The Legendary Lynx - a Mad Cave graphic novel

What better way to kick off the new year that with a brand new collection of "vintage" comic books!  But, wait! This graphic novel collects a comic book that never really existed.  Rather, as the back of this graphic novel says, this book comes from the meta-fictional world of Secret Identity, a novel by author Alex Segura about a woman named Carmen Valdez, who helped create a character named "The Legendary Lynx" for the failing comic company, Triumph Comics.  The book (Secret Identity) is more than just the tale of how this woman created a best-selling comic back in the days before women were big in comics, but it is also a murder mystery, a story of friendship and betrayal, and a romance story.  Throughout that novel, there were pages of the "comic book" created by the fictional Carmen Valdez that were supposed to have come from the "original" comics published back in the 1970s.  At the end of my review for that book, I asked the question:  when are we going to see The Legendary Lynx in a real comic?  Well, my review was posted back in 2022 ... and two years later, my question was answered!

 

The Legendary Lynx was published by Mad Cave Studios in November 2024, and it purports to collect the first four issues of the "vintage" comic book created by the lead character of Alex Segura's novel. Segura even goes so far as to have an introduction by J.M. DeMatteis (from the "Bwa-Ha-Ha-Ha" Justice League era) that talks about the comic as if it were really published back in the '70s from the small, failing company, Triumph Comics.  Everything about this book is intended to give the reader the feel and belief that The Legendary Lynx did exist as a comic book series, and that the real creator and writer of the series has remained a mystery until recent years, when speculation regarding Carmen Valdez as that creator and writer has become verified.  The packaging, the look, even the coloring of the comics would lead one to believe these are actual comics from back in the day, if one did not know any better.  (Although, to be honest, there is one big thing that gives away the fact this is not vintage at all - and that is the number of panels on each page - back in the '70s, comics boasted quite a bit of story and more than just 2, 3, or 4 panels per page - these four issues collected in this trade paperback are formatted the same as today's comics, instead of mirroring the format of comics 50 years ago - and, as with today's comics, this story that is told in four issues would have been told back in the '70s as just one or possibly two issues at the most...)

 

That being said, Segura and artist Sandy Jarrell (who also provided the illustrations in Segura's novel, Secret Identity) do breathe life into the Lynx and her alter ego, newspaper secretary Claudia Calla.  The stories are exciting and the characters fresh - and the story actually takes a much darker turn as it progresses (with one of the main characters being killed off before the end of the fourth issue!).  The origin story is somewhat fresh and unique - Claudia's twin sister is murdered, and she is not able to prevent it.  At her sister's funeral, Claudia comes in contact with a ghost who agrees to train her so that she can track down the man that murdered her sister and bring him to justice.  Thus was born the Lynx!  And she has her own male version of Lois Lane in the form of Simon Upton, a reporter who will do anything to get a story - and one who believes he has figured out that Claudia is really the Lynx!  But there is no romantic entanglement for these two, as the Lynx has a job to do bringing the criminal element to justice and stopping super-powered villains such as Diesel, Void, and others.  

 

The trade provides faux covers for the four issues, and the stories are credited to Harvey Stern as the writer and Doug Detmer as the artist, with Rich Berger listed as the editor and Jeffrey Carlyle listed as the President & CEO of Triumph Comics (all of these names coming straight out of Segura's novel).  The tone of the stories definitely has a dark feel to them, much along the lines of DC's The Phantom Stranger or Marvel's Dracula or Werewolf by Night - nowhere near as light-hearted as the typical superhero fare of the time, but still not so dark as to cause problems with the Comics Code Authority.  The art and colors definitely fit that darker tone of the story, but it's not gory or filled with sexual situations as so many of today's indy comics seem to be.  I give Segura credit for creating a unique character that may seem familiar on the surface, but believe me, the Lynx is unlike any comic character you've seen to date!

 

The one drawback about this trade is that the fourth issue ends on a major cliffhanger, and so readers are left wondering what happens next! In Segura's fictional world, a new creative team took over with the fifth issue of The Legendary Lynx, so it's rather doubtful we will ever see any more "reprints" of issues of this comic, since this one specifically ties into Secret Identity and its title character.  I do love this cross-promotion of sorts (both the book and this comic can be read separately without any problem, but if you read them both, you find they truly compliment one another beautifully and give you a fuller picture of both stories!).  A part of me almost wishes Segura would go ahead and just introduce a REAL comic series for The Legendary Lynx - bring her into the present time and give fans an ongoing series (or a series of mini-series), so we can really enjoy the world of Clauda Calla and her justice-seeking alter ego.

 

RATING:  9 razor-sharp claws out of 10 for allowing the Lynx to jump out of the pages of Secret Identity and into her own "real" comic for fans to enjoy! 

Ripped to Shreds - a retro-'80s horror graphic novelization

I am a HUGE fan of '80s horror/slasher flicks.  Ever since I watched my first Friday the 13th film on cable TV back in the early '80s, I was hooked.  As the years went by, I watched every slasher film I could get my hands on - Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Prom Night, My Bloody Valentine, Terror Train, New Year's Evil, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Happy Birthday to Me, Final Exam, The Funhouse, Chopping Mall, and the list goes on.  Some were great, some were good, some were bad, and some were just plain awful. The love of this genre has continued on till today, with films like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Happy Death Day, Wrong Turn, and so on - but, honestly, nothing compares to the zany stories that made up those '80s films.  I mean, anyone who has ever seen the Sleepaway Camp films knows exactly what I'm talking about.  So, when I saw the Kickstarter for this graphic novel, there was no doubt that I was going to get it.

 

Ripped to Shreds is a love letter to fans of those '80s slasher films.  In fact, it was originally supposed to BE one of those '80s slasher films!  Ripped to Shreds is based upon a screenplay written by Michael Johnson, which was initially advertised to begin filming in late 1980.  Unfortunately, the project remained in what is affectionately referred to in Hollywood as "development hell" for three years, and ultimately it was scrapped, thought to become just another in a long line of "lost" slasher films never to be made.  Flash forward more than forty years later, and a collector happened to come across the one and only surviving copy of the Ripped to Shreds script - a copy that Apostrophe Comics has brilliantly turned into a beautifully bound, fantastically drawn, and superbly scripted graphic novel that captures the true essence of the film and the genre!  Adapted by Scott Alan Gregory (writer), Thiago Motta (illustrator), and Karla Aguilar (colorist), the graphic novel is the ultimate must-have for die-hard fans of 1980s' slashers!

 

The story is actually a mix of elements that would have turned out an amazingly great film!  An opening flashback to a campfire, where teens are getting drunk, and where three girls take off in a car, only to pick up a lone hitchhiker - a man who slashes them with his metal claw, causing them to crash - and only one girl survives!  Years later (the present - 1980s), another group of teens are around a campfire, talking about the legend of the clawed killer and the fatal car crash.  Some people believe if you drive that same road at night, the ghost of the murdered girls will appear in your car and force you off the road.  Needless to say, one young couple have to put the legend to the test - and they pay the price for it.

 

The two main characters - Madeline (modeled after Lauren Marie-Taylor from Friday the 13th, Part 2) and Richard (modeled after Russell Todd from Friday the 13th, Part 2) set about to uncover the truth.  Is the legend true?  Is there a clawed killer our there?  Or did their friends merely die as a a result of a freak accident?  Like any good slasher movie, there are any number of suspects - the suspicious gardener who is uber-religious and is keeping his daughter (the only survivor of that original accident all those years ago) captive in her own home; the juvenile crime detective, who seems to have an unhealthy interest in the investigation and the teens; or even that girl who survived the original crash, whose mind is now fractured.  Before you can say "booze, sex, and drugs," the bodies start to pile up, ripped to shreds by that deadly claw (hence, the title!), and Scott and Vickie ... er, I mean Madeline and Richard have to work harder to uncover the truth.

