Superman `78 #5 Review!

Superman `78 is the movie sequel given flight in comic book form and now it is Superman vs. Brainiac!  It features a cover by Francis Manapul of Superman flying out as we see the bottle city of Mtropolis wiht the Daily Planet and the looming face of Brainiac.  The creative team of Robert Venditti and Wilfredo Torres have crafted the penultimate issue of “Brainiac Chapter Five”!  A red-tinged Metropolis has a middle-aged man in his bathrobe walking his dachshund.  The dog is yapping until it is surprised, the streets are broken!, the buildings of Metropolis are lifted up!  The computer, a tube with the Brainiac skull, reports that Metropolis has been separated and being taken up to the skull ship.  

He orders the computer to sterilize a bottle for Metropolis!  I think the important part is to put in a breathable atmosphere and stablize the terrain.  At the Bottle City of Kandor, Superman and his parents, Jor-El and Lara are in a chamber.  Jor-El explains that he is using Lex Luthor’s transmission to tap into Brainiac’s computer.  I like the Kryptonian service robot hovering in the back.  Superman puts on a band to amplify his alpha waves.  There is an awkward goodbye with Jor-El.  Superman stands at the hoops that had surrounded Zod and his followers in Superman (1978) before they were sent to the Phantom Zone.  He tells his father to send him home as we see Brainiac order the miniaturization of Metropolis!   

We see the citizens of Metropolis calling out for Superman in the red glare of Brainiac’s ray.  One citizen looks like Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) from Superman III (1983).  We also got Jimmy Olsen and Perry White.  Then, Lex Luthor against a red sky inflating his balloon, like the Wizard of Oz?  Lois Lane looks up at the sky for Superman’s return.  Jor-El is adjusting the controls while he says to Lara that Kal-El has returned hope to him.  A nice moment.  Then, energy crackles and Superman screams!  Lara wants to shut it down, but her son is able to ask for the transport to continue!  She places the last crystal into the machine and Superman screams until he fades away.  The computer detects the intrusion of the miniaturization ray which Brainiac says is impossible.  

Then, he faces Superman!  The Metropolis citizens are confused.  Lex Luthor is floating in his balloon above the city.  Closeup of Lois’ face as she says her call was answered.  Superman flies and gives Brainiac a haymaker punch!  He says Brainiac broke his word, Earth’s safety in exchange for Superman’s sacrifice, of course the Coluan villain says it was a technicality.  So of course, Brainiac sends in his drones.  They seize him and blast Superman back.  He collides with shelves of bottles, but uses his superspeed to collect them!  Superman grapples with a drone sending energy from his arms.  The battle seen by the Kryptonians in the bottle city.  He takes the drones arms to destroy its skull!  Superman must defeat the drones and he still has to face Brainiac who has gone for an upgrade!  What is Luthor’s plan?  I’m ready for the conclusion and any further limited series or that Batman `89 crossover!  Another thrilling chapter of Superman `78!  

Five Drones out of Five! 

#Superman78, #RobertVenditti, #WilfredoTorres, #FrancisManapul, #Brainiac, #Metropolis, #GusGorman 

Happy Birthday Hayao Miyazaki!

Happy Birthday Hayao Miyazaki! Miyazaki is a master storyteller and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, still crafting traditional cel animation. Miyazaki was chief animator and concept artist for Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968) directed by Isao Takahata. He co-directed with Isao Takahata Lupin The Third Part I (1971-1972), the animated series based on Monkey Punch’s gentleman thief. Then, directed the animated series Future Boy Conan (1978). He directed The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) which starred Lupin the Third. In 1982, he wrote and drew his sci fi ecological manga Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Then, Miyazaki directed the film of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984.  

                                                                          Hayao Miyazaki exhibit at the Academy Museum, 2021, photo by the author. 

He started his longtime collabration with the music of Joe Hisaishi with that film. In 1985, he founded Studio Ghibili with Toshio Suzuki, Isao Takahata, and Yasuyoshi Tokuma. He then directed Castle in the Sky (1986) and then  the classic My Neighbor Totoro (1988). Another charming animated film was Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989). In 1992, was Porco Rosso (1992).  Miyazaki-san wrote Starting Point (1979-1996) which is insightful in his creative processes.  Highly recommended for anyone interested in animation and his work. In 1997, he wrote and directed Princess Mononoke, it’s English adaptation was written by Neil Gaiman. It won the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year. Miyazaki then worked on Spirited Away (2001) which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.  

