Spider-Man/Superman

A lot of people don't know this but after the 1976 historic first meeting of Superman and Spider-Man, a sequel was released. DC Comics was adamant that they were going to be the main publishers of the initial team-up. Seeing that a book starring the Man of Steel and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was going to be a massive hit, Marvel let their distinguished competition have the first run; they would publish the eventual sequel. It took another 5 years, but in 1981, Marvel, in the lead role, co-published the follow up. Unfortunately, while it's the superior story, the sequel wasn't as well received. 

Now in honor of the 50th anniversary of the two comic book icons meeting, DC and Marvel issued not one but two giant-sized specials. Naturally, DC published first. But for Marvel's entry, fans didn't have to wait another 5-6 years. Nope. Just a couple of months later, readers got to enjoy more of Superman and Spider-Man together in action.

The main story takes place during Peter Parker's time with the symbiote suit. Trapped underneath a pile of Kryptonite laced rubble by the combined efforts of the Green Goblin and Lex Luthor, readers finally get a chance to see what would happen if Superman and Venom bonded together!

There's 8 shorts that occupy the last half of this special. Spider-Man Noir has less than 10 minutes to save his biggest detractor, J. Jonah Jameson from the electric chair, having been famed for murder by by Lex Luthor. Featuring the Golden Age Superman, the plot hearkens back to the very first story by Siegel and Shuster to star the Man of Steel.

Gwen Stacy and Lana Lang run into each other and discuss the men in their lives. Then the ever lovin' Thing must lead a team of Justice Leaguers and Avengers against the Hulk, who has become the newest member of the Red Lantern Corps. Thor assists Steel after the Hobgoblin has stolen the newest tech from John Henry Irons' lab. Supergirl and Ghost Spider team-up against Livewire. In my favorite story, Darkseid has overthrown Odin as the supreme leader of Asgard. The only warrior able to defend the throne remains Thor. Only it's the Jane Foster version of the Thunder God.

Superman shows up a couple more times in this book. First he offers some sagely advice to Miles Morales on what it means to be a super hero. Then in the capper, Superman finds Spider-Man atop the George Washington Bridge on the anniversary of the web-crawler's darkest day: the day Gwen Stacy died. 

Once again, I think Marvel published the better of the 2 Superman and Spider-Man team-up specials. For one thing, it's got Supergirl. For another, we see a Venomized Man of Steel and a Hulk in full Red Lantern rage. Plus anytime you get to visit Kirby's Fourth World is a treat for me. I didn't mind that the hero of the story was the Jane Foster Thor. I also enjoyed the cameo addition of the DC hero who comes to help. I just would have loved it if Beta Ray Bill might have also arrived on the scene. He could have had a personal history with Darkseid. Maybe the New God killed BRB's race and the alien Thor was hungry for revenge. 

As with every one of the Marvel/DC crossover specials, there has been one story that I demand that the Big Two publishers follow up on. With this one-shot, I want to see an Asgard Vs. Apokolips battle to the finish! Throw in a scene where Darkseid obliterates Thanos for being a cheap copy of the New God and I'll happily pay $10.99 for the special!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Five BeLow has really been killing it with some quality book finds for really good prices lately. That's where I found this hardcover for only $5. Containing a dozen short stories about the world's most famous detective, I don't think that I had ever previously read this anthology by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as a whole. The Knightdale, NC library I went to as a kid would have a lot of these short stories bound in hardback and available individually. So I went nearly 35 years thinking that 'The Red-Headed League' and 'The Five Pips' were novellas. 

'The Red-Headed League' has a ginger haired man asking Holmes to help him figure out why his cushy job writing from the dictionary suddenly came to an end without any warning. Holmes deduces that the scheme is the plan of a master criminal and seeks to get Scotland Yard involved least a national financial crisis bring the British Empire to its knees. I had erroneously thought for years that the mastermind was Professor Moriarty but the arch villain is somebody else.

'The Five Pips' has Sherlock Holmes taking on the Ku Klu Klan! Written in the late 1880s, at a time when the KKK had fallen dormant, Holmes learns that a young man is being targeted by former members who want some papers that were once in the possession of a relative who died shortly before he had received a threatening letter as well. One of the detective's rare fails, the story is a let down because even though Holmes swear vengeance on the murderers, he never gets it because a storm sinks the boat that houses the killers!

Of the other 10 short stories in this book, I think I have previously read 3 or 4 others. I figured out the crime or the villain behind the crimes at least twice before Holmes does. I'm definitely not as bright as Sherlock Holmes. So I either have read those tales before or seen an adaptation on TV. 

