Big Brilliant Book of Bart Simpson

When I've had a particularly hard time, I turn to comics that make me laugh. The various books based on the characters of the all-time great animated sitcoms, The Simpsons, are a good bet for some lighthearted comfort. Well, this past week was particularly hard and thankfully, I had a collection of Bart Simpson books on hand to alleviate some sadness and pain.

This volume (#7) reprints issue #25-28 of Bart Simpson comics. Stories include Bart winning an all-expense paid trip to Krustyland California and as part of the trip, he gets to sit right next to Krusty! On a recent trip to Krusty Burger, Bart learns that he accidentally gave a winning game piece to Ralph; who promptly lost it somewhere in the restaurant. With time running out, Bart must fight illness and the embarrassment of asking sister Lisa for help or he'll miss out on a lifetime supply of video games! Then Bart and Milhouse take on the federal government who wants to cut down the very tree that holds up Bart's beloved tree house. 

There's a lot of sibling rivalry afoot in this book. Along with the Krusty Burger yarn, readers get to enjoy a parody of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Lisa and Bart competing for the job being offered by Groundskeeper Willy. Lisa plays detective once again to solve a couple of Nancy Drew-type mysteries. Milhouse joins Bart and Lisa on an out-of-control high air balloon ride. Of course just about all of these benefits Bart. But when Lisa appears in these stories, she's more of her season 1-4 self, a little bit more mischievous as opposed to vegetarian Lisa who becomes the moral compass of Springfield. I miss that Lisa and I think the writers of these comics missed that version as well.

With this being a Bart centered book, you don't get quite as much Marge or Homer. Maggie is virtually non-existent except for a short that the youngest Simpsons dreams up. But if you are a fan of Milhouse, Nelson and the other students at Springfield Elementary, you are in for a treat. If you absolutely cannot stand Milhouse, this probably is the collection of Simpson Comics for you.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Vol. 2: The Fearsome Fangs Strikes Again!

Collecting issues 7-12 of the DC Comics series based on the Cartoon Network animated series of the same name. The very same team-up series I wished never ended. It did take me a couple of episodes to really appreciate the show. I was hesitant to accept the comical Diedrich Bader to do justice as the voice of Batman. But as I came to realize that the writers, artists and actors involved in Batman: The Brave and the Bold were fans of classic DC and really wanted to do a series that paid tribute to all eras of DC Comics, I was hooked!

In the 6 issues reprinted here, we get several guest stars that had at one point or another appeared on the cartoon. The original line-up of the Doom Partol, along with Beast Boy, Garfield Logan, a clean shaven Green Arrow, Black Canary, The Atom (though not sure if it's Ray Palmer or Ryan Choi version), and Adam Strange return for a lot of fun. The character of Catman makes his first appearance in this series. Although, I think Catman does pop up a couple of times on the show. And the there's the team that really has got me scratching my head...

3 of the members of the Great Ten, a Chinese superhero team that first appeared in the pages of Grant Morrison's 52 appear in issue #8. The August General in Armor (name really says it all), the highly accurate Celestial Archer, and the musically inclined Accomplished Perfect Physician meet up with Batman who is in Tibet investigating the sighting of a Yeti. The Asian heroes claim that the Yeti is really a Great Ten reservist who allowed his beastly side to accidentally overtake his civilized side during one of his heroic transformations. 

Most of you are going, 'why is all that a head scratcher?' Well, the choice of the Great Ten is an odd one. They're not really characters that kids would know. To be honest, they're not really characters a ton of adult readers of DC Comics would know. After a brief appearance in 2019's Doomsday Clock, the Great Ten have been pretty much MIA from the DCU. And then there's where this story takes place.

Batman meets up with the heroes from the Great Ten in Tibet. Now Tibet is known for being the home of the fabled Abominable Snowman, AKA the Yeti. But in the story, the Chinese heroes call Tibet, well, uh, they call it Tibet. But these heroes are also government employees. Shouldn't they be referring to Tibet as China as that nation lays claim to Tibet as a part of their territory? Or at least call it the Autonomous Zone or Region? 

That story was printed in 2009. I'm surprised that DC was willing to publish an issue with subject matter that controversial. In the past decade, movie studios have gotten in trouble with China and other countries for not calling certain regions or territories by the proper internationally recognized titles. Heck, just this year, Vietnam refused to show the mega-hit Barbie movie in their theaters because of a single scene that uses an outdated map for a sight gag. Maybe we just weren't so sensitive in 2009 as we are today. If that's the case, man do I miss those days...

A great read. There's over a dozen issues out there for me to get my hands on. So The Brave and the Bold fun doesn't have to end yet. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Tomorrow Stories, Book 2

I love Alan Moore. I know it's not possible, but I feel like he writes just for me. His work is fanciful, supernatural, twisted, naughty, biting and groundbreaking. And until now, I didn't know that Alan Moore could be funny. 

Alan Moore's Tomorrow Stories are comprised of a rotating group of 5 different subject styles of pulp and classic comic book archetypes. Johnny B. Quick is a boy genius who lives in a small rural town. The Cobweb is the femme fatale who fights a lot of crime while wearing very little. Greyshirt is the costume vigilante who has turned from a life of crime after surviving a near catastrophe. First American and his alluring sidekick U.S. Angel are the stereotypical patriotic superhero duo. Lastly, Splash is your bizarro hero; a living blob of ink that navigates a world that is not his own. Different artists tackles these 5 subjects with Moore as the author of them all.

Tomorrow Stories are in my mind Alan Moore's MAD Magazine. Each story is satirical with those hidden jokes in the background. One story might find the protagonist exploiting the world of fine art with the next one skewering the music industry. 

My favorite stories involve Johnny B. Quick. Johnny is really brilliant. But what he has in book smarts, he lacks in life experiences. The Quick family read like the ignorant family that Marty McFly encounters when he crashes into the barn way back in 1955. It's just a hilarious idea that I wish would have been expanded into a lengthy monthly solo series. 

The First American stories were really naughty. I'm surprised Alan Moore got away with many of his dirty jokes. But these tales were really consistent across the board. The Splash stories were very funny. Yet, not every joke or gag connected. Though the Splash story from issue #7 'a Bigger Splash' should be a required addition if there ever is an essential Alan Moore compendium. 