 

Fans will enjoy the ultimate revelation and backstory, as you learn the truth about what really happened all those years ago and who was really at fault for the death of those girls.  Madeline gets a fantastic final girl battle against the killer in a darkened house, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her (she was, after all, in the shower when the lights went out!).  I love the ingenuity the character uses to lure the killer into a deadly trap, so just when you think he has her, she turns the tables and kills the killer!  There is a nice wrap-up scene as Richard accompanies Madeline in the ambulance to the hospital, explaining to her the truth about the killer identity and why the murders were taking place ... only to get that one final shock at the end - a surprising twist that would have left the door open for a sequel (of course, that would have necessitated the first film ever being made in the first place!).  

 

The hardcover book contains no only the full adaptation of the script, but plenty of special features in the back to make you feel like you were enjoying a DVD / BluRay version of the story.  From an interview with the original screenplay writer, Michael Johnson, to interviews with both actors (Russell Todd and Lauren Marie-Taylor) about their involvement in the project, to production designs of the killer claw, as well as commentary about the overall production of the graphic novel, character design pages, and a cover gallery.   

 

This book deserves the greatest of all accolades for successfully bringing back a 1980s film in a format that is both visually and artistically pleasing, and will satisfy any fan's appetite for a "new" '80s slasher!

 

RATING:  10 mutilated bodies hanging upside down out of 10 for a true '80s classic - the perfect horror / slasher flick that, sadly, was never made!

Surfside Girls, Graphic Novel No. 3 - The Clue in the Reef

Hard to believe it has been three years since the last Surfside Girls graphic novel.  Although, considering the length of this mystery is pretty much double the size of the last one, I can imagine it took writer/artist, Kim Dwinell, some time to get this one done.  I've also learned, since purchasing this third volume of the series, that the Surfside Girls was made into a television show on ApplePlus TV.  I don't have that streaming service, unfortunately, so I haven't been able to watch any episodes, but I did catch the trailer on YouTube, and I must say, it looks just as fun as the graphic novels!  And after the girls uncovering the secret of Danger Point in the first book, and solving the mystery at the Old Rancho in the second book, I could not wait to see what the third graphic novel held in store!

 

The Clue in the Reef finds Sam Taylor and her best friend, Jade Lee, trying to figure out how a pack of small hedgehogs ended up stranded on an outer reef.  With the tide quickly coming in, Sam and Jade surf out there and rescue the poor animals.  The only clue they uncover is an odd tag with a clover and diamond on it.  Of course, their investigations into this mystery is limited, as both Sam and Jade are helping out Sam's father in the Surfside Days Festival, working in Mr. Taylor's burger hut.  In the last mystery, it was a surfing competition, but in this mystery, it's a celebration of the town of Surfside's founding back in 1853.  Everyone is dressed up in fashions from the 1850s, including poor Sam and Jade - "How did women do ANYTHING dressed like this?" Sam rightfully asks (p. 3), as she is being fitted for her costume.  But the uncomfortable clothes soon become unimportant, when Sam and Jade realize there is something strange going on in Surfside - because not only were the hedgehogs abandoned, but it also seems there is a ring-tailed lemur loose in Surfside, stealing mangos from unsuspecting vendors at the festival!  Where are these exotic animals coming from?  That is mystery Sam and Jade intend to solve!

 

While this particular mystery does not center around any of the ghosts that the girls have befriended and helped in the past, that is not to say they are not present.  Robert, and his fellow pirates, are on the scene, willing to help out where they can (although that does not amount to much).  Dwinell does spend some time, however, focusing on Sam and Robert's human/ghost relationship, and it's rather sweet to see how these star-crossed lovers are trying to find a way to make it work.  There is also an interesting part of the story where Sam and Jade listen to an old-timer spin a beautiful tale of how her people migrated from the mountain in the ocean to the mainland, only to have some of them fall off the "rainbow bridge" and into the ocean, where Mother Earth transformed them into sea dolphins.  It turns out this was a tale Dwinell herself held from a Chumash woman when she and her family were camping at the Malibu Creek State Park, and she incorporated it into this story.  While having no real connection to the mystery itself, it does provide some beautiful background to the fictional town of Surfside and its inhabitants, fleshing out the world in which Sam and Jade live.

 

While the girls do have cell phones and computers, I applaud Dwinell on keeping their usage to a minimum.  She has Sam and Jade do their detective work the old fashioned way, searching for clues outside of the internet!  Yes, they do ultimately use Sam's cell phone as a tracking device to follow the crook who is smuggling the exotic animals into Surfside, they are more reliant on Jade's mystery notebook, where she writes down all the clues, all of their suspicions, all of their ideas and plans, and everything else connected with the mystery.  Keeping the technology to a minimum definitely makes for a better read!

 

Dwinell does through in a surprise character in the form of "Amichelle," a famous pop star who is trying to lay low in Surfside to avoid being mobbed constantly by avid fans.  She plays an important part of the mystery, and she provides readers a clear reminder that although Sam and Jade are successful amateur detectives, they are still teenagers at heart.  With this in mind, it makes the climax of the story somewhat shocking, as the girls are placed in an extremely dangerous situation when they confront the criminal, and their very lives are at stake!  Of course, their quick-thinking and athletic prowess help them escape certain death, and the villain of the story is brought to justice by the end.

 

Dwinell's art remains consistent with the previous two books, for which I am glad.  In the beginning, it felt a bit cartoony, but as the series has progressed, I'm learning to appreciate and enjoy it more and more.  It has now established this world firmly for me, and I could not picture Sam, Jade, and their world drawn any other way!  I hope Dwinell is hard at work on a fourth mystery, as I do not want the adventures of the Surfside Girls to ever end!

 

RATING:  9 tubes of fake gold from an Old Prospector out of 10 for another superbly told mystery with a world that gets more and more fleshed-out with each book!

Teen Angst - a Treasury of '50s Romance comics

If you had told me ten years ago that I would be reading and enjoying romance comics of the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, I would have told you that you were nuts.  Romance comics were just something I was never interested in growing up.  As an adult, however, I have learned to appreciate them - not just for the pretty art, but also for the historical context of the stories, the moral high ground taken by some of the authors, and the crafty way that the stories more times than now showed the female lead in a bad light, having to learn her lesson when it comes to love, being chaste and honest, and remaining true to one's self.  Rarely do you come across romance comics with a male lead character, and perhaps that stems from the fact that these comics (at least, back in the days when they were published) were aimed at the female readers.  Yet, reading them today, these stories that were considered too racy and a bad influence on kids back then are definitely tame compared to comics that you will find published in the 2020s!

 

Teen Angst is a collection of romance stories from various issues of Realistic Romances, Romantic Love, Teen-Age Romances, Wartime Romances, and Teen-Age Temptations, all published between 1951 and 1953, before the Comic Code Authority put a kibosh on tales such as these. They were collected and published by Malibu Graphics back in 1990, at a time when independent comic companies were really hitting their stride in the industry.  Collected and edited by the company's Creative Director, Tom Mason (who also provided a short introduction to the collection), the book showcases a number of great artists, including legends Matt Baker and Everett Raymond Kinstler.  Baker was one of the first known African-American comic book artists, probably best known for his work on Phantom Lady.  He has been called one of the best "Good Girl" artists in the industry.  Kinstler was drawing comic books from the age of 16 and eventually graduated to portrait painting, including U.S. Presidents such as Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.  During their careers, both artists spent some time doing work on romance comics, and this collection is a nice representation of their work.

 

The stories are not collected chronologically, as there is really no need, since each six to nine page story is unrelated to any of the others.  While the table of contents identifies the comic each story is pulled from, as well as the year of publication, it sadly does not specifically identify the artist of each story.  Kinstler signed the first story, so that one is easily identifiable; as for the rest of the stories, I had to do some digging online to discovery who drew the remaining tales:  Kinstler (pp. 1 and 38); John Rosenberger (pp. 8, 14, and 29); Rafael Astarita (pp. 21 and 71); Maurice Gutwirth (p. 98); Luis Zansky (p. 127); and Baker (pp. 54, 61, 80, 89, 119, and 139).  The stories on pages 45, 104, and 112 do not have credited artists, and I was unable to locate any information online as to who might have drawn those tales.  In addition, the three pages preceding the first story on page 1 offer up  some absolutely gorgeous frontspieces drawn by Kinstler for issues of Realistic Romance and Romantic Love - the black and white images are captivating!  These frontspieces were collages that gave readers a brief glimpse into the stories that were waiting for them in each issue.