Also, in 2001, the Studio Ghibli Museum opened which featured many of the Studio Ghibli creations. Next, he wrote and directed Howl’s Moving Castle based on the Diana Wynne Jones fantasy novel. His next film was Ponyo in 2008. Miyazaki continued his writings on animation with Turning Point: 1997-2008.  In 2009, Miyazaki wrote the manga Kaze Tachinu based on the story of Jiro Horikoshi, designer of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. This was turned into the animated film The Wind Rises (2016) which was reported to be Miyazaki’s last film. He was aware the Person of Cultural Merit in 2012. 

He has worked on short films and displays for the Studio Ghibli Museum. There was a documentary on Studio Ghibli in 2013, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness. A documentary, Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki was released in December 2018. He was given the Academy Honorary Award in 2014 for his work in animation and cinema. On September 30, 2021, the Academy Museum opened the “Hayao Miyazaki“ exhibit with a film retrospective. Miyazaki is coming out of retirement to direct How Do You Live? based on Yoshino Genzaburo’s novel.  Happy Birthday Hayao Miyazaki-san!  

#HayaoMiyazaki, #NausicaaAndTheValleyOfTheWind, #StudioGhibli, #CastleInTheSky, #MyNeighborTotoro, #KikisDeliveryService, #PrincessMononoke, #SpiritedAway, #HowlsMovingCastle, #TheWindRises, #AcademyMuseum, #HowDoYouLive  

The Book of Boba Fett, “The Tribes of Tatooine”, Review!

Back at (previously) Jabba’s Palace, Fennec is walking with her prisoner (Paul Darnell) on the trail to the palace.  The main gate opens and then Boba Fett questions the assassin about his employer.  He is silent before Boba.  An order is given to take his head and a Gamorrean guard has his blade to the prisoner’s neck.  He gives an insult in Huttese.  Boba asks what is known about the assassin.  8D8 says he is from the “Order of the Night Wind.”  He continues that he will never talk.  Fennec activates the switch to send the assassin down to the rancor.  Like Luke in Return of the Jedi, he falls to the sandy floor, and the gate rises.  The assassin screams out that he was sent by the mayor!  There is no rancor.  Fennec says they should visit the mayor.  The city of Mos Espa, the prisoner is led by Fennec in the streets with Boba, flanked by the guards.

Trandoshans watch them pass.  The door opens to the mayor’s chambers. A clerk says they don’t have an appointment and the smarmy major domo cuts in.  I have no idea why this guy doesn’t at least get a fist to the face.  He also tries to block them and Boba and crew just move past him.  The Mayor, Mok Shaiz, is an Ithorian, he speaks the burbling language, but has a translator box on his back that goes to his mouth flaps (Robert Rodriguez).  This episode has strange casting, the clerk is a weak actor and the wizened Ithorian, has a young voice, it’s kinda cartoony and little self-indulgent, yes, Rodriguez is executive producer, but a character in every episode?  He has the assassin shot and the group is ready with their weapons.  The reaction is weak, both Fennec and Boba could outdraw the Mayor’s guards.  Mok Shaiz gives some advice to Boba before he leaves, go to Garsa’s Sanctuary.  The show is kinda flat with hollow threats.  

They enter the cantina of Garsa Fwip, I noticed the Chadra-Fan as one of the patrons, the mouse alien from the other cantina.  He is dealt cards by a RX-series droid, the same as Star Tours.  Garsa meets with Boba, who again takes off his helmet, of course Boba doesn’t follow Mandalorian ways, but the mystery is gone with his helmet off.  She mentions that the Twins have claimed their late cousin, Jabba, Boba thinks the Twins are on Nal Hutta.  Distant drums cut all music and conversation.  They walk outside and Boba murmurs to Fennec to watch his back.  The two Hutts are carried on a litter by several porters, absolutely impossible for people to lift two Hutts!, usually Hutts are transported by some kind of grav platform.  The male twin says Jabba’s property belongs to them.  Then, we get the Wookie bounty hunter, Black Krrsantan, from the comics.  First appearing in Darth Vader #1 (2015).  I’m fast losing interest in this series.  He is a Wookie with black hair, white brows and beard, spiked shoulder armor, and a blaster rifle, yawn.  

