School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 3

I decided that even though I had a few misgivings, I would push on. I felt that the previous two volumes had some inappropriate panels involving 12-13 year old children. With that, I thought long and hard whether or not to read volume 3 in order to finish the series. Since I also review works to inform parents and guardians about the age appropriateness of comics and graphic novels, along with journaling about my reads, I decided that I needed to complete School Judgment in order to determine if things continue to skirt the edge of decency or not.

So does volume 3 over-sexualize middle school children, especially girls? Oh yeah, it does.

This final volume introduces readers to the third survivor of the classroom massacre, The Bloody Session, that inspired Abaku Inugami to become a lawyer. Named Yui Kijima, she's a ruthless attorney who has never lost a case. And she dresses as a dominatrix which reflects her vindictive and heartless nature. Kijima has arrived because sweet little Tento Nanahoshi is in serious trouble once again! School Madonna, Reiko Shiratori has been attacked, falling into a deep coma and Tento is the prime suspect!

It will be Yui vs Abaku for the fate of Tento Nanahoshi. Should Abaku lose this case, Tento will be sent to Onigashima Elementary, the harshest school penitentiary in all of Japan!

Then fans finally learn the identity of Red Orge, the savage killer of Abaku, Yui and ninja lawyer Kotaro Sarutobi's classmates. It's a resolution that will stun readers. But it will also answer some lingering questions for fans because the final two chapters were never published in print until now! So unless you subscribed to Weekly Shonen Jump's online app Shonen Jump+, first run readers of School Judgment were left in the dark as to the identity of Red Orge! 

Also appearing in print for the very first time is the 2-part prototype of Nobuaki Enoki's vision for School Judgment. Featuring very primitive art from Enoki, there's some elements of the Suzuki Murder and Dismemberment story but overall, it's a new case, with some new characters, between attorneys Pine Hanzuki and Abaku Inugami.

Here we are with a storyline that involves a history of a bunch of first graders being slaughtered, a youth bent on murderous revenge for their killing, and all kinds of fights, assaults and drug use and here I am freaking out over the sultry parts of this book. I don't know why. Maybe it crosses a line for me. As a high school teacher, I witness fights and assaults all day. There's been a couple of incidents of drug use, but it's mostly cigs and vaping that get my students into trouble. Thankfully, nobody has died. But we've had so many freakin' lock-downs that we've all become desensitized to them due to overuse. But when it comes to portraying youths as sexual creatures, as realistic as premarital sex and teen pregnancy is at my school, it's a huge line in the sand that I don't want to be anywhere near.

I know that there's a ton of Manga out there that are a lot more adult than this book. The same goes for American comics and graphic novels. But the fact that the sensuality and T&A that appears in this book involved elementary students was something that gave me a lot of pause. And to have adult men crafting these stories just doesn't seem appropriate to me. If it doesn't seem appropriate for your family, then consider this review my advisory. But will I demand it be censored or banned? As a supporter of the CBLDF, absolutely not. I just hope parents, guardians and adults who might not be in the know are made aware should they deem such work as School Judgment as not right for their families or themselves.

Worth Consuming based on the quality of the storytelling!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 2

The reason I do a comic book and graphic novel reading challenge every year is in order to expand my reading horizons. I can get stuck in a rut and miss out on some reading diverse good stuff. Considering that I am not a fan of Manga and I wanted to read the second volume of a series I discovered in the middle of my challenge is a testament that the experiment works.

The second volume of School Judgment was much more traditional in the Manga style. The expressions were exaggerated to the point that the characters look different. Too different! Scenes like the arbitration sessions are framed like the opening of a round of Street Fighter or Mortal Combat. But perhaps the most Japanese aspect of this book which was ramped up was the level of over-sexualization of the female characters. And this aspect is the most troubling.

School Judgment takes place at an elementary school. The oldest students are 12 and 13. In the last volume, there were 2 panels that had two separate female students taking a bath. However, there's no nudity. There isn't any nudity here in the second volume either. However, we get extreme close-ups of the assets of several budding school girls. It's even more extreme in the 2-part story that takes place at the grade school swimming pool. To the point that several of the male students make comments about how much 'bigger' their female classmates got over the school year. 

The thing is, this actually could have been worse. At the end of each chapter, series creator Nabuaki Enoki provides a little bit of 'director's cut' feedback about the creative process of making School Judgment. Over the course of 3 segments, readers are shown how much more 'larger' the debut of the girl's swimsuits could have been. It is just me or does showing middle school students as flowering goddesses not bother anyone?

I know that there's more R-rated Manga stuff out there. School Judgment probably wouldn't even be considered PG-13. It would more than likely be PG-rated. And yes, I know that these are illustrations and not real life. Yet, this level of acceptance really bothers me. If anything, it will make me a little more cautious over the type of Manga I read in future challenges.

There's only 1 volume left. I'm rather torn as to if I should read it or not? I really want to know how things wrap up. Who is the perpetrator behind the massacre that led Abaku Inugami to become a lawyer? Will Inugami get his revenge? Will prosecutor Pine Hanzuki finally earn a win against Abaku? There's a lot of questions out there that I am dying to know. Yet as a teacher, I really don't want to be associated with something that promotes the objectification of children either.

The storyline is fantastic. Some of the art is questionable. But not for artistic merits. I'm struggling with if it's considered child pornography or not.

I've got a lot to think about...

