Walt Disney's Autumn Adventures #1

I could have finished this book earlier. I started in in mid-October. However, once I realized that there was some Thanksgiving themed stories, I decided to wait until now to complete.

Walt Disney's Autumn Adventures #1 doesn't just cover Halloween which is what I thought based on Chip and Dale hauling a gigantic jack-o'-lantern on the cover. Had I been a bit more keen, I would have noticed Gyro Gearloose using one of his new inventions to capture a turkey! No, this really is a book that runs the entire Fall season gambit.

The book is essentially divided into 3 sections: the coming of Autumn, Halloween and Thanksgiving. In the first part, Huey, Dewey and Louie get in trouble playing hooky during the first day of school in a Carl Barks classic while chipmunks Chip and Dale contemplate going south for the winter.

In the middle section, Donald's nephews and the Junior Woodchucks explore a haunted house owned by Uncle Scrooge in a DuckTales themed Halloween romp. Readers get to marvel at the genius of Barks once again when Donald tries out Gyro's latest invention: a jet powered broomstick, to disastrous effect. 

Thanksgiving stories include the Three Little Pigs and Li'l Bad Wolf feeding some turkeys when the Big Bad Wolf decides to use it to his advantage in another attempt to eat the piggies. Meanwhile, Pluto must save Horace Horsecollar's prize winning turkey from poachers after Mickey's dog accidentally lets the bird loose.

From the early 90s when Disney was self publishing it's own comics after the shuttering of Gemstone. It was a very brief affair that later lead to Marvel and then IDW publishing Disney comics for a time. Unfortunately, I can't accurately date this book as there's no copyright inside the book. However I do know that before they went defunct, Disney released another Autumn Adventures the following year. I'm on the lookout for that...

I had no idea that Len Wein was the EIC here. Based on his resume of horror works, heading Disney's comics division seems odd for him. Apparently, Wein brought some DC talent with him as Marv Wolfman among others is listed as one of the writers of a couple of other releases for the month in the back of this book.

A wonderful Fall holiday read that lasts the whole season.

Worth Consuming!

Rating:9 out of 10 stars.

The Legend of the Swamp Thing Halloween Spectacular #1

My last read for Halloween 2024. It's a Swamp Thing special from 2020 built on a unique premise. 6 terrifying tales starring various Guardians of the Green throughout history. You thought Alec Holland was the only human to become the creature known as the Swamp Thing? Think again!

This anthology begins with Holland's Swamp Thing rescuing a missing child from the Great Abysmal Swamp. Afterwards, he begins to reflect on his past lives throughout history, including an encounter with the armies of Julius Caesar in Brittany and witnessing a group of Spanish explorers become trapped on an island of living rage. That one was the best story, by the way. Things wrap up with a glimpse at a future incarnation of the Avatar of the Green.

Though touted as a Halloween special, none of the stories were set at Halloween. But all 6 did have elements of fear. Did I feel gypped by the erroneous title despite pay for the full cover price? No, not really. Maybe it's because I had long lost this book in my massive pile of books needing to be added to my collection and the feel of wasted money over a Halloween comic that really wasn't has passed. Or maybe it's because this book was so darn good. 

Great stories. Very good art. A reboot of a legend that I hope I can live long enough to experience when the future Swamp Thing's time finally arrives.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Crypt of Shadows #1 (2024)

This is the third Halloween annual from Marvel based on the short-lived horror anthology from the 70s. Only this time the Crypt of Shadows, Vol. 3 issue #1 doesn't take place in the Crypt of Shadows. Nor is the anthology hosted by Doctor Strange's deranged brother Victor. This time around, Agatha Harkness, sitting in her intergalactic residence on the planet Amanna, is our hostess and she's spying on several characters of the Marvel Universe.

First up is Agatha's former pupil, the Scarlet Witch. When a magic door appears in her kitchen, Wanda Maximoff finds herself lured into a trap. An innocent nibble on the back of the Man-Thing unleashes a plague into the murky domain of the Sub-Mariner. Finally, the Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell finds himself the latest prey at the hands of Kraven the Hunter. Thankfully old friend, Blade is on hand to make it a fair fight.

First of all, that regular cover. How I wouldn't line up at my favorite LCS to pre-order a supernatural themed title with that lineup. Having Scarlet Witch, Vision, Prince Namor, the Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, Blade and Kraven the Hunter on the same team fighting some kind of magical threat? I'd be all over that series in a heartbeat.

The stories were pretty good. I didn't exactly like that the Scarlet Witch story was a lead up to upcoming events in the pages of her solo book. I understand that specials like these are paid for advertising for fledgling titles. At least it wasn't a cliffhanger that requires me to buy her book.

I also don't quite understand the changes with the host. There wasn't anything wrong with having Victor Strange as the host. Plus if you're going to call it the Crypt of Shadows, then it should at least take place in the Crypt of Shadows.

I do know that some of the changes were done to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For decades, Agatha Harkness has been either this ancient spindly old crone or dead. With a younger Harkness appearing in WandaVision, Marvel has once again changed the looks of a comic book character to reflect the live action version. I'm not too upset with that. Plus with the character's new Disney+ series Agatha All Along debuting now, I understand that Marvel Comics wants to cash in on that connection and is using their Halloween annual book to do it. I don't like it. But I understand the reasoning behind changing a great formula. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

I Know What You Did Last Crisis #1

When is a Halloween special not a Halloween special? When it's this year's All Hallows Eve offering from DC Comics! Each October, for at least the past 7 or 8 years (maybe more), DC has presented fans with a horror themed annual of 8 stories. Generally 6 or 7 are set during Halloween or Dia De Los Muertos. I Know What You Did Last Crisis offers 8 tales, set during the various Crisis events that DC has published since the biggie way back in 1985. But to call most of these stories 'horror' are misnomers at best. They're more like thrillers and only 1 is set during Halloween.

