The Adventures of Tintin: Red Rackham's Treasure (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Many of the intrepid boy reporter Tintin's adventures have colorful names. The Blue Lotus. The Black Island. The Crab with the Golden Claws. In Red Rackham's Treasure, Tintin and his sea faring friend, Captain Haddock search for the missing treasure of the notorious pirate, Red Rackham.

Spinning off of Tintin's previous adventure, The Secret of the Unicorn, Tintin finds the treasure map of Sir Francis Haddock. An ancestor of Captain Haddock, Sir Francis was responsible for ending the career of Red Rackham, after the raider plundered his stores of treasure. However, Sir Francis' ship, the Unicorn was sunk during the battle with Rackham, sending the booty down to Davy Jones' locker. Consequently the nobleman was the Unicorn's only survivor, marooned for about two years on a nearby island.

Tintin, his faithful dog Snowy and Captain Haddock are assisted in their search for buried or sunken treasure by those bumbling but brave detective twins, Thomson and Thompson, as well as the hard of hearing scientist, Professor Cuthbert Calculus. 

Many readers mistakenly believe that Thompson and Thomson are twin brothers. This mostly due to how nearly identical the two detectives look and their strange way of repeating each other's sentences. Having an 80's British pop band be named Thompson Twins after the duo probably didn't help confusion matters any either. Tintin creator Herge, based the two on his real life father and uncle, who were identical twins that wore matching bowlers and walking canes throughout adulthood. In the original French translation of Tintin, the pair are known as Dupont and Dupond.

Red Rackham's Treasure marks the first appearance of Professor Cuthbert Calculus. Based on the Swiss scientist Auguste Picard, Calculus is as brilliant a developer but a lot more prone to accidents. Picard made record breaking hydrogen balloon flights in an experimental bathyscaphe. Professor Calculus' prototype underwater shark sub gets stuck in a field of seaweed. Calculus' hearing troubles are points of levity in the Tintin series, much to the annoyance of Captain Haddock. But thanks to the relentless persistence of Calculus, events of this graphic novel benefit Haddock greatly in the end.

As for Red Rackham, why was he given that nickname? The pirates real first name was John. He did not have red hair nor a ruddy complexion. Rackham earned his nickname from the dashing red cape that enrobed his neck and the massive scarlet plume atop his cavalier headwear.

Completing this review completes Task #21 (Has a Color in the Title) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Piracy #6 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The comic book known as Piracy was produced by EC Comics. It ran for 7 issues from October/November, 1954-October/November, 1955. The timing of Piracy's publication places it at an awkward time during the history of William Gaines' publishing house. 

Piracy was the last New Trend title EC released before the company shifted focus of its publications. That's because from April to June, 1954, the US Senate held several public hearings on juvenile delinquency and comic books were placed under the microscope as being its number one cause. Across America, civic groups lead massive burnings of comic books. 

There's actually a famous photo taken in the Norwalk, Connecticut community of a Catholic League community bonfire composed of thousands of comics going up in flames. And there's my future grandmother-in-law smiling triumphantly over the paper barbecue. Also in the picture is my wife's 7 or 8 year old uncle, frowning despondently as his prized comic book collection went up in smoke. 

Needless to say, comic books were on life support. To prevent the complete extinction of the art form, several publishers got together and formed the self-governed Comics Code Authority. Gaines was initially hesitant to concede to the CCA, instead, opting to cancel most of his controversial line of comic books.

Only 3 books made the cut. The humor comic MAD changed to a larger format and was exempt from CCA rules operating as a magazine. Panic, another humor title, remained comic sized. Piracy, was the third surviving title. 

Piracy still had EC's signature twist endings. But they were no longer sensationalized. Haunt of Fear #19 had for a shock conclusion, a rival baseball team dismembering a baseball player who used poisoned cleats and using the guys entrails for a ballpark foul line. Issue #1 of this series has a boat captain finding the man who shanghaied him decades earlier and getting revenge on him... by thanking him for his cowardly deed. 

There are 4 stories that fill issue #6 of Piracy. Reed Crandall's 'Fit for a King' has a drunkard regaling the patrons of a tavern with the truth about a missing fabled swashbuckler known as The King of the Pirates. 'The Skipper' by George Evans tells of a sailor whose been stuck as first mate for so long, that he secretly begins sabotaging his cargo ship in a twisted plan to have the captain removed from the helm. Then readers head back in time to the seal hunts of the great white north in Graham Ingels' 'Fur Crazy.' Lastly, Jack Davis spins a yarn about a shipmaster haunted by the screams of the crew he lost years prior in 'Solitary.'

