CHEW, Volume 1: Taster's Choice

    In the not-too-distant future, an outbreak of the bird flu has caused the selling, ownership, and eating of poultry to be a federal crime. Leading this fight is agent John Chu, the newest member of the Food And Drug Administration's Special Crimes Unit. John's got a special power- he's cibopathic, which means when he takes a bite out of an apple, he can see it being grown, picked, and shipped to the store. It also makes eating meat kinda gross. So when an FDA inspector goes missing, John's diet is going to consist of eating some of the clues, such as the missing agent's dead dog. Mmmmm... that's good detectin'!

    Where was I when this series first came out? This 2009 series by John Layman (Detective Comics) and Rob Guillory has everything I look for in a series. It's got humor, a compelling mystery, great action, and it's got heart... and lungs...and spleen.

   As a chef, I appreciate the food aspect of this story and the main character of Chu is awesome. He's awkward in the love department but when the chips are down, he's a total badass! If this was ever made into a series or movie, I could see Ken Leung (LOST, The Night Shift) tackling the role.

   But I wasn't 100% sold on this series. For some reason around issue 3, the series starts to focus on an alien planet and it just didn't seem to fit. The whole conspiracy behind the bird flu is a good enough to keep me coming back. CHEW did not need to become a sci-fi all of a sudden and the quick change isn't adequately addressed in volume 1. Thankfully, everything else I saw in this opening round was enough to keep me coming back (for the next volume at least.)

   In volume 2, if Layman didn't properly tackle the mystery planet plot almost immediately and with a smart explanation for its inclusion, I might be going on a fast from CHEW after the next course. But for now, this crazy cool series is on my comic book shopping list!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Classic Star Wars, Volume 2: Rebel Storm

    Continuing the newspaper series by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson. In this collection, the Rebellion sniffs out a traitor amongst some new allies, Han enters Chewie in a gladiator match to the death to retrieve a mystical gem, Luke faces an ancient evil lurking in the Massassi Temples on Yavin, Darth Vader christens his super star destroyer, The Executor, and the Mon Calamari join the rebellion.

   The stories are excellent and I think after 2 volumes, I finally have the unique pacing down pat. But what I really love is the artwork. Not every panel of Luke, Han, and Leia look like their real life counterparts. But the renderings of droids, Lord Vader, and vehicles by the talented artist, Al Williamson is stunning! It also helps that the editorial team at Dark Horse did a museum quality job on the restoration and coloring of these strips.

   I am so glad that I have volume #3. This book ends on a cliffhanger and I don' think I could wait very long to find out what happens next in what is, unfortunately, the swan song to a fantastic run of Star Wars universe tales.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Snowman: 1944 Special

Cover #1A.

  What a difference a year and another publishing company make. Snowman 1944 was supposed to end with issue #4. But for some reason be it creative, financial, both, Entity Comics never got around to publishing it. So in 1997, Avatar Press became the new home for Snowman and saw and end to the 1944 miniseries with this special one-shot.

    The creative team stayed the same with the move to Avatar. So, you'd think that would have kept the quality of the book up to the same level of the original 3 Snowman 1944 issues. Well, you'd be wrong.

   First of all, the book starts out with an 8-page rehash of everything that happened so far in this story. I understand that since so much time had elapsed between issue 3 and this special, that some sort of reminder was needed. I appreciate that. But none of the artwork was new! It was all cut and pasted from issues 1-3! For a $4 comic from the 90s, that's unacceptable!!!

   Then comes the story itself. When we last left Tommy Gunn, his Nazi hostage had been killed by the Snowman. Though Tommy seemed to hate to see her go, there didn't seem to be any love lost. Yet most of this issue becomes some sort of twisted fantasy between the American soldier and the Nazi officer as Tommy seeks to escape Occupied territory in a stolen German plane. Yet all this daydreaming really detracted from the story.  Not to mention that the language was (now) left unedited and nudity abounds in a book known only for being violently gritty.

   Lastly, the story does something completely unexpected and really dumb- it becomes a time travelling romp with a trio of characters that didn't even appear in either the Snowman 1944 or Origin story from the Entity books. Maybe those characters are from the original Snowman book. But if they are, I'd expect some sort of mention of them somewhere (ANYWHERE) in this book's summary or issues 1-3.

 Speaking briefly on the Snowman #0 story. It's completely gone from this issue. But I did learn that with Avatar's undertaking of the Snowman franchise, that story finally got to see print as a stand alone series. Yet, with how god awful this special was, I'm not sure if I ever want to venture out into the frigid world of the Snowman.

   Not Worth Consuming

   Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Secret Coders (Family Comic Friday)

  When a young girl named Hopper transfers to Stately Academy, it’s a rough transition. Her basketball skills aren’t up to par with the rest of the team, nobody wants to sit with her at lunch, and the really difficult Mandarin teacher is, in reality, her mom! But when she finally makes a new friend named Eni, the pair uncover a secret involving the birds at the school, it opens Hopper up to the world of computer coding. With a myriad of mysterious numbers and locked doors, Hooper and Eni work together to undercover the mystery of Stately Academy.

  Written by Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) with art by Mike Holmes (Adventure Time), 2015’s Secret Coders is a great new series that combines science, mystery, and technology. The book is designed like a graphic novel with mystery activities that the reader is encouraged to solve along with Hopper and Eni.

  Yang was just recently selected as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and I think that this book is an excellent reason why the author was chosen. Already an accomplished writer as well as a teacher in computer science, Gene Luen knows what it takes to make learning fun for kids, such as turning a graphic novel mystery into an undercover manual for computer programming!

