2016 Comic Challenge 199 Old Man Logan #06

TITLE-OLd Man Logan #06
PUBLISHER-Marvel

Logan is living in the far north cut off town in Canada. So he can keep an eye on his future wife.

Then the Reavers attack. Fuck yeah I have always loved the Reavers.

The art is damn good. Lemire writes a story that makes me want to keep reading.

Old Man Logan #06 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 198 Bloodfire #01

TITLE-Bloodfire #01
PUBLISHER-Lightning Comics

Ahh Lightning Comics one of the many forgotten 90s comic boom publishers. Pretty much if they are remembered at all now it is for Hellina. Which I think Avatar now has the rights to.

So what is Bloodfire,besides a stupid as fuck title?Reace is a hero that works for the US government. In this issue he has to goto some island to prevent a Commie from taking over. Really the issue reads like an unproduced 80s Cannon film.Lots of fights and bullets flying plus explosion.

The art  is OK maybe. The colors look like they were done with offbrand color pencils.

What Lightning did to stand out from all the other companies was they never printed more than 250,000 copies of any issue,yeah think about that.250,000 was a small print run back in the spring of 93.And they would not reprint an issue until 2 years after it's publication. I seem to remember Lightning also started the 90s Nude cover gimmick. But that might have been another company.

Bloodfire #01 gets a pass.

2016 Comic Challenge 197 The Tick #12

TITLE-The Tick #12
PUBLISHER-NEC

Another of my Tick first printing cheap bin finds. Like issue 11 I got this for a buck.Sure it isn't mint but it is in much much better shape than my last copy. And that one cost me at least 6 bucks.

So after beating Barry in the last issue,now Tick & Arthur were given possession of all of Barry's Tick gear. Plus his Tick Cave. Which just happens of course to be under Barry's mansion. Our heroic duo show up and Barry meets them at the front door fully nude. Then shows they the way down to the cave,while he is planning on  how to beat or kill The Tick.

At the same time a group of some of the most horrendus villains are planning a team up. Tick and Arthur learn about this meeting and speed off on their new Tick-cycle to fight the evil team of nar-do-wells.

And that is it for Edlund's run on the Tick. By this time it was coming out maybe 2 issues tops a year. Ben Edlund was busy working on the Tick cartoon. And that and other reasons are why we so far have never gotten or I doubt will ever get the true issue 13. Yes I know NEC published a #13. Based on Edlund's notes and with another artist doing all the art chores.

From when this issue came out in the early 90s until about 2 years ago I was kind of pissed that we hadn't gotten issue 13. Every time Ben Edlund would get interviewed issue 13 would get asked about. And he always said it was being worked on and would be out in the not too far future. Now I realize if Edlund wrote and drew issue 13 and it got published there is almost no way it would meet the expectations the fans have built up over 20+ year wait.

The Tick #12 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 196 Kull volume 3 #09

TITLE-Kull Volume 3 #09
PUBLISHER-Marvel

Look at that cover. A cover so stunning it made me break one of my rules about buying comics at a con. I was digging through this one dealers longboxes.Nothing was priced so I figured he had one set price per issue. And the stuff I was seeing I figured he was gonna ask $5 a comic but I should be able to talk him down to 3 if I both a few. Well turns out the only thing I really wanted was this issue of Kull. All because of the Barry Smith cover.

So I asked the dealer what he wanted for it. "Let me look it up in the Overstreet."I made a rule years ago that any dealer that did that well they were not gonna get my business. But since the comic wasn't mint I thought maybe the guide would be in my favor. So I broke my rule. A few minutes later he has looked it up and guide price was $2. Score for me.

Sadly the interior pales when compared to the cover. John Buscema's pencils are really good. But they don't come close to that BWS cover. The story is OK. I have found that the Kull comics from Marvel are never that well written.

Kull volume 3 #09 gets a borrow,unless you find it cheap.

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 194 Miracleman #024

TITLE-Miracleman #024
PUBLISHER-Eclipse

Yeah the final,as of the writing,part published of the Miracleman The Silver Age story line.This is actually my 3rd copy of this comic. Got it the first time when it came out. Then lost that copy in a fire. Then right at 6 years ago got lucky and a comic shop I use to goto often had a bunch of Eclipse "File copy" issues for sale. And the owner cut me a great deal. Considering that back then it looked like this issue would never be reprinted. So it was selling for a big amount,since being the final issue and coming out right before Eclipse went under the print run is fairly small. I still have that copy. Now this 3rd copy .... well I guess the patron Saint of Geekdom smiled on me about a month ago.

