Recently, we went to Saratoga Spring’s annual Chowder Fest. It’s a wild day where all the restaurants, bars and brewpubs offer up their own version of chowder. I don’t think anyone is obligated to conform to strict definition. There is a judging for the Best Chowder, but I never keep track of who wins. It’s corny to write, but everybody wins at this event. It’s kind of like a village-wide pub crawl, with music.

And the day after the pub crawl Chowder Fest, we stopped at wonderful comic shop: Excellent Adventures in Ballston Spa. It’s owned and operated by John Belskis. He’s a passionate comic fan, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a big Captain Action collector too. His shop is stuffed to the gills with wonderful comics, superhero toys, paperbacks and rare collectibles. And to his credit, he always creates clever comic-themed window displays too.

John sold me some treasures this visit, including an issue of House of Secrets #74. I never really got into this series in any of its incarnations, but it seemed like a fun comic try. What could go wrong? The cover trumpets the fact that this issue has “Two of DC’s Greatest Characters”.

The first story features Eclipso. Although many of Eclipso’s adventures were illustrated by Alex Toth (elevating them to the “just about readable” category) this one was not. Sadly, Jack Sparling hacked his way through this adventure. Continue reading “With Further Ado #335: Two of DC’s Greatest Characters” →