  I wish him well in his tenure as a literary ambassador!

  Secret Coders ends with a cliffhanger. Usually, this is a pet peeve of mine, but I got this at the library and it’s the first book in the series, so I can overlook it. However, it won’t be until August of this year before book 2 drops! That’s a long time for kids to wait for a book sequel! (Heck, it’s a long time for me to wait! and I’m 38!!!)

  That being said, there are lots of unresolved conflicts such as the troubling dynamic of Hopper and her mom, why her father just up and disappeared, and what really is going on at Stately Academy. Hopefully, Yang will include a good 2-3 page ‘Story So Far…’ summary in volume 2.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Snowman 1944 #3

   Tommy Gunn is on the run for his life from both the Nazi army and the ancient evil of the Snowman. With the Panzer destroyed, the American pilot's only chance is to make it to the airfield on the other side of a concentration camp.  All out action and thrills develops a little bit of a conscience as the horrors of the holocaust are explored in this, the penultimate chapter in the Snowman 1944 saga.

    While the main story hasn't dipped in quality, I'm stumped by what happened to the backup feature. In the first issue, we got a very good opening chapter in the Snowman's origin. The next issue also contained some of the origin story, but it wasn't as detailed. By this issue, the origin has completely disappeared! I have no clue as to what has happened to it either...

   At least, it doesn't detract from the quality of the main feature.

   Parental Advisory

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Snowman 1944 #2

       

   The Snowman has been unwittingly unleashed and none are safe! Now downed fighter pilot Tommy Gunn and his Nazi hostage are in for the fight of their lives. Oh, and did I mention the Panzer?  It's modern warfare VS ancient evil in a frosty battle royale!

    Another great chapter in this supernatural story set in World War II. The swears are still edited and the gore level is set to 11 (just look at the freakin' cover on the right!) The only difference with this issue compared to the last is that there is a 'Parental Advisory' on the cover.

    Worth Consuming!

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Snowman 1944 #1

    When a waist gunner for an Allied bomber is forced to bail during the Battle of the Bulge, he inadvertently unleashes a Native America demon upon Axis and Allies alike. Thus begins a new series on a character that I am unfamiliar with. But this book from 1996 isn't the Snowman's first ever appearance. I learned from reading in on the letters page that the ice monster starred in another series in 1995-96.

   The brainchild of two cousins, Matt Martin and Cameron Enders,  the idea behind Snowman is that when Native American warrior was brutally murdered during a supposed peace treaty with the white man, the man's sister conjurors a demon out of an arrowhead talisman. When the projectiles touch snow, it summons the creature which kills white indiscriminately with looks of blood and gore. (It's the very same talisman that the doomed gunner is wearing around his neck as a good luck charm.)

    How do I know all this? Well, if you flip this comic over, you get the first chapter of Snowman #0. That's is the never before told origin story of Snowman and it's quite good as well.

    I enjoyed both sides of this comic from the now defunct Entity Comics. It was an original premise that mixed Old West folklore with the terrors of World War II. And it was full of action!

   However, this is not a book for kids. Though drawn in black and white, this book was bloody and violent. Oddly enough, for such a book there's no cussing. Let me rephrase that- there's adult language but it's either blocked out or '#$%#!' are used instead of spelling things out. A little weird but still an enjoyable gritty read! And not a bad find for only a quarter at a comics show!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Classic Star Wars Volume One

   Before I begin my review, let's get one thing straight: Classic Star Wars is by far the most confusing Dark Horse title EVER! Classic Star Wars is a 3-volume collection of newspaper strips by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson that ran in papers nationwide from 1980 until 1984 when the title was cancelled. I've always thought that this series should have been titled Star Wars Daily and that the original Marvel Comics run should have been designated CLASSIC! Instead the Marvel reprints were packaged as CLASSIC STAR WARS: A LONG TIME AGO... Added to the confusion is yet another series of trade paperbacks that reprint the 1979-1980 non-Goodwin penned strips called Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures!

    Having read the introductions, a little bit of this confusion is finally cleared up to me. Dark Horse in the early 90s had just received the rights to publish Star Wars comics and they were desperate to start raking in the sales. They didn't have the original Marvel books in their possession yet, so they went on to print the newspaper strips.

   For some reason, the first 18-months of the strips was MIA. Desperate to present rabid Star Wars fans with anything original, Dark Horse found its answer in rival publisher Russ Cochran and series artist Williamson. Russ Cochran had a few years earlier put out these giant sized hardback editions of the strip. But they were in black and white and they were reprints from a collection of clippings a fan made during the strip's original run. The images weren't all that great. Plus, since some strips didn't carry the weekly strip while others didn't carry the Sunday edition, to keep the reader from getting lost there were redundancies galore. Enter: Al Williamson!

    Strip artist Al Williamson apparently was ultra-meticulous. Not only did he have all of the original artwork but they were catalogued to such a degree that his files actually found flaws in the Russ Cochran archives! Working with Dark Horse, Williamson and company produced what I am just about to review, a beautiful collection of the strips, edited to look more like a classic format comic book, repetitive panels deleted; now colored, re-inked, and featuring original covers and filler art by Al!

  While I hated the title, I loved the content. The great introduction by writer Archie Goodwin helped me to better understand the way the strips were organized. There's lots of drama and action but it's framed in such a way that every other panel had to be a cliffhanger in order to entice the reader back the next day.

