Most of the time, any story that starts with "In a post-apocalyptic future..." I go "Zzzzzz..." but Warren's "Hard John Apple" series, which this issue is(mostly) a collection of, I always enjoyed, probably because of the sarcastic touch brought to them by Jim Stenstrum, one of Warren's best writers.The cover is by the unusual team of Jose Ortiz and Walt Simonson, and after a chance to buy some genuine soil from Dracula's castle, we open with "An Angel Shy of Hell" by Stenstrum and Rich Corben, from Creepy #64. We're introduced to Hard John and his...unsubtle ways of handing problems in a post-apocalyptic world.
Next is "Kansas City Bomber" by Stenstrum and Jose Ortiz, where we're introduced to a cult devoted to killing Hard John, as well as an orangutan reading an Air Force manual. 'Nuff said.
Next is "Brass Monkey"(the next chapter after "Bomber"), also by Stenstrum and Ortiz, with Hard John continuing his quest to release the nuclear missles still sitting idle underground, and the cult's attempts to stop him.
The last Hard John story here, "Gonna Nuke Mankind Right Outa My Hair", where we find out Hard John's true plan. It ends with some dark-humor slapstick that works as a great way to wrap the series.
There is one more feature, a reprint of the classic "The Super-Abnormal Phenomena Survival Kit!" by Stenstrum and John Severin, which sends up monster stories as well as every Captain Company ad Warren ever ran. A nice addition to this book and its tone fits just perfectly along with the Hard John stories. made even funnier that its followed by fourteen pages of CC ads.
2 comments:
Rob-
All "Captain Company" jokes aside -
my Sis still has the teeny plexiglass coffin on the cheap gold chain, with a pinch of The Thirsty Count's homeland in it!
(As someone once said, "Hey - it probably IS legit: Jim Warren probably had one of the international stewardesses he was boinking scoop up a suitcase full of Roumania on a lay-over!)
Best,
-Craig
A friend of mine had this issue and was so taken with the Hard John saga, he decided to write a movie screenplay adaptation of the stories for a writing class in college. Thing was, he never told the instructor that the script was an adaptation and not an original concept. I'm sure the instructor thought he was far more clever than he really was.
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