Nightwing: The Target

Some of you might not know this but after Dick Grayson went off to Blüdhaven to make his way as Nightwing, the former ward of Bruce Wayne attended the police academy and became a cop. It turns out that Blüdhaven's police department is more corrupt than Gotham's thin blue line has ever been. Fighting both petty and organized crime overlooked by dirty cops at night as Nightwing and pursuing justice during the day in uniform, Dick Grayson is on a mission to clean up his new home town. 

Dick's firm boundaries of right from wrong has put Officer Grayson in the crosshairs of the Blüdhaven brotherhood in blue. On his first night on solo patrol, Grayson assists in a pursuit of a pair of thugs with know gang ties. When Officer Grayson witnesses police brutality first hand against two wrongly accused suspects, he takes action. Only the numbers are way wrong and Dick is savagely forced to accept a beating, less someone suspect him of being stronger than he really is. 

Grayson awakens in a hospital room, handcuffed to the bed. His fellow boys in blue have seen to it that neither of those brutalized suspects will ever testify against their misconduct. Not only that, Dick Grayson has been accused as the perpetrator of the violent assaults. With Officer Grayson now under the microscope of Blüdhaven's Internal Affairs Unit, not only does Dick face the rest of his life behind bars, but the entire Batman family is at risk of being unmasked to the general public.

Shelving his Nightwing costume, Dick Grayson dons a new vigilante persona called the Target. Finally free to explore his playful side that came about as a former circus performer, as the Target, Dick Grayson is like a much safer, righteous version of the Joker and I love it! 

Over the span of Dick Grayson's 75 year plus career, he's taken on a number of secret identities. Not counting his time as Robin, the Target is my favorite of them all because of how loose and mischievous Dick becomes. He never crosses the line, but since the Target is an unknown player in Blüdhaven, Grayson is able to do things his own way instead of in the shadow of the Batman.

I'm rather disappointed to research that this prestige format comic book is the only time Dick Grayson becomes the Target. I would be all over a continuation of this persona. If it was an older storyline, I'd be adding those back issues to my wish list. If DC ever decided to rebrand Dick Grayson once more as the Target in an all-new series, I'd add it to my subscription pull over at my favorite LCS right now! 

A great era of Dick Grayson that was over way too soon and obviously all but forgotten. I'm adding this unsure keeper to my permanent collection. But I want more!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Babymouse, Volume 2: Our Hero (Family Comic Friday)

I dug into a classic for this week's review. The character of Babymouse isn't a stranger to my blog. I've reviewed a couple of comic samplers that have included her adventures chronicled by the brother/sister duo of Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm. I've even reviewed her Christmas book. This just happens to be the first full-length regular book starring Babymouse and friends that I've ever read and reviewed.

Babymouse is like most elementary school kids. Classes are boring. Her imagination runs wild. And gym class is a source of great stress, especially when it comes time to play dodge ball! In the past, Babymouse has been able to sick her way out of gym class whenever dodge ball rolls around. Now that her coach has decreed that next week's game is mandatory, Babymouse will have to swallow her fears and play against her dreaded nemesis, Felecia- the meanest girl in the entire school! 

Well, Babymouse does have a week until that game. Maybe best buddy Wilson can train her into becoming the world's greatest dodge ball player! Maybe a massive blizzard will pop up and force school to be cancelled! Let's face it; the odds of these things happening are really, really low. Just don't forget to bring your sneakers with you, Babymouse!

This book was a lot of fun. It was extremely cute. This book was from 2005 and yet everything felt fresh and new. Babymouse's imagination knows no bounds as there are a ton of references to some awesome franchises in this graphic novel. 

I didn't plan it this way, but there's an all-new Babymouse adventure debuting in stores next week. It appears that Babymouse has grown up a little with her new series, The Big Adventures of Babymouse. Not only is the character a bit bigger, so is the format of the new graphic novels. Instead of being digest-sized, like the original series was, the continuation is more formatted to reflect the dimensions of a comic book. Volume 2: Besties will hit store shelves on October 3rd!

A world of fun in black and white and hot pink!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Unstoppable Wasp #1

From 2016, the character of Nadia Pym (later Van Dyne), was created to reflect the character Evangeline Lilly played in 2015's Ant-Man film. Why they don't instead call her Hope in this comic is beyond me. If you're going to mirror the movie universe, go all out and do it right. Or don't do it at all. If I had anything to say about this book, I wouldn't advised Marvel to just scrap it.

First of all, readers are supposed to forget nearly 50 years of comic book history. Instead of being killed by Communists, Hank Pym's original wife survived long enough to have a child. The child, a daughter, was raised by the Red Room, the same clandestine Soviet training center that created Black Widow and all of her 'sisters'. Now free from Russian/Soviet influences, Nadia makes her way to NYC and seeks to become a superhero like her famous father.

Oh, geez. I'm having trouble with this review. I've been frustrated with my fellow fans today about being so negative and anti-woke. I really like to think I'm a little more open minded. I like issue writer Jeremy Whitley. I've interviewed him before. I am a big fan of his Princeless world of books. I just didn't like this book. 

In reaction to SHIELD's lack of respect for women scientists, by book's end, Nadia creates a think tank that specializes in women and STEM studies in order to save the world. My culinary field is considered a career and technical education subject of study. My department strives to empower minorities and females in an industry that is dominated by men. So I am all for STEM and STEAM, as Culinary arts are a form of art. I just didn't like this issue!

This story just felt too saccharine for me. Maybe it's because Nadia is a millennial or a member of Gen Z. Maybe Nadia is just too positive and cheerful; like Santa Claus, at Disneyland... getting laid! Something about this issue just rubbed me the wrong way. 

I looked at some other reviews of this book, and I think I've put my finger on what was getting on my nerves. A lot of readers seem to have the same complaint. It's how she and her teen friends talk. If you thought Cher in Clueless was bad, you will hate the dialogue in this book! Maybe it's because I am in my 40s. I am sure my parents and grandparents hated how I talked. It's that generation thing, surely. Though I don't recall any of my high school students from my past 5 years of teaching ever talking like this. It's almost like how DC writers in the late 60s and 70s would be criticized over how these 'old fogeys' didn't understand how modern teens of the time talked. I like Jeremy Whitley. I just don't think he was ever around teens in the mid-2010s. 

A good story that is just a bit out of touch with today's youth. Maybe if the dialogue was more realistic and not in YEET-speak. Thank God my students don't talk like this. I don't think I could continue working with them if they did.

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Prime Slime Tales #1

I paid $2 for this book based only on the publisher. As Mirage Studios was the birthplace of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I hoped that maybe this was set in the same universe. Other than the wraparound cover being penciled by TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, there isn't anything else that connects the Ninja Turtles with the cast of characters in this book. 

