Casper’s Classic Christmas #1: A Family Comic Friday Extra!

With the 2019 Holiday season kicking off today, we’ve got another holiday special to review! Let’s take a look at Casper’s Classic Christmas in this Family Comic Friday Extra!

Casper’s Classic Christmas #1
Editor, Production and Design by Mike Wolfer
Published by American Mythology Productions
Retail: $3.99

Fans of Casper the Friendly Ghost and his friends will enjoy an early Christmas present with this special from American Mythology Productions!

Casper stars in a trio of holiday stories. In all three, the Friendly Ghost saves Christmas by assisting Santa with his annual toy delivery. While the stories have similar plots, each adventure has a twist that keeps Casper’s frequent rescue of Christmas fresh and fun!

The other stories star Hot Stuff, the L’il Devil and Spooky, Casper’s scampish ghost buddy. While those stories are also a delight, unfortunately, none of them are Christmas themed!
I love holiday comics. It’s something that I collect with such fervor, that they are some of the only books that I will pay full price in order to add to my collection. So it’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine when a holiday special isn’t chock full of holiday stories!

I would have been okay if the other 3 stories were of non-’spooky’ Harvey Comics characters like Richie Rich or L’il Dot. I even would have been okay with Jackie Jokers and I really can’t stand that guy! A Thanksgiving story would’ve been acceptable. As would have a New Year’s yarn! I just ask that my holiday comic purchases in some way be 100% festive!

Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to American Mythology Productions for putting out this one-shot. I love how the publisher has been releasing holiday specials that reprint stories from before I was born. It’s a chance to find comics I otherwise couldn’t find in a dollar bin nor afford. My wallet is forever grateful!

I also really enjoyed the covers! The regular cover that has Santa’s toys escape from the sight of Casper was very retro and perfectly Casper! And that variant cover was a beautiful bit of Christmas eye-candy! On both covers was a gold and red ribbon and brilliant golden bow! They were ideal touches for the Christmas-themed logos!

Casper’s Classic Christmas does help to get comic book lovers in the Christmas spirit. I just which that this special was comprised entirely of holiday themed stories. Still, if you are a fan of those classic Harvey Comics from ages 1-92, you will love this special from your friends as American Mythology!

Casper’s Classic Christmas #1 debuted in print and other digital formats on November 27th, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

My Little Pony Holiday Special 2019 (Family Comic Friday)

The 2019 holiday season is upon us! Join Family Comic Friday as we kick off festivities with the My Little Pony Holiday Special from IDW Publishing!

My Little Pony Holiday Special
Written by James Asmus
Art by Andy Price, Trish Forstner
Design by Christa Miesner
Retail: $4.99

Rarity is in high demand this Hearth’s Warming Eve! She’s been invited to not one, not two, BUT 3 holiday parties! Along with her friend, Spike the Dragon, Rarity will have to hoof it as all three parties are in completely different directions. The clock is ticking in order to achieve maximum holiday party fun!

Then back at School of Friendship, it’s just before the holiday break and the students are driving their teachers crazy! In hopes of settling the mischievous pupils down, Starlight and Twilight craft the tale of the fierce Krumple Horn!

The Krumple Horn gives tricks instead of treats to those naughty little ponies. But if you are really bad, the Hearth’s Warming meanie will take you back to his den and make you work while everyone else spends the holiday in play and feasting! Thus when weird tricks start happening around the school with no explanation, will the students finally behave themselves or become holiday temps for the Krumple Horn?

While this oversize special from IDW Publishing never mentions Christmas by name, the writer and artists do a fantastic job making this comic quite festive. A lot of that praise should go to Andy Price.  His artwork in the first story is just bursting at the seams with holiday cheer. Price has candy canes and presents and other goodies framing each page of the Rarity and Spike story. And his one-page depiction of that avalanche was breath-taking!

The second story’s design look isn’t very ‘Hearth’s Warming’. But I loved the Krampus inspired story of the Krumple Horn. The European Anti-Santa seems to be popping up everywhere in this already early holiday season! And James Asmus (Kong of Skull Island) does a great job spinning the holiday fable in the My Little Pony manner.

While the Krumple Horn story spun by Starlight and Twilight is supposed to scare the students of the School of Friendship, the tale itself is rather mild. Very young readers might feel the hairs on their arms rise just a bit. But this tale is told in the same fun manner as the telling scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas’s, uh Hearth Warming’s, of long, long ago!

The My Little Pony Holiday Special is a great way to kick-off your 2019 festive comic book readings! It gets you into the spirit of the season right from page one! And the price of this special is oh-so right. It’s kid tested and Brony approved!

