Comic Review: Gizmo

An indy comic from the mid-80s was Gizmo by Michael Dooney, and was published by Mirage Studios, who not only printed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but Gizmo was in the same universe as the Turtles. The series went on for 6 issues, and had a team-up 2-part crossover with Fujitoid. The comic dealt with the hip android, Gizmo Sprocket, and his anthropomorphic dog buddy, Fluffy Brockleton, who travel the universe around in their intergalactic tractor trailer fitted with an A.I. named Soto.

Issue #5 of the series had Gizmo and Fluffy watching the original 1939 Wizard Of Oz while cruising in Soto. They accidently crash into a space bus carrying an all-girl rock band who closely resemble Josie and The Pussycats, and both ships crashland on an artificial planet which is still in its development stages(kinda like what the Magratheans did in Hitchhiker's Guide). The planet has now been terraformed in an Oz motif because Soto's playing of the movie somehow interfered with the planet's formational matrix. Gizmo takes on the roll of the Tin Man, Fluffy becomes the Lion, the Josie character is dressed like Dorothy, and the Valerie character is made-over like Scarecrow. They are attacked by the Alexandra character who is here the Wicked Witch and her army of flying mutant turtles. Its revealed that the two ships crashed into each other because "a wizard did it", but a sexy space agent(who is a dead ringer for Power Girl)fixes reality for them, and Gizmo and Co. go back to seeking out new life and new civilizations.

I recently came upon an old graphic novel collection of the original Gizmo comic book series, but still remembered it as a funny sci-fi comedy with shades of Heavy Metal. There's other tropes it spoofs as it goes along, like Gizmo runs across a retired Space Ghost. I'd very much recommend looking up at least this one issue, and the series as a whole for Futurama fans.