The star of the book is an alley cat named Zigbone. He lives at the city dump along with an assortment of other critters like a foul-mouthed bullfrog named Warty. One day as Zigbone is scouting the refuse for his next meal, the kitty stumbles across a strange looking character. Fearing that either an alien is invading or a monster is attacking, Zigbone rallies his junk yard pals in hopes of destroying the... adorable little guy that only says 'Blort!'

Prime Slime Tales was written and illustrated from Rowen and Tony Basilicato who co-created the Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils. A parody of the Turtles, I am surprised that Mirage Studios signed the Basilicatos to do this book and I am even more surprised that the Gerbils make a guest appearance in this book. Obviously Eastman and Laird had a good sense of humor about things, figuring if you can't beat 'em, team up with 'em!

I hated the ending. For one, it ends with a cliffhanger. Second, it looks like it's curtains for that adorable Blort creature. I really hope he didn't die! He's so freakin' cute. I really, really want to know what happens next, unless it's a funeral for 'Blort'.

Prime Slime Tales only lasted for a second issue at Mirage before jumping ship to Now Comics. Considering that I can't even find out what happens in issue #2, I have even less hope of understanding why the Basilicatos defected. There's very, very little about Now Comics on the net, probably because of how such a small player the publisher was in the vast nearly 90 year history of comics. 

If you were like me and you were expecting the Ninja Turtles to appear in this book, don't be completely disappointed that they aren't in this story. Eastman and Laird do craft a pin-up in the back cover that has the Turtles helping the stars of this book from a horde of scary looking monsters. Unfortunately, it's in black and white. But it's still impressive looking. 

A good read that left me in the lurch. I really need to know what happens next.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Men In Black International

2019's Men In Black International was the first film in the franchise to not have Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones. That's not to say that this film lacked star power as to why this has become the least successful of the MiB movies. Chris Hemsworth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson and Tess Thompson all star as members of the covert operative team that protects the Earth from alien invaders. Instead, what I think hurt this film was a number of things. Not having Smith or Jones hurt. Prior to 2022's infamous slap at the Oscars, Big Willie was still a massive movie draw in 2019. Without either original actor, I think a lot of folks saw this as a reboot instead of a continuation of the series as Emma Thompson's Agent O as well as many of the beloved aliens from the franchise make return appearances.

Having Tessa Thompson as the female lead had a lot of fanboys crying that this was going to be a 'woke' picture even though there have been strong female characters in the MiB movies before. Just not one in the main star role. That woke assessment really could not have been further from the truth. This is a film about a young girl who encounters an alien and witnesses fer parents getting neuralized by the Men in Black. Seeking to know the truth, the girl spends the next 20 years trying to get behind the truth of that faithful encounter, going as far to infiltrate the organization. The woman is quickly caught. But her tenacity impresses Agent O who puts her on a probationary status as the newly minted Agent M. 

M is sent to the London office where Agent O feels that a mole is entrenched within itself within the ranks of agents. Agent M meets the dashingly handsome Agent H who is billed as the savior of the earth from a wretched group of aliens called the Hive. Yet Agent H acts anything but heroic, often coming in late, sleeping at his desk and who's ineptitude has unfortunately caused a huge diplomatic issue by allowing a member of an intergalactic royal family be assassinated under his watch.

The dying royal family member tells Agent O to trust no one. This is the second time in as many days somebody has warned the probationary agent to be suspicious of everyone. However, Agent H is just about the only MiB member that Agent O knows and thus she must team up with him to find out who murdered the extraterrestrial diplomat and who at MiB London was behind the execution.

Tessa Thompson's swagger was less annoying than Will Smith's. She's cool and yet very vulnerable like Alice in an X-Files version of Wonderland. There's a lot of Thor in Chris Hemsworth's Agent H to the point that there's at least one God of Thunder gag in the film when H uses a hammer to battle a gigantic alien enforcer. 

The film does a good job making you think you know who the mole is and then having that character earn your trust and having to start the deduction process all over again. A couple of years ago, the big ending had actually been spoiled for me. Yet despite knowing who the villain really was, I keep falling for the red herrings. In my opinion that's an example of a good movie, not a stinker.

An example that I think this film was nowhere near as bad as critics rated this film was how they took an actor that I absolutely hate and make me fall in love with their character. I cannot stand Kumail Nanjani. He always has this look on his face like he's just smelled something really awful. His distracting facial feature is a big reason I have yet to seek out Marvel's The Eternals despite being a huge fan of Jack Kirby. Yet, here Nanjani is the voice of a diminutive alien guard named Pawny, who clings on to Agent O as his new Queen. Even though I knew it was Kumail Nanjani voicing the role, I was able to overlook my abhorrence of the actor and actually really become a fan of his character. 

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of scuttlebutt on social media was that this film was going to be the woke version of Men In Black. The first two MiB films starring Will Smith makes more commentary on race than this film. In fact, I don't recall a single reference to Agent M being black. There are a couple of jokes about how the Men in Black also have women in the ranks and neither jokes are all that good nor necessary. Especially as the follow up joke involves a character who wasn't even introduced in the movie yet when Agent O made the first comment about the organization. I'm thinking a big scene was cut for time or relevance. 

If anything ruined this movie, it was the use of Chekov's gun. It's a principle that states if something appears in the first act, like a gun, it must make a needed return appearance in the third act to complete the progression of the plot. A throw away line by one of the Men In Black that flashy-things Agent M's parents had me ready for the big reveal as soon as I saw that mystery character return in the final act. Maybe a lot of folks missed the Easter egg but I didn't and that ruined a big plot twist... and I had been spoiled on who the big traitor in the movie was months prior!

Do I need to see this movie again? Just like with the second MiB movie, I do not. But I would not balk at a sequel to this film. Though instead of being an international film, let's go intergalactic! You know there has got to be some humans living on other planets as operatives. How else will Earth know if some alien baddie is on their way? Okay, sure satellites can help. But there's got to be more to it. I would be okay if Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth came back. I would love to see Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones back in action. But let's face it. The actor we want to see return is Bill Hader who's Men in Black agent posing as Andy Warhol was single-handedly the best scene in the entire franchise!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Super Sons, Book 3: Escape to Landis (Family Comic Friday)

After a 3 year hiatus, I finally came across the third and final book of Ridley Pearson's Super Sons trilogy. This is definitely something I don't recommend as such a long gap between volumes can really make someone forget a lot of the minutia. It's those littlest of details that distinguish this vision of the heirs of Batman and Superman from the main DC Universe version. But they're also the subtle changes that greatly influence the plot. 

A quick summary of what happened prior is that the sons of Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne meet after rising floodwaters caused by climate change, displace the Kent family deeper into Batman territory. Superman has gone to Mars to collect a special dust that may help a series of weather satellites deflect some of the sun's most potent rays. Meanwhile, Batman is busy trying to stop a deadly flu-like plague which has already killed hundreds and now threatens the life of Lois Lane.

