Donald Duck's Halloween Scream! Mini Comic #2

This mini comic from 2017 features a William Van Horn classic. Donald has decided to become a house painter. His first job is to spruce up a haunted house. Only Donald accepts the job without the knowledge about the home's spooky history. Nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie have heard that the place has a dubious history and they decide to play a little prank on their uncle. But as Donald chalks up the strange goings on in the house as age and disrepair, the nephews turn up the heat only to become victims of a real poltergeist!

I've read this tale somewhere before and it never fails to disappoint. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this story eventually became a Disney animated short. So maybe that's where I remember this tale from. I've checked my entries on this blog and despite having owned this Halloween ComicFest freebie for a long time, I can't find when and how I've come across this story before. 

Carl Barks is definitely my favorite Duck creator. Don Rosa follows. I may have to give serious consideration for Van Horn being my pick for number 3. His art is clean. His word play is brilliant. And I love how his Donald is smarter like Don Rosa's version of the character. I'm just not sure if I like a mischievous Huey Dewey and Louie or not. I think I like it better when they're the experts on everything thanks to their massive time of knowledge, the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook. But the guys sure can pull off some great pranks on their Uncle Donald.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Junior High Horrors Halloween Special #1 (Halloween ComicFest Edition)

Imagine if you will all of your favorite slasher movie characters going to the same Junior High together. We're talking costumed killers and final girls all navigating the perils of becoming a teenager together. This 2019 parody sees Jason and Michael Myers as friends Mickey and JV along with Laurie Strode and Nancy. You know Nancy; the girl who lives over there on Elm Street.? Yes, Freddy is here too. Only now he's a stuffed animal cat that Nancy imagines as a kinda sadistic version of Hobbes the tiger. 

With only a few days left until Halloween, the gang are going to go costume shopping. Everyone has an idea what they want to be for trick or treating, except for Mickey. His past couple of costumes haven't had that wow factor and he's sworn off dressing up for good. Hopefully a trip to the mall will inspire him to reconsider and go out in disguise with his pals.

I thought that this was a fun concept. What life was like for some of film's greatest psycho killers when they were teens. In reality, Michael Myers was in a sanitarium. Jason was 'dead'. Freddy was probably abusing and murdering children. But here in this far-fetched parody from Keenspot, the big three stars of 80s horror are innocent teens trying to find their way in the world. 

One thing that I was struck by in this book was how different it looks from most comic books. That's because the fonts are designed especially for readers with dyslexia. Even the scenes themselves are bigger to keep the words from getting lost on the page. While I do not have the word and letters version of dyslexia, I've been diagnosed with the numerical version of dyslexia. I think if I had had math books designed like this, I might have done better in those classes. 

I really like the cover with the characters stylized as the Peanuts gang. I will admit, I was a little disappointed to learn that the characters inside don't look like they came from the mind of a demented Charles Schulz. But the story inside and especially the closing gag were great fun. When you need the icons of horror to be a little more family friendly, this is a read I suggest you pick up. It's just wicked enough to be creepy without having to look over your shoulder while you give it a read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Little Tails: On Halloween (Family Comics Friday)

October 26th marks for many of our local comics shops the first Halloween ComicFest since 2019! A smattering of shops had an event last year. However, with COVID restrictions, everything was scaled way down; even the freebies.

In heavy anticipation of the 2023 official return, the organizers behind HCF are releasing some of it's most popular Halloween comics! Every Monday until Halloween, digital versions of some classic all-ages stuff are going to be released for all. This first week of offerings included The Adventures of Cthulhu Jr. and Dastardly Dirk, Eric Powell's Spook House, Ghost Friends Forever, Wrapped Up and today's review Little Tails: On Halloween.

Little Tails stars Chipper the puppy and his squirrel pal, Squizzo. In their regular adventures, written and illustrated by the team of Fredric Brremaud (Cats!) and Frederico Bertolucci (DinoDino's Dinosaur Adventures), the tiny duo explore incredible habitats and their animal residents from around the world. The African Savannah and a trek back to the time of dinosaurs were just two of the destinations Chipper and Squizzo have visited. This time around, the two don't wander off any further than their own backyard. But that doesn't keep them from meeting a score of creatures that go bump in the night. 

In this Halloween short, Squizzo introduces Chipper to the holiday. While teaching Chipper about costumes and trick-or-treating, the tiny friends run across spiders, snakes, and a surprise or two!

