Cheap Complete runs 02

The last 10 issues of Malibu's Protectors comic show an noticeable improvement in the artwork. And also have the two best story lines in the series short run. After wrapping up the Ms fury storyline in issue 12,the Genesis crossover starts. Genesis was a way for Malibu to create their own universe by connecting 3 different titles. They are Dinosaurs for hire,Ex-Mutants,and Protectors. The crossover shook up the Protectors team,and when it was over they had about 3 new members and had lost a few of their old members. Overall this was the second best storyline in the Protectors run,the only detriment is that you have to get issues of Dinosaurs for hire and Ex-Mutants to really understand what is going on. Sadly even this crossover didn't help increase the sales of the title,so with issue 18 the final storyline is started. Titled "The Beginning of the ending" it ran 3 issues and had the Protectors going up against the biggest threat so far. Some members of the team die and in the last few pages of issue 20 the entire world is destroyed. Insuring that there is a small to nil chance of the Protectors ever coming back. This series is rarely mention now,mainly cause of the bad art. And cause around the midway point Malibu started up the Ultraverse which got all the acclaim. But if you are a fan of Golden age heroes and can enjoy a well written comic that has below average art it is worth picking up. I found most of the issues in cheap bins or for cheap online. But the last three issues had very low print runs so they usually cost a bit more,but with some searching you can find them for around cover price. So if you have read and enjoyed Project Superpowers give The Protectors a chance,you might be surprised. 8 outta 10.

What were they smoking 01

When I received this issue in a lot I bought off E-bay, I had to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Written by Mike Baron of Badger fame and Alan Smithee of bad movie fame. Art is by Jeff Butler. The art is nice to look at but the story is a serious WTF moment. Barkley is in California doing a personal appearance. Godzilla shows up in the ocean off the coast. Some kid gives Barkley a lucky coin, that for some unknown reason causes Barkley to grow to Godzilla size. Charles leads Godzilla to a military base and proceeds to play basketball with him. No I ain't making this up. Barkley manages to win his game of one on one. Then flash foward some unknown amount of time and it shows Barkley still super sized. Going out into the desert where there is a huge basketball court built. And Godzilla is there waiting to play him again,and this time Zilla has on what looks to be some Air Jordan shoes. I really have no idea who Dark Horse was hoping to attract with what is one of the weirdest crossovers I have ever seen. 6 outta 10

Cheap Complete runs 01

Back in 1992 a indy company named Malibu had managed to raise their profile. They published the first few comics put out by Image. Protectors was a super hero series where most of the heroes were reworkings of public domain golden age heroes. While it never had great artwork,you can say the first 5 or so issues had horrid artwork, the writing was good and interesting. In this universe there hasn't been super heroes around since an incident that destroyed most of Richmond VA. After the evil Mr Monday shows back up,the government decides to form a new government sponsored super team. So the Protectors are born,headquartered on a decommissioned navel ship. The team is lead by Man of war,a semi patriotic hero that is some level of invulnerability and carries a flaming sword. Other stand out members are Gravestone who is Malibu's version of the Specter,and The Ferret who is your basic Wolverine rip off. The first 5 or 6 issues deal with the team forming,and learning to work together. Then bam one of the heroes,Masked Marvel, who is also the president's son is killed by Mr Monday.This happens in an issue that on the cover had a tight close up of Masked Marvel's chest and the hole in his chest goes thru the entire comic. Lame gimmick but it did make this issue stand out when it came out. This causes the team to take a more proactive approach to fighting crime. Next up the team ends up getting transported to another dimension. Where it turns out the city that was thought destroyed is. Here they face a villain that is very Jokerish. After this storyline we meet a new heroine who is called Ms Fury. And that ends the first 10 issues,at another time I will talk about the next ten issues. Every one of these issues can be found cheap,I got a handful of them for free and the rest I never paid more than a buck for.Truthfully if you can handle bad art and have a interest in alot of the lesser known golden age heroes this series can be a fun read. 6 outta 10.

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