Encounter, Volume 2: Welcome to the Team

Art Baltazar, Franco, and Chris Giarrusso return to bring you more adventures of Encounter, his canine pal Barko and best friend/part-time manager Kayla. Now there appears to be a new member of the Encounter team- the armored Champion!

But just who is this mysterious new superhero? Is he friend or foe? Kayla seems warm and willing to add Champion to the Encounter squad. But Barko has his doubts. With more super villains popping up throughout the city looking for Encounter's power orbs, just who is behind this latest round of attempts to steal our alien hero's source of energy? 

I enjoyed a majority of this new series. Chris Giarrusso's artwork took a quantum leap. I've always been a fan of his stuff (G-Man, Mini Marvels). But the pin-up sized images of the new villains in this miniseries was off the chain amazing! I am in awe of the Deconstructinator! He was drawn so brilliantly!

I also really like Franco's very fun shorts about the adventures of Chewy, Barko's anthropomorphic chew toy. For being a squeaky toy, Chewy sure does have a lot of arch-enemies. But what will these fiends do when Chewy fuses with Encounter's new vacuum cleaner?

But when it came to the ending, I hated it! I am not going to spoil it. But I am quite afraid that there might not be a volume 3 of this series. I hope that's not true! Franco, Baltazar and Giarrusso-please say that it's not so!

Lots of fun in the style of Itty Bitty Hellboy or Tiny Titans. But I was disappointed with the ending! I'm just not ready to say goodbye to this awesome group of characters!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Encounter, Volume 1: Out of This World (A Family Comic Friday Extra!)

I reviewed the first issue a while back as part of one of my Family Comic Friday columns. While I enjoyed that book, I felt that should I ever get my hands on the collected edition, I would review this separately as I didn't want to take away from reviewing another all-ages book. But since then, I have started do Family Comic Friday Extras. So here goes...

Encounter, Volume 1: Out of This World
Written and illustrated by Art Baltazar, Franco & Chris Giarusso
Published by Lion Forge
Pages: 136
Retail: $12.99

Encounter is a shape-shifting alien who has sought refuge on planet earth. While on our planet, he has made it his mission to protect several mysterious pods that bear the same green polka dots that he does. In order to earn money, Encounter poses as a baker. But because of those darn dots he bears, he must turn his bakery into an Encounter themed shop. You can't expect Encounter to give up his secret identity, now can you?

It's not easy being a super hero. Especially now, as a series of villains have come to town demanding those pods. It will take all the help from his super powered sidekick, Barko and the neighboring owner of the local comic book store and his niece to help keep those orbs from the hands of the baddies! 

I love Art Baltazar and Franco (Tiny Titans)! I love Chris Giarusso (G-Man)! Having all 3 working on a comic book together is all-ages gold! 

Their art style is timeless. Their sense of humor is steeped in comic book lore. And all three creators just want to create fun comics for the whole family to enjoy!

This volume covers the first 5 issues of Encounter. There's a volume 2 that just came out in March that covers issues 6-10. I'm really hoping there will be more after that. But it's been about 6 months since the last issue debuted. I'm not really sure what the delay is. In fact, there may not be a delay at all and issue #10 was the last we'll see of Encounter and friends.
I hope that is not the case; but it's real possibility.

Encounter has something for the whole family. The main features have bigger words and more complex plots for those aged 8-12. The secondary tales are simplified for readers 4-7. The villains are zany. The townsfolk are goofy. And every once in a while you have to do a double take because the in-jokes are really surreal. But this is wholesome stuff that will make parents and guardians very happy!

Encounter, Volume 1: Out of This World debuted in print and digital formats on October 2, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

And be sure to be on the lookout for my regular FCF column later this afternoon!

Encounter #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to another edition of Family Comic Friday. Today we explore the first issue of a new series by the all-ages creative team of Art Baltazar and Franco. It's a new series I've been looking forward to for quite some time and it was my pick of the week this week over at outrightgeekery.com. The series is called Encounter.

Encounter #1 is about an alien superhero who patrols the earth named Encounter. This superhero is on hot pursuit of the villain Gadget Man who has stolen some mysterious polka dotted pods. This pods are yellow and green, just like Encounter is. Just what is the connection between these stolen objects and our new hero? All of your questions will be answered. But first, Encounter must defeat a new menace created by the Gadget Man- a giant robot made up of construction vehicles!

I am a huge fan of Art Baltazar and Franco! Sure they craft kids books but they're my guilty pleasure comics! Every book of Balthazar and Franco that I have ever read from Grimmiss Island to Tiny Titans to Action Cat and Adventure Bug in the Pages of Aw! Yeah Comics has been tons of fun! 

The duo love comic books and it shows all of their titles. Each one is filled with comic history Easter Eggs that older readers (I.E. mom and dad) can enjoy. Like those naughty jokes thrown into Disney movies only more high brow and less explicit. For example, in one issue of Tiny Titans, one of the characters has a Rorschach watch which is hysterical because Rorschach was a character in the Watchmen. 

Normally Art Baltazar and Franco are in charge of the art in many of their kids comics. But for Encounter, they've recruited another personal favorite of mine, G-Man's Chris Giarrusso. Most of you are probably familiar with his work on Mini Marvels. His artwork is extremely clean and very fluid. I can also say having meet him a time or two at some cons, he's one heck of a nice guy. He does not disappoint in the least on Encounter.