Fennec is ready for action, but this show only moves in bits and pieces.  Boba says that Bib Fortuna took Jabba’s place and he killed Fortuna.  Yup, the female twin says something, and the male twin says they don’t want bloodshed.  Back at the healing pod, it’s time for a flashback!  There is a greenish tint as we get to Sand People territory with a passing bantha.  Boba is training with gaderffii sticks with the warrior in black.  The warrior disarms Boba’s wooden gaderffii. Their practice is interrupted by some small, sand beast that tries to scurry away.  A Tusken Raider blasts it with a rifle.  They hear a roar in the distance.  The Sand People scramble for rifles as they set themselves on a sand dune ready for the attack.  It is a hover train where blaster fire takes down the bantha and several Tusken Raiders.  Yes, the analogy of Native American tribes with the Sand People is clear, but this is hitting the nail on the head.  Boba watches the train leave in the distance.  

At night, the Tusken Raiders mourn their dead with fires.  Boba sees several speeder bikes hover through the desert.  It must be the same gang he saw with the Tusken youngling.  He signs to the leader that he is going to take down the train with a rifle and gaderffii.  Boba heads over to a building where Niktos, they are bad guys, rough up a place that also has Camie (Mandy Kowalski) and Fixer (Skyler Bible), from the Tosche Station cut scene of Star Wars.  They seem to have grown younger since at Return of the Jedi, Luke has matured, but I guess it is the sand.  “It’s course, and rough…”, but also keeps you looking youthful.  Original Fixer actor, Anthony Forrest would be about 25 in Star Wars and 31 by the time of Jedi.  Black Krrsantan, Fixer and Camie, this all feels like the accusation leveled at The Mandalorian, fan service, but that show had interesting takes on them.  Camie and Fixer are never properly identified so really throwaway cameos.  

A Nikto takes some coins from them and Fixer defies them.  He is shocked by a stun baton, these are bad guys!, but the door opens and the shadow of Boba Fett falls on them.  Uh oh, there’s a new sheriff in town!  Boba shows them his Tusken training and throws in a new move, ouch!  He looks at the speeder bikes.  The next morning, he rides one with all of the speeder bikes in tow.  Yes, he brings tech to the Tuskens and with their help, they can turn on the hover train and stop it!  We finally get Boba taken into the Tusken tribe, it feels a little Avatar-ish, this may be the alliance he can call on to take his empire.  This may be an end to the Tusken flashbacks and maybe they play a part in the main story.  Not much development with Fennec Shand's character.  At least give the names of the Gamorreans.  There is an appearance of a Clone Wars alien, also in the Solo movie which is nice, but it's uniform looks like Star Trek: The Next Generation operations officer.  The second episode of The Book of Boba Fett is predictable, but picks up a little with the extended Tusken scene.  Hopefully, the show picks up a stronger story instead of sliding in story points, throwaway characters, and ramps up the action!  Too much talking, more blaster fire!  

Three Thrones of Boba Fett out of Five! 

#TheBookOfBobaFett, #TheTribesOfTatooine, #PaulDarnell, #MandyKowalski, #SklyerBible 

Jane Porter: The Primordial Peril #1 Kickstarter Review!

Jane Porter: The Primordial Peril #1 is an Arctic adventure for the love interest of Tarzan, on her own, and equal to him in exploring dangerous corners of the world!  It was part of a Kickstarter campaign that launched on July 22nd last year.  So disclaimer, I am a supporter after seeing the cover image alone.  It features Jane Porter whom you might know as Lady Greystoke, the wife (por-kalan) and love interest of Tarzan, both of whom were introduced in the novel, Tarzan of the Apes (1912) by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  I think of her very much like Lois Lane to Superman, a later relationship of course, but Tarzan would not have his adventures without her.  Still, Jane has been toughened by life in the jungle, she is capable as the apeman.   

