Star Trek: New Visions #20

The crew of the Enterprise individually find themselves alone during a systems malfunction. Now the crew must piece together what has gone wrong while being tested with memories from their past. Can they get to the bottom of this mystery while not being able to trust their very own eyes?

Another John Byrne story that was quite intriguing. The level of detail Byrne has given on recreating all of the decks of the Enterprise is insanely good. But again, when it comes to all-new creatures, there's something off about them.

It's kinda like a Pixar movie. The animals, toys, and creatures created in those type of movies are really cool looking. But the staff at Pixar just can't make a human being look like a human being. Is their some sort of joint limitation of CGI and Photoshop when it comes to humanoids???

I love this series. I really love it when I can find issues for only a dollar a piece. $7.99 is just too much to pay for a monthly comic.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: New Visions #6

The story of the Federation's first encounter with the Borg can finally be told thanks to John Byrne!

Using Photoshop and an insane amount of photos from the original Star Trek TV series, Byrne tells the stories of Kirk, Spock and the crew you always wanted to see. I love this picto-comic series. Byrne tries so much to make these stories so vintage-like, you feel like you are watching a lost episode from the 1960s.

I've been a fan of John Bryne since his X-Men days and have adored his post-Crisis take on Superman. I'd buy every issue in this series right of the shelf if I could, but the $7.99 price tag has been way too steep for me. Thankfully I found a couple of issues for only a buck at one of my favorite thrift stores.

This was an exciting read. Not all of the Photoshopped images look very realistic. But I appreciate that Byrne doesn't just cut and paste everything either. There's a ton of asteroids in this story and I couldn't find a pair of matching space rocks anywhere.

And that ending was perfectly killer!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Harley Quinn: Harley Loves Joker #2

Upon buying the second issue of this two-part  miniseries, I learned that this story isn't so much a sequel to the 1994 Batman: The Animated Series story Mad Love as a continuation of a 2017 story in the pages of the Harley Quinn Rebirth comic book series.

With that new knowledge, would I have bought issue #1? More than likely yes. Because I love Paul Dini's Harley. But I would have waited to read this until after I had a chance to read those backups first!

I do feel like this story plays off of Mad Love as Harley has a real metaphysical moment here where she's starting to realize that her relationship with the Joker is pretty toxic. I also liked the explanation as to why Harley Quinn changed her costume from crazed jester to insane roller derby enthusiast.

Once again, Bret Blevins art style goes from good to Good Lord! It starts out in this very neat and clean Amanda Conner kinda whimsy. But by the last page, it all looks like a Tex Avery cartoon. It would have been an okay style in which to do Harley Loves Joker. But Blevins just isn't consistent about his art style.

A very good Harley Quinn story. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Plus it doesn't help that the art is all over the place. Kinda annoying.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Harley Quinn: Harley Loves Joker #1

Paul Dini returns to the character he knows best- Harley Quinn! This miniseries is supposed to be a sequel to the classic 1994 story Mad Love. But I really don't know where this book is in any way a sequel.

What I do know is that Harley is in a lot of debt to the Neverland Gang and has less than a week to pay it back. To do this, Harley and her Puddin’, The Joker need to score a major heist. Yet, there's a new player to the Gotham underworld that keeps getting in the way- as well as all the loot!

The story itself is really good. Just as only Nixon should go to China, Harley Quinn should only be written by Dini!

I don't quite know what to think about the artwork. Bret Blevins’ art starts out in this issue very neat and clean. But his drawing quality really deteriorates over the progression of the first chapter. Was Blevins pressed for time with the deadline? Did he get a hand cramp? Was he just bored with the project?

I really don't know. But it really was a distraction. Hopefully issue #2 will be better. More than that, I really hope I see the connection between this story and Mad Love!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Clem Hetherington, Volume 1 (Family Comic Friday)

I think I finally have found out why so many kids are orphans in children’s literature. It’s because if mom and dad was around, there is no way in the world that the parents would let their kids do any of the insane stuff they do in them! That’s the case in today’s edition of Family Comic Friday. The graphic novel we review is Clem Hetherington and the Ironwood Race. It’s the first in a new series by Something’s Amiss at the Zoo’s Jen Breach and Douglas Holgate.

