Commando #5477 (DC Thomson)

 

Britain's second longest running comic Commando still delivers good stories for readers young and old. I only dip in occasionally but couldn't resist this short science fiction adventure which wouldn't have been out of place in their now defunct Starblazer comic.

Set in the near future, just twenty years hence a mining operation in Colorado unwittingly unleashes an army of giant insects from thousands of feet below the world's surface. With more than a nod and a wink to  Starship Troopers these bugs are a bloody menace. Literally.

Just as the US Army decides to blast these creatures out of existence they discover some students remain trapped in the area. They can't send helicopters as that flopped when they tried to rescue some loggers. So in go the marines with (as this is a British comic) a group of out lads.

Things do not go as planned and these bugs are not totally mindless it would seem and the marines start going down not just with pincers but all sorts of excretions you really wouldn't want to think about. 

Without giving the ending away let's just say this looks like it might be an occasional series. I do hope so. 

Maybe with the current revival of British comics DC Thomson might take a gamble and launch a new adventure title. They really should consider a trade paperbacks collection of adventures from Victor, Hotspur Rover and the rest!

For now though Commando is doing fine. Their titles are worth checking out.

Rating: 4 Stars.

Bomb Scares #3 (Time Bomb Comics)

 

This is the first issue of Bomb Scares I've picked up from this small publisher though I have a couple of their other titles including Brawler. Just published after a Kickstarter appeal this arrived a couple of days back and I've just got around to reading this anthology of horror stories.

Lie most independent comics attempting this genre the results are mixed in both terms of stories and art. I was a little disappointed with the opening story The Book Of Daniel which despite good art and lettering went absolutely nowhere. Fortunately the next two features picked up the pace.

Gary Crutchley's Explorer and the Pig was an amusing if disturbing little short. This was followed by the much longer and quite well thought out by Christine Logan with nice art by by Denis Vermesse.

There are a total of 15 stories in this volume and rather than go through them all individually I thought I'd pick up on some of the highlights. One of the best was Jaws of Life, Jaws Of Death. Great art and story telling by Gary T Becks. 10/10 for that short. I also rather liked Tattoo which whilst probably not original in concept was well executed and retained this readers interest.

Other than Home is the sea also by Gary Crutchley with art from Brett Burbridge was also a solid old mystery tale. However I have to be honest the rest of the material did not appeal but to each his own. I certainly liked their Brawler series.

Rating: 3 Stars. 

Marvel Universe: X-Men #7 (Panini)

 

With delays in deliveries I had to mail order the latest issue of Panini's graphic novel sized X-Men comic and I have to say although a wee bit pricey they were highly efficient. Ordered Saturday. Arrived Tuesday. No complaints there. Also although I was surprised to see no actual X-Men strip the content was up to the usual stand.

The sixth and final part of the Excalibur saga opened and was a satisfying conclusion (of sorts) to this British orientated adventure with no less than Captain Britain. No spoilers but not everything is resolved and whatever Apocalypse is really up to remains to be seen. But we'll have to wait as sadly (or not) X Force replaces Excalibur in the next issue.

The Marauders are introduced through three US reprints of the series. Captain Kitty Pride with a dragon on her shoulder. Ooh Arr! Much more entertaining than I expected and rather enjoyed it though with so much actual X-Men to catch up with I hope it runs for just a limited time like Excalibur.

That's the problem with the X-Men. Far too many titles which is why until this came along I'd all but given up on the genre. However at eight quid a pop this will probably have to remain a singular title in the UK.

Meanwhile I was more than disappointed to see the contents of the next issue of Marvel Essentials. Venom has lost his solo strip though appears in Secret Avengers a rather odd choice given the limited number of Panini titles. Worse still was the introduction of Solo Carnage another bloody drooling symbiote in whom I have no interest whatsoever.

Who makes these decisions. I'd like a word in their shell like...

I want The real Avengers, Hulk, Captain America, Thor or even Doctor Strange. But enough of the symbiotes already.

Rating: 5 Stars (Recommended)

Monster Fun Halloween Spooktacular (Rebellion)

 

The long awaited revival of Monster Fun has arrived and will be in the shops on Wednesday. Pre-orders will or should have already arrived on your doormat. Rebellion has been leading the British comics revival that's been on-going even during the pandemic as new comics and specials from other publishers hit the stands. Rebellion did cut back on specials this year but with life returning to normal we can be sure that next year there will hopefully be more than a few more.

