I mentioned, I've been putting together a lot of Transformers Blokees--I like the Galaxy Version, although I think I'm all in on the next light-up Shining Version wave. Build Cybertron itself, and it lights up! There's a pretty good variety of characters in that line so far, although you will get multiple Optimus Primes and Megatrons, even if you don't end up buying duplicates; and there are a few surprising ommissions: no Blaster, no Omega Supreme? I like it when they get deep into the roster, I'd take a set of these guys: from 2021, Transformers: Wreckers--Tread & Circuits #2, written by David Marriotte, art by Jack Lawrence. 

The team known as the Wreckers had gone through several incarnations during the IDW era, beginning as a special forces team during the war against the Decepticons: think the Inglorious Basterds, especially in the sense that they might have been somewhat...overzealous. I didn't catch it right away, but this series was from the 2019 continuity (a late-in-the-game reboot) and featured the team as an undercover security force, travelling under the cover of performing daredevils. These Wreckers were led by Thunderclash, a Transformer so obscure I thought he was an original character: he had been released in Europe in 1992, but to date I don't think he's ever had a domestic, in-store release. In the 2005 continuity More Than Meets the Eye/Lost Light, 'Clash was a chiseled, impossibly heroic paragon of goodness, inspiring and confident; and there to serve as a foil to Rodimus Prime, who was a good guy but could be petty, immature, and stupid. This story's version of Thunderclash wasn't quite that renowned, but still. 

The mission this series, involved the Transformers' colony planet Velocitron, which has appeared here and there in the various continuities: it's consistently big on racing, with the Speedia 500 determining the "First Senator" for the entire planet! The terrorist organization Mayhem override a Wreckers' broadcast to demand the end to the Speedia, as they felt it ensured slower citizens were blocked from representation. OK, they probably have a point; I'm not sure there's even a word for "governance by the fastest." Velocracy? Blurr is either mentioned or alluded to a few times: he had won the Speedia previously, but having no interest in government immediately abdicated, possibly having no interest in his replacement's competence either. Thunderclash and the Wreckers enter the race, trying to determine if there was an inside man, although his tactician Aileron thought that was a terrible idea, on multiple levels. They hadn't planned for it and were improvising, it was out of character for their cover, and worse, what if one of them actually won? Well, she probably doesn't have to worry about that last one...

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I completely forgot about this character, that's not a good sign...

Admittedly, Shakira on the cover is more distracting! From 1986, Warlord #107, "Bride of Yaug!" Written by Michael Fleisher, art by Ron Randall.

This wasn't quite the halfway point in "Morgan's Quest" to save his daughter Jennifer, who had been aged near to death when they defeated the New Atlanteans; and while he and Shakira did not seem to be making great headway, they had picked up a new travelling companion, Daimon. He was a thief with a history with Shakira, and could also change into a cat like her...and I think that's about all we ever find out about him. Partially because I don't think they wanted to delve into Shakira's mysterious origin; but honestly? I think he was just there to make it seem like Travis wasn't cheating on his wife Tara on an ongoing basis. (When I was younger, I assumed he wasn't; now...mmm, probably.) Daimon was in bad shape from an arrow wound the previous issue, and he was going to get worse treatment in an issue or two; but here Travis and Shakira manage to save him from a sand squid, which seems like it should be on page 132 of the Monster Manual.

Finding a mysterious city, they are first jumped by, then greeted by, the "sons of Yaug," green-skinned types who are a little too enthusiastic about visitors, "especially a woman!" Meanwhile, leagues away in a long-running subplot, Machiste finally breaks in a torture chamber when his beloved Mariah is killed by a firing squad of archers. The yellow men there--and I think this was a limitation of color at the time, I don't think they were intended to represent any particular ethnicity except "bad guys"--faked Mariah's death with magic, because they feed on fear: although Mariah can talk to him from her cell, Machiste thinks it's a trick. Later, Mariah manages to smack down three men, to rescue Machiste and force a priest to summon some Harryhausen-style skeletons to row them off that island--but they may just be getting in deeper, as the priest knows his cult won't let them leave, and a colossal water elemental looms over them.

