RASL, Volume 3: Romance at the Speed of Light

RASL is given a deadline of 48-hours to provide the lizard faced assassin the missing journals of Nikola Tesla or the art thief's loved ones are going to start dying. 

The penultimate chapter of Jeff Smith's RASL gets metaphysical thanks to the scary looking girl on the front cover. Just who is she is up to debate. But man, is she freakin' creepy. (A look at the director's cut extras in the back of the book shows a sketch of RASL that might just blow the lid over the identity of one of the most disturbing moppets in all of comic book history.)

I can't wait to get my hands on the final chapter of this cross-dimensional caper. The story has just kept getting better and better. And I can't believe that I am saying this, but I am more than willing to give Smith's all-ages classic Bone another try. It's quite rare that I give works a third try. But Jeff Smith has really impressed the heck out of me with RASL that I feel it's worth yet another go!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

RASL, Book 2: The Fire of St. George

The origin of RASL is explored in this volume by Jeff Smith (Bone). Fans of the mystery of Nikola Tesla, the Philadelphia experiment, UFOs and conspiracies will delight as this series peels another layer to this multiversal sci-fi noir thriller.

I've really been enjoying this series. I still have zero clue as to why our main character, officially named Dr. Robert Joseph Johnson, is called RASL. The name doesn't really appear anywhere else in this story though it's plot is steeped in Native American folklore and shadow conspiracy. I hope to find out somewhat soon. But I am afraid I may have to go straight to the source of Jeff Smith. Man, will I be pissed if he answers 'it's just a name.'

A great second act that keeps getting better and better!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Short & Skinny (A Family Comic Friday Extra)

Journey back to the summer of 1977 in this Family Comic Friday Extra. Short and Skinny is a biographical graphic novel of growing up small and scrawny and at the beginning of the era of Star Wars!

Short and Skinny
Written and Illustrated by Mark Tatulli
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 256
Retail: $24.99

I was born in 1977. As a result, I am addicted to anything from that turning point year in pop culture history. Short and Skinny is the true story of how a certain movie from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away forever changed the life of junior high school student Mark Tatulli.

When the story opens, it's the last few days of the 1976-77 school year. Mark is the next-to-shortest kid in school. Lacking confidence and muscle mass, he's the target of bullies and ridicule from even the closet of friends. But then one day while at the movies, Mark sees a trailer for a little picture called Star Wars. As a result, what appears to be the worst summer break ever now might not be so bad.

Nostaligia is huge right now. The economic crisis, the war on terror and our volatile political climate has left many longing for the good old days of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Shows like Fresh Off The Boat, The Goldbergs and The Kids Are Alright are big hits because they remind us old folks of the fun of being a kid without much to fear. Short & Skinny is one of those books that I could see becoming a TV series. But I think it would be better at an animated show than live action.

One reason for this is how Mark Tatulli adds like segments like his dossiers on the bullies of his hometown as well as skits on how to make a model of the Death Star with zero money down. These kind of elements just scream the need to be animated instead of ever performed in live-action. Plus Tatulli’s art style is one not to be missed. It’s got elements of Calvin & Hobbes and Bloom County that would be sorely missed if a bunch of human actions were to play the roles of Mark and his family and friends.

This was a book that I didn’t want to end. It reminded me how 1977-1983 was a great time to be alive. Star Wars was king. Comic books were still considered for ‘all ages’. And while there was still the dangers of drugs and kidnappings and the Cold War, it just seemed far, far away. I know that that time period wasn’t perfect. But I appreciate Mark Tatulli’s look which removes many of the warts and winkles that sullied that time in history.

And if Short and Skinny can’t be developed into a series, then hopefully, we’ll get a sequel in which we see how Empire Strikes Back impacted Mark Tatulli’s life.

Short and Skinny is rated for those ages 8-12. Fans of Star Wars and parents who grew up in this era and want to share it with their kids or grand-kids will love this late 70s time capsule.

Short and Skinny debuted in print and digital formats on October 16, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com.

Bully Wars (Family Comic Friday)

Just because something is gross doesn’t mean that it can’t be enjoyed by the whole family. Besides, that’s all part of being a kid, liking gross things. Fart jokes and boogers seem to be a universal part of childhood. So, if you are one of those parents whose outraged by barf and pimples, forgive me as Family Comic Friday explores Skottie Young’s Bully Wars.

Bully Wars TPB
Written by Skottie Young
Art by Aaron Conley
Published by Image Comics
Pages: 145
SRP: $12.99

The town of Rottenville lives up to its name. Rottenville has more school bullies per capita than any other community in the world! Poor Spencer. He really thought that he was going to get by the first day of school without being bullied by his life-long tormentor, Rufus.
The bus trip to school might have been awful. But things on campus are looking up! That’s because Rufus is being bullied by the reigning king of the Rottenville High School bullies, Hock!

The high school’s coach puts on an event every year to determine who will be the champion brow-beater for the entire school term. This victor can determine who is and isn’t off limits from being harassed. Seeing a chance to go bully free for his entire freshman year, Spencer hatches a plan. If will take a lot of planning and maybe a few dirty tricks. But in the end, Spencer will find a way to help Rufus win the Bully Wars!

