Wolverine: Switchback

Writers: Joseph Clark, Gregg Hurwitz
Artist: Das Pastoras, Juan Doe
Publisher: Marvel
Published: March 2009

Wolverine is one of my favorite Marvel characters, but it can be tough to follow all his comics. As a compromise, I try and pick up a few one shots. Luckily, a buddy of mine turned me onto this issue. Switchback has 2 tales. The first one involves Wolverine taking a side trip on his journey to solve a mystery. The second has Wolverine getting beat up. It's called Punching Bag.

The first tale makes this comic worth picking up. The art reminds me a of a warped Norman Rockwell. I'm probably way off with that remark, but it's the first thing that comes to mind. As for the story, it's short, straightforward, sans super villains, and has a satisfying conclusion involving Wolvie getting beat up real bad, and then killing the bad guy. Which is exactly what I want in a Wolvie story.

Gumby's Summer Fun Special

Writer: Bob Burden
Artist: Art Adams
Publisher: Comico
Published: July 1987

Gumby's Summer Fun Adventure is just that: Gumby and Pokey have a series of adventures. This issue is like the goulash of comics. It's got Halloween monsters, popped-eyed aliens, robots, a werewolf, pirates, space bears, and one really depressed suicidal couch potato (he's my favorite).

To the best of my recollection, I don't know if I watched Gumby as a child, but if this comic is any indication of the type of genres Gumby ventured into, I'm saddened by the joy's I may have missed. The issue follows Gumby and Pokey as they play with some robot kids, are attacked by aliens and a werewolf, go to Halloween town, and Gumby becomes a pirate captain. As I mentioned the best is when they visit Wooster, who has tied strings to his lightening rod, because he has given up on life. Also Pokey gets drunk.

This is when childhood ends.


"Ain't nuthin' but a G thang"

Marvel Romance Redux # 1: But I Thought He Loved Me!

Writers: Jeff Parker, John Buscema, Roger Langridge, John Lustig, Stan Lee, Jimmy Palmiotti, Keith GiffenArtists: John Romita Sr., Dick Giordano, Vinny Colletta, Jack Kirby, Gene Colan, Jim Mooney

Publisher: Marvel

Published: April 2006

Another Marvel Romance Redux review. Similar to the last one I posted, this one has re-scripted stories to the old romance comics Marvel used to publish. I found this one to be better than the Guy's & Doll's issue. First off the artwork has Jack Kirby and John Romita Sr. doin' their thing. I find Romita's penciling of his female leads to be a bit more alluring than Kirby's. Kirby has a squarish face design to his characters which sometimes has his females looking a little manly. That being said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that jazz...

The first tale is about a stripper who is also President of the USA, and the second is about a girl being ashamed of her tattoos. The third tale is about guns and relationships. The fourth tale is about marriage and not wanting it, and finally the last tale is a hit gone awry.

There you have it, a review that clearly show's I'm not trying, but much like romance, sometimes a person doesn't want to bother trying.

Batman Adventures: Mad Love

Writers: Paul Dini, Bruce Timm
Artist: Bruce Timm
Publisher: DC
Published: 1994

Keeping with my theme of romance and Valentines day et cetera, I had to get this one on Comix 365. Mad Love by Timm and Dini is one of those 64 page extravaganzas, but unlike most of em', this one actually is entertaining from beginning to end.

The story opens with Batman foiling another one of Joker and Harley Quinn's plans. Joker doesn't take kindly to the foul up and he ends up taking his frustration out on Harley Quinn and tosses her out on the street. Quinn, being the love-sick puppy she is, blames Batman and not the Joker. The story then journeys back into Harley Quinns past when she was 'normal'.

All Harley wants is to grow old with her lover-clown, so to get back in his good books, she plans to do something the Joker has yet to achieve: kill the Batman! And she almost succeeds! You can just imagine how Joker takes this!

He tosses her out of a window is how he takes it. Poor Harley! The issue ends with Joker foiled again and Harley back in Arkham. You'd think that after being beaten, humiliated, abused, and nearly killed by the Joker she would have enough sense to leave him, but sometimes when in love a person can be a little mad. Sorry...had to!