In Volume 2, Jon Kent and Damian Wayne met a new girl at their school named Candace, who is the exiled child ruler of the faraway kingdom of Landis. The Super Sons and Candace learn that the Governor General of the land of Coleumbria, which houses cities like Metropolis and Gotham City, plans to weaponize the virus and use it to destroy Landis. As Candace races back to Landis to save her people, Jon and Damian, along with their friend Tilly are working to find the cure for the virus. Only, the trio are now in hiding as the evil rulers of Coleumbria have identified them and have placed assassins on their tail to stop them from their goal of saving both Coleumbira and Landis.

I had said in reviewing book 2 that it just felt that too much stuff was being crammed into what will turn out to be a trilogy. I really felt like a 4th book was going to be needed in order to make everything come to a satisfying end. Writer Ridley Pearson stuck to the trilogy format and it didn't feel rushed to make all of these dangling plot threads come together in just 150 pages. I still don't understand why the names of these different regions and even some cities are different from our worlds. In the monthly DC books, Metropolis and Gotham are in the United States. I'm also not sure if Candace is supposed to be a version of Wonder Woman or Vixen. Maybe she, along with Tilly, are all-new characters that incorporate elements of other characters from DC lore. I'm just not that sure as there are so many other canonical characters in this trilogy like Perry White and a female version of Jimmy Olsen. 

Ile Gonzalez continues as the artist of this series. Her art is pretty good. Though some of her facial expressions on characters, especially villains are a bit too exaggerated for my taste. But I really liked her dynamic framing of this book; especially the scene where Candace is meandering through a crawlspace. Gonzalez frames the story with these twists and turns that show the character moving about gingerly in between frames of action outside of the air vents. Such a Jack Kirby or Will Eisner thing to do in which I am a huge fan of both!

As much as the ending of this trilogy was satisfying for me, I was even more pumped for the beginning of a new graphic novel by Pearson which is previewed at book's end. Called Indestructibles: The First Fracture, this book promises a super hero group of all-new characters. For those who complain of modern reboots of your favorite characters which involve the changing of race, sex or gender identity and wish that the big comic publishers would focus on creating all-new characters, you've been granted your request. Just don't expect to see a sequel. As with just about any comic book or graphic novel by DC or Marvel that introduces all-new characters, it didn't sell very well. In fact, it did so poorly, I can't even find it on Amazon! 

The Super Sons trilogy has come to a close. It was a good read. It's just not a world I need to visit again. Until I can understand better why Ridley Pearson needed to create a whole slew of new continents and nations for this book, I think I am better off just sticking with the Super Sons of the monthly DC floppies. Plus, having a deadly virus take over the world just in time for a pandemic is kinda eerie and not how I want to escape into comic books from the real world. I need my fantasy to be just that, a mindless trip away from reality and it's troubles.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

This 2019 miniseries was written as a sort of 5-issue advertisement for Disney's new Star Wars land region of their amusement parks. Titled Galaxy's Edge, the park is in reality the Black Spire Outpost of the remote planet of Batuu. It's run by a Ithorian trader, Dok-Ondar who specializes in being able to find rare things; usually by illegal or unethical means. 

When we first meet Dok-Ondar, he's met by a trio of traders who are looking for a rare Sith artifact that has crossed the profiteer's path on more than one occasion. Meanwhile, First Order has arrived on Batuu looking for Resistance fighters. Immediately, I gave a cry of disgust. I was looking forward to having a story with Han Solo and Chewbacca. Han and Chewie are on the cover! Why is this a sequels trilogy set story?

Thankfully, my frustration was short-lived as while the main story is set during the days of Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren, there are flashbacks to just about every era of Star Wars throughout this book. We do get Han and Chewbacca in a tale that shows us the smuggler's very first encounter with a sarlacc. Then there are stories set in the Clone Wars, during Rebels and Rogue One and in the Marvel created worlds with an appearance by Doctor Aphra. The only time period missing is that of the era of the Old Republic and that's probably because Ithorians don't live that long. 

The comic was really good. It features one of my favorite non-film characters, Hondo Ohnaka. The way the story comes around full circle made for a satisfying conclusion. And I really didn't mind having the First Order in this book after all. 

The all encompassing approach to this book makes sense really. I've not been to Galaxy's Edge, though I really, REALLY want to! From the videos I've seen, characters from just about every Star Wars movie and TV show mingle throughout the Black Spire Outpost. Being these stories were told in flashbacks, a visitor to Galaxy's Edge can just count up these anachronistic visits as really strong glimpses of the past brought about by the Force!

The story was written by Ethan Sacks whose What If... Thor/Frost Giants one-shot was butchered by the editorial staff. I feel that this book redeemed Sacks in my eyes and makes me want to read some of his other Star Wars works like Bounty Hunters and Halcyon Legacy (which if you are wondering is where your Old Republic tie-ins await!).

The artwork, by Will Sliney, was good too. The artist has some great renderings of the actors who portrayed the legends that pepper this book. 

Not wanting to have connections with the sequel trilogy is personal preference. So my only real complaint is that I felt that this trip down Star Wars memory lane was too short. I would have liked another issue or two to incorporate characters from the original Marvel comic run or someone from Star Wars: Droids or the infamous Holiday Special. 2019 was too early for a visit from the Mandalorian. But maybe a sequel might one day bring about some more until tales of a galaxy far, far away. I would LOVE that!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Strange Adventures

Checking out two Tom King/Mitch Gerads works from the same library trip wasn't planned. It was at first a happy coincidence. Completing the Riddler: One Bad Day book was a read that while it cemented my favorite Batman rogue into a more sadistic frame of mind, was still an enjoyable read. Getting into this book, I was pumped. Tom King was going to do it again! It's going to be awesome. 

Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth.

After a terrible battle on Rann which results in the death of Adam Strange's daughter Aleea, the hero of two worlds and his wife Alanna retire to Earth. Adam has just written a bestselling memoir of the war and warns that the same empire that devastated Rann is heading to Earth. At one of the signings, a man makes a huge scene claiming to know the truth behind how Adam Strange won the war, including war crimes such as torture and the killing of innocents. At first, the media passes this off as the rantings of a crazed person seeking attention. However, when the man is found death from what looks like laser blasts, public sentiment changes and Adam Strange is fingered as the murderer. If this man did indeed know stuff and Adam Strange killed him, just what was the hero trying to hide?

Adam Strange enlists Batman to investigate both the murder and the battle on Rann. However, because of his past history in Justice League business, the Dark Knight feels that he couldn't be impartial to Strange. So he enlists Mister Terrific to head this private investigation. As Mister Terrific digs into the mystery, not only will Adam Strange's crimes come to light, so will a secret covenant that threatens to destroy two worlds!

