Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Scandalous Ticket

As much as I enjoy reading adventures of Sherlock Holmes, I have to remind myself that the point of these stories isn't for the reader to solve the crime; it's to marvel at the process in which the World's Greatest Detective unravels the mystery.

Inside the Mind of Sherlock Holmes is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel which shows the internal workings of the brain of Holmes. In many of the original Holmes mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes likens his inquisitive mind to that of a vast library. Here writer Cyril Lieron and artist Benoit Dahan layout the detective's mental processes as that giant archive, which is cataloged like a Dewey decimal system of criminology and obscure facts, ready to be accessed when need arise thanks to uncovered clues.

'The Case of the Scandalous Ticket' sees Holmes and Watson investigating a series of kidnapping. The case will uncover a trove of beautiful gilded tickets involving a special Oriental themed magic show and mysterious Chinese characters and glyphs. Is there a connection to the body of a woman wearing a blonde wig who was found in a nearby reservoir? Who's that trailing Holmes and his faithful companion? With appearances by Mrs. Hudson, Inspector Lestrade and big brother Mycroft Holmes, no clue will be overlooked in this complex mystery.

Originally published as a two-issue miniseries in France, this English language translation is given the deluxe treatment by Titan Comics. With its hard cover cutout of a library shaped like Sherlock Holmes, I've been wanting to read this book since I learned about it in Previews just a few months ago. A fan of Sherlock Holmes, I might not read every public domain adventure written about him; but I won't pass up the adventures that pique my interest. Thank you to my public library for carrying this visual gem!

Artist Benoit Dahan might be one of my new favorite artists. I appreciate artists who put amazing tiny details into their work. Examples of this are Todd McFarland with how he filled pages of Spider-Man with thousands of minute strands of web, George Perez with every fine lock of hair on Wonder Woman's head and Frank Quietly who illustrated Batman and Robin by detailing their utility belts down to the smallest gadget in every panel. Benoit Dahan ranks up there in his illustrations of the detective roaming through London as the game is most certainly afoot. 

I also must pay tribute to Dahan's rendering of Sherlock Holmes. I'm not certain but if I had to guess, I feel like the artist chose legendary actor, and masterful portrayer of Holmes, Peter Cushing. Dahan's Holmes with that napiform head is to me unmistakably Peter Cushing!

A complex mystery that is a visual masterpiece. A must for fans of Holmes where the more your favor graphic novels, the better the experience for you!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor: 2019 Holiday Special #1 (Family Comic Friday)

 If you were expecting a Doctor Who holiday special for 2019,  sorry, it already happened! The New Year's Day episode titled 'Resolution' was the only live action fun starring everyone's favorite Timelord! But that doesn't mean that Whovians will have to go without any further festive fun! Thanks to our friends at Titan Comics, we get not one but TWO! holiday specials in sequential art form! Join Family Comic Friday as we look at the Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor: 2019 Holiday Special #1 and 2!

(Please Note: Rating is for issue #1 only!)

Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor: 2019 Holiday Special #1 
Written by Jody Houser
Art by Roberta Ingranata
Published by Titan Comics
Retail: $5.99 each

After an adventure on an interstellar amusement park, The Doctor and her companions Graham, Ryan and Yaz all seem to have differing accounts of just what happened. This isn't a case of witness bias. The Doctor recalls Graham being eaten by a carnival game. But Graham thinks that 'The Doc' is bonkers. It was Ryan who got into trouble at a haunted house- and it almost turned him into a ghost!

This case of mixed-up memories has The Doctor alarmed. Going to the TARDIS memory banks, the Timelord discovers that the ship has no memory of ever going to such a terrible planet! Thus The Doctor and the gang will retrace their steps by going to the last place recorded in the TARDIS data banks: a world that only wants the Thirteenth Doctor to leave- AGAIN!

 By the end of the first issue, this band of heroic time (and space) travelers will encounter evil toy soldiers, a evil Santa wannabe and a hidden terror that will make the blood flowing through both of the Doctor's hearts run cold!

When I first heard of a Doctor Who holiday comic special coming to stores for the 2019 Christmas season, I was thrilled! But to find out that we're getting 2 issues! Holy Cow! Santa must have known that I had been really good this year!

The story starts off kinda slow. It really doesn't reflect the holidays until about the last third of the first issue. I'm really hoping that issue #2 will be chock full of festive fun!

The idea of the 4 members of the TARDIS having differing accounts of their previous adventure made for an intriguing mystery. Jody Houser (Stranger Things) has really set the stage for what I hope will be an exciting issue #2.  

Parents and guardians should note that while issue #1 is quite safe for the entire family, issue #2 promises a menacing creature that may be too scary for very young readers.