Travis has a nightmare about Jennifer's plight, possibly because their dinner was drugged as hell; and the sons of Yaug are going to sacrifice Shakira to their god, or dad, or whatever he is. It's kind of a boar-man thing; which doesn't necessarily line up with the green guys, but okay. Travis throws down with it, as a distraction so Daimon could free Shakira: getting pissed after a cheap move, Travis dumps a flaming brazier on it, roasting Yaug and setting most of the city on fire. Our heroes ride on; more side-quests await!

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"Apologize."

A short one this week, partly as I'm out of office for a moment, and we're between storylines. First, though; is that a Peter Parker head I'm using for Dane? Possibly! Also, the toy show was today as I write this, and I passed on a forty-dollar bag of assorted heads and parts, and I wonder if I won't be kicking myself for it later...I'm still mad I skipped a Doctor Doom with aftermarket cloth cape and a Marvel Super-Heroes videogame Thanos last year. 

So a lot of the swords/Mephisto plotline was done on the fly, but I failed in two areas: first, the Uncanny Spider-Man suit was supposed to last us until I got the new Mezco One:12 Nightcrawler, which still hasn't shipped yet. I've also been trying to come up with not a replacement, but a back-up for Satana, who has been appearing in these strips for like 13 years! The Kurt and Pool in that strip have of course been upgraded, but when will we ever see another Satana figure? Never. Which is everyone's loss, frankly.

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You can know, full well, that comic books--in particular, Marvel Comics--are all about the illusion of change; but that still won't always silence that little part of you that sometimes wishes continuity was better referenced. Like, sometimes when something cures the Hulk, and then something else un-cures him: I'm really sure the Silver Surfer has cured the Hulk, for good, barring another massive dose of gamma rays. Why not ask the Surfer for help again? He's a good guy, he'd help you out! Today I kind of wish the Fantastic Four taunted Doom more: "Remember that time you saw your face too many times and lost your mind? Ah, good times." And then Sue would tell the boys not to be mean, while trying not to smirk herself...From 1978, Fantastic Four #200, "When Titans Clash!" Written and edited by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Keith Pollard, inks by Joe Sinnott.

This was, of course, the double-sized 17th anniversary issue; and it would be the wrap-up of some long-running plotlines. Well, long-running for the time, I guess. The Fantastic Four had been broken up (damn you, Yoko!...wait, that's not right, on multiple levels...) since #191, and Reed had just recent got his powers back--not sure when he lost 'em, but he didn't have them in #184 anyway. I don't know if Reed's stretching, which was already seen as kind of the weakest power set of the Four, was also seen as passé or silly; or if they maybe didn't intend for him to go without so long! But this was also a big one for Doctor Doom. In the previous issue, Doom's heretofore unseen son was introduced, and just as quickly dispatched, since it was a clone and appeared to be partially Thingifying, probably due to cosmic rays. (Valeria was still alive at this point, but I think she had been phased out already, possibly because she served to humanize Doom, and that might not have been what the writers thought the readers wanted then. Doom is in full scenery-chewing glory here, throwing the epithets like "lackey" and "poltroon" around.)

Doom had made a passing, probably not in-good-faith attempt to use Latveria's laws to make himself a more legitimate ruler; but the peasants were still revolting. They were led by former prince Zorba, who was another of the increasing number of prisoners Doom had experimented on, who later escaped with new powers and a fairly sizable grudge: he had a "nega-beam" blaster installed where his right eye had been. (Doom had previously lost control of Darkoth, perhaps the prior year.) Narratively, it feels like Zorba is there so the FF doesn't seem like the CIA, there to depose a foreign leader they don't like and install a puppet they can control! He's not really important and his brief reign later was a bit crap. But, there is a brief moment, after Doom turns a cyclone on the peasants; where one of his lackeys briefly wonders if it's his own wife and child he hears screaming out there...but he couldn't do anything, against Doom. Doom then heads for the United Nations, since they were about to pass a resolution "to condemn fair Latveria...and outlaw her from their organization." Which...does Doom really care, or is he just offended? I suspect he thinks glorious Latveria should be above reproach or criticism...as should Doom. (Reading that above page today, it almost reads like Johnny's suggesting to Zorba, since they're right there...no? Your loss.)