I knew something was amiss when I noticed that the spelling of Adam and Alanna's daughter changed over the course of the first issue. Maybe it was an innocent typo. I think it might have been a Freudian slip. Regardless, that's when I knew that something in this story was total BS. Tom King does throw in a few red herrings and man, does one major metropolitan area on earth become toast. Still, for someone who grew up on the Silver Age adventures of Adam Strange, I did not like how this book ended.

Strange Adventures is a Black Label imprint release. Stories printed under this imprint are supposed to be non-canonical. However, that hasn't always been the case as a couple of Black Label stories have later been revealed to have been set in the main DC Universe. Tom King swears that this story isn't canon. I'd like to believe him. But I also don't want this story to later get retconned and become eventually true either. 

Once again, Mitch Gerads does a phenomenal job on the artwork. However, he's not the only artist on this book. Gerads illustrates what happens in the present, which is gritty and realistic. The fantastic Evan 'Doc' Shaner captures the events of the past with such an epic nod to the early days of comics of my dad's that I used to read. Shaner's work has thicker lines, is much cleaner and is literally timeless. Carmine Infantino would be so freakin' proud.

Let's be honest here: Tom King is a great writer. I'm just tired of him trying to make everything under the DC sun to reflect in the present day 2020s. King is ex-CIA. I am sure being counter-terrorism, Tom King saw a lot of terrible stuff. While having Adam Strange succumb to using any means necessary to save the people of Rann, Tom King didn't have to turn one of my favorite B-listers into Benedict Arnold! If my count is correct, Tom King has killed off Mister Miracle through suicide, basically kept Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle from ever being man and wife, turned the Riddler into a madman more destructive than the Joker and now ruin one of the most purest hearts in all of DC Comics history. 

Awwww, crap, I just realized that Tom King penned Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and I haven't read it yet. How'd he screw her up? I wish I knew one of Tom King's childhood icons so I could write a terrible story about it and mess up his happy childhood memories with his father... (Sorry, ranting!)

There was so much promise for this book. It seemed like it was going to be timeless fun. Instead, we get yet another post-9/11 retooling of something innocent. Sure, MASH told us that war wasn't something to glorify and in the pages of countless volumes of Strange Adventures, Adam Strange fought a lot of wars. I can accept that even good guys turn bad in the middle of great conflicts. But did Tom King have to make Adam Strange make a move so unforgivable that if this story is true, it will prevent the character from ever having a noble place in comics ever again?

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Twig (Family Comic Friday)

When George Lucas created Star Wars, he didn't just make a movie, he gave birth to an entire universe. That's what it feels like after reading Skottie Young's Twig.

Twig is filling in the role of his late father as a 'Placeling'. Twig originally wanted to be a chef. But as he's the only able person with knowledge of the job of his pop's, Twig is the logical choice. Only on his first day of work, Twig wakes up late, setting in motion a number of errors and delays that threaten the very existence of the universe. 

As a placeling, Twig is responsible for taking special stone known as a heart stone to a legendary expert called the Pathsayer who knows the powers of all the different gemstones. Once the source of the stone's power is assessed, it will be Twig's job to place the bauble in a special place for a hero to discover and save the world. There's only one problem, the Pathsayer is dead and when Twig does his best to ascertain what his entrusted stone does, Twig accidentally breaks it, draining the jewel of its magic. Now Twig, along with his wise pal Splat must go on an epic quest to repair the gem before an amassing source of great evil is unleashed on Twig's world. 

I loved this book. Though I admit that I had to read ahead at the ending to make sure none of the adorable main characters died. I didn't want to this story to end. It was such a quick read, it didn't feel like it was 5-issues long. Now that the story is over, I hope Skottie Young takes us on another epic quest with Twig and friends.

Star Wars couldn't have become the expansive universe it has without a great design. Filling the role of Ralph McQuarrie is Kyle Strahm. I was just in awe of his work. There's dozens of panels where we see these new and fanciful lands that Twig must transverse in order to achieve his assignment. All were so different and yet it never felt like we were ever taken away to another world. There always was a hint of the main region Twig was from. I really can't put into words how marvelous the artwork was. But I haven't felt this way since I last saw a Star Wars film in theaters. I truly am in love with this world created by Young and Strahm.

The back cover says that this book is appropriate for ages Teen and up. I disagree. There is 1 swear in the whole book and it's really minor. The story quest seems timeless and something that can be appreciated for all ages. Rumor has it that George Lucas added the scene of Luke's uncle and aunt's charred corpses to keep the first Star Wars film from earning a G-rating. Did Skottie Young add those two scenes of skeletons to keep Twig from being rated for all ages?

We see visions of the world terror to come. Menacing, sure. But nothing nightmare inducing. There is a baddie who wants very much to eat Twig. But kids probably have seen worse in a retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Let's just say that if a rating of all ages is off the table, then let's say that this book is suitable for readers 10 and up.

A truly magical story set in a world beyond your wildest dreams.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Batman- One Bad Day: The Riddler

The Riddler kicks off DC's series of 8 one-shot graphic novel anthologies devoted to some of Batman's greatest foes. 

As a kid, the Riddler was the villain I always chose over the Joker. Sure, the Joker was colorful, using jokes and pranks to commit his crimes. But the Riddler had panache. He used puzzles, riddles and games which the reader got the chance to solve alongside the Dark Knight. Plus, Riddler had all those great oversized props. Hey, Gallagher, Carrot Top and Tape Face make me laugh. What can I say, I like prop comedy!

This Tom King story changes everything you know about the Riddler. No longer content with riddling, Edward Nygma ups the game by randomly shooting a man in cold blood, immediately surrendering himself to Gotham City police and demanding to see the Batman. As Batman tries to undercover why the Riddler is acting totally against his character, the super-villain's origin will be revealed. 

Tom King does manage to utilize some of the Riddler's origin which was established right away by character creator Bill Finger in the character's first appearance in 1948's Detective Comics #140. Doing such was an homage I appreciated. I just didn't like how heartless Tom King made the Riddler. King's not the first to turn the Riddler into a more sadistic killer. Portrayals on TV's Gotham and last year's The Batman have seen the character getting ever so much more closer to the edge of reason. This story is what sent the character right over the cliff. 

The illustrator is Tom King's regular collaborator Mitch Gerads. As usual, Gerads art style is gritty, realistic and far more superior than 75% of the artists operating in comics today. I appreciated how Gerads used famous people to visually represent many of the characters. Am I the only one who saw the resemblance of a young school boy Edward to that of Ethan Hawke in his teens? I could have also sworn that Mitch Gerads used Jon Hamm as a muse for Bruce Wayne. Whether that's the case or not, my thoughts lead me to think that a serious Jon Hamm would make a great older Batman.

I'm not really sure yet if all 8 One Bad Day books are interconnected or not. However, a passing comment by the Riddler leaves me to believe that it very much might be the case. We may also find that some defining moments in the Dark Knight's history are interconnected with the One Bad Day. We'll just have to see. 