I loved this 14-pager. The pair of Chipper and Squizzo are very funny. And I like how the cartoon renderings pair with museum quality illustrations of the wildlife the main characters encounter. The mix of fun and learning was perfectly balanced and I wouldn't mind checking out further adventures of Little Tails if I ever come across them. I might even make these gifts for the trio of tykes that are on our holiday shopping lists. 

Amazon recommends the Little Tails books for readers in grades 1st and 2nd. But the whole family is going to get a kick out of Squizzo and Chipper! Guaranteed!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

To access the complete line-up of digital Halloween ComicFest classics, click here!

The Adventures of Cthulhu Jr. and Dastardly Dirk One-Shot (Halloween ComicFest 2019)

I guess like TV shows and movies, comic books get cancelled before they get past the pilot stage. That seems to be what happened here with this 2019 Halloween Comic Fest freebie. 

The Adventures of Cthulhu Jr. and Dastardly Dirk is a promotional comic that prints the first chapter of the proposed graphic novel. In this story, Dastardly Dirk longs to be a super villain. He's got the costume. He's got the underling. And he's got the scout cookies! 

Ironically, it's the cookies that seem to be the only thing going for Dastardly Dirk's evil ways. Scorned by his nasty peers, it appears that our anti-hero will have to stay in his suburban home with his loving wife, daughter and secret underground lair (and by that we mean the basement.) That is until a mysterious foreboding cloud appears in Dirk's cul-de-sac full of promise of an evil entity taking form on earth. Instead, it's an adorable Cthulhu whose been taken in by an elderly neighbor!

This was such a great opening chapter! The back of this issue promised a release in 2020. Sure, I know COVID has messed up a bunch of plans. But I figured by now, it would have been published already. No dice!

As I usually do, I did some research and I discovered that there will be or have already been plans to sell this book via some sort of crowdfunding. But I'm not sure if this finished up or not. So, I've actually contacted writer and co-creator Dirk Manning for more info on this. Hopefully, I will be an owner and reader of the rest of this fabulous idea.

For now, you'll need to turn to online retailers to see if they might have a back issue copy of this great read. But if the fates are in my favor, I'll be helping all of you get your hands on the full story.

A funny read that has dashes of Despicable Me and the artwork styling of Art Baltazar and Franco. Oh and Lovecraft too- if the horror writer was secretly Doctor Seuss.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 with only a half point deduction because I can't readily get my hands on the rest of these adventures.

Spookhouse (2019 Halloween ComicFest Mini Comic)

I love this all-ages series from The Goon's Eric Powell! He takes those oddball twist endings from those classic 1950s horror titles and crafts some amazingly spooky tales! 

I grew up on titles like Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror (in reprint, obviously.) I loved those weird endings that gave villains their due while also not being afraid to off an innocent or two. The artwork was all over the place in terms of style. It's quality was never an issue. There was a wealth of variety. You had folks like Johnny Craig who crafted very stylish noir pieces and Wally Wood with his deep palette of textures and shading. 

A person favorite was the art of Jack Davis. The MAD Magazine legend drew highly embellished art that favored a caricaturist. Eric Powell has a very similar style in his works and I truly love it!

Unfortunately, the only artwork from Eric Powell is the cover. But that's actually okay. Powell writes all the stories within, with his patented tongue-in-cheek manner. Plus artists William Stout and Gideon Kendall (Dino Pets) do fantastic job to the point I thought it really was Eric Powell behind the pencil!

Featuring awesome parodies of Stephen King's It, Spider-Man and the classic 80s horror film, The Lost Boys, this was a near perfect warm-up for Halloween thrills and chills!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Underdog #1 (2019 Halloween ComicFest Mini Comic)

American Mythology has been introducing younger readers to a series of classic characters for the past 3-4 years. For the 2019 Halloween ComicFest, they present Underdog! 

A stretchy villain named Rubber Duck has just escaped prison! During his breakout, Rubber Duck winds up in a puddle of mysterious goo. In true comic book fashion, these chemicals have given the baddie a super power. 

Now, not only is Rubber Duck super flexible, but he's darn near invincible too! All of the city's banks are under siege! What is Capital City to do? 

Have no fear- Underdog is here!

This was an enjoyable read. My only complaint is that this story, plus the Colonel Bragg short and a couple of other Underdog extras were NOT Halloween themed.

I love American Mythology. I think that they are a great publisher who does release Halloween themed (regular sized) comics. But when it comes to their HCF offerings, none of them are holiday related. 