Clem Hetherington, Volume 1: Clem Hetherington and the Ironwood Race
Written by Jen Breach
Art by Douglas Holgate
Published by Graphix

13-year old Clem and her robot brother Digory have run away from the orphanage.
They long for the days of excitement when they used to conduct archaeological
excavations with their parents. On the run, those days seem long gone until an old
friend and partner of Clem’s folks returns with another chance for some adventure.

Clem and Digory are recruited to drive their father’s custom-made roadster in a
competition called the Ironwood Race. Racer’s run in series of heats in hopes of
uncovering 4 missing artifacts. The team who find the most treasure while running
the fastest wins! Other than that, there are no rules in the Ironwood Race. It’s the
ultimate fight to the finish!

Clem Hetherington is a cross between Indiana Jones and Mad Max. There’s secret
passageways and enigmatic maps, futuristic technology, fierce mutants and no holds
barred racing! Being from Australia, the birthplace of apocalyptic adventure stories
this seems like a perfect project for the team of Breach and Holgate.

Some scenes of action and adventure may be a little too intense for very young
readers. Also, there is some violent scenes both implied and not that prevent this
book from being an all-ages read. Recommended for readers in grades 3-7, I wonder
if grade 3 might still be a bit too young to read this book.

The story itself was quite original. I’ve never seen an event just like the Ironwood
Race as I never really thought to put race car driving with archaeology. Yet, this is a
logical pairing as TV and movies are filled with treasure hunters racing to beat their
rivals in order to discover a hidden temple or forgotten tomb.

I really look forward to further adventures of Clem and her brother, Digory. They were
an interesting duo and they really engaged the imagination. I hope they are preparing
for another race because if they are, I’ll be watching from the front row!

An extremely inventive read that may be too intense at times for readers in grades 3
and under.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars,

Top 10: Beyond the Farthest Precinct

Neopolis- that super-city refuge for superheroes, villains and those with special powers and abilities. 

Precinct 10- home of the finest police force in all of Neopolis. 

Top 10 is back in this new series from Di Filippo and Jerry Ordway (Superman.) Taking the reigns from the legendary Alan Moore (Watchmen) and the superb Gene Ha (Batman: Fortunate Son) is no small feat. But this duo gets the job done in a mighty way. 

Neopolis is besieged with a terrifying vision of a grim reaper like entity. As the Top 10 investigate, the mystery deepens with a new drug for robots is hitting the streets and Precinct 10 undergoes a change in leadership. The team had better act fast to tie all the loose threads together as the mass hysteria behind these terrible visions is spreading fast!

This story may not have been 100% as good as the Alan Moore run. But it was quite entertaining and it was great catching back up with so many unforgettable characters. 

This is a book that you may want to re-read at least once. Almost every panel is filled with Easter Eggs, cameos, and inside jokes. Ordway crafted it so that you would find something new with every read. He is a master!

A really fun read with an intriguing array of plot twists and multiple story lines. This would make a great Netflix series! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool 2

The Merc with a Mouth returned to theaters this week and he took zero prisoners. Literally nothing was off topic in the latest R-rated film to feature the mutants of the Marvel Universe. Racism, sexuality, politics, DC Comics, and Rob Liefield were all roasted by Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool. 

Most of the cast from the original film were back for the sequel including Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Karan Soni as cab driver Dopinder, and Brianna Hildebrand as the X-Man Negasonic Teenage Warhead. But there were some new members as well added to the mix as well. Josh Brolin, who seems to be having the Spring movie season of his life, played time traveler Cable and honestly, I liked his Cable way better than Thanos. 

But the new character who stole the film was Zazie Beetz, who portrayed the very lucky mutant Domino. She was smart, funny, and well, very lucky. She might have dethroned Jennifer Garner's Elektra as my on-screen superhero crush. I hope she'll be back for the likely sequel, which is rumored to be called X-Force.

This film is definitely not for kids. There's more violence, gore and maiming in the sequel. Not as much sex as in the first Deadpool, but just about as much nudity. The big thing that was amped up in this sequel were the F-bombs, while rival some Tarantino films. 

There's really not much more that I can review about this film without giving away some major spoilers and I try very hard not to ruin them. I will say that there are two extra scenes during the credits and despite the fact that he did film a cameo, I didn't see Stan Lee anywhere in this movie. No- I did not leave to go to the bathroom or snack bar. Either they cut his scene or he was in the background of a very busy action sequence and if you blink, you miss him.