The 5 issues that make up Bully Wars came out last year. I wanted to at least read and review the first copy for this column. But I have been burned by other works by Skottie Young in the past. His I Hate Fairyland looked like it could be all-ages fun. But the amount of violence and non-symbolized cursing made the book anything but appropriate for kids.
Despite the bullying... In light of the bathroom humor... In exception to the use of words like ‘crap’ and the occasional butt-crack from our hero getting wedgied a lot; there’s actually a wholesome anti-bullying message at the heart of this book.

Some might argue that a book about the dangers of bullying is not the right sort of message for kids. However, I have to disagree. It’s the single most reason I hated middle and high school. Being the tallest and heaviest kid in class who like comic books and had astigmatism and Star Wars sheets made me a easy target. Plus, too many kids these days are taking their own lives thanks to bullying which has turned into a seven-headed monster thanks to social media.

Besides, Bully Wars doesn’t have that tired cliche of fighting back at the bully. Instead, it promotes a healthier attitude of ‘if you can’t beat them, outsmart them.’ That’s what I did. I fought back by getting such great grades that I made my bullies feel stupid. Plus, when they came to me for tutoring help, I gave them just enough wrong answers that they never could tell I was keeping them from doing better in class than I was. They just assumed that they were never going to ever be smart enough for that A average.

I really loved Aaron Conley’s artwork in this book. Despite how gross looking it was at times, I felt at home with the Sabertooth Swordsman’s pencils and inks. When I was in elementary school, there was these two awesome magazines called Dynamite and Bananas. Both would have really exaggerated artworks like that of Conley’s here. The students looked all awkward and had warts and all. Plus, the school and bus scenes illustrated in the books were never clean. I felt that I was reading something that was fondly inspired by those Jeanette Kahn creations.

Amazon lists the book for ages 9-12 (4th-7th graders). I’m okay with this advisement, though I think older kids can still get a kick of this. Younger readers might get a chuckle or too. But as always, it’s up to the parents to decide if it’s appropriate or not.

Bully Wars was a fun read. It’s got an appropriate but slightly telegraphed ending. I was a big fan of the art. Though the slew of covers and other artwork in the back of the book was excessive. If Image removed all that, it would probably cut about 25 pages and a couple of bucks of cover price away.

According to the Image Comics website, Bully Wars debuted in collected trade paperback form and digital on February 20th, 2019. However, Amazon has it coming out on February 26th.  

Be sure to check out your favorite comic book store for back issues.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Lola XOXO: The Complete First Volume

On the day of the nuclear apocalypse, young Lola was travelling alone by airplane to visit her grandmother in Chicago. But the child's plane had to divert to another city. At the airport, a kind man agrees to take Lola to see her nana. But when news of Chicago's destruction breaks, the man becomes Lola's caretaker.

Flash forward and Lola is now a teenager. Along with her adoptive father, Lola travels through the wasteland in hopes of one day finally making back to Los Angeles to her true parents. Unfortunately, this region that was once the American mid-west is filled with the most vile inhumanities ever encountered on earth. And when her guardian is kidnapped, Lola may have to stoop to the level of those dregs of incivility in order to get him back!

Last Christmas, my wife got me a couple of Comic Book Bento Boxes. They're essentially graphic novel grab bags. You can buy boxes individually or do a subscription service of 3,6 or 12 month. 

This book was in one of those boxes. I forget the theme. I think it was something about comics set in the future or something like that. It was produced by Aspen which isn't really a publisher that has impressed me over the years. One reason is because how founder Michael Turner is like the Tupac Shakur of comic books. The artist died in 2008. Yet it seems that he continuously has new series coming out every year. I can't figure out if he was that prolific or if someone is ghosting for him (no pun intended.)

Anyways, I actually like Lola XOXO. The story was pretty good. The concept was fairly original. Though I felt like there were elements of that very short-live NBC series Revolution mixed into this. That Eric Kripke series debuted in 2012, about 2 years before this comic book debuted. So there's a possibility that Lola XOXO creator Siya Oum was influenced by it in some way. 

Oum's art is really, really good. Lola is drawn in a cheesecake, but too non-defenseless, way. Each scene has amazing detail. Want proof, examine how comprehensive the city in the background of the cover image is. It's utterly amazing!

I would like to read the other 2 series in the Lola XOXO franchise. I'm not planning on keeping this book. But I surely would not mind a couple of return trips to learn if Lola finds her parents or not. My guess- she returns home but finds out they went east to find her. That would be a freaking awesome twist!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Futurama #68

One of the most confusing issues Bongo has ever produced. Taking a bag from the film Memento, many of the scenes are shown in reverse order. 

The Planet Delivery team start the story all buck-naked and with no recollection as to how they got that way. Bender has been recording the event, so Farnsworth tries to piece together what's been happening. Thanks to a new invention of the professor's, the memory loss has been going on for nearly an hour. 

There's an analog clock in the background and it's helpful to a point. But Bender has a clock on his video feed and it keeps going up and down from 11:01-11:13. But it, unlike the background clock doesn't move in linear order. I tried and tried to figure out what was going on but I had to give up on figuring out the clock and just try to enjoy each passing period of time as separate skits that just happen to link together.