The lone Halloween story occurs during Zero Hour when the Justice Society of America is attacked by an unknown foe who has the ability to rapidly age their enemies to the point of near death. It was okay. But had I already read Zero Hour, I'd probably like it and understand it better.

The cream of the crop includes CRISIS set story starring Batgirl who finds that as Earth-1 is about to die at the hands of the Anti-Monitor, Killer Croc has kidnapped the parents of a scared little girl. Black Canary rushes to save innocents from the Silver Banshee who is exhibiting powers unlike her during the events of 'The Final Night'. Kimiyo Hoshi, the Doctor Light of Japan, tries to save her STAR Labs co-workers from a malfunctioning Man hunter during the Millennium event of 1988. 

A couple of stories starring villains Lex Luthor and the Scarecrow were mid-level reads. They had great premises. But they remind me of how long ago it was when I read Final Crisis and Blackest Night that I've forgotten a lot of the less finer details. 

I really thought I was going to hate that Midnighter story. I'm just not a fan of the Wildstorm stuff and I'm so tired of DC trying to make the Authority a thing in this current melded timeline. However, this is not the Batman knockoff that looks like I imagine Wolverine smells. His story takes place during the alternate timeline events of Flashpoint and sees Midnighter playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with Professor Pyg. It was a pleasant surprise and one that I would be interested in reading a follow-up of!

The absolute worst story is a sort of Elseworlds twist on the ending of Infinite Crisis. In the original story, Dick Grayson was fated to die but Conner Kent sacrificed himself. Kinda a bad move because had Nightwing died, it would have issued in a new age of peace and prosperity for the DC Universe. Great for the superhero community. No so ideal for sales. Anyway, an alternate Conner goes rogue and kills all the Dick Grayson's in the multiverse to ensure that all timelines experience this golden age. 

In what would have been a great 'What If' type tale if it was done as a standalone special and not part of a supposed Halloween anthology, it's a jumbled mess. Not scary at all. And it's written by Dan DiDio, who just absolutely hates Dick Grayson with a passion and nearly destroyed the House that Superman Built. When can we stop making Dan DiDio a thing?

I can't really rate this book fairly based on that one tale. I need to average the quality of all 8 stories and then remove one more star for not being a Halloween special! And after making some calculations, I came out with an average of 6.5. So not quite worthy of consumption. But a decent read and for once, it doesn't try to push the envelope nor alienate established fans.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 stars.

Santos Sisters Halloween Special

Imagine that the world of Archie Andrews and the gang from Riverdale was drawn in that classic Dan DeCarlo style but it had the morals and language of a Quentin Tarantino film. That's the world of the Santos Sisters. My first foray with the characters created by Illinois based creators Greg and Fake, I'm a little familiar with some of their friends including the monster slaughtering duo Hack and Slash and Heaven's little devil, Mercy Sparx.

There's not really a cohesive story throughout this 48-page Halloween special. Instead, it's a series of vignettes and shorts that show how the Santos Sisters and friends celebrate All Hallows Eve! They were funny takes. Rather charming. Just not for kids and I think because of the friendly art style of the characters, it might fool some parents and guardians into thinking this is a family friendly read.

Sure, this was an R-rated book and there was a demon character inside. But I don't think Mercy Sparx is more than just a guest star in this book. So if other Santos Sisters books are pretty similar in style, I wouldn't mind reading more of Greg and Fake's creations. Maybe there's a Christmas special or other Holiday special out there that I've not encountered. Fingers crossed.

A pleasant Indy comic surprise from 2024.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus, Vol. 3: Fiendish Fables of Devilish Delicacies

The third and final Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Omnibus is here! Well, actually it debuted in August and I kept waiting on it to show up at my favorite comic book shop. But for one reason or another, the book never came. Once my guys determined that the distributors weren't going to fill the order request, I went to Amazon and ordered it myself. I hate not being able to support a local small business like that...

'Fiendish Fables of Devilish Delicacies' might be the best of the bunch. It features a bunch of celebrity writers taking horrifying shots at America's Favorite Family. Comedian Thomas Lennon and Rocker Rob Zombie are among those who contribute. But it was the re-pairing of 2 iconic teams from the pages of comic history that were my favorite out of all 3 volumes.

Swamp Thing co-creators, Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, join forces once again to pose a tale that suggests what might have happened if Homer was killed and put into a vat of Apu's Squishee mix to become the Squish Thing! Then Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan reunite to propose what would happen if Homer lead a team of vampire hunters against the dreaded Count Dracula. I must admit it took me a couple of pages to realize that this was a parody of Marvel's The Tomb of Dracula horror comic from the 70s and not a send-up of Universal's Dracula. However, once I did, I was enthralled because I cut my horror comic lovin' teeth on that series! Colan's artwork was so stunning. It looked 3-D. Artists today can barely make classic comic characters look 2-D. When you read that story, you are in the presence of genius. 2 geniuses! 

Speaking of bad art, there was one story called 'Boo-tleg' in which the Kwik-E-Mart is selling poisoned Halloween candy to the citizens of Springfield. To hide his crimes, Apu keeps making clones of the townsfolk. But the results are less than ideal. I get the premise of the story and I liked the satire of the effect cloning could have on society. Yet, the artwork looked like really poor computer animation. Like so bad, it makes the Dire Straits music video, 'Money For Nothing' look modern!

