Silver Comics for the Holidays? 

That's no typo... I didn't mean 'Silver Age Comics' for the Holidays; I did mean 'Silver Comics' as shown in the above right top photo!  That's because I was asked by a potential customer what comic books I would recommend for a pre-teen son of theirs...

This question was asked in between the time we held a 'Black Friday Special Event' and then our 'Cyber Monday' listings.  This question is one of the HARDEST questions nowadays for me to answer, because most of the comic books being published today are definitely NOT for Kids!

And yes, I do read, and possibly review those other comics and also graphic novels here in my Blog!   But I do put warnings as to whom I think those comics / graphic novels are meant for.

So I mentioned the above 'Silver Comics' to the potential customer, and sent them to the Silver Comics web site to purchase them from since we don't currently have them in stock.  I also mentioned at the same time that I had grown up during the 'Silver Age of Comics' and really enjoyed this  9 issues series myself, and that others that grew up during that time period would more than likely also enjoy this series!

I've already blogged about issue #1 here before (click here)... and then jumped to Issue #3 that had covers by George Tuska, (who passed away recently), and Nick Cardy, (click here for that post).

However, I'll just backtrack for a moment and blog here about issue #2.  First, here is the press release info on the second issue, as to what stories it contains:

Cloud Buster: "The Bigger They Are -- The Harder They Fall!" Johnny Ortiz (story, penciller), Dan Beltran (writer), Alfredo Nunez (inker) Doctor Prime works with Tom (and his damaged Cloud Buster armor) in the lab. Tom remains a giant; he and the armor will not reduce back to normal size. General Holt's army attacks Ash Island. Dr. Ash transfers his mind into the body of a giant troll.

Sea-Bolt: "The Attack of Dr. Dark's Brain!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, penciller), Dan Beltran (co-writer), Tony Hamad (inker) Zarro's sub (with the captured Sea-Bolt inside) is attacked by another sub controlled by Dr. Dark's brain. An American destroyer drops a sonic charge at both subs. Sea-Bolt retrieves his helmet and tail section and fights Zarro. Both subs explode. Sea-Bolt survives, but is captured by a giant sea-serpent.

Dr. Monster: "The Origin of Dr. Monster, Part 2: When Titans Crumble!" Johnny Ortiz (story, penciller), Dan Beltran (writer), Lou Rodriguez (inker) Timo watches in shock as Man-Star, under arrest for murder, is led into a transport rocket. Timo hopes that Countess Kira can help Man-Star. Kira's father, set to take control of the Council, assures her that although Man-Star has been a hero to their world, the law must be upheld.

The Man Called Santa: "Jingle Hell! Jingle Hell!" Johnny Ortiz (writer, artist), Dan Beltran (co-writer) Santa fights back against Satan. Rudolph the Laser-Nosed Reindeer defeats the Martian commander Nodge. However, Satan has captured Santa's soul.

Here are my thoughts on those stories:

Cloud Buster:   This series continued to remind me of the early 1960's tales when the MoNSTer comics were evolving into Sci-Fi and then Superheroes comics.  Still kept my interest!

Sea Bolt:   In a previous blog I mentioned that this story reminded me of the Sub-Mariner stories in the 'Tales To Astonish' title.  Subby is NOT one of my favorite Marvel characters, I liked it mostly for the Adam Austin (Gene Colan) art, but this Sea Bolt storyline continued to remind me of why I liked the Subby series!

Dr. Monster:  The origin of Dr. Monster continues... like most 'origin stories' you kind of are waiting for the action to begin... but this origin has a good background going on.

The Man Called Santa:  Because of the 'cartoony' aspect of the artwork, I'm okay with still recommending this comic book title as a whole for pre-teens, even though Satan is involved in the storyline.

So I've presented you with what the 2nd issue contains and my thoughts on it.  Also I've provided you with links to my blog posts on the 1st and 3rd issues for my other reviews.  So you can see that I do enjoy this series, and do highly recommend it for those that are looking to get others interested into comics that are NOT ready for the 'grim n gritty' comics that you find so often out there at the LCBS in your area.  Plus, I truly believe that they make a great gift for someone who used to read comics during the 'Silver Age of Comics' and hasn't read a comic book in years!  And you know what...?  I'd even mention it to those that like the 'grim n gritty' comics of today just to expand their horizons in reading!

You can find out about their latest updates plus what you can purchase from the Silver Comics folks by going to their Facebook Fan Page by clicking here!

If you aren't a member of Facebook, then you can go directly to their web site at: http://www.silvercomics.org/

Thanks again to Johnny and Vince for taking the time to introduce me to this series when I met them at the recent Long Beach Comic Con (LBCC)!