As I mentioned on our last cast, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered all four issues of cereal:geek, the UK magazine dedicated to the animation of the 80’s, from Graham Cracker Comic Books. What finally motivated me? What else, a sale. Graham Cracker Comic Books, the only distributor for cereal:geek outside of the UK, had 25% off their entire store. In the end I paid $51.47 shipped. I noticed on the receipt that it listed their conditions as Very Fine/Near Mint. Issue one was in great shape except for a minor gouge in the cover. Normally this would be unacceptable, but these are definitely keepers, so I’m not worried as it doesn’t distract from its beauty.

The quality of these are amazing. The physical dimensions are huge. Even coming in at an impressive 8 1/4″ x 11 3/4″, it does not waste an inch of space. If anything, that would be my one gripe. I would love to see more white space and leading (i.e. line height or spacing between lines of text).

As we mentioned on the cast, each issue is 100 pages packed with articles and no advertisements. I think that may be the strangest thing. Everything is so well done and of such great quality, your mind constantly awaits the gratuitous subscription card to fall out or the ad that is completely out of place for its target market.

The artwork is absolutely amazing. Many images are artist’s renditions of familiar characters from our childhood. You can check out the covers and some sample pages here. Make sure to check out Matt Trakker of M.A.S.K. lunging at his nemesis, Miles Mayhem of V.E.N.O.M. on top of a trailer being pulled by Rhino.

However, this book is not only a showcase of incredible art, the articles are also spectacular. Well researched and easy to read. With over 40+ features and articles, you are definitely getting your money’s worth. Of note are the following articles that pertain to our focus here:

  • Heavy Metal Mistakes – Examples of production errors in the G1 Transformers cartoon.
  • Toy Advert Test – Examines He-Man and the Masters of the Universe “Diamond Ray of Disappearance” to see if it is anything more than just a toy commercial.
  • To the Bitter End – A look at the rivalry between Megatron and Starscream.
  • 5 Things we love about…The New Adventures of He-Man – Pretty self explanatory.
  • From Toy to Toon – The evolution of Megatron from Takara’s Micro Change toy line to G1 stardom.
  • Toei’s Original Transformers – Transformers, before we saw them here in the states.
  • Two early Lil’ Formers (1, 2) by Matt Moylan
  • And many more…

All that, and that’s just the first issue. It’s becoming a habit, but what are you waiting for? Go out and cop these. If you are still on the fence you can purchase a 100 page .PDF of compiled material from the first four issues for about $4. Can’t beat that. So again, what the hell are you waiting for? Don’t be like me and sleep on these any longer than you already have. You will not be disappointed.

Now you know…and knowing is half the battle…Slick