There were some laughs here. The art was just like it would on the TV show. I didn't remember how racy Futurama was. While the Simpsons comics are regarded as for all ages, this has got to be PG at least. Regardless of the age appropriateness, I think this type of story just didn't transfer well to a comic book. If this was done animated, it probably would have been a classic. Instead, it all got lost in the medium of comics

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #46

The Mystery Gang are participating in career day at the school in which Jefferson Pierce teaches. There, the detectives witness an underclassman being targeted by members of the 100, Tobias Whale's gang. This sort of thing isn't usually what Scooby and his friends deal with. thus they stay out of the way. So Black Lightning appears instead to save the school from the bad influence. But when a pair of ghostly gangsters from the 1920s pop up at the same school, Scooby is on the case!

This is perhaps the most different Scooby-Doo Team-Up I have ever read. In the DC heroes crossovers, the gang will usually encounter comical versions of baddies like The Joker or Solomon Grundy. But here, Tobias Whale is extremely deadly. This issue's villain is no caricature. He's a carbon copy of the villain actor Marvin 'Krodon' Jones III plays on the CW hit Black Lightning. 

Though quite a bit grittier than any other issue in this series, I enjoyed this read. Sholly Fisch pushes the envelope about as far as one can with an all-ages title while staying true to both the Scooby-Doo franchise and the Black Lightning realm. Dario Brizuela continues to put out top rate art. The only thing that was a disappointment were the activity pages at the end of this book. 

Because of the Christmas holiday, DC delayed issue #45 until the beginning of January. This issue which came out at the tail end of January, has the same activity pages as issue #45. I feel a little cheated. I know that I don't buy this book for those extras. But apparently, I have gotten used to them and missed having them here because I disliked not being presented with an all-new set of things to do. 

I don't care if two issues came out in the same month, readers deserve all-new material if they're expected to pay the full price of $2.99/issue. Something to keep in mind for the future, DC. Reward your loyal readers. Don't be stingy especially when you need us the most!

A good read that is a little bit edgy for an all-ages Scooby-Doo romp.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Hip Hop Family Tree, Volume 2

Ed Piskor continues his Who's Who of major players of the evolution of hip hop. This chapter finishes out 1981, blows through 1982 and ends at the waning days of 1983. While West Coast Rap is still pretty much in it's infancy here and the majority of the action is taking black in the 5 boroughs of New York, there's a few moments in which you see the early days of Dr. Dre, Easy-E and Ice T. 

But as I said, the majority of the action occurs in the Big Apple. Afrika BamBaataa and Grandmaster Flash are clearly the leaders of this new revolution in music. Some Jewish kids named Adam Y, Adam H and Michael are making some waves in the music dungeons of white New York. And Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels are fresh out of high school and ready to take Run's big brother, Russell, to task on his promise to make them big stars upon graduation.

You see a lot of names of hip hop legends that at the time of 1981-83 aren't even a blip on the music industry's radar. While I wouldn't want to spoil the fun, let me just say there's at least one cameo that is a 'biggie.'

One interesting aspect is how much hip hop has to thank the punk scene and the art scene of New York. Musicians of punk were considered outcasts and always open to new players who were accepting to them. And these artists of the era's hottest sound had connections to producers with money, time and studios. Then you've got subway taggers who with their graffiti, were making waves with punk artists who wanted something wild on their next art cover. With up-and-comers like Basquiat making connects between artists with musical inclinations and art lovers with money to burn, who would have guessed that a can of spray paint would be as vital to a hip hop performer as a loud mic and a turn table?

There's a great documentary called 77: My Year In Hell. It focuses on the rise of both punk and hip hop music in 1977. But it fails to really connect the symbiotic nature between the two genres. Ed Piskor corrects that oversight in this epic collection.

I love his old school artistry that reflects mainly the Marvel Comics of this era. Piskor does experiment with one visual element not seen in the first volume. Scenes that take place in the 90s and later are rendered in a pastel palette that is almost done in a black light style. (I kinda wish I had a black light in order to test this theory out for myself.) Anyways, what I am saying is that while Piskor is firmly in trenched into the comic medium style of early 80s, he finds plenty of ways to be experimental!

Bring on volume 3!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

New X-Men: Imperial

The beginnings of where the controversial Brian Michael Bendis run on X-Men ends. Grant Morrison, along with Frank Quitely and Evan Van Schier, had just taken over the reigns of X-Men, now New X-Men. Emma Frost and her Stepford Cuckoos have joined Xavier's school. Hank McCoy has evolved into a more feline looking creature and struggles to maintain his sanity. There's a hint of something between Cyclops and the former White Queen. The Sh'air Empire is in shambles. And Professor X is trapped in the body of Cassandra Nova and the villain is working in Charles to destroy the X-Men once and for all...

It's been a little over 15 years since these issues were first published. And Bendis ended his destruction of the X-Men in the last 18-months or so. Who realized that it would take a decade and a half for Marvel to unravel all this great work?

Grant Morrison is an odd duck. But he always manages to take all these great classic and shoot them into the 21st century. It's no different here with the children of the atom. Only when Morrison incorporates racial, religious and gender diversity, it's not preachy or condescending. It just feels right. This is a storytelling talent that the modern bull pen of Marvel needs to learn.

Fantastic art by Frank Quitely. He's my favorite light-inks artists. He has such an eye for detail and he literally can craft worlds.

