I may as well quit this column now. Because this one spotlights the greatest comic book ever made. So why bother continuing? It can't get better than this. Can it?

I could be speaking jibba jabba, but it's up to you to decide, gentle viewer. Black History Month continues!

2/7/07

38. Mr. T and the T-Force



Man, you gotta love NOW Comics.

I, for one, take pity upon the poor, foolish soul who does not own at least one issue of this glorious periodical. I've got the first one. It's been a long time since I perused it, but I do remember the plot involved Mr. T cleaning up the streets, and finding a baby in a dumpster.

What's that, Mr. T?



Gotcha.

Here is an audio file of Mr. T discussing what was to appear in the T-Force series. "Topical issues," he says. Damn straight! Topical issues like... magical space dinosaurs from another dimension!



I must not have paid much attention back in 1993, because I don't remember that big a dinosaur problem (though I loved the show "Dinosaurs." And the Super Mario Bros. movie. Hmm...) Maybe they just disappeared real fast 'cause Mr. T was on the case! Our pal Chris Sims gifts us with further space dino "pwnage."

That wasn't all, though. Mr. T was kind to old ladies and children. For instance:



(He's got to have the strongest back in the world to lift all those gold chains.)

Click on the above cover for some preview pages, thanks to Mile High Comics. It will blow your mind with its coolness. Man, I wish I had Mr. T as my landlord.

The series underwent multiple creative team changes, but the creators were spectacular! Neal Adams, Mike Baron, Norm Breyfogle, Tony DeZuniga, Chuck Dixon, and more. That's a helluva line-up of talent.

Hey, did I mention the ninjas? No?



Ninjas!

Anyway, that about sums up the series. Mr. T was hittin' the streets, taking up social causes, and dealing with the topics of the times, like crack babies, dinosaurs, and ninjas. They've done another Mr. T comic series recently, but it's nothing compared to the T-Force one.

Wait. Hold on a second. What the hell was the T-Force? It sounds like some kind of Planeteers for Mr. T, but I honestly don't know if it even came up in the course of the series. Anyone care to explain?

I won't rest until I have every issue of this series. Luckily, I can bide my time by watching fantastic Mr. T footage on YouTube. There's Mr. T on fashion, Mr. T motivationally rapping about yo' mama, and the greatest opening to any cartoon ever with the Mr. T animated series (Jack Kirby did design work for it. Seriously. He did.)

May the T-Force be with you. Foo'.

Links:

Chris Sims talks about the T-Force

Seanbaby mercilessly destroys the T-Force

Jake Bell discusses the book on this very site!