Small Wonder You can only experience something ONCE for the first time. Whether it’s Star Wars, a Tolkien novel or a first kiss, you can never go back and re-experience that “first”. Comics are no different. While I have been enjoying the works of Bill Mantlo for 30+ years, I had never read a single issue of Micronauts. One of the things that made Boisterous Bill so special was his desire and talent for telling stories outside Marvel’s super-hero continuity. Sure, he was compelled to bring in the occasional cross-over with the X-men, Fantastic Four and other franchise properties, but the worlds of Rom, Micronauts and Swords of the Swashbucklers existed without being hog-tied to Marvel’s complex history.
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TODAY’S ARMY STRONG OF ONE WANTS TO JOIN ALL YOU CAN BE (or “You Know You’re an 11 Bush when You’re Too Stupid to Bribe a 1st Sergeant”) “Early in 1966, a young soldier leaves home for his first taste of independence, and WAR.” With these words, dear reader, I was hooked, enthralled and entranced. And so began one of the most wonderful comics reading experiences of my jaded fan’s life. I’m not an established fan of war comics, but that’s perhaps because in 30-plus years as a comic book reader, I’ve never read more than a handful of these stories. I certainly have never read a story about the U.S. War in Vietnam,
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The Sweet Seduction of Interchangeable Parts (and The Choking Hazards of Rocket Cannon Projectiles) Long has the tradition flourished, this strategically synergized system of comics and children’s toys locked in a hypnotic dance of capitalistic ecstasy. Working its way along numerous franchises, these licensed properties have helped He-Man, Voltron, G.I. Joe, The Transformers and many others to sell more toys, which promote the comics, which once again promote the toys. One of the pioneers of this delirium-inducing pirouette of marketing brilliance was Mego (mee-go) Corporation’s Micronauts. The origins of how this line of children’s toys became a Marvel Comics monthly publication are laid out in an earlier edition of Comics ‘n Coffee
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