While the rest of the Four race to New York, Reed parachutes himself in to face Doom at his hidden lab. Doom (and for that matter, Ben) disparage Reed's powers, but all the traps seem almost designed for him specifically to get out of? For the time, it's a pretty brutal fight after Reed gets through said usual barrage of traps; with Doom eventually trying to strangle the truth out of Reed: did he sabotage him, all those years ago, and wreck his face? (Wait, can you strangle Reed? For some reason I feel like he could stretch out of that, even with Doom giving him the full Homer/Bart choke...) Reed says no, he had tried to help him, and Doom is furious, less at Reed's 'lies' than him suggesting Doom could ever be wrong. Ben, Sue, and Johnny are swarmed by mind-controlled U.N. delegates, until Reed manages to get Doom's mask off, while they were inside his "solartron complex." Without his mask and protective lenses, Doom is driven mad, by the sight of his face reflected at him millions of times.

I could be reading too much into this one, but was this possibly intended, to be the last of Doctor Doom? Probably not, sure. But I've lost track: continuity wise, what was Doom's next appearance? I don't think he would appear in Fantastic Four again until the next big anniversary issue, #236's "Terror in a Tiny Town!" But earlier that same year, Doom would appear in Dazzler #3! Anyway, the cover for this one was in the Bullpen Bulletins feature that month, and I remember seeing it in some comic, but it would be almost twenty years until I'd get a copy for myself. I think it was one of the first things I ever got on eBay?

Bonus: the subscription ad from that issue. I've mentioned, I liked it when Conan was treated as basically a Marvel hero and included in those. But, check it out: besides hyping up Star Wars (with the cover to #15!) to leverage sales, note that you could've subscribed to Godzilla there--but not Uncanny X-Men! Read more!

One flu shot probably kills several months of plots!

I've seen this plot from Spider-Man multiple times, namely "Spidey gets a cold and reduces his effectiveness 900% yet still won't stay home and in bed." So, why not throw in the Punisher and Peter being a bad nephew? Now how much would you...oh, let's just get on with this, I have a cold myself. From 1996, the Adventures of Spider-Man #1, "Shot in the Dark" Written by Neil Yomtov, pencils by Alex Saviuk, inks by Rob Stull.

This was a ninety-nine cent comic, in the style of the current Fox Spider-Man cartoon; well suited for Saviuk's style; but honestly not as cool as DC's Batman: the Animated Series inspired books. Although, not unlike when I started reading the Batman Adventures, this might have been an alternative to the mainstream continuity version at the time! This was during a stretch where Marvel was more editorially siloed than usual; so the editorial page was all Spidey-related books, including the current Venom mini-series (guest-starring Spidey!) and New Warriors, which formerly featured Scarlet Spider. The main Spidey books were in the four-part "Return of Kaine" but you can tell from the covers, this was the Ben Reilly era. Still, there was also the great Untold Tales of Spider-Man, Spider-Man: the Final Adventure, and an Amazing Fantasy limited; so it didn't seem like Marvel was necessarily all-in on Ben.

Anyway, this issue, despite a brutal head cold, Spidey still has to try and keep the Punisher from murdering assorted bad guys, and getting to the store to pick up Aunt May's new glasses. Drinking glasses, her eyesight was fine! Oh, and the thugs steal J.Jonah Jameson's new Mercedes, which is of course totaled. Peter maybe should've kept the photos for that one to himself. Oh, and amid the multiple Spider-ads this issue, there's one for my dearly missed Spider-Man Cereal! Oh, the crimes I would commit to get that back on shelves... Read more!