The Cobweb and Greyshirt segments were my least favorite. For the most part, Moore goes too experimental. The crossover between the two characters was great. As solo acts, not so enjoyable. One Cobweb story is done like a series of newspaper strips and the dialect spoken by some of the characters is just too annoying to attempt to decipher. With Greyshirt, Moore crafts a musical piece. I HATE comics where you have to imagine there's singing and music. I can't read music. I just don't get the tempo. So, maybe Alan Moore really doesn't write just for me...

Tomorrow Stories was limited to a 12-issue run with 2 over-sized specials. I'm just missing 3 issues and the specials for a complete collection of the tales. So I at least have more misadventures to look forward too. Plus, one of the issues I have is a Christmas extravaganza! (I really can't wait for that one!) 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: The Newspaper Comics, The Complete Comics Vol. 2: 1982-1983

When I reviewed Volume 1, I said that it was unlikely that I'd ever get my hands on the second book any time soon. Volume 2 is listed as out of print. The cheapest copy I could find was $110. That was just too rich for my blood. Then my wife made a very good point: with the book being out of production, the asking price is only going to go up and up. I happened to have about $80 in Amazon trade credit. So when deducting that from the asking price and adding tax and shipping, I only paid about $40 out of pocket, which was still $10 less than the original MSRP.

The stories of Volume 2 continue with the Enterprise on the trail of a Klingon cruiser. Kirk and crew must intercept the vessel to prevent an escalation in the war between the Federation and Klingon Empire. This leads the Enterprise crew to a planet inhabited by cyborgs with the Klingons the latest victims of the planet's Overmind super-computer conversion process. 

Other than the story being a bit long, it was rather good. Plus, I seemed to have gotten my money's worth as it appears that its addition to this book is a must have story among Star Trek fans. That's because the tale called 'Restructuring is Futile' is considered by many to be the unofficial origin of the Borg! (Though I think that the story from TokyoPop's Star Trek Manga series is a more definitive origin tale.)

There are 10 stories, making for a total of 20 comic strip stories through 2 volumes. Thomas Warkentin only pencils one story. In my mind, he's the definitive Star Trek strips artist. Ron Harris, pencils the first 3 or 4 stories. He's almost as good as Warkentin. Ron Harris uses proper shading, includes great backgrounds into the panels and does very good representations of the actors. Although, they look more like themselves from TOS and not TMP. 

Towards the end of 1982 going into 1983, the series was in decline. Not just in terms of quality but with a number of readers. Only a handful of newspapers continued to run the strip, even after the amazing success of Star Trek II: The Wraith of Khan. Yet, the artists chosen to replace Ron Harris are no Ron Harris and definitely not in the league of Thomas Warkentin. I've seen high school and college newspaper artwork better than what you see in stories 15-19. Heck, I think I could have done a better job than whoever penned (definitely not penciled) story #16! 

Okay- so the artwork diminishes. However, thanks to the addition of Gerry Conway as head writer, every story was a ton of fun. Fans of Larry Niven will want to get their paws on this book as well. Niven's most famous species, the feline Kzinti, guest-star in the story titled 'The Wristwatch Plantation' for a Star Trek/Man-Kzin War crossover! And man, am I a sucker for a crossover. 

The magic of the Star Trek newspaper strip wasn't lost from Volumes 1 to 2. The stories were far more superior to the quality of such TOS stinkers like 'The Way to Eden' and 'This Side of Paradise.' In terms of visual quality, I think the even the worst Star Trek episode was more visually appealing than those middle stories.

Bittersweet to say good-bye to these stories. Star Trek comics, covering any series, is just a type of sequential art comfort food to me. But I am glad that the series ended when it did. I don't think I could afford a Volume 3!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The 100 Most Jewish Foods: A Highly Debatable List

A Hanukkah present from my Jewish bride, this book is part cookbook and part chronicle of the Jewish experience in relation to food. This book came about from an article of the same name that appeared on the Jewish culture website, Tablet. Edited by Tablet editor Alana Newhouse, several dozen notable Jewish chefs, restaurateurs and foodies wax poetic on Jewish foods all the way from matzoh to schmaltz to even yes, bacon. Just because it's a Jewish food, that doesn't mean you should eat it...

Names I recognized from this book were Molly Yeh, Michael Twitty (a personal favorite of mine) and Zac Posen. There was one writer whose name I cannot remember and to be honest, I'm glad I forgot it. It was the pseudonym of an African American rabbi. Thankfully, he only wrote 2 pieces in this book. But it was enough to make you lose your appetite. The only times that the F-word appears in this book, it's this gentleman's diatribes full of piss and vinegar that were just unasked for. 

The foods listed in this book are not ranked. There is 1 exception that most of the contributors agreed was essential to Jewish cooking, cuisine and culture. I won't reveal what it was. But I can say that I agree with the consensus. But I did disagree with 1 food that I felt was wrongly absent. Where are the knishes?

If you had me name the top 5 most Jewish foods, the knish, a meat, cheese or potato filled hand pie, would probably be the 3rd thing I come up with. There are some dishes that seem similar in this read. But in a book that arranges by alphabet instead of rank, the Ks were devoid of the knish!

If the Knish is in here under another name, then I really wish that this book had a glossary in the back. There were a lot of Yiddish words that I didn't know and unless I went to Google them, I also didn't understand. A small 1-2 page listing of some of the most common Yiddish and other Jewish terms from other languages was needed.

Jewish cooking gets ignored quite a bit in the culinary world. Most students I teach know that pork isn't Kosher. But they have zero idea what being Kosher means. This book is going to be a great help in that. I'm also hoping to utilize some of the recipes in this book with my students. There's a lot of dishes that are amazingly complex for a cuisine often thought of comprised of mostly peasant food and dishes that grandma made. That assessment could not be further from the truth. I made an amazing red lentil stew from this book. Other than my accidentally forgetting to add the lemon juice at the end, it turned out so freaking well. And there was at least 30 more recipes on my list now to try in the future.

Also, there were at least 1 or 2 books from some of the contributors of this book that I am interested in one day getting my hands on. So, there's a ton of potential more learning and exploration on the horizon for me and my pupils ahead. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Rock #378

I've been holding on to this issue for quite some time in hopes to finally read it during Christmas in July. Yet, I kept forgetting about it. WELL, NOT THIS YEAR, FOLKS!

The title story is the only tale that is 'seasonal'. But it's a Joe Kubert classic. 

