3 brand spanking new reviews this week, with mostly Annuals from DC Comics and a fairly small new release week all around…
ADAM STRANGE/FUTURE QUEST #1
Chapter 2 of the big “What the…” Week! Of the four “annuals” out this week, this one showed the most promise. And that’s why it is the biggest disappointment. When you think of the action/adventure characters of Future Quest, Adam Strange feels like he would fit right in. Unfortunately we are given the current Adam Strange who’s a bit of a whiny Willie straight from the Death of Hawkman book. He’s straddled with a bit of memory loss and given the opportunity the wander around the new DC world of Hanna Barbera. Then he gets his memory back and tries to go home. Very dull with no substance. Add in the back up feature with Batman meeting Top Cat is somewhat amusing but suffers from the problem with any of the bring a cartoon character into a human world. The lovability of the character gets lost in the translation or trying to make the character more human looking. Benny and Chooch survive a little bit more but not by much. “Honey! Where is my box of old Gold Key comics? I need to rinse the taste of this out of my mouth.”
5 out of 10 Grahams!
SUICIDE SQUAD/BANANA SPLITS #1
Chapter 1 of the big “What the…” week! While I am told that the Flintstones is doing well and Future Quest and Wacky Raceland are doing well. That doesn’t mean that all Hanna Barbera properties need to come back. And while I will give writer Tony Bedard credit for coming up with a somewhat plausible storyline, the fact is that these are not our Banana Splits. And trying to introduce a new updated version of them to today’s youth without so formal backstory or DVD release is just asking for failure. I reread this twice to try to gather any sort of nostalgia from it and failed. And while the Snagglepuss back up feature is very philosophical, it again gets lost in the translation. So I’m going to put the book down now, Exit, stage right, and turn on YouTube to watch some real Banana Splits shorts and tear up over my lost youth.
4 out of 10 Grahams!
AVENGERS #5.1
And so the great flashback ends and we are all much poorer for it. The good news is that this final issue ends in an overwhelming slam-bang wrap up with tons of red herrings, surprise guests and an ending that is near and dear to my heart. Paste-Pot Pete – You Da Man! Hawkeye gets to show off what makes his character great and Giant-Man’s back with his giant helmet! And be sure to check out Iron Man’s speech! This issue just screams delight page after page. Shame it had to end.
10 out of 10 Grahams!