In my opinion, of the 3 Marvel films already released this year, Deadpool 2 was my favorite. It was insane, action-packed, and while it had some very poignant SJW moments added in that normally make a lot of fans angry, I didn't feel like I was being preached at. And yet, I feel that the way I look at some things on social media have changed for the better thanks to this film.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

CatStronauts: Robot Rescue (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to another fun-filled edition of Family Comic Friday. This weekly column reviews comic books and graphic novels that are aimed at young readers but can be enjoyed by the whole family. Today we'll travel to Europa, the moon of Jupiter as we review the latest entry in Drew Brockington’s CatStronauts series: Robot Rescue.

CatStronauts: Robot Rescue

Written and illustrated by Drew Brockington

Published by Little, Brown Books For Young Readers

The CatStronauts are four feline who work for the American space program Catsup. Blanket is the robotics expert of the team and he is devastated when his latest invention, the Cat-stro-bot is damaged during a mission to Europa.

Blanket’s superiors refuse to allow him to rescue the robot. So with his friends Pom Pom, Waffles and Major Meowser, Blanket steals a ship to safe Cat-stro-bot.

It will take six months to travel to Jupiter and back. Surely, someone will notice that the CatStronauts are missing! So the team create android duplicates to fill in for them in their absence. Nothing can go wrong with this brilliant plan, right???

Robot Rescue was rather entertaining. The characters were quite funny. The jokes weren't so bad. In fact, some were rather smart instead of silly.

Speaking of smart, the author/ illustrator Drew Brockington did a very good job at getting a lot of the details about space travel right. The space ships used would be rather slow getting to their destination as opposed to the warp speeds used in Star Wars and other sci-fi properties. Rations would be needed for such a long trip. Brockington even added Russian cosmo-cats into the mix.

Even though this story stars a bunch of kitties, there's still a lot of cool science stuff to be learned here.

The story itself was pretty good. The plot was actually quite unpredictable until almost the very end. Things also get a little sad, so you might wanna have some tissues handy. But above all, there's a lot of shenanigans in this graphic novel.

Yes, the CatStronauts steal a spaceship, but it was for a good cause. And yes, the Android's cause a ton of trouble, but it wasn't out of malice but comedic effect. But hey, children's lit is full of characters getting into mischief AND punished for it! Will the CatStronauts get their just desserts? You'll have to read Robot Rescue to find out for yourself.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

CatStronauts: Robot Rescue was published in print and digital formats on April 24, 2018. It is recommended for readers aged 8 and up.

This review was published concurrently on Outrightgeekery.com.

Superman Special #1

There's just two more weeks until Bendis officially takes over as the writer of the Superman Family. But before that happens, a trio of current writers of the Man of Steel have been allowed to tie up some loose ends.

In For Those Who Serve, Peter J Tomasi has Superman and Son returning to 1940s Dinosaur Island to save the last surviving member of the Losers.

Mark Russell's Strays and Strangers sees the Man of Tomorrow reflecting on the life lessons the Kent's taught him when he was growing up.

Then in Ian Flynn's Split Decision, the Atomic Skull is on the road to redemption as a member of Maggie Sawyer's Metropolis Special Crimes Unit. But when his next mission pairs him with Superman against the Skull’s old partner Shockwave, conflicts arise. Which side will the reformed criminal ultimately stake his claim to?

With all of the Superman Family titles getting cancelled to make way for Bendis, I understand DC's need to publish this one-shot. But while this was an enjoyable special, the level of importance to each story seemed anything but. For one thing, I was expecting another teaser into the Bendis Man of Steel miniseries, like in DC Nation #0. The only real mention of the Superman event of the decade was a two page ad listing information that isn't new if you already follow social media groups devoted to the DCU.

The cover price of $4.99 also seemed steep for the level of action and adventure in these stories. The Superman Special was bigger than a standard Superman Rebirth issue. But still, without a real draw, like a never before published Otto Binder Superman adventure, this issue shouldn't have been priced higher than $3.99.

One saving grace for the book is the artwork. I loved Kaare Andrews TAS stylization of Superman and the Atomic Skull. Plus Bryan Hitch’s 1980s throwback artwork was perfect for the story of Clark's childhood. But I was mixed on Scott Godlewski’s art. His dinosaurs and representation of Superboy Jon Kent were exceptional. But there was just something off about Godlewski's take on the Man of Steel.

