Month: January 2009

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THE WEST COUNTRY YEAR


By Richard Woollcombe
ISBN: 978-1-905017-92-8

It’s not too often that I get a chance to do a mate a favour, stick to my journalistic principles and still have a jolly good time all at once, so I’m doubly delighted that this charming, entertaining diversion landed on my doormat the other day.

The West Country Year is a slim, landscape-format softcover art-book that depicts each month of the year with a gently dry, laconically bemusing missive and an exceedingly polished, enthralling narrative illustration that perfectly proves the old adage “every picture tells a story.”

Rendered in luscious oil-paints, these twelve plates echo recall the colloquial naivety and vibrancy of Beryl Cook, but filtered through the knowing, “seen-it-all” observational comedy worldliness of the legendary Carl Giles.

Richard Woollcombe was born in 1919, and was raised on the ancestral Market Garden in the glorious Tamar Valley of Devon. He has worked and witnessed life from said rural paradise his entire life, save for the minor interludes of war service in the RAF and a stint as an aircraft designer. He has always painted and combines a vivid palette with a trenchant eye for the visual bon mot. He’s also the father of one of my oldest mates in the British comics biz.

This is a lovely slice of an England we all hanker for, showing real people and places in their rosiest light, by a man who knows them all personally. This is the sort of book that evokes good times and fond memories, (like a tartan-tinned Shortbread selection) even of places and times you’ve never visited but always wished to. And the work is genuinely funny in the traditional English manner.

The originals are now on permanent display at the Derriford Hospital in Plymouth but you can always self-medicate with this tonic of graphic good cheer by ordering your own copy from eBay, or direct from thewestcountryyear@yahoo.com

Alternatively call 01579 556567 and ask for Alan. The price is £5.99 per copy, and postage is free in the UK. If you’re a homesick ex-pat or quizzically non-British just call for overseas rates.
© 2008 Richard Woollcombe. All Rights Reserved.

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HIGH CAMP SUPERHEROES


By Jerry Siegel, Paul Reinman & various (Belmont)
B50 695

Sometimes it’s cold and wet outside, the deadline’s thundering upon you, the cat’s been sick on your shoe and there’s only Rich Tea biscuits in the biccy-barrel. What can possible lighten the mood in such circumstances? For me it’s the sheer guilty indulgence of comics from early childhood that have the special ability to transport one back to a specific moment in time and space, redolent with joy and powerful, inexpressible emotion: a complete sensorium submersion that still leaves me breathless now.

It was a Wednesday; the last week of the summer holidays. I’d gone down to the (now sadly departed) Woolworth’s store with me Mum. She wanted tea-towels and I needed exercise, and I always got a treat when we hit the main High Street of our little town.

Woolworth’s at the time used to sell ballast and bargains books from America in deep wire bins. For sixpence. Sometimes two for sixpence, and three for a Shilling. Every visit would begin with a dazzling glance at a hodge-podge of primary colours and corners sticking out between the wires.

I was trying to get one last atom of flavour from the unique, dry pink plastic “chewing gum” (there was never that much to begin with) that had accompanied the four Tarzan gum cards in the pack we’d purchased on our walk (a good one: three I hadn’t got and a full-figure swap I could paste into my sketch-book). Despite having no discernible taste, the sugar pink smell of the gum intensified the more you chewed and it was almost overpowering when my chubby little paw alighted on the garish item at the top of the jumble.

Precocious and annoying, I’d been collecting US science fiction paperbacks, Ace, Belmont, McFadden-Bartell and the like for about a year, and comics of all nations for a darn sight longer. But what I grasped then was a revelation. It was the first time I had seen comics in book format. In black and white, and read on its side, this book seared into my brain. It was my first introduction to the unrestricted insanity of Jerry Siegel’s pastiche of Marvel Comics style on Archie Comics’ aged pantheon of superheroes. Of course I knew none of that then: I just knew these were weird, wild and utterly over the top!

I soon found other paperback collections – most of the American comics publishers used the “Batman Bounce” to get out of their ghetto and onto “proper” bookshelves – but this first book always held an extra charge they didn’t. I read it to death and then found my current copy on a market stall for 1/6 (that’s one shilling and six pennies for all you callow juveniles out there – incredible inflation but worth every penny to me).