Shortly after The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was published in 1892, Doyle would kill off Holmes in 'The Final Problem' a year later. The detective's death was temporary. But you can see the author's boredom with the character in many of these tales. The concluding story, 'The Copper Beeches', is the most guilty. At the beginning of the tale, Sherlock bemoans that he thinks that the days of thrilling adventures are behind him. All that's left is helping forgetful little old ladies remember where they left their rent money, he claims. Holmes and Watson basically skewer their readers love of sensationalism in the events of their adventures before going on to solve a mystery that I could figure out a mile away. 

However I see ideas for other stories swirling around Doyle's noggin. The vicious mastiff that brings the story to a conclusion foreshadows Sherlock's first case when he returns from the dead in The Hounds of the Baskervilles. These might not be the mysteries that Doyle put the most care and effort in. But I enjoyed them. At a time where I am having trouble reading graphic novels and comics for very long, I can devote a good 30-45 minutes reading and Holmes and Watson. I might not understand some of that era's slang and I might have to go back when I discover that I overlooked something. But being able to read such complex works was a feat that impressed my neurologist last week. There more Holmes out there and I will be returning to 221B Baker Street again in the near future.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Dee Snider: He's Not Gonna Take It

In 1985, about a dozen wives of Congressmen and Senators got together and formed the PMRC, the Parents Music Resource Center. Lead by then Sen. Al Gore's wife Tipper, the women wanted to impose a rating system on music. Some saw it as a way to educate parents on the content in the music their children listened to. Some saw it as censorship. As a result, a Senate Judicial hearing was called. In defense of the music, 3 artists agreed to testify: John Denver, Frank Zappa and Dee Snider of hair band Twisted Sister. This is Snider's story.

After a small introduction, Dee himself presents his life story from first becoming interested in music because of the Beatles to becoming the androgynous lead singer of TS. His father was far from his biggest supporter. In fact, he'd laugh in the aspiring musical artist's face, with the elder Snider just not understanding kids and their music in those days.

Dee put the anger from that humiliation to paper and later penned one of the greatest anti-BS anthems of all-time, We're Not Gonna Take It. A brilliant music video that redefined the visual medium with its live-action cartoon retribution against the metal hating poppa, would take Twisted Sister to the top of the charts. And then came the PMRC.

Just about when Twisted Sister hit the top, the PMRC put We're Not Gonna Take It on their list of 15 songs that should be banned from the delicate ears of children. The PMRC interpreted Snider's cathartic rebellion against his distant father and haters of the band, as a call for nationwide violence and riots. Angered by the attacks, when invited to rebut the accusations of the PMRC, Snider jumped at the chance to speak before Congress.

Snider's opening statement and his answers back to the questioning body has since been considered a victory for free speech on the rocker's behalf. But in 1985, the aftermath branded Dee Snider and Twisted Sister as either Public Enemy No. 1 to the American family or a traitor by true heavy metal fans. Years later, thanks to Snider's testimony being available in full on social media, the singer and his band have been redeemed in the eyes of generations of fans as well as first amendment historians.

Dee Snider now hosts a weekly radio show called The House of Hair. He recently retired from Twisted Sister because of his health. He and his family live in my home state of North Carolina. My pastor isn't so much of a fan of Christmas carols. But he likes Twisted Sister. Because of this, I have made it my mission to one day persuade Mr. Snider to one day visit our church in Durham for the holidays and sing his version of O Come All Ye Faithful. 

That being said, I want you to know that my review is going to be 100% honest. I'm not giving praise in order to pander for my holiday church dream coming true. Yes, I did buy this book just recently over the weekend. I've been wanting to read it since it came out in 2023 and if I ever get to hear a live version of Twisted Sister's version of the holiday classic, this book will be getting autographed!

It's a really good read. There's a a lot of Tarantino level use of f-bombs. But there's no sex, drugs or gore. Except for Al and Tipper, of course. Dee has a rather unfortunate encounter with a high school bully. And as a very angry young man, he got into brawls and arguments with more than his fair share of Twisted Sister haters. But as a historical graphic novel, this ranks up there as one of the best.

I was a bit hesitant to buy this graphic novel because I thought it was only going to be about the Senate hearings. While it does account for about a third of the book, it wasn't boring. And despite being written by Dee Snider, his account felt honest and true to what happened. Having his life story included was a smart move. But don't expect a full account. I had to go to Wikipedia to see if the woman he dates at the beginning of his career ends up being his wife of nearly 45 years. It is. I also wanted to know more about the relationship with his dad. Did they reconcile? You'll get an answer. But it's very brief. 