This new series by up-and-coming indy publisher Lion Forge Comics is great fun. It's recommended for ages 9 and up. But I think you could have readers aged 7 and 8 enjoy this book without a problem. There are some fairly big words that might be a little tougher for readers under the age of 7. But the violence level is pretty tame.

Encounter #1 was slated to debut in stores on March 14th. However, due to weather, some comic book stores (such as the two I went to) said that their shipments were temporarily delayed. Thankfully, you can find this book on digital platforms such as Comixology like I did. But if you want to wait for it to arrive in shops next week, I wouldn't fault you at all. Paper forever! Hopefully we'll be able to say the same about Encounter despite the publishing delays.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Review published concurrently at outrightgeekery.com.

The G-Man Super Journal: Awesome Origins by Chris Giarusso (Family Comic Friday)

   

A little bit of sage advice about kids and reading- sorry about the language...

  

Page Example of Awesome Origins.

 Parents, I get it. You want your child to read and you want them to enjoy it. Comics are a great way to get kids reading. But you also don't want them to read nothing but comic books. Especially since schools will be requiring them to read chapter books for reports and summer reading assignments.

    So why not combine the best of both worlds with the G-Man Super Journal? Part prose book, part comic book: this will delight readers who love superheroes but need to start reading those pesky chapter books. The Super Journal reads like the ultra-popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Only, the pictures are replaced with comic book panels. 

Cover to Volume 1.

    Awesome Origins is exactly what the title says it is. Inspired by the G-Man comic book series by Chris Giarusso, it tells how G-Man and his friends all got their superpowers in the form of a creative writing journal that the title character must keep for English class. Along with a cast of zany teachers, parents, and grown-up superheroes, this book answers many question about the series that I've always had such as: 

Why is Eddie Delta's only superpower the ability to change color?

What made the material of G-Man and Great Man's outfits magical?

And just what does the 'G' in G-Man stand for anyway?
 Awesome Origins is intended to be the first in a series of G-Man chapter books. I'm completely on board with Giarusso writing more Super Journals. I just hope he doesn't stop publishing the awesome G-Man comics that made me such a fan of his characters and work.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.   

G-Man, Volume 3: Coming Home

  

   G-Man, his older brother Great Man, and friends return to print AND earth after their adventures of the Cape Crisis. The pair of heroic has been missing all summer and presumed dead (though it was only  a few hours for the young heroes and their stay in Magic Mountain. ) But not everyone is happy with their return as the leader of an intergalactic police force wants the boys captured so that the cape and belt that give them superpowers (and neutralizes the policemen's suits) can be destroyed.                        

    I really like G-Man, but I had to go back and review volume 2. It's been a while since I last read this series and I needed a refresher course. I'm not sure if it was my being lost as to what happened in the previous book, but I didn't enjoy the first couple of chapters so much.                                                      
  
   Series creator, Chris Giarusso ( Mini Marvels) did a good job telling of the young heroes return. Yet this volume didn't get back to that level of quality I expected from this series until the boys took on the space police with the help from the Color Guardians. By the fifth and final chapter, when the boys save their new baby brother from the Stork, I was laughing my head off. The oddball humor of having the Stork act like the mythical Sphinx was what I DO EXPECT from Giarusso's all ages series from Image Comics.            

    One thing that didn't change was Giarusso's deft cartoonish style and bright color palette. It's iconic and super clean. So clean, the art along with this book's content will make even the pickiest moms smile.    

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
    

Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #1 of 2

 Back in the day, when the Marvel editors went on the convention circuit they did this thing called “Assistant Editors Month.” It was a good opportunity for up and comers in the industry and Marvel’s Bull Pen to wet their feet and edit their own titles. Sometimes there are hits and sometimes there are misses. It’s fabled that one such event that shaked the Marvel universe occurred during one of these Assistant Editors events- the Death of Gwen Stacy!  Apparently Stan Lee went on a little Vay-Cay, leaves Amazing Spider-man to Gerry Conway and Gil Kane and BOOM- Stan the Man returns to find Spidey’s girlfriend dead and buried.

 

Don’t worry, nothing too controversial like that happens here. But, it is a fun chance to see some of the up and comers in Marvel’s offices and some examples of their work. In part one of two, the assistants take refuge in the Marvel Comics office’s men’s  room to hash out their ideas. Along the way, the House of Ideas throw out suggestions including a war story starring Wolverine lookalike D-Man, a tale of some old fashioned Western justice starring native American hero American Eagle, and Mini Marvels epic starring Doctor Strange and Hawkeye.

 

The Mini Marvels story was the best. It features the art and wit of the great Chris Giarrusso and is a runny gag that I have fallen in love with. It’s a lot like Tiny Titans, but not as childish and sadly not as nostalgic as that DC title. The American Eagle story was gritty but it was a fun read. I was very happy with the twist ending. I’ve never heard of D-Man so, I wasn’t as connected to the story. But I like the idea of the third tier super hero training his army unit to become super heroes in order to take out terrorist insurgences that Army red-tape won’t allow to be annihilated.

 

I was so happy with this first chapter that I can’t wait to see what the bull-pen has to offer next.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.