A Great Idea for Kids Who Have Food Allergies

As someone that has a food allergy and is gluten sensitive, I am very understanding of people's food allergies. I learned today that there's a new initiative to help parents with children who have dietary restrictions know which homes are giving allergy safe treats. It's called the Teal Pumpkin Project. Homes that will provide allergy free foods or alternatives like toys, puzzles, or like me, comic books, are asked to put a Teal pumpkin outside.

  Now, it's too late for me and it's probably too late for you to do this too, but I've included below an image that you should be able to print out and stick on your door or mail box. Be sure to use colored ink!

Boom! Studios Halloween Fright Fest 2014 (2014 Halloween ComicFest Exclusive Mini-Comic) (Family Comic Friday)

I’m a little mixed on this book. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t very Halloween-y either. In this mini comic by Boom! Studios, you get 3 tales, one starring the gang from Adventure Time, one with the Fraggles of Fraggle Rock, and the third is a small collection of Peanuts cartoons. Only the Peanuts cartoons have anything at all to do with Halloween in terms of setting or theme.

The Adventure Time story was a little confusing. I’m used to Jake and Finn and that’s about it. I know there is an Ice Wizard and a Princess. However, I don’t think the Wizard is a good guy for some reason. This story starred somebody name ‘Stache’ who wakes up without his moustache. Everyone thinks he’s an imposter and are out to get him. There is a small element of horror but other than that, it’s just a story about a bunch of characters I know nothing about. Even the art looked nothing like what I little I’ve seen of the cartoon.

As for the Fraggle Rock adventure, its stars my least favorite Fraggle, Mokey. She’s always so flighty and well, to be honestly, if the folks dreaming up Fraggle Rock weren’t high enough, I’m pretty sure Mokey was made from hemp and stuffed with hashish. In this story, the artist of Fraggle Rock loses here ‘inspiration’ but as she explains how she lost it, she finds that it never really left her at all.

Overall, not my favorite of 2014 Halloween ComicFest offers that I came across. Will I still give this out to trick-or-treaters who come to my door? Absolutely! It’s not bad. It’s just not very much in the Halloween spirit, and it’s not my cup or tea. But it’s also something that parents shouldn’t find objectionable.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Happy Halloween 2014!

and be safe other there tonight, Citizens!

Mermin: Trick or Treat #1 (2014 Halloween ComicFest Exclusive Mini-Comic) (Family Comic Friday Extra)

Mermin is a little known series by Oni Press. He’s a mer-creature, similar to the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He and his friends have tons of adventures both above and in the water.

I can’t sing enough of Mermin’s praises. I’ve read a few of his adventures thanks to Free Comic Book Day. I think he’s got that ‘it’ factor that makes him perfect for kids. He’s a monster but he’s fun! It’s the same winning combination that’s worked for characters from Sesame Street like Grover, Cookie Monster, and Elmo for over 45 years! Only, Mermin is not intended for preschoolers only!

In this mini comic Mermin’s human friends visit him and his people in their aquatic village. There, they teach the mer-boy and his family about Halloween and Trick-or-Treating. The idea sounds great to Mermin and they begin to have the first underwater Halloween ever!

Mermin is a great comic that kids will enjoy. There are 3 graphic novel sized adventures of Mermin’s on the market. Sadly, at $20, they are a little steep. However, it is something you and your children could ask your local librarian to carry at in your regional branch’s graphic novel section.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Betty & Veronica #1 (2014 Halloween ComicFest Exclusive Mini-Comic) (Family Comic Friday Extra)

This year, the Archie Comics group released 2 mini-comics for Halloween ComicFest. The first is Afterlife with Archie #1. It’s a reprint of the series premier of the same name. In that comic, Jughead’s dog Hot dog is hit by a car and killed. Not wanting to let him go, he seeks out Sabrina the Teenage Witch to bring him back to life. The result is a zombie dog that bites Jughead and then starts a rampant zombie apocalypse. This book is bloody, gorey, and not you typical Archie Comic. In fact, I believe that it got a rating of Teen or Teen+. So, if your child receives this book in their trick-or-treat goody bag, use extreme caution before letting them read it.