An unofficial comic book from Dynamite, Swords of Sorrow: Pantha & Jane Porter #1 (2015) had Jane in a multiverse encounter.  There was a novel by Robin Maxwell, Jane: The Woman Who Love Tarzan (2012), from Jane’s perspective.  It was authorized by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate.  This special issue is part of the ERB Universe, the adventures of all of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ heroines and heroes and events from novels and comic books.  The comic book has a story, series concept, and expanded canon by Christopher Paul Carey, author and Creative Director of the ERB Universe, and Mike Wolfer, writer/artist and ERB Universe editor for the American Mythology comic publisher.  Wolfer also wrote the script for the comic book.  The art is by Roy Allan Martinez who has provided artwork for Marvel and Image Comics as well as other publishers.  

The cover by Martinez has Jane in winter gear with sabertooths and a mammoth and a snowy background with a geodesic dome.  The contrast of an Arctic adventure outside of the jungle is such a contrast.  A stunning image!  The story opens with a letter head of the Robeson Museum at Baltimore, Maryland, Jane is a director of Archeleology and Zoological Field Studies there, influenced by her father, Professor Archimedes Porter.  She was convinced by her daughter-in-law, Meriem, wife of Korak, to write of her own adventures.  This introduction is very similar to the openings of the ERB novels.  This shifts to a rocky islet in the Bering Sea, 1952.  Jane defiantly questions several men for disturbing her dig.  One man is on a walkie talkie and draws a gun.  Jane leads them to the dome.  She explains that she piloted her seaplane and identifies the men as military types.  Her team had drained a passageway and this group discovered something there.  

They reach an underground base where Jane recognizes the leader, Anton Helvig, a dashing type in a red sweater, I’m getting Bulloq vibes from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).  He has set up the base in six months and orders his henchman, Smith, to put away his gun.  It seems Helvig and Jane have a rivalry that also makes me think of Marion Ravenwood.  Helvig explains that he believes the area was sunk by plate tectonics and has found Late Pleistocene fossils.  Jane is escorted to the barracks while Helvig deals with a situation.  She plays on his greed and points out what she says is a vein of gold, but then takes his gun to tie up the goon.  At a lab, Helvig and Dr. Severov have found a sabertooth tiger has wakened!, a little Jurassic Park, but I’m getting shades of the BBC sci fi series, Primeval.  There are some distinctive character expressions by Martinez.  Two rifleman are sent to deal with the sabertooth tiger.  Jane pushes them aside and then speaks to the prehistoric beast in Mangani, the language of the Great Apes.  I looked up the translation, very cool.  

She is able to calm the sabertooth tiger with a scent made from African herbs and flowers from her wrist.  The less violent way Jane deals with the threat is awesome.  Jane explains all of this to Helvig who also determined that she used certain tones in her voice speaking the Great Ape words.  Dr. Severov is impressed to meet Jane Porter.  He shows her to a room where they have a caged wooly mammoth and another sabertooth tiger.  A closeup of the wooly mammoth’s black eye has the look of a real animal.  Dr. Severov explains his process of using ultra-sonic vibration and temperature controls to revive the prehistoric beasts.  The science and the scenario are solid sci fi.  Jane says she wants to help, earlier she called the operation an “atrocity”, and turns over the gun to Helvig.  Dr. Severov finds out that Helvig’s plan is to sell the animals, a Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) situation.  She has to care for these lost world animals against the gunmen and the crazed Helvig!  Jane Porter’s adventures continue with the three issue mini-series, Jane Porter and the City of Fire, hinted at by her post-scriptum, can’t wait!  "Ink-Tag, yato!" 

Four African herbs and flowers out of Five!  

#JanePorterThePrimordialPeril, #ChistopherPaulCarey, #MikeWolfer, #RoyAllanMartinez, #AntonHelvig, #DoctorSeverov, #Mangani 

Happy Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien!