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei, Vol. 1 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The judicial satire Manga School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei was originally deemed not good enough for print. The editors of Shonen Jump felt that the premise of elementary schools becoming the new frontier of a court of law was too one-note. Editors were also not very impressed with the art of creator Nobuaki Enoki, calling it 'lacking'. Yet, the publisher's new online Manga app Jump LIVE, now Shonen Jump+, needed new material. With a new artist added to the project Hikaru no Go's Takeshi Obata, Enoki was reinvigorated and a second draft was quickly worked up.

In 2013, Gakkyu Hotei debuted on phones across Japan and the world. The first case on the docket 'The Suzuki Murder and Dismemberment Case', sees the diminutive Tento Nanahoshi on trail for the violent death of homeroom 6-3's mascot, a fish name Suzuki. For the defense is 12-year old Abaku Inugami, a lover of video games who will 'ronpa (Japanese for break, tear, destroy) the hell out of' anyone who persecutes his clients unjustly. The prosecutor is Pine Hanzuki, who may look like a typical sweet and innocent Gyaru glam girl. But inside her lurks the heart of a fearless hunter!

Originally intended to be only 10 chapters long, the series was soon rebranded in a serialized form in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump in 2014. Reaching its climatic 24th chapter, Gakkyu Hotei went into permanent recess in the summer of 2015. English audiences were introduced to the complete series divided into 3 volumes the following year. 

School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei is something rare to a non-Manga fan such as myself. It was enjoyable! With its storyline divided up in ways where readers can solve the mystery alongside Abaku and Pine, these cases read like a Japanese version of Ellery Queen. Plus, there's the added mystery of Abaku Inugami's troubled past which plays out throughout the entire story. Years prior, he was present during a classroom massacre which led to the judicial reforms that turned elementary schools into courts of law. His journey as a travelling solicitor has brought him Tenbin Elementary, where Abaku plans to stay and kill the student who slaughtered his former classmates.

Completing this review completes Task #10 (A Manga Work) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Tales From the Public Domain: Bound by Law? (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

2024 will be known as a banner year for copyright law. After numerous lawsuits, at least one successful law change, and decades of anticipation, the character of Mickey Mouse finally entered the public domain. But don't go running out to buy supplies to make your long dreamed Mickey Mouse murder mystery musical just yet. Only the earliest version of the mouse is available for public use. You can do that Broadway show as long as you use the Steamboat Willie version of Walt Disney's most famous creation.

Every year, the Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain releases a list of properties coming to the public domain. Along with Mickey, 2024 sees Virginia Woolf's Orlando, the jazzy tune Mack the Knife and the first screen appearance of comedy duo Laurel and Hardy are among the works losing some sort of artistic protections. Yet why is it that it took nearly a century for these properties to become public domain works when George Romeo's Night of the Living Dead has been in the realm of free use for decades and that classic zombie film is less than 60 years old?

The answer all has to do with if and when the artists involved in the creation of their works applied for a copyright. Sometimes, an artist just forgets to apply for one, making their work literally free for anyone else to copy off of. Or, maybe law at that time wasn't protective enough. Several amendments to the first US copyright protection act that occurred in 1790 have been enacted in the past century alone. Our forefathers couldn't have foreseen changes in technology such as video home recorders, streaming services or artificial intelligence which have all warranted some additional tweaking to copyright law. Other times, an agreement between artists is broken or misused, resulting in the loss of creative rights to a work as was part of the case behind the original prints of Romero's magnum opus becoming a public domain work.

Durham, North Carolina's Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University seeks to examine all areas of copyright law and free use. Free use is a protection for consumers such as myself, which allows me to make my reviews of comics and graphic novels without fear of having to pay a fee or being sued. I'm allowed under free use to use minuscule snippets of the books I review as long as my posts are being used for critique. I'm also protected to say that such and such work 'stunk' as long as I am being objective to my own thoughts and not stating that it's 100% indisputable for the work's lack of quality. 

Mind you that my understanding of copyright law is rudimentary at best. I read Duke's first graphic novel on public domain and free use and I still don't have a clear understanding of it. One thing I do know is that research is needed to clear anything being created artistically for money. Something as small as a ring tone in the background of a scene of a documentary could result in licensing fees that could be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Plus, just because you had a licensing agreement for background music when your film was released in 2010, don't expect to be able to use it for the 25th anniversary re-release in 2035!

Copyright law is extremely fickle. A generation ago, the laws were in the favor of the utilizer of others' works. Presently, the law has swung out of reach of the original artist and now more into the realm of the production companies that own the rights to the work. Though with the release of films like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and the forthcoming Mickey's Mouse Trap, the new trend of copyright protection might be in the hands of the independent producer of horror and macabre. That's because creators such as A.A. Milne clearly had no ill intent in development of their characters and thus a horror version of such innocents can be interpreted as a parody.

Tales From the Public Domain: Bound by Law? was co-written by Jennifer Jenkins, the mastermind behind Duke's annual Public Domain Day press releases we see in the days leading up to New Year's Day. Jenkins' writing partner is Scottish intellectual property scholar James Boyle, who also works at the Center of Public Domain. Illustrations were by illustrator and law professor Keith Aoki with black and white photos all used under free use law protections. 

The Center of Public Domain had plans for a series of graphic novels based on copyright law. Tales From the Public Domain: Theft; A History of Music was the follow-up to this book. Keith Aoki had begun preliminary sketches for the book before ultimately passing from a lengthy illness in 2011. Theft's 2016 release was dedicated to Professor Aoki's memory.

