Captain Action Winter Special #1

As I've mentioned before, I was a big fan of the original Captain Action comic book published by DC, and I'm glad to see that character back at work in new adventures from Moonstone.

His latest appearance was in this week's Captain Action Winter Special (just in time, considering the warm weather this week). I was looking forward to picking it up - but my shop sold out before I could get there. I have seen a pdf of part of the comic, however, so I'll limit my comments to that.

The good news is, it's the best Captain Action story I've read since those original '60s comics. It's a short tale by writer Beau Smith and artist Eduardo Barreto, and it's a lot of fun.

It's a short tale that could just as easily star James Bond, as the Captain gets involved in a cold war-era adventure that features spies, long-hidden artifacts and a Yeti.

This is exactly the kind of hard-hitting story I'm looking for in a "throwback" hero like this - lots of humor, cliffhangers (literally) and bare-knuckles action.

I can't give the whole special a grade until I track down a copy - but it's worth picking up for this story alone, which gets an "A."

This is the kind of series you want a Beau Smith or a Chuck Dixon writing - they have the knack for this sort of "Roughneck / Real Man" adventure.

Thank goodness!

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The Classics - Captain Action #1

For whatever reason, most comic book adaptations based on movies, TV shows or toys leave me cold. I've felt that way since I was a kid - a comic book version of even a beloved TV show always seemed pale next to the real thing.

So I wasn't really expecting much when I picked up the first issue of Captain Action, which was cover dated October-November 1968. I was a big fan of the toy, so I was quick to snap up the comic even though I had been disappointed many times in the past by similar ventures.

The cover (which has been credited to Irv Novick) didn't promise anything special, even with a guest appearance by Superman.

Ah, but then I opened the comic - what a surge! The interior art was by the legendary Wally Wood, and while the art seems a bit rushed in places, it's still outstanding work, loaded with Earth-shaking fights, dynamic figures and imaginative storytelling.

It was completely different from the usual DC fare at the time - as proof, check out this explosive panel from page two, as Cap takes on the evil Krellik.

The script by Jim Shooter, doing his best Marvel-inspired action-packed comic.

The challenge with the character is that the comic book character couldn't be the same as the toy. The action figure was able to "transform" into other characters - Batman, the Phantom, the Green Hornet, Captain America, and so on. Since those characters are all owned by different companies, the couldn't be used in the comic - so Shooter had to dream up a different power source.

The solution is to have archaeologist Clive Arno discover ancient coins that were imbued by the gods from all the pantheons with individual powers - so if he holds the coin of Odin, for example, he can tap into that god's wisdom. With Vidar's coin, he has great strength.

It was a clever idea that opened up a wide variety of powers and situations for the character. He was opposed by his former assistant Krellik, who finds the coin of the god of evil and plots to steal the rest of the power coins.

Their battles are imaginative and powerful, and this issue is a heck of a lot of fun (even if a few plot points are a bit silly).

Captain Action didn't have a long run - only five issues at DC - but they all featured outstanding and unique stories and art. Sadly, Wood only drew the first issue - after that, Gil Kane took over for the rest of the run - and if you can't have Wally, Gil's not a bad consolation prize.

I'm not sure why the comic was canceled so quickly. Perhaps sales were poor, maybe the toy line was fading out by then - whatever the reason, it's a real shame, and I'd love to see these stories collected somewhere, somehow. They're too good to sit unappreciated on the shelf.

Grade: A

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Captain Action #1 (Season Two)

I've mentioned before that I'm a fan of the original Captain Action toy (yep, I had one of those, lost somewhere in my misty childhood) and I loved the '60s comic book - but aside from one issue of the recent team-up with the Phantom, I haven't been following the new Moonstone comic.

It's apparently been successful, since it is back for a "Season 2." But since I haven't been reading it, I admit that the story leaves me a bit lost.

Written by Steven Grant, we find Captain Action's grown son (who apparently has the same abilities) using his powers of instant disguise to take the place of President Obama - but he quickly abdicates the post and seeks out his father, the original Captain Action.

They soon find themselves under attack by some Russian super-agents, and mayhem ensues.

I'm new to the series, but for all the world it feels like the '90s Valiant Comics - lots of action, a slightly confused plot, some interesting subplots swirling around, and a sudden ending to the story (but not a cliffhanger).

Part of the reason for that "feel" is the art by Manuel Martin - it's very much the Valiant kind of right-down-the-middle, not too flashy but reasonably solid superhero action. He just needs some more practice to iron out a few panels with some rough anatomy. But there's a lot of potential there.

The comic also features a back-up story with Action Boy that doesn't really go anywhere - it's just a glimpse of his tortured days as a kid in school.

I wish I could give this a stronger recommendation - I love the character and I think there's a lot of potential here, but they're not there yet.

Grade: C+

(By the way, full disclosure requires that I admit that I'm reviewing this comic from a pdf supplied by the publisher, Moonstone.)

The Phantom - Captain Action #1

Now here's a comic that's tailor-made for me.

It combines two of my favorite heroes from when I was a kid - The Phantom (a character I covered in this review) and Captain Action, the hero based on one of the earliest action figures for boys.

The toy version of Cap was a clever concept that would probably be impossible to manage today. You bought the action figure dressed in the classic blue togs, and you could buy additional hero "disguises" to "transform" him into other heroes, including the Phantom, Captain America, Batman, Flash Gordon, the Green Hornet and many others.

The success of the toy spawned a short-lived (and outstanding) comic from DC - but then both faded away and were not seen again for decades.

Now both Captain Action and the Phantom are being published by Moonstone, so they created this comic to team-up the two icons.

I just wish it ended up being a better comic book. The Phantom is caught in a trap as the story begins, and he's not a factor for the rest of the issue.

His wife, Diana Palmer-Walker, heads up a security agency of some kind, and is involved in some kind of espionage investigation (I know it doesn't make much sense - I read the comic and I don't understand it, either). She realizes her husband is in trouble, so she calls an old friend for help - Captain Action.

The story by Mike Bullock just doesn't seem well developed. Diana sets up two poorly thought-out traps for no apparent purpose, the Phantom has little to do and Cap is written as a jerk.

The art by Rene Maniquis and Keith Williams rates a "good try," but the action scenes are jumbled and the faces of the characters are inconsistent. It's not bad, it's just not great.

It's difficult to give this comic a low grade, because of my childhood attachment to both.

But there's no getting around the fact that this comic wastes two great characters in a pedestrian story. A shame.

Grade: C