Looking at it with as much cold dispassion as I can muster, there’s not a lot to recommend it to others. Archie revived their Golden Age stable when superheroes became a mid-sixties craze; fueled as much by Marvel’s burgeoning success as the Batman TV show, but they couldn’t imbue them with drama and integrity to match the superficial zany-ness – nor I suspect did they want too.

But as harmless adventures for the younger audience they have a tawdry charisma of their own and the hyperbolic scripting of Siegel touched the right note at just the right moment for a lot of kids.

Collected and resized from Mighty Comics Presents, an anthological clearing-house title fully written by Siegel, comes ‘Steel Sterling Vs The Monster Master‘ illustrated by Paul Reinman (with what looks like some subtle assistance from Mike Sekowsky and Chic Stone), whilst The Shield tackles the astounding ‘Gladiator from Tomorrow‘ and overcomes low esteem and the mysterious Hangman in ‘Suffer Shield, Suffer!‘ which are all pure Reinman.

Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, The Fly had been renamed to milk the camp craze. ‘Fly Man’s Strangest Dilemma‘ features the biggest cop-out ending of the decade (truly!) and the collection concludes with excerpt and origin from an adventure of The Web, a Batman clone who had the singular distinction of having to sneak out to fight crime because his wife Rosie disapproved.

As awful as this may sound I love this book and if anyone out there feels like giving it a chance, or even coming clean about their own unspeakable tomes, I’m going to support you all the way…
© 1966 Radio Comics Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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AIRBOY: THE RETURN OF VALKYRIE


By Chuck Dixon, Timothy Truman, Tom Yeates, Stan Woch & Will Blyberg (Eclipse)
ISBN: 0-913035-59-9 (limited edition) ISBN: 0-913035-60-2 (trade paperback)

The recent ads for the totally unrelated movie reminded me of this little corker of a tale from the 1980s which returned a classic Golden Age hero to the killer skies. Created for Hillman Periodicals by the brilliant Charles Biro (Steel Sterling, the original Daredevil, the Little Wiseguys and Crime Does Not Pay among many other triumphs) Airboy featured a plucky teen and his fabulous super-airplane, affectionately dubbed ‘Birdie’.

He debuted in the second issue of Air Fighters Comics in November 1942 and the comic was eventually renamed Airboy Comics in December 1945. For more than twelve years of publication the boy-hero tackled the Axis powers, crooks, aliens, monsters, demons and every possible permutation of sinister threat – even giant rats and ants! The gripping scripts took the avenging aviator all over the world and pitted him against some of the most striking adversaries in comics. He was the inspiration for Jetboy in the 17 Wild Cards braided Mega-novels by George R.R. Martin and friends.

Then the world moved on and he vanished with many other comicbook heroes whose time had run out. In 1982 comics devotee Ken Pierce collected all the Airboy adventures that featured the pneumatic Nazi-turned-freedom-fighter Valkyrie, which apparently inspired budding independent comics company Eclipse to revive the character and all his Hillman comrades.

Always innovative, Eclipse were experimenting at that time with fortnightly (that’s twice a month) comics with a lower page count than the industry standard but also a markedly reduced price. Airboy premiered at fifty cents a copy in 1986 and quickly found a vocal, dedicated following. And looking at this compilation after more than a decade it’s easy to see why.

Deep in the Florida Everglades the monstrous bog-creature known as The Heap stirs after decades of inactivity. Something momentous is beginning to unfold. It remembers a previous life, brave heroes and a diabolical evil. It begins to walk towards a distant villa…

In the Napa Valley David Nelson is a bitter, broken old man. Not even his teenaged son can bring joy to his life. Trained since birth by the Japanese Ace and martial artist Hirota, the boy is a brave, confident fighter but still doesn’t know why his life has been one of constant training.

Then suddenly a horde of assassins attacks the compound and the old man dies in a hail of machine gun bullets. Only then does young Davy discover the truth about his father. Once he was the hero known as Airboy, with valiant comrades and a unique super-aircraft. Once he loved a beautiful German woman-warrior named Valkyrie. But for thirty years she has been trapped in suspended animation by Misery, a supernatural being who feeds on evil and steals the souls of lost fliers…

Forced to do the monster’s bidding for three decades (such as providing weapons for South American despots to slaughter and enslave innocents) the old hero had gradually died inside. But now his son is ready to avenge him and free the beautiful sleeper, aided by such combat veterans as Hirota and the legendary Air Ace Skywolf…

Fast-paced, beautifully illustrated and written with all the gung-ho bravado of a Rambo movie, this tale of liberation and revolution rattles along, a stirring blend of action and supernatural horror that sweeps readers along with it. The book collects issues #1-5 of the comic plus an 8 page promotional preview with a cover gallery that includes art from Stan Woch. Tim Truman, and the late, great Dave Stevens.