Sgt. Rock and Easy Company are so far into Enemy territory that it takes forever for the mail to arrive. When it finally catches up to the men, it's mid-July and yet their Christmas cards and presents have just now hit their hands. One of the soldiers, Jackie, has just become a father. Since he can't be home to play Santa to his newborn baby girl, Jackie's wife sends him a Santa suit and a bunch of toys in hopes he can play Father Christmas for some needy children on the front lines. Thus, for a bunch of French orphans, it truly is a Christmas in July to remember. 

Other stories are by Kubert's son Andy, members of the Joe Kubert School of Art and Robert Kanigher. These war tales involve a French child who finds a discarded Nazi helmet, a young American G.I. who fights bravely for his 'gal' back home and a set of 'fact sheets' about the war culture of a primitive tribal culture in South America, everything you need to know as World War II submarine warfare conducted by the Americans, and the various ways mine fields have been disarmed. 

My favorite story of course was the first one. The scene where Jackie is dressed as Santa and he's hesitant to go down the chimney, least he gets stuck was hilarious. Especially, when some Krauts show up with guns blazing and Jackie jumps down the chute head first- without thinking! Just brilliant stuff from Joe Kubert. The second story had that tragic 'war is hell' twist as did the third tale. But I think with a small child being the ironic victim, it's shocking finale was more gut wrenching.

I knew before I bought this book that there was only 1 Christmas story. Honestly, did one expect Joe Kubert and his disciples to come up with an entire set of warm weather Christmas-themed war stories? This book was published in 1983. Was Christmas in July even a thing back then? It's not the Hallmark Channel summertime movie marathon maker that the event has become today. That's for sure.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Zorro: Feliz Navidad #1

Day 2 of my trio of Christmas in July posts stars one of the earliest established super heroes, Zorro!

American Mythology Productions has been reissuing a lot of classic Zorro material over the past couple of years along with new stuff and this 2022 holiday special is no different.

The opening original story has Zorro coming to play Santa to a village whose Christmas presents were stolen by Spanish soldiers. In a rare tale that makes use of a Christmas tree as a weapon by both the villain and Zorro, it's got action sequences unexpected this side of a Tarantino picture. 

Then readers are delighted with 2 classic Dell/Gold Key era stories. Or are they from Mexico? The inside cover says that those back-ups were translated. Was Zorro comics published in Mexico or Spain?

Anyways, one of those adventures is a Feliz Navidad themed story. I usually decry holiday comics when they are not comprised 100% of the material related to the holiday or season in which the special is set. But I figure that whatever publisher probably only ever did the one Christmas story ever in their history. So I overlooked it here.

The holiday tale has kind-hearted Sergeant Garcia in a bit of a predicament. It's nearly Christmas Eve and Garcia is forced to make his men work the holiday unless he can get one of his 4 prisoners to admit to the attack of a wealthy villager. Don Diego, Zorro in his secret identity, offers to help Garcia in order for it to be a merry Christmas for all. But time is running out for Garcia, who isn't known for his detective skills to find the culprit or everyone is earning holiday pay. It's a fun story that doesn't rely on the use of Zorro.

The non-holiday story involves Zorro, a monastery and a set of rosaries. The Spanish army is once again on Zorro's tail. Our hero takes refuge in an area of San Francisco Valley that only houses a set of monks. This leads the soldiers to believe one of the monks is the vigilante swordsmen. Now Zorro must find a way to convince the troops that the friars are not secretly Zorro or the whole mission will be slaughtered. 

All three tales were good reads. But I had to read that last story twice as it involved a little trickery that was quite confusing. Of course, I would have loved all 3 stories to be Christmas themed. I would have really liked 2 all-new stories about the holiday instead of a reprint that wasn't seasonal. But I also understand that new material costs money and American Mythology is a small operation. Not always feasible, I understand. At least the beautiful artwork of story #3 made up for the lack of cheer.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Hot Stuff the Little Devil #95

For today through July 26th, I will be celebrating Christmas in July! Today's book is what I call a Scrooge because only for the cover, there's nothing else holiday related. There are a couple of stories that are seasonal. But when it comes to the holidays, they are close but no cigar.

The opening page gag involves Winter and Hot Stuff absolutely hating it. The first large story that stars the Little Devil is seasonal as well with Hot Stuff visiting a toy factory in order to buy a birthday gift for a friend. Only, Santa Claus is not in charge of this facility, but a set of robots that seem to have malfunctioned. 

There are several other gags and stories. One of them is with the star of the book. The other two are with a giant named Stumbo. I've been reading Harvey Comics since I was a kid. And as a little one, I read a bunch of books starring Richie Rich, Casper, Little Lotta and the bunch. Never have I read a Stumbo the Giant story. I've seen him used in a lot of advertising. But it took me reaching my mid-40s to finally read some of his adventures. They're cute little fairy tales. But I can see why he never became a star on par with some of those other characters. 

Now let's talk about that cover. It's a beautiful piece of work by Warren Kremer. One of the Facebook groups that I am a member of has a daily post called 'Breakfast with Kremer.' I don't think we've ever reviewed this cover. But if we ever do, I will marvel over the candy cane striped pitchfork, the roaring fire over in the right corner and Hot Stuff's face of pure joy. It almost makes me forgive Harvey Comics for gifting us fans of holiday comics with a fruitcake instead of a roast turkey with all the fixings...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Cover Not Final: Crime Funnies

My local library had a display of works by local authors. That's where I found this digest sized work. There was the mischievous looking criminal standing in front of a car wreck touting 'Crime Funnies' on the cover. I thought it looked fun in a wicked sort of way and gave it a read. 

I could not have been more wrong. 

The book starts off with a song that doesn't rhyme. Though I did learn something from this ballad. It seems that all of the segments of this book take place in a world where music is outlawed and where putting a piece of artwork in front of someone's door is a threat worse than death. The little imp from the cover appears in a few stories. He's known as 'Career Criminal', though his crimes aren't all that dastardly. A couple of other places and background characters pop up in the other stories making for a Pulp Fiction type work. But that's about the only things that are cohesive in the book.

Max Huffman's work is psychedelic. Very experimental to the point of being beyond an underground comix. The colors are extremely vibrant. But I just didn't really know what the hell was going on here.

The fact that I am giving this work any stars is due to the fact that each story has an engrossing start. Yet all of these stories have an abrupt end with nothing ever completed. Heck, a couple of tales felt like nothing was ever even attempted. The opening story about a hardened 70's style private detective who discovers that his uncle is missing ends with the guy losing his train of thought... THE END. I felt so cheated and I only checked this book out. Thank God, I didn't pay  for this book which retails to almost $10!

If there was a formula to this book, I clearly missed it. 

