A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here.

What: Ultimate Sports Force

comic books

Where: (800) 553-0455

Price: $3.95 an issue

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s . . . Mark McGwire?

Yes, Mark McGwire. At least it will be if you buy one of these comic books in which McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Cal Ripken and other sports stars trade in their bats and gloves for capes and super powers.

The comics, designed and geared for children, are pretty good. The artwork is a bit uneven at times, and it is strange to see Dan Marino fly into action when he hardly could evade tacklers during a game, but all in all, it makes for an entertaining read. In the “Ultimate Sports Force” series are:

* Cosmic Slam 2000 #1--McGwire, Sosa, Jeff Bagwell and David Justice join forces to fight the evil Professor Kovacs and his diabolical creation.

* Fastball Express 2000 #1--Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Chan Ho Park and Hideo Nomo combine their skills to battle high-tech robots in a fight to save Japan.

* Webber’s World #1--Chris Webber, with the help of some special shoes, goes underground to help kids held captive in an evil troll kingdom.

And, my personal favorite:

* Shortstop Squad 2000 #1--When a giant sea-monster attacks, Ripken, Barry Larkin, Derek Jeter and Rodriguez are called in to stop trouble short.

Those are just a few of the issued available in this series. For more detailed information, visit the official Web site, www.ultimatesportsforce.com.