Free Comic Book Day 2017

Been passing Kidney Stones and dealing with allergies to the point of a cough, but I made it to Ssalefish Comics (Winston-Salem location) for Free Comic Book Day.  Just pics right now but I hope to get back to writing about comics more once school is out.  Hope you got to get some free books and enjoy the company of others who love comics.

Also, cool to see the kids of all ages there and hopefully gaining a love for reading.


BDS

Flashback Fridays: Batman Gotham Adventures #50

I decided to go with a love story this Friday.  I have been reading a great deal of Catwoman stories under the New DCU.  I have also been collecting these kid friendly comics for a step cousin when I see them in the sale boxes.  That is where this issue came from.  I always read the books I buy.  I still love stories and I just take some time to enjoy each book.  After I read this comic I knew it would be staying with me.

There are many comicbook romances.  People argue over which is the greatest.  Reed and Sue, Clark and Lois, Peter and MJ, and we could go on and on.  I even stopped reading Marvel Comics because of the way Mary Jane and the marriage to Peter was erased by that stupid "One More Day."  Right up there will be the romance between Batman and Catwoman.  The thing about Bruce is that he has loved her as two men.  It has at times been a twisted and volatile romance.  In the recent Catwoman series we see a very graphic and rough version of there love.

What is in this book is a very simple love.  The angst that Batman has in terms of dealing with her thieving ways is strong.  He shows in small ways the caring he has, yet only Commissioner Gordon is allowed to even see this small bit of compassion.  Batman's actions are of a person who is very upset and out for revenge in a way.  Catwoman saves his life in a way.  A bomb meant for her is almost ready to take Bats out and she pushes him away taking the full force of the blast.  So of course Batman will find out why she was set up.

We get to see Nightwing and Batgirl as the mystery unfolds.  Flashbacks to the early days of Batman and Catwoman are shown.  This really is a great and beautiful story of a love always divided between breaking the law for different reasons.

This is a great example of why people read comics.

BDS

Flashback Fridays: Phantom 2040 #1

I have always loved Lee Falk's character The Phantom.  In the late 1990's their was a great animated series that I think aired with the UPN.  It was syndicated, but if I remember right, UPN carried it.  Sometime in the past couple of years I found the four issue Marvel series.  Today I give you the first and introductory issue of Phantom 2040.  It stars a new Kit Walker as the son inheriting the mantle of The Phantom.

This is a world of technology and advanced robotics.  We still have a Phantom that climbs and swings, he just has the gadgets that assist.  He can turn invisible and that aids in the idea that we have a "Ghost Who Walks."  He will battle an insane woman that was married to the man who killed his father.  She has a roboticlly trapped man named Graft who handles her tech and a crazy son as well.

Her main goal is to take over Metropia with her Biots, robot army.  The limited series is a bit of a four issue one-shot story thing.  It really doesn't repeat the TV Show, but it has all the characters.  I had to buy them when this thrift store was closing.  I was able to get all four of a very cool character.  I know this only interest a few people.  I just miss great stories like this and the characters that inhabit these books.

BDS

Flashback Fridays: The Mighty Skullboy Army

During the insane Holiday Sale at Things From Another World I snagged this little and funny book.  I knew of the character from Chris Giarrusso's G-Man series.  This all ages character is really odd and really well done.  The entire book revolves around the tile character as he tries to juggle running a multinational corporation that works daily to take over the world and going to school.  In this world it is not odd that there is a boy with a skull head and wearing a suit.  He just is.  From the start we see the commanding presence that is Skullboy.

Helping Skullboy is his most closest minions, Unit 1 and Unit 2.  Unit 1 is a very confident robot that just knows he is superior to Unit 2.  He has an arsenal of missiles and things that he uses to aid Skullboy.  Unit 2 is the result of an experiment at Skullboy's corporation, a super intelligent monkey.  Both are the perfect bumbling duo of a character like Skullboy.  Sometimes Unit 2 does what Unit 1 says, but mostly he ignores him.  They seem to live in Skullboy's locker during school hours.

Watching Skullboy use an intern for his education was great.  It was a nice little twist that is as funny to adults as it would be to kids.  Sadly, he is not as durable as Unit 1 or Unit 2.  My favorite story was when Skullboy decides to grow a Unit 3.  It is a sentient Turnip.  The little tuber wrecks havoc all over.  It is really funny.  I think I will see if I can get Unit 3 and Skullboy in a sketch at Heroes Convention this year.

This is a great book for that child in your life that needs help reading and you need something cool to give them.  I think this would be a great buy for anyone out there that loves comics.

BDS