Edge of Spider-Verse

While it was DC Comics that introduced us to the multiverse, Marvel's Spider-Verse storyline from 2014-15 is what has powered superhero movies for the last decade. 

This prelude to the Spider-Verse epic event reintroduces a fan favorite while establishing several new versions of Spider-Man.

* First up is the 1920s gangster filled world of Spider-Man Noir. Most of the super-villains have been put to pasture thanks to the vigilante hero The Spider, that at this point in time, Peter Parker is thinking about retiring.

*In a world where the radioactive spider bit Gwen Stacy, the aspiring drummer becomes known as Spider-Woman. Blamed for the tragic death of Peter Parker, Gwen must run one step ahead of the New York Police Department which is lead by her father, Chief of Police George Stacy!

*A research scientist who specializes in arachnids discovers that his work might be behind a horde of sleep-walking zombies that are kidnapping citizens as soldiers in their ever growing army. 

*Visit a world where Peter Parker is abused by his uncle Ben and as a result, kidnapping and torturing neighborhood animals in a truly horrifying take on the Spider-Man.

*Lastly, on a technologically advanced earth, a 10-year old girl is bonded to a bio-engineered spider and placed inside an Iron Man level suit of armor!

All 5 stories were amazing. Ironically, the story that I liked the least, the Spider-Gwen introduction, is everyone else's favorite. Don't get me wrong. I prefer Gwen over Mary Jane. I have no qualms with there being a Gwen Stacy version of Spider-Man. It's just that the 3 stories that came after Spider-Gwen's debut were so freaking awesome!

After the 'zombie' story, I couldn't wait to read Spider-Verse and I had to find out what happened next. The demented Peter Parker story had an EC Comics horror quality. ( I just wish that the last panel had much better art.) And I think I've become a Peni Parker and SP//DR fan! That Manga inspired world was so cool! Their Daredevil was so wicked! Where can I find more of their adventures? Are there any?

If you want the first appearance of Spider-Gwen and you can't afford first print prices, this trade is the affordable way to do it. I didn't initially realize what I was getting with that. I was just trying to read the prelude to the Spider-Verse tale and not be lost without it. 

My local library has 'Spider-Verse' collected as an omnibus. I realize now that the collected edition probably has the contents of this trade inside it. But I bought this book way before I learned about the omnibus being at the library. So I'll just skip that part if it comes to that. Though I might re-read the horror stories and the Peni Parker introduction. Considering that I don't like to re-read stuff (as there's so much never before read stuff out there for consumption), that's high praise coming from me!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Star Wars #8

The Dark Horse Comics adaptation of the original George Lucas rough draft of Star Wars does indeed come to an end in this issue. Issue #8 doesn't appear to have an expanded page count. So either Dark Horse made an error in planning for how many issues this miniseries should run or Lucas had so many different ideas in how to wrap his story up that he failed to pace things out properly. It's got to be George Lucas' fault. I say this because so much happens in the finale compared to some parts of act one and two that drag out to a snail's pace. Star Wars was such a lucrative property for Dark Horse, if the publisher felt like a 9th or 10th issue was warranted, they would have approved an extension as this sort of thing happens all the time in order to boost sales. 

So what does happen in this closer:

* Annikin Starkiller infiltrates the Empire's Space Fortress in hopes of rescuing Princess Leia who's being interrogated under threat of torture.

*General Luke Skywalker and Han Solo somehow manages to teach a bunch of primitive Wookiees to fly Imperial fighters and organizes an assault on the gigantic space station.

* A new ally emerges.

* Lots of people die on both sides of the conflict.

*Lastly, we get an ending satisfying enough that should ticket sales be dismal, you feel like there was a happy ending. But you don't close things out too perfectly less the studios decide to green-light a sequel.

For those who finish this miniseries, you'll have to settle for option A. This was Dark Horse's swan song with the Star Wars franchise. With Disney buying Lucasfilm in 2012, the House of Mouse had plans for a new series of films as well as giving Marvel, which was also owned by Disney, carte blanche on publishing the further adventures of Luke Skywalker and company. In other words, Disney had no intention of looking backwards; nor were they willing to share a piece of the lucrative Star Wars pie.

Ironically, thanks mostly to the pandemic's crippling effect on the comic book market, Marvel had to source out some of its Star Wars catalog back to Dark Horse. Another irony, instead of giving them any of the established trilogies or the new generation series that was coming to movie screens, Dark Horse was given free reign to establish history of the Old Republic. While in 2014 it didn't look like 'The Saga of The Ophuchi', the proposed next chapter in The Star Wars, perhaps with multiverses being the main focus of the big 2 publishers and their visual arts media, maybe the time is right to continue the adventures of Annikin Starkiller...

I know I'd buy it.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Snoopy's Thanksgiving

Fantagraphics celebrates Thanksgiving Peanuts style in this hilarious 2014 collection of strips from Charles Schulz. 

First, Snoopy ventures out West to visit his brother Spike who lives in the desert with a bunch of bunny-eating coyotes. Then Charlie Brown tries his luck selling Thanksgiving wreaths before Woodstock has a panic attack that he's going to be the main course at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. 