 

And speaking of stories, let's talk about the tales that are collection in Teen Angst.  After all, the art may be beautiful to look at, but without the story, the comics do not really mean much.  Tom Mason has to be given credit for picking a wide variety of stories, which offer up great examples of pre-Code comics that dealt with divorce, violence, and a lot of sexual subtext.  There is a story about a woman so in love with her man, she enlists in the military so she can follow the love of her life onto the front lines in "Our Love was Battle-Scarred!"  Then there is a story about a woman who believes she is a jinx to any man who loves her after the first two men she loves are killed in strange accidents in "Jinx Girl."  Another story finds a young woman determined to rise above her poor childhood, even if it means killing the rich, elderly man she married in "Dangerous Woman."  If that was not bad enough, next up is "Fatal Romance!" in which young woman gets hooked up with the wrong man from a carnival and speeds off on a crime spree that ends in death!  In "Make-Believe Marriage," a young woman pretends to be married in order to get a job, only to have her make-believe husband show up and nearly spoil everything!  "Thrill Hungry" is a tale about a woman who ends up believing the wrong man and nearly causes a spy to get away with government secrets, while "Deadly Triangle" features another tale of a woman making the wrong choice in men, leading to her nearly dying when the crook uses her as a human shield against the police!  One of my favorites is "Borrowed Love," a dying woman wants more than anything to be truly loved, and when she finally meets the man who could be that love, he tears her away from the housekeeper that has raised her, she learns a startling secret about her illness!  That story is probably the closest to a soap opera mystery, which is likely why I enjoyed it so much.

 

There are plenty of other stories - "Triumphant Kisses" and "I Craved Excitement" and "Fast Company" and "I Was a Love Gypsy" and a number of others that deal with young women who are looking for love in all the wrong places and in too many faces and ultimately must face the consequences of their actions.  The collection is truly a treat for comic fans and those who love tales of romance, as it offers up such diverse stories - no two are alike, and not every story has a happy ending!  I guess the only thing they really have in common is that the woman in these tales all learn their lesson by the end of each story, some with much more dire consequences than others!  I would love to know who the authors are for these stories and what other work they did; it would be interesting to see if any of the writers went on to become big names in the comic industry (or elsewhere!).

 

In addition to these comic reprints, there are three short prose stories from Teen-Age Romances #20 and #22 (published in 1952).  I cannot say these stories were all that interesting, as they did not feature the intensity of the drama that the actual comic tales did.  In fact, I think I got more of a kick seeing some of the original ads from these romance comics interspersed throughout the collection than I did the prose tales.

 

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves great storytelling filled with plenty of drama and in some cases violence.  And the art is most certainly something that can be appreciated in these stories, if nothing else.  Huge thanks to Malibu and Tom Mason for putting this together back in the day, and grateful there are still copies available out there for purchase!  (And if you want a bit more info, check out the interview with Tom Mason at the Malibu fan Facebook page - Interview with Tom Mason.)

RATING:  10 peek-a-boo lace negligees out of 10 for preserving some classic romance comics that are worth more than just a second glance!

Ms. Tree - Heroine Withrawal (The FIfth Ms. Tree Graphic Novel)

I can never get enough of Ms. Tree.  Ever since I picked up that first issue of Ms. Tree's Thrilling Detective Adventures (which I still love that title, even though I'm aware Ms. Tree's creators do not - for me, it gave the book a pulp feel, which I think fit the character nicely), I've been hooked, and I was devastated when the series eventually ended after years at Eclipse, then Aardvark-Vanheim, then Renegade Press, and finally DC Comics.  So, when Titan announced it would be collecting and reprinting the entire run, I was super-excited - sure, I had all the individual issues; but now I would have easy access to reading the stories again and again and again without having to dig through my comic boxes, unseal the bags, and pull out issue after issue to read them.  Even though the collections are not telling the stories in order (they reprinted the ten DC issues first, then went back to the beginning to start with the Eclipse issues, before moving on to the AV and Renegade issues - and even those have been told somewhat out of order, collecting them by story relevance and not chronologically), I have absolutely loved curling up in my recliner and walking down memory lane with Ms. Tree, Dan, Effie, and the rest of the gang...

Ms. Tree: Heroine Withdrawal collects issues 18-27 and 29-31 (with the title having officially switched fully to Renegade Press by issue 19).  These are some of my favorite issues, as they deal with Ms. Tree's final confrontation with Dominic Muerta and the aftermath - as well as a two-part story that dealt with the topical issue of abortion.  This is some of Max Allan Collins' best writing in the series, as they give the readers a real sense of why Ms. Tree is who she is and why the world (well, her fictional world, anyway) needs a Ms. Tree in it.  It's also extremely character driving, as most of the series is anyway - but these issues in particular give readers a greater understanding of not just Ms. Tree, but also many of the supporting characters.  Plus, we get our introduction to Dominique Muerta (gotta love Collins' play on names in this series), who turns out to be a wonderful frenemy for our favorite gun-toting crime-fighter!

"Muerta Means Death," the four-issue story that runs through issues 18, 19, 20, and 21, provides readers with a very satisfying conclusion to Ms. Tree's vendetta against the man who had her husband killed.  The title has a double meaning, since the word "muerta" is actually the Spanish word for "dead," and at the same time, it refers to the fact that Dominic Muerta is a killer, and if you cross him, you die.  I suppose it could also have a third meaning, since in the story, we learn Muerta has cancer and is on his death bed - and when Dan Green comes back to work (with a hook in place of the hand he lost in the explosion set by Muerta's men in a previous story), he's all set to take revenge on Muerta.  It all gets confusing when Dan goes to Muerta's house prepared to kill him - and when Ms. Tree and the police get there, they find Dan just waking up in the same room where Muerta and his nurse are both dead!  Dan swears he did not do it, and Ms. Tree sets about proving his innocence.  The story takes a few surprising twists, with the final one giving Ms. Tree the satisfaction she has been seeking - definitely a great read, and for astute readers (who have become accustomed to Collins' playing with names), Muerta's attorney, Dimitri A. Dopler, should give you a huge clue as to one of the biggest secrets in this story!

Following this big payoff, Collins gives readers a few shorter stories - the first being "Right to Die," which addresses the issue of abortion and readers find out that Ms. Tree had an abortion when she was younger, an act she regrets now that Mike Tree is dead, and the only child she could have had with him is gone.  The story addresses the issue without straying into preaching which side of the issue is "right" - instead, the story focuses on how various people deal with abortion and the doctors who perform the procedures.  It has a sad ending, and let's just say there are no real winners in this one - especially for Ms. Tree, as her actions in this story have serious repercussions...

Leading into the next two-parter, "Prisoner Cell Block Hell," in which Ms. Tree does time in a women's prison (with all the standard stereotypes you'd expect to see), and Ms. Tree has to face someone coming after her - after all, as the saying goes, the past always has a way of catching back up to you.  After unveiling some very corrupt prison guards, Ms. Tree then gets transferred to a psychiatric facility in the two-part "Heroine Withdrawal."  For those who remember the very first Ms. Tree story in her own comic (after her origin in Eclipse Magazine), Ms. Tree has a reason to be wary of psychiatrists - and for good reason!.  Only this time around, she manages to reveal the unscrupulous actions of a nurse and orderly, as well as a high-powered politician! And she makes a new friend who may or may not have been taken by aliens (let's just say Collins leaves it up to the reader to decide at the end of the story...)

This collection concludes with the three-issue tale, "The Other Cheek," which introduces us to a newly reformed Ms. Tree who has completed her psychiatric care and has decided to walk away from all of the violence, not even carrying a gun any more.  This, of course, forces all of those who work with her - including Effie! - to step up their game, because when it comes to Ms. Tree, danger is never far away. It's not until her stepson, Mike (named after his father), is kidnapped that Ms. Tree realizes she has no choice, and she throws off the new persona and steps back into the shoes she was made to fill - that of a female vigilante who fights for justice, and always wins!  One thing I thought was a great choice for Beatty in this story (and I don't know if it was his idea, or if Collins told him to do it), but I loved the fact that "reformed" Ms. Tree dressed so much differently - even wearing flower-print dresses!  But when she goes back to her old self to rescue Mike, she once again dons that blue overcoat that give her such distinctive style!  It makes for a nice visual aid to her change in character back and forth.