There's also good news for readers of humour comics that Monster Fun itself will return to the stands on a regular basis starting in April next year.  Comics will co-incide with various holidays and hopefully today's kids young and old will enjoy a revitalised Monster Fun.

Being an old git who grew up in the sixties after a flick through the pages I chose to read the last story first. My old pal Grimly Feendish from Smash! discovers computer games and crooks up a nefarious scheme. Returning to the correct reading order another old favourite Frankie Stein the monster with a heart returns and there's a few cameos on the first page that sharp-eyed readers will spot!

There's Kid Kong, Draculass, Gums and the infamous and highly entertaining Sweeny Toddler. Martha's Monster Makeup also returns along with Wiz War. There's also the obligatory adventure strip that most of these humour comics had at least in my day as we find The Leopard From Lime Street.

Plenty of other stories including Scare Saloon which amused me...

The ad for the on-going comic also suggests that Hire A Horror and Steel Commando will also feature in the on-going comic which sounds worth picking up!

Overall a very worthy buy and although there were a couple of strips that didn't personally appeal in this anthology I do highly recommend this comic and will be heading to grab a copy of the first on-going issue next April. 

Rating: 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)

Available from Newsagents or by post from: shop.2000ad.com

From the Smash! Archives.....

Batman #412 (DC/1987)

 

It's been a while since I picked up an old comic at random for a quick read and besides bringing back memories of different days I am also reminded how different comics were back then. Since the closure of my local comic shop I have mostly ordered collected editions via Amazon or picked them up in Waterstone's. Most of the comics I buy via mail order are one-shots or limited series.

And here-in is the difference between then and now. The story in this issue of Batman was self contained and could be picked up along with other random titles which were also mostly even in the late eighties stories completed in the one issue. These days most stories are multi issue arcs and lots of titles have out of sequence tie-ins to major events and crossovers making random reading no longer possible.

The other more noticeable feature of old comics, especially the further you back) is how much more wordy these stories were. Even with a silent villain like Mime it took much longer to read than a modern comic. 

Of course the market has changed and publishers do look to collected editions or trades as a major source of income but I would like to think that it was possible at least once in a while to just sit down with a pile of comics. 

Oh and before I forget this is one of those weird adventures that could only happen in an old DC title. Someone's been stealing the knockers out of the church bells across the city. Enter the Mime. Silly but fun, just as sometimes comics should be.

Shift to relaunch Empire!

 

The publishers of the British comic Shift have announced the publication of collection of Empire a long neglected series originally started by the short lived Gorilla Comics way back in 2000 and then taken up and issued as a six issue miniseries (with the two Gorilla editions published as double sized #0) by DC Comics in 2003/4.

IDW also produced a four issue mini series Empire Uprising in 2015

Their announcement indicates  their edition will be 180 plus pages. The collected DC edition was 208 pages though I would guess that included covers for the mini-series which would be unnecessary in this edition.

The story is about a warlord called Golgoth who has taken over most of the world. Greenland remains free but for how long? I collected both the original and DC versions and would highly recommend this to anyone who has not read it.

Shift will also be publishing a new instalment of the story by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson next year. 

Pre-order from: theshift.store

Doctor Who: The Eleven (Audio Box Set/Big Finish)

 

The Eleven is one of the more interesting of The Master's incarnations or regeneration's however you choose to view these. All of these personalities being conscious within one body is bound to be entertaining. I first came across The Eleven in a one of Sylvester McCoy's outings Dark Universe last year and was impressed not just with the story (one of Big Finish's best) but the concept of the multi-layered consciousness of the Master. 

So buying my first of the new more expensive box sets that have sadly replaced the monthly adventures range would seem a "no brainer". The Doctor is ambushed in the Void and ends up on the world of Malaruss where the population uniquely have developed dual-minds. The Eleven and his murderous wife (she wiped out her home planet) are making mischief as usual. The first part of this three-parter is a standard but entertaining Doctor who adventure.

Then we come to CD 2 one of the reasons my review of this audio adventure is out later. The Murder of Oliver Akkron is one of the most boring and tedious 70 odd minutes I have been forced to listen to since I started collecting these Doctor Who CD's. I just kept falling asleep......

Once this is over you then return to what should have simply been the second CD with Elevation for the final and cracking ending to this story.

Properly edited this could have been simply a double CD so yes I feel a bit cheated by the padding on the overlong and boring second story. I hope this is not going to be typical of future releases because I am not impressed. 

My message to Big Finish: Bring back the Monthly Adventures.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

This is a better buy and Dark Universe gets a 5 Star Plus rating.