Silly birdie. Doesn't Woodstock know that his friends eat jelly beans, milkshakes and toast for Turkey Day?

There's a few one page shorts as well as a couple of strips blown up and spread out in separate panels over several pages to give readers just over 60 pages of Thanksgiving fun. I'm surprised that this was published by Fantagraphics. Not that they couldn't produce this or anything about the quality. It's just that the format looked more like a series of books about Snoopy and friends that the greeting card magnate Hallmark used to produce in the 90s and early 00s. I'm now wondering if Fantagraphics was tapped to produce those books for Hallmark much like how Dynamite Entertainment and Dark Horse are publishing Marvel's outsourced material...

If you're stressing about having the relatives over for the holiday, then take a much needed break and enjoy the exploits of a boy named Charlie Brown and his dog.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Superior Iron Man, Vol. 1: Infamous

This is an example of how to not judge a book by its cover. I've been sitting on this book for probably 5 years now. It came in a Comic Book Bento Box as a gift from my bride. (Remember CBBB? They're were a graphic novel grab bag subscription service that was so fun to get in the mail each month. Now defunct. Long may it rest...) I had just finished a volume of Iron Man where Tony's brother Arno Stark was set to take on the mantle of Iron Man, when I received this book. I wasn't all that thrilled with Arno and thinking this book was chronicling his adventures, I waited to read it.

I couldn't have been more wrong in my assessment.

Superior Iron Man, Volume 1 takes place immediately after the events of AXIS. For those of you not familiar with Marvel's 2014's crossover event, AXIS was the Freaky Friday storyline where good guys became villains and villains became heroes due to the meddling of the Red Skull. When everybody went back to their normal selves, something went wrong with Tony Stark, screwing up his moral compass. 

So imagine what the billionaire playboy would have become if he never got injured from a land mine and had his life saved by Professor Yinsen. What we have at the beginning of Superior Iron Man is a hedonistic, unrepentant alcoholic Tony Stark intent on imposing his own personal Utopia upon the world. To change the world in his own image, Tony has set up base in San Francisco. He just released his latest version of Extremis as an app which turns users into Kardashian-like versions of themselves. There's a hitch to this however. Tony offered Extremis 3.0 as a trial. Now reverted back to their imperfect selves, the citizens of San Francisco must pay an exorbitant fee daily to feed their addiction to perfection.

I really loved this book. I devoured it in about an hour. Add Daredevil, She-Hulk, Pepper Potts and an all-new villain to the mix and I was hooked. Amoral Tony Stark. It's a brilliant experiment that left me reeling because I don't have volume 2!

I'm going to rate this book with a perfect score. However there was a continuity error that just stuck in my crawl. Towards the beginning of the book, Stark hosts this big event for Extremis 3.0 on Castro Street. However an issue later, Matt Murdock, fully into his internal dialogue says that the event happened on Canton Street. Just so you know, I researched and there isn't a Canton Street in the City by the Bay.

Castro Street in San Francisco is a historic area known for Harvey Milk and the fight for gay rights. Could writer Tom Taylor have received some flak from fans for setting that scene at such an iconic locale, that Marvel had to retcon things? If so, why didn't they change the name of the scene for this trade? I can see where having Tony Stark offer the people of San Francisco a way to change themselves into what they've always dreamed of being set on Castro Street as being perceived insensitive to the struggle of the LGBT+ community. I'm just flummoxed over the nit and I want to know more about the mistake.

The artwork by Yildiray Cinar and Laura Braga was amazing. One of the best sets of Iron Man armor ever!

Be on the lookout for the Full House Easter egg tribute! So clever!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Death of Archie: A Life Celebrated

The Death of Archie was the explosive comic event of 2014. Just like with the death of Batman's sidekick Robin in 1988, when the news broke of the looming demise of the World's Oldest Teen, fans lost their minds. Only, unlike where an actually Robin died, just not fan favorite original Dick Grayson, the death of Archie wasn't canon. Yes- the Archie Andrews generations grew up reading since his debut in 1941 died from a gunshot wound. But the murder takes place in the distance future of about 15-20 years from now. 

Volume 2 of Life With Archie, known by its storyline 'The Married Life' showed two possible futures for Archie Andrews. Debuting in 2010, fans got a glimpse of what life after high school would be like if he finally answered the eternal question 'Betty or Veronica?' Fans got to see what married life would be like not just with socialite heiress Veronica but the consummate girl next door Betty.

At one point towards the end of the storyline, the marriages kinda fused together in which you never saw the face of Archie's singular one true love. Thus when Archie is ultimately killed, he confesses as his last words '... I've Always Loved You...' to his bride without truly revealing just whom it is the redhead is confessing his devotion towards.

Reading the story wasn't really something I felt like I had to read. A chance find at Ollie's for only $2.99 was enough to entice me to give it a go. The story is actually quite good. However, it's not Archie's death that made this a story to remember. Instead, it was both how the reader never really knows who Archie's soul mate was as well as the last issue in which Archie's friends and family join together a year after his death to reflect on how their lives were impacted by Archie.

