Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Comics Review: Bargain Bin Grab Bag: B&V and Power Rangers

So, I’d bought a couple of comics at Zia Comics a couple of weeks ago while waiting for a repair to my truck.  Those were for other people.  Before I went there, I’d gone to Coas Books and raided their bargain bin and gotten plenty for myself.  You never know what you’re going to find there.  Once, for example, I found a bunch of comics from the 50’s.  


(Archie and Uncle Scrooge, Huckleberry Hound, Classics Illustrated, Dennis the Menace Christmas Part 1, Part 2.  There are a few others listed in late 2013.  You can look for those yourself.  I should have put a separate tag on these.)     

 

These 12 issues are a bit eclectic.  There’s no way to logically group these.  I do notice that there’s no Marvel Comics here.  There were Marvels there, but I wasn’t interested in any of them, which is the usual for me.  I blame the closing of Hastings for this anti-Marvel bias.  I bought a huge number of comics at the time (which led to a terrible time at the cash register).  I kept a few of the DC comics, but divested myself of all of the Marvels.  They were mostly from the 2000’s, and they were all bad.  I’m still not over it. 



Betty & Veronica #1

This is a Free Comic Book Day edition.  I assume it’s about the same as the original, but has a section at the back promoting the CW Riverdale show.  Adam Hughes only did three issues of this series, but I’ve had a terrible time collecting them.  I have all of them, but they’re in three different formats.  Two of them are in digest form, so I’d like the full-size versions.  Now, I’ve got two of them in comic book format; I just need #3 now.


 

Adam Hughes is one of favorite artists and best known for his cheesecake.  Here he is doing two of my favorite comic book girls, Betty and Veronica.  That said, his script is way too precious in dialogue.  It’s hard to read when your eyes are rolling.  Also, the colors in this are really washed out and muted.  It’s not bright and colorful, even when totally appropriate for a story taking place in the fall.  What’s really disappointing are the character designs for the girls.  Maybe Hughes sort of toned down his interpretation because of his reputation and the context of a teen book.  They’re just not as glamorous as the two most famous high school girls in comics should be.


 

All that said, I’m keeping this and looking for that other issue.  It’s still really cool-looking and not bad to read.  If only Archie Comics had more actively pursued top-notch talent to do some special issues.  There’s no way they could hire someone like that for an extended stay, but I’m sure there’s lots of talent who would love to do their take on a comic they probably read as children.  Unfortunately, I think Hughes had some production delays.  In spite of his fairly conservative take on the characters, he was also getting protested because of his previous work.  (Some people don’t want women in comics drawn attractively.)  So much for this experiment at Archie Comics. 


 

I like Madelaine Petsch on Riverdale as Cheryl Blossom.  Somehow I ended up on her Youtube channel awhile back.  She's very likeable.  As for black Josie and the Pussycats, once again, a redheaded character was exchanged for a black person.  Nice job devaluing Valerie and eliminating one of my favorites, Melody.  I have more on this, but I'll stop here.            






Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #6, #7, #9, #11

I’d heard good things about this comic, but passed up getting any individual issues or a trade.  Finding these four issues loose at a discount was a good opportunity to try it out.  First, the production is top notch.  The comic is physically made out of quality materials.  The story takes up all but four pages of the issue.  Two of those pages are even a little Bulk & Skull continuing comic strip.  The artwork is excellent.  The story is unfortunately basically decompressed in presentation, but is solid.  This was obviously written by someone (Kyle Higgins), who knew and loved the source material.  If a new comic could come close to being worth $4, this comes the closest. 

 


These are not an “adult” versions of Power Rangers stories.  They are also not just like the original series.  They’re not a kid’s show based on recycled footage of a Japanese Sentai show.  These are basically superhero-like comics in the Power Rangers setting.  The stories are more developed than the show and the characters are given some space to grow, but they are action-oriented adventures.


 


But just to be honest, while I watched Power Rangers, I was a bit out of their age-range when they first came out.  I was mostly watching for the girls (RIP Thuy Trang).  I’ve watched some of the follow up series, even on Mexican stations in Spanish, because they’re kind of fun, but I don’t really think highly of the franchise.  (I should mention that this series is based on the original team and villains.)  So, these are great if you’re a Power Rangers fan, but if you’re not a big fan, they’re okay.       


I couldn’t help but notice this ad.  If I find one of these, being the wrestling fan, I’ll have to try one.


Part 2

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