What Comic Books Have You Read Today?

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Report what comic books you have read today--and tell us a little something about it while you're here!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

The book was Moon Girl for the first six issues, then Moon Girl Fights Crime, which she was doing anyway, for two issues, and then a romance book -- A Moon, A Girl, Romance -- for the last four issues.

That's not unlike the transformation of the "Atlas Era" Venus (from around the same time), which started as a glamour comic, became a romance comic, then science fiction , and finally horror.

I doubt the romance run (without Moon Girl) will be any better, but... if they're not collected in this book, they're probably not going to be collected anywhere.

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but they already have been collected. Remember those HC b&w reprints published by Gemstone Publishing years ago? In 1995, Russ Cochran released a slipcaed set of Modern Love #1-8, Saddle Romances #9-11, and A Moon, a Girl...Romance #9-12. You'll have to content yourself with the HC color collection of Modern Love which Dark Horse released in 2019 (which I know you have because I remember discussing it with you). If it makes you feel any better, the stories from A Moon, a Girl...Romance are about what you'd expect. That is to say, I liked them, but I recall we disagreed on the relative merits of Modern Love.

Jeff warned me it wasn't very good, and it's not.

I would still recommend Moon Girl from an historical perspective. 

[Richard Willis]

I am still intermittently reading the Moon Girl stories one or two at a time. They are charming, even if they aren’t very good. It’s interesting to me that EC attempted this genre.

In the manner of the omnibus books, they included house ads, etc. There are a few books advertised that seem to be additional superhero titles. Were they ever published?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

NEW COMICS I HAVE READ TODAY THIS MONTH:

• AHOY!: Death Dog #1, Ancestral Recall #4, Toxic Avenger #5, Toxic Crusaders #2 
• DC: JSA #13, Action Comics #1092, Supergirl #7, Wonder Woman #27, Trinity #5, World's Finest #45
• Image: Capes #1, Good as Dead #3, Skinbreaker #3, Assorted Crisis Events #6
• Marvel: Spider-Man: Torn #2, Captain America #5
• Oni Press: Cruel Universe (v2) #4, Catacomb of Torment #5
• Fantagraphics: Tales of Paranoia
• IDW: Twilight Zone #2
• Mad Cave: Dick Tracy #13

COMIC STRIPS: I have pretty much put everything else on hold while I read my way through The Complete Funky Winkerbean v15

AROC OF ZENITH: I'm up to episode #245.

Finally, I have just started reading...

BATMAN BLACK & WHITE COMPENDIUM: I'm up to page 15.

[JD DeLuzio]

I'm reading the fourth collection of the Pitiful Human-Lizard, though I missed the second and third. This presents a problem, as so much that I'm reading happened in the third collection.  My reactions are mixed, though I like a lot of it, and I was able to get this one signed by Jason Loo.

[JD DeLuzio]

Oh, and today I picked up two: one from the local library and a local-ish one from the local:

[Jeff of Earth-J]

HULK SMASH EVERYTHING:

I miss Marvel Comics in general, but they're publishing very little I am interested in these days. I miss the Hulk in specific, but they haven't published a version of his title I've been interested in for decades. Yesterday they released Hulk Smash Everything #1, and it looked entertaining in a mindless sort of way. The art was in the style I call "generic modern" which didn't really appeal to me, but it featured Dr. Strange and the Leader, plus it was an otherwise light week, so I figured what the hell. There's five bucks I'll never see again. It's the first issue of a mini-series  but I won't be buying any more. Here's a sample of Dr. Strange's dialogue from page one: "Wong, I've told you--if there's a problem, summon me. Don't just shout in horror! This is a sanctum. We already have far too many shouts in horror as it is. I'm making a portal to come to you. I'm sure whatever it is... it doesn't have to interrupt my very important Sorcerer Supremem business." The whole thing's like that.

DEATH DOG #2:

This is the end of the two-issue introduction to a character/concept I hope with run for years to come. I can't believe that AHOY! has published like, five, Toxic Avenger series but can manage only two issue of Death Dog. It is written by Bryce Ingman (or "Bouncin' Baby Bryce" as he is probably not known) and supplement by three of his short stories, which are all equally enjoyable. It occurs to me that issues #1-2 would have made a nice one-shot. Editor Tom Peyer has taken to publishing public domain poems in response to the dearth of letters AHOY! has been receiving lately. Please take up my cause and send the following message to [e-mail]: "More Death Dog! Less Toxic Avenger!"