There are about 15 pages of extra material. Don't pass those up! There's an article on the character's impact on both comics and pop culture, a look at all the great variant covers along with artist inside info and a look behind the scenes at the original artwork and the changes recommended to it by the editors. Be sure to also catch the foreword by the EIC Victor Gorelick which explains why Archie Comics decided to kill off their signature character- even if it was a 'What If' type situation.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Flash Gordon Holiday Special One-Shot

Spend the holidays with Flash Gordon in this amazing 2014 special from Dynamite Entertainment. 

There are 3 tales in this book. Story #1 has Flash and Dr. Zarkov visiting the people of Arboria. Being Flash's first Christmas away from planet Earth, he wants to play Santa to some of his allies from the galactic war against Emperor Ming. However, to Flash's surprise, Arboria already celebrates a primitive version of Christmas and the kiddies are all ready for a nightly visit from... Jungle Jim!

Story #2 returns to Earth. Here, one of Ming's stranded Beast-Men foot soldiers is trying to survive a Central European winter all alone. It just happens to be the 4th night of Hanukkah and it just goes to show you that a little warmth, some friendship across species and a couple of latkes can go a very long way!

Our last adventure stars Dale Arden. We get glimpses of Dale's previous 2 New Years Eves and how it contrasts with her new life as a freedom fighter on the frozen planet of Frigia. 

All 3 stories were fantastic. The only thing I had trouble with was instead of definitive endings, each story just bleeds into the next. That makes for a pinch of confusion and fear that maybe I've got another one of those blasted issues that has a printing order error. I also would have liked the Dale story to have Flash more involved in it. But the biggest issue for me was the seamless transitions that are secretly deceptive.

This issue has definitively peaked my interest in Jeff Parker, Evan 'Doc' Shaner and Jordie Bellaire's 2014-15 Flash Gordon miniseries. Shaner does the cover and Bellaire assists with some of the finishes. But there isn't any Jeff Parker here. Yet, if his story is 1/4 as excellent as this special, then I know that I am in for a treat. 

Oh! And I must give love for the use of Jungle Jim as an alien Santa Claus. Jungle Jim was an early creation of Flash Gordon's father Alex Raymond. So to throw JJ into this special as an Easter egg was an unexpected angel topper to my tree!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Deadpool Vs. X-Force

When you got to Ollie's and you find a Deadpool book for only $4, you don't pass it up. That's what introduced me to Deadpool Vs. X-Force. 

Originally published in 2014, the story inside is set prior to Wade Wilson's first meeting Cable and the rest of the New Mutants prior to the team being christened as X-Force. So, you should expect a slightly different, possibly more sadistic Deadpool, than the lovable loser we've grown to love in the past 10 years. But this version of Wade just seems beyond the pale!

The story starts off with Deadpool going back to Revolutionary War times and screwing things up so that while America will win the war, it will take a little bit longer for them to do it. So far, I'm okay with things because the reason the Merc with a Mouth kills a Colonial general is because Wade had to write a report on him in high school and this sort of vengeance seems like something Deadpool would do. But then Wade starts messing with the past again...

This time, he goes to the Civil War and helps the Confederates win. Then he goes and... Okay. I don't want to spoil it too much. But, he tries to save Hitler!

Look, I've read enough Gerry Duggan Deadpool to know that Wade Wilson is no fascist. And he'll only work for those goose-steppers if his daughter's life is at stake. I really doubt that Deadpool was that ambivalent when first floating around in the head of Rob Liefeld. 

Cable's Duane Swierczynski does a great job when it comes to Cable and his manipulation of the time stream by joining X-Force together prematurely. But the author's Deadpool just seems wrong. In fact, it freakin' is wrong. Money is the biggest motivator for the actions of Deadpool. But in my heart of hearts, I feel that even when faced with a pile of cash, Deadpool would never, ever help the Nazis unless absolutely backed into a corner. And Wade seems full of options here!

There's some great moments. But it's all X-Force related. And that wasn't why I bought the book. Not the best Deadpool story. Nope. Not at all...

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Alan Robert's Killogy Halloween Special

Thanks to a grab bag of comics given to me as a Christmas gift, I became the proud owner of this Halloween one-shot. This 2014 special is set in the Killogy universe. For those of you not familiar with Killogy it's a series in which 3 killers share tales of how they ended up in prisoner. Set during a zombie apocalypse, the interesting thing about that story is that the main characters are based on the likeness of celebrities Marky Ramone (Ramones), Frank Vincent (The Sopranos) and Brea Grant (Heroes). 

That trio isn't in this story. Instead, former Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein is the main character in a creepy story that pits together zombism, cannibalism, fetishism and several other fetishes that haven't even been discovered yet. 

I'm pretty tired out with the zombie genre. But this special had a few twists that made this story quite refreshing in a originality sort of way. The level of violence and gore was pretty gross. Yet due to all of the unimaginable shocks in this book, I ended my readings wanting more. Maybe a hunt for the Killogy original series trade might be on my horizon.

On the flip side of this book, you get an introduction to another new series by Alan Robert. Shunned One is about the spectre of Death whom after being ordered to take several innocent souls, goes rogue on those who wronged those wrongly damned. Very scary stuff. But gosh-darn it, I was hooked. 

