Comic Book Review: Big Bang Comics Presents...Agents of BADGE #6

Big Bang Comics Presents…Agents of BADGE #6
Written by: Gary Carlson and Edward DeGeorge
Pencils by: Frank Fosco, Greg Kirkpatrick, Tim Stiles, and Robb Waters
Inks by: Bob Rivard, Tim Stiles, and Robb Waters
Cover by: Mark Lewis and David Zimmerman
Published by: Big Bang Comics

Big Bang Comics Presents has been a great source of parody predominantly of DC superheroes. Gary Carlson and his team set their sights on Marvel with their sixth and final issue. The Badge was a great soldier and hero during the Korean fighting the Villainous Yellow Peril alongside brother and sister sidekicks Trooper and Bobbie. It turns out to be the Badge’s last mission when he dismantles the propulsion rockets of a nuclear missile aimed at Washington DC. Unfortunately, he couldn’t dismantle the missile itself allowing it to explode killing the Badge.

Years later, though Trooper was paralyzed in that last mission, he and Bobbie form the Bureau for Advanced Defense and Global Espionage, or BADGE. Unfortunately, when Dexter Cortex takes control of Trooper’s mind and his android Badge body, can Bobbie and a the handicapped Trooper stop him before he defeats all of BADGE?

But this Big Bang Comics Presents isn’t done yet! This last issue is a double sized issue also sporting extra tales one starring Dr. Weird and another with The Atomic Sub.

In “Invaders from the Dimension of Uttarak”, Raymond Reynolds opens a portal to the dimension of Uttarak. Can Dr. Weird keep the monstrous creatures of Uttarak from killing his friends and infesting the Earth?

And in “The Ancient Mariner’s Wrath”, Noah Talbot, trapped in an android body that can only survive underwater, must prevent the Ancient Mariner from killing navy men, as well as his granddaughter Moray and himself, after the navy tries to perform an underwater H-Bomb test.

Big Bang Comics Presents has been a fun trip back in time to simpler, but still exciting and crazy comics of yesteryear. The villains range from the basic evil of the Yellow Peril and Dexter Cortex, to the arrogance of otherwise good guy Raymond Reynolds unleashing demons from an alien dimension, to the understandably angry Ancient Mariner trying to protect his Atlantean cities from the ravages of the surface world. While the characters are based on Marvel and DC comics, in truth the comics are dealt with seriously. It really is like reading an old Captain America or Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD story, or Dr. Strange (although according the Big Bang Comics website, Dr. Weird is really based on Mr. Justice), or Aquaman. The cover is a great reproduction of Jim Steranko’s cover to Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD #4, as you can see.

I’m sorry that Big Bang Comics Presents is signing off, and wish I had a chance to get more issues. Unfortunately, my comic shops method of tracking customers’ pull lists had trouble with the changing titles, ie. Issue one was Big Bang Comics Presents…Protoplasman #1. Changing what they presented and listing it as such rather than just saying Big Bang Comics Presents #1, etc. kept me from getting all of the issues, but I’ll be keeping an eye on Big Bang Comics.

Rating: Some creative twists to the original archetypes, but still not quite as good. Still worth a check though.