Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  This week, Bennett revisits Doom Patrol, looks at more weird comics match-ups, and previews the latest news from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

I honestly had no intention to write about The Doom Patrol again this week, but then I saw the episode of Titans with the characters’ first live-action appearance and I have to say it was remarkably good and surprisingly true to the comics.  The scenes set inside the Caulder Estate had an atmosphere which was equal parts Twin Peaks and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Especially the cozy “family” dinner which made me wish I could spend Thanksgiving with them.  If the series is like this, I might once again have a favorite new show.

Last week I wrote that the current Doom Patrol series would end with the just released #12.  But, that's right, I was wrong, according to a piece on Newsarama, “Gerard Way Says Doom Patrol Will Return ‘With All New Vibe,’ Welcomes New Co-Writer.” Which is good news, but, it might be a good idea if DC started a second slightly less surreal  Doom Patrol comic.  One that could appeal to a wider audience done by a creative team that will have no trouble meeting deadlines. You know, just in case.

Truly this is the Golden Age of the highly unlikely comic book character meetup.  This month alone, DC has given us  DC Meets Hanna-Barbera Vol. 3 (Deathstroke/Yogi Bear Special #1, Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound Special #1, Nightwing/Magilla Gorilla Special #1,Superman/Top Cat Special #1), Batman - The Max - Arkham Dreams, and Flex Mentallo meeting the Scooby-Doo Gang in Scooby-Doo Team-Up (see “Confessions of a Comic Book Guy - He’s Back”).  So it’s hard for me to imagine a meet and greet too implausible to be possible.  But I’ve got to confess I didn’t know what to think when I read “DC Comics to Crossover With Sergio Bonelli for Flash/Zagor” on Bleeding Cool.

If a couple of the names in that headline are unfamiliar, Sergio Bonelli Editore is a major Italian comic book publisher with a large catalog of adventure titles distributed in 35 countries. America, of course, isn’t one of them, but you might even be aware of a couple of their characters.  In 1996 they partnered with Dark Horse on a short-lived series of graphic novelettes in different genres, Nathan Never (science fiction), Dylan Dog (horror) and Martin Mystery (adventure).  And in 2015 Dark Horse published Tex: The Lonesome Rider, a graphic novel with art by Joe Kubert based on Bonelli’s western series Tex.

It’s entirely understandable if you’ve never heard of Zagor before. While Dylan Dog was adapted into the unsuccessful 2011 movie Dylan Dog: Dead of Night and there was an animated Martin Mystery that ran on the Disney Channel in the early 00s, Zagor is nearly unknown in America (though Epicenter Comics did publish three translated volumes of Zagor, all still available from Amazon).  What makes his upcoming team-up with The Flash so implausible is Zagor is a hatchet-wielding acrobat and freelance avenger of justice who operated in early 19th Century Pennsylvania, Not someone who The Fasted Man Alive would ordinarily associate with.

According to the Bleeding Cool piece, the Flash/Zagor comic is only the first Sergio Bonelli/DC Comics crossover “with more to come in 2019 and 2020.”  And while I’m for anything that might get more Bonelli comics published in America (perhaps by DC?), I see a problem. Bonelli specializes in regular human heroes, and mixing them with DC superheroes seems to be a chalk and cheese proposition.  But, DC found a way to make a Superman/Top Cat pairing work, so what do I know?

I’ve discovered yet another story from August I missed while I was in the hospital, “Italian Comics Publisher Bonelli Moves Into Production With ‘Dylan Dog’ (Exclusive)”.  Bonelli Editore is getting into TV production and is planning to make an English-language 10-episode live-action Dylan Dog series. There are also plans for a Martin Mystery series and Bonelli intends both properties to exist in a shared universe, making crossovers between them possible.

Over the years I’ve repeatedly written of my love of Thanksgiving (see “Confessions of a Comic Book Guy - I’ve Got Plenty To Be Thankful For”) in general and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in particular.  Well, it’s going to be a banner year for inflatables aficionados such as myself.  There are new balloons for Wreck-It Ralph, Mr. Incredible, Miraculous Ladybug, Star Butterfly (though technically hers is a “balloonicle” which, apparently, is a “self-powered cold air balloon vehicle”) from Disney’s Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, and a multi-character balloon featuring the Teen Titans Go versions of Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven & Cyborg.

Then there was the announcement that “Goku From ‘Dragon Ball’ Is Getting A Massive Balloon For Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.”  Or to be more accurate, as the Forbes piece points out, it’s actually Super Saiyan Blue Goku from Dragon Ball Super. The 70-foot long, 36 wide, and 56-foot tall balloon is a promotional tie-in for the upcoming film Dragon Ball Super: Broly! set to premiere in America on January 16, 2019.  And, if I ’m not mistaken (which is of course extremely likely), this is the first time a manga/anime character has gotten a Macy’s Parade balloon (depending on how you classify Pikachu, from Pokemon).

The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.