I'm name familiar with Alan Robert. But I really think I will be soon.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Lola XOXO: The Complete First Volume

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Hero Cats/Princeless #1 (HCF 2014)

I got this comic book at last year's Halloween ComicFest. But it's from 2014! I'm wondering if the store I went to found some leftover books in storage. Otherwise, the only other way I ended up with this book involves some sort of time warp.

There's two different stories in this book. It's not a crossover, despite the very cute cover. In the first story, a group of six cats with special powers, use their abilities to help a little girl who got lost during trick-or-treating. Then in the Princeless tale, the heroine and her friends run afoul of pirates... on land... in a steak house!

I thought the Hero Cats tale was just darling. All 6 characters are unique and funny. They interact how I imagine my furry babies. There's a mysterious and probably evil entity at the end of this story. It plays into the Hero Cats graphic novel and it will be on my radar for a forthcoming Family Comic Friday review.

Princeless was not quite what I was expecting. Creator and writer Jeremy Whitley lives in central NC, When he published his very first Princeless comic book, I meet him and got an autographed issue. I meant to read it and just never did. Then Princeless became the juggernaut and I've been afraid to read it since the book has skyrocketed in value. Regardless, for being a Halloween ComicFest freebie and the Halloween cover (and the Halloween theme of the Hero Cats adventure)- why wasn't the Princeless tale Halloween themed? 

Does the holiday not exist in the Princeless universe? Okay, I could buy that. But why wasn't this story at least spooky in some way involving a ghost or monster of the sort?

That first story was perfect. The second just wasn't scary in the least. Good art. Clever writing. Just not the right fit for a HCF free comic book.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

C Montgomery Burns' Handbook of World Domination

Have you ever found yourself wondering how to command the business world to the point of total earthly dominance? Unless you work for Congress, you probably don't have a framework how to get started in your quest for power. That is until now!

The C Montgomery Burns' Handbook of World Domination is your textbook to becoming a titan of industry, a sultan of international affairs, and potentially a member of a shady secret society that controls everything from behind closed doors!

This book will teach you how to dress for success, arm your business office from intruding regulatory agents and annoying employees seeking raises, how to train a lackey, and much, much more. 

From the Vault of Simpsonology line of books (a more interactive offshoot of the Simpsons Library of Wisdom), this one was a hoot. A very uncomfortable hoot, but a laugh nonetheless. I think it would have been funnier if without the current political climate. Yet, some of the gags, a couple of which involve Donald Trump, are eerily close to real life now. 

Here's the really scary thing: this book was written in 2014! Yet, with very creepy perfection, a bunch of jokes about world dominance having wrung true in the past 24 months in American politics. It's like Simpsons creator Matt Groening is a comedic genius with the power of clairvoyance. And unlike most psychics, Groening is right an alarming amount of the time. 

Please don't think that my review nor this book is intended to bash President Trump. It's just that this manual, while written as a gag, hits very close to the headlines, what with the Monty Burns School of Business (Trump University) and selections from Mr. Burns' reccomended reading list read like the current administration's take on finance, ecology, and net neutrality. 

If you have an Ollie's Discount Outlet nearby, this book can be found for less than $4. If you are a Simpsons fan, you are going to love this book. But if you are a fan of conspiracy theories, then this book just might become the newest one to keep you up at night.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

    Have you ever heard of String Theory? It's a principle of quantum mechanics in which you look at time as a string. On one end of the string is the past and on the other is the future. Now imagine that you put a little red bead on the string. That bead represents you in the present and as time moves on, the bead keeps moving to the right: the future. 

   Well, if you take that string and roll it into a ball parts of the past will touch the future. At the same time, some part of the past and future are touching the present as well. Some say this is how you'd be able to explain time travel. But this idea also represents how stories with time paradoxes can operate. In these type of stories, dinosaurs end up in the modern era or Ben Franklin goes on a walk with Marilyn Monroe and Brad Pitt in 1600 Venice. 

   So why have I am discussing temporal physics when I should be reviewing Sin City: A Dame to Kill For which isn't about time travel but a gritty crime noir film based on a series of comics by Frank Miller?

  A Dame to Kill For was like someone took all of Miller's Sin City tales and threw them into a blender. Characters who were killed off in the last film appear in starring roles. Stories that happened in the last film haven't occurred in this one yet even though some of those previous events did. Don't even get me started on one character whose new appearance is explained by a plastic surgery that happened in the last film but didn't happen prior to the beginning of this movie. It's all very confusing.

   The problem with all of this is that instead of making Sin City(2) either a prequel or a sequel. Co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller decided to make this film both! I'm pretty sure they teach not to do that in Film Making 101. But with the scrambled timeline, you really don't need to see the first film to understand what goes on in a Dame to Kill For.

   If you can get over the initial confusion of the warped timeline, A Dame to Kill For is a pretty good movie. But it's no Sin City! Both films use creative CGI and green screen techniques to make this look like a comic book comic to life. The acting, especially of Mickey Rourke as Marv and Powers Booth as the slimy Sen. Roarke was quite good. But there was a spark missing from the formula that just didn't make the second film hold a candle to the original. 

