Art Baltazar, Franco, and Chris Giarrusso return to bring you more adventures of Encounter, his canine pal Barko and best friend/part-time manager Kayla. Now there appears to be a new member of the Encounter team- the armored Champion!
But just who is this mysterious new superhero? Is he friend or foe? Kayla seems warm and willing to add Champion to the Encounter squad. But Barko has his doubts. With more super villains popping up throughout the city looking for Encounter's power orbs, just who is behind this latest round of attempts to steal our alien hero's source of energy?
I enjoyed a majority of this new series. Chris Giarrusso's artwork took a quantum leap. I've always been a fan of his stuff (G-Man, Mini Marvels). But the pin-up sized images of the new villains in this miniseries was off the chain amazing! I am in awe of the Deconstructinator! He was drawn so brilliantly!
I also really like Franco's very fun shorts about the adventures of Chewy, Barko's anthropomorphic chew toy. For being a squeaky toy, Chewy sure does have a lot of arch-enemies. But what will these fiends do when Chewy fuses with Encounter's new vacuum cleaner?
But when it came to the ending, I hated it! I am not going to spoil it. But I am quite afraid that there might not be a volume 3 of this series. I hope that's not true! Franco, Baltazar and Giarrusso-please say that it's not so!
Lots of fun in the style of Itty Bitty Hellboy or Tiny Titans. But I was disappointed with the ending! I'm just not ready to say goodbye to this awesome group of characters!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
I reviewed the first issue a while back as part of one of my Family Comic Friday columns. While I enjoyed that book, I felt that should I ever get my hands on the collected edition, I would review this separately as I didn't want to take away from reviewing another all-ages book. But since then, I have started do Family Comic Friday Extras. So here goes...
Encounter, Volume 1: Out of This World
Written and illustrated by Art Baltazar, Franco & Chris Giarusso
Published by Lion Forge
Pages: 136
Retail: $12.99
Encounter is a shape-shifting alien who has sought refuge on planet earth. While on our planet, he has made it his mission to protect several mysterious pods that bear the same green polka dots that he does. In order to earn money, Encounter poses as a baker. But because of those darn dots he bears, he must turn his bakery into an Encounter themed shop. You can't expect Encounter to give up his secret identity, now can you?
It's not easy being a super hero. Especially now, as a series of villains have come to town demanding those pods. It will take all the help from his super powered sidekick, Barko and the neighboring owner of the local comic book store and his niece to help keep those orbs from the hands of the baddies!
I love Art Baltazar and Franco (Tiny Titans)! I love Chris Giarusso (G-Man)! Having all 3 working on a comic book together is all-ages gold!
Their art style is timeless. Their sense of humor is steeped in comic book lore. And all three creators just want to create fun comics for the whole family to enjoy!
This volume covers the first 5 issues of Encounter. There's a volume 2 that just came out in March that covers issues 6-10. I'm really hoping there will be more after that. But it's been about 6 months since the last issue debuted. I'm not really sure what the delay is. In fact, there may not be a delay at all and issue #10 was the last we'll see of Encounter and friends.
I hope that is not the case; but it's real possibility.
Encounter has something for the whole family. The main features have bigger words and more complex plots for those aged 8-12. The secondary tales are simplified for readers 4-7. The villains are zany. The townsfolk are goofy. And every once in a while you have to do a double take because the in-jokes are really surreal. But this is wholesome stuff that will make parents and guardians very happy!
Encounter, Volume 1: Out of This World debuted in print and digital formats on October 2, 2018.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
And be sure to be on the lookout for my regular FCF column later this afternoon!
Welcome to another edition of Family Comic Friday. Today we explore the first issue of a new series by the all-ages creative team of Art Baltazar and Franco. It's a new series I've been looking forward to for quite some time and it was my pick of the week this week over at outrightgeekery.com. The series is called Encounter.
Encounter #1 is about an alien superhero who patrols the earth named Encounter. This superhero is on hot pursuit of the villain Gadget Man who has stolen some mysterious polka dotted pods. This pods are yellow and green, just like Encounter is. Just what is the connection between these stolen objects and our new hero? All of your questions will be answered. But first, Encounter must defeat a new menace created by the Gadget Man- a giant robot made up of construction vehicles!
I am a huge fan of Art Baltazar and Franco! Sure they craft kids books but they're my guilty pleasure comics! Every book of Balthazar and Franco that I have ever read from Grimmiss Island to Tiny Titans to Action Cat and Adventure Bug in the Pages of Aw! Yeah Comics has been tons of fun!
The duo love comic books and it shows all of their titles. Each one is filled with comic history Easter Eggs that older readers (I.E. mom and dad) can enjoy. Like those naughty jokes thrown into Disney movies only more high brow and less explicit. For example, in one issue of Tiny Titans, one of the characters has a Rorschach watch which is hysterical because Rorschach was a character in the Watchmen.
Normally Art Baltazar and Franco are in charge of the art in many of their kids comics. But for Encounter, they've recruited another personal favorite of mine, G-Man's Chris Giarrusso. Most of you are probably familiar with his work on Mini Marvels. His artwork is extremely clean and very fluid. I can also say having meet him a time or two at some cons, he's one heck of a nice guy. He does not disappoint in the least on Encounter.
This new series by up-and-coming indy publisher Lion Forge Comics is great fun. It's recommended for ages 9 and up. But I think you could have readers aged 7 and 8 enjoy this book without a problem. There are some fairly big words that might be a little tougher for readers under the age of 7. But the violence level is pretty tame.
Encounter #1 was slated to debut in stores on March 14th. However, due to weather, some comic book stores (such as the two I went to) said that their shipments were temporarily delayed. Thankfully, you can find this book on digital platforms such as Comixology like I did. But if you want to wait for it to arrive in shops next week, I wouldn't fault you at all. Paper forever! Hopefully we'll be able to say the same about Encounter despite the publishing delays.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
Review published concurrently at outrightgeekery.com.