The artwork was really good. It was a mix of realism with caricature thrown in. Steve Kurth seems to have been a student of the MAD Magazine School of Art as all of the famous players in this story look like whomever they're supposed to be representing but with facial features slightly exaggerated. 

Definitely a keeper. Though I hope to have some graffiti added to the inside cover someday soon. I wonder if anyone has ever staged dived of the sanctuary  platform at my church before...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Bart Simpson: Prince of Pranks

I was a bit disappointed in this collection of Bart Simpson themed comics. Some of which was no real fault of Bongo Comics. Instead, the blame rests solely on trade paperback edition publisher Harper Collins. 

Some of the stories just weren't very good. (Though I think the parody of promotional comics starring Kristy the Clown and a bunch of McDonaldville clones was intentionally bad in a satirical kind of way. And I liked it!) The opener has Bart and Skinner switching roles for a day. Milhouse takes schoolboy Skinner under his wing and persuades him to pull an epic prank on Principal Bart. But before he can do it, Bart cancels school early and that's it. No real punchline to a tale that has a great but cliched plot with some fantastic gags throughout. 

The two tales starring Ralph Wiggum were probably the best. In one, Ralph is taken advantage of by Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney. Then then bullies return but it's Bart to the rescue when he starts a rumor that Ralph fought off a gang of bikers.

I'm currently reading a collection of Futurama comics. Also from Bongo Comics and compromised of a similar bullpen of talent, the Futurama books are far superior to what's inside here. Part of it I think is that less is more. The Futurama issues have just 1 large main story and 2 very small backups, if any at all. The Bart books are all made of shorts about 6-8 pages in length. And yet, each story tries to capture the formula of an episode of the Simpsons with a brief storyline that morphs into the main premise by the second act. An average of 7 pages per story just isn't enough time for a quality story that attempts to check off all the boxes of a Simpsons episode formula. 

Another thing hurting this book is missing talent. Gail Simone, Sergio Aragones and Ian Boothby are all absent. Their creative plots (and in Aragones' case, illustrations) have created some of my all-time favorite Bongo stories starring the residents of Springfield. I'm pretty sure that there won't be very many memories made from reading this volume.

Now for the thing that wasn't Bongo's fault but 100% the blame of publisher Harper Collins. My book was literally falling apart at the seams. At first, I thought that I could eliminate this problem and glue the pages back into the spine. But towards the end, probably the 3rd to last page, I discovered that 1 freaking page was missing!!!

I understand that this book is 15 years old and yes, I bought it used. But this is not the first book from Harper Collins that I have gotten that had this problem. What are they using as book binder glue? Spit?! As much as this was one of my least favorite collections of Simpsons comics, I still want to own a complete run of stories. So I could either trade this book back in, minis the page (I don't think that's ethical) or I hold onto it in hopes of getting a replacement somewhere down the road. It seems like a lot of hassle for a book that I didn't thoroughly enjoy.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Let's Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook

For once I bought a graphic novel and it was my wife who thought that I had already read it. Let's Make Ramen! is a fully illustrated cookbook about the growing culinary art of making the traditional Japanese noodle and broth dish that isn't fully a soup but it's too liquid to be considered a noodle dish.

The book came out in 2019. I definitely remember putting this on my wishlist that year. (It would be hilarious if my wife actually bought this for me and forgot where she hid it.) Anyway, at a recent trip to Five Below, I found this book for an amazing fraction of the cover price. With an exclamation of 'SCORE!', I swept it up in my arms and promptly made my way to the checkout.

The book is written by Hugh Amano a Japanese American whose exploration of his Asian culture became enamored with the Cult of Ramen and later became inspired to be a chef. Illustrated by Sarah Becon, the artist met Amano while working on a culinary related comic book. Finding a kindred spirit, the pair created this illustrated manual devoted to everything ramen. 

In Let's Make Ramen!, you first get a history of the dish, which compared to sushi, is a dish that is relatively young. Not more than 150 years old, I think. Then you are introduced to a basic recipe. Once you master this dish, you've got the foundation to change up the dish to your liking. There are variations of the stock, the seasoning component known as 'tare', different types of protein, vegetable accouterments, and even different types of noodles! Yes, you can use thicker, broader noodles that resemble linguine. You're also educated on the equipment needed, methods of preparation and storage. 