Completing this review completes Task #39 (Published in the state you were born or your native country) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The Werewolf of New York: A Supernatural Law Book (A Madman Re-Read)

The Werewolf of New York is the first Supernatural Law original graphic novel. It's also the first full-color story! In the reading order of things, yes, you do skip in-between the individual Supernatural Law issues. At another review post, I'll explain why. But for now, it's all about lycanthropy. 

Leon Reed has a chance encounter with some wolfsbane and turns into a werewolf as a result. During one of Leon's monthly changes, he attacks a man with a gun. Leon claims it was all in self defense. But it's election time and both the New York District Attorney and the judge proceeding over the case are up for re-election. Still, to throw Leon behind bars for a first offense wouldn't be just. So probation and rehab are ordered.

In the 28 days leading up to his next transformation, Leon attends a 13-step program to curb his animalistic urges. Meanwhile, a shape-shifters rights group is in the wings mucking things up. They believe that Wolff & Byrd aren't doing enough for Leon. These activists believe Leon should be encouraged to embrace his wild side and run free. And they're not afraid to flood the airwaves with their message!

Many of the stories of Supernatural Law appear to be parodies of monster flicks. But underneath, a ton of these stories are satire of important social debates of the day. Batton Lash has done stories on the First Amendment, divorce, abortion and many other issues that seem to grace the floor of our higher courts. The Werewolf of New York is a little bit about animal rights as well as gender rights and identity. But the overall message of this graphic novel is about the overly pervasive role of media in our lives. 

Batton Lash's storytelling isn't an issue. It's amazing. And I really liked that Wolff and Byrd's personal lives take a backseat here for a change. But I did think that the artwork was uneven. I've complained in the past about how Mavis looks like she's from Riverdale and different from everyone else. I've gotten over that as I see that Lash likes to incorporate from different art styles. But when Leon changes to a werewolf, Batton Lash for some reason can't draw him consistently. 

There have been other werewolves in this series before. And they've looked amazing. Mostly, because Lash draws upon 100 years of cinema's most iconic lycanthropes. I think when needing to create a changeling from scratch, Lash had some difficulties.

I also want to point out that I recently learned that during this time Batton Lash was having some severe health issues. If the entire book was at a lower level of quality, I would be graceful towards the Supernatural Law creator. But really, it's just the werewolf artwork that is not up to snuff. So, I hope with this re-read, I am being fairer than fair on this. 

I really enjoyed re-reading this one. I really don't seem to remember it all that much from before. That was 8 years ago and it kinda scares me that I seemed to have blanked out on about 80% of this book. But I guess it was fun to feel like I was reading an all-new Supernatural Law story. maybe...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Supernatural Law #25 (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

I think all collectors of any hobby get like this from time to time. You have something on your wish list that's been there seemingly forever, until one day you decide to pull the trigger and complete your set or run. That's what I've been doing with Batton Lash's Wolff & Byrd Counselors of the Macabre/Supernatural Law books lately. I just got the hankering for some never before read Supernatural Law and decided to cash in some trade credit via Amazon to get it. 

Batton Lash got the idea for Wolff & Byrd in the early late 70s when he was a courtroom artist for the New York Judicial System. Lash thought it would be hilarious to have a monster like the Wolfman or Dracula having to go to court for howling at the moon or turning someone into a vampire. Lash managed to convince the small weekly publication, The Brooklyn Paper to run a strip about the spooky courtroom team of Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd. In 1983, The Counselors of the Macabre were picked up by the prestigious National Law Journal. 

In 1993, Batton Lash and his wife, San Diego Comic-Con legend Jackie Estrada, started their own independent publishing company, the aptly named Exhibit A Press. After a couple of collections of the strips, Lash decided to start a regular series based on Wolff & Byrd while ending the strip runs. 

The first issue of Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre hit stores with a May, 1994 cover date. The series did great with those who were already fans of the series from the other publications. But Lash found it hard to gain new readership due to the title. For one thing, Wolff and Byrd were often misspelled by fans, stores and reviewers. Plus, it seems that the word MACABRE is just impossible to say. A running joke throughout the later issues is the pronunciation of macabre as 'Mack-A-Bree!' 

Trying to curb the confusion, Lash changed the name of the series to Supernatural Law with issue #24. The series ran infrequently at that point up to issue #45 (July, 2008) with a story that saw both the Toxic Avenger and Troma filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman starring as themselves!

The crossover wasn't the end of Wolff & Byrd. Batton Lash ran a couple of Kickstarter campaigns to publish graphic two novel length stories and to complete the trade paperback run of the comic series. The last Supernatural Law story completely finished was 'Grandfathered In' which was released in 2018 just a few short months before Lash's death in January 2019. The story of a ghost who refuses to leave his domicle serves as a bittersweet ending to the series. But I wonder if we'll see the counselors return to court with a new creative team as the last page of the story promises more to come.

The issue I chose for this task in the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge was issue #25. It's the lone holiday issue of the series. Though whether this takes place during Christmas or New Year's Eve isn't quite clear. It's snowing during the story and lots of champagne is drunk. But the only holiday actually mentioned in the story is Bacchanalia which occurs in March.

With many of their accounts in arrears, the law firm decides to host an open house for past and prospective clients. Alanna is just about to join the festivities when she is approached by a time traveler who claims he's a client from the future. Seeking a patent on his time machine, the scientist went back in time to see how things are going on the case. Only, nobody in the firm knows who this guy is!