I’m reviewing my signed and numbered hardcover limited edition which has a beautiful colour plate included plus a superb Steranko painted cover, but the standard trade paperback is almost as good, if that’s all you can find.

Let’s hope somebody’s got the rights and sense to reissue this great book – and all the other stories from this superb little mini-franchise which was briefly one of the best indie titles available.
Story © 1989 Timothy Truman and Chuck Dixon. Art © 1989 Timothy Truman, Tom Yeates, Stan Woch and Will Blyberg. Cover art © 1989 Jim Steranko. Airboy, Valkyrie, Skywolf, Misery, The Heap ™ Eclipse Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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80 Glorious Years!


There are few comic characters that have entered world consciousness, but a grizzled, bluff, uneducated, visually impaired old seaman with a speech-impediment is possibly the most well known of that select bunch. Elzie Segar had been producing Thimble Theatre since December 19th, 1919, but when he introduced a coarse, brusque “Sailor Man” into the saga of Ham Gravy and Castor Oyl on January 29th, 1929 nobody suspected the heights that walk-on would reach…

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY POPEYE!

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Fred Kida’s VALKYRIE!


By Fred Kida & various (Ken Pierce)
No ISBN

Airboy was one of the very best adventure strips of the Golden Age; one with a terrific pedigree and a profound legacy. Created for Hillman Periodicals by the brilliant Charles Biro (Steel Sterling, Crimebuster, the original Daredevil, the Little Wiseguys and the landmark genre prototype Crime Does Not Pay number among his many triumphs) it featured a plucky teen and his fabulous super-airplane, affectionately dubbed ‘Birdie’.

In his more than twelve years of publication the boy-hero tackled the Axis powers, crooks, aliens, monsters, demons and every possible permutation of sinister threat – even subversive giant rats and ants!. The gripping scripts, initially the work of Dick Wood, took the avenging aviator all over the world and pitted him against some of the most striking adversaries in comics.

The most notable of these was undoubtedly the conflicted Nazi Air Ace known as Valkyrie, who flew the killer skies with a squadron of lethal lovelies codenamed The Airmaidens.

Their first duel happened in Air Fighters Comics volume 2, #2 (November 1943), a full year after the hero’s debut, and featured art by up-and coming Fred Kida, twenty-three years old, utterly besotted with the work of Milton Caniff, and ably inked by Bill Quackenbush.

‘Airboy Meets Valkyrie’ found the lad based at an RAF base when a daring raid by the Airmaidens occurs. Following the planes home Airboy is captured and tortured but his stoic bravery inspires the warrior-women to defect…

This simple but evocative tale was followed in by a sequel in Air Fighters Comics volume 2, #7 (April, 1944). ‘The Death Lights’ with Kida in full artistic control, deals with a new Nazi beam weapon that Airboy fails to destroy. Captured once more he is rescued by the Airmaidens, now a crack allied fighter squadron.

They didn’t meet again until 1946 by when Air Fighters had changed its name to Airboy Comics. From volume 2, #12. ‘The Return of Misery’ features the ghostly spirit who claims the souls of downed airmen, imprisoning them in his eerie flying dungeon “the Airtomb”. Entranced by the monster Val is rescued by the valiant lad, but in the end no flyer ever escapes Misery…

‘An American Legend’ from Airboy Comics volume 3, #6 (July 1946) sees Kida growing fully into his own lush yet chiaroscuric style (this book is printed in black and white, which makes the art even bolder than the often muddy-coloured original comics). In this tale Airboy finds an old war buddy and Val has been brainwashed into committing crimes, leading him to end the villain responsible with typical military efficiency.

This slim tome concludes with the last Valkyrie tale of the period: a lacklustre script that was more concerned with the rise of “the Reds” than character or plot. It is notable however as an early experiment in crossover continuity. ‘The Wind of Battle’ (Airboy Comics volume 3, #12: January 1947) pitted Airboy and his occasional ally in battle against the “Asiatic” tyrant Black Tamerlane.

The story ended with the pair in the villain’s hypnotic clutches and the back-up star Skywolf (a feature of the comic since the Air Fighter days) was seconded to wrap up the saga in his own strip – a riotous action romp that dotted all the “i’s” and dotted all the “t’s”.