   In this volume, we learn of what really happened with Han and that bounty hunter on Ord Mandell. Then Luke accepts a deadly mission to the Imperial shipyards before he's a captive of the Serpent Masters. Lastly, before Han sniffs out a rebel traitor on an ocean planet, the crew of the Millenium Falcon are trapped in the wake of a collapsing star.

   The stories were exciting and I was riveted. There was one thing that really bugged me storywise and that was the love triangle between Princess Leia, Han Solo, and a certain farmboy from Tatooine. True, all of this happened before the big reveal in Return of the Jedi that Luke and Leia were brother and sister. But you'd think Lucas would've put the kibosh on this plotline. Plus, looking back at the massive hots Luke has for his (at the time unknown) sister, it's kinda creepy.

    But the thing I loved the most about this book was the art. Now when these strips were first published I was of the ages of 3-7. Yet, looking at Williamson's deft artwork and dramatic shading, I was taken instantly back to the days of having my uncles or parents read to me the daily adventures of my favorite Star Wars characters. Williamson's art is so identifiable. Though Luke may not look like Luke on every panel, the artist's renderings of spaceships, droids, and Darth Vader are so perfect.

    George Lucas was clearly influenced by the Flash Gordon serials of the 40s and 50s in making Star Wars. Here, Al Williamson's work is inspired by the classic strips that starred Flash and the Merciless Ming. Plus, I think the artist loves to draw lizards because he hides them in his artwork a lot. It's like a cool signature Easter Egg.

    With Marvel owning the rights to these properties again, you might see this series get a new reissue one day soon. But, the original Classic Star Wars volumes are not hard to find. Amazon has a ton for sale and I often find the books in this series at LCS and used books stores nationwide. And for a decent price too.

    A forgotten treasure in the Star Wars comic universe.

   Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

Axe Cop, Volume 2: Bad Guy Earth

   When an evil planet appears in the sky, ready to wipe out the earth, it's just the beginning of another epic madcap adventure starring Axe Cop and friends. Menacing twins, dinosaurs vs. alien invaders, a terrifying witch that rides a gorilla that rides a lion, zombies, evil doppelgangers, and wishing grant unicorn horns are just some of the most bizarre elements in this the second volume of Axe Cop. From the mind of a 6-year-old genius-in-training and his 20-something older brother, Malachai & Ethan Nicolle, expect the unexpected. 

    Now if this was something published by DC or Marvel I would rip it a new one in my review. But this book was designed as an experiment to see just how in-depth of a story could a 6-year old craft. With that in mind, I would say that this test was a success. 

   You can't expect a child to write Shakespeare. They don't have the attention span to see a story get from point A to point Z without about 500 tangents. Thankfully, big bro Ethan kept Malachi on task. for the most. But man, does that little guy have an imagination! And man, can older brother draw!!! (Thought why his intelligent rabbit folk look like those Rabbids video game characters are intentional or not is up for debate.)

   Axe Cop has made me laugh every since I got my hands on the first volume almost 5 years ago. Then when we got the short-lived but oh so great Axe Cop cartoon starring Nick Offerman as the voice of the hero. And I was hooked!!!  Now, I can't see Offerman without thinking 'AXE COP' but I also can't read Axe Cop without hearing Offerman's deep soothing voice. 

    If you are a fan of totally insane webcomics like Doctor McNinja then this is the series for you. Plus, since it's written by a child, kids and adults will delight. One caveat- this book is written by a child;, so expect some gross humor and lots of violence. Not gory, but definitely not safe either.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Animaniacs get DeZanitized (Family Comic Friday: Retro Edition)

   Relive the very first episodic adventure of the Warner Brothers (and Sister!)- Yakko, Wakko, and Dot (She's the cute one!)- in this 1996 graphic novel from Scholastic. 

    The Warners are a failed cartoon experiment that proved to be too zany for 1940s theatre goers. So the cartoon siblings are locked up in the Warner Bros. Studio Water Tower. After 50 years, somehow, the toons are able to escape but they're driving everyone crazy. Enter renown psychologist to the stars to cure these forgotten celebrities of their madness. Only, when everything is done, it's going to the doctor who needs therapy!

    I remember watching this Fox series when my little sister when it first appeared on TV in the 1990s. My sister was born 12 years after I was, so even though I was in high school, I ended up watching a lot of cartoons with her. Animaniacs was one of her favorites (except for Batman: The Animated Series- but who didn't love that show!) Oddly enough, a lot of folks I went to high school with liked this show too!

    One thing that made the series so endearing to everyone was the Pinky and the Brain vignette that appeared on about every third or fourth episode of Animaniacs. Eventually, the stories about the two lab rats out to conquer the world was given its own show. Just don't expect to see them very much in this book. Though, Brain, the genius, and Pinky, the insane one, appear in a couple of scenes, it's merely as cameos. But if you are looking for P&B memorabilia, then this will be something you'd want to add to your collection.

   De-Zanitized features TV cartoon quality artwork. But, without being in color, the all black & white Warner Brothers (and sister) get lost in the very detailed scenery. Regardless, this was still a fun read. 

   I found this at a yard sale for like a quarter. But you could find this book on Amazon for as low as a penny (plus shipping). Why, if you subscribe to Amazon's streaming service, you can buy the episode that this book is based on for a couple of bucks. 

   Animanics is one of the reasons that Warner Bros. and FOX dominated 90s cartoons. Filled with 1940s film references, clever puns, and wild sight gags, this was just one of several cartoons you could've seen every day after school. And it was one of the highlights of a decade that many consider having been pretty depressing. 