The Doctor's companions are some of the best we've had to grace the TARDIS since the Ponds and Houser really captures their energy and personalities very well. I only wish that the artist could have done the same with their likenesses.

Artist Roberta Ingranata (Robyn Hood) does a good job illustrating Graham and Ryan. But the images of the Doctor are hit-and-miss. Sometimes it looks like actress Jodie Whittaker. Sometimes the art looks like a random cosplayer dressed as the Thirteenth Doctor. but Ingranata's renderings of Yaz are just not good. Instead of reflecting  Indian-English actress Mandip Gill, many of the panels of Yaz look nothing like her! I was  very disappointed in that.

Issues with the artwork aside, I was pleased. Despite the BBC and Chris Chibnall being Scrooges by not giving us an official 2019 holiday TV episode, Titan Comics made off like Santa by gifting us with this two-parter. Even a Doctor Who special with flaws is better than no Doctor Who at all!

Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor: Holiday Special 2019 #1 debuted in stores and digital platforms earlier this month. Issue #2 will debut on December 18th, 2019!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

2019. It seemed so far away in 1982 with Ridley Scott's neo-noir dystopian view of Los Angeles. After the passage of 37 years, we still don't have any flying cars, android sheep or murderous replicants (okay, that last one is actually a good thing.) But thanks to Titan Comics' new series Blade Runner 2019, the future is finally here!

Blade Runner 2019 #1

Written by Michael Green, Mike Johnson
Art by Andres Guinaldo
Covers by: Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau, Andres Guinaldo, Syd Mead, John Royle
Published by Titan Comics
Pages: 24
Retail: $3.99

Blade Runner 2019 takes place right around the time that Rick Deckard has his hands busy apprehending Roy Batty's group of android fugitives. It focuses on the new character of Ash Ashina; a Blade Runner with an impressive kill list.

While Ash works with the police department of Los Angeles retiring 'skinjobs', she makes extra money selling the body parts of her retired replicants on the black market. With the number of illegal replicants dwindling on earth, Ash picks up a contract looking for a missing woman and her 4-year old child.

I wish there was more to say about the plot of this first issue. I'm absolutely thrilled that Titan Comics has brought back the return of the Blade Runner universe. Blade Runner 2019 is the first ever series comprised of all-new stories and characters which are all canon to the films. However, 24-pages really isn't enough to properly introduce a new main character as well as make the reader interested in coming back for issue #2.

I really think that Titan should have made this premiere issue double-sized. 24 pages was enough to make Ash intriguing. But I feel very little connection to the woman and child that the Blade Runner has been hired to find. But I must say that I am ready to return to this universe in the pages of the second issue!

Other than being obsessed with Blade Runner, another reason I am willing to continue reading this series is all thanks to the writing and the art. This story is written by someone who knows this franchise intimately, Blade Runner 2049's Michael Green. Along with Mike Johnson (Star Trek) and artist Andres Guinaldo (Justice League Dark), Michael Green takes the reader on the tour of vital and recognizable locales. As we view Ash's day, we are taken to the L.A. skyline, the aqueduct, the street markets as well as the never-before-seen setting, the archipelago of Santa Barbara. While the Tyrell family is mentioned in this book, I have a feeling that the Tyrell Corporation is going to be off-limits in this series.

The artwork of the characters wasn't as stunning as that of the settings and the technology. Guinado's image of Ash's police car hovering over the police station was so perfect, I thought it was an image straight from the 1982 film. I especially loved the effects given to the spotlights of the cars and cityscape. I was in awe of how they glowed and gave off a reflective halo. Clearly, the artist of this series has done his homework on how the Blade Runner universe is supposed to look!

I think that I am going to love Blade Runner 2019. But I think it's going to be as series in which one will get more enjoyment out of reading as a collected trade. A single issue just isn't enough time to be engrossed in a living-breathing franchise such as Blade Runner.

This is not a realm for quick trips. Honestly, I would be happy if Titan decided to forgo this series as a monthly and instead release it as a quarterly oversize book full of one complete story. per volume. We live in the future of Blade Runner 2019. This sort of publishing arrangement ought to exist in this turbulent present time of the comic industry's re-structuring.

Please consider this Titan. Blade Runner 2019 is one title I don't want to see retired!
Blade Runner 2019 debuts in print and digital platforms on July 17, 2019.
For more info on this awesome new series from Titan, check out the trailer for issues #1 here!

Worth Consuming!

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

This review was originally published July 16, 2019 on Outrightgeekery.com.

Minions, Book 3: Viva Le Boss!

Family Comic Friday embraces it’s inner villain this week. We just don’t do it very well as we take a look at those rascally (and quite clumsy) Minions!

