Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!
Publisher: Amalgam Comics
Cover Date: June 1997
Cover Price: $1.95
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Paul Smith
When the DC and Marvel Universes merged in Marvel vs DC, a new one was created: the Amalgam Universe. This one-shot combined Iron Man with Green Lantern.
Pepper Ferris has resumed her malicious role as Madame Sapphire and sent Great White to destroy everyone attending Stark’s reception for Senator Ferris. As Iron Lantern battles the giant robotic shark, his friends Happy & Rhodes have to defender his power source from Kyle O’Brien, who intends to steal it to become the new Iron Lantern again. And, just who is the mastermind behind all of these attacks on the Iron Lantern?
I truly had high hopes for this story, mainly because Kurt Busiek was attached as the writer. And, the opening page showed Oa, the Living Planet – a combination of Ego and Oa – which I thought was ingenious! But, the story got quickly bogged down by way too many developing plots before it could come to any reasonable conclusion. And, in fact, it doesn’t. This is probably the only Amalgam comic to end on a cliffhanger. A cliffhanger that, due to the very nature of the Amalgam universe, will never be followed up on. For shame!
On Ebay: Amalgam | Kurt Busiek | Paul Smith
On AtomicAvenue: Amalgam Comics