Johnny Boo and the Midnight Monsters (Family Comic Friday)

We’ve got one more special treat in store for you fans of all-ages Halloween fun! Join us for an early Family Comic Friday as we explore the latest adventure in the Eisner Award winning series Johnny Boo!

Johnny Boo and the Midnight Monsters
Written and Illustrated by James Kochalka
Published by Top Shelf Productions/IDW Publishing
Pages: 42
Retail: $9.99

I was a little disappointed when the line-up for free comics for the 2019 Halloween ComicFest were announced. There was no Johnny Boo! The award-winning graphic novel series by James Kochalka had become a staple offering of the annual comic book store event. Where’s Boo?

But I quickly got my answer as to Johnny Boo, the rad ghost, and his friends absence from HCF 2019. It’s because fans of this series are getting a pre-Halloween treat with the release of the latest graphic novel; The Midnight Monsters!

Johnny Boo and his sprite companion Squiggle are out in the woods doing some awesome late night skateboarding tricks! But the fun turns a little chaotic when the Ice Cream Monster arrives demanding his fair share of frosty treats! Armed with only a skateboard and a helmet made of pumpkin, how will Johnny Boo and his best bud escape this midnight monster?

The Johnny Boo books are recommended for readers of pre-K to third grade. A book full of ghosts and monsters for preschoolers? Well, you know how on Sesame Street Grover and Oscar the Grouch are monsters; but they’re nice monsters? That’s the same way here. A couple of scenes might be a tiny bit spooky, since everything occurs at midnight. But the monsters and surprises in this book are quite harmless.

Series creator James Kolchakla loves to pepper the dialogue of his stories with funny words and silly sayings. This makes the Johnny Boo series a great read for very young readers. The art is childlike but whimsical. Plus, the story has some unexpected turns for a rapid fire approach aimed at youngsters with short attention spans. 

One thing that younger readers might not have a problem with but adults like me will is the back cover! Try to avoid looking at it at all costs! No, it’s not scary! But it does contain a major spoiler that ruins the surprise at the end of the book! I blame the editors and design team on this!

A fun-filled graphic novel for all ages! Grab it now just in time for Halloween!

Johnny Boo and the Midnight Monsters debuted in print and digital formats on Wednesday, October 30, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Johnny Boo and the Midnight Monsters (A Family Comic Friday Extra!)

We’ve got one more special treat in store for you fans of all-ages Halloween fun! Join us for an early Family Comic Friday Extra as we explore the latest adventure in the Eisner Award winning series Johnny Boo!


Johnny Boo and the Midnight Monsters
Written and Illustrated by James Kochalka
Published by IDW Publishing
Pages: 42
Retail: $9.99

I was a little disappointed when the line-up for free comics for the 2019 Halloween ComicFest were announced. There was no Johnny Boo! The award-winning graphic novel series by James Kochalka had become a staple offering of the annual comic book store event. Where’s Boo?

But I quickly got my answer as to Johnny Boo, the rad ghost, and his friends absence from HCF 2019. It’s because fans of this series are getting a pre-Halloween treat with the release of the latest graphic novel; The Midnight Monsters!

Johnny Boo and his sprite companion Squiggle are out in the woods doing some awesome late night skateboarding tricks! But the fun turns a little chaotic when the Ice Cream Monster arrives demanding his fair share of frosty treats! Armed with only a skateboard and a helmet made of pumpkin, how will Johnny Boo and his best bud escape this midnight monster?

The Johnny Boo books are recommended for readers of pre-K to third grade. A book full of ghosts and monsters for preschoolers? Well, you know how on Sesame Street Grover and Oscar the Grouch are monsters; but they’re nice monsters? That’s the same way here. A couple of scenes might be a tiny bit spooky, since everything occurs at midnight. But the monsters and surprises in this book are quite harmless.

Series creator James Kolchalka loves to pepper the dialogue of his stories with funny words and silly sayings. This makes the Johnny Boo series a great read for very young readers. The art is childlike but whimsical. Plus, the story has some unexpected turns for a rapid fire approach aimed at youngsters with short attention spans. 

One thing that younger readers might not have a problem with but adults like me will is the back cover! Try to avoid looking at it at all costs! No, it’s not scary! But it does contain a major spoiler that ruins the surprise at the end of the book! I blame the editors and design team on this!

A fun-filled graphic novel for all ages! Grab it now just in time for Halloween!

Johnny Boo and the Midnight Monsters debuted in print and digital formats on Wednesday, October 30, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 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!

Johnny Boo & Harold in Tricky Treaters (Family Comics Friday)

Sorry about not posting yesterday folks, but as you may remember, I’ve got a broken foot and spent some time on my back propping up. Also, I got some really good news about a project that I hope to be able to talk more about soon. But, I needed to devote some energy to that and so that’s why we’ve got this special Saturday Edition of Family Comics Friday.

Gone are the days of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Good Little Witch, and Hot Stuff. Their publishing rights disappeared when the comics company, Harvey Comics, closed up shop in 1994. But, the spirit of those comics lives on. In the past few years, Dark Horse Comics has been reprinted some of the tales from the Harvey kid’s line. Every once and a while, a character like Richie Rich pops up in a new series by an independent published. And I guarantee you that in every comic convention in America (except for ComiCon in San Diego) you can find tons of Harvey Comics in bargain bins for a $1 or less.

Despite all of this, that is no way means that new kid-friendly comics starring ghosts, vampires, and other spooky characters aren’t available on the market right now.

In this 2012 Halloween Comicsfest Exclusive (BTW next Saturday is this year’s Comicsfest at your local comics shop, so check it out!) we get a short story about a young ghost named Johnny Boo and his pet ghost, Squiggle. Here, Johnny Boo tries to hide all of the ice cream from trick-r-treaters but ends up in a little bit of a mess. Then we meet Harold, a long-necked vampire with 2 bats for friends. The bats don’t quite get things right and when Harold forgets to decorate for Halloween, the bats do the unthinkable and gross out a bloodsucker.

Johnny Boo has at least 6 volumes of comics on the market. A new volume is due out this month. As for Harold, this is the first on only story I can find about him. It’s possible that he stars in the Johnny Boo series in his own mini-feature. The Johnny Boo series is published by top Shelf Productions and run for $9.95 a pop. Johnny has also been featured in Top Shelf’s annual Free Comic Book Day release for at least the past 4 years. Those issues can be found online for a couple a bucks each.

One other thing, the Johnny Boo books are published like a typical comic book is with 2 staples. These volumes are released like a digest with a solid paste paper spine. So, if you go to the kids section of your local comics shop, be sure to look on the collection shelf and not the new release section. Better yet, ask your friendly neighborhood comic book clerk for help finding them.

Johnny Boo is for ages 5-10.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.