One thing I had been missing were the covers. This book includes that much desired cover gallery. I still never got the Treehouse of Horror Halloween annuals printed in order; but at least I now have all of the material that would be included, if I owned the entire set. But there are lots of extras that only appeared in the trade collections. So that makes this a super-omnibus. Even with the near $150 I paid for all 3 volumes, I came out on top. Prices for some of those annuals are with price tags of $30-$50 each. No way in heck am I going shell out that type of money for a Simpsons floppy; no matter how much I love Halloween books!

Now if only Harry N. Abrams would collect the Simpsons Winter Wingdings and other seasonal Holiday material in an omnibus or two...

They saved the best material for last!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Powerpuff Girls Halloween Special (Family Comic Friday)

It's Halloween and Bubbles and Blossom cannot wait to go trick-or-treating. However, resident Powerpuff Girl hothead Buttercup refuses to go until she can create the perfect Halloween ghost story. See, there's a huge cash prize being offered and to Buttercup, that's more important than going around in costume door to door for candy. But as writer's block prevents Buttercup from crafting her story, the tales of aspiring writer begin to blend fantasy with reality.

I felt like this 2024 special from Dynamite Entertainment was a hot mess. The writing was all over the place. True, that's because most of the time, readers weren't supposed to know what was real and what was the product of Buttercup's imagination. Maybe dyed in the wool fans of the series would understand it better and enjoy it. But just don't think that's the case here. I think this is a case of writer Amanda Diebert trying to squeeze too much into a 32-page or less book. Perhaps if this was an 80-page giant, the details could have been fleshed out better. But if not, my God, I don't think I could have stood reading such a deluxe special. 

It wasn't just the writing that disappointed me. I like the artwork of Cat Staggs. But what happened here? The interiors seem so unlike her and really, it hardly looks like the Powerpuff Girls! I'm used to the clean lines of Bubbles and her sisters from the TV series. Here, it looks like someone went a little too heavy with the inks and a very thick brush. Even the colors are wrong. Everything is mottled instead of a uniform solid bright hue for each character, their clothing and the scenery.

I'd blame the artwork on modernization of the characters. Only there's an ad for another Powerpuff Girls series in the back and that artwork looks like the original Cartoon Network style that I am familiar with. Plus, the villains who pop up in their amazing cameos look fantastic. Why didn't Staggs give the same level of detail to the trio of heroes?

The Powerpuff Girls Halloween Special is rated Teen. That's mostly because the generation who grew up watching the original series are now in their teens and early adulthood. Yet, other than some heroic fights, I didn't see anything that parents and guardians would find offensive or too over-the-top if younger readers were to read this book. That being said I doubt that very many readers under the age of 18 are going to get the myriad of references to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror classic, The Shining. Be honest. How many of you figured out that the heart pattern on the cover was a tribute to the carpeted floors of the Overlook Hotel?

I think the wrong franchise tried to give tribute to the wrong horror classic. Powerpuff Girls meet Jack Torrance just didn't work for me. The John Carpenter Halloween homage that kicks things off would have been great. But the story goes off into another direction. By the time I was able to sort out the terrible segue, I had pretty much made up my mind that things were going to get better.

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney's Donald Duck "Trick Or Treat": The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library Vol.13

I ordered this one specifically in time for Halloween. Featuring the complete, unabridged, almost 100% unedited version of Carl Barks' adaptation of the Donald Duck cartoon 'Trick or Treat', this volume is a treasure. Dell, Disney or both felt that Barks' introduction was too scary. Thus, a full page and a half was scrapped and redone in a more friendly time. Tasked with 32-pages to fill based on an about 8 minute long cartoon, Barks padded the middle with the inclusion of a 6-armed ogre named Smorgasbord. Again, someone high up didn't like it and those pages were just removed and the story was trimmed to a 24-page book.

Over the years, many of the original lost pages were recovered. Thanks to Fantagaphics and Rich Tommaso, all except for the last panel were recovered, remastered and re-added to present the Good Duck Artist's original vision. (As of now, only the last panel has never been found.)

'Trick or Treat' is a masterpiece; both on celluloid and in print. I'm so glad that I waited and saved some of my Amazon gift cards to get this book. After the main story there's a couple of one-pagers involving Halloween and an 8-pager that isn't really a Halloween tale. But it does involve some strange goings-on to make it a seasonal read for this time of year.

Halloween isn't the only holiday covered in this book. Thanksgiving sees Donald fleeing to Europe to avoid having to host lucky cousin Gladstone Gander for Turkey Day. Christmas sees Donald trying to trick Uncle Scrooge into paying for his holiday feast. There's even some Valentine's Day love in the air when Donald takes a job as a mailman and must deliver a Valentine to his sweetie, Daisy. Only Donald didn't send her the card! Gladstone did!

Daisy makes a couple more appearances in this book, which also sees the introduction of Daisy's nieces, April, May and June. Daffy inventor Gyro Gearloose besieges Duckburg with some of his out-of-control creations. And there's tons of nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie and my favorite, Uncle Scrooge to be found in this cozy little volume.

My love for the stories is unparalleled. However, I'm starting to get a little annoyed with the expert commentary on the stories. They're all so negative and snobby about it. Sure, you're an academic and that's how you are trained. But I want to know more about the backstory. The inspirations for these tales appeal to me. I don't need to know how the position of Donald's wrist in panel #6 of the third story is a commentary on the plight of Nebraskan hog farmers. Just give me the facts, PLEASE!