With only one more collection go to complete the reproduction of the entire run of Ms. Tree, I hope the sales on these collections have been such that Collins and Beatty will consider telling some more stories.  With all of the controversies in the news today, they would literally have a plethora of topics to pick from to create some great tales!  And who knows?  Maybe they could even age the characters, so that Mike (her stepson) could be old enough to work along side her - what a story that would be!  Any way you say it, we definitely need MORE MS. TREE!!!!!!

10 old-fashioned dynamite bombs out of 10 for some truly dynamite story-telling, masterful twists and surprises, and some of the best artwork you will ever see in a comic!  What more could you want?

Misty - 2024 Special

I was actually surprised when I saw this comic solicited in Previews.  I have several collection of the old Misty weekly comic from back in the '70s and '80s, as well as one of the original Annuals that was published in Britain; however, I was not aware that anyone was publishing new stories. Obviously, I ordered it, and when it arrived this month, I was not really sure what to expect.  What did surprise me is that three of the four stories were written by Gail Simone, a comic book writer, I have followed for years.  Her work on Birds of Prey for DC Comics is probably one of the best runs out there (outside of Chuck Dixon, of course), and I loved her run on Wonder Woman.  Thus, seeing her name headlining the creators for this special gave me high hopes - and she did NOT disappoint!

Misty 2024 Special features a beautifully painted cover by Tula Lotay (the pen name for English artist Lisa Wood).  The cover clearly pays homage to the classic images of the character Misty, who graced the covers and inside covers of the ongoing weekly comic, while at the same time giving readers a slight hint as to the first story once you dig inside.  I'm not familiar with Ms. Wood (a/k/a Ms. Lotay), nor do I recognize any of the artists for the four stories (Carola Borelli/Ellie Wright; Aly Fell; Marianna Ignazzi; and Letty Wilson), so I am assuming they are likely all European artists.  The work on the first three stories, all written by Simone, is magnificent (the second one being my favorite); the art on the fourth and final tale is a bit outside my normal likes, but I suppose it does fit the story.

The first tale, "Eleven Lonely Deaths," finds Misty herself walking the short of Syndon Lake, when she meets a photographer who is also a true crime podcaster.  He shares with Misty (and the readers) the tragic history of the lake and the eleven young girls who were murdered there.  A man was eventually arrested and charged with the crimes, but Misty surprises the photographer with news that the wrong man was convicted - and from there, the story takes a couple of surprising twists and turns ... and, well, I don't want to surprise the ending for you, but let's just say the irony is certainly fitting!

The second story, "The Pub at the End of the Road," is probably my favorite of the four tales.  Misty hosts the tale, but she only has a minor background role in the story itself.  A young woman named Willow, the daughter of a rather shady pub owner, is the star of this macabre tale.  While she may look and act like a Disney princess (even caring for the small critters that scurry around the back of the pub), she doesn't see herself as one, thanks to the cruelty of a father that uses her merely to increase his bank account.  Of course, there's the charming young man named David (who bears an uncanny resemblance to a young David Cassidy from back in the day!) who wants to save her from this life.  But, as with any good horror tale, things spiral out of control and ... well, by the end of this story, everyone really does get exactly what they deserve!

The third tale, "Happy Birthday, Mrs. Parker!," plays on the expectations of the reader. In this one, Misty takes on the role of a nurse at a small country hospital, where the nurses gather to celebrate the birthday of one very special nurse named Carina.  The patients refer to her as an angel because of her disposition and her willingness to work all hours of the day and night to help them.  But there's one nurse, Mika, who doesn't like her - in fact, she gets rather nasty to Misty as well!  Well, the story, of course, takes a dark turn when it is revealed the hospital has an unusually high death rate - and the tables get turned on one of the nurses who has been killing the patients!  Oh, and pay attention to the sign on the kitchen wall in the background, as it might give you a hint of what's to come...

The final story is definitely my least favorite of the four tales.  A young girl knows something strange has happened next door, as the neighbors have suddenly disappeared without cause.  When she goes to investigate, she discovers the house has been left with good on the counter and mail piling up at the door.  As she explores further, she comes across a mirror that is cracked ... a mirror that offers her an unusual escape ... or is it actually a trap?  And when she does finally find her way out of the mirror, is it her that comes back - or merely a mirror copy?  The art in this story just does not do it for me.  The story I can take - I like the idea of mirror/mirror worlds with alternate realities or other dimensions.  But I have a hard time appreciating the stylistic art of this tale - it takes away from my enjoyment of reading.

Overall, a pretty good issue, and it is capped off with a beautiful rendition of Misty by artist Shirley Bellwood on the back cover.  Hopefully this issue sells well so that maybe we will see some more specials in the coming years (or maybe even a regular series!).

RATING:  9 bottles of evening strange perfume out of 10 for some fantastic new tales of irony, horror, and Misty-loving fun!

The Pathfinders Society, Vol. 3 - The Legend of the Lost Boy

With this graphic novel, we reach the third and final book in the saga of the Pathfinders Society.  It's been a fun, three-book ride, and this last book provides readers with a conclusion to the five kids' quest to uncover the truth behind the Merriweather mystery and the alleged "treasure" that the family was trying to find, as well as whatever really happened to Henry Merriweather all those years ago.  While each book has had its own self-contained portion of the tale, there is an over-arching story that makes for some interesting reading.

The Legend of the Lost Boy picks up shortly after the end of book 2, The Curse of the Crystal Cavern, as the kids - Kyle, Beth, Harry, Victoria (Vic), and Nate - find themselves mysteriously transported back to 1962.  Nate has had a very strange dream, where he finds himself on the ship, The Lost Boy, and a mysterious stranger warns him he must hurry because the path is fading.  What that means, however, is unknown - Nate just knows that time is running out.  The kids are concerned about finding a way back to their own time, and they eventually enlist the aid of Mildred Merriweather (who they knew as an elderly woman in their own time, but how is a pre-teen in this time) to help them out.  Which involves getting a cranky old man named Gideon, who used to be a pathfinder himself, to lead them to the ringing rocks.  He is reluctant, only agreeing to do so once they find a map that shows the way.   It's a dangerous trip down a treacherous river that seems to fight against them, and then a race against time to find the right rocks to "ring" before a deadly wind dragon takes them away.  And once they hit that right combination of rocks?  Well, let's just say the story gets really interesting from there...

Writers Francesco Sedita and Prescott Seraydarian stay spot-on with the characterization, and it is fun to read the interaction among the characters as they face new challenges in this book.  The story moves quickly, but not so fast that the readers feels like he or she has missed anything.  Steve Hamaker does a fantastic job with the art, although I will say something I noticed more in this volume than in the previous two is that it seems all of the eyes of his characters are opened wide nearly all the time, as if they are surprised or in shock.  I think that has a direct affect on the expressions of the characters, so there does not seem to be much variation from which the reader can tell the emotional state of the characters just from the art.  Thankfully, the art mixed with the dialogue and story help keep that from becoming too much of an issue.

Overall, this has been a fun series, and while the story provided a very satisfying conclusion, I do wish there were more stories to tell of these young pathfinders.  Perhaps Sedita, Seraydarian, and Hamaker will eventually come up with another tale they just have to tell, and we'll get a sequel series ... only time will tell!

RATING:  9 outdated camp uniforms out of 10 for a great mix of mystery, comics, and time traveling to make for a fun read!

Daisy Blackwood, Pilot for Hire - Vol. 5 - The Buccaneer's Bounty

I can't believe it's been over a year since I read book four in the Daisy Blackwood series of graphic novels.  It certainly does not seem like that long.  I have thoroughly enjoyed these stories - Ryan Howe writes some fun, fast-moving, action-packed stories and his art, while a bit on the cartoony-side, definitely work with the stories.  In a way, I suppose I'm glad I put off reading this one for as long as I did, because it seems this is the last book in the series.  This was published back in 2021, three years ago now, and I haven't seen any indication of any new stories on Howe's website.  Which is a real shame, as this character is just too good to put on a shelf and let collect dust.  Daisy Blackwood needs more adventures!

