Introducing the Tick

    (NEC, 2002)
™ and © NEC Press

Coming just in time to take advantage of the public’s heightened awareness of The Tick (thanks to the TV show), NEC has released Introducing the Tick, an initiation in the back-story of the hero with the antennae and the iconic chin.

The Tick has been around for years, and new inductees may be unaware of how much history he has. This volume, while more fun to read than a “Who’s Who,” “Handbook,” or “Bible” to the character, is also less informative.

Presented in the style of a This Is Your Life-type show, readers are exposed to much of The Tick’s history and cast. Some of the topics are covered adequately; most are not. At best, a new reader will only be aware that many of these characters exist, but he could pick that up in a regular comic book without needing to read this introduction. The Man-Eating Cow, for example, is mentioned in passing, but without explanation or depiction.

Similarly, characters from the television show, many of whom are also action figures, do not appear at all, leaving the reader to wonder whether they even exist in the comics’ continuity.

Make no mistake; this comic book is fun to read. And it is an introduction to the character. But new readers will not walk away feeling that they are particularly indoctrinated.

— Jack Abramowitz
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