Magazine Review: Back Issue Part 1

 After buying an issue of the magazine Back Issue off the rack (11-10-24),  I went to the TwoMorrows website and found a bunch of issues with topics I was interested in.  I picked up several pdf issues and went back for a second tranche the next month.  I probably should have waited until I’d actually read the first batch before getting the second.  I wasn’t actually that happy with what I’d originally gotten and held up on getting any more.  Reading all of these became something of a chore honestly.

 

Oddly, when I went to their website, I already had an account.  In 2020, TwoMorrows had offered a free issue for the lockdown.  I guess I had trouble figuring out their ordering and didn’t get anything.  The magazine I picked was still in my “shopping cart,” which I discovered when I put in the new order four years later.

 

Even more oddly, I discovered I actually had a few preview pdf’s from the company on my hard drive.  This included a preview of their tabloid comics retrospective, a history of comics in the 80’s, and a history of the Filmation animation studio.  The later two are actually books.  The previews were very interesting.  I’ve used that Filmation one to research the 70’s Archie cartoons.  Ironically, I didn’t get the full pdf’s of the books, because the previews were pretty comprehensive. 

 

I’m likely done getting Back Issues.  The physical issues never showed up back on the newsstand.  These pdf’s aren’t the greatest to read.  I found myself blowing up blurry images and panning and scanning across pages.  My main regret is that some older issues advertised Silver and Bronze Age companion books for Superman and Batman.  Unfortunately, they’re apparently not even available as pdf’s now.  That’s a real shame.     

 

In general, these issues feature a lot of interviews with the creators.  These interviews generally turn into an airing grievances concerning the editors, the company, and fellow creators.  To say this is tedious reading is an understatement.  If you’re looking for insight on your favorite characters, you’re basically just going to get a lesson in the economics comic book production and petty office feuds.  There are also retrospectives of various titles and interesting runs.  These pretty much just make you want to read the comics.  You don’t need the magazine for that. 

 

However, to be fair, there is plenty of interesting material in these issues.  On some level, I may have been too harshly judgmental and expected too much, since the subject matter was directly in my wheelhouse.  Back Issue is just a magazine.  Like any other, you’ll find a few interesting articles and some better written than others.  I’m going to tackle these in numerical order, rather than purchase order.  I’ll also name these based on the main article I was interested in and just hittin the high points. 

 

#9 Nexus

This 2005 issue was 100 pages, but in black and white.  When it comes to good articles, this one has an impressive overview of the original run of Marvel Star Wars comics.  It explains a lot of the decisions made in the storytelling.  It even explains Jaxxon, the giant green rabbit.  (Sort of.)  I collected this title for several years in the 80’s.  I also had the first six comics and gave them away in elementary school.  (They were reprint versions, not the original printings, but they’re still probably worth money today.)

 

As a big Nexus fan, I was mostly interested in the Barron and Rude interview.  It’s a very long interview, but there wasn’t not a whole lot about Nexus really.  I’d been curious about Grimjack, though I’d only ever read one issue.  The retrospective was comprehensive without being really insightful.  An article about the Cosmic Odyssey miniseries and a history of Thanos were other highlights.

 

 

GrimJack

 

Jaxxon

 

Sundra from Nexus

 

Thanos

 

Nexus Twinkies gag ad

(This highlights the problem with the pdf.  Poor scan quality) 

 

#31 Steve Gerber

You might question a whole issue dedicated to the guy who was best known for creating Howard the Duck, but Gerber had a widely varied career.  The Howard articles were pretty in depth and even included coverage of the newspaper strip.  Gerber worked on a bunch of Marvel horror titles, including the KISS Super Special.  He was on a spectrum of superhero titles, especially the Defenders.  He had a short run at DC and created Sludge for Malibu Comics.  I had no idea Gerber wrote for Thundaar the Barbarian and worked with Jack Kirby and Alex Toth on it, no less.  With that array of talent, no wonder that Saturday morning TV show was so good.  I had a new appreciation for Gerber after reading this.  

 

 

Gerber's Monsters

 

Howard the Duck newspaper strip

 

Jack Kirby Thundarr drawing 

 

Howard ran a brilliant campaign, but Trump was just too strong. 

 

Comics Review: Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch: 60 Magical Stories Part 2

 

Continued from Part 1.

The previous Holly G version of Sabrina transitions to the manga version with an intro no less.