If I could get my wish, I would ask the publisher to start giving me advanced previews for my Family Comic Friday reviews. But if I could have a second wish it would be for the mini comics to be Halloween themed.

A fun read. It just doesn't quite get you into the Halloween mood. But I greatly appreciate the effort!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Archie's Madhouse Magic (2019 Halloween ComicFest Mini Comic)

Every year, local comics shops do an event call Halloween ComicFest. Nationwide, stores give away free comics while enticing fans with big sales and other cool stuff. I've been going to these events for about a decade now. So I think I am a bit of an expert on what books have been offered over the years. Thus, I can say without a doubt, the annual Archie is the one I looked forward to the most!

In this year's freebie, the star of the book is Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. With her hit Netflix series, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the blonde sorceress is the darling of the Archie Comics conglomerate. 

In the opening tale, Sabrina doesn't want to go to her family's annual Halloween coven. Instead, being a typical teenager, Sabrina wants to party with all of her friends. With this being her final answer, Sabrina has unlocked a family curse and turned herself into an ugly troll! Seeing as this looks like an awesome costume, maybe the occutlist can play this to her favor and end up winning the costume contest!

In the second feature, a haunt is terrorizing Riverdale. As a result, ladies are dropping their purses only for them to go missing! The whole matter has got Betty and Veronica spooked. It's up to Archie and Jughead to get to the bottom of this ghost story!

This was a great read! It did not disappoint. I only wish Archie Comics would tell you what year the stories were reprinted from.  The Archie story has Betty and Veronica looking like they are from the 1950s but their outfits scream the 70s! I'm really intrigued by this. If any of you readers know the answer, please drop me a line!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 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.

Choose Your Own Aspen Adventure #1 (HCF 2017)

Every Halloween ComicFest, Aspen Comics does something for kids. While I think it's great to appeal to the next generation of comic collectors, Aspen isn't really known for it's all-ages titles. What appealed to me was the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' aspect of the title. As a child of the 80s, I was in love with those paperbacks that allow you, the reader, to control the plot of the story. 

Marvel has been perfecting this type of story over the past couple of years. They seemed to be the only publisher doing such comics. So to see another publisher finally tackling the concept intrigued me. Unfortunately, this is NOT a Choose Your Own Adventure comic book.

In this 2017 special, an amateur magician accidentally sends a group of wild and mystical animal pals into two places unknown. As the two groups try to get home, you the reader help them on their quest by solving puzzles, riddles, and other cool activities. 

While writer Vince Hernandez builds the activities up as helping to forge the destinies of the animals, there's nothing here to alter their outcomes. Usually with a Choose Your Own Adventure, the reader must decide to that the character left or right. Going left might result in finding the lost treasure. While going right might cause the protagonist to fall into a pit of vipers.

By saying something like 'help the animals through a maze' doesn't change the characters' destinies. That's not the case here as this really more of an activity book. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of an activity book comic book. But don't sell me a Choose Your Own Adventure if there's nothing in it that if left up to me to decide. 

This comic offering from Aspen had promise but it lied. Still, it was a fun read. The characters were adorable and the fun and games was something I would have killed for as a trick-or-trick prize. The book is just not what I was sold on.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Archie's Mad House Mayhem (2018 Halloween ComicFest)

Over the years of the Halloween ComicFest, the Archie Comics offerings have been a consistent contributor! This year's selection was no different! Well, almost...

First up is an adventure with Betty and Archie. They're biking when Betty's beloved cat jumps out of Betty's basket and runs into a supposed haunted house. Can the teens find the kitty or will Betty and Archie find something a little more sinister?

Then the Archie Gang run a community center Halloween party. Archie thinks he's going to be the main attraction, Frankenstein. But Reggie wheels and deals a way to be Frankie instead. Now Archie is put in a frumpy pumpkin party and now the clown of the party. Will Reg get away with his usual slimy tricks or will things turn out okay for the world's oldest red head?

Both stories were good fun. The haunted house story was actually a tiny bit spooky and gave me chills. The Frankenstein yarn was quite funny. But one thing was missing and to me, it was a big piece of the puzzle- Dan Parent!

Dan Parent is a master at Archie Comics stories. I don't know what it is but Parent plus Riverdale is magic. In terms of the stories themselves, they were really good. But with the artwork, there was something not so clean about it. It was kinda scratchy looking. Almost like it was photocopied but I couldn't find evidence of it. It's just not the clean work that I expect from Archie Comics. 