  Now, if your child were to trick-or-treat at our house, they’d get a different kind of Archie Comic. This book stars Archie’s girlfriend’s Betty and Veronica. This story also involves zombies but in a much tamer way. The girls decide to have a sleepover on Halloween watching scary movies. Knowing that Archie, Reggie, and Jug will try to scare them, Betty and Veronica turn the tables on the guys by dressing up as zombies. It’s one of the better Archie freebies that I have read in a while with a pretty funny story and with the exception of characters in make-up, it’s not gory. Nor do any characters use incantations to raise the dead.

I was really surprised that Archie Comics released this book as I had read that Betty & Veronica were to be discontinued early next year. Maybe that was a rumor. Anyway, I find it odd to advertise something that you’re going to cancel within a couple of months. Maybe this is a way  to drum up interest in Riverdale’s beauties.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Angry Birds Comics (2014 Halloween ComicFest Exclusive Mini-Comic) (Family Comic Friday Extra)

I didn’t even know that the Angry Birds had a comic book! But the stars of video games, action figures, clothes, candy, and more do and this Halloween, they might end up as one of your Halloween treats.

  I know that this is the second Halloween ComicFest 2014 offering in a row of a comic based on a comic. But I promise you, not every book this year is like that. This just happened to be the luck of the draw.  In this exclusive mini-comic, one of the leaders of the pigs tells of a scheme to get at the Angry Birds’ nest by creating a Franken-pig out of dead swine. However, these pigs have no self-control and go absolutely bonkers. There are also 3 one-page length short stories that star various birds and pigs.

Despite the fact I’ve played Angry Birds a couple of times, I don’t know the red bird from the black one and until I read this, I didn’t even know that the pigs wanted to steal the birds’ eggs, much less that they had a king! So, if this book is as entertaining or fun as the video games, I don’t know.

Now, what I read, I liked. Also, I thought the art was spot on to what the characters look like in the video game. The stories weren’t so bad. It was a little more suited for older kids than Plants Vs. Zombies. Would I search this series out for more Angry Bird Hi-jinx? Probably not. But if I received this book as a treat for trick-or-treating this year, I would be very excited and not feel like I would’ve wanted candy instead.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

 

 

Plants Vs. Zombies: TIMEPOCALYPSE (2014 Halloween ComicFest Exclusive Mini Comic) (Family Comic Friday Extra)

Plants Vs. Zombies is a video games series in which you play as a gardener who uses his array of mutant plants to fight off a zombie invasion. It’s wacky, it’s weird, and it’s gotten an E-rating (E for Everyone.) It’s proof that not everything with zombies in it is bloody, gory, or scary. This Halloween, when you go trick-or-treating, you might even get lucky enough to get on of this in your door-to-door travels.

In this mini comic, a mad scientist has created a device that will block out the sun, thus causing all of the mutant plants to die and for zombies to take over the town. As everyone knows, zombies aren’t that smart and when one accidently mistakes the sun blocking machine for a toaster, he blows up the device. The explosion causes a rift in time and pieces are sent throughout the past and future. With zombies being sent through time to recover the device, it’s up to a young girl, her looney uncle, and her best friend to save history.

The book ends with a “To Be Continued” and that usually makes me mad. However, this book leads into an online series and the link to reading the rest of Timepocalypse is listed on the back inside cover. So, if you or your kids love this series, you have information as to how to get the rest of the comic.

I’m sure you’d have to pay a small fee as eBooks aren’t always free. Now, if you are like me and you are strictly ‘paper-only’ you could wait a few months. The first book in this series (PVZ: Lawnmageddon) was a digital first comic and then went to print a few months later. That book is currently in hardback and sells for $10.00.

The art is cartoony. It’s not overly scary or gory. The story itself is rather comical. I did find some of the sight gags and jokes a bit too childish for me. There’s even a toy line which isn’t very objectionable either, unless you are opposed to guns. But the guns shown in the toy ad in this comic don’t look realistic at all. Plants Vs. Zombies should appeal to ages 6 and up. Most adults shouldn’t have a problem with this book if your child receives this while trick-or-treating. Why, this might open a window to the vast universe of comics.

Oh, the joyful possibilities of this.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Wraith of the Spectre #4

The cover says “3 All New Classics.” Now before you label this an oxy-moron, let me explain. Due to the controversial nature of the Spectre revival, the series was pulled without warning almost overnight. There were still 3 scripts lying around waiting to be penciled and inked and then put to press before the cancellation. Almost 25 years passed with these scripts lying in a vault unused. Someone came across them and decided it was time to give them a chance to see print.