Marvel Romance Redux # 1: Guys & Dolls

Writers: Jeff Parker, Jim Starlin, John Lustig, Don Heck, Zeb Wells, Jean Thomas, Jimmy Palmiotti, Stan Lee, Frank Tieri
Artists: Jack Abel, Vinny Colletta, Gene Colan, Bill Everett, John Buscema, John Romita Sr., Frank Giacoia
Publisher: Marvel
Published: May 2006

It's that time of year again: Black History Month. Finally Chocolate City has become a reality. Nice.

Oh - also Valentines Day is fast approaching.

Here's a comic with romance on the agenda. Marvel's Romance Redux is equal parts an ode to the past and a satirical send up. Marvel has dug deep into the vault, dredging up the old romance comics of yesteryear and re-scripting the stories.

The first tale involves a witch who falls prey to a Diner Demon, and the second tale involves money and relationships. The third tale has a woman in love twisting her true nature, and the fourth involves forbidden love. Finally the last story has a star being born.

I found this issue pretty good. The new scripts were funny, and complemented the art quite well. I especially liked the issue involving the Diner Demon. The lead female character was a witch who was falling in love with a guy who only thought of food. Kinda reminded me of Carl Weathers when he was guest starring on Arrested Development.

The art is fantastic and even though the stories lack the original script it is pretty easy to figure out the original plot for most of these stories. They usually involve a lonely or unhappy girl who meets a man, falls in love, under goes some sort of drama, then it all wraps up with a kiss or the girl is still lonely. It seems like a lot of these old stories were all about finding a mate or your doomed to unhappiness, which I guess is what Valentines Day is all about!

Ghost Riders # 1

Writer/Artist: Chuck Austen
Publisher: Marvel
Published: March 2002

A few years back Marvel jumped on the manga band wagon and started up the Marvel Mangaverse series. I've read a few and they're not bad. This one of the better ones, simply because of, well, its simplicity.

Damion is trying to convince Johnny of his heritage. To do this, he invites Johnny to a coffee shop where he reveals the pentagram burned on his chest. Johnny is still hesitant about his heritage, when out of the blue, they are both attacked by their sister Satana. She is there to kill Johnny. Damion releases Johnny's true form - THE GHOST RIDER! Battle ensues and an unlikely ally comes to their rescue.

Fantastic Four: Ilsla De La Muerte!

Writer: Tom Beland
Artist: Juan Doe
Publisher: Marvel
Published: February 2008

The FF delivers in this issue!

Ben Grimm takes a 3 day vacation every year and he never tells anyone where he goes. Of course, this annoys Johnny to no end. Once Ben is gone, Johnny persuades Sue to pester Richard to find out where he goes. Turns out Ben goes to Puerto Rico every year. The remaining FF crash his vacation, much to Things chagrin. Too bad for Ben, not only does he have to deal with the invasive FF, but the mysterious El Chupacabras have returned to Puerto Rico to claim what is theirs.

Oh, and Mole Man is involved. I have only a handful of Fantastic Four comics and at least half of them have the damn Mole Man. I can't seem to get away from the guy!

This was a great issue though, even if it has the Mole Man. The art was *ahem* fantastic, and all the characters mannerisms were dead on. Plus, this was a Ben Grim comic, so it got into that whole 'being accepted' thing, and even manages to mention the other quintessential Ben Grimm issue "This Man...This Monster." What a great issue.

Batman: Harley Quinn

Writer: Paul Dini
Artist: Yvel Guichet
Publisher: DC
Published: 1999

Harley Quinn is one of the few characters that can hold a candle to Joker. She doesn't try to outwit him, out-crazy him, or out-murder him. She just tries to love him, and it's this crazy love that, well, makes her crazy. How can one love someone who can never know what love is? Harley knows....

This issue picks up during Cataclysm. Poison Ivy is on 'farm patrol' and is in charge with helping to feed the citizens of Gotham. During one of her trips of harvesting, she happens upon a beat up Harley Quinn. After rescuing her, Ivy finds out that Joker tried to kill Harley (imagine that: the crazy killer clown guilty of attempted murder). Harley doesn't take too kindly to this act, and after some healing and powering up thanks to Ivy's anti-plant poison serum, Harley starts her most diabolical plan: to kill the Joker!