Minions, Book 3: Viva Le Boss!Written by Stephanie Lapuss
Art by Renaud Collins
Published by Titan Comics
Pages: 52
Retail: $6.99

Relive over 6 million years of villainy history in Titan Comics’ Minions: Viva Le Boss! Based on the hit 2015 movie, Stephanie Lapuss explores the unsuccessful relationships that the Minions have had with all of their evil bosses. If the name of Stephanie Lapuss sounds familiar, that’s because she also wrote the first issue of The Secret Life of Pets #1, which I reviewed a couple of weeks ago.

As with The Secret Life of Pets, Lapuss does a great job capturing the hilarious spirit of the Minions. Also, each story is just one-two pages long vignettes. However, since the Minions don’t really speak a coherent language, some of the stories tend to get lost in translation. I had to re-read several stories in order to figure out just what was really happening.

Okay- if a book has literally no words, are you still reading it? Other than some pictograms in words bubbles and a couple of pigeon English words, this is basically a picture book comic. This book is recommended for readers aged K-5 to 3rd grade. However, some of the slapstick comedy is rather ghoulish- for the villains! Bosses catch on fire, lose body parts and get eaten. It’s all done in the style of Looney Tunes or Tom and Jerry. But some parents might object to that sort of violent humor.

The person behind the artwork is French illustrator Renaud Collin (The Town of Whispers). His presentations of the characters don’t look exactly like the characters in the movie. But here, based on the level of horseplay, that exaggerated look of the Minions and their masters actually work here!

I find myself going opposite of my preferences of the story and art of The Secret Life of Pets. With that comic, I thought that the humor was perfect but that the art just wasn’t 100% right. With Viva Le Boss, I felt that the caricature was perfect but the plotting of the Minions’ exploits needed just a little more clarification. It just goes to show that preferences can differ based on just the slightest of changes.

If the young reader in your life loves the Minions, they’ll love this collection of Minions comics. Reprinting the 2-issue miniseries of the same name, at $6.99, Minions: Viva Le Boss is an affordable romp that will bring laughs over and over. But if the antics of The Three Stooges is considered too mature for your youngster, you may want to hold off of this book. Just remember that you might also have to explain some of these interludes as a few are just a little too complex to understand without words.

Minions, Book 3: Viva Le Boss debuted in print and digital formats on June 6, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Secret Life of Pets #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Max. Duke, Chloe, Snowball. Ozone! All of your favorite characters from The Secret Life of Pets are back. But I'm not talking about the sequel due in theaters next month! This weekly column is called Family Comic Friday and we're going to look at Titan Comics' new comic based on the hit series from Illumination Entertainment.

The Secret Life of Pets #1

Written by Stephanie Lapuss
Art by Goum
Published by Titan Comics
Retail: $3.99
Fans of The Secret Life of Pets can enjoy over 30 vignettes starting their favorite characters! I'm really cool with this concept. My favorite part of the movie was that opening montage that let us into the personal lives of all the pets living in the apartment complex. And each of these shorts seem to riff off of that premise.

Stephanie  Lapuss (The Minions series), adds unique comic touches to all of the characters in such a way, I felt that this comic was written by the original screenwriters. The comedy is that seamless. As a result, I laughed out loud several times.

One thing that I didn't have a problem with, but some young readers might, involves the artwork. The art is done by an artist named Goum. A quick Google search brings up literally nothing about this person other than he or she also did the artwork for The Secret Life of Pets #2.

Goum's style is nothing like the movie version. It has an almost impressionistic style to in. Take Gidget, the white Pomeranian who is in love with Max. In some panels, she is rendered like a tiny ball of white fluff with only the face of Gidget.

I remember that as a kid, if a comic didn't look exactly like it should on TV or film, it was off-putting. Some kids just want their Disney products to look Disney. So I hope that the expressive art style of this comic doesn't detract young readers from this series. Those that might not be a fan of the art will miss out on some very, VERY funny stuff!

I didn't know that Titan Comics even did kids comics. (I'll let you all debate whether Doctor Who is a kids property or not.) Anyways, I am excited to see Titan entering the family comic scene and I hope to review more all-ages stuff from them in the future. They've proven that they've got what it takes to make a funny and fairly accurate comic book version of an animated comedy the whole household can enjoy!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Secret Life of Pets #1 debuted in print and digital formats on May 22, 2019.

The Secret Life of Pets 2 debuts in theaters nationwide on June 7, 2019.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com.

The Blacklist, Volume 1: The Gambler

There comes a line in every couple's marriage which can never be crossed. For my wife, it's being a fan of James Spader. I can like him but I'm not allow to watch anything with him in it. Okay, I can, but my wife doesn't want to watch it with me or even be in the same house if he's on the telly. For some reason, he gives my wife the heebie-jeebies. 