A great read. I wish I had the previous volume that really capped the Morrison era off. But this was an acceptable start.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Che- A Graphic Biography

Underground comix legend Spain Rodriguez pens and illustrates this graphic novel biography of revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guavara. It's an interesting look at a character of the 20th century that I really knew very little about. 

I found this book at an independent bookstore (on discount, of course!) Being a former history major with a focus on 20th century history (especially pop culture), I figured why not learn something new. 

Here's the thing, I realize that the US has it's faults. Our country isn't perfect because it's run by imperfect people. All nations are this way. But I feel that Spain Rodriguez' view is way more skewed to being anti-American and anti-capitalism than I am pro-American. 

For example, Rodriguez mentions a couple of times how some Cuban newspapers are imprisoned or worse for making anti-Castro statements. For all that Donald Trump hates our liberal media, he's not stooped to the actions of those glorified revolutionaries that Rodriguez so hails. 

It troubled me how Spain Rodriguez maintained blinders to such actions. I appreciate that he mentions them in this historical account. But unlike all the times where he makes commentary against the US for it's dirty deeds, Rodriguez never condemns the Castro regime for their atrocities.

The art was pretty good. It had a very similar style to Rick Geary, which I rather like. But the editing of the art was not all that great. Some panels still has pencil marks that weren't properly erased during the inking process. So in some instances, the art looks blurry when it just ghosted by pencil markings not properly vanquished.

I also had some issue with how Spain Rodriguez executed his footnotes. Some are done properly in a small text box on the bottom right of the inside panel. Both about half of the footnotes were placed vertically to the right of the outside of the panel. It took me several pages to figure this inconsistency out and I had to reread several pages. 

An interesting read that is skewed way too far to the left. There's nothing centric here. Great art but the editing is irregular.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

The Amazing World of Gumball: Spring Break Smash #1 (Family Comic Friday)

It appears that the creative teams at Kaboom! And Cartoon Network are ready for winter to be over! It’s only the middle of February and yet they’ve already have a spring break special! For this week’s Family Comic Friday, let’s take a look at The Amazing World of Gumball: Spring Break Smash #1.

The Amazing World of Gumball: Spring Break Smash #1
Written by Chelsea Furedi, Julia Prescott, Caleb Goellner, Lucy Ebrey and Mirka Andolfo
Art by Chelsea Furedi, George Mager, Mattea Di Meo, Lucy Ebrey and Alessandra Patane
Published by Kaboom! Studios
SRP: $7.99
Pages: 41

Gumball the cat, his adopted goldfish brother, Darwin and their friends star in this jumbo-sized special! It’s spring break in the community of Elmore and it’s residents are preparing for some vacation fun!

There’s a total of 5 stories in this hilarious one-shot based on the Ben Bocquelet series from Cartoon Network. A pair of stories stars Gumball and Darwin. First the brothers try to rough it in the great outdoors but find themselves grossly unprepared for their camping trip. Then when they get left behind from the annual family vacation, the duo try to recreate the water park resort in their own home!

In between the stories starring the Watterson family, we learn from the Hot Dog Guy that a beach romance between a burger, a hot dog and seagulls is a disaster waiting to habit. Overbearing fellow student Tobias tries to throw the most epic spring break bash of all-time. And Rocky shows us what it takes to get Elmore Junior High ship-shape when the students are away.

I’m not very familiar with The Amazing World of Gumball. I’ve watched a couple of episodes. But from what I have seen, the humor was spot on. The artwork of the characters was also right. But there was some differences with the backgrounds. On the TV show, the animated characters interact on a live-action set. But all of the backgrounds were illustrated here. It’s not a problem. It’s just very unfamiliar looking compared to what you see on Cartoon Network.

This springtime special isn’t rated. Most books from Kaboom! are geared to being for all-ages. Doing some research, the TV series is rated TV-Y7. With the exception of Gumball’s dad lying around the house in his tighty-whiteys, there’s not really questionable in this book. And from what I know of most people’s dads, this is probably something that isn’t all that unusual. Uncomfortable, sure. But not objectionable.

Spring Break Smash was a very funny read. I don’t think Kaboom! should have debuted this until a little more closer to the beginning of spring. Reading a book during the right season or holiday just feels right. But I’d would rather see a book be released too early than too late.
One great thing about this special is that you don’t have to be a regular viewer of the show in order to enjoy it. True, it does help. But that’s what Wikipedia is for, right? Whether you are a first timer or the most dedicated of fans of Gumball, prepare for laughs and a great preview of spring break fun yet to come!

The Amazing World of Gumball: Spring Break Smash #1 debuted in print and digital platforms on February 13th, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

League of Regrettable Superheroes by Jon Morris (LootCrate Edition)

Cover is for the full-sized edition, not the LootCrate version I read.

An insane look at over 80 years of some of the wildest, craziest and more bizarre superheroes to ever grace a comic book!

This is the companion piece to Legion of Regrettable Supervillains. Only it's condensed in order to fit in a LootCrate box. There's now a third book about sidekicks. While I wouldn't mind finding that book for a steep discount like I did this one, I am not planning on actively looking for it (or the larger versions of these books.)

Jon Morris does an amazing job finding these wacky characters. He covers some great depths of comic book history. But his sarcastic view is off-putting. 