It was my first giant robot!

Titan Comics has a pretty good track record for me, with the current Conan and Solomon Kane books; but this one was even more specifically for me! From 2026, UFO Robot Grendizer #1, written by Xavier Dorison and Denis Bajram, art by Denis Bajram, Brice Cossu, Alexis Sentenac, and Yoann Guillo. 

 The inside cover notes, it took about five years to complete this series; but good news: it was worth it! Picking up after the anime series (you can watch the Force Five Grandizer movie on Internet Archive!) the warlike last survivors of Vega have returned to earth, intent on taking all of Japan as their new homeland, and giving the Japanese a week to clear out. Only Duke Fleed could stop them, if he wasn't a prisoner of the Japanese army, and seemingly punishing himself over losing his home a second time... 

The first issue is largely set-up, setting the stakes and getting the band back together; so no giant robot action right away! It's still really well-done, and probably has to roll like that, since Grendizer was like the Cadillac of the 70's super robots: great ride, all the accessories, the high end. The later issues have the action, although it also touches on refugees, PTSD, and how long will you hate an old enemy...? 

I suspect this series was largely not for Americans: Grendizer was way bigger in French speaking countries, if I recall. Still, I'm glad my local comic shop was able to get me these! They were able to find it, even though I consistently use the English 'Grandizer' spelling and it was probably listed under 'U' for 'UFO Robot.'

 Anyway, some housekeeping: tomorrow, toy show! Sunday, I'm probably out to Montana for a few days to see my family--shoot, I kinda have to finish my Christmas shopping before I go, if I don't wanna ship anything! Better get started.

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"Midnight Swim with the Black Cat!" Well, that should be fun...(It was not fun.)

Also, I don't think the Cat even gets in the water this issue! From 1989, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #5, "Rockin' at Midnight" Written by Chuck Dixon, pencils by Sal Velluto, inks by Mark Farmer. 

Black Cat is not really integral this issue, though: Moon Knight had been trying to lure out his old foe, Midnight, and Cat gets involved in the jewel heist portion of events, intent on saving them for a fee from their insurers. (That was a very brief status quo for her, trying to establish her as a "good guy" on the side of law and order; I don't think it lasted long.) She rides along on the Mooncopter as Moon Knight and Frenchie chase Midnight's car, which ends up launched off of a bridge when it hits construction, with both Moon Knight and Midnight going into the drink. Still, Midnight isn't found.

Returning to his estate, Marc is greeted by Marlene, who wanted to make up with him, until she finds a platinum blonde hair on his uniform and storms off. Marc is a little perturbed that somehow that hair had stuck to him through a fight, a chase, and a swim: "That Black Cat was bad luck for me." He doesn't get out the door in time to chase Marlene and explain, but then Midnight was in his house! After a brief fight, Marc knocks him out, but apparently hadn't until then noticed he both looked and acted far younger than his old foe, Anton Mogart: this was his son, Jeffrey Wilde. And everything he had done to Moon Knight, had been basically his audition tape, to be his partner. I'm sure that'll work out great for him...Jason Todd would have died just the year prior; this era viewed sidekicks about as favorably as an inflamed appendix and they usually fared about as well. The last four pages of this one set up the Brother Voodoo storyline that would run to MS:MK #9

Ah, what could be more fun than night swimming? Um, just about anything, it's dark and cold. Not to say I haven't, though. And it's part of this great bit from the Looney Tunes Show:

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"Unorthodox."

