Buckle Your Swash For Adventure Time!

I must confess, I'm not much of a Gamer. I'm not into video games. I played Sonic once. I played the video game tied into the animated Aladdin movie. My wife, Cathy, beat me with a higher score.

I am a fan of Wes Molebash! I first discovered his You'll Have That webcomic and enjoyed it immensely! I own the two collections and the comic book he produced. He's produced some other things that have been equally enjoyable. 

Travis Daventhorpe for the Win! is his first EPIC. Over 280 pages of story!

Travis is a slightly above average student at William Watterson Middle School in Ohio. His parents are loving and easy-going. He has a favorite teacher, a nemesis and a new best friend. He also has a couple of robots that he built from scratch.

He discovers that there is a whole different world outside of Hopeton!

A world of Magic, Swords, Wizards, Evil and Giant Robot Dinosaurs!

It's all very cool and it plays out like a video game.

Published by :01 (First Second), Travis Daventhorpe for the Win! is the first installment of adventures, and earns four stars for awesomeness!

  

I WANT To Believe! The Greatest American Hero 2 Review

I want to believe. I really do.

Erwin J. Aroza's cover for this second issue is just as awesome as the cover to the premiere issue.

The art under the cover is still a little on the weak side. No disrespect intended to Alper Gecgel. Maybe one is expecting Ty Templeton, Christopher Jones or Tim Levins, or any number of animated artists connected to a live action adaptation. It's somewhat surprising that Aroza is only handling the covers and not interior art as well. Being that The Greatest American Hero is somewhat light-hearted along the lines of Get Smart! for superheroes for instance, a broad and cartoony style would not be unthinkable. Ralph looks very "wrinkly" here. Not a very flattering appearance.

The story continues to be melancholy. Ralph is back. Down on his luck. He's recovered from the morgue and reunites with former student Tony Villicana. Ralph learns that Tony is into some shady business and has helped Kevin with a debt. Ralph is shocked to find out that Kevin borrowed money from the Russian mob! He's even more shocked to learn that was for Kevin's sick wife - Maya's late mother.

Later, Ralph reconnects with Pam, now Mayor Pam Davidson. She's in the middle of a crisis as well.

Who is Ralph supposed to save? That is just one of a few unanswered questions. If Ralph went with the aliens, why doesn't he know what the suit does? Why hasn't he mastered the suit? Why can't he fly?

The whole discovery thing is cool. However, Ralph comes off looking less than heroic, sincere and earnest, which is what really made him a hero, more than the suit and the powers in the suit.

Hope is more powerful than belief... and more dangerous. Hopefully, Ralph will be able to turn things around and redeem himself and reconnect with the people that seem disappointed in him, let down by him, angry and bitter with him.

The Greatest American Hero 2 earns three stars.

     

Opening the Time Capsule, Justice League of America 200 Treasury Reprint Review

It's hard to imagine that nearly everyone involved in the original Justice League of America 200 is gone now. Writer Gerry Conway passed away at age 73, April 26th, 2026. Artist George Perez passed away at age 67, May 6th, 2022. Len Wein, gone at 69, September 10th, 2017. Aparo, Giordano, Infantino, Kane, Kubert... talented individuals all. Their "dash" full and complete. The anniversary issue of Justice League of America is what they've left behind.

One remembers when the issue was first unleashed. Awesome then. Just as enjoyable now, forty-four years later, as it was, first in 1982. Re-released in July 2026 as a Treasury Edition Facsimile Reprint, Perez's art is just as eye-popping. Conway's script is respectful, opening with a recap of the original origin story before diving headlong into this sequel. Brilliant including different art teams for the different chapters. Aparo for Aquaman, Kane for Green Lantern, Infantino for The Flash, Giordano for Wonder Woman. Conway's story nicely and smoothly draws in The Phantom Stranger, Snapper Carr, Green Arrow and J'onn J'onzz. In 1982 it was not hard to understand that J'onn had left the team and was gone for a number of years. Snapper Carr had betrayed the team once, before moving on to other things. Oliver Queen had just quit. Revisiting things in 2026, minor details can be overlooked.

The larger size gives the art more space to be enjoyed. The double splash page of the satellite headquarters; Kane's splash of The Atom slugging Green Lantern; the team racing from the cave headquarters for a final confrontation with the aliens are just a few standouts. The layout and design are just incredible. The wraparound cover, with an added border is more than just nice. The attention to detail shows a deep respect for everything and everyone involved.

It is a shame that J'onn was shuffled off, while Ollie decided to make a comeback. Later, J'onn would return to his rightful place as a core member of the team. However, no one knew it back then.

The facsimile reprint of Justice League of America 200 is like opening a time capsule and seeing what talented individuals would leave behind. It earns five stars enduring the test of time.