The My Little Pony Holiday Special debuted in print and digital formats on November 27th, 2019!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

A Sneak Peek at My 2019 Advent!

This year's Advent theme will be classic toys from my youth. I've selected over two dozen toys from Christmas past. Expect lots of fun, surprises and much, much more! Not every toy is a winner! But if you were a child of the 70s, 80s and early 90s, this will be an Advent for you!

And it all starts December 1st!

So come back Sunday for Day One! Until then, enjoy a sneak peek of all the holiday fun for this sure to be nostalgic festive season!

Spider-Man: Life Story

This was a revolutionary miniseries. In 1962, Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider. Upon the tragic death of his Uncle Ben, Parker is consumed by guilt and becomes the superhero, Spider-Man. 

Life Story follows Parker through 6 decades of Marvel History- but with a twist. This narrative is told in linear fashion. Yes, Peter Parker and friends and foes age through the troubled 1960s, past a nuclear holocaust threatened to a 9/11 ravaged 00s and beyond!

This was in ways a sort of 'What If...' Since the characters actually age, the history of the Marvel universe changes in some intriguing ways. What if Captain America fought in Nam? What if after the Secret Wars, the Symbiote bound itself to a different Spidey villain? And you've never seen the controversial Clone Sage quite like this!

Chip Zdarsky (Sex Criminals) knocked it out of the part with this brilliant look at the life and times of Peter Parker. I feel spoiled. I really want to see more of these type of stories. In fact, with DC and Marvel itching like crazy to have rebooted heroes take over for the iconic ones, I have an idea! 

Set the classic characters in the past with linear remakes of classic story lines while setting up the next generation in the modern era. That way, we can still have our childhood heroes while staying fresh to the readers of generation Y and Z! It can happen and it can work! Zdarsky and Marvel proved it could be a success with this miniseries! 

Thus, in the words of Jean-Luc Picard, 'Make It So!' 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Immortal Hulk, Volume 3: Hulk In Hell

After a volume that saw unspeakable destruction as well a new level of regeneration on the part of ol' Big Green, we now see the Immortal Hulk in Hell. 

Yes- the Green Door was the gate to Hades. There, Hulk and friends will encounter old friends, family and foes.

This volume lead me to ask 'why do comic books agree that there's a Hell. But there's hardly ever an belief in a paradise?' (Unless you are a fallen Norse warrior...)

Hulk's trek through the damned isn't the only storyline in this volume. We catch up with a pair of Hulk family icons that we had though long dead. I've used the EC horror books of the 1950s as a comparison to this amazing series quite a bit in my reviews of Immortal Hulk. Well, I'm not stopping with this volume. 

Kyle Hotz (Agent X) illustrates issue #14 which finds that while a foe of Banner has fallen, love never dies. His rendering of the funeral in the rain was something straight out of Tales from the Crypt or The Haunt of Terror. I loved the Gothic quality of it all.

After a small hiccup, the quality is back to normal. Al Ewing is killin' it in this series!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Immortal Hulk, Volume 2: The Green Door

In the aftermath of Hulk's battle was Sasquatch, an entity attached itself to the Big Green Machine. As a result, the Immortal Hulk has come enraged!

A poor, unsuspecting town in Iowa is ground zero for the Hulk's anger. On the scene are the Avengers. But they are all grossly unmatched against a sometimes ally who is completely uncontrollable and totally sadistic this time around. 

There appears to be only one way to stop the Hulk: a super-weapon that will vaporize not only the monster but the entire township. The plan will work. But does Earth's mightiest heroes have the courage to pull the trigger?

I've seen my share of Hulk rampages. There's been more violent skirmishes in the annuals of Marvel history. But I don't think I've ever seen the Hulk this evil- even when he was the Maestro! 

For the most part, even though it is another Hulk Vs. Avengers battle, this was a pretty original story. Except for this one scene in which the Hulk whispers something to his cousin, Jennifer Walters, AKA She-Hulk. Whatever the secret was, it immediately deflates Walters. The segment was very much like Thor's encounter with Nick Fury in the Original Sin storyline. Way to go all out on that Marvel!

Volume one was so creepy. It was retro. It was something that I felt that I'd be remembering for years to come. Volume 2 went in a completely different direction. One that while I was disappointed that the twist endings aspect of Immortal Hulk was gone, I still am hooked on this series.

I guess Al Ewing's desire to keep this series fresh is commendable. I really have no idea where Hulk is going to go next. This volume has an ending that has me rushing to the library for volume 3. It's still a great series. I just wasn't as enthralled by the Green Door as I could have been, I guess.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Big Hero 6: The Series (Family Comic Friday)

The weekend is here and Family Comic Friday is here to save the day with the stars of Disney’s band of champions: Big Hero 6!