Issue #25 is not an issue for casual fans. There's either a cameo or a mention of every character to have appeared in the comic book thus far. If you haven't followed the series in some order, you probably will miss a couple of those references. But for an established fan- and for someone who is reading every issue in order- this floppie is a treasure trove of Supernatural Law history. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #4 (Part of a Series) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Tales of Supernatural Law (A Madman Re-Read)

I'm not sure what possessed me but I decided it was finally time to complete my run of Supernatural Law books. As I'm waiting for those gap fillers to come in the mail, I've decided to re-read from the very beginning. 

Okay- not the very, very beginning. See prior to Batton Lash turning his creations of Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre into a self published comic book, the pair were the stars of a weekly comic strip in a local New York paper before moving over to a prestigious law journal. I've read the 3 collections of strips and I must say they are a totally different animal from the comic book. 

Most of the action takes place in the courtroom. Main character Mavis is non-existent. As are Toby, Chase Hawkins and members of the Wolff Family. And while the comic strip is humorous, it lacks the campy nature of the comic book. While I may very well re-read those editions, I wanted to start with issue #1 and go all the way through the series, the Mavis spin-offs, the Wolff & Byrd college years one-shot and the couple of graphic novel length stories. 

Re-reading these books is a big deal for me. I feel like life is too short to re-read books. Plus, my collection is just too gosh darn big! There has only been one or two books that I've ever re-read on purpose. I often read stuff over again having forgotten I've read it in the first place. Another reason why I need this blog!

CRISIS and To Kill A Mockingbird. Now add a good portion of Supernatural Law to that list. Very exclusive company. 

How did the first volume do? I enjoyed it very much. It held up quite well. I think I got more of the jokes now that I am a little more in depth within the kitsch horror/sci-fi community. Tons of Easter Eggs, tributes and puns. Fun, fun, fun!

No, seriously! No objections here!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 39

   Warning: This article may be considered too racy or controversial. Reading discretion is advised.)

Flynt (Left) and his attorney, during the 1977 indictment proceedings

    40 years ago today, Larry Flynt and his brother Jerry are indicted by the Ohio Attorney General's office for distribution of obscene materials. The Flynt boys founded Hustler magazine and the periodical was known for making Playboy look like a Disney movie. In other words, the state of Ohio arrested Larry and Jerry for selling porn. Flynt eventually fought the charge and they were dropped. But soon afterwards, Flynt was taken to court throughout the nation for his magazine.

    Over the next 18-months, Flynt became known not just as a peddler of smut but developed a reputation as a champion of free speech and defender of the First Amendment. However, some thought he was too dangerous always being in the public eye and in 1978, a white supremacist named Joseph Paul Franklin tried to assassinate Flynt outside a Georgia court house. Ironically, Franklin wasn't quite upset over free speech as the fact that Flynt's publication recently ran an interracial photo shoot.

  The attempted murder left Flynt paralyzed from the waist down but it didn't damper his spirits. 
The attack seemed to awaken the publisher, as Flynt expanded his empire to include the burgeoning field of home video. Despite crippling pain and an addiction pain killers brought on by the assassination attempt and numerous surgeries, Flynt continued his fight for free speech. Over the next 8 or 9 years, Flynt's run-ins with the law would continue make headlines. He'd even make it to the Supreme Court against the Reverend Jerry Falwell over a parody interview in which Falwell 'admitted' to have sex with his mother. 

Flynt, surrounded by bodyguards,
arrives for a hearing of his attempted murderer,  JP Franklin.

     When I went to college in 1996 to study history, one of the first classes I took was Political Science. We studied Flynt's cases in depth, in particular the Flynt V Falwell case. Having been sheltered going to a private Christian school, I felt as the time that censorship was needed to prevent sin. But I learned that without free speech, my beliefs would be in just as much jeopardy as I was willing to put others in.
  
    The name of the Poly-Sci teacher I had might be forgotten but his argument that it's okay to be offended by another person's point of view but it is wrong to take that point of view away has stuck with me. It's one reason I am such a supporter of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. In the 1950s, Congress tried to outlaw comic books but thankfully, a compromise was reached to prevent that. Even more thankful am I that the Comics Code Authority which was a result of said compromise is not defunct. 

        I am not in favor of Larry Flynt's publications and I'm not fond of some of the stunts he's pulled like wearing the American Flag as a diaper but he'd be the person I'd want on my side if my personal right to free speech was in danger. Honestly, I think we need him now more that ever as sadly in this day and age, free speech is being challenged in way unimaginable. Parents want books banned from schools is one thing; an irate parent goes in front of a school board and asks for the removal of Tom Sawyer or A Catcher in the Rye. But now, people are fighting one another (literally, not just with words or lawsuits) because of a point of view they put on Facebook or over who they voted for in the last election. 

#CBLDF

   Everyday's news is fraught with protests filling city streets because of the outrage that others think differently than their peers do. This sort of thing keeps getting worse and worse everyday as social media has given everyone a voice AND turned the populace into a sort of social justice Barney Fife in turn. It's called Freedom of Speech not Freedom FROM speech and America needs people of all backgrounds and belief's to defend it or that right will be gone permanently!

    Until tomorrow...

   

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 17

 
   Today is a rather infamous if not controversial anniversary. 40 years ago, prisoner Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad. His death is notable as his was the first execution after a 10-year ban in the US.
    
    I really struggled with this article. I want my review of my favorite year to be light and peppy. But as a history major and someone who teaches food history, I feel that it's ethically wrong to gloss over the negative parts of history. How can I say 1977 is my favorite year if I don't acknowledge the plane crashes, discovery of new disease, and coup attempts that occurred? (By the way all 3 things also happened on this date in '77 history.)
  
