MAD MAGAZINE #601 DC COMICS
Halloween in August? Ahhhh, what the heck! The Usual Gang of Idiots floods the pages with classic monster and horror bits and pieces that will chill your funny bone. Works from the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 2000’s all show up here making this issue appealing to Mad fans young and old. And while this was a hoot, it is also a bit of a reminder that while attempts are made to update this long lived magazine, nothing really competes with the good ole days. 8 out of 10 Grahams.
LIMITED COLLECTORS’ EDITION #25 DC COMICS
Technically this is issue #C-25 in a series of oversized comics that only could have been created in the wild west of comic publishing in the 1970’s. With six tales of the Dark Knight as done by the talents that made him great. Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, Dick Sprang, Carmine Infantino, Irv Novak, and Neal Adams! Names that have gone down in comic history. And while these stories are beautifully presented on these larger than life pages, the best part was the little bonus items the Collectors’ Edition gave us young readers back in the day. Full page posters of some classic Bat-Villains! A two page Batman poster in the center crease! Bat-Mazes! How to Draw instruction pages by Carmine Infantino himself! Bat-Puzzles, a 3D Diorama, and Real pictures of Batman cast members from the Silver Screen! What more could you ask for?! 9 out of 10 Grahams.
THE MORTAL THOR #800 MARVEL COMICS
Another one of those tricky renumbering jobs that modern publishers love so much these days. Isn’t this really Mortal Thor #14? How far back down the line do we have to go to get to 800? Journey Into Mystery #82 (Aug. 1962)? Thor #126 (Jan. 1966)? Mighty Thor? Immortal Thor? I need some details here before I’ll go along with #800. Plus, after all these years, he’s Mortal Thor now? Sigh! However, we are given a collection of stories by some industry greats like Al Ewing and Kieron Gillen. But at the end of everything, next issue we’re going on another quest for Thor. This issue was like a cup of sherbert between courses at a fancy meal. 7 out of 10 Grahams.
BATMAN/SUPERMAN WORLD’S FINEST #54 DC COMICS
Bless Mark Waid for being one of the few people (aside from myself) to remember 1976’s DC Super-Stars Giant #10 featuring the Strange Sports! And a all star celebrity baseball game between heroes and villains including Superman, Batman, Kid Flash, Plastic Man, and Uncle Sam for the heroes! And Lex Luthor, Matter Master, Weather Wizard, and Chronos! With plenty more guests. Fifty years later, the baseball diamond is in Hell and Neron is a team owner. This stuff is awesome! And the new superhero team has some great cameos. This is another example why this current take on World’s Finest is just the award winning best! 10 out of 10 Grahams.
THE ORIGINAL ISSUE …