   If only cartoons today were of this quality...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

   

Peter Panzerfaust, Volume 4: The Hunt

   

  The World War II twist on the Peter Pan legend continues with Peter's team in disarray. After Hook's ambush in volume 3, some teammates have disappeared, some retired, and some died. Why I can't even tell you where the Darling family wandered off to. Even worse- Peter's been captured by the Nazis!!!

   The focus of this volume is on Tiger Lily and her husband Julien. Lily's father died in the assault. So, it's up to the young woman to avenge his death by rounding up and disbursing with Hook's men in a most violent fashion. As revenge turns into dogged obsession, a rift in the relationship between husband and wife forms. Will Tiger Lily end up losing more than her father in this second war to end all wars?

   This fantastic series by Image just keeps surprising me. There're so many similarities to the Pan legend. Yet, Panzerfaust is not a modern war rehash of everything I know, seen, and read about Peter and his Lost Boys. 

   The last two volumes ended in such a way that I would've been okay if that was the end to Peter's story. That's not the case here. No, I didn't hate this book. It's just that this chapter doesn't have a satisfying enough conclusion for me to say 'It can end here!" Unfortunately, I can't find any evidence of when volume 5 will drop and I just can't wait to know what happens next.

    I may have to buy some back issues...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Baby, It's Freakin' Freezing Outside!!!

Folks, in case you just don't keep up with the weather, it's supposed to be really nasty on the Eart Coast. I live in North Carolina where the weather forecasts have been all over the place. Some say 3-6 inches, a couple has said over a foot if frozen precipitation. But the big thing that keeps popping up is the word ICE.

   Some weather people are predicting about .25-.5 inch of ice. I saw one report call for 3/4 of an inch near where I work. Regardless, with lots of ice come power outages.

   I'm planning on keeping up with my reviews. However, if the power goes out, I can't get online and I'm not going to drive on slick roads to find WiFi. If I missed my deadline for Family Comic Friday or can't post for a couple of days, blame it on the weather. But if the power stays on, I'll be posting.

  So for the time being, be safe, stay warm, and keep reading...

Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir

   If I am wrong about this, forgive me- For the first time ever, Stan Lee recounts his 70+ years in the comics industry in graphic novel form. 
  
    It's the way Stan the Man's autobiography was meant to be presented. From his earliest days at Atlas (now Marvel) as a copyboy for Joe Simon and Jack Kirby to surviving the great comics scare of the 1950s to partnering with the King to create the Marvel Universe up to his ubiquitous cameos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe- this epic work has it all.

   Some of these tales I've read before. Maybe not from Stan's mouth but I've heard many of the anecdotes before. But, to have the master's spin put on them, it's really cool. 

   However, the truth must be told, I think Lee does paint himself in a way too positive light. For example, in his numerous battles with Atlas/Marvel owner Martin Goodman, Stan is seen constantly fighting for his zany superhero ideas and bullpen of talent. But like they say 'the history books are written by the victors' and many of Lee's detractors are either no longer without or really bitter...

   Assisting Stan is the great Peter David (The Incredible Hulk) on co-writing duties with Colleen Doran (The Nightmare Factory) on art. Obviously, I can tell what Doran was responsible for but the dialogue and history of comics, I couldn't tell you where Stan Lee ends and Peter David begins. The writing talents are that seamless!
   
Amazing Fantastic Incredible is a work that I've seen many fans of comics have posted about on social media since the graphic novel hit stores in November of last year. Sadly, the reviews for this book have been mixed. Most of the complaints I've seen  have accused Lee of being a revisionist historian (remember what I said about the author and his frequent battles with his publisher earlier?) 

   But I loved this book!  The writing was unparalleled- what do you expect from the combined might of Stan Lee and Peter David?! But don't forget the art! Doran takes every page and has filled them with great easter eggs and original prints, and much more. This book is the ultimate feast for the eyes of any comics fan, be ye solely in the Marvel or DC camps!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars
  

   

The Big Beefy Book of Bart Simpson

   My all-time favorite episode of the Simpsons is called '22 Short Films About Springfield.' In that classic episode from 1996, Bart wonders if anything interesting in his hometown. The episode then focuses on all of the supporting characters on the show such as Professor Frink, Milhouse's family, and Comic Book Guy. I love how all of these iconic characters get a chance to shine instead of the Simpson family.

    If ever there was a comic book version of that great episode, it's this collection of issues from Bongo Comics- The Big Beefy Book of Bart Simpson!

Among some of the awesomeness contained within is a time-travelling adventure with Prof. Frink back to the early days of Homer and Marge, the epic search for the Squishee of Death, Computer Hacking 101 with Martin Prince, and much much more insanity.

   There wasn't a moment of this collection that I didn't enjoy though the Bart as Tarzan parody was probably the weakest tale of the bunch and yet I kept laughing and laughing at its goofiness!

    When you need a Simpsons fix and can't watch it on TV or online- the dynamic comic books by Bongo are a near perfect substitute.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Superboy And The Legion of Super-Heroes

  This pocket-sized paperback from 1977 reprints 4 Superboy & Legion of Superheroes tales. The first tale is a straight-on Superboy story from the mid-70s, in which the superpowered youth discovers a capsule containing the bodies of his Kryptonian parents Jor-El and Lara. However, Superboy cannot rescue them as their vessel is encrusted with deadly Kryptonite. Added to the danger, a rogue scientist from Kal-El's birthplace has rigged nearby asteroids to exploded should Superboy use his powers. You know, for  doomed planet in which Superman was originally the only survivor, a whole lot of Kryptonians slipped through the cracks of that tragedy!

