WILD WEST COW-BOYS OF MOO MESA #1 ONI-LION FORGE
The Nacelleverse expands as they welcome the Cow-Boys of Moo Mesa into their ranks. With more 1990’s nostalgia being shared. The Cow-Boys First appearing on our television screens on September 12th of 1992, the show was part of the ABC Saturday Morning Line-Up. As an irradiated comet struck the Western Plaines in the late 19th century and everything was (and no I’m not joking) “cow-metized”. Brought to us by the good folks at King World and Greengrass Productions with the animation by Gunther-WahlProductions and then Ruby-Spears Enterprises, the show had early examples of steampunk and weird west concepts. Lead by Marshal Moo Montana, The Cow-Boys (C.O.W. standing for Code of the West) had their hoofs full with protecting the town of Cowtown. It lasted for two seasons and fun fact, in the final episode of the first season, character Bessy Bluebell was voiced by Sally Struthers from All In The Family! And like any good cartoon of the 1990’s there was a video game and a line of action figures. And like the rest of the Nacelleverse titles, the creative team has a real grasp of the subject matter. Writer Matt Hotson really knows how to utilize the subject matter making the story feel like an episode of the cartoon. And I have to give credit to artist Juan Gedeon for his mastery of drawing 1/2 human-1/2 animal characters. With just enough backstory to explain things but not enough to bog things down, this one gets an 8 out of 10 Grahams.
DC FINEST THE SPECTRE: THE WRATH OF THE SPECTRE TPB
Created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily for More Fun Comics #52 in February of 1940, the origin story is part crime noir with a dash of supernatural. As detective Jim Corrigan is killed in a barrel full of cement by mobsters, he awakens over his dead body ans swears vengeance on the mobsters. After going to heaven to be given a mission, he takes to dispatching the mobsters in a truly gruesome fashion. He saves his girlfriend and moves out of his roommate’s apartment. Part of the charm of the first story is Jim discovering things about being dead. He doesn’t breath, he can’t drown, he can walk through walls, etc. But by far, the best part is the final few panels where he stitches a costume for himself. It was so much simplier back then. Fighting off rogue magicians, bodyless brains, and random gangsters, the Spectre became a cover favorite until being replaced by Dr. Fate in issue #68. And while he wasn’t on the cover, his feature continued until issue #101. Even getting a somewhat comical sidekick in the guise of Percival Popp, the Super Cop. Which is really strange when you take into account many of the evil doers the Spectre takes on end up dead in some unsightly way.
The Spectre would vanish for a while until the annual JLA/JSA teamup in issues #82 & 83. Which provided a new set up for his return not only in a short-lived series of his own but in various issues of Showcase & the Brave and the Bold team-up book. And it’s about this time that this collection picks up. With such notables as Murphy Anderson, Gardner Fox, Carmen Infantino, and Bob Haney in his corner, he was bound to be popular. Showing up with guest stars such as his old JSA buddy, Wildcat and the Silver Age Flash, this was a great time to be a Spectre fan. But things really go off the deep end when the Spectre returned in the pages of Adventure Comics (Issue #431). Under the twisted imagination of greats like Michael Fleishner, Jim Aparo, and Joe Orlando, the Spectre was taken to new heights of disturbing vengeance as flesh melted like oil paint, giant buzzsaws cut up villains turned into wood, and giant scissors cut people in two! These were the glory days of the Spectre and luckily they are all collected here as well. And nobody could draw new love interest Gwen like Jim Aparo! And just to fill out the book, we get a few looks at The Spectre during his All-Star Squadron days. Amazingly clever, this volume shows the evolution of a Golden Age character in the world of the 1970’s. You can bet this is a 10 out of 10 Grahams.