God knows I don't take things as serious as I could. I guess what I am saying is that the author, while a great historian, just isn't that funny to me. It's like the professor who is incredibly smart and knowledgeable but only does dad jokes.

There's one more thing to be aware of. This book, though only 4 years old, is already dated.  For example, Morris talks about how the Marvel run of Rom Spaceknight is likely to never be collected and reprinted due to licensing issues. Yet with IDW's recent franchising deal with Hasbro, the publisher has not only revitalized the character  but they've also announced plans to issue a multi-volume collection of those Marvel books starting sometime this fall.

This isn't the author or publishers fault. Anytime you right a book about history of any sort, new developments will cause some of the data to become outdated. So maybe Jon Morris and Quirk Books might want to work on some revised editions. If so, maybe he can update the jokes as well.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #36

The Scooby gang are called to a studio to investigate reports of a huge beast terrorizing the production of a charity telethon. There, the teen detectives run into the private investigators of the O'Day & Simeon Detective Agency-the Angel and the Ape! But these two are on the case as well! So who or what is the beast wreaking havoc?

It's up to Scooby, Shaggy, Angel and Sam and the Inferior Five!!!- to get to the bottom of this mystery!

A great DC/Hanna-Barbara crossover. With the mystery guests behind this caper, this issue was a great nod to some of the more oddball DC titles of the late 1960s. All of which did not last very long at all. But all are ones that I fondly remember reading as a part of my dad's comic book collection growing up!

Amazing work by Dario Brizuela and Sholly Fisch! 100% perfect!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

A Presidential Catch-22 Situation....

I've been in a lot of physical pain with my carpal tunnel lately. Getting to sleep has been hard. Well, last night my mind started wandering to what I thought might be a Catch-22 situation. 

First of all- I'm not advocating hurting/killing any of our leaders. Last night, as I was trying to get some fitful sleep, I was thinking on how there's been several of movies in which the Vice President is the secret bad guy trying to overthrow the Commander-In-Chief. But I couldn't think of a film in which the President was trying to eliminate the Vice President. And that's where this scenario fostered. 

Imagine that you are agent of the US Secret Service. It is your job to protect the lives of both the President and Vice-President of the United States at all costs. 

One day, you walk into the Oval Office and the President is holding a gun to the head of the Vice President. Clearly, to dissolve this situation, you would do what you could to disarm the President and prevent the VP from being killed. Like shoot the POTUS in the leg to make him drop the gun. But what if there was an added twist to this situation.

In the President's other hand is one of those dead-man switches. If you shoot the President, he will drop the switch, killing both him and the VP. But if you don't do anything in 10 seconds, the President will kill his running mate. But he'll then disarm the bomb switch.

As a member of the Secret Service, you are to prevent the death of the President and the Vice President. So what do you do? Is there a winnable solution? Does the Secret Service consider the VP expendable at all costs to the President? Even if the leader of the free world was to go rogue? And should the President kill the VP, would the Secret Service just arrest their boss or would they retaliate knowing that the bomb won't go off?

I started thinking more on the current state of things and I was sure that many who read this would say 'It's Trump and Pence. Let them both die." So I pose to you in this scenario that you must place your favorite President/Vice President duo of all-time. If this was Obama/Biden, what would you do? Is there anything you can do to save the lives of both leaders? Is this even a damned if you do/damned if you don't situation like a Catch-22? 

I'd be very interested to hear you thoughts on this. If there's a detail I have missed, I would like to hear of it. If someone decides to turn this idea into a movie or a book, contact me! I'm available and eager to break into the entertainment industry. 

Sparks! #1 (Free Comic Book Day 2018)

Imagine that the world's most heroic dog is really a robot controlled by two zany house cats! 

That's the hilarious premise to this Graphix Spotlight Free Comic Book Day release from 2018. This comic provides the first chapter of the Scholastic graphic novel from Ian Boothby (Futurama) and Nina Matsumoto (Saturnalia).  

This teaser was extremely funny. Two cats in a dog suit! How crazy is that?! I love what I've read so far of Sparks! It's got a unique premise. Plus the villain is a infant with very unusual parents. And there's an intrepid reporter who is investigating the appearances of the mysterious dog- and she always gets injured!

I've been hoping that my local library would have a copy on hand but it's just hasn't been meant to be. That doesn't mean that I've stopped looking. I'm just very frugal. But if the chance arises to get my hands on this, you can be sure that I'll be reviewing it on this blog as my Family Comic Friday selection for the week I complete it.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Nightwing, Volume 6: Big Guns

After the events of the 'Hunt for Oracle', which concluded in the pages of Birds of Prey, Bludhaven is in a power vacuum. Blockbuster is recovering from his heart transplant. The ultra-corrupt chief of police is MIA. And Intergang has come to set up a hub of operations, led by an utter lunatic. 

You take the Birds of Prey out of the storyline and Nightwing actually gets better! Grayson is finally on the Bludhaven Police Force. But he's going to have to prove that he's a good cop because his employment came at the hands of a real slime ball on the force. 

Then there's two new villains. One is a vision cloaked in a red experimental cloth that takes on a life of it's own. The other is targeting former cops on the Bludhaven Police Force. Both are interesting additions to the DC Universe. But they both must be limited to Nightwing's corner of the world as I have never encountered either of these characters before. 