Big Hero 6: The Series #1Written by Hannah Blumenreich, Joe Caramagna
Illustrated by Nicoletta Baloari
Letters and Design by Christa Miesner
Published by IDW Publishing
Retail: $3.99

Fans of Big Hero 6 all love Baymax. He’s the pillowy robot that can never quite fit into his battle armor. While Baymax and his master, Hiro are the stars of the 2014 3D computer film, it’s their teammate, Fred who is in the lead role in both stories contained in this premier issue!

In tale #1, after yet another battle with an evil robot, the very tired team must head off to school. While the rest of the Big Hero 6 team are getting an education, Fred, being older, gets to spend his day slacking off. Excited to get back out there into the evil fighting scene, comic book lover Fred draws up an epic adventure starring the superheroes. Of course, Fred is the main character of this illustrated tale!

Then in the back-up feature, Fred and Mini-Max are out and about on the streets of San Fransokyo when hunger pains signal the need for a quick snack! So it’s off to Fred’s favorite food food joint, Noodle Burger! While Fred is more than welcome to enter the eatery; Mini-Max is not. It appears that previous incidents involving berserk automatons has caused the manager to put into place a ‘no robots allowed!’ Thus Mini-Max will have to wait outside with the dogs of eaters who are also banished from the restaurant!

Will Fred leave Mini-Max out in the cold? Will Fred decide to give rival bistro Noodle Dog a go? Will Fred just go hungry? It’s a decision of gastronomic proportions!

I really liked the artwork of artist Nicoletta Baloari (Disney/Pixar’s: The Incredibles 2). She’s on double duty drawing both stories. Check that- she’s on triple duty as she illustrates Fred’s comic book in yet a totally different art style. That’s actually quite impressive as some artists have trouble breaking away from their established way of drawing.

Both writers of this comic do a good job crafting individual tales about team member Fred. The stories are funny and smartly written. But as I have not seen the TV series, just the movie, I felt that some references went over my head. That’s not a bad thing in itself. 

However, in my opinion, such in-jokes make this a comic in which only the most loyal fans of Big Hero 6 will get maximum enjoyment. But it’s still a fun read for those Disney adventure fans of all ages!

Big Hero 6: The Series #1 debuted in print and digital formats on November 20, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Immortal Hulk, Volume 1: Or Is He Both?

It took me a while. But I finally got on the bandwagon of this critically acclaimed, fan favorite series. Thank you local public library!

Delving back into his earliest days, along with the Bill Bixby led TV series, Bruce Banner and the Hulk are sharing equal time with each other. Bruce leads the way during the day. But the night is Hulk's time. 

In this first volume, Banner travels the Midwest. He wanders based on an itch in the back of his brain. Some would say, it's just the wound from where Hawkeye fatally shot him with a special Gamma tipped arrow. But this newly resurrected Banner believes that this irritation is the Hulk guiding Bruce on a series of missions of mercy. 

I loved this first volume. The first 3-4 issues had great twist endings similar to the EC Comics of the 1950s. Each issue has Banner playing gumshoe with the Hulk leaving a trail of retribution across the US. 

Around issue 4, we then add Alpha Flight's Sasquatch to the mix. In his human guise, Sasquatch is the second foremost expert of Gamma radiation. Can the Canadian hero, along with an intrepid reporter with a secret past that ties-in with the Big Green Machine, find the Hulk before he goes from Hulk Smash to total Hulk Rampage?!

I loved Al Ewing's (Mighty Avengers) writing. He really captures the source material created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in 1962 while tying in those great twist endings found in classic horror comics. This series is a perfect mix of terror and sci-fi! Some awesome covers by my all-time fav artist Alex Ross, doesn't hurt the quality either! A great start to a very promising series that has a large following!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero's Journey, Book One

It seems that Jack Skellington didn't truly learn his lesson on that Christmas Eve when he became Sandy Claws. He's so obsessed with creating an automatic portal to all of the other holiday lands. In fact,  Jack has been ignoring his duties as the King of Halloween Town. 

He's also been ignoring his loyal ghost pooch, Zero. Feeling guilty, Jack decides to play a quick round of catch with Zero during a break. But Zero gets a little too excited for the sudden attention. So thrilled, that when he bumps into Jack's not-quite-finished portal, the ghost doggie disappears!

Zero finds himself transported to Christmas Town. It's a very exciting place for Zero- full of snow, lights and tasty treats. There's also some new friends, who help Zero feel quite welcome. But Christmas Town is just not home for Zero. Will the puppy find his way back to his master, Jack?