   The next story is taken from the late sixties. It Involves Superboy bringing his girlfriend Lana Lang with him to the future to meet the Legion of Superheroes. Lana at this time had a way to become a superhero called the Insect Queen and it's her hope that the Legion will make her a member. But when it is discovered that her powers are not natural, they reject her. Can she convince them that she has what is takes or will a prophecy from a Legionnaire with clairvoyant powers spell Lana Lang's doom?

   Story #3 stars only the Legion. Saturn Girl ana Princess Projecta are called upon to recapture a dangerous fugitive. When the villain escapes them, he also causes the heroes to pass out. When revived, none of their fellow Legion seem to know who they are and treat them as villains. Even more mysterious are two new Legionnaires named Saturn Lad and Prince Projecto! Are these male counterparts behind the Princess and Saturn Girl's mistaken identity or is there a more sinister plot lurking in the background?

   Lastly, in perhaps the best story of the four, is a tale that spans the past, present, and future. In medieval England, Superboy battles a wizard who seeks to use a powerful stone to kill Superboy and then conquer the world. After Superboy defeats the mage, he throws the rock into the stratosphere where it goes into orbit for two thousand years. The rock winds up in the hands of the Legionnaire Chameleon Boy. Possessed by the stone, Cam is compelled to complete the wizard's goal of killing the Boy of Steel as he travels to 1970s Smallville to finish the job!

    The second and last story were really any good. They were entertaining, fun, and didn't seem to treat the reader like they were stupid. The first adventure ended in such a way that the reader is lead to beleive that none of it even happened. And the ending to the tale with the forgotten Legionnaires was such a cop-out and it had a really stupid solution to it. I was not impressed!

   This reprint collection is rare and by many collectors, it's considered a holy grail. Actually, any pocket-sized treasury like this from DC or Marvel is held in high regard amongst collectors and fans of Silver and Bronze Age comics., I being one of them! But, they look nowhere near what they originally did when they hit newsstands. This type of  book is reprinted in black and white, edited down in order to fit the smaller format, and they rarely give credit to the writers, artists, and editors behind these vintage yarns.

     Yet, those same collectors who adore these collections often tend to hate their modern counterparts (DC Showcase Presents and Marvel Essentials!) This is ridiculous. Both vintage and modern collections are in black and white. Both don't always give credit where it is due and both are edited for format reasons. Yet, the modern collections only remove ads, letter pages, and stories that don't star the theme character. Plus, the modern books boast bigger pages and for only $20 you get about 25 stories in DC Showcase and Essentials!

  So why all the hate? I love both versions of the reprints and I REALLY love the modern treasuries as they are a darn good deal. I think a blindness to nostalgia is behind the hatred.

   If you are looking to get a bunch of reprints for a good price search out Essentials and DC Showcase. I'm not trying to dissuade you from books such as this one that I am reviewing. But due to rarity, they are often very expensive and since they are scarce, they are really hard to find unless you are willing to look and look.

   Collections like these are beautiful discoveries when you can locate them. And like everything beautiful, it's in the eye of the beholder. But this is one of the weaker collections I have been fortunate to come across in my nearly 40 years of comic collecting.

   Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Pablo & Jane and the Hot Air Contraption (Family Comic Friday)

  Friends Pablo and Jane are so bored! It's raining and they've read all of their comic books, played all their board games, and are having cabin fever. So when the duo decides to explore an abandoned building in the center of town, they get mixed up in an epic fight between an evil cat and an 18th-century professor named Dr Jules, whose been turned into a rat. It seems that the villainous cat wants to use the professor's hot air balloon time machine to take over the universe. But something goes haywire and the machine explodes.

    As a result, the children and Dr Jules are thrust into the Monster Dimension, where ghastly ghouls roam the earth terrorising the human populace and maybe tenderising a few as a late night snack. In order to get back home, the kids must find an assortment of parts in order to repair time machine contraption. Travelling the far corners of monster earth, Pablo and Jane must venture to a creepy bayou, a deadly outback, and parts unknown  before their feline foe does; else they'll be stranded in this alternate reality and become dinner for the creatures of the night.

   Pablo & Jane and the Hot-Air Contraption is one part graphic novel and one part Where's Waldo. Up until when Dr Jules' machine goes wonky, the book is formatted like a comic book. But, when the children arrive in the Monster Dimension, creator Jose Domingo goes into an insane seek-and-find mode.

   The first four or five scenes are pretty easy. You have to find about 4-7 itsy-bitsy parts like light bulbs, screws, and control switches. However, as the book progresses, the level of difficulty gets harder. It also doesn't help that the parts you must find are so blasted tiny nor that the things you must find look nothing like they do on the search inventory key.

   Towards the end, I was having to find about 15-18 very small items. Maybe it's that I am getting older and I just can't find little things like a blue screw that are the size of a booger. But I really started getting both flustered trying to discover everything and a headache! By the last couple of scenes, I gave up. (I didn't even attempt to go back and find the extra stuff listed in the back of the book.)

   This 2015 book is full of ghosts, vampires, tiki gods, and other monsters. But the source material isn't that scary. The graphic novel sections also don't have anything for parents to object to except some cartoon violence similar to Tom & Jerry. Amazon lists this as a book for kids aged 5-7. But since it is really hard to find a lot of the hidden objects in this book, I might up the appropriateness of this book to age 10.