One thing I have appreciated of the Chuck Dixon penned collections is the two-page 'what has happened prior' refreshers. But there was one factoid that didn't make a lot of sense. 

The summary had claimed that the position of police commissioner was abolished in Bludhaven in 1971. Yet, in the story, it's revealed that there hasn't been a commissioner for 10 years. The issues in this volume were published in 1999-2000. So either somebody goofed on the summary timetable. Or somebody misspoke about how long since the commissioner was ousted. OR Nightwing takes place in 1981. So which is it?

A very good group of Nightwing comics that unfortunately is marred by one irksome continuity conflict.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Wars Adventures: Tales of Vader's Castle #5

The last issue finally has an appearance from the Dark Lord of the Sith. 

I wasn't such a big fan of this issue as the loose ends got tied up just a little too neat and clean for my taste. I understand that this is an all-ages book. But even though the Star Wars films are rated PG but honestly, they're all-ages friendly. And yet characters die and stuff. 

Yes, characters die in this horror anthology mini-series. But those who survive and such- it was just too Disney of a result. 

Speaking of Disney, the more the House of Mouse controls the Star Wars universe, the more convinced I am that Darth Vader is secretly working for the Rebel Alliance. Such a great menacing character when done by Lucas. But now as a Disney character, he's making too many 'oh, shucks' mistakes. I'm willing to put down $20 that one day, under Disney's control, we're going to find out Anakin Skywalker never really turned to the Dark Side of the Force. Instead, he went as a double agent to bring Palpatine down once and for all.

A great series that creeped me out. If only the final issue was up to the other four issues' standards.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars. 

Nightwing, Volume 5: The Hunt for Oracle

Trying to make some room in my vast collection of 10,000 plus comic books and graphic novel, I was determine to choose between the 1990-2000s run of Robin or the 1990-2000s run of Nightwing to cut. My Robin read by Bill Willingham (Fables) blew me away. So, I was more than willing to say farewell to Nightwing after I read some of my trades. Blast if The 'Nam's Chuck Dixon didn't do an insanely good job on the post-Batman adventures of Dick Grayson!

In this trade, reprinting issues 41-46 of Nightwing and a pair of issues of Birds of Prey (1999-2009), Dick Grayson is set to become a cop having graduated from the academy. But because the police force of Bludhaven is so corrupt, nobody is willing to take on such a boy scout as Dick in their precincts.

This gives Grayson plenty of time to be Nightwing. However, the hero is finding the city to be a little crowded as he meets a loose-canon vigilante going by the name 'Nite-Wing.' Seeing potential in the lad (and hopes that he'll change his name), Nightwing decides to train this up-and-comer. 

Meanwhile, Oracle has run afoul of Bludhaven's major-domo, Blockbuster. Using her computer prowess to cull funds from the villain's coffers one too many times has resulted Blockbuster putting a bounty on Oracle's head. With her Birds of Prey indisposed, Oracle will have to rely on Nightwing to save her neck. But he's got his hands full with Blockbuster's new partner, a gorilla named Grodd!

While I am on the Nightwing wagon more than ever before, this book didn't really win me over to giving Birds of Prey a try. I like Barbara Gordon/Oracle and I'm okay with Huntress. But Black Canary has irked me for the longest time. For one, there's the extremely confusing origins that DC has given the character. First she's a golden age hero. Then Black Canary is a founding member of the Justice League of America. Then it's her mom who did all this. Then it's not.  Plus, I can't figure out how to correctly pronounce her real name, Dinah. And I think that's the part that aggravates me the most about the character!

Anyways, this volumes ends on a cliffhanger. Normally, I would be upset at not having the issues to complete that run. But 'The Hunt for Oracle' is completed in Birds of Prey, Volume 3 and I don't really care to know how that transpires. Yes- that's how much I despise Dinah Lance!

Chuck Dixon hit a home run with this issue. Plus there's the great art by Bruce Guice, Patrick Zircher and Greg Land. There's so much action and adventure in this collection. But what convinced me that I had found a winner was how the writer and artists made me nervous and concerned for the squirrel pet of one of the villains. If it had died at the hands of Blockbuster, I was going to be so pissed!

If a team of talent can make me care so much about a fake forest rat, then imagine how much they've made me care for Nightwing and his allies?

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Die Kitty Die: I Love You To Death! (Free Comic Book Day 2018)

It finally happened. The creators of Kitty Ravencraft's comic book finally killed her off in order to cash in on the tremendous sales that those 'death of' issues rake in! But you can't keep a good character down for good as Kitty's ex Derek, The Warlock will fight heaven and hell to get his beloved back!

Featuring a couple of L'il Kitty adventures that flashback to when Derek and Kitty first met, this Free Comic Book Day release is the jumping point to the new Die Kitty Die mini 'Heaven and Hell'.

Die Kitty Die is yet another example of why I am such a fan of Dan Parent. He kills it every time in his classic Archie tales. Then when he comes over to Chapterhouse to do Die Kitty Die, he skewers the Archie books like nobody else can or should. I love how he parodies a fan favorite of mine, L'il Jinx, in this book! Now if only Parent would bring her back for an Archie special in the near future. 