I enjoyed this read. It's just a much less playful and fun Riddler than the one I grew up with. I don't think I would've named one of my cats after the character if he was as evil and conniving as he was transformed here by Tom King. Good thing the story was so engrossing. And that ending- WOW! I wasn't the only one who didn't see that coming!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool by Alyssa Wong, Vol. 1

A new series of Deadpool has the Merc with a Mouth invited to join an illustrious team of assassins. In order to secure membership, Deadpool has 48-hours to kill Doctor Octopus! Should he fail, Deadpool will never again be given a chance to join a team that has been Wade Wilson's dream job for all of about 30 minutes.

With just a couple of hours before Deadpool's time limit is up, the mercenary awakens to find himself strapped to a table in a strange looking lab, being attended upon by one strange lady. This isn't the type of trap that Deadpool should have any trouble escaping from. He's done this kind of thing a million times before. The part where he's got an experimental symbiote taken from the DNA of Carnage, that's another story. 

Alyssa Wong's debut as Deadpool writer was an enjoyable one. Wong carries themself much like previous Deadpool writers have when it comes to the character- with little to no reverence about anything. Though I would say that Alyssa Wong's Deadpool isn't as juvenile in terms of bathroom humor. But those pop culture references and non-sequiturs are just as brilliant as ever. 

The issues reprinted in this book introduce readers to the character of Valentine Vuong. According to several online sources, Valentine is Marvel's first openly non-binary character to use They/Them pronouns. I'm sure comic book scholars are debating that claim to this day. Regardless, Valentine becomes Deadpool's love interest in this book. 

I had written a while back that I had difficulty following works that use non-binary pronouns because based on decades of English lit classes and readings, I was used to he/she, etc. Well, I don't think I am the only one that has a problem with this. On several occasions Alyssa Wong uses she/her pronouns to describe Valentine Vuong. And according to Wong's Wikipedia page, the writer uses they/them pronouns!

Plus, Wade keeps referring to Valentine as his 'girlfriend'. For a non-binary character is that even pronoun accurate? According to Quora: NO! The appropriate non-binary term world be 'enby' or 'enbyfriend.' Maybe Deadpool doesn't know Valentine is non-binary? Maybe Marvel or Wong thought while readers might understand they/them, adding enby might be too much? Regardless, it's not just amateur reviews like this Madman that gets those pronouns confused. Nor do we all stay consistent with them!

Speaking of a lack of consistency, the artwork by Martin Coccolo was varied. All of the heroes are draw with very clean, thick lines. The villains are illustrated in thinner lines about as hard to clearly see as strings of gossamer. Put both parties together and the pages look like they were drawn by 2 different artists. The first time we meet the character of Deadpool's crazed researcher captor, Harrower, she is extremely stunning with this luscious full head of hair. Yet over the course of these first 5 issues, Harrower's hair obtains less body and seems no more than shoulder length. I'd possibly blame the inker on this. However, it appears that Coccolo was both the penciller and inker on this book. Therefore, I can't really forgive the lack of cohesion in the overall artwork.

Yes, I want to get my hands on volume 2 when it comes out. Yes, I liked this book. However, I did find that while it seems to fit within the Marvel Universe, each issue seems to want to contradict the one before. Are the mistakes first time jitters, like how the first season of a popular TV show has to work out some production errors and kinks to get things right? Or is this just another sign at the lack of care in quality by the editorial staff at the House of Ideas. I hope it's the kinks. My gut tells me it's all due to the worst level of editorial control at Marvel since Bob Harras.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Tick: Local Comic Shop Day Edition #1

Local Comic Shop Day is an industry created holiday that many comic collectors and geeks look forward to. Though not as popular as it's sister festivity, the much more established Free Comic Book Day, Local Comic Shop Day seeks to encourage fans to support their nearest comic shop with some freebies and exclusives. FCBD takes place every May. LCSD is held 6 months later in November, with hopes that the proximity to the beginning of the holiday shopping season that a visit to your favorite comic book store will inspire shoppers and fill up wish lists.

This 2016 offering stars one of my all-time favorite characters, the Tick. Big Blue and his pudgy sidekick Arthur star in 2 stories. The first adventure sees the return of the original Tick villains, the Ninjas! Wanting to stop a resurgence before it gets out of hand, Tick and Arthur don ninja costumes to infiltrate the forthcoming interest meeting. Only, it turns out that this meeting was a sting operated by one of Tick's cronies. And then it comes to light that other attendees are also heroes in disguise hoping to stop the next generation of ninjas. Is anyone at this meeting an actual ninja?

Story #2 introduces a new villain to the Tick universe. Enter: The Lyme. Wearing a costume just like the Tick, only it's green, this guy is like the Anti-Tick! No, it's not Barry. This new player is genuinely rude, crude and unwilling to stomp out evil! Everything the Tick is not and hopefully, someone who will be making more appearances in the future!

A year later, New England Comics released a 4-issue all-color miniseries. Maybe this free comic was a glimpse into that title. There are ninjas on the cover of #1. But I've not read it yet as I just recently added issues 2-4 to my collection a short while ago. Maybe it's time to read it. 

This free comic was funny. It was a much needed read after a couple of tense, but not terrible, days at work. No matter who is writing or drawing this book, Tick stories are always good for some mindless entertainment and this book did not disappoint in the least.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust (Family Comic Friday)

Disclaimer: I won a free preview copy of this book through a giveaway on Goodreads. Other than the complimentary volume, I have not received any monetary payment for this review.

There's a famous early Superman story called 'How Superman Would End the War.' It's a great fantasy of how things could have ended much quicker and less bloodier if super heroes really did exist during World War II. A Siegel and Shuster classic, the spirit of it is captured in this forthcoming graphic novel by the Scholastic imprint, Graphix.

Writer Neal Shusterman pens several tales about the Holocaust in which elements of the supernatural and Jewish folklore is used to protect the European relatives of God's chosen people. The more supernatural themed tales are about a window which provides a portal for freedom to a trio of Jewish girls being hidden in a secret room from the Gestapo and a crystal heirloom provides a young girl with a look at what might have been if the Holocaust never happened. These were both good stories, though I hated the ambiguous ending of the magic window tale. But it was the stories that integrated Jewish folklore that I loved the best!

In those adventures, a golem enacts revenge on the guards of a concentration camp and a pair of siblings are rescued by freedom fighters, only to be able to provide some unexpected allies to their defense from German forces. There was also a fifth story that integrated fantastical happenings with the story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt. All of these stories got my blood pumping. But the story of the children rescued by freedom fighters got me wanting the adventure to never end. It was a team up of several mythical characters of Eastern European folklore with characters like the Baba Yaga and the Fools of Chelm, I don't think there's ever been a story told just like this one and I am a nut for team-ups and crossovers!