 So using DC’s prestige format (which was with new ultra white paper stock, a slightly higher price but no ads, and available is comic book store only) the powers that be got original series artist, Jim Aparo to pencil these stories. The only problem is that you really need most of the dozen or so stories that were published before these tales in order to understand what’s going on. So, DC decided to reprint the entire series as a 4-part mini, with issue #4 being comprised of the never before published tales.

 While I am glad those 3 tales finally saw the light of day, I wish there was a fourth tale. See, with the series being cancelled abruptly, there was a cliffhanger that was never resolved. It involved an investigative journalist whose been following the Spectre’s exploits for quite some time. Now, he’s been wrongly convicted of the killings that the Spectre has been doing. After escaping incarceration, the journalist does what he does best- he investigates. He discovers that Jim Corrigan’s girlfriend is somehow involved in this conspiracy and then the series ends.

There was a fourth tale in this book. It was a small 8 page story from House of Mystery (or was it Secrets?), inked by Aparo. It’s a good story and I’ve seen it reprinted several times before. Still, I’d rather somebody, anybody, at DC Comics have written up a small story to tie up all the loose ends. Talk about your missed opportunities.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

 

 

 

 

Cow Boy Hallow’s (2012 Halloween ComicFest Exclusive (Family Comic Friday)

I give this 2012 ComicFest offering an E for Effort. The cover is a cool Halloween themed pic of our hero, Cow Boy. I think this story appeals to those who remember dressing up as a cowboy for Halloween or those today who still do dress the part. This story takes place in a small town in the Old West during Halloween but aside from some establishing shots of towns folk in costume for trick-or-treating, that’s about it for All Hallow’s Eve in this comic.

The story itself in set in a saloon where a friend of Billy the Kid is loudly claiming that nobody can out best his friend the Kid. The noisy rumblings wake up Cow Boy, a child bounty hunter, from his slumber upstairs. Now its dead shot vs. outlaw but does ether party really want to end the witching hour with a gunfight?

Cow Boy was a cute story about a child bounty hunter trying to make amends for his family’s robbing ways. I know that my library has the graphic novel that this story is inspired from. While I wasn’t terribly enthralled by the comic, it does garner enough interest that I wouldn’t mind checking it out. The dialogue was very clever with unique voices for all of the characters. The art is very cartoony but it works since this is a kids comic book.

This leads to my plug for Halloween ComicFest 2014. It’s tomorrow. Comic Book stores nationwide will be giving out free comics for the event. Kids will even get a chance to dress up early for Halloween as many stores will be hosting costume contests. You can even go to the ComicFest website and submit pics for a chance to win a gift card. Stores usually offer up some mighty fine sales and there is usually other chances for people to win prizes at the store for coloring contests, trivia, and lots of other cool activities.

Another thing to consider is buying a mini pack or two, or three of comics to hand out for trick-or-treating instead of candy. Like the packages say, comics last longer than candy and they can make meaningful strides in getting kids excited about comics and reading. (Homeroom parents- imagine how happy your child’s teacher will be when you hand out comic book instead of sugary treats for this year’s Halloween party!) The sets are $4.99 for a pack of 20. There are at least 12 different titles available for this year. Some stores will be selling the packs tomorrow. If you live in Durham, NC, check out my friends at Atomic Empire tomorrow. It’s where I picked up my packs!

Also, as a special treat, Family Comic Friday will be invading the whole week as I review a handful of the titles available for trick-or-treating. Check with me starting Sunday for this 5 day event.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

 

 

Thor: The Dark World

I was thoroughly disappointed with this film. The film movie was excellent and while very little took place in Asgard, I think director Kenneth Branagh did a fantastic job of making the movie seem mystical and ancient all at the same time. This sequel was lacking that leadership and it showed from the very beginning.

I DVR’d this movie and during the first scene, I was pretty sure I accidently recorded Lord of the Rings. Not only that, for a while, I was pretty sure that whoever made this movie thought this film was LOTR or the Hobbit. The scenes of Asgard looked like someone was using the sets created for Rivendell and the costumes of the Asgardian warriors looked like that of the elves in the Two Towers. The first Thor film seemed to be a unique part of the Marvel Universe but that cohesion and ambiance was sorely lacking here.

While most of the cast of the first film are in the sequel, their use is squandered too! The great Christopher Eccleston of Doctor Who fame was the main baddie, the Dark Elf Malekith. However, over ¾ of his screen time is spoken in Elven gibberish and his powerful British voice is lost between reciting them and me trying to read the subtitles. When he does speak English, it’s not for very long and I’m pondering “Why is he speaking English now and not for the reason of the freakin’ movie?”