As jaded as the experts say Carl Barks was, there just isn't substitute for the amount of joy his world has brought me over the past 40 plus years!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Destiny, NY Halloween Special One-Shot

Taking place in a world where magic is real but not everyone has the gift, this Halloween special is from 2022. I'm not quite familiar with Destiny, NY. I do know of the franchise. But I've not read anything by creator Pat Shand and Black Mask Studios. 

There's 2 stories in the book. Both involve knowing about the future but in varying degrees of effect and impact. 

In the first story, a barista is having relationship problems with his boyfriend and turns to a psychic for help. She places the blame on the young man and predicts doom for the relationship- unless he pays $600 to cleanse his aura. As there are some phony psychics operating out there, the guy spends all Halloween night agonizing over whether to trust the clairvoyant or instead, to take the bull by the horns and taking with his beau about their problems.

Story #2 is about a witch in training and her first day of college at a prestigious institute for the study of witchcraft. The young woman has an assured death wish but not because of a psychic. She's been diagnosed with a deadly disease. One of which I assume cannot be cured by magic. Having that cloud over her head has caused her to see the world with a healthy dose of cynicism; understandably so. Thankfully, there's a caring professor who hopes to teach the young girl to see joy in her remaining days.

Only the first story was set during Halloween and that was the story I cared the least for. The second story was the better of the two. If I was to continue with Destiny, NY, I would want to start with the rest of the witch's journey which was supposed to debut in the Spring of 2023. But I'm not that committed to giving it a try. It just didn't feel like a series that called to me. I'm just not big on stories about witchcraft and if the first story is any indication of the rest of the Destiny, NY universe, those characters don't appeal to me in any way.

I think I am going to turn this book in for some trade credit.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Monster High Halloween Special #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Based on the popular Mattel toy line, IDW presents an All Hallows Eve spectacular starring the students of Monster High!

Principal Frankenstein feels like Halloween is a great time for the students to unwind and blow off some steam by celebrating the human holiday known as Halloween. To do this, the staff of Monster High has put on a Halloween carnival, complete with rides, games and a haunted maze. While waiting to learn who won the costume contest, some of the students decide to explore the labyrinth of corn. At first, it appears to be a basic maze filled with corny frights. However as the students wander further into the field, they begin to experience their deepest, darkest fears. Soon, it becomes eerily certain that something is seriously wrong within the dark passageways of corn.

I'm not familiar with Monster High in the least aside from anything I might have seen in stores. I didn't know that the Mattel franchise was still a thing. I couldn't tell you the last time I had ever seen a kid wearing something with Monster High on it. But I love Halloween specials and the guys at my local favorite comic book store ordered it for me and I needed something to review for this week's Family Comic Friday. 

I thought the art was good. The characters looked like the few toys that I've seen in the past. The beginning and middle of the story was pretty good. Having teenage monsters face their fears in a corn maze was wicked fun. It was a pretty creative plot device if you ask me. I thought the ending was going to end predictably with the student who designed her own costume going to win the costume contest. However, it really didn't feel like this story actually ended at all.

The story concludes with at least 1 student still trapped in the maze. The students can't find them and Frankenstein is freaking out over the disappearance, claiming this has happened before. But when was that? The narrator recites some Halloween poetry, none of which had anything to do with the missing student, and then there's closure with a 'the end' posted on the back right corner of the page. Personally, I hate cliffhanger endings, especially if I don't already have the next issue to immediately follow-up on. However, I would rather have that than leaving everything dangling without a promise of more to come.

Ideal for fans of Monster High. While not rated, those with children aged 9-13 should have no issues with the contents of this book. This special is a fun way for those looking forward to Halloween to wait for it through reading. I just wish for a better ending. A definitive ending. Not the lackluster stoppage that leaves the reader wondering 'What next?'

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

When Tim Burton's Beetlejuice came out in 1988, I didn't really understand it. I liked the concept of a newly deceased couple navigating the afterlife as well as trying to extricate an annoying living family from their home. However, the movie was called Beetlejuice and the title character is only in the movie for 17 minutes! My 11 year old brain couldn't understand why Beetlejuice was so rarely in his own movie. So I ended up becoming a fan of the cartoon series as well as the action figures.  They were amazing sculpts! As I got older and became a fan of Tim Burton movies, I understood the reason behind the character's absence and it eventually became one of those movies I can't pass up if I see it while flipping channels.

We jump ahead to 36 years later and Beetlejuice returns to the screen after several decades of rumors of a sequel. While the main character still isn't in every scene, Beetlejuice is in enough of the movie that my younger self would have been satisfied. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice debuted last month, breaking records for films that opened in September. I kept wanting to go to the theaters but I was either too busy or not wanting to fight the crowds. At least my wait wasn't too long as it finally showed up on Amazon Prime and Youtube Premium for my bride and I do give it a Halloween time viewing from the comfort of home. 

In the time since the first film, Lydia Deetz has cashed in on her ability to see ghosts. After helping the Maitlands successfully cross over to the afterlife, Lydia could still see ghosts and became a psychic arbitrator between the living and the dead. Despite starring her own reality TV show, her teenage encounter with Beetlejuice has left Lydia a pill-popping neurotic wreck who has PTSD fears of being reunited with her one-time fiance poltergeist. A widow, Lydia is estranged from her daughter Astrid, who thinks Lydia is a fraud because she never can communicate with her dead husband. Living in New York City, Lydia and her daughter must return to Winter River after the tragic death of her father. However, as Lydia begins to clear the house of her father's possessions, the single mom begins to have horrifying visions of a ghost dressed in a black and white striped suit. With every passing moment, it becomes clear: Beetlejuice is nigh!

