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Welcome faithful readers (or new ones), to another edition of FROM FRIENDLY GHOSTS TO GAMMA RAYS! A little shorter this week, but we’ll make up for that next! Let’s jump down to it!
Out On Stands: Jinx (starting in Life With Archie issue #7)
Publisher: Archie Comics
Writing: J. Torres
Art: Rick Burchett

With this past week’s issue of Life With Archie magazine, Archie comics adds a third serialized story to the magazine’s mix, Jinx, which tells the story of the classic Archie character Lil Jinx, but now as a teenager and entering her first year of high school in California. The premise is interesting and it’s nice to see Archie relaunching a fresh spin on one of its classic characters (they also unleashed a huge stock of classic Archie and MLJ characters upon us again in Archie and Friends issues 150 and 151).
The art by Rick Burchett suits the story just perfectly and uses the “real-look” as utilized in a handful of other Archie comics in the past. The writing by J. Torres is solid teen-fun, but quality writing as well; already in a fist full of pages each character is developing their own distinct voice, something that easily can get lost in such a genre title. It’s still too early to write this off as an amazing story being we’ve only had one 15-page serving thus far, but as far as first chapter introduction stories go, Jinx has delivered an enjoyable first time around from the get go.
Something To Watch: Los Campeones Justicieros
Marvel Comics has the Avengers. DC Comics has the JLA. In the world of lucha libre, with its endless movies of wrestling heroes fighting monsters, evil scientists, corrupt leaders, and more, we also have the ultimate super-team, and their name is Los Campeones Justicieros. This 1971 gem of Mexican cinema was the gateway drug for me that got me hooked on Mexican superheroes and I’ve never turned back since. Luchadore great Blue Demon leads a team which also includes Mil Mascaras, El Medico Asesino, La Sombra Vengadora, and Tinieblas (the only famous luchadore missing is Santo, who rumor has it didn’t want to share anymore screen time with other luchadores, already tuckered out of sharing time with Blue Demon in a few team-up films). Together these five fight evil, and evil is a foot in this film with an evil scientist named the Black Hand, who not only wants to take over the world, but also kidnaps all the contestants in the Miss Mexico pageant. If that wasn’t bad enough, his main foot soldiers are a group of rowdy midgets, THAT’S RIGHT, MIDGETS, who wear bright red superhero-like costumes and have been super powered with enough super strength to match the enormous power of our luchadore heroes! There are plenty of explosions, car chases, midgets killing people, and an endless amount of fight scenes (I’d say a solid 85 percent of the movie is fighting): it is possibly the ultimate guy movie and certainly one of the most non-stop action driven luchadore movies to ever escape the Mexican borders. My pick for something to watch this weekend for you reader is hands down Los Campeones Justicieros!
That’s it for this week! See you soon faithful readers and remember, Mecha-Kong loves you!

Drew McCabe
drew@comicattack.net