Overall, this book is a good Superman title, but unlike it's name, there just isn't anything special about this Special.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Superman Special #1 debuted in stores and digital platforms on Wednesday, May 16th, 2018.

Bob's Burgers 2018 FCBD Edition

Bob's Burgers is one of those shows where you'd think I'd be a huge fan of. it It's about the food industry. Each daily special is a pun. Plus it has Patton Oswalt!

But the artwork of the characters freak me out a little. I cannot tell if the way the characters are drawn is supposed to be funny or it's mocking toward people with Treacher Collins Syndrome. And that just really bugs me. 

But upon my most reason celebration of Free Comic Book Day 2018, I decided to give the comic book a try. In this issue, there's a parody of Where the Wild Things Are as well as the James Cameron epic, Titanic. Then Bob gets his hands on some magical pineapples and his shop has a tremendous day of sales. But what will happen when the eatery runs out of pineapple and the clientele is still hangry!?

All three stories, written by the artists and staff of the popular Fox animated series, was very good. Oddly enough, none of the artwork in this book looked at all like the characters do on the TV. I'm not sure why that is. Honestly, I preferred the way Bob and his family look in the comic book than on the show. But I doubt highly that the animators will ever change how the characters are drawn.

This 2018 Free Comic Book Day release was a fun read and I liked the artwork renderings better than the original. Will this make me an avid reader of Bob's Burgers? Probably not. But I liked what I read, and that's the important thing. Right?

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Beef #3

Our hero Chuck learns more about the new powers he has developed. And they involve being able to talk and control cattle. 

Oh, My God- Chuck. I just got the joke behind the name!

The third of five issues in this miniseries, the art was still amazing and the story was quite good. Only, there's a new narrator and his mental state is sorta out of whack and it made for some very uneven internal dialogue. Still, I'm really hooked on this series by Richard Starkings and Tyler Shaneline. And if half of the new food facts they presented about milk is true, I may be swearing myself off the stuff. 

I loved the cover and the extensive segment on how the carton for the cover was made by Shaky Kane was really interesting. The artist should publish a book with Image on these type of techniques as his art process is really interesting.

Lots of fun and still a little gross. I cannot wait for the next issue.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Hungry Ghosts #4

Anthony Bordain's culinary horror anthology comes to a close. I had eagerly awaited this title's conclusion as the ending was promised to shock! For me, it was an extreme disappointment.

Like the previous 3 issues, this edition has 2 main stories.

The first story, The Snow Woman is a Japanese legend that has been retold countless times. I remember the story being adapted for the Tales From The Darkside movie in a segment starring James Remar. It's a very good story except for one thing- it has zero to do with food! 

That's the premise of this Dark Horse comic. Horror stories involving food. All of the tales were also to be set in Japan. But that didn't happen for all of the stories and I forgave that. But to have a ghost story in a horror comic revolving around food; to not have any food- I can't excuse that misstep. 

The final story, The Cow Head stayed true to this miniseries' concept. I loved the artwork by Archie Horror staple, Francesco Francavilla.  But this adventure was also promising to really scare readers. And for this reader, it didn't. What the story did accomplish was to get a little bit preachy and reveal the overall theme.

However, I'm not going to reveal that as it could spoil the ending. Plus, this issue just came out within the past 2 weeks, so it might be a little too soon to dive into specifics. But once you understand the overall premise, all of the stories as well as the framing story that sets up the entire series makes a lot of sense.

Overall, Hungry Ghosts is a great anthology horror. But the last issue wasn't as dynamic an ending as expected.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Fraggle Rock #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Fraggle Rock #1

Written and Illustrated by Jared Cullum
Published by Archaia

Welcome to another edition of Family Comic Friday. Today we travel deep underground to visit with those distant cousins of the Muppet family- the Fraggles!

The first of a 4-issue mini series, Fraggle Rock #1 features all of your favorite characters- Boober, Red, The Doozers and many more. But the focus of the first story is Mokey. The resident artist of Fraggle Rock has lost her muse and she’s very afraid that she’s lost it forever. Mokey’s friends seek to help the artist rediscover her passion for art. However, it  soon becomes clear that only Mokey can regain that love for art that she’s lost.

This was an extremely quick read. Large portraits of the caves of Fraggle Rock take over most of the pages. I thought Jared Cullum’s watercolors were just gorgeous. Though I could not remember all of Fraggles name, I recognized every single one of them in this story. I am quite impressed with Cullum’s talents.