Almost the entire original cast returns for this film. Michael Keaton is a treasure! The only major exception is Jeffrey Jones, who played Lydia's father in the original film. However, his criminal past of possessing child pornography meant that his involvement in the film was not to be. Despite this, you do see photos of Jones as Lydia's father at the funeral and his voice is used in at least 1 scene.

There's a few new players to the Beetlejuice universe. Justin Theroux plays Lydia's manager and human fiance. I thought it was interesting having Theroux in this film as it was produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment. Both Pitt and Theroux were married to Jennifer Aniston! Imagine the conversations between these two! Monica Bellucci plays Beetlejuice's vengeful wife, thus shedding some light on the main character's origins. Willem Dafoe is an afterlife detective trying to find Beetlejuice's former lover before she can send him to his final reward!

I liked being able to know when and where Beetlejuice came from. But I felt that Monica Bellucci's character was unnecessary. True, without her, that would make Dafoe's character also unneeded and he was some great comic relief. Still, I felt that her parts in this movie didn't really move the plot along other than telling us about the main characters life before the afterlife.

This has got to be one of the most Tim Burton movies filled with the most un-Burton like scenes and music. Thankfully, we get the great Danny Elfman doing the main score. There's stop motion. There's a slew of oddball dead characters. There's another dance scene. But it's no 'Banana Boat' scene. I'm guessing the Harry Belafonte estate wasn't willing to license out other songs of his. 

One thing that I just adored about this film is that it takes place during Halloween. It was seasonal to get to watch it here during the middle of October. Hopefully, it will become an annual favorite. I'd watch it again. It was a nostalgic sequel without being too repetitive of the original. If anything it felt more like a continuation of the Saturday morning cartoon series in which Beetlejuice and Lydia were good friends. Having a 600 year old plus ghost with the hots for a teenage girl is kinda icky. But as friends from differ sides of the doorway to the great beyond felt more comfortable for those of us who got up freakin' early every Saturday to watch a cartoon classic!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 of 10 stars.

Disney Gargoyles Halloween Special (Family Comic Friday)

Taking off from where the 1994 animated series left off, series creator Greg Weisman has been given the chance to continue the story of Disney's Gargoyles.

It's Halloween night and young Nashville wants to experience trick or treating for the very first time. As other Big Apple children are dressed as Gargoyles, Gnash, 'with a silent G', should blend in with the humans quite well. Why would Gnash need to blend in with other trick-or-treaters if his Gargoyle brethren have revealed themselves to the world? It's because there's a group of anti-Gargoyle sledgehammer welding militants called the Quarrymen who long for the old days when the demonic looking creatures were cursed to a millennial long slumber. As the Quarrymen have plans to disrupt a community festival between humans and Gargoyles, it's up to Gnash and his new friends to prevent this from becoming the worst All Hallows Eve ever in New York history.

I'm a little familiar with Gargoyles. My little sister watched them a little bit first run because the little boys across the street were obsessed with the syndicated cartoon. So I'm not sure how accurate to the flow of the original series this 2023 Halloween special is. Though I imagine with having the shows creator behind the new adventures to help keep things seamless. I appreciated that the saga of the New York Gargoyle clan is kept in the 90s making these comics a continuation and not a reboot.

There are some more modern ideals in this 90s set one-shot. But it's left up to the reader how to interpret. For instance, there's a character with the last name of Jones dressed as a witch. Jones later reveals that under the mask and dress, the character is a man. Is the character transgender? Homosexual? Just a dude dressed up for Halloween? It's never really revealed and since Gargoyles was originally an all-ages franchise, it's left innocuous in order to not be too controversial for families who might not feel the time is right to talk about gender norms or human sexuality.

The Quarrymen are some pretty nasty dudes who spew hate and bigotry. There's a couple of scenes of bullying, a big fight between Quarrymen and Gargoyles and two Gargoyle 'dogs' that look pretty intimidating. Not really unexpected for a book rated 'teen'.

If Gargoyles was a show you watched as a kid in the 90s and it's a legacy property you wish to share with your children or other young readers in your life, then this is a Halloween read that will be enjoyed by all. If Gargoyles is a property that is completely new to you, I recommend parents and guardians read it first to ensure it's age appropriateness. 

Back issues can be found on eBay and other comic book retail websites.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

I Luv Halloween, Vol 1

A Halloween themed manga written by Keith Giffen. I couldn't pass it up. And yet like a driver who picks up the hitchhiker from Hell, I kinda wish that I had kept on driving. 

I Luv Halloween has got to be the must inappropriate, goriest romp starring kids that I have ever read. Imagine the movie Gummo, if it was set during Halloween. (I really want to compare this with the film Kids. However, there's nowhere as much animal murder and cruelty in that controversial film compared to Gummo.)

The book is about a group of 4 boys as they go trick-or-treating. After getting apples at their first couple of houses, the boys decide to break the curse by putting razor blades in one of the fruits and unleash the unmitigated fury of the law on one of their stingy neighbors. Meanwhile, one of the boy's sisters has broken free from the group and has begun a reign of unintentional terror, killing the neighborhood bully, bludgeoning a cheerleader and her boyfriend and much, much more unspeakable acts. 

If I thought Giffen was trying to do a straight out horror story on par with Children of the Corn, I'd probably not feel like I need to take a shower just for writing this review. But the kids in the book do most of their gruesome acts with a sense of innocence. It's almost like the worst Murphy's law bad luck of all time following these kids and they just go through life not understanding just how destructive they are. Remember how Steve Urkel would ask 'did I do that?', whenever something went wrong? Well, these kids, for the most part, don't even know that they are doing terrible things. Well, the sister might. There's definitely something not quite right about her...