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 2 out of 10 stars. 

Wilson

When it's just a series of vignettes, this graphic novel is absolutely great. It's almost like Daniel Clowes made his version of a mid-aged Charlie Brown reflecting on the ways his life didn't turn out so great. If you look at the main character Wilson from profile, he's got a big, fat round head with a tuft of hair at the front of his head that looks just like Charlie Brown. Wilson has a puppy dog that looks like a beagle. And when you see Wilson showing blissful affection for the baseball field where he played little league, there's no question that this is Clowes doing Peanuts without getting in trouble for copyright infringement! 

After I learned that Daniel Clowes' reading of a biography about Charles Schulz was part of the inspiration for this book, I think I hit the nail on the head. Another inspiration for Wilson was Clowes' experience of his father's terminal cancer. It's at the point that the story becomes less a series of one-pagers, that could be read separately, and now into a story about Wilson trying to find his ex-wife and his daughter that was given up for adoption. And here is where Wilson loses its charm.

I guess you could imagine that Wilson's ex-wife is Peppermint Patty or Lucy. However, as Wilson becomes more of a narrative, the mystique that this book is about an aging Charlie Brown diminishes. See the artwork changes with every page. Sometimes it's realistic. Sometimes it's a cartoon. When Wilson begins like we're seeing the different faces of the main character with each changing page. Having the story become more linear abolishes that innovative beginning. After Wilson's father dies, it feels like a totally different book and I just wasn't a fan of that second act.

The works of Daniel Clowes are like the films of Wes Anderson. It's stylized. Formulaic. The work of an auteur. It's also not everyone's cup of tea. To me, Daniel Clowes stuff is like bubble tea. I love the creamy, sweet top part, mixed with giant tapioca pearls. But once I am through with the liquid, there's all these extra pearls that I just get tired of. That's what happened to me by the time I got to the final 77th page of this Drawn & Quarterly published graphic novel. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Bruce Wayne: Not Super (Family Comic Friday)

I know of a lot of comic book fans that would not enjoy this book because it's not canon: true to the comic books. But I really thought Bruce Wayne: Not Super was a delight. 

In Gotham City, there is a special academy for students with special powers. Called Gotham Preparatory School for the Really, Really Gifted, the student body is composed of heroes and villains. But NO VIGILANTES! And that's a really hard rule for young Bruce Wayne to follow as he's the only student at Gotham Prep without powers and being a vigilante is what the teen put as his career goal. 

Typically, if you do not have powers, you're not allowed to attend Gotham Prep. However, because Bruce's parents basically put up all the money to build the school, the heir to the Wayne family fortune was given an exception. Yet, if you ask me, I really think Stuart Gibbs got it wrong with this plot point. 

Dick Grayson, Oliver Queen, and other regular Joe (non-powered) characters from the DC Universe are students at Gotham Prep. Being an acrobat isn't a super power. Neither is being a crack shot with a bow & arrow. They're skills. Not super powers. So, in my opinion, Bruce Wayne isn't the only pupil who is not 'really, really gifted.' 

Bruce Wayne: Not Super was a fun book with lots of funny moments. Seeing Bruce working with his faithful butler Alfred to design an animal costume that strikes fear in the hearts of villains was very funny. Once Bruce decides to become a Bat-Man, his Wile E. Coyote-like misadventures with his array of bat-themed gadgets was hilarious. And seeing Bruce forge relationships with Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle and other characters was rather heartwarming. I just wish that Stuart Gibbs hadn't made Clark Kent such an unlikable character. 

I guess in high school, as Clark develops his powers, he'd be rather smug about it. He'd want to try and use his abilities to get the upper hand at things, especially sports. But I don't think Clark Kent would ever be a bully. Ma and Pa Kent just won't stand for that!

Okay, I realize that I've pointed out a couple of problems I had with this book. But I like to think that I've overlooked enough to really have enjoyed what I read. Everything is set up for a sequel and I couldn't have been more thrilled with that prospect. 

I think young readers of the recommended age of 8-12 years will not mind at all seeing their favorite heroes and villains as classmates. Parents may not like seeing some future icons of truth and justice acting the opposite of those innate ideals. But I think the real message behind this story is growth. Whether it be in growing more confidence in yourself to seeing your flaws and improving on them; failing at things but learning to get better from those times of disappointment is an important lesson both children and adults seem to have not been taught anymore. 

Life is hard. It can get better. Bruce Wayne learns this through help from his father figure Alfred, good buddy Dick and most importantly, himself!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Saga, Vol. One (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Brian K. Vaughn's Saga is the story of a family. From two warring sides, the horned Marko and the winged Alana have abandoned their posts. Already on the run for desertion, the pair have married and with a newborn in their arms, the stakes for their deaths or capture have increased their notoriety; for a hybrid child could very well destroy the war effort and disrupt the coffers of those who profit from the lucrative war machine. 

Saga has action, humor, and heart. There's also quite a bit of sex. To the point that its inclusion has gotten publisher Image and the book itself into a lot of trouble. 

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund lists two major occasions in which issues or trades of Saga were censored or challenged. The first incident was in 2013. Apple iOS and the Apple store made issue #12 temporarily unavailable due to two panels which showed scenes of explicit sex. The ban was due to ComiXology's misunderstanding of Apple's content policy. The issue was soon added to the app. But this wasn't ComiXology's first instance of restriction of content and it certainly hasn't been the company's last. 

The second instance of censorship reported by the CBLDF occurred over the year of 2014. Vol. One of Saga was listed #6 of the American Library Association's Top Ten Most List of Frequently Challenged Books. The ranking was due in large part to a challenge of the book by branch of the Oregon Public Library. The reasons for the challenge were 'over sexually explicit content — content that the complainant perceived to be age-inappropriate and propagating anti-family values.' Not much else about the challenge was disclosed, other than that the book was eventually returned to shelves. 

The reason for the challenge is probably due to the detour one of the bounty hunters hired to capture Marko and Alaina take. Known as The Will, the character heads to a pleasure planet where he encounters various acts of debauchery; the most heinous of which is being offered a 6 year old girl by a pimp. The Will attempts to free the girl but he must abandon his noble quest when his sidekick's life is held as ransom for the child's return.

The story of Saga was conceived by Brian K. Vaughn while he was a child. Over time in high school, he spent many of his math classes fleshing out this new universe with influences by Star Wars, Flash Gordon and his most inspiring influence, Silver Surfer. With artist Fiona Staples, Vaughn has produced 65 issues of the series, with a brief hiatus from 2018-2022. Issue #66 is set to debut in early August. 