    One thing about A Madman Turns 40 is looking at how 1977 impacted my life. Upon researching the Gary Gilmore case a little deeper, I learned that the reason the US had a moratorium on the death penalty was because of a series of Supreme Court cases that argued as to whether the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment. For 10 years, the death penalty was declared unconstitutional. But then in 1976 another landmark court case resulted in the first ruling being overturned. 

    I decided that I won't gloss over the bad and only reflect on the good of my favorite year. But I will allow myself to not be bound to having defend or attack any position covered in my year-long review if I don't want to. Thus I don't have to disclose whether I am pro or anti-death penalty. What I will do is mention how history seems to be repeating itself.

    See in 1976, the reason the death penalty was granted to be constitutional again was because of judicial appointments. With someone who was anti-death penalty dying, it allowed  President Gerald Ford to appoint a pro-death penalty judge onto the Supreme Court and something to this affect is going to happen in the next few weeks.

    See last year, the conservative Judge Antonin Scalia died of a heart-attack. The House and the Senate refused to allow Barack Obama to appoint a new justice onto the court. So when Donald Trump gets sworn in next week as POTUS, he'll be appointing the replacement. Over the next 4 years, Trump will have sway over who becomes a judge in the highest court in the land. Should he replace liberal justices with conservative ones, it's possible to see several landmark decisions reversed such as Roe V Wade. 

     It's been 40 years and yet the more things change, the more it seems that things keep staying the same. But only time will actually tell...

    Up next: something cherry, I HOPE!

Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre (AKA: The Red Book)

My personal copy of the 'Red Book."

  Earlier this year, I entered the realm of crowdfunding. I noticed on a website that artist/ writer Batton Lash was in need of funds to get his latest collection of Supernatural Law comics published. So, I headed over to Kickstarter and made a pledge based on the reward I wanted should Lash's latest project become fully funded.
    Instead of asking for an autographed copy of A Vampire in Hollywood, the book Batton Lash was able to get completely funded, I went for a more obscure reward: this book that I am reviewing now. 
    Known as the 'Red Book' because of it's scarlet cover, this volume is Lash's first ever collection of his earliest comic strips to feature Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd; the Counselors of the Macabre. (Interesting side bit, Wolff and Byrd don't even appear in the first two strips! Published in 1987 by Andrion Books, this book has been out of print for decades. Figuring I had a better chance of obtaining a copy of A Vampire in Hollywood than finding a rare book that even Amazon doesn't have in their data base, I choose this as my prize. 
    The 'Red Book' contains adventures including a vampire dentist, a woman seeking divorce because her pushy husband is causing her to disappear, and a trip to London to defend a gentleman werewolf. Along the way, you also get to relive the college years origin of how the two supernatural lawyers met. Rounding out the book was a Christmas themed parody of that Dickens classic, which I waited to read until last in order to be more in the holiday spirit. 
    For being essentially the pilot episode for Supernatural Law, this collection wasn't bad. In his early years, Lash would use up to 8 panels in a comic strip and in this reprinted form, the reading was really tiny. (I could only read a couple of pages at a time before I started to get a headache.) But as an added bonus, even though it wasn't specified on the Kickstarter agreement, my copy was even autographed by Lash himself! 
     A treasured treasury that is hard to find but worth the search.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre: Fright Court

       Wolff and Byrd, the Counselors of the Macabre have their hands full with another docket of strange cases involving Supernatural Law! Cases involve the Boogeyman, whose being bullied by one of the kids he's supposed to scare! Jealousy, the Ol' Green Eyed Monster himself puts the firm on retainer. Plus the duo attend traffic court to assist a man forced to drive a haunted RV get out of his numerous parking tickets. Oh, and I did I mention that Alanna Wolff finds herself suspended after being found in contempt and thus the firm has to pick up a new partner!

     This was perhaps my least favorite collection of Supernatural Law comics. The earlier stuff, which was originally relegated to a 3-5 panel weekly strip in some small papers up North, is creator Batton Lash's work that is most in need of polishing. But what really turned my stomach was the sleaze ball new partner that the Counselors of the Macabre hire on. This guy really just upset the balance of the firm and I found him a total nuisance. 

     Plus, there's a couple of stories that focus on Shakespeare- or at least try to parody it. One was a retelling of Hamlet. The other was even more forgettable. Anyways, I really didn't like them either. 

    Batton Lash's series that skewers the judicial system as well as the horror/ sci-fi genre is awesome. But it's best when the series sticks to horror/sci-fi. Shakespeare and Supernatural Law, like driving and driving just don't mix and should be left to high school plays nationwide. 

   Not Worth Consuming

   Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Tales of Supernatural Law (Volume 1)

   All Rise!!! Court is now in session. The cases will be defended by the law firm of Wolff & Byrd, the Counselors of the Macabre.  On the docket today is Tales of Supernatural Law.

Case #001- A twist on the Curse of the Monkey's Paw legend when a beloved family pet is wished back from the dead, things don't turn out as they should.
Case #002- The Curse of the Were-House, a lovely two-story home that turns into a haunted house every full moon.
Case #003- A civil case involving zombie workers who've decided to go on strike.
Case #004- The People Vs. Common Decency... A horror TV host from the 1950s on the verge of a comeback is accused of promoting juvenile delinquency.
Case #005- A super model is accused of violating the contract with her modeling agency. She is counter-suing that the hot shot behind the agency used magic to change her appearance. Can the team of Wolff and Byrd see to it that the evidence WEIGHS in her favor?
Case #006- Dracula, yes THE Dracula, sues the sideshow industry for copyright infringement.