The artwork is by Benjamin Roman. At the time this book was published, in 2005, he was a relative newcomer with this being his very first professionally published work. His art style is extremely exaggerated. Roman would fit in quite well at MAD Magazine. I wonder what became of him...

This one isn't a keeper for me. I wasn't a huge fan of it. There's a lot going on that I'm not even sure happened or not as several of kids are not very reliable narrators. And yet, there's 2 more volumes and I just need to find out what is true and what is the fever dreams of a group of horny preteens. Plus I just need to know what is wrong with the sister. She just not quite right in the head.

Not the coming of age tale you'd feel comfortable sharing with your kids or grand kids. I fact, if you didn't feel uncomfortable after reading this book I'd think something might be wrong with you...

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Supercats: Halloween! (Family Comic Friday Comics)

I would have reviewed this 2023 Halloween special from Scout Comics last year. I had every intention of doing so. However there were some shipping delays at my favorite comic shop and I didn't get to pick it up until early November. 

Based on Scout's Supercats series, it's Halloween and the protectors of the neighborhood, the Supercats, are terrorizing all of the trick-or-treaters. Only it's really the Dirty Dogs of the Bad Bod Club in disguise as Supercats, looking to ruin their good guy reputation. Can Mewow and his sidekick Ohno save Halloween while restoring their good name?!

Supercats: Halloween! was Scout Comics' first foray of their Launch imprint of books. The idea behind launch is to introduce young new readers to comics. Launch does this by classifying their books in 3 levels. An almost total picture book comic is considered Level 1. This book with a promise of no more than 3 panels per page to help youngsters not get too lost in the action is a Level 3 book. (However on at least 1 pages, I counted 4 panels... Uh oh!)

The artwork is more primitive than other young reader graphic novels. But I think that rougher art style contributes to the alley cat persona of the Supercats and the junkyard dog manners of the Bad Dog Club. This was an adorable Halloween story by Caleb Thusat and Angela Odding and I just hope that the lateness of my review will help future sales for this comic and the other couple of books in the Supercats series, which can be bought at the Scout Comics web page.

My one complaint has nothing to do with the content. I think this is a book that parents and guardians will approve of 100%. It's wholesome and sweet and when Mewow and Ohno take on the Dirty Dogs, the level of superhero action is very mild. No, my issue was the format of the book. It's not rectangular like a comic book. Instead it's square; slightly larger than a Little Golden Book. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit in my protective sleeves. Nor will it fit inside one of storage boxes. If it was a hard cover, I could place it safely on one of the shelves I use to store graphic novels. Supercats: Halloween! is too flimsy like a regular comic book that I'm concerned about getting it damaged. And if kids want to collect the books in this series, it's format will make storage even harder for them.

Just something to be aware of if you were like me as a kid, trying to keep your comics in as pristine condition as possible.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 9 out of 10 stars.

Batman: The Long Halloween

Last year, I managed to snag new deluxe editions of Dark Victory and When In Rome; the sequel and threequel to Batman: The Long Halloween. Having already owned an original copy of the first edition hardback, I just didn't see a point in purchasing a newer yet more expensive copy for a few extra pages of material. It just didn't make sense to me. My goal was once the Halloween season came around, I'd read the Long Halloween trilogy from beginning to end. However, as I started seeing the amazing glut of Halloween specials and horror titles being offered for the 2024 season, I had serious doubts that I could read the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale masterpiece and it's follow ups during the month of October.

I like to be seasonal in my readings. If I read a Christmas themed comic, I better be reading it in December. It's only the first of September! 

Well, folks have started to call September Halloween Eve on social media. 

A serial killer has begun to terrorize Gotham City by murdering citizens on holidays. At first, it looks like only the Falcone crime family is being targeted. However, when other seemingly random Gothamites wind up dead, it's up to a trio of law enforcers, Batman, Captain Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent to identify the killer. However with assistance from the Arkham inmate, the Calendar Man,and warped view of support to stop the killings by the Joker, this trinity of law keepers will be challenged unlike ever before.

I had read The Long Halloween a long time ago. Long enough for me to not remember everything. So I really got to enjoy it almost as an entirely new story. The copy I read was different from this book as I don't remember all of the extra material in the back nor do I recall the foreword by Jeph Loeb. That's because honestly I didn't realize that this book and the trilogy as a whole was a sequel to Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. 

Wait... What?

According to Loeb, the great Archie Goodwin challenged Loeb and Sale to take the work they had done on their Batman Halloween specials and frame a larger story set after the events of Batman: Year One. With Miller's blessing, The Long Halloween was born. Yet, how can this be a sequel. Year One was groundbreaking for introducing a black Selina Kyle to readers. Here, Kyle is white. Plus, didn't Jim Gordon's wife leave him for his affair with a fellow cop? Well, Barbara Gordon is back and so is infant son James Jr. 

The Long Halloween was published in 1996, finishing in 1997. Maybe the editors felt that having a white Bruce Wayne romance a black Selina Kyle would be too shocking for readers. If that's the case, how do you explain Captain Kirk's interracial slobber knocker with Lt. Uhura in the 1960s?! At least I can say that I don't think you can blame the whitewashing on Archie Goodwin as he passed away before issue #1 debuted in stores.

The Long Halloween is an essential Batman read. It might even be required reading for all fans of comics and graphic novels. The art is very Impressionistic. How else can you explain the Joker's gaping maw full of no less than 96 teeth? Such a great read. If you love holiday comic books like I do, you will be thrilled with this story full of a dozen special days of the year; some of which had never had a holiday themed issue until now!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Spirit Archives, Vol. 3

I could have finished this book in September. Only there was a Halloween story. So, I took a break until the week before All Hallow's. I read that seasonal tale and progressed until I hit the Thanksgiving story. Hitting the breaks again, this was my last Turkey Day read for 2023. I then kept reading until there came a Christmas caper! So I waited until I got a little bit closer to Santa's arrival. And then I forgot all about this book. 