The cover was illustrated by Bernard Krigstein.

EC Comics launched 7 new titles in early 1954 as part of its New Trend line of titles. Because Gaines refused to issue a CCA stamp on the cover of his books, newsstands refused to carry them. Gaines would eventually acquiesce later in the year. But at that point, the financial damage was done and most titles were cancelled with issue #5 (Nov/Dec, 1955). A controversial ruling by the CCA for the powerful anti-racism story 'Judgment Day' in Incredible Science Fiction #33 led to William Gaines turning his back on comic books, devoting himself as publisher of MAD Magazine until his death in 1992.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #33 (An EC Comic (Reprints are allowed)) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Seamus (The Famous): The Treasure of Gunnar Folkbeard (Family Comic Friday)

Family Comic Friday has a wonderful new series to introduce to young readers this week. Mixing fun and imagination, it’s Seamus (The Famous)!

Seamus (The Famous): The Treasure of Gunnar Folkbeard
Written and Illustrated by Christopher Ring
Published by Action Lab/Discover
Pages: 64
Print Retail Price: $9.99

Seamus is a precocious young boy whose imagination goes 100 miles per minute! For Seamus and his talking tabby cat Fitcher, there’s no situation that isn’t a doorway to fun and adventure. In this introductory graphic novel from Action Lab/Discover, it’s a bag full of broken toys from Seamus’ closet that leads the way to a quest for pirate treasure!
Join Seamus (The Famous) as he leads his crew of swashbucklers on the high seas against dastardly raiders, booby traps and a roguish crab!

This book was absolutely delightful! Being a cat person, I can really relate to the creative fun you can have with a fellow feline. And Seamus, wanting to find treasure in order to help a house full of orphans gave this book a much needed (and appreciated) dose of heart!

Join Seamus (The Famous) as he leads his crew of swashbucklers on the high seas against dastardly raiders, booby traps and a roguish crab!

This book was absolutely delightful! Being a cat person, I can really relate to the creative fun you can have with a fellow feline. And Seamus, wanting to find treasure in order to help a house full of orphans gave this book a much needed (and appreciated) dose of heart!
Seamus and Fitcher and their expressive brains reminds me of another boy and cat duo- Calvin and Hobbes. Only, whereas Calvin is a bit of a bad boy. Seamus is very heroic. Fitcher is more sarcastic than Hobbes but he’s just as wise. One thing that really works between Seamus and his gato is their comedic timing.

I really laughed out loud several times reading this book. The jokes are so clever. But this isn’t an overly silly book. It just helps balance the flow between action adventure without being dull or too intense.

Seamus (The Famous) is aimed at readers 4-8 years old. I think the whole family can gather together and enjoy this fantastic new series from commercial artist, Christopher Ring. Though I was rather surprised by the low blow our hero gives a pirate during a rescue sequence. It’s a little bawdy, but otherwise this was a book that parents and guardians should find inoffensive.

A joyful tale. It was filled with beautifully clean artwork, sly humor and adventure, adventure, adventure! Seamus (The Famous) is one book not to be missed!

Seamus (The Famous): The Treasure of Gunnar Folkbeard is currently available on Kindle and Comixology. It will debut in print on May 26th, 2020.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com. 

Flashpoint: Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager #3

  After facing down a mutiny aboard his ship, Deathstroke uncovers a key piece of information that will finally reunite him with his daughter Rose. But to save her means that the pirate will walk into the most deadliest trap he'll ever have to face. Woe to those who hold his daughter captive because like they say 'hell hath no fury like a father scorned!'

    This was a very action packed closer to this Flashpoint tie-in. But it was also a little bit confusing. There were so many plans and then secret plans and then back-stabbings that I had to re-read this issue twice. Plus, it doesn't help having a character die and then have them come back for a couple of panels and then disappear again as if nothing happened. 
   I couldn't tell if this error was an accidental oversight on the part of legendary writer Jimmy Palmiotti (Marvel Knights) or the artists- or if maybe the editor dropped the ball. It could've been a subterfuge on the part of Deathstroke. But then why would he say that this character died in the captions, which are supposed to be thoughts contained in Slade's head? 
   I'm even confused writing all of this...
   Not my favorite closing chapter and by no means was it my favorite of the tie-ins. That's really disappointing because I thought the opening chapter was really strong. But it just went downhill from there.

   Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.
 

Flashpoint: Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager #2

  I had always heard that Deadpool was initially a carbon copy of Deathstroke. I didn't realized how true that statement was until now. At the end of issue #1, it looked like Deathstroke's story in the Flashpoint was over as Emperor Aquaman had speared the mercenary through the heart. Nobody told me that Slade Wilson had a mutant healing factor!

   (Okay- Deadpool was designed as a clone of Deathstroke. I will admit!!! But Deathstroke doesn't have the absurd sense of humor or knowledge that in reality, he's a character in a comic book that Wade Wilson have!

    Talking about returning from the dead. Deathstroke's arch-rival the Warlord has returned after being seemingly massacred in issue #1. Now Slade's 'resurrection' surprised me, but I was positive that the Warlord was killed off by the King of the Seven Seas. Does Warlord have a healing factor too?

     A good chapter but it got a little confusing for me. Maybe I should've re-read the first issue but I wasn't that interested to double check on things. 

   Worth Consuming

    Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Flogging Molly: Speed Of Darkness

Do you like very hard rock? A fan of Ska? A connoisseur of Pirate Shanty tunes? Well, if you like all three, then you will love Flogging Molly. I had to pleasure of seeing them live and they were awesome. They mixed Catholic guilt with a pirate theme and made some awesome tunes.

But, they’re just not for me on CD. The songs are just very busy, very fast, and the words are somewhat too hard to understand. Plus, the loud continuous beat was giving me a headache by track 3.

This is just a prime example of a band that’s better live then on the radio.

NOT WORTH CONSUMING!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Flashpoint: Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager #1

   With Emperor Aquaman controlling the seven seas with an iron grip, the only humans brave enough to sail them are pirates. Amongst the most feared are the Warlord aboard the Skartaris and ruthless Slade Wilson, AKA Deathstroke and his converted whaler, the Ravager. Right now, Deathstroke has the Skartaris on his radar, as it is rumored that the Warlord has his kidnapped daughter. But his search my be short as the Ravager has just run afoul of a certain King of Atlantis...
    Another exciting chapter in the Flashpoint universe. Normally, Deathstroke is a bad-ass assassin and the constant scourge of the Teen Titans. Never in 100 years if you asked me to come up with an alternate timeline variation of Slade Wilson, I don't think I would ever come up with making him a Somali-style pirate. 
     I don't have a clue where this is going and I actually like that! Having over 36-years experience as a comic book enthuiast, I've read my fair share of storylines and quite a few have become quite predictable. Well folks, the Curse of the Ravager is anything but! 
     A great opening segment! 

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Silly Willy Winston in the Adventures of Pirate Snout (A Family Comic Friday Extra)

  I won a free copy of this children's book on Goodreads recently. It seems like the only thing I win on that sight but hey- I love to win free books. So who's complaining?!

   This book is about a loveable basset hound named Winston and his best friend, a boy named Aiden. Together the pair goes on a series of fun adventures with Winston taking on a secret persona each time to go with his super powered ears and even more spectacular nose. During these moments of exploration, Winston can become the canine hero Super Snout, or trek through the jungle as Explorer Snout. In this book, the hound dog dons a tri-cornered hat and becomes Pirate Snout, leading Aiden on a quest to discover hidden treasure below the ocean and maybe even a shipwreck in a secluded desert! Plus, there are tons of cool sea creatures to discover on this voyage across the seven seas.

   This was an interesting book. There were lots of neat facts and historical information that had me going 'Huh!' I was thoroughly entertained and I was a little bit jealous that I didn't have kids books like these when I was a kid. 

   The combination of humor, action, and learning reminded me of the Magic School Bus books I used to read to my kid sister when she was in kindergarten. Books like Silly Willy Winston make learning fun and I think that is a lesson that is sorely missing in most of the media outlets devoted to kids. Keep up the good work, Winston!

   Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was the art. There is a wide variety of different techniques that made this seem like I was peering into a magical textbook on archeology and pirate lore. The renderings of both Aiden and Winston are really good. But whereas Aiden looks airbrushed and rounded, Winston looks pixelated like maybe he was drawn using MS Paint. Again, neither look is bad but I would've liked to have seen both characters on the same page drawn in the same style. That sort of consistency just would've have made the artwork pop that much more.