Pardon the cliche, but the saga continues...

Completing this review completes Task #8 (Book that was Banned/Challenged (https://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

AND WITH THAT, my 2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge is COMPLETE!

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

With Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, we got an honest-to-god martial arts film. Originally, the main character was billed as Shang-Chi: The Master of Kung-Fu. I'm not that familiar with fighting styles, so I don't know if any actual kung-fu was used. But the viewers got a masterpiece. 

The Legend of the Ten Rings is set right in the middle of the MCU. Events start in San Francisco, which we've already explored thanks to the Ant-Man films. But as the plot progresses, the map expands to include Macau and then the mythical Chinese village of Ta Lo. In fact, when the main characters reach Ta Lo, the film becomes a beautiful work of art. There are mythical Chinese creatures (I loved the lion things!), Chinese culture, artwork, fashion, and much, much more. That second half of this movie was just breath-taking. 

That's not to say that this film was perfect. I did at times find myself getting bored, as I have with stale bits of superhero films. It wasn't Shang-Chi, who is to blame. It's an industry thing as a whole that has some elements which just seem to be getting old. 

The premise of the film is linked with the events of 2013's Iron Man 3. In that film, we learned that the Mandarin, the so-called leader of the Ten Rings was really a ruse. Instead of an Asian man, a drunken actor named Trevor Slattery was hired to create a diversion for a foe of Tony Stark's. Well, the real leader of the Ten Rings wasn't so happy about that...

Originally, Shang-Chi's father was the legendary dime pulp villain Fu-Manchu. The character, created by San Rohmer, was based on racist stereotypes with his long, straggly facial hair and hideous claws. That tendency to imprison white women in a number of masochist, demeaning ways didn't help things either. Marvel about 15 years or so ago, rebooted the origin of Shang-Chi from which the comics is now more in line with the 2021 movie. 

A thousand years ago, a Chinese warlord named Xu Wenwu obtained the magical 10 rings. These rings, which technically are bracelets, granted him immortal life along with a number of various powers. Looking to increase the power of his criminal organization, in 1996, Xu Wenwu attempted to breach the mythical Ta Lo. The man is stopped by the village's guardian Ying Li. The episode earns the mutual respect of both and the pair fall in love.

Xu Wenwu forsakes the rings during his marriage to Ying Li. Two children are born, Shang-Chi and his sister Xu Xaling. All appears bliss. However, Xu's past catches up with him, resulting in the death of Yin Li. Xu Wenwu bears the rings again, training his children to become assassins in revenge for their mother's death. However, Shang-Chi escapes his evil destiny, winding up in San Francisco under the name of Shaun.

Over time, Xu Wenwu begins to hear the voice of his fallen bride. The voice claims that if he can pierce a sacred barrier in the village of Ta Lo, the entire family can be together again. As Shang-Chi and his sister learn more of their mystical heritage, they prepare for battle with the forces of the Ten Rings to stop Xu Wenwu from his fool hardy quest which threatens to unleash hell on earth.

I know that there's a lot going on here. The story was complex, which is something many of the Marvel films have been missing lately. The martial art scenes were amazing. They were fluid, alluring and sometimes funny, like from a Drunken Master movie. When the theatrics appeared more like a typical comic book and not staying in the legacy of Bruce Lee, I got bored. 

I don't understand why this film didn't become the cultural touchstone for the Asian community like Black Panther did for the black community. Actually, I do. Blame COVID. Even though this 2021 movie made over $400 million in theaters, the crowds just hadn't returned yet. Heck, the crowds still haven't gotten back to pre-pandemic levels and if things continue the way they do, I don't think they will any time soon...

Lots of great actors. Michelle Yeoh, the reigning queen of Asian cinema who has taken Hollywood by force. Tony Leung was great as the villain. He's the actor that you've seen before, really like and just can't remember where you've seen him from previously. Relative newcomer (at the time) Simu Liu was great as the lead. But the actor who stole the show (and maybe my heart) was comedienne Awkwafina, who stole the show as Shaun's best friend Katy. Look, if Margot Robbie decides to hang up her harlequin costume, I would put my vote behind Awkwafina as the next Harley Quinn! But with all this amazing Asian talent, where were legends such as Sonny Chiba, Donnie Yen and the king of Hong Kong cinema, Jackie Chan? Maybe they'll be available for the sequel? 

Please tell me there will be a sequel...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Teen Titans Spotlight: Raven

The artwork was abysmal. The storytelling was okay. But as it was from the legendary scribe of CRISIS, Marv Wolfman, it was a tale that was kinda disappointing. The opening segment, which involves a school shooting, honestly never should have got past the planning stages. But I understand the nature behind it. 

Teen Titans Spotlight: Raven, originally published over 5 issues as DC Special: Raven takes place after the most recent crisis to have occurred in the DC Universe. As the death of the Conner Kent Superboy is mentioned, I can place this as happening right after Infinite Crisis. Yet, in another scene, characters discuss how Darkseid tried to control the minds of the populace in the past Crisis and that would make this occur after Final Crisis. So which is it? 

What I was able to glean is that after having died at the hands of her father, the demon Trigon, Raven was reincarnated into another body. This time as a teenage girl named Rachel Roth. While dad is dead, that doesn't mean that Raven is completely free to use her emotions. Should she ever get out of control, Raven's powers very much could unleash hell on earth, resulting in Armageddon. 

Have to be in control of your emotions, so you become a teenage girl navigating high school? Yes, that was smart...

Anyway, on Rachel's first day of school, she has a vision of that school shooting mentioned earlier. From what Raven can discern, the tragedy will happen on Friday; giving Rachel Roth 5 days to track down the killer and protect whomever was being murdered. This mystery will not be easy as over the next few days, Rachel and her classmates are savagely attacked mentally by a powerful entity. Raven thinks it's her fault. Especially after one of her new friends dies in the assault. But what Raven doesn't know is that in a nearby research facility, a prominent neurosurgeon has gotten his hands on the Psycho Pirate's Medusa Mask and is using it in experiments with coma patients. But just what the Medusa Mask has to do with Raven and that terrible vision she foresees remains to be seen...

I did like the ending. And I thought the epilogue was perfect. But that was really about it for this story. I understand Marv Wolfman is trying to give Raven the childhood she was forbidden from having in her first life as a child. Unable to laugh, smile or cry, lest you allow your father unlimited demonic power on Earth has got to be a tough set of rules to follow. But did they have to use Damion Scott as the series artist?