Though it wasn't 100% perfect, I was barely disappointed by this mini-comic special. If I had to choose, I'd still pick this one above all the other selections. When it comes to free comics at Halloween, Archie is still my pick!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Super Hero Adventures Halloween Spooktacular #1/Halloween ComicFest 2018 Part 4 (Family Comic Friday)

I have the best LCS in the world. When things get really busy and I overlook cool things to add to my pull list, they’re there to fill-in for my slack. And that’s the case with this week’s Family Comic Friday selection; an all-ages Halloween special. If it wasn’t for my guys at Books Do Furnish A Room, I would have missed out on the Marvel Super Hero Adventures Halloween Spooktacular #1.

After that review, we’ll conclude our look at the 2018 Halloween ComicFest mini comics with a preview of Top Shelf’s Johnny Boo and the Spooky Tree! ComicFest is this Saturday! Don’t forget to stop by your favorite comic shop for some free Halloween themed comics!

Marvel Super Hero Adventures Halloween Spooktacular #1
Art and stories by Ty Templeton, Jeff Loveness, and Jacob Chabot
Published by Marvel Comics
It’s been a while since Marvel Super Heroes Adventures has even been on my radar. Based on the epically vast toy line from Playskool and Disney cartoon series, MSHA offered all-ages adventures with all of your favorite superheroes. There was even Stan Lee as the mayor of the heroes’ hometown! Then about 2 or 3 years ago, Marvel and it’s partners just up and stopped the line without very much warning. But the franchise appears to be back!

The Halloween Spooktacular promises to be the first in a new line of specials based on MSHA. There’s a food and Thanksgiving related special coming out next month! But it’s October, so of course, that means some spooks and scares first!

Being an all-ages book, if I was to gauge the scariness of the overall book, I would give it a 2 out of 10. The Spider-Man story in which the webslinger is trying to scare a trio of pranksters was very goofy and pretty funny. Spidey is many things- a master scary-storyteller is not one of them. There was quite a few chuckles in that yarn.

It’s the second story that might be a little scary for some. It has Spidey and some friends touring the Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor Strange. The Sorcerer Supreme’s home is filled with many magical things that look spooky. Also, the villains of the story, little purple demons with wings and big teeth, might be a little intimidating for the youngest of readers.

This special also features some fun and games. There’s a maze of Spider-Man’s mask, some hysterical parodies of the Sunday comics and much more. One thing that is going to make this comic much more rarer and more valuable in the future is an activity that has you cut out paper dolls in which to play with against Thanos! Many of these issues will be damaged due to that play theatre. Thus when kids grow up into adults and want to find this book as a way of capturing some bit of lost youth, it will be very hard to find an unspoiled copy without spending a little extra for it.

The one thing I was disappointed it was the editing. The table of contents for this issue is 100% wrong. It lists the Doctor Strange story as being on page 2. The scary stories of Spidey supposed to be on page 14. That’s actually switched in the contents of this comic. For some, this isn’t a big deal. But things like this make my brain itch.

The Marvel Super Hero Adventures Halloween Spooktacular was a fun surprise this week. It’s a great way to spend time with the Marvel young fan in your life as the holiday draws near. Two very funny stories; with a slight bit of intensity in the scare factor in one of them. I loved the cover, especially how the Hulk’s costume alludes to the fabled 1950s Spider-Man costume that made have inspired Marvel’s Steve Ditko in designing the wallcrawler! Plus fun activities to enjoy! You may want to buy 2 copies as one is sure to get damaged thanks to the craft project!

The Marvel Super Hero Adventures Halloween Spooktacular #1 debuted in print and digital formats on Wednesday October 24th, 2018!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Johnny Boo and the Scary Tree Mini-Comic #1

Written and illustrated James Kochalka
Published by Top Shelf
Rating: All-Ages
Code: JUL180059
Release Date: October 27, 2018
Price: Free, also comes in packs of 25 for trick-or-treaters at $4.99/ea.

Are you scared of scary stuff? Don't worry, Johnny Boo will keep you safe with BOO POWER! Being scared can be really fun... when you're the best little ghost in the world! It's a brand-new spooky adventure from the Eisner-Award-winning mind of James Kochalka!

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1/Halloween ComicFest 2018 Week 3 (Family Comic Friday)

Your favorite green amphibians have returned to the small screen with the new Nickelodeon cartoon Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For those of you who just can’t get enough Turtle Power, IDW Publishing has just released a new all-ages comic based on the series. In this week’s Family Comic Friday, we review the first issue and judge how it compares to the original series moms and dads grew up with in the 80s!