   Kudos to series creator Donna Maguire. She took her beloved pet Winston and turned him into a children's book superstar. Right now there are 5 books about Silly Willy Winston and they can be found on Amazon or even iTunes! Check them out and open your child up to a world of adventures and silliness.

   Recommended for readers 7-8 but those younger than 7 can enjoy this too if a family member or friend will help out with the big words.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler

I read another traditional book- in less than a month. And it was a novel to boot! What am I, sick or something?
   
   In We Are Pirates, a young girl named Gwen is going through the growing pains of becoming a young woman. Feeling unwanted and bored, she goes on a shoplifting spree. Caught by security, Gwen is forced by her parents to volunteer at a retirement home as punishment. Assigned to a patient who was a former Navy man and amateur nautical historian, Gwen becomes enamored with the idea of becoming a pirate. With elderly Errol, his nurse Manny, Gwen's new best friend Amber, and an accidently shanghaied boy named Cody, Gwen leads the team to steal a fake pirate ship and lay scourge to San Francisco Bay.

  In We Are Pirates, Phil Needle is under the gun to finish production on a new radio program about American outlaws. Without a title and an assistant, Phil Needle makes some rash decisions in order to complete his first episode in time for a broadcasting convention. This leads Phil Needle to hire a young girl named Alma as his new secretary, but his choice may lead him down a path that could ruin his career, marriage, and relationship with his wayward daughter Gwen.

    Now, I didn't suffer a wrinkle in time or anything like that. We Are Pirates is basically two stories in one, with seemingly mundane events in one plot making lasting impacts on the other. But that doesn't make for easy reading.

   We Are Pirates was written by the crafty mind behind Lemony Snicket. But he doesn't just write prose for kids. Wen writing under his real name of Daniel Handler, the author also writes adult novels. I stress the word 'ADULT' here. This book has sex, graphic murder, sex, language, angst... did I mention the sex? So don't go buying this book for your children under the assumption that this is an innocent as one of Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events (which I did!) This book has adult themes, adult ideas, and some very frank talk about sex acts.

  Another problem I had with this book is that Daniel Handler does not seem to know how to transition from the past to the present. He'll mention a memory of either Gwen's or Phil Needle's, then get back to the present and then out of the blue, we're back in the past without any sort of warning from the writer. Handler's paragraphs seem to go on forever whereas grammar classes teach us that a well-structured paragraph should be around 3-5 sentences each.

(By the way- if every time you read the words 'We Are Pirates' you then hear the 'bum-bum-bumpbump, bada-bum-bum-bumbum-bump' from those Farmer's Insurance commercials well you're not alone.")

   Also, in terms of timing, each chapter is split into two parts. One-half of each chapter will revolve around Phil Needle with the other starring Gwen. However, Phil Needle's part might take place a week before Independence Day while Gwen's segment occurs during the last week of May. Yet for some reason except for the first and last chapter, the author doesn't tell the reader when said events occur in the timeline. Even worse the story jumps around in each chapter and doesn't follow a linear sequence of events meaning Gwen's actions in chapter 3 may take place a month before what she did in chapter 2. (Again without any acknowledgement that the story jumped back in time.)

   I would rate this book very low if it wasn't for the crafty way Handler ties everything in by the final page. It's quite clever on the level of 'Reservoir Dogs' or 'The Usual Suspects.' But I don't want to give away too much in order to ruin the twists and turns that evolve in this novel.

   So does that mean what you think I'm thinking...

 That's right, I'm recommending this book and I also consider it Worth Consuming. Just trust me when I say you need to push through as some segments won't make any sense until the very end. Believe me, it's worth the wait and the read.

   Worth Consuming

  Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

(Oh, any to answer the question: NO, I'm not sick. I've just been in the mood to tackle some non-comic book summer reads. As the great Phil Needle says 'It'll pass. It's just a phase."

 

 

The Wake

  Scott Snyder (Batman- New 52) pens a tale that is one part deep sea thriller and one part high seas sci-fi opera. When an unusual underwater sound is picked up by Homeland Security, oceanographer Lee Archer is whisked to an underwater oil mining station off the coast of Alaska that would make some of James Bond's greatest enemies blush. There, she and a team of experts come face to face with a terror from the deep that is as old as the earth herself. It's big, it's bad, and it's mean AND it's calling for mother!