 

I wrote a review of a small trade (four issues) of the manga Sabrina in 2009 that I posted on MySpace. 

 

 Review of Sabrina-The Magic Revisited

Why did I buy this?

Given that I'm a big fan of the "Classic" and "Updated" Sabrina looks, as well

as the humor of the Young Sabrina (animated version), how long could I resist trying

this version?

I blame Johanna at Comics Worth Reading for getting me to try it

due to her exuberant reviews.

Interview with Tania

Review of trade paperback

How was it?

I will sum this volume up in three words: labor of love. 

 

Tania del Rio clearly has love and respect for the Sabrina character and has

married it with her enthusiasm for the manga style of art and storytelling.

There are plenty of teen girl witches in Japanese comics, so it's really a

natural fit. 

 

In places, the art reminds me of Adam Warren, one of my favorites.  If you don't

appreciate the style, it's at least well done in its own style.  I would

actually add that it's probably technically better and more detailed than most

modern Archie artwork. My only critique would be that Sabrina's lips are

sometimes overdone.  Jim Amash's inks handled the myriad details and emotions

well.  Jason Jenson's bright, vivid colors certainly enhanced the art.

 

Tania's used the TV show as a starting point to tell her own story and added

quite a bit to Sabrina's mythology. The issues in this volume are self-

contained, but there is a continuity to them.  There's also clearly some stuff

going on in the background that will apparently payoff later, kind of a "Harry

Potter" vibe.  Bravo to Archie Comics for not just trying something different,

but following through with it and letting Tania tell her whole story. 

 

Sabrina is, however, still a typical teenager.  Even if her situations have a

supernatural bent to them, the issues are easily relatable for kids and parents. 

I definitely liked that the issues were full comic book length stories.  I wish

there was more of this in the entire Archie Comics line.  As to my favorites in

the volume, I liked the first and last stories the best as they featured the

most Salem.  The cat is always reliable comedy.  

 

I wonder where the Shinji character, Sabrina's other love interest, came from. 

He was introduced like he wasn't a new character.  I had some trouble getting

past his name.  I kept thinking of the protagonist from "Evangelion." 

Thankfully, the two just have the name in common and nothing else. 

 

I can see how manga Sabrina sort of fell through the cracks.  The look likely

turned off most Sabrina fans.  That it was in color, not Japanese, first

published in floppy form, and featured an Archie character probably kept manga

fans away from it.  This trade might also have seemed a bit thin, and even with

the coloring, overpriced, compared to a typical manga volume.    

 

Hopefully, Archie will go ahead and publish more of manga Sabrina trades.  There

has been a suggestion of a format change for further reprints.  Please just

don't continue the series in such a way that would force me to essentially buy

Volume 1 again. (Even better, publish a Sabrina Through the Years trade.  Even

more better, a complete anthology DVD like the Bronze Age Series.)

 

This is the kind of material that Archie fans should support.  It’s okay, if you

don't like the manga style.  What I'm talking about isn't so much about

experimenting with the look of the characters.  But rather, allowing writers and

artists more of a free reign in producing stories and art and putting their own

unique stamp on the characters.  Don't worry about the characters ever changing

for good.  In this volume, manga Sabrina was still very much in the tradition of

every other version of Sabrina, and it was good fun for readers of all ages.      

 

 

Overall?

 

In spite of my love for the character, I was as skeptical as anyone else here

about a manga version of any Archie character, especially one of my favs. I

wasn't sure what to expect from this, even with the good reviews, and was fully

prepared to rip the people who recommended it if it was bad.  Well, I not only

recommend it, I express regret that I hadn't tried this before Tania's run

ended.  Luckily, you can still get this volume to try it out.  If you do, post

your opinions on it.  And I suspect they will be positive.    

 

I wish they’d reprint the omnibus volumes of this material.  (They’re out-of-print.)  I’d probably buy it.  This version was definitely more about the drama and had continuing storylines and mysteries.  I did get my request for a “Sabrina Through the Years compilation” fulfilled.  Thanks to this volume, I did learn when Shinji was introduced to the series.

 

Not to say there wasn’t some humor.  In this story, Salem gets turned back into a guy, but finds out he’d prefer to be a cat.

 

I love Gisele’s artwork.  I wish Archie would have retained her as a regular artist for the series.  This story definitely has Aunt Hilda’s best makeover.  (Still has a terrible personality.)