The Buccaneer's Bounty opens not with the title character; rather, Howe starts this story with a sky pirate who inadvertently discovers the secret to the "treasure of the three captains."  A locket he discovers could be the key to locating that treasure, and it just so happens his girlfriend is a medium who can contact the dead - a medium who used to be a student of the professor, and who happens to have stolen the Skull of K'Tuck, a supernatural artifact the professor is hoping to have Daisy Blackwell recover.  And thus, finally, on page 22, we see our favorite pilot-for-hire enter the picture, as she has been summoned by the professor to locate the skull.  And locate it she does, but with the most unexpected results!  It seems the medium has unwittingly freed the spirit of Luisa Costa, a pirate who has been dead for several hundred years, give or take.  And now that spirit is dead-set (pun intended!) on regaining a mortal body, and it's up to Daisy and her crew to put a stop to it.

 

From here, the action picks up speed, and Howe crafts another dangerous and exciting adventure, as Daisy must obtain one of the items that Costa needs to restore her spirit into human form - an anastasis stone, also referred to as a "resurrection" stone - and in order to get one, she must face off against her grandfather - which is a well-written, fun scene, since Daisy and her grandfather basically hate each other!  What struck me about this scene is that just as Daisy is about to win the auction for the stone, her grandfather receives a mysterious message and simply gets up and leaves!  It would seem to me this is a hint of some future story Howe has planned ... yet, since there don't seem to be any more stories, I'm left wondering exactly what that message was and why the mystery surrounding it?

A kidnapped friend, a race against time, and a fight against a giant sea monster round out this story, making it another fun and exciting read.  And while Daisy does ultimately rescue her friend and recover not only the skull, but also the stone, for the professor, the story ends with a cliffhanger of sorts.  Perhaps Howe will one day return to this series and pick up where he left off.  I did notice, however, that on his website, it appears he has some other series, such as We've Got Spirit, Bad Karma, and Captain Flynt.  I suppose I need to check those out to get my fill of Howe's writing and artistic talents.

If you enjoy comics, if you enjoy adventure stories, and if you enjoy daring female pilots, then you will absolutely LOVE the Daisy Blackwood series.  I highly recommend it!

RATING:  10 sultry evening dresses out of 10 for closing the book on Daisy Blackwood with a truly exciting tale of pirates and treasures!

The Best of Jane Bond - a Collection of Mike Hubbard's Female Spy

Up until I bought this collected edition, the only two people I knew with the name "Jane Bond" were the managing partner at the law firm where I work and the series of parodies written by Mabel Maney (parodying James Bond).  So, imagine my surprise when I was paging through a recent Previews, looking at the comics coming out soon, and came across a book titled The Best of Jane Bond.  Needless to say my curiosity was awakened, and I wanted to know more.  Was this Jane Bond perhaps a lawyer, like my boss?  Or a spy, like the Maney character?  As it turns out, she is [was] a spy for a fictional organization known as Worldpol (which makes me think of a home appliance every time I read that name...).

The Best of Jane Bond collects five of the super spy's stories, which were originally published in the British periodicals for girls, Tina and Princess Tina back in the 1960s and early '70s.  Based upon information provided in the introduction to this book, as well as what I could find online, it seems Jane Bond appeared in the British title, Tina (February 25, 1967 through September 16, 1967), and then that title merged with Princess, forming the newly titled Princess Tina.  The Jane Bond strip ran in Princess Tina from September 23, 1967 through February 28, 1970, after which, the character made a few appearances in a Princess Tina Giftbook for Girls, a Princess Tina Annual, and a Tammy annual.  She appears to be one of the few strictly adventure stories in those publications, as they normally featured mystery stories, horror tales, and schoolgirl related stories.

Readers only get a very brief introduction to Jane Bond with her first strip, which appears to be the only three-page strip (all the remainder strips are only two pages in length).  The caption merely reads:

Meet Jane Bond, Secret Agent.  As cool as an early morning rose and as deadly as nightshade.  Born in the United States, educated in Italy, dresseed by Zior of Paris - and hated by every crook in the world.

With that caption, we get an image of a very beautiful Jane Bond holding binoculars, while behind her lay a collage of passports, cameras, cash, blueprints, operation files, wallets, and other sundry items that every good spy might need.  That first story opens at the Pasadena Grand Prix in Los Angeles, California, where the driver of Car 13 manages to barely avoid a crash and win the race!  Of course, that car happens to be driven by none other than Jane Bond, super-spy extraordinaire!  Receiving a message from Worldpol headquarters, she gets her next assignment - to locate the western world's greatest scientist, John Simm, and the formula he has been working on!  In this first 12-part story, Jane faces off against a number of hired assassins, a class of deadly female agents, and an oversized dog; but none of them can stop this determined young beauty, and by the end of the tale, she not only finds the missing scientist, but keeps the secret formula from falling into enemy hands.

The next assignment in this collection finds Jane battling wits with the notorious Theodore Leopold, a villain otherwise known as "The Lobster."  Worldpol has discovered Leopold is installing some "very odd equipment" in his house, and it's up to Jane to find out what it is and whether it poses a threat to the free world.  In this 13-chapter story, Jane is forced to deal with some extremely unusual circumstances, the strangest of which is fighting off a gigantic metal lobster being controlled by Leopold himself - all to stop him from releasing a deadly serum that would result in the starvation of millions of people around the world!  From this tale, readers leap right into the next adventure, which is much shorter with only 6-parts, as Jane joins a circus to track down and capture an escaped enemy spy known simply as Konrad.

Apparently, the publisher had determined that shorter stories would fare better, as the next adventure collected here is an 8-parter in which Jane travels to the freezing regions of the Arctic to stop a group of people blackmailing the world's governments or they will cause a complete meltdown of the icy region, creating massive flooding around the globe.  Jane attempts to infiltrate their ranks, but she is soon discovered and nearly left behind to die when the massive bomb is detonated! Of course, she wiggles her way out of certain doom and saves the day, as always.  From here we move on to her last tale collected in this book, a short 5-part adventure in which Jane finally gets the tropical getaway she's been wanting - only, her vacation takes a turn towards work when she finds she was tricked to going to the tropical island in order to help one of the richest men in the world by keeping his daughter safe.  Needless to say, the daughter is kidnapped, and Jane must do some quick work (in a bikini the whole time, nonetheless!) to save the girl and stop her captors from getting away.

Unfortunately, the publishers did not give credit to anyone involved with the strip during its run, so while it is known Mike Hubbard was the artist, the writer remains unknown to date.  Hubbard's art, though, is magnificent.  His use of detailed backgrounds, shadowing, and perfectly defined faces and expressions makes the strip a fantastic visual experience, nearly thematic in nature.  Since the stories are not lengthy (even the 13 and 12-part adventures do not feel that long), they move along at a quick page, with plenty of action to keep it going - and to keep Jane constantly moving!  In the early strips, only the first panel featured some grey washes of paint, with the remaining panels strictly line drawings.  Later (in the middle of "The Lobster" adventure), the magazine added some red tones to the first page of the story.  Finally, though, Hubbard was able to use his grey washed art for all of the panels in the strip, which gave the story a bit of a darker feel than the simple line drawn panels did.  I can't say I like any variation better than the others, as I think they all added something to the strip, although the red duo-tone pages would have been better had they done both pages with the red, instead of just one.

Overall, a fun read and, by far, this is my favorite "Jane Bond" of all the ones I know!  I'm glad Rebellion Publishing reprinted these tales, and maybe one day, they can reprint the rest!

RATING:  10 spring-loaded fur wraps out of 10 for female spy adventure in the tradition of Emma Peel and Black Widow, with fast-paced, full-filled, action packed stories that are well worth the read!