Airboy folded with volume 10, #4 (May 1953) and wasn’t seen in new material until Eclipse Comics revived the character and cast in 1986, and this little gem from that crusading guardian of Popular Culture Ken Pierce may well have been instrumental in that splendid return.

Although still readily available through online vendors and comic shops, the reproduction in this book is poor in places even if the quality and excitement shines through. It’s well overdue for a revamped re-release now that it can benefit from all the advances of modern print technology. I eagerly await such a volume especially if room can be found for all Kida’s efforts and not just the most sinister and sexy ones…
© 1982 Ken Pierce Inc. Subsequent © whoever owns the trademark now.

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THE BEANO AND THE DANDY: COMICS IN THE CLASSROOM

beano-dandy-comics-in-the-classroom
By various (DC Thomson & Co)
ISBN: 978-1-84535-347-6

Released as part of the seventieth Anniversary celebrations of the comics company that has more than any other shaped the psyche of generations of children, this wonderful hardback compilation rightly glories in the incredible wealth of quality that has paraded through the flimsy pages of the Beano and the Dandy.

The book takes as its broad theme the antics of characters who have waged an incessant war against boredom and repression amidst the chalk-clouded, grubby corridors of school, risking corporal punishment, exhausted writing hands and ritual humiliation to keep us all amused and rebellious at heart.

Within these pages you will find cracking examples of Old Ma Murphy (by Alan Morley), Korky the Cat, Hooky’s Magic Bowler Hat (by the wonderful Chick Gordon), the Pocket Grandpas (both the 1940’s prose feature and the 1970’s strip drawn by Ron Spencer), Big Eggo, Miss Primm (Alan Morley again), Tough Nellie Duff (the Strong Arm School Marm), and Billy Butter the Brainy Goat.

More substantial offerings honour Biffo the Bear (by both Dudley D. Watkins and Leo Baxendale) and Dennis the Menace, Our Teacher’s a Walrus and Lord Snooty (both by the incredibly prolificWatkins), Winker Watson and the unforgettable Dirty Dick (both illustrated by the unique Eric Roberts).

Greedy Pigg, Mr Mutt and Jammy the Sammy were all by the indefatigable A.G. Martin whilst Baxendale’s immortal Bash Street Kids (which began its term as ‘When the Bell Rings’), Desperate Dan (by Watkins), Whacko! and Robin Hood’s Schooldays (by Spencer again) are well represented too; but it’s the tantalising glimpses of such minor celebrities as Dopey Dinah, Bamboo Town, and Keyhole Kate that I’d like to see more of sometime.

There’s a raft of bonus features such as an article on long-lost prose stories like Jimmy the Double Dunce, and Through Fire and Flood with Bobby Trent, a complete 8 page full-colour Bananaman strip from 1985 that was given away in schools and dentists, by John K. Geering and the unpublished final episode (#837 if you’re counting) of the Jocks and the Geordies from the Dandy.

This strip was never completed and is presented as unlettered black line art, with the artist’s script printed below: a fascinating insight for anybody seeking a career in the industry. In fact this book is a treasure trove for the aspiring pro as many strips are reproduced from original camera-ready artwork – with printers’ instructions, editor’s notes and even un-erased pencil lines on show – highly educational for those looking for secrets and details of “the process”.

Notwithstanding all that, the true magic of this collection is the brilliant art and stories by a host of talents that have literally made Britons who they are today, and bravo to DC Thomson for letting them out for a half-day to run amok once again.

© 2008 DC Thomson & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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John Constantine, HELLBLAZER: THE LAUGHING MAGICIAN


By Andy Diggle, Leonardo Manco & Daniel Zezelj (Vertigo)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-881-2

Following directly on from the events of John Constantine, Hellblazer: Joyride (ISBN: 978-1-84576-775-4) this second collection of the unstoppable mystic trickster written by London’s Pride Andy Diggle re-presents issues #238-242 of the monthly Vertigo comic-book; comprising two chilling preludes and a visceral saga that sets up the series for a longer, even darker tale to follow.

