Jingle Belle: The Whole Package!

Jingle Belle and DC's Mistress of Mayhem, Harley Quinn, are cut from the same cloth. Both are the non-conformist bad girl creations of Paul Dini. But as Harley got a bit more crude and more sexualized, the daughter of Santa mellowed out. 

Inspired by a Christmas card from Stephen Spielberg, Paul Dini created Jingle Belle in the late 90s. Debuting in the #13 issue of Oni Double Feature, readers are shown a family therapy session between rebellious teen Jingle Belle and her stern but loving parents, Santa and Mrs. Claus. The first appearances of Jingle Belle were hilarious but a bit shocking. Jingle Belle was slutty, mixing it up with the local Eskimo boys and getting into all sorts of mischief. As the artwork of the various Jingle Belle specials got more refined, so did Santa's little girl. I think her friends Sheriff Ida Red of Mutant, Texas, Halloween witch Polly Girl and frenemy Tashi Ounce helped give the character some balance. Thankfully, Jingle Belle never lost her spirit. She remains a dreaming slacker who when she gets inspiration for something, she goes a bit overboard to the point of utter chaos. Plus, if you tick her off or you mess with her friends, she will destroy you! Man, she really does sound like a certain ex-girlfriend of the Clown Prince of Crime...

Every Jingle Belle story ever told up to 2016 is included in this IDW Publishing Omnibus with 2 exceptions. 'Jingle Belle's Christmas Party' which was published on Dini's website in 2017, is not here. Although some of the preview artwork minus the narrative from that story does appear in gallery in the back of this book. Jingle Belle: The Homemades' Tale was published later on in 2018. (Whew... Good thing I already have this one-shot!)

After 2018, either IDW or Paul Dini lost interest in the character. There haven't been any new comics starring Jingle Belle in almost 6 years. On his website, Dini posted a Dave Alvarez penned work of Belle surfing atop a narwhal on the shores of Hawaii. This was just 3 days ago. And Dini hinted we'd see Jingle Belle again next fall. I hope we'll see more of Jingle Belle soon and not just as a pin-up. I'd like very much to encounter more hi-jinx from her. I'd LOVE it if Dini would have her team-up with Harley Quinn. That would be such an epic Hanukkah/Christmas crossover that I'd buy extra issues to give out to friends and family as my Christmas card for the year!

If Paul Dini, DC Comics and IDW Publishing (if they still own the rights) could make this happen, it would be the best Chrismukkah ever!!!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Oni Double Feature #13

Oni Double Feature was an anthology series produced by Oni Press. It ran for only 13 issues from 1998-99. The final issue of this series has been on my radar for quite some time. That's because this issue features the debut of a seasonal favorite- Paul Dini's Jingle Belle.

Jingle Belle is the teenage daughter of Santa and Mrs. Claus. Bored with a life of building toys at the North Pole, Jingle seeks thrills like taking her flying yak for joyrides and rubbing noses with the local Eskimo boys. In our introduction to Jingle Belle, the Claus family are hashing things out in family therapy. Let's just say things aren't going to be fixed with just 1 session...

This early version of Jingle is a diamond in the rough. The artwork isn't of that clean Disney look that artists like Stephanie Gladden and Kyle Baker helped to elicit through the half dozen or so one-shots and miniseries that were the result of this debut issue. Everything here looks crude and that's kinda how I would describe this early version of Santa's only daughter.

In the sequels, Jingle Belle is a lot like a festive version of another Paul Dini creation that I am a huge fan of: Harley Quinn. The established Jingle is playful, chaotic and maybe just a bit insane. This first take of the character is more like Tank Girl. Here, Santa's daughter is rude, crude and maybe a bit loose. But one thing is for sure; that Paul Dini magic that made me such a fan of Jingle Belle's universe is still at the heart of it all.

Being that this series made a point to feature 2 different properties, and that the cover states that this is an 'All Paul Dini Issue', I was prepared for only 1 of the stories being about Jingle Belle. I also suspected that the other story would not be holiday themed. With that said, I was okay with this issue not being 100% Christmas. As long as I am aware of it beforehand, a comic with a holiday cover not being completely festive is okay with me. However, I really was confused by the second story.

Story #2 was the second half of a Paul Dini tale about a trio of characters known as the Honor Rollers. The Rollers are high school students who seem to have stolen drugs from a dealer and that's made them the target of retribution. Meanwhile, there's a vindictive authoritarian type after the trio of boys. Not sure why and I'm also not very sure why these boys seem to be part of a boarding school while their classmates live at home with their folks. 

I obviously missed a lot of detail in the past issue. I've got the other 12 issues on my wish list as I am a sucker for anthology titles. Once I get my hands on issue #12, I'm sure I'll get my answers. I'm also sure I'll give this one a re-read. The Jingle Belle introduction wasn't perfect. But it was classic enough to enjoy again.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Gudetama: Surviving the Holidays

Gudetama. Pronounced Goo-De-Tah-Mah.

He's an anthropomorphic egg from Sanrio, creators of other such characters like Hello Kitty and Badtz-Maru. Along with his assistant, the egg-yolk leotard dressed Nisetama, Gudetama provides people advice throughout various holiday conundrums. 

Since this book covers Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year's, my original plan was to read bits and pieces of this book over the course of the next 45 days. However, this book doesn't follow any sort of calendar. Gudetama might help provide gift assistant with the employees at a local office party. Then he helps a family hosting a foreign exchange student experience Hanukkah before then helping a girl whose family gets really competitive playing games during Thanksgiving. I understand that Gudetama is a Japanese property, but I am pretty sure that they celebrate the traditional 'ber month' holidays in the same order we do in the States. 

Thus what I am trying to say is that I was hoping this book would have a survival guide section for Turkey Day, then another for the Festival of Lights, before slipping into Christmas, Kwanzaa and a quick trip through to the new year. I would have read each section as we reached the appropriate holiday. But since it didn't happen that way, I read this book in the course of one fun filled night. 

Written and illustrated by Wook-Jin Clark (Flavor), this book perfectly captured the holidays and the many troubles that come along with them. My first real introduction to Gudetama, I thought he was hilarious as a kind of protein packed version of Garfield, only not quite as snarky. Nisetama, while clearly an annoying soul, was a great foil to Gudetama; playing the Nermal role. I only wish this book was done in sections so as I could enjoy these two characters over the course of an entire holiday season.

And if Oni Press was to bring Gudetama back for another helping of holiday delights in the future, I would gladly put the egg and his human friend on the guest list for another round of cheer.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Algeria is Beautiful Like America (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The saying goes that the winners are the ones who write the history books. That may be the case. But that doesn't mean that the losers don't have a story to tell. Algeria is Beautiful Like America is an account of a family of French colonists to Algeria who after 50 years of settling, must flee their homes due to revolt. As the war gets more widespread, the book's featured family continues to move west before eventually returning to France in disgrace and immense financial hardship.

After years of hearing stories of her family's life in Algeria growing up, French professor Olivia Burton decides to take a pilgrimage to discover the African nation for herself. Though nearly 50 years have passed, Algeria is a nation still reeling from its war of Independence from France. A resulting civil war, terrorism and political strife has given Algeria the reputation of unsafe and unwelcoming, especially to the so-called Black Foot- French Christian and Jewish settlers of which Olivia is a descendant. 

Despite her family's misgivings, Olivia makes the trip to Algeria. But for the sake of safety and in need of an interpreter, Olivia meets Djaffar; an Algerian ex-pat who is in the country visiting relatives. Over the course of 3 days, Olivia and Djaffar will travel into the vast Algerian desert in hopes of locating her ancestral homes and anyone who might remember her family. She'll see the effects of colonialism from the perspective of Algeria's Muslim and Arab population. Before her trip ends, Olivia will also find a sort of redemptive closure that has been unattainable for her older family members.

Algeria is Beautiful like America was originally published in French in 2015 by Steinkis Editions. The volume I read was a 2018 English edition published by Oni Press. Some of Burton's story is confusing. The author's account of the Algerian Revolution is told in disjointed segments. Much of which is not in chronological order. 

I also had a lot of trouble trying to decipher Olivia Burton's definition of what a Black Foot is. Burton says that it's a French born Algerian. In my mind, that reads as a person from Algerian parents who happens to be born in the country of France. But to Burton's family, if you were born in France but happen to live in Algeria, you were a Black Foot; a term derived from the black leather footwear of early colonists. Yet Olivia's mother and grandparents were born in Algeria. I hope you can understand the confusion as I would think those family members should have been considered Algerian born French men and women. 

One element of this book that was not confusing was the artwork. The work of illustrator, Mahi Grand (La Conference/A Report to the Academy), is light years ahead of it's time. Grand uses some many creative framing techniques in this work that would make the great Jack Kirby jealous. Some of the scenes are done as photos from Burton's camera and Mahi Grand makes them almost lifelike. And the way he adapts his penciling to different decades of both French and Algerian history, it was like a team of illustrators were behind this work, not just one. 

This graphic novel memoir is something that I will not forget. I took a history class in college about Middle Eastern studies that looked at colonization from really only the indigenous perspective. It was interesting to finally get the European perspective even if it did take me almost a quarter of a century to obtain it. 

The book ends with Olivia meeting the family who now occupy the last domicile before her family returned to France. Apparently Olivia's family and the native family met during the moving process. A barrage of insults and bad blood was traded. Years later, one of the descendants says to Olivia, 'Neither you nor I are to blame for any of it. We must simply move on.' This sort of sentiment might seem passive. But it gives a promise of hope and healing. It's a message that I hope my country, America, can one day adopt especially as it seems like everything right now is at a breaking point. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #2 (Set in a Foreign Country) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 

Whiteout

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I tend to be a big fan of a lot of things. I know you might think when I say this that I am blowing smoke. But what I am about to say couldn't be any truer that anything I have ever posted on this blog.

I want to live in Antarctica!

 I love snow. I love the cold. I love the isolation. A dream job of mine would be to do a 9 month shift during the winter months as the head chef of a research station cafeteria or canteen. 

One of the big selling points is that all stationed on a research station on the frigid continent must read for 2 hours a day! It's scheduled so that you keep your mind active as cabin fever and trouble adjusting to permanent dark can screw with a person's mental state. And you get paid to read during that 2 hour window! 

Throw in a cat and this scenario would be heaven for me. And for lead character Special Deputy U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko, her cushy job at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, is a dream assignment. That is until she literally stumbles upon a pair of deep-froze corpses.

The discovery marks the first suspicious deaths on neutral Antarctica. As the only sanctioned law-enforcement on the frozen plain, Carrie's not even allowed to carry a sidearm, least she violate countless treaties. But as the body count begins to mount, Stetko will find herself teetering the edge of diplomacy as her investigation takes her to the research stations of several other nations. 

With her superiors breathing down her neck, Carrie has the added pressure of finding the culprit before all of the compounds clear out in time for the winter purge. Agent Stetko will find help and hindrances along the way. But her biggest nemesis will be the forbidding ice and cold of the South Pole! Can Carrie solve this tangled web of crime before the clues are buried under a blizzard of snow and deceit?

I saw the 2009 movie starring Kate Beckinsale and I loved it. I also had read the first 1 or 2 issues of this story and again loved it. But I never could get my hands on the last two chapters. Finally, I just recently got this collected edition and Wow! I was freakin' blown away by it. Greg Rucka's writing is much more gritty than the R-rated live-action version. And I love it!

The artwork by Steve Lieber (Hawkman) was fantastic. I didn't realize that those research stations were such a dump. That's definitely one thing that was over-glamorized in the film. This book is from 1998. So despite the grime, as long as smoking has been banned at the South Pole, I still wanna live there!

A great frozen crime thriller that doesn't end up as a cold case. And with 2 more miniseries continuing Stetko's tenure down under, I still have some more sub-zero mayhem to look forward to!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Kaijumax Season Two

Xander Cannon did it again! He crafts this tale of no hold's barred crime and punishment. Full of sinners and very little saints. Cannon illustrates a world in which characters who despite winning my heart wind up as worm food or worse! All the while, the giant monster/prisoner drama breaks my heart and makes me terribly uncomfortable. And yet when the ride is all over- I'm ready for more!

That's how it is with the second season of Kaijumax! An escaped prisoner (about 40 stories tall) defies the odds in order to reunite with his children! A rookie cop (about 40 stories tall) learns what it means to lose a partner and how to break in a new one! A prodigal son (also about 40 stories tall) must make amends with the passing of the estranged father!

While Season Two does carry over several story lines from the previous series, there's all sorts of new characters and angles that are added to the mix. Secrets are revealed. Debts are paid. And yet with everything going on, I would have to say most of the characters, as well as 90% of the island of kaiju prisoners from Season One are largely forgotten. 

Xander Cannon does promise at the end of this book that Season Three will bring it's focus back to the prison. I'm so looking forward to that. Unfortunately, I'm not sure when I will be able to make another visiting day at Kaijumax anytime soon. The pandemic has limited my resources. My library, which has volumes 3-5, is on delivery only and there's a 2-3 week waiting period for check-outs. But man, am I itching for another hit of this comic series that is a cross from HBO's Oz and the Godzilla films!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This is a Flying Rat (Family Comic Friday)

Ace is super excited! His friend Taco the squirrel and Whoopsie the Moose got to star in their own books. Now it's Ace the pigeon's turn! But interrupting the fun is a flying rat. An actual sewer dwelling rodent equipped with a fully functioning jet pack!! Join Family Comic Friday as we take flight with the hilarious This is a Flying Rat from Oni Press!

This is a Flying Rat
Written by Andrew Cangelose
Art by Josh Shipley
Published by Oni Press
Pages: 32
Retail: $15.99

If you are from a big city like I am, you are familiar with the term 'a rat with with wings.' It's what we call those cooing staples of statues and monuments: the pigeon. Part of that moniker is due a pigeon's likeliness to eat just about anything. Peanuts. Popcorn. Half-eaten sandwiches. Plus, they poop everywhere!

This is a Flying Rat is the latest in a very funny series of graphic novel-type readers for students aged 4-8 years of age. Characters from the other books in the series appear in this book, making for a contained universe. But in this volume, there's essentially only 3 characters; Ace the Pigeon. The Flying Rat. And the narrator, whose straight man disclosure of pigeons facts set-up some great zingers between the two animal main stars.

Author Andrew Cangelose is a teacher. His expertise with youngsters makes Cangelose an ideal scribe to capture those little things that make kids laugh. But parents and guardians are going to love this book too! And the illustrations by Josh Shipley are so animated and vivid!

This is a Flying Rat is sure to be a classic with your family.

This is a Flying Rat is set to debut  on September 8th. This is a Taco and This is a Whoopsie, the first two books in this series are currently available for sale now in print and digital formats.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Peng! Action Sports Adventures (Family Comic Friday!)

If you thought that the world of extreme sports couldn't get anymore wilder- think again! Welcome to the All-World School of Sportmanship where the title for the greatest advanced kickball champion is on the line! 

Peng! Action Sports Adventures
Written and Illustrated by Corey Lewis
Published by Oni Press
Pages: 136
Retail: $14.99

PENG! is… the sound a rubber ball makes when it is kicked!
PENG! is… a brand new kind of Sports Adventure comic!
PENG! is... a GAME CHANGER! 

The main story of Peng! was originally published as a giant-sized one-shot in 2005. Set in the Sharknife universe, it is the story of Sharknife's brother Rocky Hallelujah and his rookie kickball team, the Foot Knux. Can they fight their way up the ranks to become the ultimate advanced kickball champs as these newbies take on more seasoned teams?

Peng! is a Manga style story that blends 70s kung-fu movies with extreme sports and a little bit of Blade Runner style high-tech. The rose and black ink style is visually stunning. But sometimes, I felt that the dialogue was too contrived. As this book is a spin-off of the Sharknife series, there's a lot of inside references that will not make sense to one whose not read that sister publication. One element that was great were the splash pages that explains the rules of advanced kickball, how to proper watch the game and so forth. It made for Peng! to become that much more immersive for readers.

Along with the main story, there's two all-new adventures starring members of the Foot Knux team. 'Stall' shows the players practicing for another tournament in a round of hackey sack that is literally gravity defying. The third tale shows us just how far break-dancing has come in 40 years as one student of the All-World School of Sportsmanship seeks to not just become a master of the art form, but a legend as well!

The art of those stories were just as good as the first tale. But you can really see the level of improvement Corey Smith has made with his storytelling in those newer works. The dialogue was much more polished and things didn't seem so confusing. There was a zen-like quality to those new stories for sure!
An interesting collection of stories. Corey Smith takes a trio of beloved games and retools them for the 21st century and beyond! A must for Sharknife fans and those who love Manga. Peng! Action Sports Adventures is recommended for readers in grades 4-6. The level of action might be a little confusing for younger readers, especially in the opening story. There is one mild swear as well in the break-dancing story. But with exception of a couple of jokes about puke and a player who likes to bounce kickballs off of their backside, this is a book that parents should appreciate!

Take a look at a small preview of the hackey sack story 'Stall' below...

Peng! Action Sports Adventures will debut in print and digital formats on July 28th, 2020!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com. 

Clerks: The Lost Scene #1

This one-shot from Oni Press gives Clerks fans a look at an unproduced scene from the groundbreaking indy director Kevin Smith. The premise is that Dante and Randall skip out on their jobs to go to the wake of a high school friend of the two. Dante reveals that he and the deceased girl used to date and that the last time the woman's parents saw him, the pair were in flagrante delecto. Things are terse with Dante there. But things go from bad to worse when Randall loses Dante's car keys in the girl's coffin!

First of all, this lost scene technically isn't lost.( The cost of the wake was too much for Kevin Smith. I guess $27,000 on maxed out credit cards can only go so far.) So, yes, the wake sequence does not appear in the movie. But for the 10th anniversary DVD release, an animated version of the scene was added to the film. This comic book was released 5 years prior for anniversary #5. So at the time of publication, this story was unproduced.

It's been a very long while since I have seen anything unedited by Kevin Smith. Having only been watching Comic Book Men (May it rest in peace, unless somebody wisely brings it back!), I forgot how crude and vulgar the View Askewniverse can be. This comic book is definitely unedited. 

I could have done without the repulsive introduction and conclusion by Jay and Silent Bob. I mean it's explains why it's a lost scene. But anything that comes out of Jay's mouth is stuff that would make a sailor blush. 

Kevin Smith, notorious in the comic book industry for his trouble with deadlines, pens the one-shot naturally. But why was Phil Hester used? The Flash artist is definitely a talent. But I would have expected Comic Book Man Walt Flanagan to do the artwork. Was Flanagan not available? Or was he overlooked by Oni Press who wanted a more bankable name? Maybe he was too busy checking the perfectness of the next batch of eggs he was planning on buying? 

That's a Clerks reference folks! Fans had better get that one!

The story itself was funny. The bookends were regrettable. Good art. Just not who I would've guessed was behind it. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Invader Zim Quarterly #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Invader Zim might have ended with issue #50. But the fun continues in the over-sized new series Invader Zim Quarterly from Oni Press. This premier issue is a big one as it presents one of the missing cancelled stories from the Invader Zim TV show for the very first time! 

Invader Zim Quarterly #1
Written by Eric Trueheart
Art by Aaron Alexovich
Published by Oni Press
Retail: $5.99

Fans of Invader Zim are going to want to get their hands on this new quarterly comic! Several episodes of Invader Zim's second season on Nickelodeon went unproduced  due to slumping ratings and production costs. The subject of this first issue, 'Gir's Big Day' is one of those stories.

Zim sends his faithful, but rather dim robot helper Gir out in search of a tool. But along the way, Gir, in his green dog costume, is put through a series of hilarious misadventures! It all starts with being kidnapped by a mad scientist and then things get really crazy!

Original series writer Eric Trueheart returns to finish the story he never got to see aired on TV. This is the next best thing to an actual episode of Invader Zim. Gir's dialogue is perfectly scripted in his frank yet dumb nature. There are some very funny moments in this book. But to explain much more would really spoil the fun!

Invader Zim monthly series artist Aaron Alexovich is also back. He presents your favorite characters in their animated series style glory. But what he does with the new characters is so very clever. I loved the assortment of lab animals he created and there's another set of characters that look like something else. Let's just say how Gir deals with those beings was deliciously gory!

I had a lot of fun reading this oversized issue of Invader Zim. There's not very much of Zim. But that's okay. Gir does a fantastic job as the star for once!

I don't say it often as I feel that the term has lost a lot of meaning in the comic book realm. But with it's never-before-seen story, Invader Zim Quarterly is a true collector's item for fans of the series!

Invader Zim Quarterly debuts in print and other digital formats on June 17th 2020.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com. 

The Sunken Tower (A Family Comic Friday Extra!)

Are you looking for some excitement? How about some adventure? Maybe a few laughs? Then let’s go exploring The Sunken Tower in this week’s Family Comic Friday Extra!

The Sunken Tower, Book One
Written and Illustrated by Tait Howard
Published by Oni Press
Pages: 136
Retail: $17.99

When young Dig is kidnapped by a group of blood cultists, things look very grim. Dig, along with his cellmates Iana and Crina are about to be sacrificed to an ancient subterranean evil. But thanks to some magical abilities, Dig is able to help his colleagues escape. 

The flight from the cult won’t be easy as the captives find themselves in the middle of a sunken city. With the rabid followers on their heels, Dig and company’s only hope of escape is to find their way to daylight. That means a lengthy trek through the center of the abandoned town and straight up the stairs of the sunken tower!

The Sunken Tower promises to be the beginning of a new series of humorous adventures starring a young wizard, a warrior and rogue. This new epic from Oni Press is recommended for ages 8-12. Even though the baddies are members of a death cult, I don’t think that these guys could strike fear into just about anyone. They’re quite bumbling and they have some of the best lines in the whole book!

This book features characters of different races as well as lifestyles. Both Iana and Crina are two young ladies in love and another character makes some comments that suggest that he too is part of the LGBTQ community. Future volumes might reveal if that’s true. But to go any further into speculation will actually spoil one of the book’s many twists and turns.

I really enjoyed The Sunken Tower. It had some very funny moments. Plus, the action scenes rivaled some segments of The Lord of the Rings. The art was quite cartoony. But it actually fits with those scenes that made me laugh out loud! 

It really looks like Oni Press has a fantasy/comedy hit on it’s hands with this one!

The Sunken Tower debuted in hardcover print on March 11th, 2020.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com.

Kaijumax: Season One TPB

A combination of Godzilla movies and the HBO drama OZ. Imagine there is a island in which after a kaiju destroys a major city, it's captured and sent to a maximum security island for rehabilitation. 

This twist on the prison drama has a lot of the usual cliches. There's the inmates who've found religion. The slimy prison guard whose running a side racket inside the penitentiary. The crime capo whose running things behind bars. There's the newbie whose considered fresh meat. And there are those acts of unspeakable depravity and gall. 

While the cliches are there in this book, because of the sci-fi nature of the characters, there's some twists to this book as well. So while I feel like I've seen this before, Kaijumax is unlike anything I've ever seen or read, before!

While parts of this book made me quite uncomfortable, I was in awe of this book. Zander Cannon's (Star Trek: The Next Generation) labor of love was something that I couldn't look at yet couldn't put down at the same time. I liken the feeling to a driver who passes by a car accident- He does want to look at the carnage, but he can't stop looking in the wreck's direction either. 

I really want to read season 2!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Rick and Morty Vs. Dungeons & Dragons

Take someone whose never watched a single episode of Rick and Morty, nor have they ever played D&D, and have them read this book? Well, that's me. But thanks to the personal recommendation of Oni Press editor, Sarah Gaydos, I gave this book a try and I loved it!

At last year's Bull City Comic Com, I interviewed Gaydos as she was the driving force behind the epic Star Trek Vs. Transformers crossover when she worked at IDW. I asked her for any sneak previews of her new projects over at Oni and she told me that I must read this crossover even if I had never played Dungeons and Dragons or ever seen an episode of the Adult Swim hit series.

So I took up Sarah Gaydos challenge when I found this book where else but at my local library! And I loved it!

All of Morty's friends at school are enjoying role-playing games. Not wanting to be left out, Morty goes to his local gaming shop to find out what the fuss is all about. At the store, Morty flirts with a girl gamer who invites him to play D&D one night after the store closes.

Not knowing how to play the game, Morty reluctantly goes to Rick for assistance. Turns out, Rick Sanchez is a total gamer! So, Rick and his older buds try to teach Morty the basics of the game. Only Morty keeps dying! 

Running out of patience and character sheets, Morty insists that Rick create a world in which the rules of Dungeons and Dragons exist for reals in order to truly experience the game in a LARPing sort of way. With Morty's mom and siter eager for adventure and Morty's dad secretly being a master gamer himself, it seems that the Smith family might finally found a way to bond as the perfect family!

I have no real way of knowing if this comic book was anywhere really like the show as I've never seen Rick and Morty. But I know a bit about D&D from reading articles and having discussions with friends who do pole play. (Those certain episodes from The Big Bang Theory helped with my a priori knowledge of the game as well.) But what I can say is that this miniseries was a very funny and a fun read. 

I liked that all versions of D&D are explored including the CBS Saturday morning cartoon and Forgotten Realms. Well, almost all. Why is the Fourth Edition considered unspeakable garbage? I'm interested to learn if that's just an inside jokes or if that edition of Dungeons and Dragons is really that awful. Since Jim Zub is a big name D&D comics writer, I might just have to PM him on Twitter and ask....

The artwork by Troy Little was a great. It was a very good mix of Rick and Morty cartoon meets realistically gritty Dungeons and Dragons art. Now in the comics, all of the orcs, dragons and villains are drawn in the style of the Adult Swim series. But a lot of those amazing covers done by Little and friends have Rick and his grandson illustrated in an epically 'advanced' way!

The only thing I could have done without were the character sheets of the Smith and Sanchez clan. Since I don't play D&D, I didn't understand them. I didn't know if they were meant to be real or done as a joke. If it was the former, I missed out on the punchline.

Rick and Morty Vs. Dungeons and Dragons was a great read for anyone. As long as you are a geek that loves hanging out with friends at their favorite LCS or playing board games and such, you'll enjoy this book. You don't have to be a fan (or even all that acquainted) with either franchise. But it sure won't hurt if you are!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Cretaceous (Family Comic Friday)

Travel back in time to the days of the mighty thunder lizards in this week’s Family Comic Friday with the new graphic novel, Cretaceous!

CretaceousWritten and Illustrated by Tadd Galusha
Published by Oni Press
Pages: 160
Retail Price: $14.99
Tadd Galusha (Godzilla: Rage Across Time) must be a time traveler. I’ve never seen a more accurate portrayal of prehistoric nature than in this graphic novel. Punches are not pulled, literally! Dinosaurs fight- a lot! They die. They get eaten. They pee! There’s even a very graphic depiction of a live underwater birth.

Cretaceous is a book that is deceptively immature. First of all, the stars of this book are all dinosaurs. Kids of all ages love dinos! Then there’s the dialogue- there is none! Other than the Onomatopœia of the T-rex’s roar and crack of a branch from a stalking raptor, there are no words in this book. Even the fact file of creatures featured in back have very few words.

If there ever was a nature documentary on dinosaurs, I would expect it to look just like Cretaceous. The events covered in this book is some pretty intense stuff. The book is recommended for ages 10-12. Normally, I would point out how a book may even be okay for younger readers. Not this time. The level of violence, as well as how accurate the look of the creatures might actually make this book too scary for younger readers.

As research on dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures increases, our idea of what the animals really looked like is evolving. Baby dinos and some predator creatures had wings. This is one of the first non-academic books I’ve come across that actually features that aspect. Even the Jurassic Park trilogy, noted for its realistic depiction of such creatures, hasn’t been able to get that right!

Cretaceous was an extremely quick read. But it was exciting, thrilling and at some moments a little tragic. I know it’s still early in the year, but I think Tadd Galusha should be looked upon as candidate of some sort for an Eisner or other literary award for this graphic novel. It’s that well done and that good!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars!

Cretaceous debuted in print and digital formats on March 26th, 2019.

This review was continuously published on Outrightgeekery.com.

Atomic Blonde (Originally Published as The Coldest City)

An operative from MI-6 is sent to Berlin during the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her mission is to retrieve a missing dossier that lists all of the known American, British, and French spies operating in and about the Steel Curtain.

This book is the inspiration behind the 2017 hit action movie Atomic Blonde starring Charlize Theron. From reviews I read about the film, it's supposed to be a shoot-em up. beat-em up thriller with levels of excitement set to 11. So when I saw the book at my local library, I snatched it up thinking that I would be in for a fast-paced treat. What I got instead was a snooze fest!

I've seen livelier farm reports on the noon news. The so-called Atomic Blonde was diesel fueled at best. There's one scene that gets the blood pumping, but it's nothing like the few scenes of the live action film I've viewed. 

At the heart of this book is an interesting mystery. But with some very weak code names and non-distinct artwork, it makes for a very perplexing read. I will say that the last 15 pages or so were the best part of the entire book and it bumped up my enjoyment level... slightly. 

There's supposed to be a prequel to this book. I really don't have much desire to read it. If they'd change the artwork to where half of the characters didn't look like the other half, I would be interested. But I don't think that's gonna happen.

So spy and thriller comic book enthusiasts will enjoy this book. But if the Charlize Theron film is your expectation with this graphic novel, you are going to be disappointed.

Rating: 5 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.

Rick and Morty, Volume One

 

   When it comes to the subject matter of the graphic novel that I'm about to review, Rick and Morty, let me be very clear: I've never seen the show! In fact, if it wasn't for my receiving a copy of this book in a Comic Bento Box, I probably wouldn't have bought this volume.

      If we're confessing secrets here, I had been sitting on this book for a while and if it was for a recent episode of Comic Book Men which features the first issue, I probably would still be letting this book collect dust on my To-Read shelf. But the gang on the AMC show pique my interest, so I gave it a read.

    Rick and Morty is an animated series that airs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. It's been described as a naughty and wicked version of Back to the Future. After reading this collection of the first six issues based on the Dan Harmon (Community) series, I would have to agree.

    Rick Sanchez is an inventor with a mysterious past. For the past 20 years or so, he feel off the face of the earth, literally. During his 'lost weekend', Rick manipulated and profited from misuse of the time-stream and the multiverse. The inventor has become such a menace that not only is he on public enemy #1 of various agencies that govern time travelling and intergalactic empires, but he's also the target of the infinite number of Rick Sanchez's of the multiverse in whom's names and reputations he has ruined.

    Laying low, Rick Sanchez returns to the present day where he lives with his daughter. But domestic life has very little thrill for Rick. So when adventure calls he recruits his grandson Morty to help him reek more havoc on the multiverse. Up first- playing the futures market for fun, profit, and maybe some mass destruction of a universe or two.

     This volume was crazy. I enjoyed it, though I've never seen the show. Has this made me want to turn on Adult Swim and binge watch it till the cows come home? More than likely no- though if I was flipping channels and I came across and episode, I would definitely give it a shot. 

     I'm also not likely to collect this series. But if I found further volumes for a decent price, I would buy them, not wait so long, and read them. But like I'm going to do with this volume, I will probably sell them to a used book store to get trade credit for something else I want as a permanent addition to my collection. 

     BTW- folks, this might look like an innocent cartoon comic. But Rick and Morty is one of the darkest cartoons out there. This is not for kids. With excessive violence, unedited language, and some mildly heavily sexual themes, this is a teens or older book for sure.

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

BroBots and the Kaiju Kerfluffle (Family Comic Friday)

 

 Meet Panchi, Joukei, and Kouro.

   They're a trip of robot brothers with the ability to morph together into a giant robot warrior. This special ability helps them when a large fire-breathing monster terrorizes their hometown. But in order to defeat this foe, the brothers learn the important lesson that bigger isn't always better. Can they work as a team of three in hopes of saving the day?

     The Kaiju Kerfluffle appears to be the first in a series from the #1 on the cover. Created by J. Torres (Teen Titans Go!), I think if the publisher, Oni Press, can get the word out, I think this could be very popular with youngsters. It would even make a great animated cartoon series as well! (Are you listening Nicktoons???)

    As I mentioned, there's a giant fire breathing monster in the book, along with some other surprises. But the artwork by Sean K. Dove is playful, not frightening. So the monsters should not be intimidating for younger readers. 

  BroBots was a cute tale that young readers from the ages of 4-8 will enjoy. But it's really silly and could easily become one of those books that are a fan favorite to youngsters but could drive parents crazy having to read every night. (Is that really a bad thing?)

      Worth Consuming

      Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Down. Set. Fight!

   

10 years ago an up and coming football running back named Chuck Fairlane went bonkers and beat the crap out of the opposing team's mascot. It resulted in his being banned from sports. It also ended a major sports betting ring to boot.

 A decade later, the legacy of that game continues as Fairlane's name is now synonymous with pop culture as it's become common place for victorious teams to pummel their losing opponents mascot in a practice called 'Fairlaning." Lately, the mascots have been fighting back attacking seemingly random celebrities and sports heroes.

     Now a high school football coach in rural South Carolina,  Chuck hoped to slip away into obscurity. But when a man in a giant elephant suit interrupts Coach's football tryouts, Chuck unwillingly returns to the limelight as well as the watchful eye of the FBI. Someone is training professional mascots to become fighters and has created an ultimate fighting championship for giant muppets. The prize: the chance to take down the creator of Fairlaning once and for all.

   The art of this story implied that it would be an all-ages romp. But the language and violence level is anything but. The premise of revolting professional sports mascots is pretty absurd so artist Scott Kowalchuk's sweeping inks is fitting. But once again this book is NOT for kids.

      This 2014 romp is like an Elmore Leonard novel on steroids. With angry jocks, even angrier mascots and a host of questionable scumbags and bookies, it's the NFL-equivalent of 'Get Shorty.' With an array of costumed villains with a penchant for destruction and vice on par with the classic 1970s film 'The Warriors', I could see Tarantino making this into a movie someday. It was a good read. But I cannot stress enough, this is not a book for those under 13 at the least.

 Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Mermin: Trick or Treat #1 (2014 Halloween ComicFest Exclusive Mini-Comic) (Family Comic Friday Extra)

Mermin is a little known series by Oni Press. He’s a mer-creature, similar to the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He and his friends have tons of adventures both above and in the water.

I can’t sing enough of Mermin’s praises. I’ve read a few of his adventures thanks to Free Comic Book Day. I think he’s got that ‘it’ factor that makes him perfect for kids. He’s a monster but he’s fun! It’s the same winning combination that’s worked for characters from Sesame Street like Grover, Cookie Monster, and Elmo for over 45 years! Only, Mermin is not intended for preschoolers only!

In this mini comic Mermin’s human friends visit him and his people in their aquatic village. There, they teach the mer-boy and his family about Halloween and Trick-or-Treating. The idea sounds great to Mermin and they begin to have the first underwater Halloween ever!

Mermin is a great comic that kids will enjoy. There are 3 graphic novel sized adventures of Mermin’s on the market. Sadly, at $20, they are a little steep. However, it is something you and your children could ask your local librarian to carry at in your regional branch’s graphic novel section.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.