 

Then we have this strange interlude with Jughead and Sabrina dating.  They have had interactions before and he was the only one in the Archie gang that knew she was a witch.  (I think.)  Their best crossover was the epic Jughead #200.  It’s not so much the concept of this story; it’s the all too self-aware execution that makes this kind of insufferable.  I admit it is kind of funny.  Sabrina tries to use magic to get back at Jughead for a lousy date and it completely backfires.

 

There is a reprinting of the first issue of the last Sabrina series, which was another reboot.  I’ve covered that (12-30-19) and bought the trade with it, though I didn’t pick up the sequel or the Holiday Special last year.  This was sort of a horror-themed version, but still safe for kids (and squeamish adults).  None of the horror Sabrina stuff is in this book, which was the inspiration for the Netflix show.  I am totally okay with that.    

 

Of course Archie has dated Sabrina.  The first issue of that miniseries was reprinted here.  I have read a later issue in the series.  All I have to say about it is that it is very slow paced.

 

Finally, a couple of fairly recent classic Sabrina stories are reprinted.  Dan Parent’s version is pretty cute.

 

Yeah, if you’re a fan of the teen-aged witch, buy this immediately.  (Since it’s on discount, it may be gone soon.)  Once again, I’m staggered by the number of permutations Sabrina has gone through over the years, yet still maintained her lasting charm.

Mario and the NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Basketball 1-11-25

[Let me say up front that the title is a bit misleading.  I’m sorry.]

It’s been awhile (12-20-24).  There has been momentous news in the interim.  NMSU has lost their biggest cheerleader, Athletic Director Mario Moccia.  Two events brought on Mario’s abrupt firing: a new university president and the release of a report by the New Mexico DOJ.  The report blamed institutional failings for the Men’s Basketball hazing incidents of 2022-23 and recommended, essentially, more HR stuff to bureaucratically stop this from ever happening again.  (Rolling my eyes.)

 

There was no recommendation of firing Moccia, but it wasn’t just the report.  There has been at least one more lawsuit since the first player lawsuit was settled.  Also, I’d been told Moccia’s contract was tied to all of the other Aggie coaches.  As it turned out, only Football Coach Jerry Kill’s contract was tied to his.  When Kill left, Mario may have been on borrowed time.      

 

If this had been done when the Basketball season had been canceled (2-16-23) or even after the shooting at UNM earlier, the reaction would have been, Well, that’s too bad, but somebody had to pay the price.  But two years later and after giving Mario a five-year contract extension, the administration looks like a bunch of idiots.  Just to make it worse, they passed over two qualified people under Moccia and promoted a woman that was the Title IX director to be the athletic director.  This was clearly a political move done for appearances. 

 

As the saying goes, “Graveyards are full of indispensable men.”  Aggie Athletics will go on, but this was a self-immolating move.  What the program lost in Moccia wasn’t just his experience and dedication.  He had all of the contacts in Santa Fe to get government funding.  He had an uphill battle there and his successor will be starting from nothing.  Mario seemed to know everybody in college sports.  It was how he was able to lure Coach Kill here.  Mario personally worked the phones to sell tickets to local businesses and organizations.  He had relationships with the boosters to fund the programs.  As an alumni and a former star athlete here, Mario desperately wanted NMSU to succeed.   

 

I thought Mario did a great job here.  He was always on the Aggie Coach’s Show and on Football and Men’s Basketball pregame shows.  From listening to his passionate exclamations, at least I knew he really cared like a fan.  A couple of days after his firing, he released this message on X.  He’d received over 500 messages of support from former Aggie players, fans, and other people he’d worked with.  They fired him as the villain and now he’s the martyr.         

What’s going to be the fallout from this?  Braun Cartwright and Chet Savage, who were passed over, will be leaving, thus increasing the brain drain in the department.  (This is a prediction, but a pretty easy one.)  Other than that, who can say?  Mario got his extension, probably mostly for getting the university into Conference-USA.  If there’s any instability on that front, Aggie Athletics may be in serious trouble.    

 

Meanwhile, the guy who really did deserve to lose his job, Coach Greg Heiar, is currently back in DII and has one of the best programs in the country.  It’ll be a while before anyone trusts him with a DI program again, though.  There has been one good outcome, the three abusive players on basketball team are finally facing criminal charges for their gay sexualized hazing.  Go fly that pride flag in your cell, boys.  At least, hopefully, no further players at the university will put up with being gay-assaulted as a “team-building” exercise.      

