Back Issue #149 February 2024 (magazine review).

Writer Stephen Friedt interviews writer Steven Grant and his various artists about Whisper. Grant explains that the original ninjas were messengers, not martial artists. This makes me think Ian Fleming might be initially to blame for the modern ninja stereotype with his novel You Only Live Twice, knowing now that he often stretched the truth or lacked thorough research. But can you imagine James Bond dressed as a samurai?

G.K. Abraham conducts an interview with William Messner-Loebs about his Western series Journey, also known as The Adventures Of Wolverine MacAlistaire. The use of ‘Wolverine’ in the title piqued my curiosity, considering its association with another famous Canadian character, although this query remains unexplored in the interview. At least I did find out that MacAlistaire is Canadian.

The issue also covers some oddities and trend-followers. Writer Don Johnson examines the giant robots in Dynamo Joe (1986), created by artist Doug Rice with writer John Ostrander and later co-contributor (as detailed in the article) Phil Foglio. The concept of non-sentient robots piloted by humans always seems a bit perplexing to me.

I’m sure I would have remembered Evangeline, created by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Judith Hunt, had I come across it. A gun-wielding nun who doesn’t always wear her habit and prays for her victims is not something one easily forgets. Is this the most peculiar series featured in this issue?

Jarrod Buttery interviews writer Doug Moench about Aztec Ace (1984-1985). I recall the title but was unaware of its time-travel content. Moench mentions that Jim Steranko picked it from a list of potential titles, praising it as a good choice, though perhaps not ideally suited for a time-travel story. Interestingly, Moench had only seen one of the Cushing Doctor Who films at the time, highlighting the limited exposure of the TV series in the USA then. Buttery’s descriptions of the plots do pique interest in the time-travel paradoxes, and the

complete collection is available for those intrigued. The tribute page to the late comic book artist Gene Day (1951-1982) serves as a poignant reminder of the need for a more extensive exploration of his work.

One title I had definitely not heard of before was The American (1988), by writer Mark Verheiden and artist Chris Warner. Writer Stephen Friedt interviews them about the mini-series, but I’m still uncertain about how much of it is intended as parody, especially considering one of the covers.

Cecil Disharean conducts an interview with creator Ron Randall about his assassin-themed series Trekker (1987-2022), which spanned many years. I must confess that I approach titles cautiously, wary of potential misassociations. Had I heard of Trekker, I might have thought of Starfleet rather than its actual intent. It seems we’re much more vigilant these days.

Finally, writer Tom Powers interviews everyone involved with The Zot (1984-1991), created by Scott McCloud with a bit of help from his friends. Its manga roots would probably have deterred me from giving it a second glance had I come across it in the UK.

Overall, this issue has been an unusual one for me, eliciting more reaction than usual simply because much of the material is new to me. However, if one aims to have a well-rounded understanding of independent comic book companies, then no comic book should remain unopened.