   Pablo and Jane started off really well. It just gets harder and harder to enjoy with each flip of the page. Domingo's art is quite fanciful and I enjoyed eevery scene from a cartoon standpoint. But I think if the illustrator wants to continue with the adventures of Pablo & Jane, he's going to make the things you search for just a little bit bigger. Beleive me, your eyes will thank you!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Batman: The War Years (1939-1945)

   This collection of early Batman stories is the first of 3 volumes devoted to the World War II exploits of the DC Trinity. These books are edited by legend Roy Thomas, who also provides his unique take on the source material as a comics insider and devoted historian of the medium. Under Thomas' watch, 'The War Years' is divided into chapters focusing on each phase of the war effort such as life in the United States prior to Pearl Harbor, fifth column espionage, war bonds, and the spoils of war itself, as it pertains to the evolution of the Batman. 

    Most of these stories are pretty crude in regards to the art, dialogue, and plot. But I wouldn't change a single page. During World War II, every American was expected to make sacrifices. With rationing, shortages of able-bodied men drafted into the Armed Forces, and constant fear of an Axis invasion, if a mistake was made in a comic book it was nearly impossible to see it fixed in a timely manner if at all. 

   Comics were considered a vital tool to providing morale, instruction, and patriotism to American's youth and our fighting men, so it was of the utmost importance that publication deadlines were met no matter what. That level of dedication to seeing our world kept free from tyranny allowed me to overlook any and all errors contained within this book.

    This volume contains about 20 stories and numerous covers that highlight the Batman's role in the second world war. As you witness Batman go from a brooding solo act to an optimistic duo with the addition of Robin, and finally merge into an icon of justice, you'll encounter fellow heroes such as Superman, George Washington, and President Roosevelt. Featuring villains such as the Joker and the Scarecrow, the truly evil guest stars of this book are Hitler, Emperor Hirohito and Mussolini and their enemy agents. All this and more comes to you from the deft hands of Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger, and many more artists and writers who helped craft the Dark Knight into the legend he is today.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
    

Spider-Woman: Agent of SWORD (Hardcover Edition; includes motion comic DVD)

  In the aftermath of the Secret Invasion of the Skrulls, Jessica Drew, AKA Spider-Woman, is having trouble finding her place in the world. The Skrull Queen kidnapped the heroine, impersonating her, and nearly enslaving the human race. Restored to humanity and looking very much like the face of the Skrull invaders, Drew has lost friendships, relationships, and her self-esteem. 

   So when a woman with green hair comes around offering Spider-Woman a chance to get revenge on the Skrull race who did her wrong (and make a little money to boot) it's not very hard for her to ask 'Where do I sign?'  Spider-Woman might want to eat those words when her first assignment sends her to the seediest place on earth- Madripoor. 

    This mini-series from 2009 was originally released as a groundbreaking motion comic through iTunes. It was supposed to the be the first in a long line of comics that Marvel would publish in the new digital format for years to come.  But due to a score of delays, numerous burnt-out artists, and a general lack of interest, the Marvel motion comic project fizzled after just a couple of releases. 

   Thankfully, that was not the end of Jessica's story as Agent of SWORD was later released in single issue form a few months later. This volume collects all 6 issues and includes a copy of the comic in the digital form as intended by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev. 

   While Bendis doesn't disappoint with his deft storytelling, it's the art that is what makes this book worth owning. Maleev uses real models and then through the magic of digital paint, he renders the subject into an array of heroes, villains, and everything in-between. His painted covers are a sultry delight as well.

   The coloring of this story was quite dim and it doesn't translate very well online. Maybe the choice of colors was some sort of cameraman's trick to make the special effects pop,  but I just didn't like the motion comic version of this story. I also didn't like the voice actors used. Now, I think the big problem with that was not so much that they weren't talented but since I read the print version before watching the DVD, I had built up the voices in my head, so that what I heard just didn't fit my preconceived notions. 

   I bought this book on discount and I was very excited to own it. Now that I'm done, I feel like I got a really good read out of it and a disappointing cartoon version to boot. To be honest, I'm not going to keep this one. It's going to end up in my pile of books to sell. If you live in the central North Carolina area, keep an eye out as my copy might be popping up on a used bookstore shelf near you.

   Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Battlestar Galactica, Volume 1: Memorial

  During a Cylon ambush, Commander Adama authorizes an experimental and potentially dangerous, type of weapon to be used in a last ditch effort of survival. The weapon in question is a torpedo that when it hits its target will not only destroy the massive basestar annihilating the fleet, it will wipe the Cylon ship from existence. But when the weapons cause a temporal rift in the fabric of space to open up, Apollo and Starbuck are sent to a parallel universe that's even worse than the reality that they have just come from.

   Memorial is an interesting mix of characters from Battlestar Galactica, spin-off Battlestar 1980, and the new vocabulary from the Syfy Channel reboot. I love stories about alternate realities and this one did not disappoint in the least. I do think it would've been fun to have Apollo and Starbuck pop up into the universe of the reboot Galactica but I guess that wouldn't have been feasible.  It doesn't take away from however dynamite this comic was.

   Speaking of explosive materials, this 2013 series was published by Dynamite Entertainment. Written by collaborators Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (Legion of Superheroes) and featuring the artistic talent of Cezar Razek (Witchblade/ Red Sonja), this series is what Battlestar Galactica fans have long deserved. The original Battlestar series by Marvel was comprised only of stories taken straight from the show's scripts. It lacked heart and creativity, plus that little spark of imagination that delves into unexplored territories much like licensed properties such as a Ghostbusters or Star Trek comic.

