Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Fantasy Theater #18: Lady Spectra & Sparky

From the random stack of unread comics.

Title: Fantasy Theater: Lady Spectra & Sparky
Issue: 18
Publisher: United Fanzine Organization / Small Press Syndicate
Date: April 2007
Writer: J. Kevin Carrier, Jason Degroot
Artist: Akitaro Sugano, Dan Kellaway, J. Kevin Carrier, Dan Nauenburg, Ronson Butler, Allan Harvey, Dan Taylor
Cover: Will Terrell

The two main features in this half-sized minicomic anthology are both full Lady Spectra & Sparky stories, also available on the Lady Spectra & Sparky webcomic.

The first story features the Siren, a musical villainess who seems to have Spectra and Sparky's number when they first clash. But when her crimes are traced to a pop music star, Sparky has to deal with the fact that her favorite musician could be a secret supervillain. This had some fun plot twists, and the villain had enough powers and tricks to give Lady Spectra and Sparky a run for their money.

The second story went for more of an emotional punch. "Custody Battle" involved two high-powered politicians who conspire to put Lady Spectra on trial for child endangerment for her daughter's role as her superhero sidekick. This had a bit of family drama, a touch of political satire, and a bunch of cameos by past villains and supporting characters.

The webcomic pacing made both Lady Spectra stories feel a bit rushed when read in this format, but they were both fun, complete stories with some twists and turns before satisfying resolutions.

Backup feature was a guest-art gallery featuring fantasy heroine Glorianna.

Rating: 6.5/10

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