    The story then jumps 200-years into the future in which over 95% of the earth is now covered with water and the seas are governed by pirates, makeshift democracies, and the same underwater terror that Lee Archer meet underneath Alaska's shoreline. Our hero is a young girl name Leeward, who with her pet dolphin, undergoes raids on the merfolk, harvesting their heads for a neurotoxin that's being fabricated into a designer drug of the surviving elite. But Leeward's troubles are just beginning when she intercepts a radio broadcast from a woman asking for rescue from a sunken sub: one Dr. Lee Archer!

    I completely enjoyed this title, but the first act was my favorite. It was like Aliens meet the Abyss with some Peter Benchley thrown in for good measure. The second act was literally Waterworld- only there's not Kevin Costner, nobody drinks their own pee, and it was actually worth reading. There were some elements of Barbarella and Mad Max thrown in as well. But it's the chilling action of the first half that is just a little bit better than the metaphysical tone of act two.

   There's a bit of a mystery behind the radio broadcast from Dr. Archer and while it gets explained some bits of interest do not. For example, there's a massive tower of ice in the middle of the world's largest remaining supply of fresh water. It's not really explained what its purpose is nor why it attracts birds to their frigid doom. Maybe it was just filler or maybe Snyder hopes to one-day return to the Wake universe and explore it further. I just refuse to believe that this tower is just a mere set piece. A frantic ending to this story also make for some serious plot holes but to expound on them would reveal some major spoilers.

  Lastly, let's talk about the art. WOW! Rarely does artwork creep me out (sure I've been saddened on occasion by some tragic scenes but never scared until now), but these mer-creatures are truly frightening. They are some bad dudes that I hope never to swim across on my next trip to the beach. Kudos to Sean Murphy for giving me nightmares.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Spider-man 1602, #2

 

 Tragedy has struck the Jamestown colony. Of course, it’s Norman Osborne who’s the instigator, this time trying to wipe out a neighbor tribe of Native Americans. Not only that, he’s responsible for the death of an important resident of the settlement. However, since the Jamestown colony prohibits the death penalty, Osborne must be extradited back to England for his criminal punishment. To see that Osborne pays for his misdeeds and doesn’t buy his way to freedom, Gov. Dare asks Peter Parquagh to oversee the prisoners travels.

 

Thus, Peter begins a month’s long voyage abroad. Not wanting to seek favored treatment, he eagerly jumps the chance to prove himself as an able deckhand. But when the ship is stilled thanks to a lack of trade wind, the diabolical Osborne is using his forked tongue to turn the crew against the lad.

 

With the crew ready to toss Parquagh off the ship, the colonial Spider-man is saved by passing pirate ship looking to raid the stilled chip. Enter the Kingpin and his expert marksman first mate, Bullseye. What happens next will put a target on Peter’s back and change Norman Osborne’s appearance in such a way, that he’ll finally earn his moniker, the Goblin.

 

An exciting second act. I love boats and this issue read like a colonial deck hand’s private journals. The swashbuckling action and scurvy morals made this one of my favorite 1602 tales of all-time. Why, it might just rank in my top 25. It’s that good.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars (though, if my scale were higher, I’d give it more.)

 

 

Piracy #1

Another of EC’s “New Direction” titles published after the Comic’s scare of the 1950s.

There’s plenty of murderous pirates, rampant plundering, and scurvy dogs in this book. However, the shocking endings which amazed readers and terrified Dr. Wertham are gone.

In fact, one story about a captain who runs across the man who shanghaied him into the navy ends on such a happy note, I thought I was reading a story written by John Ford.

I love boats, pirates, and ship wrecks. This book has all that. It’s got the same classic EC writers and artists. It just lacks the punch that a pre-code EC Comics would’ve had.

WORTH CONSUMING!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

"The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists: A Novel"

WORTH CONSUMING!

Gideon Defoe is great fun to read! 3 books in the series so far, and it’s not gotten stale. (Oh, I hope I just didn’t jinx that). Making Karl Marx a comic foil was inspired and the Jung connection into it all is freakin’ hilarious. If you have yet to read books 1 and 2, that’s okay. You don’t miss anything, like a cliffhanger or what not. But still try to read them in order.