Mr. Mxyzptlk #1 (1998)

Mr. Mxyzptlk #1 (February, 1998)
"Invader From the 10th Dimension"
Writer - Alan Grant
Penciller - Tom Morgan
Inker - Scott Koblish
Letterer - Janice Chiang
Colorist - Glenn Whitmore
Asst. Editor - Maureen McTigue
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
Cover Price: $1.95

When I think of April Fools Day, I usually furrow my brow think of how un-fun it is to browse the internet on this day.  You gotta brace yourself for all the news that's fit to fool, and take eeeeeverything with a grain (or shaker) of salt.  Well, not here!  Here, we are going to review and discuss a one-shot featuring Superman's most enduring and endearing prankster.

I think we'll be safe in his minuscule mitts.  I mean, what's not to trust?

--

It's the Fifth Dimension!  We join Mxy and company as they go about their day.  Suddenly a tall woman with long dark hair enters the scene.  Smitten, the Mxy bunch all gathers around her, especially the artsy looking one with the beret.  Our lady compliments his good looks, and as they appear to be going in for a kiss... she swallows him whole.

This is no lady, it is the personification of the Tenth Dimension, the Ultimator!  The beast must eat other dimensions to survive, and four have already fallen... prey.

The Mxy bunch pleads with the beast to spare their dimension, even engaging in dance in attempt to please their would-be conqueror!

When all hope is lost, Mxy retreats to his odd-shaped home.  It is there that he keeps his magical comic collection with which, he hopes to defeat the beast!

First stop!  Logjam of Super-Heroes #100...

Once inside, our Imp finds himself in the middle of a Legi... Logjam roll call featuring such luminaries as Batter-Eater Lad, Butter-Eater Lad, Butler-Eater Lad, and Button-Eater Lad!  Mxy's sudden appearance catches the Logjamaires off guard, and before they can get an explanation, the Ultimator busts into the scene!

Despite the Logjamaire's best efforts and promises of eating buttons and butlers, they prove no threat to the Ultimator.  Rather than risk his own skin, Mxy pops out the back of the mag.

Next stop... JLA: Just-Us League of America #1...

Here we meet some proper heroes!  Souperman with his cans of chunky clam chowder, Gatman with his darkness gun, Wondering Woman who isn't quite sure what to make of things, and Martian Womanhunter who spits game at all the dames.  Once more, Ultimator makes short-work of the good-guys.  Supervillain, No-Brainiac is watching and pontificating... until he too becomes a snack.

Mxy then pops into Aquamint Man #27, featuring the King of Atlantis that replaced his missing hand, not with a hook... but with a toothbrush.  Mxy don't dig that... next stop, Young Heroes unLoved #0 (Izzat a Zero Hour tie-in?).  Seeing their book as too much of a sitcom, Mxy bails once again.

Jack Kirbptlk's Farce World #8 is next!  Mxy immediately finds himself lost in the miasma of continuity this book weaves and runs for the hills!

Finally, Mxy strikes gold.  After entering Lobo's Nephews #17 (which features the torture of Ziggy Starman! no less) Mxy enlists the aid of the Frag-tastic Four in his efforts to push back against the Ultimator.  Despite some of their best fraggin', the Li'l Lobos also prove ineffective against our dimension-eating foe.

In a great bit, Mxy writes the Ultimator's name backwards in attempt to get it to "pop" back to it's home dimension.

Last stop!  an issue of Zzzandman.

Mxy arrives only to find all of this issues's inhabitants asleep... all except the zzzZandman himself, Mopius!  Mopius goes into a purple soliloquy... that just will not end.

The Ultimator is soon fast asleep.  Mxy makes his escape, and seals the this issue in triple-strength mylar (imagine if CGC grading was a thing in 1998!).

Now, for the kicker.  It turns out this entire escapade was just a story Mxy was telling to (Electric-Blue) Superman and Lois Lane in an attempt at creating the best super hero adventure.  Superman and Lois pretend to have also fallen asleep.  Irritated, Mxy sends himself back to the Fifth Dimension... Leaving Lois and Clark to celebrate finally finding an easy way of ridding themselves of Mr. Mxyzptlk!

--

I know I probably say "this book was fun" a bit too much here on the blog... but, well.. ya know.  This book was crazy fun!  This book poked fun (somewhat playfully) at a lot of DC's late-nineties output, and showed readers what a strange time in DC history the late-nineties were.  This is that odd post-boom era, where titles were a bit more experimental.  Seeing a reference to Young Heroes in Love, especially, was a treat.