Grounded! The Greatest American Hero 1 Review

Believe it or not, he's back!

After forty-three years, Ralph Hinkley, The Greatest American Hero returns! Dropped off in the desert by the aliens that gifted him with his super-suit and given a deadline! But who is Ralph Supposed to save? 

Is it Kevin, Ralph's estranged son? Who just happens to be operating a shady business, running numbers, with Ralph's granddaughter, Maya? Kevin is not at all happy to see Ralph. Mainly due to the stories that his birth mother had shared with him growing up about his father. Kevin believes his dad is crazy.

It's also unclear where Ralph stands with former partner, FBI agent Bill Maxwell and ex, Pam Davidson.

When Kevin gets a flat tire, Ralph tries to help. He discovers another superpower - teleportation!

Later, Ralph does save Maya from being hit by a truck! And collapses afterward. He tells Kevin that if the suit is taken off, he'll die! 

The cover art is fantastic. The story, developed by Tawnia McKiernan and Don Handfield, written by Handfield with art by Alper Gecgel, Faradilla Nurmaliza and lettered by DC Hopkins is a somewhat melancholy, cliche re-launch. One would think that if Ralph were connected to the aliens that gave him the suit, he'd get a new instruction manual or be trained in how the suit works. Maybe the point is that he makes that discovery on his own.

Hopefully Ralph will figure out how to soar from here on.

The Greatest American Hero 1, from AMP Comics earns three stars! 

Diagnosis: Mayhem! Batman: Gotham Adventures 43 Review

Harley Quinn is definitely a breakout character. A standout, breakout character. One could argue that over time, Harley has become somewhat over-exposed. Less really is usually more and more is just more. In other words, a little Harley goes a long way.

Still, Harley is just madcap fun. Plucky comic relief. Go-to for a punchline. Peterson and Levins team Harley with Batman for "Turnabout". Someone is gunning for Harley. It's not The Joker, or anyone from Arkham, as the duo quickly find out. The answer shows just how dazzled Harley was by The Clown Prince of Crime from the very beginning, and how that affected her treatment of others who really needed her. It is hilariously heartbreaking.

The light-hearted comedy comes from all the near misses on Harley's life.

Peterson wraps the tale up with signature sentimentality that hits right in the feels.

Batman: Gotham Adventures 43, "Turnabout" earns four stars. 

Bats to a Flame, Batman: Gotham Adventures 42 Review

Craig Rousseau steps in as guest-penciller for Scott Peterson's incendiary and explosive "Tuesday Night". Definitely explosive as Peterson and Rousseau open with Batman leaping from a burning building and a "KA-BOOOM" courtesy of Albert DeGuzman that Marvin the Martian would be thrilled by.

It's a hot time in the old town! Buildings across Gotham are burning. The fickle finger of fate points toward Suzanne Cormier. Tim contacts Alfred for background. There's a lag, due to disrupted communications and the Batcomputer slowing down. The Dynamic Duo face the same problem when Cormier invites them to find answers as to why her buildings are on fire. Clues lead to contractor Mark Bender, who admits the ventilation system is computerized! The reveal is that Gotham is experiencing sunspot activity! Which is causing the system to overheat and burst into flames.

The science, along with art by guests Rousseau and inker Dan Davis is sunspot on.

However, this would be a golden opportunity to introduce Firefly. Or even Firebug. Perhaps, down the road. The story is solid and enjoyable. Peterson, Rousseau and Davis really fan the flames to put Batman and Robin through their paces. Still, perhaps a missed opportunity.

"Tuesday Night" is thrilling and gripping, earning four stars.

Joe Anybody, Batman: Gotham Adventures 41 Review

"A Tale of Joe" finds Batman taking an interest in a slacker named Joe. A guy that can't even do the wrong thing right. A guy who could probably show up late for his own funeral. Joe takes the easy way out. The path of least resistance. But even when he's invited to be part of a crime, he shows up late. He's listless. Directionless. Rudderless. Admittedly, he has no sense of purpose.

And yet, The Batman sees something in him. Something that shouldn't go to waste.

Scott Peterson has crafted a character that could be anyone. An average Joe. Drifting through life. Waiting for something, anything to happen to change circumstance and the environment.

It isn't until Joe is presented with that kind of circumstance that he realizes a change in himself.

Alfred provides the final conclusion to the story.

Peterson, Levins, Beatty, Loughridge and DeGuzman are aided and abetted here by editors Harvey Richards, Nachie Castro, Joan Hilty and Bob Schreck. This is an important moral and ethical story. A very rare breed.

"Don't waste good."

"A Tale of Joe", Batman: Gotham Adventures 41 earns five stars.