Every story had a touch of truth to them and each section ends with a 2-page spread explaining the historical contexts and the legends involved in each story. Unfortunately, the fanciful cannot erase the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. There are atrocities galore in this book. Jews and Germans alike die in some very intense ways. Artist Andres Vera Martinez portrays the horrors with realism without being overly graphic. Amazon, which is currently doing pre-orders, rates this a book for readers aged 12 and up. I think that's a completely fair assessment.

A powerful book that was fun and intense at the same time. I loved how fantasy and tall tale were brought together to make a story that ponders 'What If...' while dealing with traumas and discrimination both past and present. Each story reminded me of the classic version of The Twilight Zone, entertaining and thought-provoking and very mystical.

If the subject matter is something that parents and guardians balk at, read this book along with the young reader in your life. Use the background features at the end of each story to discuss these complicated and uneasy subjects. 

A near perfect read. If only that first story had a more definitive ending or tied-in with another tale...

Courage to Dream goes on sale on October 31, 2023.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Batgirl Annual #1

I'm not going to lie. I'm not even going to try to make excuses. I bought this issue for 1 reason: Supergirl! I don't really care about Batgirl. Well, the Rebirth version that is. They never should have retconned or rebooted Barbara Gordon into no longer being confined to a wheelchair thanks to a bullet to the spine at the hands of the Joker. Barbara Gordon making the most out of tragedy as the Oracle was powerful storytelling. De-aging Babs and putting her back in the cowl due to the miracle of medical technology just feels like bad fan fiction. 

This story sees Batgirl meeting Supergirl for the first time. Supergirl has been receiving psychic messages from someone in custody at the DEO. Normally, the Maid of Might steers clear of the DEO as they look at her as an illegal alien and would chomp at the bit to get her in their grubby little hands for an alien autopsy. But whomever is sending these messages to Supergirl is sending them in Kryptonian and if the sender is another refugee from her native planet, Kara Zoe-El will take any risk to save them. 

As the DEO's security systems are products of Wayne Technology, Supergirl needs a member of the Bat-Family to unravel them. Enter Batgirl, as Supergirl feels that using Batman would result in a massive butting of heads. Witness as a new version of the best BFFs in the DC Comics universe join forces for the very first time. 

Speaking of BFFs, in the backup feature, it's the one-year anniversary of the friendship of Barbara Gordon and Alysia Yeoh. Being Batgirl has caused Barbara to issue more than her fair share of rain checks. An old foe of Batgirl's named Riot Black has been forcing some of Gotham's most brilliant experts in the field of cybernetics to perform upgrades to his brain which will give the foe the ability to tap into any computer. When Riot Black attacks again on the night of Barbara and Alysia's big night out on the town, it looks like Ms. Gordon will have to postpone again. That is until Alysia insists on going wherever Babs is going. Now Barbara must find a way to save the day while keeping her Batgirl secret identity and best-friendship both intact!

Both stories were enjoyable. The Supergirl team-up ends with one of those blurbs that make you have to buy a certain issue of her indy title to get the rest of the story. Good thing I have all of those issues. Otherwise, I'd be massively pissed. This same story tells you to get another issue of Batgirl to see the heroine take on the Penguin isn't so infuriating as for one, it's not really tied into this story from what I can tell. Plus, I don't really care to follow up on the Rebirth Batgirl. I've read a few issues and I just wasn't hugely sold on it. 

The second story was good. But that Alysia girl is annoying. If she was my BFF, I'd try to end that friendship quick. I don't know why, but I just feel like this person is a massive energy vampire or something. I can't put my finger on it. Only deep down, I feel like Barbara's pal just isn't genuine. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Scooby Apocalypse and Hanna-Barbera Preview Edition #1

From 2016, this preview book gives glimpses into 4 of DC's Hanna-Barbera reboot titles. Readers get a look at the Mystery Inc. gang taking on the hordes of zombie undeed in Scooby Apocalypse. Mark Russell's modern retelling of the greatest stone age family of them all, The Flintstones, are examined as is a Mad Max take on Wacky Races in Wacky Raceland. Finally, the epic team-up of nearly a dozen of Hanna-Barbera's more dramatic properties in the Jeff Parker/Evan 'Doc' Shaner venture Future Quest.

I had already read the entire run of the rebooted Flintstones run that took an innocent family from the time of dinosaurs and gave them 21st century problems such as PTSD and gender equality. It wasn't a bad read. But it lacked the humor and heart of the original 1960s series. 

I don't think I like my Scooby-Doo to be so gosh darn violent. If you took the original gang with their yuks and silly montages of being chased through a haunted house and placed it all in the middle of The Walking Dead, I would be okay with it. But again, this book is missing the retro humor which makes reading Scooby-Doo comics a guilty pleasure for me.

Wacky Raceland looks fun. Maybe it's because I don't have cemented fond memories of that series like I do with the Flintstones and Scooby-Doo. Or maybe it's a cartoon show that was destined for a gritty reboot that seems to have no rules. Regardless, I really want to read it. 

Future Quest is a series I've been collecting. Yet I've not been able to find those missing issues for the right price. But I am always on the eye for those holdouts every time I make a run at the bargain bins. Plus Shaner and Parker were so nice and inviting when I met them at a panel a few years back. I've got a loyalty towards approachable folks such as they!

I enjoyed this glimpse of titles. But I think my days of owning preview books are over. When  I first started out with my second collection of books, freebies such as these were a great way to boost my long boxes while giving me affordable looks at potential series I would want to use my hard earned cash for. Now that I have over 11,000 comics, storage room is at a premium and I think newer, younger readers would benefit more from titles such as this one.

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy

For those of you wanting an omnibus type collection of the earliest stories of Marvel's Star- Lord, this is the book you've been asking for. If you loved Marvel's edgier magazine publications of the 1970s, you'll delight in the first half dozen or so stories. For someone like myself who prefers their heroes to be a little more pure of heart, you will probably hate the first half of this collection. This isn't the Chris Pratt Star-Lord that fans fell in love with at the cinema in the past decade.

Early 1970s Star-Lord is a massive jerk. The chip Peter Quill bears on his shoulder to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of reptilian aliens is understandable. Thinking everyone is beneath him when he grows up to join NASA is unprofessional. The way Quill becomes Star-Lord is just unforgivable for a hero.

NASA high ups pass Quill over for the chance to become Star-Lord. Unable to accept their judgement, Quill hijacks the project, seemingly killing guards and the Star-Lord candidate. He then disappears, only to come face-to-face with the mysterious being who bestows the Star- Lord powers. It is here that Quill is given a chance to enact his revenge on the aliens that killed his mother. Whether this really happened or was a fantasy granted to Quill in order to heal emotionally is a source of great debate. But where are the repercussions for Quill's assault on the NASA base? How come the authorities never seek to punish Quill for how he came about to become this elusive hero? With many knowing that Peter Quill is Star-Lord, that lack of consequences is implausible to me.