Penny Nichols - a Top Shelf Productions graphic novel

If you are a fan of vintage children's mystery series, and you know anything about Mildred Wirt, then you'll know right away why I picked up this graphic novel.  Way back in 1936, Mildred Wirt wrote a three book series of mysteries under the pseudonym of Joan Clark, with a fourth and final book being published in 1939.  The title character to this series?  Why, none other than Penny Nichols.  The daughter of a private investigator, Penny stumbles across one mystery after another that she must solve, helping people along the way.  So, when I happened to come across this graphic novel bearing the same exact name, well, there was no way I could pass this up!

Penny Nichols is the creation of MK Reed (writer), Greg Means (writer), and Matt Wiegle (artist).  Instead of a teenage amateur sleuth, this particular Penny Nichols is a 26-year old, single woman who is cynical, sarcastic, and sassy (oh, how I love her already!).  She has been meandering through life, working one temp job after another and babysitting her sister's two young daughters.  She is not looking for romance, she is not particularly searching for a career, and she is ... well, to put it bluntly, she is simply settled into a mundane life.  Until the fateful day she is stuck handing out free samples of her sister's new health juice (don't ask what it is made of - or better yet, listen to Penny's description of it:  "[a] vitamin rich, ProBio-Antijuice and professional strength floor cleaner" [p. 13]).  That should give you an idea of just how wonderfully snippy Penny is.  

 

And it happens to be just what Bobert and Sam are looking for!  After all, they are making a low-budget (VERY low budget, as in non-existent) horror flick, and they need someone who can help manage the books ... and help edit the script ... well, actually, write the dialogue ... and the scenes ... and organize it all ... and find some extras ... and find the costumes ... and assist in editing ... and, well, you get the drift.  Penny is suddenly thrust into a world of make-believe blood, exploding heads, excitable actresses, over-eager actors, gung-ho special effects artists, super-smooth and suave producers, and lazy, self-centered directors and writers.  And she finds that she loves every minute of it!  In fact, Blood Wedding (the name of the horror flick) is exactly the kick-in-the-pants Penny needs to find meaning in her life - as well as friends and a future!  Oh, there's plenty of mishaps, frustrations, and problems along the way, but Penny's attitude fits absolutely perfectly into all of it, and if it weren't for her, the movie would never have gotten made!

Reed and Means provide a fun story, but quite frankly, it's Penny's dialogue and quick wit that really steals the show for this book.  I can't begin to tell you how many times I smiled, snickered, and outright laughed at her comments to people.  Take the Vancome Lady from MadTV, add a little Karen from Will & Grace, and throw in a bit of Dorothy from The Golden Girls, and you've got Penny Nichols!  But what truly endears her to the reader (well, to me, at least), is that underneath all of those smart remarks likes a person who simply wants to find a place where she fits in - and find it she does amidst the group of misfits making this film.  By the end of the book, you're not only cheering for Penny, but for the entire crew.

The art by Matt Wiegle is somewhat cartoony and a bit rough around the edges, but it grows on you.  The more you read, the more you get a feel for the characters, the more you realize Wiegle has managed to capture the essence of each character in the way they look.  Penny's plain, frumpy appearance ... Bobert's slick, smooth look ... Spazzy's over-exuberant, teen image ... Sam's lazy, unkept manner ... Lix's almost-goth, grunge style ... each character truly LOOKS like their personality!  It's perfect.  And the panels that depict the movie being filmed - they are so gloriously bloody and gruesome, yet hilarious at the same time.  Which fits beautifully with the whole idea of the story.  Reed and Means definitely picked the perfect artist for this book.

I would love to see more stories of Penny and her cohorts.  This creative team needs to get back together and give us some more stories - after all, I have no doubt there are more low-budget films that Penny can help cobble together, while temping part time to pay her bills.  And who knows?  Maybe one day she can follow in her namesake's shoes and solve a mystery or two!

RATING:  9 melting and exploding heads out of 10 for utterly surprising me with a well-written, witty, wonderful tale of a woman simply trying to find her place in this world!

Ms. Tree - Deadline (The Fourth Ms. Tree Graphic Novel)

Re-reading all of these Ms. Tree stories has reminded me just how much I truly enjoyed this series. I followed the book from the beginning at Eclipse, through its change in publishers to Aardvark-Vanaheim, then to Renegade Press, and finally to DC Comics, where her final stories were published (those were reprinted in the first two volumes of this graphic novel series from Titan).  I love the character, I love the art, I love the writing, I love the supporting cast, I love the stories - I love literally everything about this series (other than the fact that we are not getting any new stories!).  This collection of stories definitely reminded me of just how unafraid Collins and Beatty were to tackle some very adult, very topical subjects - such as child molesters, the porn industry, beauty pageant scandals, vigilante justice, and so much more.  While the style was very noir in a lot of ways, the stories were definitely dark and ripped straight from the headlines in many cases.  I think that's part of what I love about the character and the series - it was fictional, but it gave readers a true sense of justice that we many times don't get to see in the real world.

Ms. Tree: Deadline begins the stories from the Aardvark-Vanaheim run, but also throws in a couple of tales from the Renegade Press run (for reasons explained below).  Now one must realize that when I was first introduced to the character of Ms. Tree, it was in the first issue of Eclipse Comics' Ms. Tree's Thrilling Detective Adventures, which was a full-color comic featuring not only Ms. Tree, but also the Mike Mist Minute Mysteries and back-up stories of The Scythe (along with Frank Miller's detective pin-up centerfolds).  I had never read Ms. Tree's run in the Eclipse Magazine, which told of her marriage to Mike Tree, his murder, and her take-over of the detective agency.  Those chapter were in black-and-white, and since I missed that era, I was solely used to seeing Ms. Tree in full color.  Thus, when Collins and Beatty took the character over to Aardvark-Vanaheim, and the title switched from full color to what Collins called "duo-tone" (basically black and white with one extra color thrown in to highlight certain elements of the panels), it was a bit jarring for me.  However, that first issue published by Aardvark-Vanaheim (which was actually issue 10 of the ongoing series) was the perfect beginning to this new era for Ms. Tree.

Issue 10 begins the eight-part "Deadline" story, which was the perfect way to introduce readers to this new look to the series.  Not only was the first chapter aptly titled "Black and White and Red All Over" (a cute dig at the fact the book was not printed in black and white, with the first issues using red as the duotone color), but it also deals with a newspaper columnist who is intent on telling Ms. Tree's story - and ultimately snags her cooperation when he reveals the latest victim of the singles slasher was a witness ready to testify against Dominic Muerta!  (And, of course, anyone familiar with Ms. Tree knows the Muerta family is her life-long sworn enemy!)  The story takes Ms. Tree into an investigation into the singles slasher, to determine if the last victim's death was merely a copycat killing, or if there was another connection between him and the other victims.  The first two issues used red in the duotone process, but the third issue switched to blue, before returning to red for issue 13, containing the final two chapters of the "Deadline" tale.  Collins writes a fantastic murder mystery, and you have to really look close to pick up on the clues that lead to the identity of the killer (which is something I enjoy about Ms. Tree - not only do you get the written mystery, but you get the visual clues provided by Beatty's art that help lead you to the solution!).

Issues 14 and 15 tell the story of Lt. Rafe Valer's sister in "Skin Deep."  This one, although short (lasting only two issues, with four chapters), was a bit unique, in that we had Rafe coming to Ms. Tree for help, knowing full well her methods for getting things done - and perhaps, after all, that IS why he chose to go to her.  This tale somewhat mirrors the scandal that followed Vanessa Williams, who was crowned Miss America for 1984, when nude photos of her were released without her permission.  In Ms. Tree's story, Veronica Valer is being blackmailed with photos she had allowed a former boyfriend to take.  Needless to say, the ex-boyfriend turns up dead, and Ms. Tree has to not only find the killer, but track down those photos before Veronica's life is ruined forever.  These two issues also feature the first appearance of Harry Rynd, the publisher of King Leer men's magazine (who makes a few more appearances in the series).  These issues came out in December 1984 and January 1985, not long after the Williams' scandal broke, so even though the story is clearly taken from that real life situation, Collins weaves it into a wickedly good murder mystery.