Then we’ll continue our 5 part look at the mini-comics being offered at this year’s Halloween ComicFest. We got a few complaints that last week’s preview wasn’t Halloween themed. Well, you’ll just have to get upset again this week! See, IDW’s releasing a Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mini-comics for this year’s festivities. It just seemed wrong not to tie it in with our review of the regular series. Plus, this book also is being released in 25-pack polypack bundles for those wanting to give away comic books for trick-or-treating. This preview might help those of you not able to make Comicfest be able to score a TMNT mini on All Hallow’s Eve. So bear with us, we’ll have a spooky themed preview lined up next week. Promise!

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

Written by Matthew K. Manning
Art by Chad Thomas
Cover by Andy Sunano
Published by IDW Publishing

I was very excited when I found out about this comic coming out this week. I actually bumped my intended pick for this week’s review when I saw that Matthew K. Manning was writing it. Manning did the scripts for the fantastic Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures crossover. That 2016-2017 miniseries was a classic. It had the feel (and the look) of both the Batman: The Animated Series and the original Ninja Turtles cartoon. When it comes to The Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I have no idea what I just read…

Rise is not just completely different from the original cartoon, it doesn’t even resemble the original Eastman and Laird comics that inspired the TV show. True, all four turtles are here. But instead of all being of the same species of turtle, Raphael is a snapping turtle while Donatello is a soft-shelled turtle. I don’t know about you, but being a ninja without a hard shell seems like a bad idea to me.

Then we have the issue with the villain. It’s NOT Shredder! Instead we have an alchemist warrior mutant named Baron Draxum. I understand that to have Shredder right now would probably keep this version of the Turtles from being a fresh reboot.

But this new series doesn’t just reboot; it retcons. Instead of Shredder being the creator of the Turtles, this Draxum fella is their maker. That correction ruins some of the backstory of the series. Here, Baron Draxum seems to have created the Turtles as a sort of lab experiment. He throws all sorts of mutant foes at the Turtles in order for Draxum to better create an army of baddies. Instead of doing his experiments in hiding, why doesn’t Draxum just have the Turtles in a controlled environment and have them fight in an arena every time this new foe makes a mutant?

By not having Shredder or his motivation of revenge against the Turtles’ adoptive father Splinter, you don’t really need the rat sensei. In fact, Splinter isn’t even in this comic. While he was missed, without the right arch-enemy, he wasn’t needed.

I kinda felt that April O’Neil was missing too. In this series, she is portrayed as an African American girl. While many readers will obvious have fits with this, I did not. What I did not like was that instead of an intrepid reporter investigating rumors of sewer monsters, April is now a weird amalgam of Casey Jones. She’s now of a street fighter and not a street reporter.
A lot of characters in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are mixed up versions of classic Turtles characters. In this issue, the character of Man-Bun was a combination of Stan Sakai’s Yosagi Yojimbo and Baxter Stockman. I liked the individual elements that Man-Bun represented. But put together, it was a mix of honorable hero and spineless wimp that just didn’t gel right.

I am also rather mixed with the artwork. Baron Draxum actually looks pretty cool. But when it comes to the Turtles, Leonardo and Michelangelo look retro-awesome and Donatello and Raphael look like emerald colored Lucha Libre. You can’t really blame Chad Thomas for the uneven character designs of the established characters. That was all done months in advance by the series’ animation team. Man-Bun seemed to be the only original character here and I did like how he was drawn. So, majors props to Thomas on the character.


If parents and guardians, who were fans of the original, expect to answer questions about characters and history of origin, they might want to do some research. This is not the Turtles you grew up with. Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has action and adventure that should delight to young fans. Unfortunately, it’s missing some key characters to advance the story. As much as I hate the character, you wouldn’t reboot Superman without Lex Luthor now would ya?

Just as Superman needs a bald business man to fight, the Ninja Turtles must battle Shredder! It’s like an unwritten rule. A rule that was broken, sadly.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 debuted in print and digital platforms on October 17th, 2018.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com.

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Halloween ComicFest 2018 Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minicomic #1
Written by Dale Malinowski
Art by Andy Suriano, Ida Hem, Brandon Cuellar
Published by IDW Publishing

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reinvent the meaning of "fast food" as they chase after the diabolical Meat Sweats who has just stolen a pizza truck! 

Rating: All Ages.
Code: JUL180060
SRP: Free. Trick-or-treat 25-issue polypacks are $4.99 each.

