Silver Comics #8
And here I thought I was getting a new Michael Neno comic. Well, technically I am (he has the first story in this collection), but there’s much more to this than just one story. Before I get started, click on that website above. There’s a cover collection there, and if that isn’t the sort of thing that you like, you’ll know it instantly. These books are basically new versions of silver age comics, with the occasional wackiness thrown in, but they’re basically faithful versions of that type of story with some funny thrown in. First up is the story by Michael Neno, which just so happens to be the cover story. Well, this cover story anyway, there’s also an excellent back cover. Someone is attacking all the milk men and none of the children are getting their milk, so an enigmatic hero called The End decides to help them out by going undercover. Yes, you will find many puns about spilt milk, and yes, “The End” is used as a pun more than once. It’s still a thoroughly entertaining story. Next up is The Day of the Ice Menace by Johnny Ortiz, Dan Beltran and Mark Prudeax, dealing with an Iron Man-ish character trying to stop a mysterious ball of energy. He touches the ball, which quickly encases him in a block of cosmic ice, but manages to fly to a nearby volcano to get out of it. This story captures the feel of those old stories perfectly as the hero flits from catastrophe to catastrophe before the shocking ending. Finally there’s Let Them Be Damned by the same crew of Ortiz, Beltran and Prudeax, which deals with a depressed Santa (after Satan has taken over his job) trying to get his fighting spirit back with the help of Rudolph. More mayhem and I particularly enjoyed the “to be continued” ending, knowing that it probably won’t ever be continued unless this is part of a much larger Santa storyline that I missed by not getting the earlier issues. All of this is wrapped up by a text piece from Dan Beltran, which was entertaining enough even if it felt slightly out of place alongside all the illustrated shenanigans. Finally there are a few pin-ups and fake ads, and you’re left with a thoroughly entertaining fake silver age comic. Like I said, you already know if this sort of thing, done well, is something you’d enjoy. This is done extremely well, so it’s your call. And it’s cheap! $1.95