The next two issues hit a bit closer to home for Ms. Tree, with the first "Runaway" story.  Ms. Tree is asked to track down a girl who ran away from home four years prior, but she turns it down, believing the trail is long cold.  But when her adopted son, Mike, runs away, she finds herself teaming up with a social worker, Glenn Harwood to try and find him (and also find the person who has been murdering young boys in the area).  The story is definitely one of the darker ones of Ms. Tree's career, dealing not only with runaway teens and the sometimes horrific consequences of those actions, but also with pedophilia, a topic few people really want to address.  But Collins and Beatty hold nothing back, which makes for a chilling read (and a loud cheer when Ms. Tree gives the rapist/killer the justice he deserves!).

Instead of continuing the stories sequentially, this collection jumps ahead to issues 32 through 34, which contains the six-chapter sequel to "Runaway," aptly titled "Runaway II."  In this sequel, a father asks Ms. Tree to help him find the person who killed his daughter - a runaway who turned to a life in porn.  It makes sense this story is collected her, as it sees the return of both Glenn Harwood (who is trying to convince a runaway-turned-pornstar to give up that life) and Harry Rynd of King Leer (who is actually helping the runaway-turned-pornstar start her own film company).  While not quite as dark as the first "Runaway" story, it does delve into the filthier side of the porn industry, including underage girls, drugs, and mob connections (let's remember, this is Ms. Tree, so the Muerta connections are never really that far away...).  These issues were originally published in 1986, which year also saw the release of the final report on the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, which was allegedly researched and written for the purpose of determining "the nature, extent, and impact on society of pornography in the United States" and to recommend ways to contain the spread of pornography, "consistent with constitutional guarantees." (Attorney General's Commission on Pornography).  Thus, Collins and Beatty once again managed to tackle some very topical and timely issues with Ms. Tree

The final comic story reprinted in this collection is a two-chapter Mike Mist/Ms. Tree crossover titled "Death, Danger, and Diamonds."  Mist calls in Ms. Tree to help him track down the con-men who killed a woman he loved after she turned on them.  The case takes them to Hawaii, where they pose as a troubled married couple in order to trick the con-men (and their new female companion) into revealing themselves so Mist and Ms. Tree can take them down (and, of course, Ms. Tree doesn't just take them down, she takes them out!).  It's always fun to see these two characters interact, as Collins gives them a natural rapport that makes you smile as you read their banter.  This story is strictly black and white, having originally been published as a 3-D take in Ms. Tree 3-D (1985), and later reprinted without the 3-D in The Files of Ms. Tree, Volume 3 (1986).

I'm thoroughly enjoying re-reading these stories, and the only sad thing about it is that I know eventually all the Ms. Tree comics will be reprinted, and that will be the end.  I really, REALLY wish Collins and Beatty would get back together and put out some new Ms. Tree fare, as this character is just too great to fade into comic obscurity...

RATING:  10 unidentified bodies in the morgue out of 10 for continuing to share these classic tales of Ms. Tree with longtime fans and a new generation of readers who will, hopefully, keep her alive for a long time to come!

Friday, Book Two: On a Cold Winter's Night

With the second collection (collecting chapters 4 through 6 of the series), author Ed Brubaker and artist Marcos Martin continue the story of the jaded young Friday Fitzhugh, the girl detective who returns home to find her partner in crime-solving, Lancelot Jones, has been working on a case of his own - one that definitely had deadly consequences.  It's been over two years since I read the first book, and so I had to take a quick re-read of the first volume in order to refresh my memory.  At the end of the first collection, Friday was shocked to discover that Lancelot had been killed - the smartest boy in the world lay dead in the burning building, and there was nothing she could do to save him.  But here, in book two, Friday decides that if she could not save her best friend, then the least she could do is solve the mystery he was working on.

On a Cold Winter's Night picks up shortly after the end of the last chapter.  Friday is still trying to make sense of Lancelot's death, but it is not until her ex-boyfriend, Danny Buttons, reveals that the police are ruling his death an accident and closing the case.  Say what?!?!  The smartest boy in the world was experimenting with something and "accidentally" killed himself?  Friday does not believe that for a minute, and as she soon finds out, neither does the sheriff - but the county detective made a compelling case, basically shutting it down, no questions asked.  Well, that's enough to get Friday moving, and although she has no clue what case he was working on, she is determined to get to the bottom of it.  And when Lancelot's father hands her a wrapped Christmas present, left under the Jones' tree for Friday, she knows she holds in her hands the very thing she needs to uncover the truth behind his death.

Brubaker definitely pushes the story forward in this volume, as the reader (along with Friday) discovers there are definite supernatural elements at work, and there are some very dangerous people right under the townspeople's noses.  And remember how Friday got knocked out at the end of the first volume, right after she saw someone outside the treehouse?  Well, we find out who that "someone" is, and let me tell you - it's not at all who you will be expecting!  I was very much surprised by this twist, and I'll be curious to see where Brubaker takes the story from here. 

Martin's art is a bit more colorful in this volume (I don't remember there being so much color in the first book), and some of his pages just really stand out - such as the one where Friday opens the Christmas present from Lancelot and the reader sees Friday holding that present - yes, it's a full page splash, but that simple image holds a lot of power in it, as it impacts not only Friday, but for the reader, it reinforces the fact that Lancelot is gone for good, and now it's up to Friday to uncover the truth.  It's almost like seeing a final scene of an episode that leaves the viewer anxiously waiting for the next week's episode - but thankfully, I didn't have to wait a week - I could just turn the page to keep on reading!  And yes, once the supernatural elements in the story showed up, there were definitely some crazy stuff, but Martin handles it well - even the two page spread on 110-11 that reminds me so much of ... well, no, that would be giving it away (let's just say James Darren, Robert Colbert, and Lee Meriwether would probably recognize the homage on those pages...).

I'm anxious for the pace to pick up a bit now ... the first two books only encompass the span of a few days, so we know it's going to take much longer for Friday to get the bottom of things and solve this case.  Brubaker is an excellent writer, so I have no doubt he has the whole thing planned out, but I can't help hoping this first story does not keep going indefinitely, as I'd like to see Friday move on to some other cases (at least - I hope Brubaker has plans for more cases after this one!).  Friday Fitzhugh is a creative new take on the whole young girl detective genre, and I would hate to see it come to an end after this first story is resolved.

Now to impatiently wait for book three...

RATING:  9 well-hidden watches out of 10 for a story filled with some completely unexpected twists and turns and leave you wondering what could possibly happen next!

Seven Seas Comics - a PS Artbooks Collection

PS Artbooks has been collecting a lot of great Golden Age stuff for a while.  I have the Phantom Lady books they put out, and I've also recently bought the Senorita Rio books they have published.  Happened across this book in an issue of Previews some months back, and even though it is a "softee" (paperback) collection (I have only gotten all hardcover to this point), I ordered it, because I had never heard of the comic, nor of its lead character, "South Sea Girl."  Being a fan of female-led comics, I obviously could not pass up this one.  But I quickly discovered, once I started reading it, that Seven Seas Comics had a lot more than just "South Sea Girl" to offer!

Unfortunately, this softee collection did not have any introduction or other preface that provides any information about the comics, so I was forced to go online and find out what I could about Seven Seas Comics.  This six-issue series was published by Universal Phoenix Features (owned by Samuel "Jerry" Iger) and ran from 1946 to 1947.  The comic featured stories by some rather big named Golden Age greats, such as Matt Baker, Thorne Stevenson, and others, and the first two issues featured eight stories, including a prose story, and a "Salty Stuff" page that gave readers info on nautical knowledge, from the use of flags for communication among ships to how to tie various knots to the meaning of different colored lights, etc.  By issue three, however, the number of stories were reduced, and by the end of the series, there were just five stories in each issue. However, several of the regular features continued throughout the series, including my two favorites: "South Sea Girl" and "Tugboat Tessie."