Now, I don't want to give away the ending of this one, but if you've paid attention to the first paragraph, it's pretty much spelled out for ya.


Crazy In Love

Joker's Asylum: Dark Knight of the Scarecrow

Writer: Joe Harris
Artist: Juan Doe
Publisher: DC
Published: July 2008

When the Dark Knight hit theaters, so did Joker's Asylum, and just like theater patrons got caught up in Ledgers Joker, so did I get caught in DC Joker's Asylum. My favorite so far has been Scarecrow's story.

The story is like a teenage horror slasher film, with a group of teenage kids planning to play a evil trick on the 'unpopular' kid. The unpopular kid just so happens to visit a psychiatrist, who also just so happens to be Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka The Scarecrow). The story unfolds like a bad nightmare, with the popular kids getting more than their just desserts.

What a liked most about this issue was the fact that though Jonathan Crane is an evil man, on the surface, he was doing a kind thing by helping out his patient. We've all been to high school, and have been unwittingly caught up in the popularity game. At one point or another, we've all been on the shitty end of the school popularity spectrum, so to see some vengeance exacted out on the popular kids does bring some ounce of joy, but at the same time, what Crane does is still wrong. This feeling is the same feeling I get every time I watch Dexter.

Here's a guy who is a serial killer, but because he kills evil people, is what he does justified?
Short answer: no.
Long and complicated answer that satisfies our human need for vengeance and revenge: yes.

So I can't justify what Crane does in this issue, but I can certainly enjoy the hell out of it from a base level.

The Amazing Screw-On Head

Writer/Artist: Mike Mignola
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Published: May 2002

The Amazing Screw-On Head is a secret government agent who answers directly to the President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Groin is Screw-On Head's faithful man servant. Emperor Zombie is the bad guy who enjoys dabbling in all things arcane and forbidden. Madam Patience is a vampire. Mr. Dog is a stuffed reanimated dog.

Interested yet?

This comic is one of those stand alone issues that make your head spin. Equal parts humorous and horror-like, this tale won the Eisner Award for Best Humor publication. The art is spooky, deep, and forbidding. The characters are unique and bizarre, and the story itself seems like it was birthed in a dream after a night of boozing. This is a must have for any serious comic fan. And if you're not serious, you can always check out the animated cartoon based off the comic. It's just as funny. Maybe even better, 'cause it's got Paul "I'm not drinking fucking Merlot!" Giamatti, David "Oh Dear" Hyde Pierce, and Molly "Superstar" Shannon as the voice actors. Just awesome.

Gumby's Winter Fun Special

Writer: Steve Purcell
Artist: Art Adams
Colorist: Rick Taylor
Publisher: Comico The Comic Company
Published: December 1988

Now here's an odd one. We got Gumby and Pokey helping to rescue trapped toy miners who have been captured by Mole People, who then recruit Gumby and Pokey to save Ray Crabbe (aka Santa Claus) who has been captured by Beelzebub and is interned in Heck.

Ok, let that sink in...toy miners...Mole People...Santa...Beelzebub...Heck...Gumby & Pokey.

I know what you're thinking: "Awesome". Me too.The toy miners were pretty neat. The miners have to dig around in the earth, harvesting toys, but the toys can't be given out to kids right away because they are unrefined and unprocessed. The Earth has different pockets of toys, from plush toys to Etch-A-Sketchs. Oh also Gumby and Pokey own a giant robotic insect shaped drill. The Mole People are responsible for cooling the overheating Earth, and Heck is a land filled with 24/7 advertisements, concerts that don't end, forced gluttony, and Santa looks like a biker while Satan looks like the Lord of Darkness. The best part of the whole issue was when Gumby and Pokey are in Heck rescuing Santa, they start to melt cause it's so hot. By the end of the rescue, the little Mole girl, Natasha, has to carry them out in buckets. Oh, too funny!

One last thing I forgot: the issue ends with Santa piloting a giant Gumby Gundam Mech to battle giant monsters.

Jurassic Park in 1988? Gumby you're ahead of your time!