Then we’ve got the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, the most loyal friends of Thor. Sif is used mostly for the unrequited love angle. It’s paltry for someone of her caliber, especially since she kicked major booty in the first film and an episode of Agents of SHIELD last year. Then we’ve got Volstagg who for some reason is absent from important battle scenes at the beginning of the film. I know he’s a bit of a wimp but it’s not address whether he was cowering in a corner or stuck home babysitting his massive brood of young’uns. Lastly, there’s Hogun who leaves Thor’s group after his people are freed from slavery. Ok- I get that the actor who played him probably had other commitments and you had to write Hogun out. But during the climatic scenes between Thor and Malekith, why is Hogun’s face flashed for like 2 seconds and never addressed again.

Perhaps the character most underused is Loki who spends half of the film locked in an Asgardian jail cell. Things do get a little more exciting when Loki and Thor team up to defeat Malekith, with some great sibling rivalry and banter. But it takes forever for that dream team to ever form!

It’s pretty bad when the most interesting characters in a movie about Norse ‘gods’ are the humans. Jane Foster played by Natalie Portman is okay. She’s the romantic angle and sometimes her lines are pure drivel. But when she becomes infected with an ancient cosmic power called the’ Aether’ she does some serious damage. But it’s her former mentor and intern who really make this story interesting. They add a much needed boost of humor and are more interesting in their humdrum lives than the characters of Odin and Frieda (the parents of Thor.)

The cosmic adventures of Thor are some of his most interesting and vital to the DC Universe. But, there’s a disconnect somewhere. The first movie established that the Asgardians were aliens but they were still ancient like the legends of old. Here, it’s like Star Wars meets Excalibur and I just don’t think it works.

With a slow plot, drastically altered set designs, poor story editing, and more subtitles than a Russian film festival, Thor the Dark World is just that, in the proverbial dark compared to the other films in the Marvel film series. That’s really tragic if you ask me, since Thor and Loki are such great characters. If you make a three movie, I urge Marvel to not use Alan Taylor as your director. Get Branagh back. He obvious had a clear understanding and respect for the source material.

  I was upset that I missed this movie in theatres. I was disappointed when I missed renting or buying it OnDemand. But, now after I’ve seen the finished product, I’m actually glad I didn’t waste my money on this. Now, if only I could get a refund on the 2 hours I wasted watching this train wreck.

Not Worth Consuming

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Wraith of the Spectre #3 (of 4)

Jim Corrigan finally gets his wish and becomes human once again. However, it takes a gunshot wound for the hard-boiled detective to finally figure out that the supreme bring has lifted his responsibilities of being the Spectre off his shoulders. This probably isn’t the best time for Corrigan to no longer be invulnerable as he’s attracted the attention of a deranged mob boss with a penchant for …Rubber Ducks???

I liked this issue very much; although the use of a rubber ducky to help a crime boss make his decisions is a little weird. Who does this guy think he is, Ernie from Sesame Street? The end to this series was fantastic and I won’t give away what happens. It’s that good.

Oh, and yes, you read that right- these four tales were the end of the reprints from the 1970s run of the Spectre in Adventure Comics. “But, this is issue 3 of 4- how can that be?” one might ask. Due to the controversial nature of the Spectre, especially in his sadistic methods of capital punishment, the Spectre was yanked before Michael Fleisher had the chance to wrap the series up into a neat little package.

If you ask me, the way the last story ended was sufficient to me. However, the people in the DC archive found 3 never before published scripts that were supposed to be in upcoming issues of Adventure. I look forward to reading those as I really love this series. Plus, the great Jim Aparo will be penciling them!

Ghoulish fun that’s Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Wraith of the Spectre #2 (of 4)

   I’d read the first issue a while back. I don’t think I’ve put its review up yet as I still have a massive backlog. However, for those of you who don’t know, Wraith of the Spectre was a 1988 miniseries that reprints the 1970s series that ran for about a dozen issues of Adventure Comics. This Spectre was a return to the golden age hero created by Jerry Siegel of Superman fame.

In the 1940s, the Spectre was a cop named Jim Corrigan who died and was raised from the dead. He was tasked with defeating all evil on earth and often employed some gruesome methods. By the 60s, the Spectre was more of a cosmic being and since he was like 1% away from being as powerful as the Almighty, his usage in the DC Universe was sparing.