We recently got a gaming/card/comic shop in town.Sure it is more gaming and cards than comics. But they got about 10 longboxes of buck comics. I was digging through them and saw the above comic. I looked at it closely and while it isn't Mint is is pretty close. I thought,ok this was put in here on accident,and once I get to the counter he is gonna tell me it is way more than a buck. I grab a few more comics. Head to the counter. And as he is going through my stack of dollar comics I said "Yeah was surprised to find the Miracleman issue in the cheap bins. We both know it is worth a bit more than a buck," He just looked at me and kept counting the dollar books. So yep got the above copy for a buck,

Under that gorgeous Barry Windsor Smith cover is a story of Young Miracleman trying adjust to the new world. Plus the revelation that Young Miracleman was/is sexually attracted to Miracleman. The latter plot point had been hinted at as far back as the early issues with Moore writing the series. Kind of neat that Neil Gaiman took something that was pretty much a throwaway line and made it a major part of his second story arch on the title.

What surprises me is even though sometime soon,if not already,this issue is getting reprinted by Marvel.The Eclipse version has still held onto most of it's value.

So yeah unless you are one of those comic fans that can't handle having how childish and cliche most superhero comics are pointed out to ya,this is an issue and a series that is must read.

Miracleman #024 gets a BUY!

2016 Comic Challenge 193 Insect Fear #03

TITLE-Insect Fear #03
PUBLISHER-Print Mint

Back when I was 14 or so for X-mas one year my mother gave me this huge hardcover book. It was about the history of comics from the start of comic strips in America all the way up to the mid 80s indy boom. This is where I first discovered the classic first wave of Underground comix. Since then anytime I can find an ok shape underground comix for a decent price I grab it.

I found this issue at a tiny comic shop in Beaumont TX. It kind of stood out cause almost everything else in the store was Marvel/DC/Image or Dark Horse. But there it was hanging up with the wall books. I couldn't see a price marked on it so bit the bullet and asked them how much. Got told what was a decent price,but a more than I wanted to pay. So let him know I was gonna pass on it. Took the stack of stuff I had grabbed out of their cheap bins,mosts filling in gaps in lots of those Marvel Mid 80s 4 issue mini series like Falcon or Iceman,up to the counter. The guy rings me up then tells me he will be right back. He comes back with the Insect Fear. "OK what is the most you are willing to pay for it?" I told him a price that was what I considered fair. "OK Sure,you are the first person to even ask about it since I got it in 4 years ago." And that is how I added one more issue to my very tiny Underground Comix collection.

So how is the issue? Well the art is pretty decent. The stories.... a few are OK.The rest read like they would be much better if you were a bit inebriated. The line up is pretty good group of talent. Guys like Spain,S Clay Wilson,Jaxon and a bunch of others I hadn't heard of before getting this comic.

Insect Fear #03 gets a borrow.

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 191 Bissette & Veitch's Fear Book #01

TITLE-Bissette&Veitch's Fear Book #01
PUBLISHER-Eclipse

Wow this was a great cheap bin discovery.For 4 years at Coast Con I had a guy that would bring between 12 to 20 longboxes. All packed with 70s thru early 2000s stuff. Lots of 80s indy stuff. And if you bought a bunch he would really cut ya a deal. So I grabbed this and stuck it in the to read pile.

Now if this just was a bunch of Steve Bissette written or drawn short horror stories it would be great. Same if you replaced Bissette with Rick Veitch. But nope this is even better. And I do wonder if this might become one of those books that goes from the cheap bins to being 20 bucks once word gets out. Jovial Bob Stine and Jane Stine written most of the stories. Bob Stine is better known as R.L.Stine of Goosebumps fame.

So I read through what is 12 or so 2 or 3 page horror stories,and then find a multipage text piece on where all this came from. Seems Schoolastic had a mag in the late 70s thru early 80s called Weird Worlds. And each issue had a few page long horror comic. Using at the time current students at the Joe Kubert School. Which of course Bissette and Veitch were part of the first class.

So unless something has changed this is a great collection of what has to be some hard to find fun horror comics.

Bissette&Veitch Fear Book #01 gets a BUY!

2016 Comic Challenge 190 All Star Squadron #014

TITLE-All Star Squadron #014
PUBLISHER-DC

Just look at that cover. Pretty sure this is first of the Pre-COIE Crisis crossovers I read. You got Per Degaton with some of the All Star Squadron,who sadly abbreviate out to ASS,in a giant hourglass.Then bordering that image is starting on the left side...
All Star Squadron
Johnny Quick,Firebrand,Robotman,Steel and Liberty Belle.
The bottom has the JLA.
Zatanna,Superman,Firestorm,Hawkman and Aquaman.Then finally the Justice Society of America on the right.Green Lantern (Alan Scott),Power Girl,Starman(Golden age version),Huntress(the daughter of Batman and Catwoman of Earth 2) and finally Dr. Fate. And to top it off it is drawn by JOE KUBERT. It was covers like this that slowly got me into reading more DC stuff in the early 80s.

The story is pretty good. IIRC this story was 6 parts,running through 3 issues of ASS and JLA.For the second part of a 6 part series this reads fairly well. I need to go back and re-read the rest of the story.But I didn't feel that lost reading this.

All Star Squadron #14 gets a buy,