Skaggs Jr., Phil

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Boom Fantasy! #1

OK, granted, I have seen better titles, and in most cases if you’re trying to court the literate you might not want to throw a “4” in place of “for”. Just had to get that bit of nitpickery out of the way. The actual comic is entertaining enough, and that’s all that really counts. First up is the bulk of the comic, dealing with the two creatures on the cover who are on a seemingly endless space flight, one of whom is trying to compose his own music and is having a tough time of it. Oh, and they have a brief dance contest until one of them gets bored. Next is Cheese Solar, a paranoid captain of a space ship (no relation to the last story), probably the best piece of the bunch. Then you have the story of Skele-Ted, a new superhero who is sent out to fight a giant creature. I kept thinking this was a parody of superhero comics but really, it reads like a straight up action story. Up to you whether or not that’s a good thing. Finally there’s a brief activity corner in which the reader is encouraged to examine the last page of drawings and make a song out of it. Hey, I’m at least mildly curious what Phil got in the emails. $2, nothing spectacular maybe but a decent enough comic.

The Lone (Red) Ranger

Haters of 24 hour comics take note: there’s a giant warning for you right there on the cover. I love the concept, it’s the execution that often kills it for me. Really though, the bar is set pretty low: throw together an entertaining story and try to make the art as decent as possible. Phillips succeeds admirably in both counts. This is the story of a rejected Power Ranger, called Oomph Rangers either due to legal concerns or because it’s a genuinely different thing, I don’t know enough about them to be sure. This Ranger, after getting essentially banished, runs into a frog man, a brutal player of spoons, and several Pobbles, which are either killing machines or the victims of mistaken identity, it’s never made clear. The book does everything a 24 hour comic is supposed to do: it’s a fun book and it makes me want to see what else the guy has done. And, of course, it’s only a measly $1.