LAUGH COMICS #166 (1965) FACSIMILE EDITION
Archie Comics decides to jump on the Facsimile Edition fad. And what an odd, iconic issue they’ve chosen! From the Beatles on the cover (I wonder if any kids out there today even know who the Beatles are?) to the types of trouble Betty, Veronica, and Lil Jinx get into, this is a time capsule. Betty and Veronica stay on the phone for six hours and Lil Jinx stays up after bedtime! Yikes! Those are some naughty girls! I’ve got a daughter whio puts them all to shame by staying up all night talking on her tablet. But what really puts the icing on the cake are the ads. Products like 100 little dolls for a dollar! Grow 2 living monsters in your own room! And what about the Treasure Chest of Fun! These were different times! 7 out of 10 Grahams.
ALTER EGO #201 TWOMORROW PUBLISHING
After the epic 200th issue, where can you go from there? How about going straight into the 1960’s and the wacky zany world of DC Comics. And while going through the life and time of the amazing E. Nelson Bridwell, you have to make a side trip to the insane world of the Inferior 5! Merryman, Dumb Bunny, White Feather, The Blimp, and Awkwardman! Not only bringing their lunacy to the pages of Showcase but their own title. Creating their own fellow heroes and villains while interacting with not only DC greatest heroes as well as the then current staff at DC Comics! These wonderful example of the fun characters of the times, they would pop up over the years including the extraordinary Showcase #100.. And Dumb Bunny would later be revealed as the sister of Angel from the Angel and the Ape title that was a big fan favorite at the time. And while this was still a job, writer and editor E. Nelson Bridwell summed it up best when he wrote … I am having immense fun! More backround and tales of the good old days of comics. 9 out of 10 Grahams.
HELLO KITTY & FRIENDS HELLO WORLD #1 IDW COMICS
Do the names My Melody, Kuromi, Chococat, and Keroppi mean anything to anyone. If you have a daughter, I’m sure you have at least heard the names. The world of Hello Kitty started out as an image on a coin purse but grew into an 80 billion dollar global franchise. And now has her own comic book. So make that 81 billion. Created by Yuko Shimizu, the characters provide a deep dive that I don’t have the time to go down. However, I will mention one item, I noticed. Hello Kitty’s lack of a mouth is intentional so that the child can use their imaginations to figure out Hello Kitty’s mood depending on the situation. That is some deep psychological stuff for big headed kitty with a bow on her head. Starting us out in an episode of her podcast, Hello, Hello Kittty, (insert head slap emoji here) we get a tour of town with some guest appearances by her friends. Cinnamoroll bakes us some treats. Kuromi steals a flower from Keroppi. We get a page of stickers (which explains the sealed plastic bag the comic comes in.) And there is mystery afoot as My Melody’s blue bow has been stolen as well. The stage is set for the next issue! While basic kids’ stuff, it does have a certain charm to it (even if I don’t know who any of these characters are. A nice light read, some bonus stickers, and a comic targeted at kids. How can you wrong with that? 9 out of 10 Grahams.