Scott's artwork would be amazing if used in something like Miles Morales: Spider-Man or Luke Cage, Power Man. Damion Scott's artwork looks like a cross between Manga and graffiti style urban. There's nothing wrong with it if it was used in the proper setting or story. But here, it's just too busy. Scott likes to use splash pages. Sometimes the artist goes from left to right, top to bottom. But more often than not, he doesn't and it's really confusing. I understand that Raven is supposed to be experiencing a lot of chaos in her new life as a teenager. But this is just too much. And it looks rather comical. Imagine Bratz if you throw the entire franchise into a paint mixer.

It really could have been better, especially considering the writer behind it. A real lack of cohesion. And sub-par art, especially with framing. Alas, it just wasn't my kind of thing. 

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

The Flintstones Starring Dino #2 (Dino #2)

I should have read this book months ago. Yet somehow it wound up in my pile of books that I had already read and needed to review. Imagine my surprise when I started to write a review and I didn't have any clue about the contents. Last night, I rectified this and gave it a read that was a delight.

The comic is from 1973. The Flintstones have already been a TV staple for 13 years. And yet you'd think that the artists behind this book would have gotten Wilma's costume right! She wore a white furry thing with black stripes. Not a jet black cave woman evening gown!

Earlier this year I did a review of an Easter comic starring various Hanna-Barbera characters including Fred and Barney. I had pointed out in that review thanks to writer Mark Evanier that Charlton's books weren't well received by the animation studio. Mostly because of the likenesses. And I think Wilma's appearance is proof of that statement. But other than that, I didn't think this was that bad of a comic book.

The focus of the stories and one-page gags is the Flintstones' prehistoric pet, Dino. Unlike on the show, we get to see just what's on Dino's mind. Mostly it's food. Though he does at one point bring up a very good point: in the days of the caveman 'what's a dog?'

Fred calls Dino, in one story, a 'very poor excuse for a watch dog!' It's after a burglar distracts Dino with a steak. With Fred's insult, poor Dino wonders just what his master wants of him. I very much thought Dino was a dinosaur. Yet Fred and Wilma seem to think of their pet as a dog. The Flintstones have a sabertooth tiger, named Baby Puss, that is their house cat. Thus it's assumed that kitties evolved from those fierce predators. Since I have no recollection of wolves nor dogs ever appearing on the show, are we to assume that whatever breed of thunder lizard Dino is will eventually morph into the pooches of the 20th century?

I laughed at least once every story. Each gag made me chuckle. Sure, one of these tales got me thinking. But I really don't see what Hanna-Barbera didn't like about the Charlton books. The biggest error seems to be a coloring misstep that might have to do with the printing process as a whole. Maybe pure white didn't show well on newsprint? Maybe this just isn't the best example of Charlton Comics at its worst. Personally, I thought that this was a great dollar bin rescue.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Superboy: The Greatest Team-Up Stories Ever Told

I love DC's 'Greatest Stories Ever Told' series. They featured classics of the silver and bronze age of comics. A big reminder of my childhood, they were great money savers on my wallet as well since the originals would be astronomical for me to collect.

The Superboy books were a lot of fun. They were designed for kids. But the adult readers of Superman really took to the series as it offered glimpses into Clark Kent's childhood. As a result, fans started seeing early connections between the Boy of Steel. Fans just couldn't get enough. Over time, just about every adulthood acquaintance that Clark Kent/Superman would encounter. And this book is chock full of them!

Jimmy Olsen. Lori LeMaris. Robin, The Boy Wonder. Supergirl. Green Arrow and Green Lantern as teenaged versions of themselves. Witness Clark Kent, cub reporter in his very first run-in with Perry White. 

There's the classic origin story of how Superboy met a boy genius named Lex Luthor. When a fire breaks out in Lex's lab, Superboy rushes in to save him. As a result of the whole mishap, Lex loses his hair and that's how a personal vendetta against the Man of Steel is born!

This collection boasts a dozen amazing team-ups. I won't spoil all the surprises. But if you are looking for DC Comics Presents #87 in which Superman of Earth-1 meets Superboy Prime for the very first time, I am sorry to disappoint. It's an essential team-up that explains why the Superboy of the New Adventures of Superboy had a different looking set of parents and other confusing things. Probably because of all of the back-story needed is why this quintessential Superboy team-up is missing from the collection. 

Don't worry. I actually have the issue in my collection. IT WASN'T that expensive to obtain.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Rawhide Kid: Slap Leather

Rawhide Kid: Slap Leather is Ron Zimmerman's 2003 retooling of the Rawhide Kid legend. The big controversy behind this book was that through all the thinly veiled hints and innuendo, it's supposed to be implied that the Rawhide Kid was gay. Here's the thing, I don't think Rawhide is really gay. I think it's one big joke that fans of Marvel Westerns are in on and the prank was pulled on the House of Ideas.

The late Ron Zimmerman was among things besides a comic book writer, he was also a stand-up comedian and satirist. I think Zimmerman took the idea of homo-eroticism in Western lore, especially with cowboys, got Marvel on board and took a chance to make his version of Blazing Saddles. 

The entire story was a comedic farce. There's absolutely nothing serious here. The mayor of the town is an ancestor of the Bush family (He looks like W too!). There are also ancestors of some of your favorite funny men from 60s and 70s sitcoms. Icons of the classic TV Westerns such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Cartwrights of Bonanza and many more guest star as well. Only the spelling of the characters is changed slightly; probably to avoid copyright issues. Slap Leather is satire. Slap Leather is parody. 

The addition of comic book legend John Severin on artwork added some gravitas to this project. It's probably why Marvel to this day still claims the Rawhide Kid as an LGBTQ+ icon. Severin was an artist on the original Rawhide Kid series. Yet I am telling you, this 5 issue miniseries is anything but serious. If this book was published in the 70s or 80s, today's readers would probably criticize it today as being unsympathetic or homophobic. But Zimmerman pulled the wool over everybody's eyes and was able to take a whole lot of stereotype and humor about gays and somehow fooled everyone into thinking that this was a book full of pride. But I think it's really a secret thumb-nose to any and everyone on both sides of the issue. 