 Another plus is the photorealistic covers painted by my all-time favorite artist, Alex Ross (Kingdom Come). I love his style and I also adore his tongue-in-cheek nostalgic approach. One such example was the cover of issue #3 which is a parody of the original Star Wars poster, as well as a nod to the legal troubles Battlestar got into for being considered a Star Wars rip-off. That may have been the case with the 1979 TV series but that is not with this fantastic comic book.

   The rest of this series is now on my wish list!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Jedi Academy: The Phantom Bully (Jedi Academy #3) (Family Comic Friday)

  Padawan Roan Sanchez is about to begin his final year of schooling at the Jedi Academy Middle School. Before the year is out, he will have to complete the obstacle course, labyrinth, and one-on-one training with everybody's favorite Jedi Master, Mr. Garfield- OR he'll have to repeat the entire grade over! It's going to be hard with Roan being targeted by a mysterious foe who's sabotaging him at every turn.

   The Phantom Bully marks the conclusion to the Sanchez Trilogy but not the end to the Jedi Academy series. A new class, along with a new writer, is set to hit bookshelves in July. I'm looking forward to it but I really don't want Roan's story to end. Maybe the Jedi-in-training will return to encourage the new students of Jedi Academy. 

   But, one thing strikes me a little eerie about this series- does it bother any of you that most of the students attending Jedi Academy will either die at the hands of the clone troopers, following the Emperor's command of Order 66, or be betrayed by Anakin Skywalker, when he becomes Darth Vader? So maybe it is a good thing Roan and friends have moved on...

    Jeffrey Brown is such a talent in the Star Wars universe. His Darth Vader and Friends books are hysterical and he does a great job in making Jedi Academy both fanciful and relatable for kids. No matter what happens to the characters of the Jedi Academy series, I hope this volume isn't the end of Brown's time in a galaxy far, far away...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

   

    

Peter Panzerfaust, Volume 3: Cry of the Wolf

    The World War II retelling of the legend of Peter Pan continues with Peter and his team of resistance fighters continuing to bring the fight to the Nazis in occupied France. The notorious Hook has supposedly been vanquished but when the Braves intercept a communique with a familiar signature, Peter is in more danger than believed imaginable. Could there be a traitor in the Lost Boys midst?

    I was more than happy with the ending to volume 2. Though I knew that Peter's story wasn't over, if that was how co-creators Kurtis J. Wiebe and Tyler Jenkins chose to end the series, I would have been satisfied with it. I was a little uncertain as to if I thought to continue the story of Panzerfaust was a wise choice. But with by the end of this volume, I not only was glad that Peter's tale progressed,  I began to long for it to not stop. Thankfully, at least 2 more volumes of this compelling series are waiting for me to find them.

    The art is still pretty rough. But it's gritty and fanciful at the same time. With the spoils of war unfolding the way they do in this book in so many unexpected ways, it actually fits in with the subject matter perfectly.

    A must read for fans of fantasy reboots, Peter Pan, or just darn good war tales.


    Worth Consuming.

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

DC Universe Holiday Bash III

   

Yeah, I know it's way past Christmas. But I forgot to post this review in time, so here it is...

   This volume of the Holiday Bash was probably the best of the 3 that I've read. In this collection of holiday tales, Superman and Batman compete to make the season merry and bright for a family whose home was destroyed by the Toyman, Wonder Woman visits friends and tries to get guest Artemis into the Christmas Spirit, and Tim Drake goes on patrol alone as Robin on Christmas while Bruce Wayne is out of town on business.

    Then we get the story that is based on the cover image. The strange character depicted on the front is called Shrapnel. He's a mysterious supervillain made of metal with the ability to shoot deadly metal shards from his body and is mainly an adversary of the Doom Patrol. The baddie is spending Christmas Eve in a superhero prison facility. But when his family doesn't come to visit him, Shrapnel will literally move heaven and earth to spend the holiday with his kids; inhibitor collar be damned.

    To round out the issue, the Joker regales us with a Christmas carol Arkham Asylum style. Finally, Impulse gets a lesson in the truth about Santa. In typical fashion, when the adolescent speedster finds that the North Pole is an empty frigid wasteland, he takes it upon himself to play Kris Kringle to the whole world. 

   Featuring the talents of Karl Kesel, Chuck Dixon, Jaime Mendoza, Sean Parsons and dozens more artists, writers, inkers, and colorists, this 1999 Christmas special was the perfect Thanksgiving surprise. I found this on vacation in Asheville last November and I couldn't wait to read it! I just hate that I forgot to give it the credit is justly deserves.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

One-up Trivia by Ken Weber

The idea behind this trivia book is kinda novel. You take a commonly known fact and you build from it. For example, most people know that Hollywood icon James Dean meet an untimely death in an automobile accident. But did you know that Donald Turnipseed was the driver of the car that struck Dean’s? That's one-up trivia in a nutshell.

   Now Weber will sometimes two-up or even three-up the knowledge. Working from the James Dean example, the author went on to discuss how people who bought parts of the actors car went on to suffer some bizarre accidents as well, thus, Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder is considered by many to be cursed. Then Weber goes on to discuss superstitions of famous people.

    The premise seems very straight forward. But sometimes I felt like the author was grasping at straws to make a connection. In one instance, Weber talks about the use of the first commode in space then goes on to explain how Thomas Crapper was a real person and then our factfinder rolls into a rant about fake names. Though I thought that this was a very informative book and that Ken Weber is a very clear and concise presenter of facts and figures, discerning how he connects some of these factoids left me scratching my head.