Here writer Michael Fleisher and artist extraordinaire Jim Aparo turned the Spectre into ½ gritty cop drama and ½ EC Comics tribute. Spectre does some crazy things to bad guys, like turning them into wood and then slicing them with a buzz saw or into a giant burning Roman candle. I loved it!

For 1974 DC, the writing is superb. The art is even better. I love Jim Aparo’s work. Next to Neal Adams, I consider him the definitive Batman artist. Now, I can saw with much certainty- Aparo is the definitive Spectre artist.

I can’t wait for the next 2 issues!

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Steampunk Halloween 2013 (#3)

Great Cover, Bad Comic...

Can you consider something to be a Halloween special if it doesn’t pertain in any way to Halloween? Maybe; but I think it’s a stretch. Does having a band of zombies in the plot constitute a Halloween story? No, not really. So explain to me how a comic book that takes place on a deserted isle, set sometime around the 1700s, starring a shipwrecked crew along with a young girl and her robot that looks an awful look like Legolas from LOTR is a Halloween special?

 This book was a major disappointment. If the story I talked about was just one of several stories contained in a Halloween special, I could make allowances. I’ve read many a Christmas themed special that has one or two stories that take place during winter but do not involve any sort of festive spirit. But this special has only 1 story and it’s not really all that scary and doesn’t even have candy in it!

The worst thing about this book was how excited I was about it. Look at the cover- there’s a Christopher Lee looking vampire being discovered by Holmes, Watson, and a robot cop! That’s what I was expecting in this book. Why, even the pin-up at the back of the book that’s of Steampunk Ghostbusters would’ve been better suited for this special than the story I got.

Lastly, the story itself was weak. The art was a quasi-manga style work. It wasn’t bad but it was lacking depth. Then you’ve got the crew who turn into zombies for some reason. There’s mention of a lord of the undead but you’re not even sure if that’s really what’s behind the zombie attack or did some of the crew drink some bad grog? And then there’s our heroine who makes an ambiguous statement to one of the crew members that ‘mother would’ve been proud.” Where these two brother and sister? Was the girl older than she looked and this boy’s mother only he didn’t know?  It’s left very vague and I hate it when books end like that.

If I didn’t get this out or a grab bag or bargain bin, I think I would’ve written the company to demand my money back. This just isn’t such a great comic. There are 2 more specials in this series. Based on my disappointment, I’m not even sure I’d pursue them and I’d seriously consider passing them up if found in a dollar box.

So much of this book could’ve worked. Why it didn’t is beyond me.

Not Worth Consuming.

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #7 (the 160-Character Review Challenge)

The first meeting of the Greens, written by legend Denny O’Neil. The only thing missing is art by Neal Adams! wc 8/10

Joker’s Asylum II: The Riddler (the 160-Character Review Challenge)

 

The Riddler has an obession with puzzles. The one he can't solve is the way into a woman's heart. It's a terrifying look at the villain. wc 8/10

 

Joker’s Asylum II: Clayface (the 160-Character Review Challenge)

Clayface haunts a film festival, turning horror buffs into his own concession stand. The basis of a great episode of Gotham. wc 10/10

Uncanny X-Men, Volume 3: The Good, the Bad, the Inhuman (Marvel NOW!)

A few days ago, I had reviewed the original graphic novel X-Men: No More humans. In that review, I wondered when and in what book do the Original X-Men leave the Jean Grey School and join with Cyclops’ New Xavier School. Well, I got my answer, kinda.

While the team do start up with Cyclops and his band of mutant ‘outlaws’ the reason for why Kitty Pryde and the original, time stranded X-Men isn’t revealed here. However, I now know that for whatever reasons, the events that lead to the split occur in the cross-over event: the War of the Atom. While some of that series occurred in the pages of All-New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, and others, the 10-part story was collected in a book entitled X-Men: Battle of The Atom. So, it’s good to know that I haven’t skipped a volume or something. I just have yet to come across this one.

Once again my library hooked me up with these continuing adventures of the Uncanny X-Men. In this volume, the students have butterflies waiting for the original X-Men to show. Then the girls of the New Xavier School have a night out of the town and discover that a series of Terrigen mist bombs have been detonated and are turning people with latent Inhuman DNA into bizarre creatures. (I’m sorry, but that storyline has been done already during the DC Comics Bloodlines storyline of the 1990s. I’m glad that only one issue was devoted to that ‘original’ idea despite this volumes cover having the word ‘Inhumans’ in the title.)