   With lots of gore, sex, profanity, and violence, this is a gritty drama done in the classic Frank Miller fashion. So, that being said, this ain't for kids. But if you are Frank Miller fan like I am, you will enjoy this. 

   Rodriquez is from that school of film like Tarantino in which they both love to play around with director's cuts and reissue 'definitive' editions of their movies every so often. I think if Robert Rodriguez would take both Sin City films and re-edit them into a way that they were as one film in correct temporal order, you'd have a much more superior film that's more enjoyable to watch and it probably won't have you pausing the movie every 5 minutes and going on Wikipedia to find out what just happened.

    I'm waiting for that edition and hopefully, it will come packaged with one of Miller's Sin City graphic novels as a bonus.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
   

Hello Kitty and Friends/ The Bravest Warriors 2014 Free Comic Book Day (Family Comic Friday)

  

   This 2014 Free Comic Book Day offering features everybody's favorite cat from Japan- Hello Kitty. Now, let me stop right here and say that yes I know that the creator of Hello Kitty said recently that his character is actually a little girl in a cat mask. But, if you look in this book, you will see her parents and a sibling. They are drawn to look like cats. So am I to believe that the whole family dresses up as furry felines just for fun? I'm not buying it.

   Plus as a child I had friends who were related that owned an oriental grocery and a Filipino restaurant. I spent many a weekend afternoon at their parents shops. While there, we ate Botan Rice Candy by the bucketful and we delighted when we got a free Hello Kitty sticker in the box as a prize. We considered Hello Kitty to be a cat back then and for the sake of this review- a pussy cat she will remain.

     The book was released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Hello Kitty back in 1974! The publishers at Perfect Square were just getting ready to drop a hardcover collection of 40 stories by some of the best in the business. So, this was a very small way to advertise it. Hardcore fans of Hello Kitty along with newcomers will delight at her exploits, some of which are reprinted here in America for the first time ever.

   Hello Kitty has universal appeal, but the book might be too young for those who are not hardcore fans of the young cat as there are absolutely no words in this book unless you count sound effects. This reader would make an excellent picture book as would the digest collections of the original Japanese comic. And yes- the SFX have been changed from Japanese to English so you can put away your Japanese to English dictionaries.

    One thing you should know if you are on the hunt for the books advertised in this free comic, even though it was published in comic book form, the digest themselves are not considered graphic novels. Amazon has these volumes for about $10 apiece and you can find these books at your family bookstore or library.

   The second feature in this book was a new title called 'The Bravest Warriors.' This book is like a Where's Waldo book in that you must find their pet, a little guy called Catbug. It would've helped if the author had thought to include a pic of just what Catbug looks like. Once I found a picture of him in an ad for this series in the back of the book, I was able to find him. This book too is not considered a graphic novel but can be found on eBay, Amazon, and other online retailers.

   This book was a fun trip down memory lane for me and if you grew up with Hello Kitty, it could be like opening a time capsule. Fun for the whole family but more than likely to appeal to kids under the age of 7.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Thor, Volume 1: The Goddess of Thunder (Marvel Now!)

 This is it! The most controversial storyline of the second half of 2014! When Super spy Nick Fury whispers a secret into Thor's ear, it causes him to drop the hammer Mjolnir and become unworthy to possess it. As the entire Asgardian populace is also unable to lift the hammer, the hammer rests where it fell on the surface of the Moon. But then a stranger comes along and picks up the hammer and thus begins the reign of Thor- Goddess of Thunder!

   Many fans cried foul when they saw that Thor was going to become a woman. I was one of those voices. But it wasn't sexism against a woman being Thor as that I am in the camp of instead of changing our beloved superheroes, create new characters. Well, after reading the first five issues of this new series, I changed my vote from nay to yea because at least 2 new characters have been created within the scope of this storyline.

   The first new character is Thor, the Goddess of Thunder. Though it's been spoiled within the past couple of months as to who she really is when this book first dropped, there was a list of suspects about as long as this book. (Though the clues are there as to who this Thor really is. Just focus on her internal monologues and you'll figure it out pretty quick.)

   This Thor wears a war mask, so it hides her faces. Also for some reason, the magics of Asgard cannot see who she is when she changes back from being Thor. This Thor can also make Mjolnir sing and do incredible feats. The hammer seems to talk to her and though she must maintain a physical contact with the hammer, the new Thor is not limited to only 60 seconds away from the hammer like her predecessor was.

   Speaking of the old Thor, he too has become a new character- Odinson. His presence is very much felt in this book and thankfully, they didn't kill him off. But now more humble, more determined, and a little weaker, the old Thor still has his birth name but no longer his birthright.

   The combined team of Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman have made the characters of Asgard fresh and even more interesting and that's an impressive feat considering some of these characters are thousands of years old. Sprinkle in some Ice Giants, Malekith the Dark Elf, the mega-corporation Roxxon, and a newly returned Odin and you've got an action-packed set of five issues. However, if you've been just reading the trades and are confused by the return of Odin and Roxxon's discovery of a giant skull, you are not alone.

   Volume 4 of Thor: God of Thunder stopped at issue #24. But there was an issue #25 before that series was cancelled. Why it wasn't included in Volume 4 is beyond me. So, I'm on the hunt for that issue in hopes of bridging some important plot gaps.