Thus, I've never seen an episode of the Blacklist. 

So how did I come across this book? Ironically, you can blame my wife for that! I got a Comic Bento Box as a gift from her and this was one of the books in it! Needless to say, I didn't let my wife off the hook without a good ribbing or two about the irony of this. 

This volume focuses on one of the bad guys on Red Reddington's Blacklist. It's a complex story of deceit, espionage and double crossing. I'd be lying if I said I understood all the aspects of this story, having never seen the show. But I really enjoyed this book. 

The story was written by showrunner Nicole Dawn Phillips. I'm glad that someone so close to the TV show was doing this as I think I would have been really lost without her to guide me along. 

The artwork was by True Blood's Beni Lobel. It was a mixed bag. James Spader's Red didn't look anything like the actor. (The cover is great though. Whomever did that did a great job!) But everything else looked really good. Now, whether the other characters looked anything like their real-life counterparts, is beyond me. But I liked most of the art here.

There's one more volume of Blacklist stories. While I am not actively searching them out, if I came across them for the right price, I would definitely give it a read. A nice job at a non-Doctor Who title by Titan. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who: The 12th Doctor #16

The Doctor and Clara are about to celebrate the holidays whether they want to or not. In classic fashion, the TARDIS has taken her crew to the most mysterious setting of all- festive holiday party. Everything looks straight out of a Hallmark Channel Movie. That is until Susan, the long lost granddaughter of the Doctor appears bearing a cup of eggnog and Christmas cheer.

Found in a grab bag, this comic book was a pleasant surprise. A perfect read, especially for fans of both the classic and modern series. Mariano Laclaustra was on point with the artwork in this special. There's so many Easter eggs, you forget it's a Christmas special!

Cavan Scott (Star Wars Adventures: Tales From Vader's Castle) and George Mann (Tomorrowland) pull out all the stops in this story which is a sequel to a First Doctor story. Nope- I'm not telling which. 

In a year which will not see a Doctor Who Christmas special, this 2015 adventure is a much needed boost of Time Lord holiday fun!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars!

The Prisoner #4 (2018)

After 50 years of speculation, the identity of Number 1 is finally revealed. 

An amazing end to this golden anniversary miniseries. It sets up the franchise for the next generation while pleasing a hardcore fan such as myself.

Peter Milligan did an excellent job as scribe. I would be very excited to see him do further stories about the Village and it's inhabitants. There's still tons and tons of mysteries left to be revealed! 

I just hope they pick another artist other than Colin Lorimer. His art was good but not distinctive enough. Nor does it really fit in well with The Prisoner. Please, Titan Comics, if you do another Prisoner mini, and I think you should, select Mike Allred for not just first issue variant cover detail. Have him and his amazing wife work up the entire thing from a visual perspective!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Prisoner #3 (2018)

If at first you do not succeed from escaping the Village; try, try again!

Agent Breen's latest escape attempt results in his being confined to the Village's mental institution and the uncovering of yet another dark secret.

Finally some familiar faces pop up in this 50th anniversary miniseries devoted to the British TV cult classic. Unfortunately, it's not who you'd want. But it's still a great homage and continuation of the late  Patrick McGoohan's beloved series.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Prisoner #2 (2018)

Agent Breen learns that he's not the only member of MI5 on the island. But can he manage to free the rest of his compatriots while staying clear of the ever dangerous Rover?

Just as I predicted, the story, officially titled 'The Uncertainty Machine', is getting really good. That first issue had to introduce the new characters. So it wasn't full of that pulse pounding excitement one got from watching the original Prisoner TV show. I knew the excitement was coming! I am glad I stuck it out.

And that cliffhanger. Holy Cow! Excellent job Peter Milligan, I did not see that one coming!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Prisoner #1 (2018)

Justice League Dark’s Peter Milligan explores the mysterious Village just in time for the 50th anniversary of the cult classic British TV series. The forces behind the Village have kidnapped an operative of MI5 in order to extract information. Knowing their sinister plans, Agent Breen is secretly ordered to go rogue in hopes to be captured as well.

Once in the Village, Breen is to learn more about the operations of the Village and save the missing agent. The assignment seems very cut and dry. But what Agent Breen doesn't expect is that he too will be subjected to the same mind-probing techniques perfected by the Village overlords.

Welcome to the Village, Number Six!

For a first issue, this wasn't bad. Milligan did his research for this. The absence of the late, great Patrick McGoohan was deeply felt. But that's nothing you can blame Milligan for.

I've been looking forward to this book for quite a while. I'm a huge fan of the franchise. I got every issue new but I hated having to wait a month for a new chapter!

The art by Colin Lorimer is pretty good. But I had trouble figuring out who was who. Some of the characters are very generic looking. But some fault might be placed on poor introduction of the players by the author. Or it falls on the artist. Not quite sure...

