and cost $50. Which is way too high. Most of these issues aren't hard to find in cheap bins. So back after X-mas I was using an Amazon giftcard I had gotten from one of my aunts. Saw I could get this for 98 cents plus shipping.

This collection reprints Nexus volume 2 issues 5 through 11. Now most of the Nexus stuff I have read was either from way later in the series or some of the crossovers that were done,like Nexus meets Magnus Robot Fighter. I had already gotten the three trades IDW did of Mike Baron's other 80s indy series Badger. And I have been a fan of Steve Rude's art for years now.

The stand outs in this collection are the issues where Nexus meets up with Badger. Nexus and Judah Maccabee crash landing on a weird planet. On this planet they meet up with Badger,and the three had lots of wacky adventures trying to escape the planet. I really enjoy how each issue has small things happening that later on become major plot points.

After reading this I am going to track down the rest of the archives. I had found volume 1 for $1.95 plus shipping. I ordered it off Amazon Marketplace. But an hour or so after I made my order it was cancelled. I checked the the seller had relisted the book ,but now wants 10 bucks plus shipping. And that isn't a bad price. So I will end up ordering it soon.

Nexus archives volume 2 gets a 4.45 outta 5