    I really enjoyed this volume and though I hope the original Thor will get his hammer back, I look forward to some new adventures with the Goddess of Thunder. The art in a couple of areas is a little rough with the over-sized sound effects. Sometimes, it got so crowded, I couldn't figure out what was going on and who was doing it. But for the story itself, it's fresh, fun, and full of mystery.

   A masterful work by Marvel who got it right for a change.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

In the not too distant future, the fate of all sentient life on earth rests in the hands of the X-Men. The sentinels, a group of robotic mutant hunters designed by Bolivar Trask have become the de facto rulers of the planet. Originally design to seek and eradicate all mutant kind, the androids turned on humanity when they finally became sympathetic to the mutant plight.

    Professor X, teamed with former foe Magneto has a plan. He will transfer his consciousness back in time into his younger self in order to prevent Mystique from killing Trask and initiating the Sentinel Program. However, Kitty Pryde has never sent anyone back into time more than a few days and she doesn't believe that Xavier's highly developed brain can stand a 40 year trip through time. Thus, the rapid healing Wolverine is sent back to 1973 in order to reteam Xavier with Magneto in a combined effort to stop the shape-shifting mutant.

 Days of Future Past is based on the 1981 Uncanny X-Men storyline of the same name developed by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Except for possibly the Dark Phoenix Sage, that time traveling adventure is perhaps the most iconic X-Men tale of all time. I know the cover for Uncanny X-Men #141 surely is the most copied and tributed cover to feature Marvel mutants. Quite a bit of that seminal work is used in this film. But since when has Kitty Pryde had the ability to send people back in time? I've never seen this occur in any X-Men title and I've read my fair share!

  The film is heavy on action and adventure. I saw this film on DVD and unlike Amazing Spider-Man 2, I didn't feel like any of the CGI special effects looked fake. Even it's choreography was quite good. Especially, the character Blink and her ability to create portals in order for mutants to evade the sentinels. It was like watching poetry in motion.

   One aspect that this film got a lot of grief was over some of the casting. While we get the best of both X-Men series in this movie, including the younger and older versions of Professor X and Magneto, along with fan-favorite Wolverine, Storm, and Colossus, many hated the character of Quicksilver. The character, played by Evan Peters was criticized for being too young and immature. But, that kinda was the point of the character and his super-speed abilities were really needed to help speed up a very stagnant part of the movie. Plus, I liked that it's alluded to the Magneto might be Quicksilver's dad as in the comics.

   While I overlooked the casting choices, I did have some issues with plotting. The futuristic parts of Days of Future Past are set some time after the events of X-Men 3. We know this because, in one scene, Wolverine has flashbacks to having killed Jean Grey at that movie's end. So, how come Professor X is alive and in his Patrick Stewart body?  Didn't Jean vaporize him into a billion atoms in X3? I know that it's hinted in X3 that the Professor X took over someone else's body during the chaser scene, But wouldn't he then look different? To the film's fault, it's never explained how he got his new body back.


   There is supposed to be a director's cut of this movie, called the ' Rogue Cut' as a good 20 minutes of the character Rogue played by Anna Paquin was cut out due to time constraints. (The film is almost 2 and a half hours long.) So, maybe Xavier's return along with Magneto regaining his magnetic powers are going to be revealed in that edition on the film. I look forward to it when it drops sometime this summer.

    The ending of this film takes the X-Men franchise into two different directions. The New Class cast is due to appear in a third film, rounding out that trilogy. But I feel that the story of the original X-Men film trilogy's cast isn't over. Since Wolverine was essentially the main character link between both film franchises, hopefully, Hugh Jackman's swan song as Logan will explore just how the timeline has changed. (I hope not to spoil too much but I will say that if like me, you were angered by a certain character's death in X3, then you're going to love the end to this film.)

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Daredevil, Volume 1: Devil At Bay (2014 Marvel NOW!)

   Daredevil is back with an all-new series, an all-new city, and an all-new law partner. After being disbarred in New York, Matt Murdock must move back to San Francisco if he has any hope of getting to practice law again. Though Murdock has lived in the city by the bay before, he's having a tough time adjusting to the landscape. If only San Francisco had more skyscrapers...

    Sadly, Foggy Nelson couldn't make the trip West. But it wasn't because of the cancer he battled in the previous volume. Always wanting to be the hero, Nelson finally got the chance to save the day but it cost him his life. Or did it? This is a comic book of course.

   Though Daredevil has gone through quite a few changes, one thing that stayed the same is the creative force of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. Waid continues to write the adventures of the 'Man Without Fear' with heart, humor, and hubris. Samnee still has the pop art style that I'm a huge fan of and it's lovingly embellished once again by the great Javier Rodriguez.

   There's also a flashback story set during Murdock's move to California. It's also written by Waid and it's not a bad tale. However, the art is not by Chris Samnee and there's just something missing in the formula. It's probably why it's my least favorite offering in this volume. Otherwise, this is a near-flawless collection of new Daredevil comics.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Shadow Hero

  The Shadow Hero is actually the Green Turtle and it's his backstory that's the most interesting part of this book. Back in 1944, an artist was asked to create a new superhero on par to hopefully rival Superman and to rally support for the allied cause in China against the invading Imperialist Japanese. The artist's name was Chu F. Hing and he was amongst the very first Asian American graphic artists in the comics field.