I do gotta wonder, how biting the commentary was meant to be.  Young Heroes in Love's sitcom/soap opera elements were, if I'm remembering correctly pretty well received... at least initially.  Jack Kirby's Fourth World was quite continuity heavy... I wonder if this was a sorta meta-commentary on that.  The Jack Knight Starman was one of those books I'd never have imagined would be parodied, especially during this vintage.  The Legion always appeared convoluted to me, so many "lads" "boys" "lasses" that it scared me off as a kid (hell, despite owning a few hundred issues of the Legion of Super-Heroes... I still don't get them!) So much interesting stuff!

As the cover so aptly illustrates, this story takes place during Superman's "Electric Blue" phase.  This is an era I am almost wholly unfamiliar with. but one I am quite interested in learning more about.  My Electric-Superman library is unfortunately quite spotty at this point in time, and I want to fill in a few of the larger holes so I can give it a fair shake.

This book is recommended for its novelty.  This is a parody-like nickel tour of the non-mainstream DC Universe circa-1998.  If you squint real hard, you may find you're looking at something of a time capsule.  Even if you only have a peripheral understanding of this era of DC Comics, the references made are not too "inside baseball".  That is to say, you'll probably "get" a lot of the gags... and you'll likely have a really good time.

Snap this one up, if you come across it!

Also, best of luck this April Fool's Day.  Don't take any wooden nickels... and remember if you hear some crazy rumors about... I dunno, Action Comics going back to it's legacy numbering this June... just take it with a grain of salt... ain't nothing nutty like that gonna happen any time soon... right?

--

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Wait, what?

I looked at this ad for a full minute before realizing it wasn't for Twisted Metal

Remember that time in DC Comics where like EVERY back cover was for The GAP?
At least this one doesn't have a creepy kid winking at us!

Bionicle #1 (2001)

Bionicle #1 (June, 2001)
"The Coming of the Toa"
Writer - Greg Farshtey
Penciller - Carlos D'Anda
Inker - Richard Bennett
Colorist - Alex Sinclair
Cover Price: $2.25

Today's post is a special one.  Not so much for the content, but for the fact that this is my first sorta-kinda blogger team-up.  Good buddy Mike Carlyle over at The Crapbox of Son of Cthulhu is also running a Bionicle piece today!  The main difference is that his is quite a lot more fun to read than mine, so definitely check his out!

--

It's daybreak on a desolate beach.  A pod begins stirring with a hiss of steam and an electronic current before cracking open.  A white-masked robot emerges from the wreckage, holding a sword and shield.  It is on this island for a reason, it is here to dispense justice!

Working it's way deeper inland, our robotic bud notices he's (I think I'm just gonna say "he") being watched.  The observer is a more diminutive robot, who upon discovery attempts to flee.  He is unsuccessful due to the icy ground... wait, I thought we were on a beach?  Okay, no matter... I'll just assume he's been walking a real long time.

The observer introduces itself as Matoro, he claims to be a Tohunga and tells our main bot he is currently on the island of Mata Nui.  Matoro has long awaited this arrival, and also claims that there are "others" and the Kanohi "masks of power".

Our bot, who is still unnamed, asks where he may find these masks of power.  Matoro explains that they are scattered and guarded by Nightmare Creatures.  He continues by claiming that village elder Turaga Nuju knows the whereabouts of the Mask of Shielding.

They reach a large chasm where a bridge will someday be.  As they look on, a Green robot smashes into them knocking them into the fissure.  Matoro refers to our white-masked friend as Kopaka, so I suppose at some point off-panel they shared a bit of introductory pleasantries.  As they descend, a blast from Kopaka ensures their safe landing.  The Green creature is referred to as one of the Nui Rama.

On solid ground, our robo-duo run into village elder, Turaga.  He claims to know who and what Kopaka is.  Kopaka  being the Toa of Ice apparently wields the power of winter itself!  A threat is introduced in the evil Makuta, and we are given a link where we can receive a crash course in Nuju-speak (which as of this writing is a redirect to the main Lego Bionicle homepage).

As they continue their discussion, an avalanche occurs.  Kopaka finds that he has been buried by the Toa of Stone, Pohatu.  The two share a contentious introduction, and begin to scale a mountain.  Pohatu asks if Kopaka would be down for a team-up, to which 'pak says he "works alone".

Upon reaching the top, the two find they are not alone.  There are four colorful Toa-lookin' bots awaiting their arrival...

--

Mike and I have been trying to coordinate something of a partnered post for the past few weeks now.  When I found out that he was going to run a Bionicle piece, I jumped at the opportunity to take part.  I knew I had at least one issue of this series, the first issue was a giveaway, right?