Fraggle Rock has long been considered a gateway between the preschool fun of Sesame Street and the more grown up humor and parody of the Muppet Show. Readers ages 6-10 should really enjoy this new miniseries from the Boom! Studios imprint, Archaia. The words are not too big for readers in grades 1-4. One thing I did find troublesome is that the print is kinda small.

The format of this book is not the traditional rectangled shape of a comic book. Instead, it’s square like a Little Golden Book. So that could make for a little bit of reading difficulty, especially for the grown-ups who might be reading this with the young reader in their lives. Also, these squared comics do not fit in either a standard protective sleeve nor a standard comic book storage unit.

One cool thing about this Fraggle Rock miniseries is that there isn’t a cliffhanger. The story ‘Mokey Loses Her Muse’ is done by the end of this issue. While events of this tale might spill over to the other 3 issues, I don’t think you will feel lost if you miss an issue. But why would you want to do that?

I know as a youngster that if a comic had a ‘To Be Continued’ at the end, I would either feel cheated out or afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get the next issue to continue the story. Cliffhangers often would result in my passing them up as I didn’t want to chance missing out on the rest of the story. Major kudos to Archaia for deciding to make their miniseries comprised of one-and-done stories!

This was a nostalgic read that will appeal to older readers. It was also a magical and whimsical reader that shall delight fans of all ages. More storybook than comic book in terms of design, it’s still a work of sequential art. All four issues when published should make for some great reads during summer vacation or just an afternoon by the pool.

Fraggle Rock #1 was published in print and digital media on May 9, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

This review was published concurrently on Outrightgeekery.com.

Vinegar Teeth #4

• Just who is behind all of the residents of the city becoming zombified?
• Why does Detective Buckle act all weird at the beginning of each issue?
• What kind of blues music goes best with depression?

All of your questions are answered in the final issue of this Dark Horse miniseries. Plus Vinegar Teeth's origin is finally revealed!

A very fulfilling but bitter sweet ending to this Troy Nixey/Damon Gentry!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Vinegar Teeth #3

Vinegar Teeth's origin is finally revealed! After having to kill one of the citizen's he has sworn to protect, Vinegar Teeth is greatly troubled and seeks out solace in the form of his old partner, Detective Buckle. And that is when things get weird...

Vinegar Teeth has been a fun slapstick buddy cop entry by Troy Nixey and Damon Gentry. I love Gentry's Paul Pope art-style. I'm almost sad to see this series go as this is the next to last issue. 

There's still plenty of mystery to be solved, such as why do we see Officer Buckle acting like a big gurgling blob in front of a court room at the beginning of each chapter. Issue #4 is going to be one not to miss!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

DC Nation #0

The wedding of Batman and Catwoman.

Bendis’ take on the Man of Steel.

A world with No Justice League.

These three storylines promise to dominate the DC Universe this summer. As a triple threat prelude, DC Nation #0 gives fans a small glimpse of what’s to come in the next few weeks.

In ‘Your Big Day’, Tom King shows us the Clown Prince of Crime awaiting his invitation to the wedding of the century. Brian Michael Bendis reveals to us a Clark Kent very much off his game as the Daily Planet is reeling from the unexpected resignation of Lois Lane in ‘Office Space.’ Lastly, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson introduces reasders to the new teams that will protect the earth in the absence of a Justice League in the No Justice Prelude.

The Joker story was the best. Tom King’s dry wit shows in the fractured sense of humor of the Joker’s. I also really dug Clay Mann’s artistic rendering of Batman’s greatest foe.

I was a little confused with the Superman story. I keep hearing that Bendis is going to temporarily change Superman’s canon. I don’t think Lois’ departure from the Planet is the big change. But if it is, it’s definitely not what fans were expecting.

I absolutely love- LOVE, that DC was able to snag Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez back into doing the forthcoming The Man of Steel miniseries. The artist has basically been in convention circuit retirement. But to have the man who created almost every single iconic piece of DC merch that I grew up with is a well received blast from the past!

Finally there’s the No Justice Prelude. Boy, was that a hot mess. Three different writers author this adventure and a disconnect shows. The story involves the Justice League dissolving into 4 teams to save the earth. The teams, comprised of heroes and villains, are based on the concepts of mystery, entropy, wonder and wisdom. But I don’t think they are correct.

