“Okay, who overinflated my beach ball?”
Sonic Quest: The Death Egg Saga #2
Archie Comics Publications, Inc (January, 1997)
“Poached”
WRITER: Mike Gallagher
PENCILER: Manny Galan
INKERS: Jim Amash & Jay Oliveras
COLORIST: Kyle Hunter
LETTERER: Jeff Powell
EDITOR: J. Freddy Gabrie
So I’m watching the Superman documentary from the previous Saturday Night Showcase and they show images of a set of Superman mini-comics packaged with Sugar Smacks (we call them Honey Smacks now to make parents happy). Superman. Mini-Comics. You know I had to look into this.
Not that I found a whole lot, mind you. Best I can tell at this stage is that in 1955 Kellogg’s partnered with DC Comics to release three minicomics starring Superman and his friends. Thus far I have only found scans of one. Apparently, according to a picture I found of the comic graded by CGC, Curt Swan and Stan Kaye worked on it, but there are no credits on their own. I did find an actual scan of the first of the three comics so at least we can take a look at that. So thank you to the website Superman Premiums and scanner Jay Hernandez for at least making this one available. I guess we’ll leave Etheria for next time because when I find a new minicomic that I didn’t know about, especially a series, I want to strike while the fire is hot in my mind.
There’s an ad for the giveaway comics. Kellogg’s and Superman already had a history together thanks to Kellogg’s sponsoring the Adventures Of Superman show. Sponsoring shows was something they did back in the 1950s, and numerous ads of Clark, Jimmy, and Perry having a bowl of Sugar Smacks together or casually walking into someone’s house for breakfast. Not Lois because girls spread their cooties at the breakfast table or something. However, you can have a bowl with your sister if you’re a kid. Yeah, I don’t get 1950s casual sexism either.
So let’s read one of those comics. “The Supershow Of Metropolis” is closer to a Jimmy Olsen story, like Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen. It also lacks Lois Lane. I guess she doesn’t like sugary cereals. I can relate. I prefer Rice Krispies for my Kellogg’s breakfast.
Naturally the real show is going on behind the scenes.
This is the layout for the comic, two panels a page. Luckily there’s enough pages that there appears to be a full story here. Yes, that is possible with a minicomic. Read along with me and see for yourself. Oddly nobody has breakfast in this comic.
“So when is it ol’ Tony’s turn to be Iron Man?” “What about Iron Patr…” “That was Osborn!”
Captain America #13
Marvel Comics (January, 2006)
“The Winter Soldier” part 5
WRITER: Ed Brubaker
PENCILER: Steve Epting
INKERS: Steve Epting & Mike Perkins
COLORIST: Frank G. D’Armata
LETTERER: Joe Caramanga
ASSISTANT EDITORS: Aubrey Sitterson, Molly Lazer, and Andy Schmidt
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
At least in the mind of Dave Filoni, canon doesn’t matter as long as the story is good. Apparently he’s part of the growing throng of voices at Lucasfilm and fellow Disney absorbee Marvel who don’t understand continuity is one of the things that make a fictional world seem believable, something that beings who aren’t us could live in and allow us in the reader and viewership to feel like we’re part of that world, or at least observing another reality. Otherwise you’re just telling random stories that all happen to share a name for marketing purposes. (I guess I could just write a story where Ashoka was secretly a Sith sleeper agent and as long as it’s good she can be evil now. Also she was raised by Wookies now.)
John F. Trent at Bounding Into Comics understands and makes a case for canon being every important to making a fake world seem real.
In our last set of chapters, Bane managed to break a bunch of Arkham’s worst villains out of the Asylum. I know, that’s not exactly hard to do. Pretty sure you can do that with a 4-year-old and box of animal crackers at this point. That took two chapters and this week it’s three to see what happens next.
I’m not just harping on this because of the name of the review series. I’ve seen far worse use of chapters just in the books I’ve looked at for this series. It’s just odd to see chapters used as scene breaks rather than just good story breaks. My approach to this is “reviewing an episode of a TV show” for a reason. Each chapter is more than just a scene change to me. It’s a good place to stop and think about where you’ve gone with the story, to read something and then step back into reality for whatever chore or activity you need to do. If that’s nothing and you want to read a little more you can go on to the next chapter, but something about two page chapters doesn’t really feel like a chapter to me. It’s not a decent amount of reading. Maybe it’s just my brain but it’s how chapters usually work and it’s what I’m use to. So forgive me for complaining about this as it is more personal than critical.
With that, let’s see what happens now that Arkham Asylum is bleeding patients. Or as they refer to it in Gotham City, Wednesday.
Technically Shanna DID do something different with her hair. And her art style.
Tandy Computer Whiz Kids “vol 2 #1”
Archie Comics/Radio Shack (1990)
“A Deadly Choice”
WRITERS: Fred Brussow & Mike Pellowski
PENCILER: Howard Bender
INKER: Mike Esposito
COLORIST/PRODUCTION: Barry Grossman
LETTERER: Bill Yoshida
EDITOR: Victor Gorelick
The Clutter Reports (my other site) Atop The Fourth Wall Crisis On Earth Prime Lean Into Artcast Bully Says “Comics Oughta Be Fun” Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery
Cartoon Hero’s Lair SF Debris Four Million Years Later
BW Media Spotlight 