Happy Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien! We may know John Ronald Reuel Tolkien as creator of Lord of the Rings, but his background as professor of Anglo-Saxon and worked on the Oxford English Dictionary.  Tolkien was born in South African and there was bitten by a baboon spider which he says he doesn’t remember, but may have appeared as Shelob.  His family moved to Birmingham, the inspiration for Hobbiton?, he married Edith Mary Bratt.  He fought in World War I and returned to England to work on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  Tolkien wrote at Pembroke College The Hobbit and began Lord of the Rings.  He started work on translating Beowulf.  His younger years is seen in the film Tolkien (2019).  The Hobbit was published in 1937.  There was a tv animated movie of The Hobbit from Rankin and Bass in 1977, a formative year with Star Wars.  

Of course, we know that Peter Jackson filmed the book as a trilogy from 2012 to 2014.  Farmer Giles of Ham, a comic tale in the spirit of Medieval stories, was published in in 1949. Tolkien published The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1962.  At Oxford, Tolkien was in a group called the Inklings which included C.S. Lewis, their fantasy worlds have interesting reflections. Tolkien completed Lord of the Rings during his time at Oxford.  We of course know Tolkien best from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films which begun in 2001 and completed in 2003.  Ralph Bakshi produced an animated film The Lord of the Rings (1978) which adapted the first two books.  In 1980, Rankin and Bass adapted in television movie, The Return of the King.   Most of Tolkien’s work was compiled and finished by his son, Christopher Tolkien, including The Silmarillion in 1977.  

The Silmarillion is the sweeping history of Middle Earth from its creation to the Third Age of Lord of the Rings, only hints of it are seen in the films and books.  There is an Amazon Prime series focused on the Second Age of Middle-Earth set to debut this year.  The Tolkien book on Norse myth was published in 2010  as The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún.  Christopher Tolkien edited and published The Fall of Arthur (2013).  Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary was published in 2014.  The Finnish epic that was influential for Lord of the Rings, The Story of Kullervo, was published in 2017.   He also compiled his father's work in several books collected in The Great Tales of Middle-Earth; Children of Húrin (2007), Beren and Lúthien (2017), and The Fall of Gondolin (2018).  J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973, one of the most famous professors and novelists from his Middle Earth work.  He is buried in Oxford with his wife, on the headstone, Edith Mary Tolkien Lúthien, and his name, John Ronald Ruel Tolkien Beren.  Happy Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien!

#JRRTolkien, #TheHobbit, #LordoftheRings, #TheSilmarillion, #TheFallOfArthur, #TheLegendOfSiguardAndGudrun,  #BerenandLuthien

Wheel of Time, “Blood Calls Blood”, Review!

The previous episode of Wheel of Time had Mat becoming corrupt from the dagger most likely, but does he also have corruption as the Dragon?  Thom Merirlin watches over Rand and they find bodies of the kind farmers with Mat in some kind of trance pointing his dagger.  Thom realizes that it is a Fade, Myyrdraal, and takes it on with his daggers and sword.  Rand takes away Mat and they escape.  Perrin and Egwene travel with the Tinker caravan and find the cost of a peaceful life from the leader, Ila.  Keren’s wards are broken.  The army of Logain invade the Aes Sedai camp to free their leader.  Alanna forms a weave that halts arrows, Logain knocks back Liandrin and Kerene, Alanna sends the arrows back at the army!  

Moiraine enters to confront the False Dragon.  The three Aes Sedai sisters combine their powers, but Logain manages to kill Kerene.  On the battlefield, many Aes Sedai fall which I find improbable especially by ordinary weapons.  Stepin is enraged at Kerene’s death and tries to attack Logain, but he sends weapons to take down Moiraine, Liandrin, and Lan.  Nynaeve watches as Lan is about to die and then unleashes her full power!  It heals everyone.  Logain from his conversation with Moiraine knows that the true Dragon would have power like the “raging sun” which he sees with Nynaeve.  Liandrin combines the power of all of the Aes Sedai to gentle Logain, cutting him off from the One Power.  A forest and snowy mountains is the setting of a ceremony for all of the fallen is presided by Alanna.  