I loved the Mike Allred cover. I just had to get it! I kinda wish he did the interior art and even the plotting. This series is right in his field house.

A good start to the series. I'm expecting that the best is yet to come!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Fighting American: The Ties That Bind #1

Imagine if Captain America and Speedy were in reality Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson from Batman '66. Instead of operating in their time period of the nifty 1950s, the duo are transported to the present day. Here in the present, they find that the inventions of their most insane foe has fallen into the hands of sophisticated modern day criminals. 

That's the new take on the Fighting American and his youthful sidekick Speedboy by Titan Comics in a very large nutshell. 

The Fighting American was the creation of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. It was created as a follow-up to Captain America after their tenure at Timely, then Atlas Comics, came to a terse end. The publisher had decided to bring back Captain America in the 1950s against the wishes of Kirby and Simon. In response a Fighting American was born.

By the second issue, Fighting American had become a satire of patriotic comics. That tongue-in-cheek approach is kicked into high gear in this latest series from Gordon Rennie (Dredd Vs Death.) 

I highly enjoyed the first half of this book. Fighting American and Speedboy are aided through a zombie attack by their FBI liaison Agent Rutherford. Fighting American is so firmly rooted in his time period of 1954 and is very troubled by the bad influence today's TV is having on his sidekick.

The art by Andie Tong was really cool. It had a Mike and Laura Allred quality to it. The amazing inks and colors (by Tracy Bailey) are definitely inspired by the House of Allred.

But around the halfway point this story goes from fun parody of old school crime fighters to full scale assault on Trump supporters, Republicans and Southerners. And does every comic book published in 2018 have to assume anyone from the South is an inbred idiot? Not everyone of us residents of the South owns a hat with the letters MAGA on it or pronounces education as 'ed-u-mah-cation.'

I was born and raised in the South and I have two degrees and zero guns. My walls are not wall papered with stained American flags. My home doesn't have more wheels than the cars parked in my driveway. Yet this is what writer Gordon Rennie will have you believe is typical of us Southern yokels.

Gordon Rennie is Scottish. Writers are supposed to research their material. Based on the second half of this issue, I think all Gordon Rennie did was study reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard and Hee-Haw. 

Regardless, this brand of stereotyping (and ignorance) really ticks me off! I see this cliche way too often in comics and graphic novels- especially British publications. Coincidently, Titan is based in the UK, thus tihs Fighting American series is British. It also makes me not want to pursue the adventures of the Fighting American further, no matter how much I enjoyed the first half.

Titan Comics- you had such promise with this title. But you threw it right in the toilet when you decided to allow the creative team behind this to assume anyone born in the American South is as ignorant as the characters you bias in this first issue. I challenge your writing team to visit me in Durham, NC and I will show you have wrong you are. Yes, some of us 'hillbillies' are as prejudice as can be. But I can show you how wrong your first assumptions are and that the South is way more progressive than you think!

There is satire and then there is stereotype. Sadly Titan, your new title gets the two confused at the risk of alienating readers such as me.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Fighting American: The Ties That Bind #1 debuted in stores on March 7, 2018.

Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini #1

Art and Story by Cynthia Von Buhler
Covers by David Mack and Robert McGinnis
Published by Titan Comics

Minky Woodcock is a young secretary who longs to become a private detective like her famous father. Instead, she spends her days at the agency as his secretary. However, her chance to finally snag a case comes when her father is on holiday and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle arrives in need of an investigator. Doyle wants to expose his former friend, the great magician Harry Houdini, as a closet spiritualist whose trying to put his competition out of business.

Knowing very little of the spiritualist movement, Minky is invited by Doyle to attend a seance. However, instead of contacting the dead, Minky discovers quite a bit of tomfoolery with the whole thing and exposes the medium as a fraud. No longer wanting to deal with Doyle and his fictitious cronies, Minky fears that her chances of becoming a detective are over. That is until a chance meeting at a local speakeasy puts her face-to-face with the mysterious Houdini!

The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini is crime fiction publisher Hard Case Crime's first foray into comic books. Teaming with the folks at Titan, this miniseries is written and illustrated by Cyntihia Von Buhler (An Evening with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer.) This first issue was quite interesting. I was a big fan of the short-lived Victorian mystery series Houdini and Doyle and was quite upset to learn it was cancelled. This story almost acts, unofficially of course, as a sort of closer to that TV show as the former friends and partners are now at odds with each other due to some sort of falling out.

Cynthia Von Buhler's art work is quite remarkable. It almost looks like it was drawn on stained glass. Yes- her style and technique does give the art a flat 2-D feel. But you really can't say that anyone out on the market today is putting out as visually stunning and exceptionally colored comics as Von Buhler is doing with this book either.