I had picked up a collection of all of Will Eisner's Christmas Spirit stories. I think after I did the review, I probably got all mixed up in my head and combined that book with this one and just moved on. Thankfully, working on my comic book inventory and filing, I realized that I still had this book to finish. To my delight, I didn't mind all the delays because I really, really love The Spirit. 

This collection is early Will Eisner Spirit. At book's start, the Spirit has only been running in syndicated Sunday newspapers for a year. This edition marks the beginning of year 2 of the Spirit. Eisner's genius is showing through. However, many of those iconic villains have yet to be introduced yet. Arch-enemy, The Octopus and femme fatale P'Gell are about 5 years away from becoming a part of the Spirit's Rogue's Gallery. Childhood love turned law breaker Sand Sarif won't come back into the former Denny Colt's life for another decade. Despite some of these notable absences, there are still some memorable characters to be found inside.

The pint-sized P.S. Smith causes trouble for the Spirit and baddies alike for at least 2 hilarious stories. Spirit sidekick Ebony White has a number of misadventures with his cousin and other family members. And we can't forget Commissioner Dolan's daughter Ellen, who is madly in love with the Spirit. She works so freaking well as the Gal Friday and Kate Hepburn to the Spirit's Cary Grant/Spencer Tracy. But she's also great on her own; especially in a romp where Ellen joins an all-women's football team that's playing a team that is nothing but tough guys in drag attempting to beat the point spread!

By the start of break #1 in my reading of this book, I took to Amazon to buy up a couple more volumes. I knew that my wife wasn't going to get me these for my birthday or Christmas, so I was clear in buying up a couple of books. Thanks to remembering that I needed to review this collection, I went back to Amazon to snag a couple more. These Archive editions are not cheap. They retail for $49.99 and many are either out of print and that means whatever copies of those I manage to find are not cheap. But hopefully, I wind up with all 26 volumes and the complete run of original Will Eisner Spirit stories in my possession.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #5

At the end of the last issue, I saw that this story was going to be set at Halloween! And I actually cheered! Yes, I like to read my holiday themed comics during the season in which the action takes place. But as the next issue is why I waited until now to read the two Vision and the Scarlet Witch minis, I decided to just enjoy the ride!

In this issue, it's Halloween night and Wanda is about to perform a ritual in order to communicate with her deceased mentor, Agatha Harkness. However, as Wanda's powers are currently tied-up with producing a miracle baby from her mutant DNA and Vision's synthetic material, the expelling of magic opens the Scarlet Witch up to attack from those who wish to siphon her powers- from beyond the grave!

Meanwhile, Vision, who has left Wanda at home to conduct her seance, enjoys a night out on the town. He's the special guest of his new friends Glamour and Illusion, who are putting on a special Halloween magic show. During the presentation, Vision experiences what can only be a disturbance in the Force. Agatha Harkness makes contact with the former Avenger, warning him of supernatural threats to Wanda and her unborn child. For a once thought vanquished foe from Wanda and Vision's earliest days on Leonia, New Jersey seeks to make the child a new vessel of their evil in hopes of once again conquering the earth.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, which is also my reading journal, then you'll know that while I like stories about the supernatural, I have a limitation on how much magic and arcane spirits a story can have. This Halloween issue almost crossed that line. Not a fan of seances or making contacts with the dead. Demons are definitely not my thing. I hate things that are possessed. I think if the Scarlet Witch hadn't defeated the foe when she had, I might have had to throw this book away. 

The story and art have quality. It's the quantity of the contents that put me off. I enjoyed the holiday themed and the parts with the Vision were quite good. It was just a bit too occultish for my taste.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1

The opening chapter of one of two miniseries that inspired the hit Disney+ series WandaVision.

The story opens on Halloween night. It's the first day of Wanda and Vision's new life as a domesticated couple. Retired from the Avengers, living in a new house in the quaint town of Leonia, New Jersey, the Scarlet Witch and Vision are ready to unpack and settle in. As a house-warming gift, Avengers butler Jarvis has come to help with the moving in. As yet another housewarming gift, Captain America has gifted Wanda with an ancient spell-book from one of his SHIELD missions in Europe. 

Being Halloween night, the former Avengers are ready for the goblins and ghosts you'd expect trick-or-treating on your doorstep. What the new homeowners don't expect is for an ancient druid god to escape from their housewarming gifts and try to kill them! 

I was thrilled to get to read a Halloween story out of season. I had no idea that this premiere issue took place on All Hallow's Eve. I've been sitting on these two mini-series almost all year, for reasons that I'll explain in a few days. But had I known that there was a Halloween story in the mix, I would have started Vision and the Scarlet Witch last month!

Another pleasant surprise was the writer. It's Bill Mantlo! A talent whose artistic voice was tragically quieted way, way too early, I love his stuff. I cut my comic book reading teeth on his Rom: Spaceknight stuff. His Marvel Two-In-One and Marvel Team-Up works are master classes on how to write crossovers. Mantlo's prose gets a little too flowly at times, especially at the beginning of this issue. But the man could write some amazing stuff!