  Lastly before the court adjourns to sunny San Diego for the annual Lawyer Convention, the Counselors of the Macabre will seek to postpone the sad case of Sodd, The Thing That's an It, a young man tragically turned into a walking pile of foliage.
    As you can see from this full case load, there are tons of great law stories with a supernatural edge to them. I had read this book years ago when I first discovered the series at my local library. Now that I am collecting the series, I wanted to re-read this collection. I loved it then and I think after my trip down memory lane, I have fallen that much more in love with Supernatural Law.
    I guess artist/writer/creator Batton Lash has cast a spell on me.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre: Supernatural Law

   Before it became a comic book, Wolff and Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre ran as a comic strip in a prestigious law journal as well as several small publications in the North East. This book collects some of those storylines that were published in the mid-80s. Cringe in fear of the possessed moppet that terrorizing Long Island! Shriek in terror at the thought of unraveling 1000 years of Arthurian Legend copyright law! Be amazed at the smug lawyer who developed the world's largest brain! Wonder at the CHUDs that live in Manhattan’s sewers, desperate for free legal advice!

   This is classic B- movie fodder, folks… and I love it! But these were some rough stories.

  Though this book doesn't contain the very first Wolff and Byrd strips, it appears that creator Barton Lash still had some kinks to work out before finally hitting upon that magic formula that made Supernatural Law one of my favorite Indy comics of all-time. The art is rough, but that is mostly due to Lash having to squeeze so much into a tiny 3- panel strip. However, Mavis does look quite right, Wolff's sister is unrecognizable, and what's going on with Byrd's hair?

  The stories are missing something as well. For the most part, Lash's later works are brilliant satires and wry parodies. In this volume, I don't think he could decide yet whether to be serious and scary or go full on tongue-in-cheek. But by the last third of the book, when you get to the Beauty and the Beast TV Show parody, something clicks and it's like Barton Lash has finally discovered his alchemical formula for comics gold!

  You know a lot of classic TV series have early episodes that for one reason or another don't seem quite right for one reason or another and experienced some growing pains. The first season of Newhart wasn't surreal enough. MASH tried to be too much like the movie version at first. And speaking of Growing Pains, that series didn't take off until it stopped focusing on Alan Thicke as the lead role and on the kids and their silly adventures instead.

  It's one reason why I still give this book a high mark. The process of evolution for the Counselors of the Macabre was more enjoyable than some of the early stories. George Washington didn't wake up and was suddenly the Father of Our Country. It took time filled with victories and defeats.

   Our society is so willing to pooh-pooh something that doesn't work right off the bat. Biggest case in point lately is the Batman V Superman movie. I think the Justice League sequels will dwarf the quality of this year's blockbuster. But it needs time and that's what Batton Lash needed to get this project off the ground.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Sonovawitch!: And Other Tales of Supernatural Law

   Wolff and Byrd, the Counselors of the Macabre have their toughest case yet involving a young woman whose been placed under a love spell. She's so head over heels for her boss, the hapless Marty, that he had to let her go and file a restraining order. Now the unwitting Marty is being sued for the first ever case of hexual harassment and it just may be his mama, an honest to gosh witch!

   Along with this monumental case, Wolff and Byrd must juggle a docket full of mobster vampires, Igors accused of preaching the ways of the occult to preschoolers, a Doctor Kevorkian-type who brings people BACK from the dead, and a solo adventure starring the World's Greatest Secretary, Mavis!

   Batton Lash is such a master of spooky satire mixed with elements of Law & Order and soap opera melodrama. On paper, this shouldn't appeal to me as I am not really a fan of sappy fodder. But with the deft homages to classic horror films, pop culture slashers, and retro sci-fi, I am in love with Supernatural Law!

   Another collection of great stuff.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Soddyssey & Other Tales of Supernatural Law (Supernatural Law Volume 3)

   The docket is full for Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd, the Counselors of the Macabre. While preparing for a major case involving Sodd, the Living Swamp, the lawyers tackle cases involving a zombie facing tax evasion, a statue that suddenly came to life and refuses to go on a world tour, and then help a certain pair of FBI agents solve a case involving alien abduction. Then the New York-based litigators head down to the Big Easy to help Dracula reclaim his home from squatters before heading back to the Big Apple to resolve the Sodd case.

   I love the series Supernatural Law. It's very under the radar for most people- but like my wife says of me, I'm not most people. I found a collection at the library a good, jeez, I don't know how long. It's campy, cerebral, and spooky take on classic horror stories and urban legends just spoke to me and I instantly feel in love. 

   Created and lovingly crafted by Batton Lash, the brains behind Archie Meets The Punisher, perhaps the most unusual team up of all-time, doesn't disappoint in this awesome treasury. Why I'm so hooked on SL that I immediately went to Amazon after finishing this fantastic book and bought 2 more! It's that good!

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars,

Daredevil, Volume 3: The Daredevil You Know (Marvel NOW!)

   

   Matt Murdock agrees to defend an aged stunt driver in a copyright infringement case. Age and injury have caused the former thrill seeker to give up the rights to his original stage name, 'The Stuntman', to a pharmaceutical company. In turn, the corporation has hired out a young upstart that has taken to taunting his namesake.