Let's talk a bit about the covers. Von Buhler cover as well as David Mack's are good. But the variant cover by Hard Case Crime artist Robert McGinnis is exotic and deadly. My mother used to read all sorts of mystery paperbacks when I was a kid. Those sordid painted covers were tawdry and alluring- and yes a little dirty. That's how the overall story is. There's quite a bit of nudity, hanky panky, and beautiful things that if you are not careful will reveal that it's a wolf in sheep's clothing and attack when your guard is done. The publisher sure knew what it was doing putting a Mature rating on this one. But I cannot wait for the next issue as this historical mystery has me hooked in just one oh too short issue!
Issue #1 debuts in stores on November 15, 2017. It retails for $3.99.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Rivers of London: Detective Stories #2

From the Case Files of Peter Grant…

Police Constable Peter Grant’s performance review to become a detective continues. His next case placed under the microscope involves a stolen work of art. Only, this thief wasn’t trying to remove the sketch from a museum or gallery. He was trying to add it to the collection of the Duke of Wellington.

A Lack of Cohesion

I was quite disappointed with this issue. When it comes to plotting out a well structured mystery, the author can get bogged down in the details. I think Rivers of London creator and writer Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel made the plot to this story just too darn complex. Immortal soldiers, a rough draft by painter Francisco Goya, and a confession to the crime that the reader is never fully allowed to see makes for a centuries old puzzle that really didn’t need to be solved.

This issue wasn’t all bad. Segments of the story were quite good. The art as a whole was amazing. Artist Lee Sullivan illustrates the story in the style of different artists and art movements.

Sullivan’s use of styles was so good, I think Aaronovitch was trying to repeat this process, telling each suspect’s story in a different way. For example, when Grant is scouting the crime scene, clues are plastered all over the museum as he’d see it. Jump ahead a few pages to Peter interrogating the perp and the scenes inter-cut with Peter’s partner Lesley, at a private art session. Both conversations really only tell us one side of the story. Interesting techniques, but they don’t tell a cohesive enough of a story when put together.

Casting Judgments

Since I last reviewed issue #1, I have been on the hunt for the first Rivers of London novel. Being originally published in England, let me tell you, that’s no easy feat. I’ve only found it on Amazon and not for a price I’m very excited to pay. After reading this issue, I was a little relieved that I didn’t get it.

I’m willing to give this series one more try; like a best 2-out-of-3. Thankfully, each issue recounts only a single case with no real cliffhanger. If issue #3 winds up being my last, at least I will not feel like I would be missing out on anything. But Ben Aaronovitch and the staff at Titan Comics are going to have to pull out all the stops if they are going to win me over as a fan of Rivers of London for good.

Tune in next month to uncover how that mystery is solved…

Worth Consuming

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Review was originally published July 13, 2017 on Outrightgeekery.com

Rivers of London: Detective Stories #1

The men and women of the London Police are assigned with investigating the ritualistic murder of a goat. Normally Police Constable Peter Grant wouldn’t be called to investigate this assignment. The dead animal is probably the result of some punk kids trying to recreate something they saw in a movie. Steal a goat from a petting zoo. Douse the poor animal with petrol. Watch it burn. Only, there’s no evidence of any try of accelerant- well at least any that isn’t magical…

Law & Magic

    Rivers of London: Detective Stories is the latest miniseries from Titan Books based on the Rivers of London novels. Written by former Classic Doctor Who screenwriter, Ben Aaronovitch, Rivers of London follows PC Peter Grant as he solves supernatural related crime throughout the capital city of the British Crown.  Along with being a detective in training, PC Grant also happens to be an apprentice wizard. Due to his multiple talents, Grant is recruited into the Folly.

    The Folly is a branch of the British law enforcement that takes on the cases that keep the toughest of coppers awake at night. In this opening chapter, Grant is just about to undergo his exams. But first, he must pass a performance review with a tough as nails assessor named Detective Inspector Chopra.

Under The Influence

    Rivers of London was a magical book that draws it’s inspiration from many sources. The idea of the Folly is like the BPRD only without hellish creatures doing the investigating. The police procedurals and the very British use of slang reminds you of shows like Broadchurch or Luther. Plus, there’s a whimsical charm that harkens back to Pratchett’s Discworld series. There’s actual proof of that as this book has a reference to Lord Vetinari! What other series do that?

Only Nixon Can Go to China

   This book is co-written by series creator Ben Aaronvitch.  By having the mastermind behind the Rivers of London books crafting this tale was a smart idea on Titan Books part. Nobody’s going to do justice to your franchise than yourself! Plus, it helps when you co-writer is a kindred spirit. Assisting Aaronvitch is fellow Doctor Who screenwriting alum Andrew Cartmel.