Co-creator Fernando Ruiz works seamlessly with Dan Parent. I can't tell where Parent ends and Ruiz begins. Though I feel that Ruiz was entirely behind the artwork of the flashback pages and the Kitty splash page on pages 5-6. But still, it's pretty consistent to Dan Parent. 
(I really hope that's considered a compliment as that's what I am intending and probably failing at...)

I loved this FCBD freebie. I am anxious to find the 'Heaven and Hell' storyline either as back issues or in a trade paperback. Fans of Archie and comic book parody really should check this book out!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield's First Ride (Family Comic Friday)

As you probably know, February is Black History Month. With the occasion, I choose a book that is part traditional children’s book and part graphic novel. This week’s Family Comic Friday looks at Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride. It’s a partially fictionalized account of the childhood struggles of the first black woman to ride solo on a motorcycle across the United States.

Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride
Written and Illustrated by Joel Christian Gill
Published by Lion Forge
Pages: 40
Retail Price: $17.99

Before I get into a synopsis for Fast Enough, I want to explain how this book is both a children’s book and a graphic novel. Children’s books tend to have one picture per page with a few sentences on the page describing the action. Graphic novels have what is known as sequential art. Here, You might see someone on the left of the page picking up a glass of milk. But the time the reader gets to the bottom right of the page, that person has consumed the milk and washed the glass through a number of panels or pictures showing the progression of the action.

Fast Enough has a mix of both styles of pages. Also, this book has all of the characters speaking with word balloons much in the style you see in a comic. As the age range recommended for this book is preschool to grade 3, you might say that this book is a primer into comics and graphic novels for young readers; as well as their parents and guardians.
This book is about transportation pioneer Bessie Stringfield when she was a young girl. The other boys in her town wouldn’t let her race bicycles with them. They called her too young, too slow, and too much of a ‘girl.’ But Bessie’s determination helps her to ride a bike and possibly even beat those boys by being ‘fast enough.’

Fast Enough not only has an important message about race and gender but it also seeks to educate more about the life of Stringfield when she grew up. The last 4-6 pages is filled with historical information about the accomplishments and firsts Stringfield held in the world of motorcycle enthusiasm. While I found those pages very informative, these are the most difficult pages for a youngster to follow alone.

The type set of the historical facts pages is 2-3 times smaller than in the main story. Plus, there’s some pretty big words for a preschooler here. Also, the concept of racism explained in this section will most definitely require some explanation and perhaps some uncomfortable (but manageable) Q&A sessions.

If you are familiar with my rating and reviewing of a Family Comic Friday offering, I do not judge a book on concepts explored and examined. I base my rating on the story structure, editing and artwork; all of which in this book was superb. But I do feel that adults should know of any controversial or perhaps age inappropriate sections of these books I cover. It is up to Parents to decide what is appropriate for their wards to read and what’s not.

Fast Enough dives a little into religion. Bessie’s mother has her pray to ‘the man upstairs’ for guidance on how to deal with the boys in town her won’t let her race them. The fact section also talks about Bessie’s Catholic upbringing. If religion is a bit of a caveat in your family, then this book might not be right for you.

I really enjoyed Joel Christian Gill’s look at a pioneering woman of color. It was a interesting change of pace for myself and the types of graphic novels and comics I review for this section. This book has the potential to influence and educate a lot of young hearts and minds of any race, color or gender. Countless women and African Americans and others have been inspired by Stringfield’s courage and sense of adventure. Adults, just make sure to take the journey with the young reader in your life when it comes to this work, as your guidance may help to foster the next generation of Bessies!

Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride debuted in print and digital platforms on February 5th, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Phantom #72

Lee Falk's Phantom is on paper, supposed to be something I would be all over. Yet, of the three main Defenders of the Earth characters, he's my least favorite. I have nothing against The African 'Batman'. His origin story is really cool. He's got a great costume, an awesome wolf sidekick and a bevy of lovely ladies. It's just that his stories are sooooo boring!

It seems that every Phantom story goes around in 3s. Either The Phantom will fight the baddie 3 times, get injured 3, or get captured 3 times. In this issue in which the Phantom takes on a mad scientist, he gets captured 3 times! 4 is you count him in a cage on the front cover. 

Speaking of the cover- the mad pooch on the front isn't the Phantom's beloved wolf, Devil. This canine is the pet of our book's bad guy. 

I love the old comics of the Big Three Defuncts: Gold Key, Dell, and Charlton (Four if you count Whitman, but it's history is so tied in with Gold Key, I consider them one and the same.) Charlton may not have had the best stories or the best art or the best sales (more often than not, it was the sales), but it's a beloved part of comics history. And despite this not being my favorite story or favorite character, it is still a beloved part of my collection.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Robin: Days of Fire and Madness

From the cover, it appears that Robin has teamed with Shadowpact. And while the Boy Wonder does join forces with Blue Devil and Ragman, the alliance is nowhere near the focus of this volume as the cover image would lead you to believe.

Instead, Tim Drake is recruited by a special forces unit comprised of metas and war legends. The descendants of the Losers and Enemy Ace are a part of this team. As is a special Weird War Tales/Land That Time Forgot character. Plus there is the mysterious leader: The Veteran. Nobody really knows who he is. Batman says that he's just a legend made up by the war department; "always the last person to die in a war." Sgt. Rock supposedly was killed by the last bullet fired in World War II, so my bet is on him! Only now with enhanced powers and abilities.