    Rumor had it according to Gene Leun Yang and Sonny Liew (the writer and artist of the Shadow Hero) is that Hing wanted the Turtle to being portrayed as an Asian character. But the publisher, Blazing Comics, in which the Green Turtle starred in for a grand total of just 5 issues of a title of the same name of the publishing company, vetoed the idea. To make matters worse, the editors deliberately ordered that the parts of the Green Turtle's body that wasn't covered by his mask and costume, be colored a bright pink hue to distinguish the Turtle's alter-ego as being that of a white man. But Hing had the last word by purposely drawing the Green Turtle either in shadow or from the back, Never being seen in the face, Hing also refused to offer any sort of origin about the hero of China's rebel army.

    Without an origin or ever being directly seen was probably why the Green Turtle never lasted very long. In fact, the character might have been forgotten altogether if it wasn't for the tireless efforts of Yang and Liew. In The Shadow Hero, Yang and Liew seek to finally give Green Turtle his long-awaited origin as well as finally portray the superhero as an Asian male.

   In the clever retool, Yang and Liew even explain why the Green Turtle was pink, as his mother's constant attempts to give him super powers only results in his skin turning sunburned pink when exposed to water. The Green Turtle also was bulletproof, but that wasn't due his meddling mommy. This time, teenaged Hank is given this special ability after a spirit animal in the form of a turtle offers him a promise in exchange for the boy being the vessel in which the turtle can reside. Now able to resist bullets and disguise himself as a white man, the Green Turtle can suit up and seek justice on the man who killed his father.

    Usually, reboots are unneeded at best and ultimately despised by readers and fans. There are a few exceptions like Frank Miller's Batman: Year One and Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. The Shadow Hero needs to be added to that very small list. I applaud First Second Books for giving Yang and Liew the thumbs up to give the Green Turtle his much needed chance to be portrayed as originally intended (based on if the legend of Chu Hing's original concept is true- which I think it is.) Be sure to check out the 'director's cut' material at the back of the book and a reprinting of the Green Turtle's very first adventure and decide for yourself.

I only hope First Second decides to publish another miniseries starring Green Turtle.

   I want to also give major props to the writer and artist. In this day and age in which many of our established superheroes are being retooled in order to fit in with this era's en vogue PC term 'diversity,' Yang and Liew changed all of the rules. They took a lesser known character that was intended to be Asian and portrayed him as he was meant to be originally presented to the masses. That is the answer to the call of diversity that I can get on board with.

   Also, the creative team made the conscious decision to stick to Chu Hing's original intentions instead of also making the Green Turtle gay, a woman, and suffering from a speech impediment. In a way, this book answers the call of many established comic book fans like myself who want to see diversity in comics but also long as it's portrayed with new characters and ideas. Sure the Green Turtle is technically 71-years old but to 99.9 percent of the comic book community, he's brand new.

    I would love to see more forgotten heroes given a new chance at life with new ideas surrounding their background. Marvel did a fantastic job of this with it's 70th anniversary miniseries the Twelve. Even my all-time favorite artist Alex Ross has taken up the call with several old school public domain heroes in the pages of Dynamite Comics.

  So, there you have it all you vast comic book publishers. The challenge has been issued. Will you follow the lead of Gene Leun Yang and Sonny Liew and answer the call?

Worth Consuming

 Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

(Note: The Shadow Hero reprints the ebook miniseries 'The Shadow Hero" The Green Turtle Chronicles, available on Kindle.)

 

Age of Confusion

   

   I feel like this merits some clarification. When I found the 'AGE OF ULTRON' hardcover I saw the companion right next to it. Wanting to read the entire collection of this storyline, I grabbed them both. (I literally shouted "Score!" While doing a fist pump. I was that excited.)                                  
 
    Much to my chagrin, after reading the entire hardcover edition, I found that the companion didn't have any new material in it. If you own that volume then there is no reason to own the AOU Companion. So why did Marvel publish it in the first place?          

    Obvious answer aside (to get more of your money) I did some research to find out. According to stashmycomics.com, there have only been two reprintings of AOU; the hardcover edition and a trade paperback. The hardcover, published in 2013, retailed for $75! The 2014 trade retailed for only $35, but it doesn't include the supplement issues like the hardcover does. The Companion which contains the supplemental issues was published at the same time as the trade and sells for $30 and was published in trade paperback form only. So, Marvel thought they were doing it's fans a favor by publishing the two works in a cheaper for format with the whopping discount price of $65! (Wow Marvel, thanks for the price break!)

   Another option for readers could be to just buy all of the issues in the miniseries and supplementals individually. But if you can't find the issues in a bargain bin, you'll likely pay more than the price of the hardcover. Another option is to get just the 10 issues of the AOU mini and then get the companion. It can be found on Amazon for as low as $21.45 new ($16 used.)

   So, now you've got some options. More importantly, you've been warned so that you don't spend your hard earned money on duplicate titles.