  If you enjoy learning or are a trivia buff like me, you'll enjoy this 2006 book by Running Press. Just be aware that while you learn a lot of cool stuff, you will have to make some weird connections to get to your destination.

  Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The MAD Student Survival Guide for Those Bored of Education

   There was a time when MAD Magazine was considered edgy, controversial, adult. This 2002 collection of school-themed cartoons, published by Scholastic, is proof of how far the mighty have fallen. When I was under the age of 13, I wasn't even allowed to say the word MAD. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration but due to it's (im)mature content, my mother wouldn't let me buy it. That wasn't so much of a problem as my dad regularly bought the publication and he let me read his copies when my mom was at work. (Plus I was more of a Cracked Magazine fan and delighted in the works of John  Severin, Jack Davis, and Sol Brodsky.)

   But I remember that the MAD's of the 70s and 80s tackled issues like Nixon and Watergate, The Sexual Revolution, Women's Lib, Gorbachev and his silly birthmark, the Gary Sex scandal, and Iran-Contra. This was biting stuff that stuck it to the man or whoever else was in charge. It was the print version of the attitude of founder William Gaines (creator of EC classics like Weird Science and The Vault of Horror.) Gaines saw first hand what happened when government got involved in your business from the aftermath of the 1950s comics scare and created MAD as a way to skewer the traditonal (and often flawed) American Way of life. 

   
   The MAD Student Survival Guide is a strange mixture of classic Gaines and the modern DC versions of the title. Dave Berg's 'The Lighter Side Of...' is featured throghout the book as are Drawn Out Dramas, those great tiny cartoons by Sergio Aragones. Classic MAD artists like Al Jaffee and Don Martin are featured too. But the majority of the features in the book is the modern day drivel that MAD is now known for. Though a feature about the types of lunches packed by mom, that featured an up-and-coming Amanda Conner, was a delight.

    The new MAD is like those classic kids magazines from the 70s and 80s: Dynamite and Hot Dog. But those titles, the brain child of future DC EIC Jeanette Kahn, were from day one geared at kids. MAD wasn't! EC Comics were more known for having an adult auidence. But thanks to the coming of the Comics Code, William Gaines had to switch the format from a 4-colored comic to a black and white tabloid style in order to be free from the CCA's censoring body. 

    For almost 40-years, MAD was the authority in satire and biting wit and gave birth to such institutions as National Lampoon, Saturday Night Live, and even a live-action series on FOX called MADTV. But when Gaines died in 1992 the title's spirit of piss and vinegar died with it. The effects of Gaines death was both immediate and lingering. The company was bought out by Time Warner and the publication was looked at as just another title in the conglomerate's vast catalogue. 

    Sales were deemed more important than Gaines' attitude that MAD was a labor of love. Eventually, the title was consumed by another Time Warner property DC Comics and slowly became more of kids publication. MAD is now like like a Doberman pincher with all of it's teeth removed- and kinda sad. Sometimes, things are best left alone... this book being one of them.
   

   Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

The Weapon of A Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure by Jason Fry

  

  The Weapon of a Jedi is the third (and for me, final) young adult novel in the Journey to Star Wars: the Force Awakens series. 

   The events in this book occur shortly after the Battle of Yavin. Here, Luke Skywalker is sent on a mission to infiltrate some Imperial codes but the Force has other plans for the aspiring Jedi and he crash lands on a mysterious planet that houses an abandoned Jedi temple. There, Luke continues his training but Skywalker must protect the historic site from poachers and the Empire or countless centuries of Jedi lore will be lost forever.

     This series of books are supposed to offer clues and hints for Episode VII. But just like the Force Awakens, there is nothing about Luke Skywalker's current state of health. In fact, the very small opening scene and closer that takes place 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi does nothing to offer the reader anything about Episode VII except introducing the reader to an X-Wing pilot that I don't even remember being in the film. 

   I really felt that this book would be the one that would explain everything. In reality, I could have skipped this book. The story by Jason Fry was quite good. But if you think you have to read this book before you go to theatres to see The Force Awakens- save your cash on popcorn and jujubes instead. This book will be waiting for you on store shelves nationwide. And if you wait long enough, you might even find it on discount. 

   I wish I did...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Fable Comics (Family Comic Friday)

 

   First it was nursery rhymes, then came fairy tales, now editor Chris Duffy along with Jaime Hernandez, Liniers, George O'Connor, Roger Langridge, and dozens more cartoonists and writers tackle the world of fables in Fable Comics. 

   Fabulist Aesop is featured heavily in this book but it's not all about him. Fables from China, India, and the United States are featured in this anthology. Just about all of your favorite fables are featured here including THE FOX AND THE GRAPES, THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE, THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF, and CITY MOUSE AND COUNTRY MOUSE (my all-time favorite.)

     But the feature that I thought stole the show were about the Greek god Hermes. George O'Connor, whose 'Olympians: Ares: Bringer of War' graphic novel I reviewed last year, crafts no less than 4 adventures about the Speedster in this book. Each story was sly, fun, and the harken back to the early Flash comics of the 1940s. They were so good, I was hoping that with each turn on the page that I'd be meet with another Hermes adventure.

     This 2015 collection is the third in a series that I hope will continue on for years to come. (May I suggest Tall Tales for volume 4?)  Each story is crafted by a different art team and ranges from silly to tragic. But every story was extremely entertaining. 

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Happy New Year, 2016!

May Your 2016 be purrrrrfect!