The ’80s Revisited: Myth Adventures #10

(I’m In With) The Inn Crowd!

Created and Co-Written by: Robert Asprin
Co-Written and Pencilled by: Valentino
Inked by: Art Thibert
Lettered by: Diane Valentino
Edited by: Richard Pini
Assoc. Editor: Joellyn Dorkin
Published by: Apple Press Inc. / WaRP Graphics
Cover Date: 1986
Cover Price: $1.50

I picked this issue up at a recent dollar-sale at a nearby shop…it caught my attention for the title itself and the cover, putting me in mind of recent posts over at The Crapbox of Son Of Cthulhu for Magical March. And with some recent discussions with others, I was in the mood for something I’d never heard of before specifically (at least in conscious recollection) and decided of the issues of this present, #10 looked the most interesting.

The cover shows a goblin-like creature apparently rather happy and ready to party (the caption says Let’s Party!). I "assumed" that the issue was black and white given it looks like something from the 1980s. It turned out I was correct–1986 and indeed black and white. As I had assumed that, it certainly met expectation and is not at all a negative factor!

We open with a "party" walking into an inn, where the proprietor(s) don’t quite know what to make of them. It quickly becomes apparent that they’re basically rich snobs looking for an "exxxxxxclusive" hangout, and they’re willing to pay top dollar for it. This leads to some ‘discussion’ between the goblin Aahz (who can assume human form) and his apprentice, Skeeve–over money and some things being more important than money. We then see the two trying to entertain their guests and the various mis–or rather myth–adventures they get into, including a pet(?) dragon Gleep trying to join in some skinny-dipping fun in the lake. Eventually, even Aahz has had enough of the group and decides to convince them to leave by lowering prices and welcoming conventions–though this gets results far faster than expected, startling all involved as a convention heads their way (to be continued!).

I like that we get names for all the guests quickly on (Goldie, Hunk, Kitten, Zap, Stella, and Rock). Aahz I figured out pretty quick, and while he refers to his apprentice mostly as "Kid," I was able to figure out he’s Skeeve, and found acceptable-to-me-confirmation of that in the letters page. This is a TENTH issue, after all–not a first issue, not some special issue or jumping-on-point, not a giant-size issue, etc…so while it COULD have done with a DC or Marvel "cliche" of headshots/names or such at the start of the issue, I didn’t really expect much of that, or to get to know much about main characters for just one issue. That I was able to pick up on stuff as I did is a very definite positive to me!

The art is quite good in and of itself…I can’t quite think if it’s that this is a black and white book or what, but I did notice the lack of backgrounds in a lot of panels. Lacking the much larger visual diversity that color can bring, though…too much detail without quite the right style would merely muddy the appearance. So while I NOTICED the lack of backgrounds…as one reading much more for the story than anything else, that was not a problem to me; and there ARE plenty of panels that DO have backgrounds, so it probably balances out where I just don’t notice as much in color comics because a background could be conveyed by solid color where it’s whitespace on a non color comic.

Reading this issue by itself, I enjoyed it as a one-off. I got the sense of there being some details I was missing (how Skeeve and Aahz met and more specifics of their relationship, the background of Gleep the dragon, and Duke Pinchpini (pinch-penny/penny-pincher?) to name a few). But coming in "cold" on the tenth issue, that’s nine other issues preceding this to check out and see what’s what and when and all that. Further curiosity has led me to realizing there were at least a dozen or so issues, and that these are based on a series of novels, which casts the series in a different sort of light for me.

All in all, though, this was simply a fun issue, and i’m glad that I got it, and read it…and I actually regret not picking up more (there were at least three other issues I left behind). I believe there have been several collected editions; I can’t speak to their availability in print, but if I see any other single issues in bargain bins or such, I’ll definitely be picking them up…and may even be looking into at least trying the first of the novels!

If you’re looking for light fantasy fun that plays with various tropes and such, and the humor that can go with (and something to this puts me in mind of Terry Pratchett‘s sort of humor), this would be a good issue, and if you find any of the other issues, I can guess that they’d be similarly fun. The way this one ended…I definitely want to get the next issue at minimum! I paid $1 for this–a bit more than most of my bargain-bin digging, but it’s worth the $1, and for not being something I’d come across before, I’d say any of the issues in this series will certainly be worth at least $1 to ME to pick up moving forward.