Stepin carries the body of Kerene followed by Aes Sedai.  He lays her body in a grave and takes her ring.  Moiraine places a candle on the cloth covering Kerene.  We see that the same rite is given to all of the bodies placed in a circle.  We are shown that it is one month later, the Aes Sedai ride on a path through a forest, Logain is a prisoner, but without the One Power, he is blankly staring.  What happened in that gap of time would probably be best answered in the Wheel of Time novel.  Lan notes that they are within sight of the White Tower.  Rand is walking the road in a green cloak, Mat walks behind him weary, apparently they lost their horses, other travelers are behind them.  Rand sees a white mountain, the Dragonmount, from his dreams, they climb a hill to see the city of Tar Valon.   The White Tower dominates the island with bridges across the River Erinin. Erin is an ancient name for Ireland, after a goddess, this seems to be a variant of that name.   

Entering the busy streets of Tar Valon, Rand is stunned at its size, without his hood, he strikes me exactly as the image of Rand al’Thor from the books.  Rand leads them to a tavern recommended by Thom.  At the expensive, taven room, Mat rests, but wants to know if he killed the farmers including the little girl.  Rand answers that it wasn’t him.  Nynaeve, Lan, and Moiraine enter the White Tower and go to the rooms of the Warders.  This is to keep her away from the other Aes Sedai.  Moiraine reassures Nynaeve that she will be informed if her fellow villagers enter the city.  She warns her about the politics of the Tower.  Moiraine also tells her that once she touched the One Power there is no going back.  Perrin and Aram walk with the caravan and Egwene points out the White Tower.  The caravan stops and the others check to see the disturbance, it is Whitecloaks and their leader, Eamon Valda, a bit foolish to be so near the White Tower.  

He notices Egwene and Perrin and orders them brought to him.  Ilia and Raen say they are part of the Tinkers.  They defy Eamon and lock arms together, peaceful protest in a fantasy world!, love it!  He strikes her, Aram takes away Perrin and Egwene, and other Whitecloaks start beating the Tinkers, bullies.  Aram is leading them to a village allied to the Tinkers and says the Whitecloaks won’t kill Tuatha’an.  He is knocked down by a Whitecloak rider.  The others are surrounded!  Rand is looking through bookshelves and finds the Karatheon Cycle in one book.  He is startled by a large person with a lion-like nose and a curled top of hair.  Rand realizes that he is an Ogier and he introduces himself as Loial (Hammed Animashaun).  Loial is an instantly likeable character, a gentle giant like the Beast, but more learned and calm.  

He identifies Rand as an Aelman from his red hair and thinks he’s an oddity coming from Two Rivers.  Rand notes the book he was interested in was like the one read by Egwene thinking she was Jain Farstrider from the text.  The Aes Sedai bring in the False Dragon, the crowd gasps at the empty horse that Stepin is leading, Rand joins Mat at the edge of a building.  They see Logain in his cage with Liandrin and Alanna seated behind him.  Logain eyes the Two Rivers folk and starts laughing!  Stepin returns to the White Tower and other Warders try to console him, but he is only there to return Kerene’s ring.  His friends escort him past the lines of Warders and statues of past Warders.  He goes to a stone bowl lit with a fire at a White Tower room open to the air.  Stepin sheds a single tear and then drops the ring into a molten circle.  The Wheel of Time episode has reached the end of the quest, but if still offers a threat for Nynaeve, Rand makes an ally, and Egwene and Perrin are in danger as prisoners!  

Five Ter'angreal out of Five!  

#WheelOfTime, #BloodCallsBlood, #Loial, #HammedAnimashaun  

   

Theme Park Comic Books!

Theme parks have an interesting connection to comic books!  There was Donald Duck in Disneyland #1 (1955), when the park opened, to the current WEB of Spider-Man!  Yes, they are mainly Disney parks, but there are a few exceptions!  First, comic books had more a presence on newsstands by Disneyland’s entrance and also inside the park with the Arcade Bookstore at Crystal Arcade on Main Street.  The store eventually closed.  At Downtown Disney, there was Vault 28 which sold Marvel Star Wars comic books, but it also closed.  There is currently, the Comic Book Shop at the Marvel Island section of Universal’s Islands of Adventure which sells Marvel comic books.  You can find some of your favorite Disney movies and shows with Walt Disney Comics Digest at a reasonable, Silver Age price.  