Although I read Crystar most of its run (despite, I think, not having #6 right away!) I never had Crystar action figures. They were smaller, like 3.75 inch or so; so they would not have scaled with the Sectaurs, who would hit the shelves two years later in 1984, and also had a brief Marvel comic adaptation. You may have seen at Wal-Mart, there have been recent reissues from the Nacelle Company: I hope those are doing well for them, even if most of the stuff I've bought from Nacelle was at a markdown. Still, if they reissue any of the Sectaurs insect companion/mounts, I'm so there: they were basically fuzzy puppets, with a battery-powered wing mechanism. They look like remarkably doofy fun, and my hands do get cold sometimes. (Cutaway to me typing with a bug monster on each hand...Hey, they are up for pre-order!) Read more!

We blogged the last issue of this one some years back, but this one is making me want to fill in the gap! From 1988, Scavengers #12. Cover by Butch Guice.

This would be the second-to-last chapter for "Flesh" in this reprint series: in the 23rd century, man was using time-travel to go back to the triassic...for meat. And to become meat, as a lot of them get eaten by dinosaurs. The square-jawed lead, Peters, manages to finish a fist-fight with 'Claw' Carver, a rat who had already caused several deaths in a quest for gold. Carver is thrown in the brig, but quickly escapes and begins a mutiny; which isn't even their biggest problem, as Nothosaur "Big Hungry" had retaken lead of his former pack, since he needed their help, to wipe out the hated humans. Peters tries to get any of this through the thick skull of corporate man Grose, who is far too confident in Atlantis Station's defensive capability; probably because the station could always just return to the 23rd century...(Written by Roy Preston (credited as Geoffrey Miller) and art by Massimo Belardinelli.)

The other two features, we did see their conclusions previously: "Ant Wars," written by Gerry Finley Day, art by Jose Luis Ferrer; and "the Helltrekkers," written by Alan Grant and John Wagner, art by Horacio Lalia and Jose Ortiz. The "Ant Wars" strip is interesting, as the war with the mutated giant ants is headed toward Rio's Carnival, and the ants may have built a float to infiltrate it! In "the Helltrekkers," the drive across the Cursed Earth claims more of the caravan: Trekmaster Lucas had previously been a desk jockey, but it only took 10 days in the Cursed Earth to toughen him up, as he's forced to kill more of the treacherous Nebb family. The sole survivor, Ma Nebb, is invited to continue with them; but declines to stay with her dead kids and curse them as they pass. If this had gotten an adaptation, you can almost hear British character actors going to town with it! The Helltrekkers had started with 111 and were down to 38, with only 300 kilometers to go... Read more!

I would've bet a quarter I'd blogged this before...

...and I'd have been wrong! I'm not even positive I've read this before, although one story was definitely familiar. From 1980, Time Warp #4. Cover by Michael Wm. Kaluta.

"Pen Pals" was surprisingly disturbing: a plain young girl (well, she's described as plain, but definitely Hollywood-plain) on satellite monitor duty strikes up a long-distance relationship with a lonely worker on a botanical satellite. Even though it was against the rules, she continues contacting him, eventually exchanging photos, and sending him a lock of her hair. That's when the nightmares start! The only cure for her might be to finally meet her guy, but she may have been warned off for a reason...(Written by Bob Haney, art by Fred Carrillo.)

"I, the Creature" is definitely a standard horror-comic plot, only set in space this time: two big-game hunters, despite fighting over a girl, intend to bring back the mythical alien Hwarka. There's betrayal, and ironic justice; you've seen this one before. (Written by George Kashdan, art by Michael Netzer.) "The Most Special of Effects" is a fun one, though: an aged FX artist has completed work for his magnum opus, "Trek Wars," and for his trouble is murdered by his producer, who wants all the credit. The FX artist says his friends would avenge him, which the producer scoffs at; but he's still in for a bad night at the Oscars, despite winning two! (Written by Scott Edelman, art by Joel Magpayo.)

"Asteroid Treachery" is, um, what if the Thing, except two of the humans used to be a couple, and hated and distrusted each other before throwing a shape-shifting monster into the mix? (Written by George Kashdan, pencils by Ernie Patricio.) "The Hole in Reality's Heart" is somewhat more romantic, as a young--and lonely-spacewoman is sucked into another dimension, and has to work with an alien scientist to stop a monster he accidentally created from destroying her universe, even if there was nothing in her universe for her...(Written by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Steve Mitchell.)