It's a personal rule of mine that I do not read any Christmas-time themed holiday comics until December 1st. But since this book was a fusion of Christmas and Halloween, I thought reading it smack dab in the middle of November was a fair compromise!

I loved this story. Like the original, this book has some songs in it. Usually, I have trouble enjoying comics with songs that don't have music added. But I didn't have trouble here. I really could sense a soundtrack in this.

What I did not like was how the book ended- with a 'TO BE CONTINUED!'

But really, this is my fault. I should have realized that with this volume being titled as a 'Volume One', that the story would carry over into multiple volumes. Yet, readers have been burned with this sort of thing before; being told that something is a volume one but a further edition never materializes.

I'm kinda worried about that here. There's only 3 volumes out thus far from TokyoPop. From what I can tell, there's been a total of 16 issues of Zero's Journey released. But I can't figure out if the series is over or not. I also cannot tell if or when a fourth volume is on the horizon.

Sadly, I also don't think that my local library has the second and third book on hand... So I have no idea how I'm going to finish up this series. Or when!

So I enjoyed the book. It's a great segue-way between All Hallow's Eve and the Yule Tide Season. It's only the first chapter of this epic. But, it certainly gets you in the spirit of the holidays.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Sea Sirens: A Trot and Cap’n Bill Adventure (Family Comic Friday)

The subject of this week's Family Comic Friday is a graphic novel that I have wanted to review for a while. But with a slew of Halloween themed comics taking priority, this really great book unfortunately got buried in my to-read pile. Fortunately, there's a lull before all of the 2019 holiday books flood my local comics shop. So without further to-do, let me introduce you to Trot and her feline bestie, Cap'n Bill!

Sea Sirens: A Trot and Cap’n Bill Adventure
Written by Amy Chu
Art by Janet K. Lee
Published by Viking Books for Young Readers
Pages: 144
Retail: $20.99

Trot is a young Vietnamese American girl who loves to surf. While she's riding the waves with her one-eyed cat, Cap'n Bill, her grandfather spends his time fishing on a nearby pier. Trot's grandfather is in the early stages of dementia. Sometimes his mind wanders off. Sometimes, he does.

That's exactly what happens on one excursion, to which the police have to get involved. As a result both Trot,  and Cap'n Bill are forbidden by the girl's mother to continue surfing when she should be watching her grandfather at home instead. But, those waves! They are just crying to be ridden! 

So while her grandfather sleeps, Trot and her cat sneak out for another round of surfing. Only the waves are really choppy this time around and the pair find themselves in trouble having wiped out on a massive wave.

The wipeout whisks Trot and Cap'n Bill to a magical underwater mermaid kingdom. Quickly losing air, the sirens bless the surfers with the ability to breathe underwater (and allow Bill to talk human!) It appears that Trot and her pet have discovered a saltwater Utopia. But anything is anything but perfect as Trot and Cap'n Bill find themselves stuck in the middle of an epic battle between merpeople and sea serpents- with Trot's grandfather a hostage of the kingdom of water snakes!

Sea Sirens was a nearly perfect pearl of a book. Janet K. Lee’s menagerie of underwater kingdoms was so beautiful. I didn’t want Trot and Cap’n Bill’s adventure to end. Lee’s work on previous works, such as Return of the Dapper Men, is so colorful and clean. The illustrator has an amazing knack for making characters and creatures look magical while still appearing realistic.

As for the story itself, I also quite enjoyed it. However, there was one aspect of Amy Chu’s narrative that really annoyed me. The Red Sonja writer peppers in dialogue in Vietnamese throughout this book. That makes sense as the main characters are from that nation. But Sea Sirens suffers from an ailment that is the biggest reason why I hate the movie Stargate! There’s no visual translation  into English! 

Without some sort of subtitles, I feel like I am missing out on some very important aspects of the plot. True, with Stargate, the viewer was supposed to be as lost as the modern day scientists who cannot speak the dialects of the alien races that encounter. But for the most part, the Vietnamese dialogue is between Trot and either her grandfather or mother. So, it really does not make sense to not let the reader in on those conversations. 

Not to be confused with the characters of the same name by L. Frank Baum, Trot and Cap’n Bill (the cat) are a great team. Amy Chu must know how to speak cat, because I can very much imagine some of the banter between girl and her feline going the same way at my house with my kitties. Those scenes were great!

Volume 2 of this wondrous series drops in the spring of next year. I hope that Amy Chu and Janet K. Lee do nothing to change the dynamics of this amazing story. Well, except for adding some subtitles. Other than that, I hope for another volume full of adventure, talking cats, and heart!