   There’s at least 2 other minis based on the series of novels, which currently numbers in the half dozen. You don’t have to have read any them to understand or enjoy this book. That’s a very good thing as the art, while good, is also quite generic.

WHOoooooo Are You?

       Lee Sullivan (Transformers Time Wars) is on duty as the Rivers of London sketch artist. Sullivan’s vision of the scenery of London is quite stunning. Yet, as Rivers has never been done as a TV series or movie (YET!) So if you are not familiar with the other comics, with Sullivan’s style there is no way to  know who was who. Thankfully, Aaronvitch and Cartmel make the right decision to include back story and character introductions for many of the key players. This helps the uninitiated reader to have no problem following the story at all since most of the characters look very one note in comics form.

      Though this is the first of a new miniseries, the story has an acceptable enough ending. There is no true cliffhangers at issue’s end. So if the readers only wanted to go as far the first issue and go no further without a sense of completion, they could. By why would you stop with a series that is an intriguing and magical as this? Detective Stories is a book that deserves further investigation!

     Worth Consuming!

     Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures, Year Two, Volume 7: War of Gods

The Year Two Adventures of the Tenth Doctor comes to a close in War of Gods.

Time Lord Troubles

I’ll admit, when IDW lost the rights to the Doctor Who franchise in 2014, I was upset as were a number of fans. Yet, I think the BBC did the right thing by switching Doctor Who over to Titan Comics. IDW’s writers had a bad habit of taking established stories, place them in a different setting, and pass them off as all-new. The publisher had an even worse habit of having each version of the Doctor regurgitate their most popular catchphrases ad nauseam.

If a Dalek was attacking the Eleventh Doctor, he’d yell ‘Fish Fingers and Custard!” for no reason at all. Everything was ‘Fantastic’ to IDW’s version of the Ninth Doctor- even a plague of oozing boils and foot fungus. Yet, the worst offender has to be the writers of the Tom Baker comics and their excessive love for Jelly Babies

Maybe the reason IDW had to go crazy with the tag lines were that the art wasn’t all that good. Almost all of IDW’s artwork on the Doctor Who franchise was poorly drawn. If not for the photos of the Doctor on the cover, you couldn’t tell which regeneration the book was about.

I am happy to say that bad writing and lousy art is not an issue with this collection of Tenth Doctor tales.

A Classic Who Villain Returns

While continuing the Anubis story from Volume 6: Sins of the Father, this book also acts as an unofficial sequel to the 1975 classic Who episode Pyramids of Mars. Eisner Award winning writer Nick Abadzis (Laika) pits the Tenth Doctor against one of the classic foes of the Tom Baker era: Sutekh.

Sutekh or Set is the Egyptian god of disorder. He was last seen by Who fans in England attempting to rule the universe with an army of robot mummies. The Fourth Doctor developed a process to destroy the Egyptian deity. Surviving the Doctor’s assault, Sutekh spent quite some time in a pocket universe. It is during this banishment that the villain manages to recruit a new of foes to the Doctor in order to destroy the Time Lord. Featuring a number of memorable baddies  from the TV series and Titan Comics, the Doctor and his companions Gabby and Cindy must stop the army of gods and monsters. Should they fail, Sutekh will achieve his ultimate goal: complete annihilation of the universe.

Feel The Doctor’s Pain

The soul and two hearts of the Tennant Doctor is very real here. You can feel his anger, sadness, and quirks throughout the book. Although this story is about a classic foe of the Doctor’s, it is a completely fresh feeling story. It also helps that the Tenth Doctor looks like the Tenth Doctor. Aiding Nick Abadzis in this feat are artists Giorgia Sposito and Warren Pleece.

Even the backup short (by Supergirl’s James Pleety) that features a gallery of Companions was exciting and new. Pleety’s story just didn’t dig deep enough into the loss the Doctor has felt over losing Donna or Rose. Plus, it would have been a nice twist to have Ten meet a future companion that he doesn’t know yet- like Amy or Bill.

If you were hesitant to give the Doctor Who Titan Comics a try- STOP! The company is really holding it’s own. The writers, artists, and editors truly seem to love and care for the franchise. The BBC was wise to trust Titan with the keys to the TARDIS.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

(Article was originally published on the website outrightgeekery.com on June 2, 2017.)

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 25

A Who-ville Celebration! A DOCTOR Who-villed Celebration!

  Well, this is it. 
  It's Christmas!
 That means in just a few short hours the Doctor will return after a very long 1-year absence. 
    So for my final Advent gift to you this year, I'm getting you all warmed up. It's a short story from Titan, the good folks who do the Doctor Who comics. Starring the 9th Doctor, Rose Tyler, and some Slitheen. 
  