Tales From Vader's Castle #1/ Halloween ComicFest 2018 Week 2 (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to Family Comic Friday. Here we explore kid friendly titles that the whole family can enjoy. This week we look at IDW’s 5-issue miniseries Star Wars Adventures: Tales From Vader’s Castle. This weekly mini is a month-long countdown to Halloween with spooky tales from all realms of the Star Wars franchise.

Then we continue our month-long look at the Halloween Comicfest mini comics that will be given away for free on October 27th in a comic book store near you. This week we will preview a few pages from Rocky and Bullwinkle Adventures. But first…

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Star Wars Adventures: Tales From Vader’s Castle #2
Written by Cavan Scott
Art by Derek Charm with Kelley Jones
Published by IDW Publishing

When a Rebellion ship crash lands on the lava planet of Mustafar, the crew must decide whether to venture to the nearest Imperial outpost for help or burn alive inside the wreckage. As the ship’s crew debates their actions, survivors recount spooky tales from their travels across the war torn galaxy. In this week’s issue, a battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Count Dooku and what can only be described as a were-mynock.

I started on this series too late last week to cover it for that edition of Family Comic Friday. (For that issue’s review, click here.) But since Tales From Vader’s Castle is a 5-week long miniseries, I had a second chance to feature this horror-themed title. Several publishers are taking advantage of the fact that Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year. DC is doing a crossover with Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark. Marvel is doing another series of What If…

However, with both of those titles, the ratings are listed for teens and older readers. Tales From Vader’s Castle is all-ages fun. Last week was an old fashioned ghost story. This week it’s a monster mash. Next week promises to have Han and Chewie running afoul of a witch.

I love that Disney and Lucasfilm have found a way to tie in Halloween with Star Wars thanks to this clever miniseries. This isn’t the first time Star Wars delved into all-ages scares. In the late 90s, a number of chapter books were published under the series title ‘Galaxy of Fear.’ But the series was not published as a Halloween miniseries.

I also like how IDW is covering all of the realms of the Star Wars franchise. For example, next week’s issue features the Solo Story version of Chewbacca and Han Solo. All of the stories are written by Cavan Scott (Doctor Who and the Supremacy of the Cybermen) and framing artwork by regular Star Wars Adventures series artist Derek Charm. The featured stories are pencilled by some of the best horror-masters in the industry such as Robert Hack and Charles Paul Wilson, III.

This week’s featured artist is Kelley Scott. Scott has done a number of horror-themed works such as the Invisible Man miniseries Batman: Unseen and a scraped Len Wein opener published in the Swamp Thing Winter Special. Kelley Scott has a kind of style that is like looking in a funhouse mirror. The features are slightly distorted and it makes for creepier looking characters.

Using Count Dooku for a monster tale was brilliant. Count Dooku was portrayed by the late Christopher Lee. Many don’t realize that next to Bela Lugosi, Lee was considered the definitive actor to play Count Dracula. Kelley Jones does an amazing job rendering the late actor as Dooku in this tale that was surely inspired by Dracula and Wolfman films from the past century.

Some scenes in this issue may be too intense for young readers. But if your household is already watching Star Wars, Tales From Vader’s Castle is a great way to countdown to All Hallow’s Eve. I would have liked for this series to have been hosted by the Dark Lord himself, Darth Vader. This series is named after him after all. But otherwise, this has been a series fun of seasonally fun scares.

Issue #2 debuted in stores and digital platforms on Wednesday, October 10, 2018. Issue #3 drops on October 17th.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Rocky and Bullwinkle Adventures #1 (Halloween ComicFest 2018 mini comic)
Publisher: American Mythology
Rated: All Ages
Price: Free and comes in 25-issue mini packs for $4.99 each
Date: October 27, 2018
Code: JUL180055

Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat. Presto! This Halloween we are celebrating the return of Rocky & Bullwinkle to cartoons in the new Amazon Prime animated series. To help introduce new generations of fans and readers to everyone's favorite Wossamotta U graduate, we're giving you the Halloween treats with a fantastic mini comic featuring classic adventures of the whole R&B gang - Rocky, Boris, Natacha, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody & Sherman, and moose-about-town, Bullwinkle!

This review was concurrently posted on Outrightgeekery.com.

Baron Rat and the Great Cheese Caper #1/ Halloween ComicFest 2018 Week 1 (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to Family Comic Friday. This is a very special edition as this being the first week of October, we'll begin a 4 week look at some of the mini comics being offered for Halloween Comicfest 2018!