Right?

Riiiight???

Ri--... What?  I PAID for this thing?  This was from a time before I discovered the magic of the quarter-bin... and from a time where I was, err... I think the scientific term is "willy nilly" with my money.  I cannot believe I plunked down two-and-a-quarter (plus tax) for this thing.  But sadly... I'm sure I did.  I was an easy mark back in the day.

In fact, I would pretty much just buy whatever the shop owner threw in my box.  I was of the mind that he was actually making suggestions, rather than throwing whatever he ordered too much of into subscription boxes in hopes that the box-holder would A) Not notice, B) Decide to try it out, or C) (C is for Chris here) Would feel a bit too guilty about putting it back on the shelf, and just sucking it up and buying it.  I have quite the collection of turn-of-the-century garbage that I felt too guilty about leaving behind, lemme tell ya.

Anyhoo... thoughts.  This was one of the more uninviting first-issues I've ever read.  Every panel appeared to be an expository info-dump full of Bionicle-speak-lingo.  I haven't been this confused by an in-story language since the first time I fired up Final Fantasy XIII.  What's a Toa?  Who or what is a Makuta?  Is Turaga a name, or a type of bot?  It's just too much... I have all of these questions, yet I'm still not interested enough to pursue the answers.

The art is nice, though somewhat hard to follow at times.  The main two robots we follow are the same color, and during action scenes it is somewhat difficult to tell them apart.  The rescue scene prior to the chasm incident is especially difficult to follow... the bots looked, for lack of a better term, squiggly.

This would likely be something of a treat for someone who also collected the toys, however, for a simple comic book guy like myself... it's no fun at all.

For some actual fun, make sure to check out Mike's take on Bionicle #21 from the Metru Nui saga (November, 2004).

Live today from the Crapbox of Son of Cthluhu!

--

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Hero Hotline #3 (1989)

Hero Hotline #3 (June, 1989)
Writer & Colorist - Bob Rozakis
Artist - Stephen DeStefano
Inker - Kurt Schaffenberger
Letterer - John Costanza
Editor - Brian Augustyn
Cover Price: $1.75

Today's post is a special one.  Thus far in my blogging career, all of my subjects have been one (or two) and done.  I've always felt that I don't have the stamina (or creative enough writing style) to do a full-blown series.  My mind begins to wander, and I feel as though I'm repeating myself.  Hell, even without revisiting series' I feel as though I'm repeating myself.

This is the first time I've made it to the third issue of anything for a discussion and review-type post.  I always find myself rather envious of my fellow bloggers who can stick with one topic, and actually see it through to the end while keeping their take interesting and entertaining.  One such blogger that I very much enjoy is Dan Reilly over at The Crabby Reviewer who has, since early February maintained a wonderfully interesting (and totally recommended) marathon of the Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars Battleworld Box Set.  I've followed along (and loved) the entire ride thus far, and I salute your efforts, Dan!  You've inspired me to actually see a few miniseries through to their end here on the blog, including the one we'll be discussing today!

--

Previous Chapters: #1, #2

School's out, so Microwave Mom has to drag her kids to the office.  The Coordinator decides to put her on desk duty this day, and also asks that she show new recruit Lightning Eyes around the office.  I wonder what his power may be?

Lightning Eyes: Probably shoots lightning from his eyes, right?







A week has gone by since our last visit with the team, and in that time Voice-Over's missing septuagenarian has still not been found.  The Coordinator sends V-O and Private-Eyes (... and Fred) back to the Culligan home to see what's what.

As they leave, we find Mister Muscle taking a phone call.  It appears as though the abusive husband he tangled with back in the opening chapter is challenging him to a fight.  Mom brings Lightning Eyes over for an intro, and we are informed that our strongman is going by Mighty Mike this week.

Fresh off capturing the Comedian from Watchmen's button-given flesh, Diamondette is also fielding a phone call.  It is Geraldo Riv... er, Alberto Rosario.  He wants to use her power to open Al Capo... err... Pandora's Box live on television.  She gets the a-okay from the Coordinator and heads out.

SOOZ scoots up to our man Stretch, and wouldn'tcha know it... there's another cat in a tree.  Poor guy can't catch a break.

V-O and company arrive at the Culligan home only to find it completely ransacked.  Private-Eyes finds some curious sediment on the carpet and patches SOOZ in for an ID.  These particles just happen to originate in a "basement environment".  Eye's decides to employ his x-ray vision and... well... look down.  Much to his surprise, Mrs. Culligan is in fact sitting in the basement

Voice-Over lambastes our invisible friend, Fred for not checking there earlier.  Fred's excuse is that the door was locked.  When asked why he didn't just walk through the wall, Fred reminds them the he may be invisible... but he ain't intangible.  V-O pops on his microphone and loud speaker and uses some super-shoutin'-action to rattle the knob off the door.

