A Chum Bucket of fun!

As it celebrates its 50th issue, I thought I would take a moment to share my love for one of the only two titles left on my pull list– SpongeBob Comics! Now, I’ve never watched the SpongeBob SquarePants show, so my knowledge of– and unbridled pleasure in– these characters comes solely from the pages of the comic. And I enjoy them so much that at this point I’ve been hesitant to watch the show (or even the movies) for fear it will sour my perception of the characters.

Each issue never fails to bring me an honest laugh– more laughs than a month worth of the snarky asides meant to pass as humor in today’s superhero comics– genuine humor that come from the normal interactions between these characters. Page for page, it gives me more laughter and pure joy than even well-done issues of Simpsons Comics and Futurama Comics, other tv tie-ins that work well on their own as comics. The fact that protagonists SpongeBob and Patrick are clueless idiots who persevere despite that shortcoming helps, of course (it must be a favorite character trait of mine, since I’ve used it with my own long-running protagonists (TGWAH!, Watusi) over the years). SpongeBob Comics regularly features puzzles, interactive strips and stories with complex (though easy to follow) game-like page layouts among the more straightforward and goofily humorous stories. They’ve maintained a steady group of creators over the run, including James Kochalka, Mark Martin, Jacob Chabot, Graham Annable and others that make each issue a treat! I may not know who or what will be in each new issue, but it never lets me down!

Happy 75th, Captain Marvel!

1940 was a banner year for the introduction of long-lived comic book characters: the Spirit, the Flash, Robin, the Joker, Hawkman & Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, the Justice Society of America, and many more first appeared in that year. This year has already seen 75th anniversary celebrations for a number of them, including my personal favorite: the original Captain Marvel!

It’s been a pretty good year for the good Captain, beginning with Grant Morrison & Cameron Stewart‘s Thunderworld Adventures (featuring nicely updated Marvels in the standout chapter of Morrison’s Multiversity miniseries) and culminating with the recent Convergence: Shazam! two-parter pitting the Marvel Family against the Gotham by Gaslight Batman. Jeff Parker and Evan “Doc” Shaner really knocked the ball out of the park with those issues featuring the classic version of the characters, and I enjoyed all the behind-the-scenes sketches that Shaner has posted, too. DC really should give that pair (along with colorist Jordie Bellaire) the blank check for more Captain Marvel material; it would be a much better investment of time and energy than anything “New 52 Shazam”-related!