"A Stitch in Time" was the only story I remembered; although did I read it here, possibly off the spinner racks as a kid? In a far future, two scientists travel back in time, in the hopes of preventing yet another nuclear war, by killing baby Albert Einstein! Finding him as a young boy, they're too soft-hearted to just murder him, so one has the idea of dumping him further in the past, say, 1782! No way he could develop atomic theory back then...right? (Written by David Allikas, art by Steve Ditko.) "The Uncommon Cold" is another comedy of errors, as in this future, a satellite lands on earth, with a horrible creature within, and the return of the common cold; which the future humans no longer had any resistance to. Their frantic research finds, a human woman had been launched, in suspended animation, but time and the cold had mutated her; so they travel back in time to cure her cold before she leaves. They didn't know why she had been launched, though...or that she knew what she was doing. (Written by George Kashdan, art by Ernie Patricio.) 

Finally, in "The Last Megathus," an aged xeno-zoologist takes to space, to save a massive specimen; but ultimately decides human life was more valuable. Enh...I hate this one, since the main part of the dilemma is an accident with a 3-D camera, that apparently runs on poison gas, that can seep even through a spacesuit as well as poison a kaiju-sized creature. Feh! (Written by Arnold Drake, art by Jerry Grandenetti.)

There was a house ad for this very issue within it, as well as a letters page that hailed Time Warp #1 as getting a lot of mail right away. Which maybe didn't translate into actual sales; #4 was the second-to-last issue; although it's end might have been due to market changes: the larger comics like this one were on their way out.

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I think I maybe found one other random issue of Stanley and His Monster since bringing it up, and I don't have all of this one, either: from 1991, Angel and the Ape #1, "Shaking the Family Tree" Written and penciled by Phil Foglio, inks by Keith Wilson.

Angel and the Ape didn't appear in the gorilla issue of Secret Origins, so we get a bit here that might be new: a flashback to Angel and Sam's first meeting. As a child, Angel had met Sam, who was then bitten by a snake, but was more worried about being sent back wherever he had come from. Fast-forward to the present, where Angel was a private investigator, who had developed a style of unarmed combat that would be effective against gorillas, and Sam was a comic-book artist who helped her out on cases. Sam also could talk, and had some mental power to keep humans from seeing him as a gorilla and panicking. This issue also reveals what might have been a fan theory prior: Angel was the half sister of Athena, a.k.a. Dumb Bunny, of the Inferior Five. Athena usually had lunch with Sam on Tuesdays, but today says she needed to talk to Angel, since she had been thinking about trying to start a relationship with Sam. Angel's first instinct was, he's a gorilla, but she had to admit Sam was a great guy, and the super-strong Athena was looking for a relationship with someone who could take it.

Meanwhile, Sam has a weird moment at the bank, where he appears human, but everyone else is a gorilla. It quickly snaps back, so later Sam passes himself off as a video technician, to get access to the bank's security footage: watching the tape with Angel confirms the change did happen, but just for a second. Angel thinks she can show that to the bank manager, to get the bank to hire them to investigate, when three bald stooges show up, demanding Sam come with them. Sam and Angel are no match for them, but Dumb Bunny is, easily clobbering them. The bank manager then arrives to offer them the job, but Sam says he has to go, maybe forever, and jumps out the window! Having no clue, the bank manager wonders why Sam wasn't splattered on the pavement ("Did he miss the ground?") and Angel and Athena realize, those stooges were really apes! To be continued...

Angel and the Ape actually already had a tag here, since we saw their Vertigo mini some years back! Their original sixties series only ran six issues, plus an additional "Meet Angel" issue, that appeared to be trying to change the branding a bit. Those are a bit rich for my blood, though; and I'm not sure they've ever been reprinted. Still, this series would later reveal a secret, about Sam's family... Read more!