Otherwise, they would be in Four Color Comics, these early comics are the best investment.  Very pricey if you look for well known titles, but I was able to pick up two 1959 comics.  Note: some reprints are also valuable.  Disney comics went through several publishers; Dell Publishing, Gold Key, Gladstone, Disney Comics, IDW Publishing, Joe Comics, and now Marvel Comics. So let’s start with Magic Kingdom Comics by IDW, this was in 2016. “Goofy in Fantasyland” is by Don R. Christensen and Al Hubbard.  Goofy, Minnie, and Pluto walk to Fantasy Land.  They ride Peter Pan’s Flight, Pluto almost falls off and Minnie laughs that there is no danger.  We lose more rides with guests taking risks Minnie!  The trio boards Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  Then, they ride Snow White’s Adventures with Jiminy Cricket.  Goofy and Pluto wander off and end up in Wonderland, Mr. Toad’s car bumps into Pluto.  

Toad complains to the Red Queen and they have to get the evil Queen’s poison apple recipe.  This ends with a collection of Disney characters to save the day; the Dwarfs, Wonderland people, and Peter Pan.  It’s nice to see the rides, but the fantasy exploration within the rides are the best part!  A fun adventure!  In 1987, Eclipse Comics produced a 3D adaptation of Captain EO with art by Tom Yeates.  The attraction that featured Michael Jackson as Captain EO, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and had incredible music and effects.  The orange, flying Fuzzball and the green, elephant-like Hooter against Angelica Huston's Giger-eque Supreme Leader.  Disney Comics had a graphic novel based on Space Mountain (2013), written by Bryan Q. Miller with Kelly Jones art.  It had two kids from the Magellan Science Academy who take a rocket to Space Mountain to time travel and save the universe!  

                                                        Haunted Mansion props, That’s from Disneyland exhibition, 2018, photo by the author. 

Marvel had a line called Disney Kingdoms, it started with the limited series, Seekers of the Weird #1-5 (2014), based on unrealized attraction, Museum of the Weird.  Then, there was the Figment #1-5 (2014) series with the EPCOT ride, Journey into Imagination.  In 2015, Marvel had a five issue limited series, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, by Dennis Hopeless and Tigh Walker.  It features Abby Bullion, her father is wealthy, but she has the spirit of adventure.  It takes her from Rainbow Ridge, the town at the end of the ride to familiar dangers in the Big Thunder Mine.  The Disney Kingdoms also included in 2016, Haunted Mansion, which ran for seven issues.  The writer was Joshua Williamson and the artist is Jorge Coehlo.  It concerns the boy, Danny Crowe, who goes to the mansion to find his grandfather’s spirit.  

All of the haunts are trapped by the vengeful spirit of The Captain.  There was a 2005-2007 limited series by Slave Labor Graphics based on the Haunted Mansion.  Also, a graphic novel by IDW Publishing called The Haunted Mansion: Frights of Fancy (2020).  The one-shot, Summer of Heroes #1, was given away at Disney's California Adventure during the Marvel heroes event.  It had overviews of the heroes and a back-up story, "Through Unity, Victory" by Fabian Nicieza and Jose Luis.  In 2018, Marvel Comics published Iron Man: Hong Kong Heroes #1 based on the Hong Kong Disneyland attraction, Iron Man Experience which opened in 2017.  Then, there was Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! #1 (2017) at Disney’s California Adventure.  This was right after the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (2017) opened in theaters.  

                                                            Cafe 4 restaurant, Dr. Doom’s Freefall towers are behind it, 2010, photo by the author. 

Right after the opening of WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure at Avengers Campus, there was the five issue limited series, W.E.B. of Spider-Man. This Marvel comic by Kevin Shinick and Alberto Alburquerque followed Spider-Man into the WEB (Worldwide Engineering Brigade) building.  He is met by a spider-bot and then meets the other members; Harley Keener, Onome, Lunella Lafayette (Moon Girl), and then Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl).  They have built gauntlets that they later use when holograms of super villains take solid form!  A fun comic book was Marvel Super Hero Island of Adventures #1 (1999).  It is one of the areas in Universal's Islands of Adventures, still running today, they have the Marvel trademark so it can't be Marvel's Avengers Campus, and they have ownership of comic book characters.  It is a trio of stories by excellent creators detailing Dr. Doom's Fearfall, towers to be used by the Latverian tyrant!, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, and the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.      