     The attacks become so merciless, that the old man takes his own life unable to withstand the pressure of the looming court battle. This enrages Murdock to challenge the new Stuntman in order to restore his client's good name. But should the hero lose in a race across the Golden Gate Bridge, it will mean that he too must forfeit his right to the title of 'The Man Without Fear.'

     Speaking of the title- that's also what Murdock and his ghost writer Foggy Nelson is calling his autobiography. Making his deadline isn't going to be easy with a slew of baddies, mishaps, and betrayals will get in Daredevils way. All this leads to what is probably the worst Daredevil costume variant of all-time and in the superhero forging a deal with a most unexpected devil.

       Volume 3 is the penultimate Marvel NOW! collection by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee before the events of 2015's Secret Wars that will reboot not just the Daredevil franchise but the entire Marvel Universe. This was yet another fantastic offering by Waid and Samnee and it's Daredevil at his best.

     Things have been going pretty well for Matt Murdock lately. Yet, it can be said that Daredevil is at his best when he is at his lowest. And by the end of this volume, things are going to get so low, he may just have to sell his soul to his own personal devil if he's ever going to get another chance to make things right again.

    Worth Consuming but I wasn't such a big fan of the first story arc involving the Stuntman as I was in the rest of the comics reprinted in this edition.

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

She-Hulk, Volume 2: Disorderly Conduct (Marvel NOW!)

   A business neighbor of Jen's hires She-Hulk, not for a case but to complete some superheroing work. The neighbor is a scientist, who along with his partner, are making strides in the field of shrinking organic material. Only, the partner has gone missing, and presumed shrunk- also, there's the nasty business of the formula not quite being perfected yet, so he might explode at any moment and take half of New York with him. Enter the pioneer of shrinking technology, Hank Pym, who along with She-Hulk and Hellcat, race against time in an adventure straight out of 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.'

    Then She-Hulk must travel to the West Coast to defend Steve Rogers in a wrongful death case dating back to his days before becoming Captain America. But will she be able to defend the aged Sentinel of Freedom when she learns that her civil court opponent is none other than the Man Without Fear, Matt 'Daredevil' Murdock.

   Lastly, Jen gets to the bottom of the mysterious Blue File. But, with nobody able to remember just what happened in the Dakotas, She-Hulk will have to use all of her technical legal resources available to find the answers she's looking for. Plus, she'll probably call in a few favors from the superhero community as all New York lawyers are able to do as well.

    This volume marks the end of yet another dynamic She-Hulk series that just couldn't find an audience. She's a fan favorite (and a favorite of mine), but she's more often looked at as a comedic sex-pot like Marilyn Monroe as opposed to a serious kick-ass superheroine. This should be considered a crime because while she's a very funny character, She-Hulk a top-notch Marvel hero to boot. 

    Another thing Jennifer Walters is is a crackerjack lawyer. But it might be this very reason that the series ended way too soon. The series writer, Charles Soule, claims in the book's afterword, that this series was meant to be heavier on law as opposed to action. Maybe that kept fans away but as a fan of the comedic law thriller 'Supernatural Law' I enjoyed the Law & Order approach to this series. 

   Some might argue that She-Hulk wasn't meant to go more than 12-issues because of everything going on with the Marvel reboot series Secret Wars. But, if that was the case, then She-Hulk would be returning with an all-new series later this year and that just doesn't seem likely to happen. Soule claims that this series was only planned for a year's worth of issues but I've heard that line so much, it's become a cliched excuse when a series ends early.

   I want to go back to the art for just a second. I have mentioned that She-Hulk is a cult favorite because of her sex appeal. Well, in this series, she's attractive looking but she's not cheesecake material. Series artist Javier Pulido has more of a Latin style in his work. It's big on using pastels and watercolors to flesh out the art. It can also give a character a bit of a blotchy look to them and it's not the cleanest of art styles. It's not quite Impressionist art, but it's close and I think this style makes She-Hulk look less like a goddess and more down to earth. If anything, I would bet that it's how she and the other females in this book are drawn that kept the fanboys away. Yet another crime of passion against the great green female superhero of the Marvel Universe.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

She-Hulk, Volume 1: Law and Disorder (Marvel NOW!)

Jennifer Walters has decided to branch out and start her own private law firm. Tired of being used as a bargaining chip to lure the superhero crowd into some prestigious firms as clients, She-Hulk decides that enough is enough and that she's ready to tackle some real cases. But with a reputation of being a hot head and in possession of  only one potential case- a mysterious brief called the Blue File, it's going to take everything in her arsenal to make it on her own.

    I love She-Hulk and this collection of Marvel NOW! issues written by Charles Soule builds upon the quirky nature of the past She-Hulk series crafted by John Bryne and Dan Slott. She's funny, sexy, and brilliant in one muscular green package. But unlike her previous series, this She-Hulk is a superhero who happens to be a lawyer instead of the other way around. What I mean is that Jennifer's law practice is more of the focus of this series than her superhero antics. If you like the Batton Lash series, 'Supernatural Law' then this is a series for you just replace the monsters with superheroes.

   'Law and Disorder' is filled with some fun new characters such as Jen's new paralegal and her capuchin monkey Hei-Hei and the wacky inventor type neighbors in the business complex that She-Hulk rents her office. There's also great support added to the mix with Patsy 'Hellcat' Walker as Jen's private investigator and the feline Tigra for added muscle.