Sea Sirens: A Trot and Cap’n Bill Adventure debuted in print and digital platforms on June 11, 2019. Be sure to check it out on Amazon for an amazing price!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekry.com.

Encounter, Volume 2: Welcome to the Team

Art Baltazar, Franco, and Chris Giarrusso return to bring you more adventures of Encounter, his canine pal Barko and best friend/part-time manager Kayla. Now there appears to be a new member of the Encounter team- the armored Champion!

But just who is this mysterious new superhero? Is he friend or foe? Kayla seems warm and willing to add Champion to the Encounter squad. But Barko has his doubts. With more super villains popping up throughout the city looking for Encounter's power orbs, just who is behind this latest round of attempts to steal our alien hero's source of energy? 

I enjoyed a majority of this new series. Chris Giarrusso's artwork took a quantum leap. I've always been a fan of his stuff (G-Man, Mini Marvels). But the pin-up sized images of the new villains in this miniseries was off the chain amazing! I am in awe of the Deconstructinator! He was drawn so brilliantly!

I also really like Franco's very fun shorts about the adventures of Chewy, Barko's anthropomorphic chew toy. For being a squeaky toy, Chewy sure does have a lot of arch-enemies. But what will these fiends do when Chewy fuses with Encounter's new vacuum cleaner?

But when it came to the ending, I hated it! I am not going to spoil it. But I am quite afraid that there might not be a volume 3 of this series. I hope that's not true! Franco, Baltazar and Giarrusso-please say that it's not so!

Lots of fun in the style of Itty Bitty Hellboy or Tiny Titans. But I was disappointed with the ending! I'm just not ready to say goodbye to this awesome group of characters!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Flaming Carrot Comics Omnibus, Volume 1

Bob Burden's insane creation. The Flaming Carrot, is collected in this giant omnibus from Dark Horse Comics. 

Anything Flaming Carrot is darn near impossible to find in stores. A staple of the 80s and 90s Indy scene, not many issues were printed and what few fans have don't show up on the market that often. I know that I am a massive dollar bin picker and I'm not likely to find these books for cheap. But even when I go to shows and conventions, I cannot find Flaming Carrot anywhere. 

I am always looking for Flaming Carrot because for some reason, this series just happens to be my wife's favorite. The peppering of non-sequitur. The surrealism and the shear insanity. On paper, this shouldn't be something my wife enjoys. But she does! And that's even more odder as the Ben Stiller film, Mystery Men (in which my wife absolutely hates), is based on this series of comics. 

I wasn't disappointed by the comics reprinted in this collection. But for an omnibus, there are quite a few issues missing. This book reprints issues 1-2, 4-11 and 25-27. I understand why Dark Horse made sure to add books 25-27. Those 3 books guest star the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the crossovers are definitely fan favorites. I also assume that issues 12-24 are part of a massive storyline and the publisher didn't want to split it up. 

But where's issue #3? Even in earlier reprint editions, that issue is missing from them. Why? Honestly, I can't figure this one out.

As this is volume 1, I am sure that the next book is going to include many of those missing books. But I'm not holding my breath for that third issue. It just seems to have disappeared from existence like a McFly in a photograph from Back to the Future.

Let's talk about the book's cover. I love the image of FC with a pack of monsters. But it really has nothing to do with the comics reprinted within. However, there is a 4 page prose story that appears to be brand spanking new from Bob Burden. It does involve the Monster Party illustrated on the front. It was pretty funny. But it isn't as classic as all of the sequential art stories I read previously in this. 

Then there's the matter of the Easter egg that I couldn't find. According to foreword author, Kevin Eastman, the first issue of Flaming Carrot has the first ever appearance of the Ninja Turtles. I read and reread that issue and I could not locate them. Was it a red herring from the comic book legend? Or is there yet another issue that wasn't reprinted in this assemblage? 

I really enjoyed Bob Burden's absurdist humor. But the omnibus felt less like a complete collection and more like a scrapbook of the Flaming Carrot's earliest and best.

I am really hoping that volume 2 not only comes out soon, but also includes all of the missing gaps. A great book but clearly not absolute!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Super Sons, Vol. 2: The Foxglove Mission (A Family Comic Friday Extra!)

The saga of Ridley Pearson’s Super Sons from DC Zoom continues in this Family Comic Friday Extra!

Super Sons: The Foxglove Mission
Written by Ridley Pearson
Art by Ile Gonzalez
Published by DC Zoom
Pages: 176
Retail: $9.99

With Superman still in outer space and Bruce Wayne God knows where, it’s up the sons of Clark Kent and Batman to get to the bottom of all these mysteries surrounding them! The virus attacking the people of Wyndemere, and Lois Lane, is getting worse. With time running out, the Super Sons need to procure a sample of the germ- and fast!