The next Disney IP comic book is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, a five issue limited series, with second issue out before the park expansion opened on May 31st.  The first issue, “Baiting the Hook” is by Ethan Sacks and Will Sliney.  It has a cover by Rod Reis that has the Millennium Falcon, Han and Chewbacca, with a number of aliens and a droid that are not at Batuu.  The bounty hunter, Remex, walks the street of Black Spire Outpost.  A droid at Ronto’s Roasters, complete with the podracer engine and grill, offers him a Ronto Wrap, since it was mentioned in the comic, of course I wanted to try it.  He orders instead a Meillorun juice, it looks slightly pinkish like a peach, made of “Pineapple Juice, Lemonade, with Blueberry, Cranberry Juice, Lemon Juice, and Desert Pear.” The comic book was a great intro for Galaxy’s Edge and a fun comic book.  

                                                                                        Dok-Ondar at Galaxy’s Edge, 2015, photo by the author. 

There is a rumble overhead as the First Order ship, the TIE/es assault shuttle descends at the First Order Cargo area.  This is seen at the far end of the outpost.  They head to Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities, it has the Ithorian collector, Dok-Ondar on a platform carrying a staff.  The park expansion version has him busy at work in a cage so he could only be seen from his upper body.  Kendoh’s group sees the capsule with the small sarlaac that is also seen at Galaxy’s Edge.  This leads to the story of how the sarlaac was added to Dok-Ondar’s antiquities.  The flashback story involves Han and Chewbacca at I’vorcia Prime Preserve.  So you get the back story of Dok-Ondar’s collection, and this moves on to different characters, including Hondo Ohnaka.  He is featured at the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run attraction pre-show. 

 

Six Flags has the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis attraction, it licenses DC characters, and there was Justice League Adventures and Batman Beyond reprints.  Still, no comic books for the rides like Superman: The Ride or Wonder Woman’s Golden Lasso Coaster.  Universal IPs; Topps Comics adapted Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park: Lost World plus some more series by IDW, but no Jurassic Park: The Ride comic book.  Also, no comics for the Jurassic World movies.  There are Back to the Future comics filling in some stories, but no adaptation of Back to the Future: The Ride!  No comic for Revenge of the Mummy - The Ride.  Currently, no Fast and Furious comic books are produced, so nothing for Fast and Furious - Supercharged.  Titan Comics produces Minions comic books, but no Despicable Me Minion Mayhem issue.  The publisher also has Secret Life of Pets and needs to produce a Secret Life of Pets - Off the Leash limited series.  

                                                                                    PI Comics, Into the Fog: A Scary Farm Tribute, photo by the author. 

There are elaborate storylines and details for some of the original characters at Universal Florida’s Halloween Horror Nights, this could be made into several limited series, graphic novels, and even a short story graphic novel.  I saw at Knott’s Berry Farm some artwork for the Into the Fog gallery.  One of them was PI Comics, a series of comic book covers by Michael “Thrash” Ornelas; The Bride #47, Torch #12, The Favorite #21, Lyra #13, “She Wolf!”, and Calico’s Lost Children #9.  It would be easy to adapt these titles or others to Knott’s Scary Farm, there are elaborate back stories for scare zones and mazes.  Plus, there are a number of stories that would make great comic books in the Ghost Town Alive! event.  

I would say that the easiest comic book adaptation would be Knott’s Beary Tales.  There is a storybook, Knott’s Beary Tales: Journey To The Fair, it would be fun to have more adventures with Boysen Bear and Girlsen Bear and all of their family through the fair.  There is Boysenberry Pie Factory, Frog Forest, and the Thunder Cave.  Plus, we might have where Crafty Coyote is living.  This would spin off into an animated series.  The comic book tie-ins can fill in attraction stories, they can be sold at the parks, comic book stores, or as digital comics, and build interest in going to the theme parks.  Theme parks and comic books have a fascinating history.  Comic books can expand on the attractions' story and introduce characters.  I would like to see a movie or mini-series on Disney+ about the adventures of Abby and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  There is great potential for other theme parks to sell attraction themed comic books too, there are publishers to print the comic books!   

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