This really is an all-encompassing work which does more in educating a reader in only 192 pages, than most massive culinary bibles do. The only thing really missing is a more in-depth lesson in sanitation of which the Japanese culture is known for. But, I think that's the culinary educator in me that is longing for that in the realm of food entertainment because it's an issue that is seriously lacking on Food Network and in most, if not all cookbooks.

This book has inspired me. I'm seriously considering doing a lab where half my class makes chicken noodle soup and the other make a more stripped down version of ramen with teriyaki chicken. Then we compare and contrast the two. If I had an unlimited budget, I'd spend a whole week making the basic ramen recipe. But it's just not feasible.

Honestly, I don't think that the average family has the time nor the budget to do everything all at once. So be willing to make one item at a time. Buy some nice plastic containers and freeze things. Focus on stock first. Use a basic package of cheap ramen noodles for a while. Then work your way up to making your own ramen noodles. Add some pre-made Japanese proteins. Then once happy with the noodles, practice on the proteins, and so on and so on. Freezing along the way, eventually you will have everything ready for testing out the final product, created by your hands!

Time. Patience. The ability to adjust. A spark of customization. If you have these 4 elements in your culinary arsenal, you'll soon become another ramen master. Consider this cookbook a marathon and not a quick trek around the block, and you'll get the very most possible out of this graphic novel cookbook.

Worth Consuming!

Rating:10 out of 10 stars.

Superman/Spider-Man #1

This is a case of another time where I wrote this amazing review in my head and somehow went about my way thinking that it was a done deal. Then the other day, I'm looking over my backlog of works that I haven't reviewed yet and there's this issue!

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the legendary first meeting of the Man of Steel and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the big two publishers created not one but two oversized specials! If you're wondering if I bought both books, you're darn tootin' that I did!

This is DC's version. The main story has our two heroes battling Doctor Octopus who has allowed his cybernetic appendages to merge with the CPU of Brainiac!!! It's a fun adventure written by Mark Waid that dives really deep into the impacts two great men made on Peter Parker and Clark Kent. Plus the banter is fantastic and for once I actually thought Otto was funny!

There are also 7 short stories. As with just about any anthology type special, the quality varies. But for the most part, these were pretty good. The meeting of Lois Lane and Mary Jane Watson was an interesting look at the women behind 2 of my all-time favorite superheroes. Uncle Ben continues to influence things from beyond the grave when Superboy-Prime attempts to steal Spider-Man's symbiote suit. The Spider-Man 2099 and Batman Beyond story was a disappointment as it has an ending that while epic, leaves you wanting more.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen's first day at the Daily Bugle may be his last when JJJ assigns him to cover the menace of Spider-Man and runs a foul of Carnage instead. Ben Parker is brought up a third time in a prequel tale that takes him to Smallville. Making her second appearance, Lois Lane debates Jonah Jameson on the Jack Ryder show and the topic is superheroes. Finally, Power-Girl shows up in her secret identity at a restaurant for a blind date. The eatery happens to be a front for a crime family and on the night of her big date, it's been targeted for punishment by Frank Castle!

I really enjoyed the main story. It felt like a continuation of the 1976 'Battle of the Century' and the eventual sequel that starred Doctor Doom and the Parasite. Some of the backups were perfect pairings; especially the Lois Lane/Mary Jane Watson teaming and the closing romp between Power Girl and the Punisher. That is something that I would love to see a sequel to! The Jimmy Olsen meet up with Carnage was brilliant but way too short! Having Uncle Ben and Jonathan Kent cross paths was bittersweet and heartfelt. 

I wasn't such a fan of the encounter of the Batman and Spider-Man of the future. It just feel flat and this was the tale that I was looking forward to the most. I also felt that if Superboy-Prime was going to meet a member of the Spider-Verse, it should have been Spider-Ham or Miles Morales or even Ghost Spider. Regular old Peter Parker didn't seem to fit in a multiverse story so complex, I was completely surprised that it was penned by Christopher Priest and not Grant Morrison!

As for the great debate between reporters Lois Lane and JJJ, it should have been a home run. Unfortunately, it was one of those stories that hit upon philosophies and social theory to the point that I tried to dust off my degree in sociology until I realized that I didn't have one. The punchline delivered jointly by Spider-Man and Clark Kent at least kept it from being a complete bust.

A decent read. It just wasn't perfect for such a tribute to one of the most important comic book crossovers of all-time.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.