Thursday, December 5, 2024

Oz Squad

 

I've written before about my life-long fascination with L. Frank Baum's Oz books and their many multimedia spinoffs.

Like most people, I saw the Wicked movie opening weekend and loved it, just like I loved the musical and the books it's based on.

But for my money, the best revisionist Dark Oz of all is the Caliber Comics version. Yes Caliber, home of goth vigilante The Crow and zombie apocalypse road trip DeadWorld, did a take on Dorothy and her pals, and it's grimngritty as all hell.


Image from Romance In Rags, the one where Scraps, The Patchwork Girl Of Oz, tries to win The Scarecrow, currently suffering from a mind control spell by the witch Mombi and working for the evil Nome King, back to the side of the Emerald City freedom fighters.  

The series was recently released as a series of trade paperbacks, essential reading for all you My Chemical Romance fans.

Monday, November 18, 2024

The Quack Parade

 

I finally got my hands on Donald Duck: Vacation Parade , and it was worth the wait.



 Fréderic Brémaud and Federico Bertolucci have created a charming graphic novel that reads like a lost cartoon from the 1950s.


There aren't any words in this comic, but you can hear the sputtering and squawking.



The colors are gorgeous.


The story doesn't need words to flow from panel to panel, like storyboards for a lost classic short cartoon.  Your favorite character and mine, Humphrey Bear makes a triumphant return.


Chip and Dale are here also.


Vacation Parade is a truly all-ages comic.  Little kids who have trouble reading will have no problem following the story and laughing at the gags.  Mature sophisticates like us will enjoy the beautiful art and retro style.  Highly recommended, Disney Weirdness-approved.



Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Saturday, September 28, 2024

That's All, Folks!

 

Well, that's it.  I can officially retire from comic book collecting, because I did it.  I FUCKIN DID IT:


I finally completed my set of  Air Pirates Funnies.

Yes, I know about Dan O'Neill's Comics and Stories, and the Tortoise and the Hare, and Dirty Duck, and the Air Pirates newspaper, but I don't care. Like Ash Katchum, I caught them all.  

Stay tuned for this blog's new focus:  Collecting Loungefly backpacks.



Wednesday, September 4, 2024

3 Hits From Dell

 The latest issue of Henry and Glenn has some nostalgic and/or cursed images for punk rock and/or Dell Comics fans: