The Loud House (2017 FCBD) (Family Comic Friday)

With it being the first week of school, I just didn't have time to read a new book for this week's review. Not to fret. I've got a stack of books that I've read but yet to review. 

The book I chose from my pile is a 2017 Free Comic Book Day offering from Papercutz and the kid friendly cable network, Nickelodeon. Based on the long running animated series of the same name, The Loud House is the story of young Lincoln Loud. Lincoln is the only boy and middle child of a family of 11 kids. That means Lincoln has 5 older sisters and 5 younger sisters.

Being the only boy in the family is hard. He never gets into the bathroom. He has to wait forever to use the phone. And when it comes to watching anything he wants on TV; forget it! At least Lincoln gets his own room. But life in a house full of 10 sisters is anything but serene. 

The premise of this series has Lincoln breaking the fourth wall to tell viewers (or in the case of this comic book, readers) how chaotic things can be. To get a little peace and quiet, or just the upper hand, Lincoln schemes and plans. Past capers have involved Lincoln working to get the best seat on the family van and trying to survive a zombie-like flu that is wiping out Loud siblings one by one. 

Don't think just because this freebie was from 2017 that fans of the show won't be able to enjoy the comic antics of Lincoln and his sisters. Papercutz has released 18 graphic novels based on the Loud House with the latest volume released just this summer!

The Loud House was an adorable book. I felt like Lincoln Loud was a mix of Kevin McCallister and Bart Simpson without any of the real obnoxious bits. Those elements are for his 10 sisters. Even though his 10 sisters drive Lincoln crazy, deep down, they love each other and if someone was to hassle brother Loud, the Loud sisters would bring down some swift vengeance. That's because the only one that gets to pick on Lincoln is his sisters!

A must for fans of the series.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Rocko's Modern Afterlife #1 (A Family Comic Friday Extra)

Another beloved all-ages franchise adds zombies to the mix and gets gritty in this Family Comic Friday Extra. First it was Archie. Then Scooby-Doo went on to battle the walking dead. Now from your friends at Nickelodeon and Kaboom, it’s Rocko’s Modern Afterlife!

Rocko’s Modern Afterlife #1
Created by Joe Murray
Story by Anthony Burch
Art by Mattia Di Meo
Published by The Boom! Studios Imprint Kaboom
Retail: $3.99

A zombie apocalypse has infected the residents of O-Town. It’s unsafe to be out on the streets. But that’s a-okay with Rocko as he’s not really big on technology or large crowds of people. Yet, when his food supply suddenly runs low and the fate of one of his best friends hangs in the balance, our hero wallaby will have to risk his neck to save the day!

A story involving a monster doesn’t necessarily mean that the adventure isn’t for kids. Children literature is full of age appropriate tales of vampire bunnies and elementary school workers who are witches or werewolves. The same goes for this 4-issue mini-series written by actor and writer Anthony Burch (A Bug’s Life). Rocko’s Modern Afterlife is a book that can be enjoyed by some children; just not all.

The experience of seeing characters change from a normal everyday job to brain-eating ghoul can be unnerving. Plus, having the undead attack, bite and even feast on others is also quite intense for younger readers. Back issues of sister series Rocko’s Modern Life are aimed for readers aged 8-12. I would advise the age range for this series to be for readers 10 and up. But as always with Family Comic Friday, I make parental suggestions and not demands. Besides, those of you who grew up watching Rocko in the 90s know that the show was never one to shy away from pushing the envelope with double entendres or satirical social commentary.

Mattia Di Meo’s art is very well done. The Rugrats and Adventure Time artist does a fabulous job of rendering the characters are they looked on the TV screen. And the zombies are extremely menacing. I believe that Di Meo’s stunning art is one reason why Rocko’s Modern Afterlife might not sit well with the youngest of comic book fans.

This new take on Rocko’s Modern Life keeps the quirky spirit of the franchise alive and well, even if some of your favorite characters aren’t. It’s a little more mature that the 90s cartoon. But unlike Afterlife with Archie and Scooby Apocalypse, the Rocko franchise has not gone into the realm of teen plus. With the subtle scares, this series would have been perfect for a September/October drop just before All Hallow’s Eve.

If the younger reader in your life isn’t quite old enough to enjoy this mini- don’t worry. They’ll grow up. And when they do, as Marty McFly would say, ‘Your kids are gonna love it!’

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Ren & Stimpy Show #13

It's a book chock full of Halloween fun with your friends Ren and Stimpy!

The boys are working the graveyard shift in a graveyard. It gets kinda weird and spooky at night. So Ren tells a story to help pass the time. Set in the 1940s, when a piece of chewing gum gets hit with a massive burst of radiation, the world is terrorized by Goo-Gum, The Living Candy! 

I love Ren and Stimpy! They were funny, gross and actually a lot smarter than you think. There were lots of inside jokes, clever puns, and just brilliant moments of madcap insanity. I miss that show!

Finding issues of The Ren & Stimpy Show comic book is like finding never-before-seen episodes! The comics are designed like the cartoon was with multi-part stories spread throughout, fun parody ads, and even Ask Mr. Stupid! 

I often find these issues for a dollar or less at a local thrift store. I've even found an autographed issue or two. Somebody was a big fan and had almost the entire series run, along with annuals and one-shots. This issue was a great read for a Halloween night done in the Nick Toons style! Marvel Comics, you were a master at getting this title right!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

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

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

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

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

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

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com.

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

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

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

Rocko's Modern Life #7 (Family Comic Friday)

This week's selection for Family Comic Friday should make Mom and Dad smile… along with the kiddies too. It’s the return of a Nicktoons classic- Rocko’s Modern Life. But with this issue, I wasn’t sure if this was supposed to be a nostalgic trip for just the parents or was it supposed to be fun for the whole family?

Rocko’s Modern Life #7

Written by Ryan Ferrier, K.C. Green

Art by Ian McGinty, Jorge Monlongo (Cover)

Published by Kaboom! Studios

First of all, I would like to point out that the story listed by Previews and other sites is false. Issue #7 does not have our favorite wallaby, Rocko, going to his high school reunion. Instead, Rocko’s job at Conglom-o Corporation is causing him great stress. It turns out that the company’s biggest seller, the Pi-Hole, is malfunctioning. The Amazon Echo-like device keeps ordering stuff that people didn’t ask for and in mass quantities as well.

When Rocko goes to complain to the head of the Conglom-o Corporation, the wallaby learns of a conspiracy in which the company wants to enslave the people of earth to the useless goods and wares sold by the company. Thus, always in debt, the customers of Conglom-o would be beholden forever to the company.

The manic nature of Rocko’s Modern Life which ran from 1993-96 is still present in this comic book from kaboom! Studios. Ian McGinty’s art overtakes not only panels but pages, just like in the classic Nickelodeon series. And the characters of Heifer and Filburt are as neurotic and dumb as usual. But was Rocko also such an adult oriented cartoon???

True, the cartoon of Rocko’s Modern Life had some dirty Easter eggs in the background. Things like strategically placed initials of businesses that spell out bad words and other inside jokes. But properties like Disney and Warner Brothers have been guilty of the same thing for years. No, when I talk about RML being adult, I am talking about the overt subject matter.

When Rocko discovers that Conglom-o is trying to take over the world through some free enterprise sleight of hand, the protagonist goes on a rant. He tries to warn all of the citizens of O-Town of the dangers of capitalism. Earlier, there’s also some pretty unsubtle talk about the lack of privacy on social media. Plus, it’s not lost on this comic book reader that the Pi-Hole and it’s malfunctions is a satire of the many faults of Amazon’s all-purpose home assistant Alexa.

So with these cases in point, was the cartoon this comic is based on so brazen in it’s social commentary? I really don’t remember it being like this. Maybe I was too young to notice. Or maybe I have a good point!

Reboots are all the rage right now in the entertainment industry. Some of  these returning properties are aging right along with the viewers who grew up with them. Is that the plan of the editors at Kaboom!? If so, maybe they shouldn’t have released this series under the all-ages imprint of Kaboom!, but under the more adult oriented Boom! Studios.

I don’t really have a problem under which imprint that the put Rocko. But I do think that a lot of the social commentary in this storyline isn’t geared for an all-age audience. Let’s say all of the things covered in this tale was occurring in real life 25 years ago. If this story was done as a cartoon in 1993, I think my sister, who is 12 years younger than me, would have gotten a lot of laughs out of Rocko’s frantic behavior. But I don’t think she would have understood why he’s so upset about capitalism and data breaches.

This comic book doesn’t have a rating on it. The Kaboom imprint is supposed to be for a younger audience. But I wouldn’t go too young. I think readers under the age of 10 will enjoy the silly aspects. Those aged 11-15 might get some of the deeper concepts. But mom and dad, they’ll be the ones to get all the inside jokes. They’ll also feel old knowing that Rocko’s Modern Life debuted back when Bill Clinton was President, Nicktoons was a Saturday night rite of passage and Amazon was little more than a jungle in South America.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Invader Zim #27 (Family Comic Friday)

Here we go with another Family Comic Friday. For today's post, I reviewed the latest issue of Invader Zim from Oni Press, issue #27. Based on the popular but short lived Nickelodeon cartoon series of the same name, this comic continues to follow tiny alien invader Zim as he attempts to conquer the world. Assisting him is his faithful but not very competent robot assistant GIR. 

In this issue, Zim wants to conquer the earth with an army of radioactive powered beavers. To do this, the would-be ruler of earth needs a rare element called Splodium-235. However, Zim's supply of Splodium has run out. It looks like Zim may have to scrap his plans. That is until he discovers that a large deposit of Splodium-235 rests underneath his secret lair. 

This will require Zim and GIR to burrow deep into earth's crust to obtain the ore. Unfortunately, the Splodium has already been discovered by another would-be alien conqueror named Xooxi!

Xooxi just happens to be a member of the Dooxisi race. Known as the most boring aliens in the universe, Zim must become friends with Xooxi if he hopes to obtain the much needed element for his radioactive beaver army. Facing a day filled with slide shows, awful board games, and dirt tea, let's just hope Zim doesn't die of boredom before this encounter is over. 

I'm going to be honest with you folks, I did not realize what I had selected. I thought this was Earthworm Jim. A huge fan of Doug TenNapel, my thoughts were that this comic was based on the superhero earthworm video game/cartoon series from the late 90s. This was an entertaining comic book. It just wasn't what I thought it was. 

I had to read this book twice because after the first reading, I was very disappointed that this book did have anything to do with Earthworm Jim. Plus on the last page two human characters pop up out of nowhere. Their very presence left me very perplexed as I felt that at first read, they had nothing to offer to the story. For someone totally unfamiliar with the Invader Zim franchise, it was a really mind-boggling twist. I thought for a couple of minutes that somebody accidentally printed the wrong last page. After a little research, I discovered my mistake about the new characters. So, I gave this issue another try. 

The two human characters are a boy and girl named Dib and his sister Gaz. Dib is an amateur paranormal investigator who constantly tries to prove that Zim really is an alien. Gaz, a true skeptic, often berates Dib when his theories don't pan out. Though Zim doesn't appear in the last page, Dib is once again made a fool for thinking aliens exist by his kid sister!

After that second read, I can say that this story by Eric Trueheart was very funny. There's a few fart jokes peppered throughout. Plus, Zim can get a little violent, but that level is about as serious as stuff you'd see in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. In other words, Zim might get hurt but by the next scene, he's dusted himself off nicely. 

The artwork by Maddie C. was pretty good. Again, not being familiar with the show, I don't quite know how Zim is supposed to look. With exception of a couple of pictures on Google, I couldn't tell you if that was Invader Zim or a Space Invader. But from what little I did see, Maddie C's work looked pretty accurate. 

If you are an established fan of Invader Zim, then I think you are in for a treat. Fans of UFO comedies like Men In Black and Marvin the Martian will enjoy this too. 

If the young reader in your life is unfamiliar with Invader Zim, now might be a good time to get them introduced to this series. Sometime later this year, Nicktoons will air an all-new TV movie produced by series creator Jhnoen Vasquez. Expected to feature all of the original voice cast, there is some speculation that if the movie is a success, a new series of Invader Zim might be in the works for 2019.

Invader Zim #27 was a funny story. It just wasn't the best starting point issue for new fans. But I think those who already know of and love the franchise will delight in this all-ages romp.

Issue #27 debuted in stores and digital platforms on January 24th.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

This review was published concurrently on outrightgeekery.com.

Batman/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Variant Cover C by Turtles Co-creator, Kevin Eastman.

  Earlier this year, the worlds of Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collided for the very first time. But that comic team-up was aimed at teen and adult audiences. (Very few people know that the Ninja Turtles was originally a very gritty and mature parody of Frank Miller’s Daredevil comics.)

   Well, in order to placate those who called for an all-ages teaming of the two franchises, DC and IDW joined forces again to bring us Batman/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures. The miniseries which hit shelves with issue #1 this past Wednesday is set in the TMNT Nickelodeon animated universe and the Batman: The Animated Series Universe, marking the return of the original TAS universe in comics form in almost 20 years! When I saw the ad for this series a couple of weeks ago, it immediately went on my wish list and issue #1 did not disappoint!

   In the Batman Universe, a number of inmates from Arkham Asylum have escaped and seemingly vanished without a trace. When the Dark Knight finally catches up with Two-Face, the dual villain rambles on about a world without a ‘Two-Face...without a Harvey Dent… Without a Batman!’

   Meanwhile, in the Ninja Turtles universe, the Shell-heads are facing a problem of their own. Archenemy Kraang and his people have activated another inter-dimensional portal into the Turtles sewer lair. But instead of a bunch of pink brain creatures pouring through it, the guys battle a man made of mud that can change into anything and anyone: Clayface!

   Though the Caped Crusader and the Heroes in the Half Shell never meet, parts of their two universes do bleed over. I believe that there’s supposed to be a total of 6-issues in this storyline. So the two parties are going to come face-to-face. I just hope it’s sooner than later.

     The artwork is primarily in the vein of the Nickelodeon series. But Ninja Turtle  artist Jon Sommarvia along with inker Sean Parsons do a fairly good job in their renderings of Batman, Alfred, Two-Face and Clayface. But there were a couple of characters that really look nothing like the original animated series or the Batman/Robin and Justice League spin-offs for that matter. I’d tell you who they are, but I don’t wanna ruin the surprise yet…

   I really enjoyed this issue. Various Batman titles writer Matthew K. Manning has done a great job thus far and I think this will end up as one of the all-time classic team-up stories that appeal to a wide spectrum of generations of Batman and Ninja Turtle fans.

  

   Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Ren & Stimpy Show Holiday Special, 1994

    

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy! That's what Christmas is all about to good little Stimpy J. Cat. And getting Toys! Well, at least that's what arguably lovable Ren Hoek thinks.
      This special from 1994 is a compilation of 2 holiday-themed comics from the Marvel series based on the classic kids cartoon plus some all new material. The first half of the special involves Mr. Yak flipping channels and being inundated with dozens of horrible Christmas specials. Then Ren must earn money in order to buy Stimpy a legendary Log (It's big, it's heavy, it's wood.) after he discovers that Stimpy used his life savings to buy his chihuahua friend a Christmas gift.
   Then it's back to some more of those weird holiday specials. I say they're weird because most of them involve characters dressed up as walruses. This is some sort of secret shame to dress as such and to my honest recollection, I have no memory of this running gag. But I can tell you it gets old real quick.
  Lastly, Ren seeks revenge on Ol St. Nick after Stimpy gets a ton of presents for being good and the puppy has wound up on the naughty list. Kris Kringle will learn his lesson though as Ren's found enough incriminating evidence to put him permanently back on the good list while being able to earn some dough blackmailing characters such as Powdered Toast Man.
    I rather liked this holiday special. I've read the second story involving Ren blackmailing Santa before. Thankfully, it was the only thing I had read before. Plus, there was more stuff in the issue I had read previously, like an 'Ask Dr. Stupid' segment and some fake commercials. I'm assuming that there is some unused material in the other issue from which in this book was culled. So, that issue is still on my wish list. Plus as I mentioned before, there is some all-new material in this book along with the reprints.
   I love Ren & Stimpy. It was a treat to watch growing up in the 90s with my kid sister and getting to revisit this world once again through this holiday special has me wanting to do two things really bad- 1) get all of the books in the Marvel regular series and 2) watch some Ren & Stimpy!
   It's a little gross, a little corny, and totally weird, but I love it and it's worth consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Ren & Stimpy Show #6

When Powdered Toast Man is away, his good buddy Spider-man must fill in. This is fortuitous as someone has turned the beacon of a nutritious breakfast into a baddie. Thus, it’s up to your friendly neighborhood Ren and Stimpy to assist Spider-man in saving not only the day BUT the most important meal of the day as well.

This issue was shear insanity. But, when you can’t watch the classic Nickelodeon show, this is the next best thing. Has Ren and Stimpy ever been released on DVD? I remember those god awful neon orange VHS tapes but without a working VCR, what’s a Reniac to do?

This issue was great. The art was spot on to that of the TV show. This issue didn’t have a commercial to break the action, like the classic LOG. But, the letters pages is done as an “Ask Dr. Stupid” segment and made up for the lack of middle act. I hope to find the rest of this series someday and one day- I’ll get my DVDs too!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Rocko's Modern Life #2

It’s been a long time since I saw an episode of Rocko’s Modern Life, but this trip down memory lane was the perfect substitute. The zany plots abound with Rocko’s pet dog having a severe stomach issue and then Rocko and his cow-pal Heifer crash their annoying neighbor’s house and become the life of his office party.

 

The gross jokes, off-the-wall puns, and bizarre look at Australian wild-life are captured in living color. Sadly, much of the art looks nothing like the characters of this classic Nickelodeon cartoon of the mid-90s.

 

Despite that, it’s still worth consuming.

WORTH CONSUMING!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.