After the girl’s had their fun, we see where Magneto went and he’s not happy with what’s been going on in Madripoor. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the anti-hero so vicious. But it’s a great story. But it’s not as good as the issue in which various members of the All-New X-Men get a chance to air some grievances with the adult Cyclops. It’s perhaps the best issue in the entire run of both series thus far!

Lastly, a student is kicked off the team but the Uncanny X-Men lose much more than that when the events that kicks off the All-New X-Men/ Guardians of the Galaxy crossover! I’m syked. I was looking forward to the tale at the end of No More Humans and here, I got a little taste of it.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Johnny Boo & Harold in Tricky Treaters (Family Comics Friday)

Sorry about not posting yesterday folks, but as you may remember, I’ve got a broken foot and spent some time on my back propping up. Also, I got some really good news about a project that I hope to be able to talk more about soon. But, I needed to devote some energy to that and so that’s why we’ve got this special Saturday Edition of Family Comics Friday.

Gone are the days of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Good Little Witch, and Hot Stuff. Their publishing rights disappeared when the comics company, Harvey Comics, closed up shop in 1994. But, the spirit of those comics lives on. In the past few years, Dark Horse Comics has been reprinted some of the tales from the Harvey kid’s line. Every once and a while, a character like Richie Rich pops up in a new series by an independent published. And I guarantee you that in every comic convention in America (except for ComiCon in San Diego) you can find tons of Harvey Comics in bargain bins for a $1 or less.

Despite all of this, that is no way means that new kid-friendly comics starring ghosts, vampires, and other spooky characters aren’t available on the market right now.

In this 2012 Halloween Comicsfest Exclusive (BTW next Saturday is this year’s Comicsfest at your local comics shop, so check it out!) we get a short story about a young ghost named Johnny Boo and his pet ghost, Squiggle. Here, Johnny Boo tries to hide all of the ice cream from trick-r-treaters but ends up in a little bit of a mess. Then we meet Harold, a long-necked vampire with 2 bats for friends. The bats don’t quite get things right and when Harold forgets to decorate for Halloween, the bats do the unthinkable and gross out a bloodsucker.

Johnny Boo has at least 6 volumes of comics on the market. A new volume is due out this month. As for Harold, this is the first on only story I can find about him. It’s possible that he stars in the Johnny Boo series in his own mini-feature. The Johnny Boo series is published by top Shelf Productions and run for $9.95 a pop. Johnny has also been featured in Top Shelf’s annual Free Comic Book Day release for at least the past 4 years. Those issues can be found online for a couple a bucks each.

One other thing, the Johnny Boo books are published like a typical comic book is with 2 staples. These volumes are released like a digest with a solid paste paper spine. So, if you go to the kids section of your local comics shop, be sure to look on the collection shelf and not the new release section. Better yet, ask your friendly neighborhood comic book clerk for help finding them.

Johnny Boo is for ages 5-10.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Legion of Monsters: Man-Thing (The 160-Character Review Challenge)

Girl stumbles upon cult that feasts on Man-Thing. Simon Garth finds zombie love at city morgue. Two tales= trippy stuff. Worth a consume. 7/10

Gotham

I’ve now seen 4 episodes of Gotham. So I feel like I can give an adequate review of the show. With FOX ordering a full season order, I should have about 22 episodes left to watch. Oh, I can’t wait.

Gotham is a prequel to the Batman trilogy of Christopher Nolan’s. Well, sorta. There’s a big focus on the mob war brewing between the Falcone family and the Maroni’s. That was quashed by the Bat in the first film.

But another premise for this series is something that the Nolan movies haven’t really delved in. That idea is to examine how some of Batman’s biggest villains became who they are. In this series we see how Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman got their start. Catwoman was the only character even in the last 3 Batman films, so I’m not really sure if we’re to go under the assumption that Batman got rid of them in-between sequels or something.

One of the main problems that many fans of Batman have with this series involves the Gotham City Police Department. See when Bruce Wayne becomes the Dark Knight in the comics, Detectives Bullock, Montoya, and Allen are relative new comers to the city. But here, they’re seasoned veterans compared top fresh faced Jim Gordon, direct from Detroit.