 

Elsewhere in other news, Diego Pavia took Vanderbilt to a bowl game victory and won his case against the NCAA.  He’ll get another year of eligibility, since he started his football career in a junior college.  Shiyazh Pete has entered the transfer portal and is fielding offers from Vanderbilt, Michigan, Stanford, and others.

 

In spite of the drama in the administration, the Men’s team focused on basketball.  Coach Hooten finally got a win over his former university, Sam Houston, 75-71.  Christian Cook scored 25 points and Peter Filipovity scored 20.  Two days later, they faced LA Tech.  They’d lost earlier in the week to UTEP, but were the pre-season #1 team in C-USA.  They had two players leading the nation in a couple of stats.  Their 6’11” forward was leading in shooting percentage and their point guard led in assist-to-turnover ratio.  Unfortunately, they didn’t come to play.  The Aggies took them apart, 78-48.  Yes, that’s the score.  The Aggies had four players in double digits.  This was an afternoon game and there was a $10 ticket offer, but I couldn’t get dad to go with me, so I just listened over the radio.

 

The Women, meanwhile, had a tough road trip.  They came back after the break to face #9 Oklahoma and lost 82-64.  Molly Kaiser still scored 24.  They won against Sam Houston, 79-61, with Molly scoring 29.  However, they fell a couple days later to LA Tech, 67-58.

 

And here’s where I would usually begin my usual diarrhea of words describing going to the Women’s game against UTEP and describing the action.  Real life intervened.  I had car issues Friday night and went to Pep Boys the next morning.  I briefly had some optimism that they’d fix my truck in time for me to go to the game or maybe even half of it.  Not only did that not happen, they didn’t even fix the problem.  I may have found another solution.  We’ll update this situation at another time.      

 

I do have to report one odd incident in the waiting room.  There was family of eight there and they had little dogs with them.  One girl had a pug dog in a sweater.  He was walking on his hind legs and she was leading him around holding one of his paws.  The dog looked very comfortable walking on two legs.  It was like meeting Snoopy in real life.  It was a bit disturbing. 

 

What I missed was a convincing Aggie win, 65-49.  The Miners hung with Aggies for the first half, but over a critical couple of minutes, the Miners went scoreless and the Aggies poured it on.  The team shot 42% on 3’s and got 27 points off turnovers.  Fanta Gassama was back in action and pulled down 12 rebounds.  Molly Kaiser is on a mission.  She scored 32 points.  I’m really sorry I missed her performance.

 

In the evening, the Aggie Men played UTEP in El Paso to a sold out Don Haskins Center.  12,000 fans showed up and quite a few Aggie fans even made the trip.  I was listening to the radio call.  Jack Nixon was interrupted at one point, as the PA recognized his 45 years in broadcasting.  (And it’s just not the same pregame show without Mario chipping in.)

 

In spite of, or perhaps because of, the massive crowd, the Miners played scared.  The Aggies were up 38-25 at the half and won it going away, 85-57.  Five Aggies were in double digits scoring.  They were 56% shooting, 31% shooting 3’s, had 46 points in the paint, and 28 bench points.  The telling stat was rebounds: the Aggies were up 40 to 21. 

 

Miner Coach Joe Golding outright apologized to the fans after the game.  Still, it was really good to see fans in El Paso turn out for the Miners.  Let’s hope it’s another big crowd at the Pan-Am when they come here.  Mario better be hitting the phones selling tickets . . . Oh, darn!  Actually, it still should be okay, since the team is doing well, but good luck selling out when the team isn’t doing well. 

 

They didn’t need me cheering today.  Hopefully, I will be at the Women’s game next weekend.    

 

Pre-Post Update: On Monday’s Aggie Coach’s Show, they said that when the Aggies got back home, they were met by a group of cheering fans.  Coach Hooten said this was why he came here.  He also got a round of applause from the crowd at the barbeque place they were at for the show.

 

Then the bad, the new AD made her debut.  Oh boy.  Host Adam Young was basically having to prompt her on upcoming Aggie events.  There was no indication she thought it was part of her job to get the fans out to the games.  Well, she did know the stars on the Softball team.  Just keep her in the office, please.