Once Star-Lord's adventures begin to appear in traditional floppies, the tales get better. Chris Claremont and John Byrne help to restructure Star-Lord as to being more of a real hero instead of an interstellar Frank Castle devoid of any humanity. Though I swear that the Carmine Infantino penciled stories uses artwork that I have seen used in issues of Star Wars! But if you ask me, Star Lord doesn't get darn near perfect until the mid-1990s.

This collection includes a 3-issue miniseries by Timothy Zahn that reboots Star-Lord with the new character of Sinjin Quarrel. From 1996, this story sees Peter Quill as having faded into the stuff of legend, having last appeared publicly a dozen years ago. Sinjin is a type of pre-cognitive judge assigned a post on a backwater planet ruled by a greedy landowner. Quarrel's psychic abilities bring him into contact with Star Lord's famed 'Ship', which has been in suspended animation since Quill's disappearance. 

Sinjin Quarrel agrees to temporarily become the new Star Lord until Peter Quill can be located. However, Sinjin Quarrel lacks the special abilities that the original Star-Lord had. So he'll have to rely on subterfuge brought about in cooperation with Ship to become the hero he was always meant to be.

Other than that 3-issue mini, Sinjin Quarrel has never made a return to print. Yet, he's the better Star Lord. His partnership with Ship was the stuff of buddy-cop legend. It reminds me of The Greatest American Hero where an average Joe is given a super-powered suit, only to lose the instruction manual. Why didn't this version take off? The artwork by Dan Lawlis was amazing. The writing was fantastic. I can't hold my breath on this version of Starlord (the updated version lost the hyphen in their name). It's been nearly 30 years since Sinjin Quarrel's first appearance and when the Marvel Wiki database lists that story as probably not even being canon, it looks like the Peter Quill version is here to stay.

If it wasn't for the inclusion of several Marvel Premiere and Marvel Spotlight issues that I need for my collection but don't want to pay the insane asking prices for as individual issues, I would be taking this book to a used book store for trade. With their inclusion however, it looks like this collection of Star-Lord stories are also here to stay

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Plop! #14

1973-76's Plop! was a sister anthology series of DC titles such as House of Mystery, House of Secrets and Secrets of Sinister House. Even though Plop! was hosted by horror hosts Cain & Abel as well as the lesser known Eve, this series was not a horror title. Instead, Plop! was a title devoted to the oddball and weird. There was definitely an element of humor running throughout this book as the majority of the stories and one-page gags revolved around the use of the word 'plop' to end the tale or for the punchline.

With Sergio Aragones, Basil Wolverton and Wally Wood all working on this book, Plop! felt like MAD Magazine lite. The trio had all at one point or another worked on the definitive humor mag of the 20th century. Aragones is a living legend, one of the last bastions of the William Gaines era of MAD. Wolverton was renowned for his grotesque creators such as the 'World's Ugliest Woman', Lena the Hyena and the cult-classic sci-fi storyline, 'The Brain Bats of Venus'! But it's Wally Wood that interests me the most!

Wallace Wood was one of the superstars of EC Comics. Known for work on such titles as Weird Science and Weird Fantasy and developing fan favorites in the Comics Code era such as THUNDER Agents, Wally Wood's artistic talent was set at 11. A tragic figure in comics, Wood battled a number of unexplained health issues and alcoholism, while maintaining a portfolio of work unparalleled to most.

The subject matter of the two main stories is rather varied. In the first yarn, a pair of spinster sisters are visited by their long-lost brother who returns home seeking his share of the family fortune. The ladies claim that they're flat broke. However, with the mystery of a forbidden, locked door, the brother is convinced that his share of wealth lies on the other side. Story 2 is a Marv Wolfman/Wally Wood collaboration. It has an aspiring knight looking for his place at King Arthur's Round Table. If he can rescue a damsel in distress, it will surely cement this squire's reputation. In a nearby castle, the young man finds a woman being terrorized by demons. Eager to save her life, the knight is faced with a dilemma that could make him a hero but it would damn the world in return.

Both stories were very good. The medieval story bears that signature MAD Magazine touch of adding funny signs and Easter eggs throughout the background scenery. The inheritance tale had just enough mix of kook factor and suspense to make the tale weird but not scary enough to warrant a place in DC's pantheon of horror titles.

The one-page gags were all weird. You can see a production number in the bottom corner of most. The numbers vary in range. I'm wondering if these were gags that were considered too unusual for MAD and not spooky enough for the House of Mystery. 

A good read that lacks the satirical edge of MAD Magazine as well as the adult edginess of EC Comics. I blame the age in which this work was produced. The 70s was a time of relaxing the rules of the Comics Code. If Marvel had produced this book, some of the material would have pushed the envelope. With DC, they were willing to tackle the ghouls, demons and other monsters finally allowed by the CCA. But when it came to counterculture and anti-establishmentism, DC just didn't do enough to be edgy. It would take a few more years before the publisher would be truly willing to stick it to the man. And when they finally do, Plop! would be a cancelled memory.

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters

Spinning off from the Infinite Crisis 'Battle for Bludhaven' storyline, this 2017 miniseries reboots the original residents of Earth-10, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters. In this retooled DC Universe, Uncle Sam gathered a group of heroes to battle Hitler and his Axis forces during World War II. With the war won for the Allies, the team disbanded and Uncle Sam disappeared. 

Jump ahead to a post-9/11 world. The government has literally become Big Brother thanks to the launch of OMAC. Superheroes have become vigilantes, what with Wonder Woman's killing of Maxwell Lord and Black Adam's new leadership role in Kahndaq. A shadow agency orders Uncle Sam found and brought in. The symbol of American freedom has been declared a domestic terrorist and public enemy #1. 

Okay- here's problem #1. Uncle Sam was murdered during the Infinite Crisis. When did he come back? And if he's really dead, why do these government spooks think he's behind all of this?

Obviously, Uncle Sam is alive and in hiding. But no word as to if he really died or faked his own death or what...

Right away, Uncle Sam knows who is behind his apprehension. But he'll need proof in order to sway the public to his side. One-by-one, Uncle Sam recruits the legacies of the original Freedom Fighters, many of which reflect the wrongs and injustices that stain the legacy of the United States. There's a gay hero. Someone from a Native American tribe. Even a couple of women. But no Asian or African Americans make up this new team. It doesn't seem very diverse. But hopefully with this slice of Americana behind Uncle Sam, albeit an incomplete slice, he'll be able to redeem his beloved country before outside forces infiltrating the American government bring the US of A down to it's knees permanently. 