Now go read some comics!

Guardians of the Galaxy (Prelude to Annihilation Week)

Finally, I saw the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm not 100% sure why it's taken me this long. It's been a weird mash of financial shortfalls, injury, and surgeries that have culminated in me putting off seeing it and putting it off, and putting it off- until now. So, what changed?

  Recently at my local library, I found the Annihilation Omnibus. Having read it and granted a free PPV rental by DISH Network, I was finally inspired to check it out. More on this later. But first let's discuss the film.

  The movie begins with a young Peter Quill being abducted by aliens in 1988 after his mother dies of what is assumed to be cancer. We then jump 26-years to find an adult Quill now calling himself Star-Lord. When Quill finds a mysterious orb, he becomes the target of the Scavengers, a ragtag bunch of aliens who abducted Quill for some reason and now have a bounty for his capture, bounty hunters Rocket Raccoon and Groot, and Gamora, daughter of Thanos and associate of the crazed Ronan.

   After the group ends up in Nova Corps prison, they meet up with Drax the Destroyer whose got a blood lust against Ronan for killing his wife and child. With this fifth member, the line-up for the Guardians of the Galaxy is complete. Together they trek across the universe seeking to sell the stolen orb to the Collector. There, the Guardians learn that the orb contains another of the Infinity Gems and has the power to destroy worlds. When Ronan steals the orb, the team must race back to the Nova homeworld of Xandar to protect it and the rest of the galaxy from being destroyed by a now power-mad Ronan.
 
   With any superhero film that begins a franchise and an origin, the film starts off a little slow. It really isn't until the group finally all meet that it became an instant classic. Many consider lovable Groot, the living tree, to be the fan favorite of the film, but I really like Drax. He's very droll, but he's given some of the funniest lines. I felt like he stole the show though Groot does give the Destroyer a run for his money.

  Another element that stole this flick was its soundtrack. Peter has an old Sony Walkman that belts out some classic 70s tunes such as Blue Suede's 'Hooked on a Feeling.' It's these catchy songs that help make this cosmic odyssey seem more familiar and more like 'home.'

    One part of this film that I thought was hit or miss was the special effects. The home world of Xandar looked like Starfleet Academy's's wet dream. It was beautiful, but many of that's planet's residents looked fake. Some characters like Yondu, the Alpha-Centurian with the musical arrow, has blue skin. However, the skin looked like an FX computer tech just painted the image of actor Michael Rooker, in facial prosthetics, navy. I swear I was ready for him to move off screen quickly and his blue hue to follow him off screen. Zoe Saldana's green Gamora looked like that was her real skin tone but the pink-hued attendant to the Collector and many other characters looked like someone was playing around with the color on their computer monitor in order to get their desired effect and it just fell flat.

    There're lots of great Easter eggs in this film. The character of Yondu was a member of the original Guardians team from the year 3,000 (maybe this was his great-grandfather?) There's several minor characters in the background and zoo of the Collector (as well as a few baddies from previous Marvel Films.) Perhaps the biggest Easter Egg is that Thanos and his army are the same mystery characters from the first Avengers film. It's just another bit of evidence that though Marvel may not be following the comic books to an exact 'T' they do have an all-encompassing plan for their films and live-action series to help create a true live-action Marvel Universe.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

(Wait a minute---- Didn't I say I was going to come back to Annihilation? About that- I was able to get my hands on a copy of the Annihilation Omnibus recently. In that massive 500-page plus tome, Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Thanos, Ronan, Nebula, Korath, and the Nova Corps play important roles. Since they were in that book as well as this film, I broke down and finally set aside time to watch GOG. 
    So, starting tomorrow I will begin a week-long review of the series Annihilation and its many prequels and companion pieces. 
     My friends, welcome to Annihilation Week.)

Iron Man, Volume 5: Rings of the Mandarin (Marvel NOW!)

 

When The Dark Elf Malekith takes possession of several of the Mandarin's rings, Tony Stark will have to combine magic and technology in order to cross the nine realms and retrieve them. Featuring a Marvel UK character whose not been seen in some time, Iron Man has his work cut out for him when the owner's of the remaining rogue rings also attack the Dark Elves.
  I wasn't such a fan of all of this volume. It starts off kinda like the movie Thor: The Dark World. That is slow, dull, and not very interesting. But when Stark has to seek out the help of a former ring bearer and they, along with long-lost brother Arno Stark, go on a mission to finalize the capture of all 10 rings, the story picked up and it got good again.

    This volume of Iron Man also sees the beginning of a possible strain in the relationship between the two Stark boys. I predict Arno becoming Tony's biggest enemy. It doesn't happen here, but the foreshadowing is definitely there.

     Lastly, this series of Iron Man was yet another Marvel NOW! title that was a victim to Marvel's unnecessary renumbering of most of it's titles. With how the book ends, I hated to see this series go. Hopefully, the next edition will be just as well. But Marvel's developed this bad habit of when something works, it's time to cancel the title and start over. It's irritating and makes it hard to figure out which volume to read next unless you really dig through it and look.

     This is yet another reason why it's easier to read modern comics when available at your local library and in trade form.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.