Modern mystic Constantine is indulging in his downtime of choice: ciggies, booze and a hot date when he’s summoned by the ethereal Map, Patron god of London to rescue a trio of young thrill-seekers who have inadvertently slipped into the metaphysical hell of Shadow London. Grudgingly acquiescing, the sordid sorcerer forgets his own first principle “what are you really after?” to his eternal regret…

‘Smoke’ is illustrated by Daniel Zezelj, and is followed by ‘The Passage’ a prologue illustrated by Leonardo Manco (as is the rest of the volume) which introduces Mako, a War-Mage in devastated Darfur who’s hunting for the eponymous ‘Laughing Magician’. A Muti master (blackest blood magic), the deadly sorcerer is thwarted by an old wizard (last seen in John Constantine, Hellblazer: Original Sins (ISBN 1-84576-465-X) who sends a warning to Constantine by possessing an aid worker and dispatching him to Britain.

Magic is harsh and has no thought for innocence. The harrowing trip is just a taste of what is to come when Mako gets the right scent and follows all the way to London.

The trilogy of chapters that follows once again displays the callous superiority of comics’ greatest anti-hero as he finesses one threat against another, but the book ends without closure as his foes are now aligned against him and the trickster leaves his home turf to prepare himself for what’s still to come…

Andy Diggle has a powerful feel for and grasp of the idiosyncratic world of John Constantine. Blending Gangland, today’s news headlines, politics and the ghastly unknown, these dark pleasures are some of the most compelling stories in a series that has spanned more than twenty years and drawn the best work from a truly stellar cast of creators.

If you haven’t sampled the delights of Hellblazer you should climb aboard the ghost train and get chilled right away!

© 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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CATWOMAN: THE DARK END OF THE STREET


By Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke, Cameron Stewart & Mike Allred (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84023-567-8

Reinvigorated and transformed by her return to Gotham City and the shucking of her sleazy, buxom, “bad-Grrl” status, (See Selina’s Big Score ISBN: 1-84023-773-3 for the full details and another rollickin’ good read) Catwoman began a more socially conscious career as a vigilante; extending her own brand of succour to the shady denizens of Gotham City’s sleazy East End District. This book collects the back-up series that ran in Detective Comics #759-762 and the first four issues of her 2001 series (volume 2, I rather suspect you’d call it).

Technically a Slam Bradley story, the ‘Trail of the Catwoman’ serial by Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke and Cameron Stewart sees the grizzled old private eye hired by the Mayor to find the legendary super-thief even though all evidence indicates that she’s dead. In true film noir tradition a convoluted trail leads to lots of sordid situations and hairsbreadth escapes for the world-weary gumshoe as he unravels her life, the tension increasing as he realizes he’s falling for a girl he’s never met and hunting her for the worst cutthroats in Gotham…

For greater clarity you should read Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score (ISBN: 1-84023-773-3) before continuing with this book which then picks up a few months later as Selina Kyle moves into the East End of Old Gotham and finds renewed meaning when she determines to stop a serial killer preying on prostitutes and street girls.

‘Anodyne’ by Brubaker, Cooke and Mike Allred, reintroduces Holly Robinson, first seen in Batman: Year One (ISBN 1-84576-158-8) and the follow-up Catwoman (1989) miniseries by Mindy Newell and JJ Birch (collected as Her Sister’s Keeper ISBN: 978-0-44639-366-9). Reunited, the old friends decide to solve the case that Gotham’s corrupt authorities won’t touch.

The transition from sleek, sexy cat-burglar to tarnished champion of the underclass is a masterpiece of slick storytelling, and the cutting-edge art from Cooke et al pushed this series to a level few could touch.

Even after all this time this is probably the best incarnation of Catwoman ever – and that’s including Eartha Kitt purring away in that outfit! Fans of caper movies, Noir thrillers and just plain fun-seekers should make this book their own forever.

© 2001, 2002 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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HORNY TAILS


By Richard Moore (Amerotica/NBM)
ISBN: 978-1-56163-275-6

I know I’ve enquired before but… Oi! How old are you?

The salacious and saucy have always had a place in the art and literature of mankind. We’re all monkeys at heart and the sexual act has always fascinated us, no matter how we deny or disguise it. Furthermore, the only real difference between erotica and pornography is purely a subjective and relativistic one, so I’m not going to waste space quibbling. This is a rude book so if you’re easily shockable go away now…

I won’t think any less of you.

Those still here and firmly clutching smelling salts, read on…

Richard Moore is the brilliant cartoonist who writes and draws the wonderful Boneyard – probably the funniest comic being produced today – and he’s also happy to extend that gift of graphic comedy to the controversial world of Adult Comics – a safe way of describing strips of a predominantly sexual nature.