I hated this book. Not because of wokeness or anything like that. It was just a jumbled mess. I think both Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti loved the source material, the Freedom Fighters of the 1970s and 80s. But they tried too hard to make things relevant. Thus, the plot got lost in this checklist of things the creative pair tried to mark off. The real villains behind this coup against the American government is a group of baddies that I am a really big fan of. And yet, they are so poorly used in this. If some old Nazi villain would have been the man behind the curtains, it might have saved the story. Not by much. But a defeated Nazi looking for revenge would have been more plausible than who was really lurking in the shadows. 

One thing that does redeem the book is the art. Daniel Acuna's pencils and inks are just divine. Imagine the paints and use of light of Alex Ross married with the inks and framework of the Allreds. That's how good this art is. 

I just hate that the story is far less superior. 

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Strange Weather: Four Short Novels by Joe Hill

I wish I knew how to properly explain Joe Hill's effect on me. He's such a great writer and yet, almost everything he writes either unnerves me or scares the crap out of me. No matter how much he gets into my head and keeps me awake at night, I just want to read more of his stuff. He's like a scab that you're not supposed to pick, lest it get infected. Yet, it feels so good.

The latest work of his I read is this collection of 4 short novels. From 2017, this tome came out immediately after The Fireman and was next on my list of his stuff to read, when I took a sharp detour into the NOS4A2 realm of his. That book took me a very, very, VERY long time to read considering how scary it was. But once I completed it, I then went into some of his Hill House comics before I finally got around to this anthology. 

The overall connection to this book is the weather; though it's not exactly the main subject of the story. The first two stories have the meat of the action of the book happen during a massive thunderstorm and a firestorm brought about by wild fires. The later half of the books do have to do with unusual occurrences with weather.

The first is about a teenage boy whose former babysitter is in the early stages of dementia. Only the elderly woman claims that her memories are being removed by a strangely dressed man with a Polaroid camera. The kid kinda shrugs off her claims as that of a lady sadly losing her mind to a medical monster. That is until during a routine trip to his favorite convenience store, he runs into a smarmy dude in a cowboy hat carrying a strange camera with him and driving a car full of photos starring the lad's old nanny! Don't let him take your 'Snapshot'!

'Loaded' involves a mall security guard who seemingly stops a mass shooting. At first, this man is considered the hero of the media and the local police. But when an investigative journalist starts digging into his past, the guard's account of the crime begins to unravel.

'Aloft' sees a young man about to go on his first ever skydive. Scared out of his wits, when he finally exits the plane, he experiences firm ground! That's because the cloud that he was expecting to fall through is completely solid and seems to conform to his every needs and thoughts. As he explores this atmospheric mystery, he'll also confront his past as well as the forbidden love affair that has been holding him back in life. 

Lastly, if you thought the weather of Summer, 2023 was bad, you haven't experienced 'Rain.' In this story, the Denver metro area experiences a downpour of sharp metallic nails! Walk with one woman as she tries to alert her in-laws of the death of their daughter and systematically witnesses the downfall of civilization. This story will make you question the next storm cloud you encounter!

My favorite of the 4 stories was 'Aloft'. It was so ethereal, having such a differing pace from the other stories. 'Rain' was good and if you recall that Image Comics had released a 2022 5-issue miniseries with the same name, then give yourself a cookie. That's the comic book adaptation of this final mini novel. I just wanted more out of this story and I felt that the ending was too abrupt. I'm also wondering if 'Aloft' and 'Rain' occur in the same universal as when the main character stuck on that weird cloud takes a bite out of it, he claims that the material seems like needles in his gut. 

 'Snapshot' was also very good, though I felt like the last chapter should have zigged when it instead zagged. If the closing events of the future had gone full circle with the action set in the 1980s, I think it would have been my favorite story.

The best story was 'Loaded.' Mind you, I didn't say that it was my favorite. The controversial topic of gun control and American's gun culture obsession, mixed in with dashes of race, how poorly we treat over vets, especially with their mental health, and police violence makes this book very hard for many to read. The amount of violence that occurs in this story was what did it for me. Oh, how I hated... I dreaded that ending! (Note to anyone reading this review with the power to do so, if 'Loaded' ever becomes a movie, the main character MUST be played by GOTG's Chris Pratt!)

"Loaded', in my mind, is Joe Hill's version of Stephen King's Rage, which was written under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. I'm not trying to compare Joe Hill to his dad. I say that this 'Loaded' is like Rage because I truly feel that if Strange Weather was ever to be re-released, there is a very good chance it won't be included in the reissue. After Columbine, Stephen King took Rage, about a troubled teen who shoots up his homeroom class, out of The Bachman Books anthology. I just think if we get an episode like what happened in 'Loaded' to occur for real, it might hit too close to home for some and we'll see that book get shelved.

Every novel in this collection ended a bit too soon for me. It left me wanting so much more. Hopefully with 'Rain', Image might make a sequel. I really think 'Loaded' might one day be a movie, if not a streaming series. 'Snapshot' had potential for one of those great 'the villains isn't dead' moments (and to be fair, I never said the antagonist died). As for 'Aloft', I liked the ending. However, it had an ending a lot like Tom Hanks' Cast Away where it's left up to the reader to finish the story and I'm not so fond of those ambiguous endings.

On to the next Joe Hill work to scare my pants off...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Loud House (2017 FCBD) (Family Comic Friday)

With it being the first week of school, I just didn't have time to read a new book for this week's review. Not to fret. I've got a stack of books that I've read but yet to review. 

The book I chose from my pile is a 2017 Free Comic Book Day offering from Papercutz and the kid friendly cable network, Nickelodeon. Based on the long running animated series of the same name, The Loud House is the story of young Lincoln Loud. Lincoln is the only boy and middle child of a family of 11 kids. That means Lincoln has 5 older sisters and 5 younger sisters.

Being the only boy in the family is hard. He never gets into the bathroom. He has to wait forever to use the phone. And when it comes to watching anything he wants on TV; forget it! At least Lincoln gets his own room. But life in a house full of 10 sisters is anything but serene. 

The premise of this series has Lincoln breaking the fourth wall to tell viewers (or in the case of this comic book, readers) how chaotic things can be. To get a little peace and quiet, or just the upper hand, Lincoln schemes and plans. Past capers have involved Lincoln working to get the best seat on the family van and trying to survive a zombie-like flu that is wiping out Loud siblings one by one. 

Don't think just because this freebie was from 2017 that fans of the show won't be able to enjoy the comic antics of Lincoln and his sisters. Papercutz has released 18 graphic novels based on the Loud House with the latest volume released just this summer!

The Loud House was an adorable book. I felt like Lincoln Loud was a mix of Kevin McCallister and Bart Simpson without any of the real obnoxious bits. Those elements are for his 10 sisters. Even though his 10 sisters drive Lincoln crazy, deep down, they love each other and if someone was to hassle brother Loud, the Loud sisters would bring down some swift vengeance. That's because the only one that gets to pick on Lincoln is his sisters!

A must for fans of the series.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.