Meanwhile, the deadly sisters from Candace’s mysterious past in Landis are on her trail. Everytime is appears that Candace has escaped them, a small little miracle alerts her pursuers to her whereabouts. Dozens and dozens of birds just seem to flock to the mysterious young lady. Does Candace have special powers?

Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed with this second chapter in the Super Sons story. According to sources, Ridley Pearson’s alternate take on Damian Wayne and Jon Kent is supposed to be 3 volumes long. With time running to tell the story out, I felt that Pearson tries just way too hard to cram everything into this book. There’s just too much going on and it’s quite confusing.

If I remember correctly, volume 1 had a map of Coleumbria and surrounding territories. This volume really needs it as Jon and Damian AND Candace seem to keep going all over the place. Sometimes back and forth! It was all rather quite hard to keep up with!

While I am looking forward to the final chapter, I have some apprehension that the conclusion is going to be even more confusing with just too much to keep straight.

Don’t get me wrong. I am a big fan of Ridley Pearson. I loved his Peter and the Starcatchers series that he wrote with humorist Dave Berry. But even then, you could tell that Pearson and company just had so many great ideas. Yet, the writers had 4 huge volumes to work with. A trio of 140- some odd paged graphic novels just isn’t enough space to sufficiently cover all of the plot points that are going on with the sons of the World’s Finest.

The finale has got to be super massive (and super clear and concise If not; what started out as a modern day classic is going to become a disaster of epic proportions.

Super Sons, Book 2: The Foxglove Mission debuted in print and digital formats on October 29, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Addams Family: The Bodies Issue (Family Comic Friday)

They’re creepy and they’re kooky
They’re altogether spooky
What more can we say
It’s the Addams Family
In A Family Comic Friday!

The Addams Family: The Bodies Issue (One-shot)Written by Zoe Quinn
Art by Philip Murphy
Published by IDW Publishing
Retail: $4.99

The youngest member of the Addams Family, Wednesday, is in a bit of a rut. The rusty guillotine and macabre spell books in the family library just don’t excite her anymore. Looking for a new groove, the youngster comes across a copy of Eleventeen Magazine and decides to give the entire family a make-over!

Pugsley is now adorable! Cousin Itt is bedecked in curls. And don’t even think about the nice things Wednesday has planted in Gomez’s poison ivy garden! It’s up to Morticia to help her little hellion become the strange young woman she was meant to grow up into!

This one-shot from IDW Publishing comes just right after the hit animated feature The Addams Family . I really wish IDW had released this week’s ago to co-incide with the movie’s release October 11th debut. I really want to see the picture now. Yet, just about every theater in my area isn’t showing it anymore!

Was there production delays? The artwork by Philip Murphy (Star Trek Vs Transformers) was really good. Tons of detail and the characters looked perfect. If having this comic book A) come out after the movie has generally had its theatrical run and B) released after Halloween, was in fact due to Murphy’s attention to detail, I can forgive the delay. But if not- it was really poor planning by a publishing company that is really on top of it’s game otherwise.

The story by Goddess Mode’s Zoe Quinn was quite good. Quinn captured the macabre nature of the Addams Family quite well. There are two types of people in this world. Fans of the Munsters and fans of the Addams Family. I love the Addams and Zoe Quinn made it seem like I was experiencing a lost episode of that iconic 1960s series. I think Addams Family creator Charles Addams would have been quite impressed!

But what was up with the title of this book? The Bodies Issue? Yes, the reason behind the title makes more sense if you read the book. But right off the bat for me, the subtitle sounded more like a teen sex manual hosted by Uncle Fester and Grandmama. It was deceptively inappropriate.

If you are more into the weird and strange like I am, then you and the young readers in your life will love this book. The comic isn’t rated. However, everything seems to fall in line with the PG rating of the movie. Kids aged 8-12 should become massive fans of this. Parents and guardians of those that age should too.

Some franchises like to throw in an ‘innocent’ dirty joke or two. But there’s nothing like that here. But some adults make object to some of the activities that the Addams children partake it, such as knife throwing and attempted beheading.

The Bodies Issue was a fun read that got me into a very late (or really early) Halloween spirit. Too bad it came out after all the festivities. But it was still a great read for fans of things kooky and spooky!

The Addams Family: The Bodies Issue debuted in print and digital formats on Wednesday November 6th, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1

The biggest question behind 2015's The Force Awakens wasn't 'Where is Luke Skywalker?' It was 'What is up with C-3PO's red arm?'

Well this one-shot from Marvel answers that question to a satisfying degree.