"South Sea Girl" was originally drawn (and written?) by Matt Baker, a Golden Age artist who is probably best known for his work on Phantom Lady, when that character was taken over to Fox Comics back in the '40s, as well as all of the Canteen Kate comics.  It has been alleged that South Sea Girl, whose name is Alani, was inspired by actress Dorothy Lamour, who starred in a number of South Sea Island films back in the late '30s and early '40s (see, South Sea Girl in Seven Seas Comics).  As stated in the introduction text box of that first issue, Alani is the ruler and protector of the Vanishing Isles, a small group of islands in the South Seas that is "shrouded by whispering mists" and, for the most part, hidden from the prying eyes of mankind.  Each story, Alani faces off against invaders - whether it be poachers, Hollywood executives, pirates, or even murderous criminals - and each time Alani proves to be more than any of these man (or women!) can handle.  The stories are relegated to the end of the first several issues, but clearly it must have been a hit with comic readers, because starting with the fourth issue, "South Sea Girl" became the lead story for those last three issues.  Although Matt Baker signs off on the first several stories, the final tales are credited to "Thorne Stevenson," and it seems there are conflicting thoughts from online sources, as some thing Stevenson is simply a pseudonym for Baker, while others indicate Stevenson is actually Manning Lee Stokes, who wrote the stories, while Baker continued to provide art, albeit uncredited.  I supposed at this late date, we will likely never know for sure...

"Tugboat Tessie" was something of a unique character (at least to me).  Tessie is a tough-as-nails, working woman who runs her own tugboat business with her daughter, Melody (who is the real beauty of the strip). Tessie is always vying for business against Bill Jetty, a veteran tug boat sailor who is always stealing her business.  The stories are humorous, as Jetty ultimately falls into trouble, and Tessie and Melody have to bail him out, ultimately scoring the job (and the pay that goes with it!).  What I find interesting is that Tessie has plenty of meat on her bones, is an older woman, is not pretty by any means - and yet, she is not only the lead character in the stories, but the hero of every story!  Melody, the beautiful blond daughter, is the bombshell all the boys are after, but she has no interest in any of them - her only interest is in helping her mother run a successful business and often times jumping into the water to save a man who has fallen overboard.  The stories definitely turn the tables on the standard "damsel in distress" trope, as these stories all feature MEN in distress!  They are all a joy to read, and they definitely made me chuckle more than once or twice.  The stories are credited to Lee Stoken, who I found online to actually be Manning Lee Stokes, who authored the stories, while Matt Baker provided the art.  Funny how the two features I liked most in this comics are authored and drawn by the same creators!

Other characters who appeared within the run are Captain Cutlass by "Jonathan Lee" (who, big surprise, turns out to actually be yet another pseudonym for Manning Lee Stokes), The Ol' Skipper by Ruth Roche under the name "Rod" Roche, Harbor Patrol by (you guessed it!) Manning Lee Stokes, and Sagas of the Seas: Authentic Adventures (which stories remain uncredited, although there is speculation that Robert Webb may have provided the art).  Of these, the Captain Cutlass and Harbor Patrol stories are very readable - the Cutlass tales about pirates on the high seas, while the Patrol tales are about the police working to keep the docks safe from criminals.  The Ol' Skipper is about a retired sailor who tells some pretty tall tales that usually result in some benefit to him or the person to whom he's sharing the story.  I wouldn't say they are spectacular, but they are cute for what they are.  The Sagas of the Seas are - well, in one word - boring!  I did not find any of them interesting in the least.  Then there are the comedy strips, "Tall Stories" (which later changed to "Tall Tales") and "Marty and the Mermaid," neither of which I really enjoyed.  I've never been much of a fan of "funny comics," so these stories I pretty much skipped.

What bothered me most about the collection, though, is the fact that issue 3 is not included.  There is no explanation or apparent reason why this collection only includes issues 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6.  They went to the trouble of reproducing not only the glossy paper for the covers, including the ads on the inside front cover and the inside and outside back covers, yet they left out an entire issue.  I do realize the stories are not serialized, so the missing issue does not mean I actually missed out on a part to an on-going serial; yet, it does mean I do not have the entire series, with is rather disappointing.  Perhaps PS Artbooks was unable to locate a complete copy of the issue for purposes of reproducing it, or perhaps there was something in the issue that was not yet in public domain, I honestly have no idea.  When I did a search for information on Seven Seas Comics online, I found a number of sites that listed individual issues, but found very few sites that provided more detailed information about the series as a whole.  One website (Seven Seas Comics) did give a bit of background for the creation and intention of the series, so that was something, at least.  

Overall, the five issues I read in this collection were worth the purchase.  It still amazes me how easily these creators of the Golden Age were able to tell complete stories in just 5 to 8 pages, while today's creators can't seem to complete a story in less than 4 to 6 issues!  It's a shame we didn't get more stories of South Seas Girl and Tugboat Tessie, but I suppose they were characters of their time, and there they shall forever remain.

RATING:  8 self-center Hollywood starlets out of 10 for good, clean comic stories that prove (to me, at least!) just how much better the stories and art of yester-year are compared to today's comics.

Mycroft's Dangerous Game - an Enola Holmes Mystery Graphic Novel

The Enola Holmes films on Netflix have been very well done.  I thought they did a great job of casting Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes, as she fits the character well - she has the look, she has the spunk, and she has the acting ability to break the fourth wall, yet keep the story believable and in character. So, when I chanced across this particular story on Amazon, I thought perhaps it was a new novel based on the television continuity (since they have taken liberties with some of the stories) - but imagine my surprise when it arrived, and I discovered it was a graphic novel instead of a prose novel!  (Of course, had I read the Amazon description more carefully, I might not have been so surprised.)  But this was a pleasant surprise, as I love comics as well as books, so I placed it on my stack of graphic novels and then promptly forgot about it.  Until now...

 

Enola Holmes: Mycroft's Dangerous Game was published in 2022.  Since the second Enola Holmes film did not come out on Netflix until the end of 2022, I have to assume this story takes place immediately, or not very long, after the first film. While the story is by original Enola Holmes author and creator Nancy Springer, the actual writing (dialogue, etc) is by Mickey George, a relatively newcomer to the comic world.  Despite being new, I would say George does an exceptional job of capturing Enola's personality and spirit within the story.  Reading this graphic novel, I could very easily see this story being transitioned to a film.  And, well, the art by Giorgia Sposito and Enrica Angiolini certainly helps - Enola, Sherlock, and Mycroft are all drawn so that they appear exactly like their actor counterparts from the film.  In fact, it's uncanny how much they look like the actors in each and every panel!  That shows some amazing talent on the part of the artists!

The story focuses on Mycroft, who still sees his little sister as someone who needs proper teaching and training, who needs to be more like a lady and less like their mother.  But despite his views, when Enola is trying to take back a book he took from her, and she accidentally witnesses her brother being kidnapped, she knows she has to step in and rescue him.  First, though, she has to figure out who took her brother, and why, and then she must take on the harder task of finding where they are keeping him.  Lucky for her, she has Viscount Tewkesbury to give her information; she has her mother's friend, Edith, to give her direction; she has Inspector Lestrade to point her to a police informant that sees more than people suspect; and she gains a new compatriot in Shag, a young boy who isn't afraid to jump into danger to help Enola rescue her brother.

Of course, the mystery turns out to be much bigger than just her kidnapped brother.  It seems a political group of terrorists is planning to set off a bomb in London to prevent Scotland Yard from opening up a new branch of detectives that could put a wrench in all of their plans.  It therefore becomes a race against time for Enola to get to Parliament Square and put a stop to the terrorists' plans before hundreds of people are injured or, worse, killed!

What I liked about this story is that it stays a bit more faithful to the books than either of the films.  In the films, Henry Cavill as Sherlock played a rather large part, while in the books, Sherlock was relegated to the background, and the stories focused solely on Enola.  This story does just that.  Sure, we get a couple of scenes of Enola's more famous brother, but they are irrelevant to the mystery, and he plays no actual part in Enola's investigation ... and other than being the kidnapped victim, Mycroft also has a rather minor role in the mystery.  And, thus, Enola is the star of her own book, as it should be.  (That's the problem with Hollywood adaptations - they often focus on the wrong things, all for the sake of promoting big name stars instead of the actual main character.)

Now that a third Enola Holmes film has been confirmed to be in the works, I'm hoping Legendary will do more of these graphic novels.  This was a great mystery that offers readers both the fun of the television show, while staying true to the source material, combining the best of both worlds!

RATING:  10 well-aimed sling-shots out off 10 for mystery, mayhem, and madcap adventure with an intelligent, yet fun female protagonist!