As our heroes reach the bottom of the stairs, they hear voices coming from upstairs.  The fellas hide and watch as two women dressed as Martians descent down the steps.  They approach the old woman and... well, try to shake her down for cash.

Voice-Over won't go for that, so he throws his voice acting as though he were an alien from Jupiter.  The women panic and attempt to make their leave, running into Private-Goo-Goo-Googly-Eyes on their way out.  V-O "rescues" the old woman who, thinking she is currently on Mars, is rather puzzled.  Case closed.

Stretch has arrived at the Burlington-Grimes... err, Grimes-Burlington estate to rescue their poor Truffles from a tree.  When he stretches his neck, he finds not only the kitty, but young boy Maximilan as well.  He rescues them both, to the absolute indifference of the wealthy broad.

Next... Live on Alberto, Diamondette is attempting to open Pandora's Box.  Just as she is about to unleash some evil on the world, the network cuts away for a GBS News Bulletin.

At the stock exchange there's an odd figure causing all sorts of commotion and chaos.  It is Bartholomew Higgins, otherwise known as SNAFU (situation normal all FOULED up, thankyouverymuch)... remember him from the text piece in Issue #1?  Me neither.  SOOZ sounds out a red alert, and sends all available team members to the stock exchange.

Once there, many of our team members find themselves caught up in the chaos.  Poor Stretch is so freaked out he's begging to rescue cats from trees!  Private-Eyes is dropped at the door, the chaos powers far too strong for his senses.  In all the psychodelicosity (for lack of a better term, of course), Hot Shot and Mighty Mike provide a distraction, and my main man Voice-Over gives Snafu a sound-blast to the back of the head.

Back on the Alberto show... Pandora's box appears to have been empty the whole time... wah wah wahhhhh.

As the team returns to HQ we again meet the buxom Miss (Melanie) Boulder.  She is worried sick over Private-Eyes being kayoed by Snafu.  Turns out his eyeballs got a bit fried, but he'll be okay... he's taking the rest of the day off though.  Stretch receives another trouble call... this time, it's not a cat up a tree... it's a young child who got stuck in a well.  Wow, this really is a 1980's book.

Stretch doesn't even leave the office, he simply... stretches his arm all the way out to the well and rescues the child.  He then berates the child's parents, the newscaster and the lookers-on.  He has clearly had enough crap this fine day... he too, is taking the rest of the day off.

Poor Voice-Over lost his voice after the Snafu fight (though, invisible Fred can still speak... interesting)... guess what?  He's taking the rest of the day off as well.

As the day draws to a close, Microwave Mom and Lightning Eyes put on their coats and start to head out.  Mom mentions that she was surprised that the Coordinator didn't send the "new guy" out in the field in light of their short staff.  Well, it turns out Lightning Eyes' superpower is his speed-reading ability.

::sigh::

We now follow Mighty Mike out to his fight.  He dons his freshest Zubaz and beret, and hits the street.  In the darkness, a wrench is swung.  Our man snatches it away handily, and the perpetrator flees.

Our tale ends with the Hero Hotline call center receiving a call about a murder... and we are [to be continued...]

Following the story, we find another interesting text piece:

--

How is it that in the past few years we've seen a revival of Prez and the freakin' Green Team, but not the Hero Hotline?  If ever there was a time where some Bob Ro magic could have been of use was in the post-Flashpoint DC Universe.  DCYou needed 'Mazing Man and the Hero Hotline!

Hero Hotline continues to be almost too fun.  We're at the halfway point, and I'm afraid I may be forming an unhealthy attachment to our cast.  This was a highly entertaining chapter, providing closure on some old (no pun intended) cases, and adding new layers to others.

I am curious if Private-Eyes' injury will be followed up on, or given the somewhat episodic nature of this title, not mentioned in the remaining issues.  The one character I really didn't care for in the opening chapter is rapidly becoming a favorite... Stretch's entire entanglement (again... no pun intended) with the Hotline is becoming quite engaging.  Why does he still do what he does here?  He is clearly unhappy... and is quickly wearing away at whatever "fuse" he may have had.  Does he owe the Coordinator anything?  Is it about his family?  Am I putting more thought into this than perhaps the writer did?  I don't know... but, I'm looking forward to finding out.

This book is an absolute treat.  Still recommended... grab it if you can find it.

--

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