Date: January 1997 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2014 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 20 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko” and 2 page back-up story Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: The gang surmounts the Great Wall of Trudd.
There is a popular hang gliding mountain near where I live in Utah. Although I have never been, every time I pass it on the freeway I see loads of gliders lazily circling their way down from the top – and I get a hankerin’ to join in! I imagine it to be fun, a little bit scary and a bit relaxing too. Maybe some day I’ll get the nerve, time and energy to do it. In this issue of Akiko the gang makes use of a giant flag to do some hang gliding of their own – and it turns out to be pretty useful too!
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Date: December 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2014 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 21 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko”, 1 gag page and 1 house ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Akiko and her friends finally reach the Great Wall of Trudd.
Well… are you? I like to think that I’m not, but I am… a little bit. You know how I can tell? Whenever I get somewhere that is too high, or I see a movie where the people may fall a long ways, then my palms get all sweaty. Yeah, so its a good thing that I wasn’t a character in this issue when the gang has no way around the Great Wall of Trudd – so they climb over it… or start climbing anyways. I’m afraid my slick hands would have dealt me a quick death!
Date: October 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 19 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko”, a 3 page mini-story and one ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Akiko’s gang takes the road less traveled!
Arguing with friends and colleagues can be fun, don’t you think? In this issue we get to see more of Spuckler and Mr. Beeba exchanging words about, well… just about everything! They fight over which road to take, how to travel, what to do with the dragon’s egg and more. It is the part about the egg that ends up nearly costing Spuckler his life – and after he has paid a dear price he finally admits to his friendly nemesis that he was wrong. Gosh, what an inspiring tale, huh? 😉
Date: September 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko” and one ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Akiko’s gang discovers a tiny kingdom!
This was an immensely satisfying issue, and I think I have an inkling as to why: It contains three childhood fantasies! First there is the fruit, which gives Akiko and her friends the ability to fly. I mean, c’mon – what kid doesn’t dream of flying? Then there is the kingdom of nice, tiny people. And finally there is the cool monster which turns out to be a great friend! Yes, I used to dream about all of those things. That is another reason I enjoy comic books so much – they allow me to live out dreams that otherwise never came true. See – comics are good for us in many ways!
Date: August 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 20 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko”, a 2-page mini-story and one house ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Akiko and friends discover a mysterious island!
Have you seen the movie The Life of Pi ? It was a great and very fascinating show. This issue of Akiko kind of reminded me of that movie – what with all the crazy different creatures in the same boat, and the magic that eventually happens between them. A cool story – in both cases!
Date: July(?) 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko” and one house ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Sea serpents and acid worms!
Do creepy-crawlies give you the creepy-crawlies? I am average when it comes to being squeamish, I guess. I don’t usually freak out around bugs… but if you were to put a spider on me I might do the mad “get-it-off-me” dance! Here is a story where Akiko and her friends must show great self-control to overcome some creepy monsters!
Date: June 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko” and one ad Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: A dream and a storm!
Have you ever had a very, very realistic dream? You know – the kind where when you wake up you’re shocked it wasn’t real? And maybe even sad that it wasn’t real? I have, and usually I feel a bit disappointed and cheated that I expended so much emotional energy on something that wasn’t even real! Oh well, better that than a nightmare eh? In this issue Akiko, our favorite 4th grader, has just such a dream.
Date: December 1995 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $3.95 2013 NM Price: $5.00 Stats: 40 black & white pages Story and Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: 1st appearance of Akiko and friends
I started reading the Akiko comic series back in the late 1990s, and enjoyed it so much that I made an effort to get all of the comic books. It has taken me a long time, but with the purchase of this book I finally completed my collection! This one-shot was the first comic featuring Akiko and her band of misfit friends, then there was the regular comic series that ran for 52 issues. I must say, I’ve been please with all of them, and this issue is no exception!
Date: May 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $3.00 Stats: 22 black & white pages plus “Letters to Akiko” and “Akiko’s Bulletin Board” Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: The gang battles monsters – arena style!
Akiko and her friends sure are lucky sometimes, and in this issue some pretty fantastic events happen to help them out of some pretty dire circumstances. But hey, that is part of the fun of comics right? This super-fun all-ages comic pushes the borders of willing suspension of disbelief, but I enjoyed it immensely none-the-less!
Date: April 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2013 NM Price: $4.00 Stats: 22 black & white pages plus house ads Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Akiko and friends are captured by the Sky Pirates!
Have you ever had a bad day… and one that keeps getting worse? I have. In fact going to work yesterday, after a long holiday vacation, sure felt that way! 🙂 Comics (and indeed most forms of modern story-telling) seem to incorporate miserable and funny circumstances into major plot points. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t – but this issue kept me smiling as Akiko and her friends keep getting into worse and worse situations. Fun isn’t it?
Date: March 1996 Publisher: Sirius Entertainment Cover Price: $2.50 2012 NM Price: $5.00 Stats: 23 black & white pages Story & Art: Mark Crilley Notable Notes: Chapter 1 of the “Back to Smoo” storyline.
I first encountered an issue of Akiko in the late 1990s, and totally fell in love with it. Over the next many years I tracked down all 52 issues of this excellent series, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading through them. In fact the series was so good that I read it to each of my kids when they were but young ‘uns who climbed on my lap and begged for a bed-time story. Guess what? They loved it too!