A great and surprising first issue to start things off! Perfect for your Halloween reads, though I bet many of you overlook this one as an October time read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Secrets of Houdini by J.C. Cannell

Harry Houdini died on Halloween, 1926. Before his death, he made his wife Bess promise to reach him from the beyond with an annual seance. Bess would attempt every Halloween night to reach her husband until her death in 1943 at age 67. With each failed attempt, the widow would expose the fraudulent medium as her husband would do vehemently in his later years. With all that history revolving around nearly 2 decades of Halloween night explorations into the unknown, it's no wonder I chose to read this non-fiction work for my October reads.

The book I had came with a copyright of 1989. Only, there's no way that this book came from that decade. J.C. Cannell, who wrote this look at how Houdini did many of his famous tricks died in 1953. According to Magicpedia, the one-time vice-president of London's The Magician's Club wrote The Secrets of Houdini in 1931. Now you might think it scandalous that such a well known member of the magician community would write a book exposing how the world's former greatest illusionist and escape artist performed his tricks. But crafting such a book was one of Houdini's last wishes before he died. 

J.C. Cannell's writing is definitely of the time period. But that's okay as I've read a few non-fiction works from the 1930s before. So I was used to the excessive use of titles atop each page that kinda details what you'll be reading. The prose is sensationalist, reflecting the yellow journalism melodrama of the early 20th century. 

When Cannell writes about Houdini's life and times, it's a really great read. I also enjoyed the chapter on how mediums 'conjuror spirits' as well as a lot of Houdini's quick escape and quick change tricks.  Man, does this book make me want to learn more about picking locks. A lot of these solutions are so simplistic. I felt embarrassed that in all my years of watching magic shows, that I never picked up on how they really were done. 

If ever a book needed some diagrams and pictures, it's this one. There are a few diagrams at the beginning. But they all go away by the time we get to the chapters on rope tricks and card tricks. These were also the hardest chapters to read. No matter how much I'd re-read an explanation, I just can't visualize how these tricks were done. It's probably why I always failed at my attempts at magic with those kits one would get at the toy store. I never could make them work. Plus, with the illusion shattered, I lost interest. 

This book is full of about a dozen pages full of black and white photos. These pictures show elements of Houdini's life and career that aren't mentioned at all. I didn't know Houdini was a movie star. And I would've liked to learn more about the trick when Houdini jumps from a moving plane onto the wing of another- without a parachute! That's definitely the kind of trick you can only mess up once!

Next October, I want to continue learning about Houdini. Only this time, I want a more conventional biography. I'm sure there's something decent out there. For now, I'm passing this book off to my wife. She always asks me 'How do they do that?' when a magic act stumps her on America's Got Talent. Maybe I can explain the escapes and the supernatural acts and she can get me a better understanding of those card tricks. But once she's done reading it, I'll probably sell it or donate it to a thrift story in hopes of inspiring another amateur conjurer.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Archie Halloween Spectacular 2023

I saved my favorite for as close to last as I could stand it. For about 5 years now, the comic book devoted to Halloween I look forward to most annually are the Archie specials. Same goes for the Christmas edition. I think it's because of how timeless they are. So full of nostalgia, humor and wonder. Plus they have moments of spookiness without being too scary. 

This year's offering is a love letter to the dark side of Archie Comics. I didn't realize this, but in the 1950s and 60s, Archie and his gang interacted with a bunch of classic monsters and aliens. While the stories might have been tongue in cheek, the artwork of the ghouls and goblins was pretty darn intimidating. In the all-new opening story, Tom DeFalco pens a tribute to those glorious looking frights.

Last year's Halloween annual introduced readers to Trick and Treat; a pair of Halloween imps who like to visit Riverdale every October 31st. While I wasn't as enthusiastic about their debut, these two have become fan favorites. So a return was almost inevitable. In DeFalco's tale, Veronica's father is allowing the students of Riverdale High to use one of his abandoned properties as the site for the annual Halloween party and haunted house. In the minds of Archie and Jughead, this place already is haunted. Trick is inspired by the old comics books that Treat has been reading and uses the creatures from them to scare Archie and Jughead.

At the end of the book is a gallery of all the old Archie Comics issues that inspired this debut story. There's also a great 2-page article about the history of Archie books and why horror has always been an element in them. Did you even know that the Archie sister imprint Red Circle had straight up horror anthology tales? I had always thought that more adult Archie books of terror was more of a modern invention. Gee, was I wrong.

There's 4 reprint stories included in this book. One looks like it's from the 80s. Starring Betty and Veronica, the girls spend the night presumably in this same abandoned mansion in hopes of proving ghosts exist. Then there's a more modern tale involving some newer characters including a goth girl and a young boy of Indian decent. That's got the gang cutting through a graveyard on Halloween night in order to get to a Halloween party quicker. Bad idea there. The last newer looking story has Sabrina having to think fast when a rival witch attacks her at Veronica's Halloween bash- in front of mortals!

The 4th story was from the 50s, I think. Or the very early 60s. It's a classic that I've read before in which Dracula tries to trap Archie and Jughead. Only the two teens are completely oblivious that they're in near mortal danger. Every time the Count tries to prove to the fellas that he's a monster, one of the boys dismisses it as being lame. It was drawn to be very spooky. But it was so funny.

I thought the all-new story was just too short. But I really appreciated the nods to the past. I also don't quite get all the love for imps Trick and Treat. For one thing, Treat has a noose around their neck and I'm very surprised nobody has cried fowl on it and the implications of lynching. Besides, I'm more of a Jingles the Elf fan. Though I would love to see a Trick and Treat meets Jingles crossover! Maybe we could see these two worlds collide in a Thanksgiving Day special. If you ask me, an Archie look at Turkey Day has been sorely missing from my annual holiday comic book reads. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.