Halloween Comicfest is an annual Halloween party offered by comics shops nationwide. On October 27th, instead of candy, your LCS will give away over two dozen spooky themed comics!

There's a book for any age group. But since this is Family Comic Friday, we'll focus on the all ages mini comics. If you are one of those households that like to give away non-candy items, you have a great chance to up your giveaway game this year! All of the mini comics given away during Comicfest can also be purchased in 10-pack trick-or-treat bundles.

For our first preview we'll head to that rocking burg of Riverdale in Archie's Madhouse Mayhem. But first let's look at our regularly scheduled feature for this week's FCF. In keeping with the Halloween theme, let's look at Alterna Comics’ Baron Rat and the Great Cheese Caper #1

Baron Rat and the Great Cheese Caper #1

Written by Troy Vevasis

Art by Aleksandar Jovic

Published by Alterna Comics

Baron Rat is the best friend of everyone's favorite gentleman skeleton Mr. Crypt. Baron spends his days while his pal is gone reading the daily newspaper and dreaming about cheese. When Baron Rat learns about a cheese festival in the nearby town, there's a great chance for those dreams to become a reality!

The Great Cheese Caper was a cute all-ages one-shot. It was crafted very much in the style of an old Tom and Jerry cartoon- minus the cat adversary. Or similar to those Wile E Coyote cartoons in which the Coyote would use a bunch of crazy gadgets to get his next meal. Only replace the Road Runner with cheese!

Alterna Comics has had it's lumps in the news lately about it's supposed political stance. I overlooked that controversy when choosing this one-shot and I think you should too. There wasn't anything remotely political or edgy in this romp. Plus most of the hubbub over Alterna’s far right views have been misconstrued or proven to be unfounded.

Another plus for this comic book is the price. Most Alterna publications are priced at $1.50. This one-shot is only $1! Baron Rat is only 20 pages long. However when you compare the average size of a DC or Marvel new issue is about 24 pages AND priced at $3.99, you come to realize that this special is an absolute bargain!

Baron Rat is a an old school delight filled with laughs and charm. The artwork was a little rough at times. But the story was clever and the price was right. Also you don't have to know who Baron Rat or Mr. Crypt are to enjoy the tale!

Baron Rat and the Great Cheese Caper #1 debuted in print and digital platforms on Wednesday October 3rd.

Archie's Mad House Mayhem #1

Written by Various
Art by Dan Parent (Cover), Various
Published by Archie Comics
Rating: All Ages
Release Date: October 28, 2018
It's mischief! It's mayhem! It's a madhouse! Archie is proud to present a variety of weird and wacky tales from Archie's Madhouse - sure to leave you laughing and going crazy for more!

This edition of Family Comic Friday was concurrently published at Outrightgeekery.com.

Grumpy Cat (and Pokey!) Halloween Comic Fest 2016

This 2016 Halloween Comic Fest mini comic was a delight and a half! Pokey wants his brother Grump Cat to go trick-or-treating with him. Of course, GC isn't having any of it. Thinking he can have a peaceful Halloween night, Grumpy challenges his brother to spend the night in a haunted house. Everything seems alright at first until Pokey hears a ghost. Grumpy naturally thinks Pokey is just freakin' out being in the haunted house and with a All Hallow's Eve at home in his sights, Grumpy eggs his sibling on. That is, until Grumpy ends up face-to-face with a ghost cat!

Of the mini comic freebies from last year, this one was my favorite. Grumpy Cat is in many ways like Garfield- only funnier. Way more funnier. Pokey is such a great character and has such great chemistry with Grumpy. Plus Pokey is tons more likable than Garfield's 'nemesis' Nermal, who can be quite arrogant and annoying.

There was a small 2-3 page story about Grumpy and Pokey going to Comic-Con in the back. It had some great art renderings of a bunch of cosplayers. But I didn't really understand the punchline to that episode.

Overall, this was a dynamite Halloween read from the gang at Dynamite. I loved the killer cover of Grumpy Cat as Jason from Friday the 13th! (Yes- pun intended!)

You might have trouble finding a copy of this mini-comic. But just about any comic book shop in America sells the further monthly adventures of Grumpy Cat! Check them out!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

John Carpenter's Tales for a Halloween Night Vol. 2 (Halloween Comic Fest 2016)

This Halloween Comic Fest freebie is an selection from the second volume of John Carpenter's Tales for a Halloween Night. There's currently three volumes in this series that pits some of horror comics, film, and novels best and brightest together in an anthology series that rivals those old horror anthologies of the pre-code era. 