That's not to say that this wasn't a funny read. The gang of outlaws who seek to 'rape and pillage the town' of Wells Junction are hilarious. They're totally incompetent and yet their wordplay is so clever. Catastrophe Jen is one of the best Western comics characters to be introduced in the past 40 years!  The banter between the inept Sheriff and his son who is embarrassed by the lawman's lily-liver was so brilliant. I thought Rawhide was great too in how he interacted with the Sheriff's bratty child. The scene where the Kid wants the townsfolk to leave before high noon and they all get insulted by not being recruited to help save their homes. Such great irony! I just felt that the part that everyone circles the wagons around, Rawhide's sexuality, was actually the joke and not some big step in helping the homosexual community become less marginalized.

If you are a fan of Westerns. If you can overlook the change to Marvel canon. If you can laugh at humor that is far from P.C., you will like this book. You might think I am wrong and decide that Rawhide Kid: Slap Leather really is pro-LGBTQ+. That's okay if you do. Just as it's appropriate for me to think that the joke is on you!

No matter what, this is an essential classic of modern comics. It's just up to the reader to decide what merits of this work make it a paradigm of sequential art.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Bryson Fars: The Millionaire Creator/Jewel: The Magical Chef (Family Comic Friday)

I'm diverting a little bit on today's Family Comic Friday post. Instead of family friendly comics and graphic novels, I want to highlight a couple of books made for kids BY KIDS!

Last weekend, my bride and I went to the Geek & Grub Market at Fred Fletcher Park in Raleigh, NC. Geek & Grub is held monthly in Raleigh (with other locations like Durham, NC, Charlotte, NC and in Virginia occasionally).  There were food trucks, bakeries, toys, comics, and games. A costume contest! Prizes! Lots of fun for all ages! This month's theme was super heroes and despite the rain, there managed to be a fairly decent sized crowd. 

It was in the vendors area that I met the creators of the 2 books I am featuring, Elijah B. and Jewel L. They're siblings. Elijah was around age 10 or 11. Jewel was younger. I think she said she was 8. It's a family effort as their Dad, Ron L. is the illustrator of their books. 

Elijah B.'s book was titled Bryson Fars: The Millionaire Game Creator. It's an origin story of how Bryson Fars and his older brother and sister worked together to create a video game that combined race cars with football. Bryson is invited to showcase his new creation which gains the interest of a famous video game designer named Sizzle McDougall, who wishes to turn it into his studios' next big online offering. However, things are not all as they seem as suddenly Bryson's program seems to have a virus and cannot operate just as Sizzle is unveiling his new game, one based on Bryson's idea!

Bryson Lars is a chapter book. So I think it's something kids, especially those interested in video games and computer coding & design, will enjoy. I'm thinking those in grades 3-5 is the target audience, as some of the coding concepts can be a bit advanced. But as always, if you have a 2nd grader who can whip up a web page better than you can, then most definitely, buy them this book!

Jewel L,'s book is called Jewel: The Magical Chef. It's a fanciful book written in rhyme about a chef with magical animal friends and amazing cooking skills. One day, a wicked witch cooks up some dastardly treats in hopes of turning the children of the kingdom into goat-creatures. Can Jewel cook up an antidote to save her friends? With the delicious recipe at the back of the book, there's a very good chance that she can!

Jewel: The Magical Chef is a book that younger readers can enjoy. K-5 to 2nd is the age range I put this book. However, if you have a 3rd or 4th grader who is interested in cooking, sharing the fruit salad recipe at the end of this book would be a great way to show aspiring cooks and chefs to craft their own recipes. I'm going to share this recipe with my Culinary students next semester and they're in high school!

Plus, there's several black & white sketch pages in the back that I think you could color. So, consider Jewel: The Magical Chef to be a sort of activity book that's full of fun and perfect for a rainy summer day. By the way- I hear that Jewel L. is working on a recipe coloring book. I'll be sure to snag several copies of that for my students and other aspiring culinarians when it drops!

Both Bryson Fars: The Millionaire Creator and Jewel: The Magical Chef are available for sale on Amazon! These two children can't even drive a car and they've got a pair of books on the biggest online market platform in the world! As American Ninja Warrior's Matt Iseman says 'What's your excuse?"

Elijah B's book will help inspire children to learn about creating their own video games and computer programs (and hopefully they'll stay away from making computer viruses). Jewel L's book will inspire youngsters to cook and create their own recipes. Together, these young writers might inspire the young reader in your life to become writers as well! 

The road to becoming a writer isn't hard. It just starts with 1 sentence on a blank page!

Best of luck to all future dreamers!

Simpsons Comics Hit The Road!

The fantastic cover lets Simpsons fans know that there's a journey of great stories about to begin! 

• The Simpsons are chosen to be a Nielsen Family. Their unique viewing style results in marketers building a brand upon the Simpson name. Tired of being copied, America's favorite family goes through a number of metamorphoses. 
• The Simpsons win a trip to Scotland. Taking Groundskeeper Willie along, the family hopes to restore his honor amongst his overbearing parents and uber-successful older brother. 
•  Lisa tries to save the Aztec Theatre from destruction by organizing a film festival with a headlining film starring Abraham Simpson!

While these were fun stories, it was the shorter stories that were the best. Homer's attempt to show Lisa and her classmates the unseen side of America was a laugh out loud riot! And Comic Book Guy's look at other Bongo Comics titles that nobody wanted was a segment I wish never ended. 

I read Simpsons comic books because they're reads that consistently boost my spirits. They may not be classics like the works of Jack Kirby or Carmine Infantino; but they never fail. My anxiety has been out of control lately and I've needed lighthearted material to help calm some very frayed nerves. These collections have been a god send. 

To whomever sold off that big lot of trades to my favorite comic book store- Thank you! I got a great deal on them as well as lots of laughs. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

 

Big Bad Book of Bart Simpson

Over 115 pages of Simpsons Comics stories and shorts featuring the Bad Boy of Springfield, Bart Simpson. I've several of these collections and I just keep having a ton of fun when I read them. 

The fun starts with a parody of the classic Western TV show/1999 big screen Will Smith clunker Wild, Wild West. Then Bart and Milhouse skip school and have an epic day of fun! Later, it's time for the Springfield Elementary Science Fair. The grand prize is a gift card at the Android's Dungeon and so Bart really goes all out in order to win. Only his experiment might have unleashed mutated alligators throughout the city sewer system. Better call in the national guard...

In the most surprising of surprise returns, Bart and the family visit the local wild animal park to spend some quality time with Stampy. Stampy was the elephant Bart won when he won a call-in contest on the radio in season 5. Thanks to the elephant, Bart and Lisa are able to rescue their little sister, Maggie, from a family of hyenas. 