The secondary story has a long thought dead romance of Tim Drake's returning from the grave. A demon holds her fate in the palm of it's hands. In typical Batman fashion, the resurrected lover can be with Tim Drake again if she kills Robin! Drake's solution to this pickle is both clever and funny!

Heck, there were a lot of funny moments in this book!

I find myself trying to choose between the Robin and the Nightwing series of the late 90s/early 2000s. I'm trying to make a little bit of room in my collection. I really thought Robin would be the one to go. But after this wild ride, I am thinking that Dick Grayson may have to say adios. 

A wonderful collection of stories by Fables creator Bill Willingham with really striking art by Green Arrow's Scott McDaniel. This and the rest of my Robin collection is definitely a keeper!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man in The Battle of the Century

This 1995 joint publication reprints the very first DC/Marvel crossover ever! In 1976, worlds literally collided as the Man of Steel and your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man fought against each other and then joined forces against the combined might of Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus!

You might also note that I did not refer to this book as having reprinted the first DC/Marvel collaboration. In 1975, DC and Marvel were approached by MGM Studios to craft a joint adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Having great success with this venture, the two publishers finally decided it was time for their most famous characters to meet!

I wasn't born when this team-up occurred. But as a kid, I saw ads for it in back issues and I salivated over it. But for some reason or another, I never could find a copy of this. Then last year at a con, my search was finally complete as I found this banged up copy for only a buck!

Gerry Conway, a veteran at writing both Spider-Man and Superman, wrote the script. Ross Andru was on pencils and Dick Giordano did inks. 

Carmine Infantino and Stan Lee were the editors on this. It was during this time, Infantino expressed frustration at not getting a chance to be DC's head editor due to the lengthy tenure of Julius Schwartz. Lee made all sorts of promises to Carmine and eventually poached the DC man when his contract came up later in the year. This is why Infantino worked on the Marvel Star Wars series in 1977-78. But Stan Lee was known to make promises that he never intended to keep and made Jim Shooter EIC instead in 1978. 

Superman Vs. Spider-Man follows the tried but true (but not always the best) rules of first time ever crossovers. The first act has both Superman/Clark Kent and Spidey/Peter Parker acting independently of the other. And of course, the lives of both run socking parallel. 

The second act has the real villains pulling off their master scheme. Some misunderstanding makes our heroes believe that the other is behind the attack. Epic battling ensues.

Then in our final act, our heroes discover that neither is a baddie. So Superman and Spider-Man team up to put the true foes behind bars. Then you get a hinted promise of a rematch/continued rivalry to conclude the yarn.

A couple of years after this book, the two heroes would met again. This time against Doctor Doom and the Parasite. I've actually read that one previously. A few years ago, I found a pocket paperback reprinting of that story. 

While the story was chopped all to hell to fit a paperback's format limitations, I enjoyed that team-up just a little bit better. Maybe that's because with the two already knowing each other, Superman and Spidey don't spend half the book fighting each other. Plus there is a great twist as Kent goes to work by J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle and Parker becomes the new Daily Planet photographer.

A good read that doesn't disappoint but really doesn't do much on surprises either. An important milestone in comic book history on so many levels, any copy of this story is a must for collectors!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Bongo Comics Free-For-All! (Free Comics Book Day 2018)

The final Bongo Free Comic Book Day offering. Late last year, Bongo shut down it's presses and closed it's doors after nearly 20 years in existence. The loss of Bongo Comics was maybe not the biggest story in comicdom. But I sorely felt the loss as these Simpsons themed comics have been something that the TV show hasn't been in a very long time- funny!

While I got quite a few chuckles out of this issue, I was bit disappointed as the creativity normally found in these books had disappeared. In the first story, Lisa becomes the new sidekick to Krusty the Clown. But when a mishap with a microwave puts the comedian in the hospital, it's Lisa who becomes the star of the show. 

I'm not even going to question it. I know that Lisa taking over for Krusty was the plot of an episode. When it occurred, I'm not sure. But I am pretty sure it was sometime in the past 8 years. While Bongo does add a very slight twist to the plot, I felt cheated out of a completely all-new tale. At least the other two stories aren't rip-offs of previously aired episodes. I think.

The middle story has Bart bored out of his mind during Summer vacation. Milhouse is away at camp and Marge won't let Bart waste the day playing video games inside. In order to keep himself occupied, you know that mischief will abound wherever Bart goes!

This issue wraps up with Kang and Kodos going on a human hunt. Needing an earthling to probe and observe, they scrap the bottom of the Springfield barrel by kidnapping Cletus, the slack-jawed yokel! But don't feel bad for the hillbilly as your favorite tentacled aliens have finally meet their match!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Even the first story wasn't terrible. It's just that every year I look forward to two comics every Free Comic Book Day: The Tick and this one. I felt that my annual loyalty was betrayed instead of rewarded with a story with a plot ripped from a fairly recent episode. Looking back at Bongo's liquidation, I'm wondering if the company had let go most of their staff at the time of this book's creation. Thus, ideas (and I'm sure morale) were at an all-time low.

Worth Consuming- but I'm not 100% happy about it!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.