For instance, Harley Quinn in placed on team wisdom. Quinn is the epitome of entropy! Why wasn’t she put on that Batman led team? Plus you’ve got Zatanna and Dr. Fate on Team Wonder. But both of them seem more suited for Team Mystery. I can’t figure out if DC’s best and brightest really think these characters best reflect these principles. OR is this one of those JLA things where you switch opponents because there is too evenly a match-up between foes?

I’m really excited about all three stories. Even though I was not impressed with the No Justice story, I am hoping each individually written miniseries will be better than the joint collaboration. The biggest issue I am going to face with all of these titles however, is cost.

What appealed most to me with this issue was it’s price! You just can’t beat the cover fee of only 25 cents! It’s like 1980 rates again and I loved it. But all of the issues that spin out of this prelude comic are going to be at least $2.99 per issue or more. Estimating there’s probably going to be about 30 issues total coming out of all three storylines, there’s no way I will be able to afford this book until I find everything eventually in dollar bins or as trades.

For those of you who are into the variant covers,  you are going to have to pony up some big bucks. Those issues have cover prices of $60-90 a piece. That’s original suggested retail price- not LCS mark-up!

DC Nation #0 was a very good sampler of what’s in story for the DCU. Though not 100% happy with every story, I absolutely cannot complain about the cost.

DC Nation #0 debuted in stores and digital platforms May 2, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Ratings:
Joker Story- 10/10 stars
Bendis' Superman: 8/10 stars
No Justice:4/10 stars
Overall: 7 out of 10 stars.

This review was published concurrently at Outrightgeekery.com.

You Are Deadpool #1

You Are Deadpool #1
Written by Al Ewing
Art by Salva Espin

Covers by Rahzzah, Salva Espin, & Ron Lim

Over the past couple of years, Marvel has been experimenting with the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ format. Several titles such as a 2016 Halloween ComicFest edition of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is an example of such trial and error. Unfortunately, the use of arrows and mutli-page flow charts haven’t made for the easiest of reads in terms of presentation.

Now Marvel is at it again with a 4-issue miniseries in which you the reader gets to be the Merc with a Mouth! Only there’s a twist to the formula- you are gonna need dice.

You Are Deadpool has you taking Wade Wilson on a clandestine mission through a secret research laboratory. In this book, there’s several D&D elements involved. Along with needing a six-sided die, you will need a pen and paper to add and subtract from Deadpool’s emotional points, as well as keeping inventory of items you can pick up throughout the adventure.

Back in the 80s, there was a series of paperback gamebooks call Lone Wolf. The books had charts and forms for the reader to maintain their health meter as well as develop an inventory and develop certain skills needed to complete the adventure. You Are Deadpool is the comic book version of this and it’s quite the accomplishment.

This Al Ewing and Salva Espin collaboration was a lot of fun. The first 4-5 pages explains the rules of the game. There’s even a page where you could cut out and make your own die (with some added help)- if destroying comic books is your sort of thing. With an easy numbering system of panels, not pages, there’s quite a bit of action to be had. But I think the real fun is still to come.

The Deadpool emotion points dictate whether you continue on to issues 2, 3, or 4 of You Are Deadpool. Normally when I say that I’m going to wait until the trade comes out, I usually mean that I am on the fence about a title. Not willing to go any further until the series is collected, I end up waiting for the title to show up at my local library for free. I am going to wait on reading the rest of this game-style comic but I will not wait for the trade.

Since you need all 4-issues to fully enjoy this Marvel experiment, it was smart of the House of Ideas to publish all needed copies within a 4 week span. Doing this book at a monthly might very well result in the loss of readership.  As for myself, I will continue to show up at my LCS at obtain the other 3 books. But I am going to wait until I have the entire game, as well as time and patience to sit down and play it in one sitting.

If the next trio of issues are as adventuresome and funny as this debut book, I hope that Marvel will continue to expand on this premise, possibly even making a game for more than one player.

Marvel’s comics have had a lot of low points lately. But You Are Deadpool is not one of them. A fresh idea that entertains as well as redefines everything you known about sequential art. This miniseries promises to be the most innovative and immersive comic book of the summer.

You Are Deadpool #1 debuted in stores and digital media on May 2, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This review published concurrently at Outrightgeekery.com.