I see this series as a sort of Elseworlds title in which somethings are tangent from the real Batman universe timeline. Also in the Elseworlds books, it’s explained that in those stories there occur things that “don’t exist or shouldn’t exist.” So maybe that’s you answer- Montoya & Allen shouldn’t be in Gotham, but hey, this is a different earth so anything can happen.

Things aren’t always as they seem and that seems to anger fans. One case in point is Harvey Bullock. In the comics, he’s a slob and kinda lazy but he’s as honest a cop as they come. Here, he’s on the take for the Falcones. Now, my theory is that Bullock is undercover for Internal Affairs, collecting data on corrupt cops. But he’s got to play a slime ball in other to fit in with the rest of the bad apples in the GCPD. Now that he’s got straight arrow Gordon as his partner, Harvey’s got to be more cunning or Jim’s going to blow his cover.

I don’t really mind that some characters are too old or that they don’t belong. I’ve been a fan of DC’s imaginary tales for so long that it doesn’t bother me. Plus, GCPD is one of my favorite series of all-time. It shows the workings of the Police Department without the assistance of the Bat. I think this series captures that spirit very well. So what if Rene Montoya would be almost 50 when Bruce dons the cowl? This is good television.

One pleasant surprise has been the character of Oswald Cobblepot (AKA the Penguin.) When I saw previews of this series, I didn’t think actor Robin Lord Taylor quite had the chops, much less any resemblance. But, I’ve been proven wrong! Taylor’s Penguin is cunning, ruthless, and has panache for the good life. His beak nose and the walk he now walks after a serious leg injury is episode 1 has made this Penguin so very close to being the definitive Penguin on stage and screen. He’s only missing a little padding- okay, a lot of padding.

Gotham has potential and it’s rumored that many more fan favorite villains and their origins will be revealed. I’m hoping they’ll tackle some of the lesser known members of Batman’s Rogues Gallery. Characters like Tobias Whale, Humpty & Dumpty, the Bookworm, and even the Mad Hatter and the original Clayface could be used to an extent that it would be plausible that they were adults and active before Bruce Wayne matures.

Like Elseworlds, the possibilities are endless even if they shouldn’t be.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Gotham airs Monday nights at 8pm EST on FOX.

 

Halloween Terror #1(The 160-Character Review Challenge)- 10/14/14

Vampire. Witch. Wolfman. Mummy. Frankenstein monster. 5 creepy Halloween tales in stark black & white. An indy gem that's hard 2 find. wc 8/10

Dead Boy Detectives, Volume 1: Schoolboy Terrors

The Dead Boy Detectives have been around since 2001. They originated in the pages of Gaiman’s The Sandman family of books. I’ve read some Sandman stuff, such as a couple of volumes from the main series, some Death graphic novels, and Thessaly. But in my readings I’ve never come across these guys.

A few months ago, I became the Admin for the DC Comics and Vertigo new releases for stashmycomics.com. It was here in putting the newest releases up every week that I first came across the DBDs.

Meet Edwin and Charles. Edwin was murdered at his boarding school in 1913. Jump to 1990, where Charles was murdered at the same school. Somehow, the two meet and ended up rejected Death’s offer to find peace on the other side, hoping to become a sort of paranormal Encyclopedia Brown.

In this volume, the boys help a pair of girl ghosts find their missing cat. Then they go back to their old haunt (pun intended) in hopes of helping a sad girl stave off the very same faith that befell them years ago. Finally, live becomes topsy turvy when Edwin’s attempt to free a ghost from a broken mirror results in him being turned upside down and he gets stuck like that.

 Dead Boy Detectives was very interesting. I enjoyed the previews I had reading during my Admin work. So, the series was on my radar. Once again, my local library came through and I was about to snatch this up before it even hit the shelf. There’s a little demonic voodoo in this book. I don’t usually read those types of books. Thankfully, it wasn’t too scary. Other than a few swears and well, Death of course, it’s a fairly mild opening act.

Sometimes, it takes a little while before the true motives of a series becomes clear. I thought the first two volumes of Sandman weren’t so bad but volume 3 really freaked me out and I haven’t been back since. But I think the Death books are fantastic. So, I was willing to give this a try. I’m very pleased and I would give volume 2 a go once it becomes available.

There’s also at least 2 other Dead Boy Detective miniseries published about 10 years ago. I’m interested in them as well but I want to read volume 2 of this current series before my mind is made up about reading them.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

X-Men: No More Humans

 During the House of M storyline, the Scarlett Witch went a little crazy and made a hex that wiped out most of the mutant population. Now, in the first original X-Men graphic novel since God Loves, Man Kills, we see what the world would be like if there was an all-human rapture.

