Or – “Proof That Not Every Licensed Property Is A License To Print Money…”
It’s the 4th of July, American Independence Day, and here at Stately Spoilers Manor East, I’m preparing for a campout, purchasing sparklers for young Molly, and wondering if the 231st Anniversary is celebrated with Adamantium or Prometheum. 25 years ago this month, give or take a few days, I was on a boy scout campout, and my ever-awesome cousin Elwood had brought with him a comic book he picked up at the local Duckwalls. G.I. Joe had recently been a HUGE hit for Marvel, followed quickly by the mega-successful Transformers, and suddenly the House of Ideas seemed to be scrambling to find the next big properties. Rom: Spaceknight had been around for a few years already, Shogun Warriors had come and gone, and U.S. 1 (whose star-spangled adventures I ALMOST covered) and Starriors were in the wings. While none of them recaptured the lightning in a bottle, even a quarter-century later, I still have fond memories of a certain red, white, and blue team whose interactions tended to create fireworks of their own…