The story in this mini-comic 'The Traveler's Tale' was written by Carpenter himself. It has a treasure hunter stealing a beautiful box from a bazaar only to inherit the curse inside: a torso-less head with a personality and a set of coordinates that promise some special riches when found.

It wasn't the best story. I did like the twist ending. But the flow of the story was off to me. I'm sorry but it you title something as 'tales' then what you read- even if it's a mini comic- should have more than one story. 

 Let it be said, I would be more than willing to read the complete 200 page volume that this story was a sample of. I just wasn't happy with what I was offered. Yes, I'm saying it- I kinda felt gypped with this book even though I got it for free.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

You Choose the Story When You're the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2016 Halloween Comic Fest)

It's another Halloween Comic Fest offering that has absolutely nothing to do with Halloween. But I knew this going into both obtaining and reading this book. Why I wanted to read this book was because I loved the concept behind this story. It's a Choose Your Own Adventure comic book. 

For those of you not in the know, in the 80s, there were dozens upon dozens of series of books where a reader got to choose their fate through a number of choices placed strategically throughout the book. I absolutely loved those books. But I've never seen it in comic book form- until now!

The mighty Galactus has deemed the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl to be the champion of Earth. In order to prove her worth, the World Eater has put her through a series of bizarre challenges, like fighting a mass of living algae.  

This issue isn't exactly the best 'find your fate' type of story I've ever read in terms of the number of options. But the overall story was extremely funny and I did like the chance to be in charge of the storyline for a change. Plus, reading all of the unselected options were quite entertaining. I just don't think this type of story quite works in a comic book format. 

Regardless of how well this book translate, this was a pretty successful offering from Marvel.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Grimmiss Island (2016 Halloween Comic Fest Mini-Comic)

On a tiny island, a pair of witch doctors craft a Grimmiss in order to appease the angry volcano goddess. This sort of tiki golem has a mind of it's own. Probably because the witch doctor's used a little too much jalapeno...

Big fun from Franco and Art Baltazar (Tiny Titans) that I really enjoyed. There's nothing remotely Halloween about this book really. At least it was free! But I liked what I read and I wanna read more. 

Now on my wish list.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Haunted Mansion #1 (Halloween Comic Fest 2016)

After the death of his adventurous grandfather, a teenage boy longs to have some adventures of his own. So he decides to explore the spooky mansion at the end of town that everyone says is haunted. Turns out the stories were right! This haunted mansion is filled with 999 ghosts, who have been stuck there by a evil pirate. Once he has soul #1,000, the pirate can take over the land of the living. 

Of the hundreds of ghosts unable to get to their final reward is that of the boy's grandfather. So, the lad strikes a deal with the house. If he can defeat the pirate, all of the ghosts, including that of his grandfather can go through to the other side of the afterlife. But should he fail, he'll become the 1,000th ghost the evil spirit needs in order to achieve his master plan.

Part of the Disney Kingdoms imprint from Marvel, I really enjoyed this opening chapter. Based on the Disney attraction, this book seems way more interesting than that awful Eddie Murphy flick from about 15 years ago. The artwork by John Flood artist Jorge Coehlo is just amazing stuff. It really made the Haunted Mansion an inviting place I want to revisit for the rest of the story.

Normally, I get upset if I get a freebie and the book ends with a cliffhanger. But I think my library has this book in their graphic novels section. So I can just head over there sometime soon and snag it and get the rest of the story for free. Still a pet peeve, but one I seem willing to live with. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Three Stooges: Halloween Hullaballoo (Halloween Comic Fest 2016)

With today being Halloween Comic Fest, I thought it was only fitting to review an offering from last year's event. 

This 2016 holiday themed book by American Mythology offers a variety of stories starring those merry pranksters from Hollywood of old, the Three Stooges. My favorite yarns involved the Stooges getting mixed up in a zombie apocalypse, some trick or treat hi-jinx gone wrong and a very special sneak peak of a one-shot special titled The Curse of Frankenstooge. That last one is based on a classic Stooges shot in which the guys meet Dr. Frankenstein's greatest creation. I really want that one and I've added it to my wish list!

There was some awesome pictures of the guys in their heyday, along with some cut-out masks, and a couple of one-pagers from their Gold Key and Dell Comics titles in the 1960s. The more stuff I read from American Mythology, the more I dig their retro style and desire to bring back some classic properities from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  As an added treat- I dare you to find the Shemp Easter egg hiding somewhere inside!

A great read, perfect for Halloween fun without scaring you too much. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.