   Enjoy!

Doctor Who: Free Comic Book Day 2015 (Family Comic Friday)

This week's Family Comic Friday focuses on the classic British sci-fi series, Doctor Who. Now, you might be saying 'Wait a minute Madman, Doctor Who isn't for kids!" And you'd be wrong! When the show first aired in November 1963, not only was the show aimed at kids- it was an educational series to boot. One week, the Doctor would fight crazy aliens, the next he'd take his little blue box, the TARDIS, somewhere back in time and meet cavemen or Marco Polo. Eventually, the aliens and monsters episodes would prove to be more popular and the time travelling adventures would be phased out completely, unless the Doctor went back in time to meet someone like Shakespeare and battle some aliens posing as the three witches from Macbeth.

    Though Doctor Who is a little scary and a little violent, at it's very heart, this is a kids show. I started watching about 1981-82. This was when the first Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor- My Doctor!) episodes as the Doctor were airing on PBS in America. I was 4 or 5 and I'd come home from Kindergarten and plop myself right in front on the tube and watch me some Doctor Who. I loved it!

   The series went away from American airwaves about 1986 and stopped being made altogether in 1988-89 in Britain. Years of waiting and rumors of the Doctor's return meant having to get your Who fixes by either watching old episodes on VHS or finding a novelization of his new adventures. We got a small glimmer of hope with a 1996 TV movie on FOX, no less. But it was another 9 years before the TARDIS would rematerialize on the airwaves. 

   From when Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor advised his future companion Rose and us to "Run!" in 2005, three other actors have assumed the role. David Tennant's Tenth Doctor is by some considered the best Doctor of all-time. I would have to agree (though I am very fond of the Fifth Doctor.) Tennant's successor, Matt Smith is my wife's favorite and really the incarnation that helped make the series become more mainstream and more universally kid friendly. Currently, we are at Doctor #12, played by elder statesman, Peter Capaldi. His Doctor is a little more obtuse, grouchy, and very original series Doctor Who, but the kids and established fans love him anyway!

    If you want to catch up on any of the new Doctors in comics, Titan Comics is where it's at. Concurrently, they run 3 different Doctor Who series containing all-new adventures of the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelveth Doctor. At this year's Free Comic Book Day, Titan offered a book that featured 3 short stories starring the Tennant, Smith, and Capaldi Doctors. Let's take a look at them individually:

   The first story starred the Capaldi Timelord as he and his companion Clara travel to a planet that's seen some odd storms brewing. When the Doctor discovers that the lightning in the storms is alive, he must rescue the creature before it overloads the power core of the planet's research station. The art was very good with great renderings of the Doctor and Clara. But, the story jumps around a little as if the script was deemed too long and edited for time. Only, those cuts removed vital information to making this a very coherent tale.

   Next up is Matt Smith's Doctor as he and his companions travel to London, 2015, where all of the residents are going ga-ga for Free Comic Book Day. The Doctor uncovers an alien plot in which the menace is using his comic to control the London populace. This was a very funny story. The only issue here was that the Doctor travels with 3 all-new companions and this short tale doesn't give very much time for the reader to adequately become familiar with them all.

    Lastly, we have the Tenth Doctor and his new companion Gabby. It's laundry day in the TARDIS and when the Doctor accidently leaves his handy sonic screwdriver in his coat pocket, it turns the dirt on his clothes into a rampaging gunk monster. The best story of the book- it had fun, adventure, and most of all hearts (as Timelords have 2 of them compared to humans who only have the one.)

    This Free Comic Book Day offering has me excited to start diving into these series; especially the Smith and Tennant books. One very awesome teaser at the end of the book was that Titan is to start publishing miniseries based on the 10 other versions of the Doctor with Eccleston's incarnation being first up.

    Another cool announcement (and the reason I choose this book for today's Family Comic Friday selection) is on August 15th (2 weeks from tomorrow), Titan will be hosting the second annual Doctor Who Comics Day at various comic book shops and libraries around the globe in celebration of the release of the first Titan Doctor Who Crossover event. Be sure to check the Doctor Who Comics Day page for more details. And then check with your local comics retailer or library to see if they are participating in this event. Hopefully, they are and you can pick up some free goodies, meet some fellow Whovians (fans of Doctor Who- DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU IT'S CALLED 'DWEEKS' AS THAT'S COMPLETELY FALSE!), and have to some fun!

   So, what are you waiting for- check out these fantastic comics today and become the newest companion to the Doctor!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating:  12th Doctor tale: 8 out of 10 stars.
               11th Doctor adventure: 9 out of 10 stars.
               10th Doctor story: 10 out of 10 stars.
    AVG Rating: 9 out 10 stars.