With Wolverine and Storm’s X-Men and Cyclops’ Uncanny X-Men at each other’s throats, the two teams will have to forge an uneasy truce if they want to get to the bottom of the disappearance of all the humans. It all seems to be wrapping up into one very neat package when all of a sudden a trans-dimensional doorway is opened and now persecuted mutants from across the Marvel multi-verse are seeking shelter and sanctuary on this newly dehumanized earth.

This is a very good issue that is a little trippy and a little too advance in where I’ve left off on both All-New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men. The biggest example is that the original X-Men have now joined forces with Cyclops. I have no idea what that’s all about but I cannot wait till I get my hands on the answer.

Another thing I am looking forward to is the forthcoming All-New X-Men/ Guardians of the Galaxy team-up. I’ve only seen the mock-up for the series but it looks awesome.

About the only thing I am disappointed with in this book is the ‘director’s cut’ material. There’s a small script from a few scenes and some inked black and white pages. While I did find it a neat exercise in comic book scripting 101, I was disappointed by the lack of notes or background info that many collections seem to have these days.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #11 (The 160-Character Review Challenge)

The Bat trains Barbara 2b batgirl under promise not 2 go it alone till ready. Babs must defy orders when robbers hold Gordons hostage. wc 9/10

Legends of the DC Universe #10 (The 160-Character Review Challenge)

Though Babs calls Jim Gordon 'dad'- he's actually her uncle. We get 2 see the seeds of that relationship. Later inspired 2b batgirl. wc 9/10

The 160-Character Review Challenge

Texting: I've only just started but it's been all the rage 4 a while. I thought this week it would b a fun challenge 2 limit my reviews 2 only 160 characters (the limit I am allowed per text on my cell.) so here are the rules. 1: picture text gives 1000 characters. Except 4 this post pic texting is a no-no. 2: spaces on my phone counts towards my 160 so I must b creative & concise. 3: no text speak but I can sub the following to save space- 2 b 4 and & instead of the intended word. 4: 1 text per review. No doubling. 5: single issue comics only- 160 doesn't do a treasury justice. 6: except 4 capitalizing sentences & proper names I cannot edit a text once I email it. 7: I can use wc or nwc 2 tell if a book is worth consuming or not. 8: I may use a fraction 2 numerically rate my reviews instead of my normal stars 4 this challenge. So there you have it. I am sure this will b harder than
it looks. I had 6 times as many characters 2 work with on this & I am struggling 2 keep under 1000 char-

The Best of Judge Dredd

The cool thing about this book is that it can still be found in the bargain section of your local Barnes and Noble right now! For only $12 you get almost 2 dozen stories and nearly 300 pages of “I Am the Law.” You’ll notice on the cover that this book is titled ‘The Best of Judge Dredd’ and yet the cover doesn’t have the face of Stallone on it.

In this collection you get the very first appearance of Judge Dredd, you’ll learn his first name along with meet his brother ‘Rico.’ You’ll see Dredd take on the Angel gang, make his way through the Badlands of the American mid-west, and learn about how Dredd is an allegory for the evils of too much safety for the public means an actual loss of personal freedom.

What you will not get in this book are complete stories. On no less than 3 occasions, the action end with a ‘to be continued’ and a tiny blurb that the rest of the story can be found in the Complete Case files of Judge Dredd (various volumes.) Ugh- I hate that! Thankfully, there are still some very good tales that do come to a close in this book.

One tale that I thought I would hate was ‘America’ and in the end I was a fan of it! In that story, Judge Dredd is a minor character and you learn about how the lives of two kids ends up very different when one becomes an anti-Judge activist and the other a successful member of society’s elite. The tale is powerful, very well written, has a dynamic art palette and tone that is very reminiscent of Bladerunner and should be required reading for any graphic novel fan.

One last thing about this book that I did not like. Though there was a 2 page history of Dredd and the stories were titled, there was very little information about these stories. Yes, I know that just about every story in this collection came from the British import 2000AD. However, I don’t know which issue or what year the yarns came from. Also, there’s only a handful of stories that boast any sort of credits to the writing and art staff. I would’ve liked to have seen more of that.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and snatch up this book before it sells out. Just make sure you don’t break any laws trying to get it! You catch my drift, Citizen?

Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.