SESAME STREET #1 ONI PRESS
A new attempt to bring the beloved television program to the comic medium. Tried once before in 2013 by APE Entertainment. And what better way to start than with old favorite, Grover. Writer Joey Esposito is totally in toon with the charecters and the on point messages. And including charecters like Slimey and Telly made this all the more nostalgic. The only way this could have been any better is if the phone ringing aliens or the Manamana band had shown up! Illustrator Austin Baechle manages to turn the familiar muppets into perfect 2D representations. And while kids these days seem to be getting older sooner, I’m not if a printed comic can compete against an IPad, I for one applaud the creative teams effort and got my copy! 10 out of 10 Grahams.
UNIVERSAL MONSTERS FRANKENSTEIN #1 IMAGE COMICS
Creative one man team Michael Walsh provides us with an interesting in between look at the classic Frankenstein film. It appears that while the good Doctor and Fritz were digging up the fresh body in the opening of the film, the dead man’s young son was there grieving. He managed to hide amongst the headstones and even catch a ride to the castle hoping that Dr. Frankenstein is right and that his father is not dead. A unique look at some of the best moments of the film through the eyes of a hidden bystander. This is a great example of the ability to insert characters into a story that were never there in the first place and making it work. I’d give it an 8 out of 10 Grahams.
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #1 MARVEL COMICS
While definitely not the 2009 Deadpool Team-Up book that I loved so much, this title does show some promise and a little resemblence to the 2007 Brave and the Bold series from DC. While not a seperate story each issue but rather a running story with additional team-ups as the story continues. However, Starting us out with Deadpool and the Dragon Lord and leaving us on a cliff-hangar with Crystar! (Oh for pity sakes, Google it!) Wolverine pops up (you knew that was coming … thank you movie tie-in!) but we also get the old FF villain the Dragon Man, Lady Anime, and a hint of the Hulk. The main problem I have with the title is the rather abrupt leaps in the story. Rob Liefeld may have been doing most of the work here but even with Deadpool’s 4th Wall breaking technique, the unexplained appearing and disappearing of the characters into different senarios is confusing as heck. And, maybe because Liefeld is in charge, we seem to have gone back in time from to a point when Deadpool was just making his mark on the Marvel universe and hadn’t fully graduated into the full blown smart aleck we have come to know and love. Interesting but with some flaws. I give it a 7 out of 10 Grahams.
THE CURSED LIBRARY ALPHA #1 ARCHIE COMICS
The universe of Archie Andrews and the gang just hasn’t been the same since that damn Riverdale show. Which is a shame because any title who can bring back Madam Satan (who started her career in Pep Comics #15-1941 before getting replaced in issue #22 by some kid named Archie Andrews) and Lil Jinx (who debuted in Pep Comics #62-1947 as Lil Jinx Bubblegum in the same title is something I want to look at. But those characters are long since gone and replaced by the weirdly twisted versions that are available to this generation. demonic landscapes, horrific versions of Jughead and Cheryl Blossom, and a storyline dragging back to 2020 that has been splintered through various one-shots to get us here to this point. The Cursed Library appears only in a brief flashback and an endgame that is still unrevealed. A bit confussing and filled with unlikeable characetrs, this one earns itself a 5 out of 10 Grahams.
ZERO HOUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
With an all star line up of writers and artists, I first can’t believe it’s been 30 years. And the truth is, I was never a big fan of the Zero Hour event. I always took it to be, first, an excuse to make readers buy a whole lot of title that they didn’t normal get because there would be a few panels of the Zero Hour tie-in in each title. Second, a way to fix some of the huge continuity issues that arose after the Crisis on Infinite Earth storyline a few tears back. And third, to try to recreate some old characters to put out some new titles. And while, they managed to succeed to some degree on all three points, those solutions just lead to more continuity issues, leading to the confusing mess the DC Universe is currently in. But I have to admit, I rather enjoyed this special. Maybe it was the classic artwork or the fact that after 30 years, the writers could provide a story that fit right in with the original storyline. Throw in some pin-ups and this is actually worth the time to read. Believe it or not, this one is getting a 9 out of 10 Grahams.
ALL NEW COLLECTORS EDITION #56 (1972) DC COMICS
Before you ask, yes I was around when this came out on the newstands the first time. I had seen Muhammad Ali fight on television and laughed at his repartee with sport reporter Howard Cosell. And I remember flipping through it but the truth was that an oversized comic with a cover price of $2.50 was outside of my price range. It wasn’t until many years later when I got to closely examine it that I was amazed by the work that went into this. Hard work that is still apparent with this reprint. A cameo by Adam Strange and his wife Alanna was a great reminder that this was actually taking place in the DC Universe. But most importantly was the great fun legendary artist Neal Adams had with his cover! An entire audience filled with a Who’s Who of the 1970’s Don’t believe me, before you go to the index on the inside cover, se if can spot the following … Jimmy Carter, Donny and Marie Osmond, Frank Sinatra, Pele. Not big on your 1970’s pop culture? See if you can spot Bruce Wayne’s Butler Alfred, the Metal Men, and Plastic Man. How about industry professionals like Neal Adams, Cary Bates, William Gaines, both Shuster and Siegal, Flo Steinberg, and even Alfred E. Neuman! Then look at the index and realize how many you missed. This reprint is a true reminder of what the world of the 1970’s had to offer. 10 out of 10 Grahams.