The book was perfectly written and plotted with some crafty cases. First, Jennifer attempts to settle a lawsuit for copyright infringement with ex-lover Tony Stark. Then she motions for asylum for Kristoff Vernard, the son of Doctor Doom and finally she makes time to get to the bottom of just what is the Blue File. The document lists She-Hulk and several other members of the super-powered community as defendants. Only Walters doesn't remember ever being sued by some mystery man from North Dakota. When She-Hulk and her legal team manage to go investigating they uncover that whoever behind it has taken deadly steps in preventing the case from ever being reopened again.

   Though this volume closes the lid on the Blue File, I doubt that that's the end of it. Just last week volume 2 dropped and I hope to get my hands on that really soon. This series of She-Hulk was a great read to unwind to and not be pressured with too dramatic of a story line. I just hope that the art gets better.

   The first 3 or 4 issues were drawn Javier Pulido. His style evokes that of one of my personal favorites of all-time, Mike Allred. Even the inking and color scheme was similar. But the issues involving the Blue File were penciled and inked by a different artist, one Ron Wemberly. I was not a fan and nowhere near impressed.

   Wemberly's She-Hulk looked more like an office casual Gamora, complete with those dark green eyespots that are iconic of the most lethal woman in the cosmos. I might overlook such a thing if it wasn't for the fact that just about every other character is drawn like that too. An even worse offense is that the normally sexy Tigra is drawn in such a way that she looked like my cats when I give them a bath: like a wet rat. Like I said, not a fan- and I hope the series went back to Pulido's handiwork. I guess I'll be finding out soon.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Daredevil (2011-2014), Volume 1

 I was born right before the Frank Miller era on Daredevil. So, by the time I was 3 or 4 and starting to read and get interested in super heroes and comics, the only Daredevil I knew was dark, brooding, and seemed to be the bad luck Chuck of the Marvel Universe. It seemed like every relationship Matt Murdock would have with a woman would end in their death, of tragically. Plus, after being exposed as Daredevil in public, sent to prison, and then possessed by a demon and made the evil leader of the Hand band of ninjas, it just seemed like nothing would go ole Hornhead’s way.

  Enter Mark Waid, the legendary scribe of such classics as Kingdom Come and Spider-man, as well as holding the distinction of being referred to as the only man alive to have read every Superman comic book ever made. Well, Mr. Waid hoped to add a little joy to Daredevil’s life. After 30 plus years of doom and gloom, the author thought it was time for some levity. I think Mark Waid made the write choice (pun intended!)

Though the public still thinks Murdock is Daredevil, there’s still some lingering doubt, because hey, the guy’s blind! However, that uncertainty has made any trail case defended by Murdock or his partner, Foggy Nelson a laughing stock and a kangaroo court. Thus, the firm of Murdock and Nelson is forced to change their strategy. Instead of defending the downtrodden and wronged, the lawyers will now prep these clients in how to properly defend themselves in court. If the client wins, Murdock and Nelson get a percentage of their winnings.

Their first client has a history of hearing voices. So when Daredevil goes on an investigation of his own, he finds perhaps the worst enemy possible for a blind superhero that relies on a type of echolocation to perform his duties. That’s right, Daredevil runs afoul of Klaw, the super villain made of living sound.

Also, there’s page after page of beautiful artwork that has a Mike Allred/ Darwyn Cooke quality to it thanks to artists Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin. It’s clean, retro, and the color palettes are stunning. Also, their take on Daredevil’s ‘radar’ sense is brilliant and shines where the film failed. Plus, if you look at this volume’s cover, you’ll see how the artists are using words to describe sounds and how they make a shape of an object around Daredevil. His radar sense gives him a 360 degree idea of his surroundings and I think this technique was brilliantly executed. I might just have a couple of new favorite artists.

I like this new take on Daredevil. That goes to say that I don’t hate what Miller or his numerous predecessors did with the hero. I just find that I like brevity and wit, and humor, and to see the day-to-day workings of superheroes when they are in their secret identities. The rest of this series is now on my radar!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Cops #1

   No- this isn’t a comic based on Fox’s documentary series COPS. These are the Centralized Organization of Police Specialists. When the cartoon came out in the 80s, I thought it strange that there were so many different cop uniforms and it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Little did I know that SWAT teams and bomb units and even Texas Marshall’s did indeed have their own costumes.

 Rumor has it that Mattel wanted a cartoon based on Robocop and had characters and villains mocked up ready for production. But the movie was so violent and filled with scenes of attempted rape and drug use that the idea was scrapped. However, Mattel already had invested millions in the idea and looking to make lemonade from lemons, so they kept the futuristic scenery and made up new heroic characters and named the cartoon COPS. That 'Cops' was also a hit series on Fox at the time didn’t hurt either.

 Here, a crazed scientist with an exposed brain tries to join the Big Boss’ crew. On the head honcho’s tail is a G-Man that already took out the baddie’s baby brother. When the G-Man goes into a coma, a clandestine crew of policemen from across America are recruited to bring order to the harsh landscape of Central City.

 It’s juvenile- but it’s fun. The art is really good for a campy looking cartoon. I think if I understood police like I do now, I would have liked the cartoon of the 80s better. But, now I see the campy side of this product and I like it even more. Especially, the bad guys- they’re extremely cartoonish even though they commit dastardly acts of violence.

 The most important thing is the writing. For an 80s TV tie-in, it’s really good. I’m talking Larry Hama doing GI Joe good! The verdict is not quite out, but I am seriously thinking this is going become a series added to my wish list.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.