Lisa fits into a lot of these stories. On at least 2 occasions, Lisa solves mysteries in a style similar to Nancy Drew. In another story, Lisa plays to her mischievous side, telling Bart all sorts of lies about the book he's got to read for a book report. But in typical El Barto fashion, things turn out a-okay for the boy. 

There's a slew of other Springfield characters and there's over a dozen stories in this book. It's just impossible to cover them all without spending all day writing a review. If you love the Simpsons and you're in need of some fresh stories, check out this trade paper collection of Bart-centric tales from Bongo. Affordable collections are out there in used book stores. You just have to look!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

They Called Us Enemy (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

I met George Takei in 1986. I was 8 and I had spent almost all day waiting to meet him and Walter Koening at a video store signing in Cary, NC. While Walter was busy being hugged and kissed by a bevy of fans, George was very nice to spend extra time talking with my dad and me. He talked about upcoming TV shows he was guest-starring in. He listened as I told him that 'The Naked Time' was one of my favorite Star Trek episodes, to which George proclaimed was one of his too. I told him how sorry I was to see the Enterprise explode (in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) and Takei hinted that he might be behind a new console very soon. 

Then it was time to meet Walter Koening and he could not have been more distant to me. I immediately became a George Takei fan. In those nearly 40 years since, I may not have agreed with his politics, methods or style 100%. But I never lost my respect for him because he took time to respect me that day in Cary. 

In 2019, George Takei recounted the tragic affair of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II in the Top Shelf published graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy. Assisting Takei in his personal recollection of his family's 3 year plus imprisonment under the suspicion of being Imperial Japanese spies were Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott. The Takei story is essentially told from 3 perspectives: George as a young child who saw the episode as a frightful camping experience, George as a young man struggling to understand his father's ability to allow his family to be imprisoned while wanting justice for all, and George as a much older man who lived to see the American government apologize for the passing of Executive Order 9066 and later allow the actor/activist chances to talk to others about the atrocities. 

The American government has made great steps to apologize for internment. Yet it seems for every step forward, our nation takes a couple steps backward. For example, towards the end of this memoir, Takei discusses Fred Korematsu's 1944 Supreme Court lawsuit on his internment. Korematsu sued for the right to remain free of the camps and lost 6-3. Then in 2018, the Supreme Court reversed Korematsu V. United States all the while simultaneously providing 5-4 favor in the ruling of Trump Vs. Hawaii, which allowed the government to restrict Muslim immigration into the US. 

At one point in the book, Takei recounts how years later he was invited to the ancestral home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. At Springwood, Takei was invited to speak about the wrongful action of imprisonment of Japanese Americans on the 75th Anniversary of EX 9066. George Takei points out that 'only in America' can someone who was wronged by a world leader actually get to discuss the issue in the very house FDR (George's jailer!) was born and raised in! While Takei admits that America provides great freedoms unlike many countries on earth, it still has a long way to go to get things right.

The artwork was by Harmony Becker. Using black and white art with gray shading, They Called Us Enemy was drawn in the Manga style.

They Called Us Enemy was nominated for several awards, winning in both the American Book Award and Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work in 2020.

Completing this review completes Task #41 (A Memoir) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

 

Murder Book

Not even a week ago, I reviewed a true crime book about murders in New England. Now I am reviewing a graphic novel on true crime. I'm not a fanatic of the genre. My mom sure was. That and mysteries were like her bread and butter. Horror was up there too and I think her fascination with true crime and mystery was a great influence on that and vice versa. 

I'm currently down to just a handful of requirements left to read in order to complete my 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. I chose this book to fulfill my need for a memoir. But despite what the cover of this graphic novel says, I don't think I can truly call this book a memoir.  

Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell examines our society's obsession with true crime. When I say 'our society', I'm really talking about the good ol' U.S. of A. Sure, England has its obsession with Jack the Ripper. But, I think that's more because nobody has yet to truly solve the crimes. So when it comes to murder and how it's literally become an artform, no other country leads the pack than America. 

Campbell explores the explosion of true crime by reflecting on her upbringing while examining a trio of killers- the Zodiac Killer, Ted Bundy, and Tom Capano. Zodiac is essentially what got Campbell's mother interested in true crime as she lived within striking distance of the areas that this unknown serial killer prowled. Ted Bundy is really the figure that first gained national exposure as a serial killer. Thanks to Bundy's friendship with Ann Rule, that relationship essentially created the term 'true crime' with her groundbreaking novel, The Stranger Beside Me; though the unnamed genre had been around for centuries. Tom Capano is really just a small blip on the true crime map. But it's the first case that really peaked Campbell's interest in the subject and thus his murder of mistress Anne Marie Fahey is explored in length. (By the way, Fahey was just one of at least 3 mistresses that the wealthy, powerful and demented Capano had that readers are informed of!)

Throughout this graphic novel, Campbell explores TV, movies and now podcasts which have become fixtures of true crime. Things like Law & Order, Forensic Files, Making of a Murderer and much, much more. The whole thing with the true crime podcasts is unlike anything I've ever seen as there are seemingly hundreds of amateur detectives out there examining every aspect of both popular and under-the-rug murders, posting their work to millions of listeners and getting rich from it, as well sometimes solving murders or helping innocents receive justice. 

Without the pandemic, I really don't see these podcasts becoming so quickly ingrained in our society like they have. Its like the lockdown created a need to find solace in the pain of others and murder podcasts filled that gap. I appreciate that Campbell alluded to this. But there are so many other crimes and serial killers that the author didn't even touch upon. Ed Gein. The Son of Sam. The Menendez Brothers. OJ! And what about how both John Hinkley Jr. and David Berkowitz were so influenced by Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye that they both carried out deadly plans to varying degrees of success? 

I smell sequel! And I am completely okay with that. Though if you do, Hilary, could you make the font a little bigger??? Some of those book titles were extremely hard to read.

O other thing I am not okay with is how insecure I feel after reading this book. Yes, I have really bad anxiety. But I'm not suddenly terrified of being another notch on a serial killer's belt. Instead, I found myself today starting to worry that every woman I passed at the grocery store, coffee shop and post office was fearful that I was a secret killer from every odd look I got in my Indiana Jones Fedora, black sunglasses and blue COVID mask. Maybe they just thought I was weird. I'd be okay with that. But I'm not a serial killer.

I eat cereal... But that's a different type of cereal killer...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.