This issue reminds me of one of my favorite Clone Wars episodes called 'A Sunny Day in the Void.' In both, a group of droids are put on a vital mission and crash land on a deserted planet. On Clone Wars, the planet was devoid of any life and was flat and arid. But here, Threepio and 3 other droids are stranded on a swamp-like world in which a looming acid rain storm threatens the sentience of each construct.

With the Resistance droids is a prisoner protocol droid of the First Order. The droid may or may not know of the location of Admiral Ackbar, who has been taken prisoner by those dastardly ancestors of the Empire. 

The First Order droid is quite philosophical. He notes that both he, the enemy droid, and Threepio may have at one point been friends. But since both's memories have been wiped over time, it's a matter of programming that now makes the two foes. 

The droid prisoner looks an awful lot like the Death Star Droid from A New Hope. If I am not mistaken, this droid also doubled as a prisoner on the Jawa's barge in the same movie. I am wondering if the First Order droid, referred to as Omri is either of those characters. It would make the events of this story all the more poignant.

This was a nearly flawless comic book. I loved the cover and the inside art was truly out of this world. The team of James Robinson and Tony Harris did a top-notch job here!

You'll be seeing more Star Wars comics in the next few weeks as we countdown to the final entry in the Skywalker Saga, The Rise of Skywalker. I am a life-long Star Wars fan, having be born in 1977. I have waited decades for this movie and I can't wait. Hopefully, books like this will keep me grounded until that special day!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

A Very DC Halloween

Collecting 2017's DC House of Horror and last year's Cursed Comics Cavalcade. This is a truly disturbing look at some of your favorite heroes from the House That Superman Built. 

Let's first examine DC House of Horror. I don't know how I overlooked this Halloween special. It's the main reason I bought this book. I already had Cursed Comics Cavalcade in my collection. But I could not pass up this getting my hands on this trade. 

Keith Giffen (Justice League) pens all of the stories in DC's House of Horror. Giffen, who is known for penning some rather lighter fare, such as all of those Ambush Bug stories, must have a dark side deep down. Every story in this special was extremely creepy. From a ghost story involving Harley Quinn and some poor haunted schmo hired to renovate the old Arkham Asylum ruins to a young American girl who summons the spirit of an Amazon warrior princess, I was creeped out by all of these stories. 

And that zombie Justice League story! Man, did that have a tragic ending!

The Cavalcade wasn't so bad. A couple of stories were rather light-hearted such as the Zatanna yarn in which her (and Fables' Bill Willingham) show a scared little girl the magic behind Halloween. The Swamp Thing and Demon stories were quite good as those fan favorites characters never seem to miss. And I enjoyed the twists of the Batman story and Robin/Solomon Grundy team-up. 

Speaking of that Batman episode, the villain introduced in that, Gorehound, needs to see a return in a multi-story arc in the pages of Detective Comics! 

I love Halloween comics. These didn't disappoint getting me in the holiday spirit. But I was unprepared for the level of depravity and sorrow that these normally upstanding and upbeat characters! 

I'm glad it's only just for All Hallow's Eve!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Beano Annual 2016

The Beano is a legendary weekly comic book from the UK. The book has been going strong since 1938. With over 4000 uninterrupted issues, the big boys from the US such as Superman and Batman can't boast such a feat!

There's about a dozen different characters and segments to The Beano; all of which occupy a shared universe in the little hamlet of Beanotown. My favorite were the Bash Street Kids, General Jumbo and Dennis the Menace. 

The Bash Street Kids are a bunch of school kids who are rather undisciplined. For some reason, their antics reminded me of a lower-income version of the students from American TV's Head of the Class.

General Jumbo is a young boy who creates these amazing automated war toys that he used to fight crime and solve mysteries. It's the only drama in the entire book.

Then there is Dennis the Menace. No, it's not the tow-haired moppet who terrorizes his next door neighbor, Mr. Wilson. This raven-haired fellow is quite the little demon who literally has sent his pop to the funny farm on more than one occasion.  Oddly enough while neither Hank Ketchum's American creation nor Beano's Dennis have anything to do with each other, the two Menaces debuted within a week of each other on both sides of the Atlantic!

There were a couple of segments that I wasn't such a fan of. There's this one recurring spot called 'Know Your Squelchies.' A Squelchie is a pile of goo that comes in varieties ranging from farm cow to Dalek. Some of these guys are funny. But for the most part, I don't think I am getting the joke. 

There was another segment called 'Les Pretend.' Here a young boy dresses up like his mother and tries to woo his father for some weird favor. Again, maybe I didn't get the joke of this one. But it sure did make me feel uncomfortable reading it. 