I’m not defending the entire arena of sex comics: there’s material out there even I won’t look at, but let’s be honest here. Most grown-ups can tell the difference between harmless – or even enticing – fantasy and brutal misogyny masquerading as physical love, especially in a genre that can encompass everything from Debbie Does Dallas to John Willie’s Sweet Gwendoline. And don’t get me started on the cynically coy softcore creators…

Adult comics fall into three camps: Charming, Intellectual and Tawdry, and each devotee is cordially invited to stick to what he/she prefers and not judge the rest. Here Endeth the Sermon.

Horny Tails is a collection of short stories and rude pin-ups by a man who loves drawing good-looking humans and all aspects of fantasy (new term needed here: Elves, Dragons, Fairies etc. not French Maids and Uniforms… oh I don’t know though…) and regards consensual sex as natural and fun. These stories are collected from Radio Comix and Anthilll Comics, featuring established mythological charmers and favourite characters.

In Imps and Angels: Fire and Brimstone the metaphysical girls use their charms to recapture a rampant devil, the anthropomorphic stars of The Pound go for a very wild ride, whilst M’Lady goes for a romp in the woods in Don’t Tease and wins her heart’s desire in Magically Delicious.

The nanite-infected human weapon Tin God almost gets more than she bargained for and the eccentric stars of Far West experience a spiritual presence in Tasty Pretty. Finally The Return of Frankenstein is a classy, silly romance of consenting – if artificially created – adults and this book concludes with 15 pages of sexy, whimsical, funny pin-ups of naked ladies, mostly with animal tails and ears – hence the title of this tome.

Unashamedly raunchy, and gently beguiling, these aren’t stories with a great deal of narrative. That’s really not the point. These are wickedly beautiful, funny – because the best sex is – teaser tales that intend to entice and delight. If you can handle all that you probably should…
© 2001 Richard Moore. All Rights Reserved.

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MARVEL: 1985


By Mark Millar & Tommy Lee Edwards (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-406-5

There’s an old saying in our business that “the Golden Age of comics is ten” (or eight or eleven or… you get the picture). Simply stated it posits that there’s a perfect moment when dawning comprehension and sophistication meets childish wonderment and imagination head-on and whatever you’re reading at that time suddenly transcends Art, Entertainment, Every Thing: it becomes all-encompassing magic.

And no matter what, nothing that follows – cars, sex, extreme ironing – absolutely nothing can touch or tarnish or diminish that Road to Damascus moment.

Hold that thought and consider this collection of the 2008 miniseries from Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards – two superb creators more commonly associated with the older end of the marketplace. In 1985 cynical young Toby Goodman is just getting seriously into comic-books. His local comic store has just turned him on to the maxi-series Marvel Super-Heroes: Secret Wars and the four-colour madness he’s increasingly drawn into acts as a welcome respite from his personal life.

His parents are getting divorced and he’s embarrassed that his cool dad can’t get his life together while the yuppie whiz-kid his mom’s living with seems to be an obnoxious “Mr Perfect.” The old ramshackle Wyncham House where his dad and that weird kid Clyde used to play and collect funny-books twenty years ago has been taken over by a strange bunch of oddballs. They offer Toby’s dad the pristine collection of comics in the cellar – left untouched since Clyde Wyncham was put in a sanatorium – but honest fellow that he is Jerry Goodman tells them to sell the stash to the comic store – just like you or I would…

And then things start to get weird. Toys that don’t exist start appearing. People dressed like Marvel Super-villains start appearing around the tiny town. A giant green monster who looks and talks like the Incredible Hulk catches Toby snooping…

This intriguing tale recounts what happens when a fantasy world invades our real one, and the everyday actions of comic life become gritty horror as all the villains of the Marvel Universe are brutally unleashed on a Small Town USA. As the carnage escalates only Toby knows what to do. Using a portal in Wyncham House the boy goes into the Marvel Universe to fetch the super-heroic cavalry…

This tale reads like a movie plot seeking to marry the way-out world of comics to our world, and has some pleasant echoes those Gardner Fox days of Infinite Earths as well as a flavour of Marvel’s own boldly innovative Nth Man series (by Larry Hama and Ron Wagner, from 1989-91 if you’re interested) and it won’t be to everybody’s taste, but if you’re a casual visitor or lapsed fan this well-executed yarn might tickle some old fancies.

© 2007, 2008 Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. (A BRITISH EDITION BY PANINI UK LTD)