Oh--- I forgot Bananaman! This one was awesome. A young boy becomes a superhero from eating the iconic yellow fruit. This parody of Superman and Batman and others was rather funny! I had a chance to grab a couple of Bananaman graphic novels along with this and I passed them over! I really regret that now! I really wanted more of him!

This hardcover annual was also filled with fun and games perfect for young readers. Though with the British slang, some American youngsters might not understand everything that was going on here. I would have been in the same boat if not for years of watching British sci-fi and comedy!

Well, I finally got a chance to read a Beano. I liked it. But that doesn't mean that I need to find more for my collection. Okay- Bananaman! I want more of the Man of Peel!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Joker (2019)

DC and Warner Bros. makes it's first foray into R-rated live action film. Their first combined offering is what might of might not be the origin of Batman's arch-enemy: The Clown Prince of Crime, Joker.

Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck. Fleck is a fledgling stand-up comedian with a history of mental illness. The lines between reality and delusion meld as Phoenix's character is beaten, mocked, and lied to as the city he loves turns it's back on him, cutting the funding for the out-patient care he needs to stay lucid. 

Though Joker takes place in early 1980s Gotham City, this movie has ties that are eerily similar to today. While riding the subway home dressed as a party clown, Arthur Fleck is beaten by 3 drunken white-collar workers. Having previously been mugged, Fleck pulls out a gun and kills the men who it turns out work for Wayne Enterprises. 

Gotham is a city on edge, with a garbage strike entering it's third week. With reports of a masked clown having killed these symbolism of elitism, the lower class see Fleck's act as inspiration for a movement for change and riots beleaguer the boroughs. Too bad Gotham city doesn't have a Dark Knight to defend it...

Joker is not an action film. It's more of a psychological thriller that has the viewer seriously doubting the validity of any and all of Fleck's interactions throughout Gotham. That doesn't mean that this isn't a comic book movie. There's definitely echoes of Alan Moore's The Killing Joke and Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. But like FOX's Gotham, Joker proves that you can do Batman stories without the Caped Crusader. 

A very disturbing film that will keep you guessing, this is an entertaining film about the Batman's chief foe. The only question is: is this the real Joker? Or like with Jerome Valeska, is Arthur Fleck the inspiration for the genuine article?

Oh, and parents- don't take your Caped Crusader loving children to see this film. Tons of F-bombs and a lot of violence, and unsettling death and gore! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Johnny Boo and the Midnight Monsters (Family Comic Friday)

We’ve got one more special treat in store for you fans of all-ages Halloween fun! Join us for an early Family Comic Friday as we explore the latest adventure in the Eisner Award winning series Johnny Boo!


Johnny Boo and the Midnight Monsters
Written and Illustrated by James Kochalka
Published by Top Shelf Productions/IDW Publishing
Pages: 42
Retail: $9.99

I was a little disappointed when the line-up for free comics for the 2019 Halloween ComicFest were announced. There was no Johnny Boo! The award-winning graphic novel series by James Kochalka had become a staple offering of the annual comic book store event. Where’s Boo?

But I quickly got my answer as to Johnny Boo, the rad ghost, and his friends absence from HCF 2019. It’s because fans of this series are getting a pre-Halloween treat with the release of the latest graphic novel; The Midnight Monsters!

Johnny Boo and his sprite companion Squiggle are out in the woods doing some awesome late night skateboarding tricks! But the fun turns a little chaotic when the Ice Cream Monster arrives demanding his fair share of frosty treats! Armed with only a skateboard and a helmet made of pumpkin, how will Johnny Boo and his best bud escape this midnight monster?

The Johnny Boo books are recommended for readers of pre-K to third grade. A book full of ghosts and monsters for preschoolers? Well, you know how on Sesame Street Grover and Oscar the Grouch are monsters; but they’re nice monsters? That’s the same way here. A couple of scenes might be a tiny bit spooky, since everything occurs at midnight. But the monsters and surprises in this book are quite harmless.

Series creator James Kolchakla loves to pepper the dialogue of his stories with funny words and silly sayings. This makes the Johnny Boo series a great read for very young readers. The art is childlike but whimsical. Plus, the story has some unexpected turns for a rapid fire approach aimed at youngsters with short attention spans. 

One thing that younger readers might not have a problem with but adults like me will is the back cover! Try to avoid looking at it at all costs! No, it’s not scary! But it does contain a major spoiler that ruins the surprise at the end of the book! I blame the editors and design team on this!

A fun-filled graphic novel for all ages! Grab it now just in time for Halloween!

Johnny Boo and the Midnight Monsters debuted in print and digital formats on Wednesday, October 30, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

This review was originally published on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 on Outrightgeekery.com.