It's Jeff #1

A week ago I reviewed a book called Silent Tales by Gustavo Duarte. I basically stated that comic stories without words don't work as effectively as the 'talkies'. Well for today's review, I want to amend that statement. Comic books without words can work... sometimes.

The book I read is Marvel's It's Jeff! #1. Written by Kelly Thompson with art by the Japanese duo known as Gurihiru, this comic has a lot of similarities with DC's Silent Tales. 

• Both books are one-shots from 2023.
• Both specials are based on digital platform series.
• Both series use only emojis for speech and only the occasional word like for an exit sign or name of a business are used.
• Both works have a humorous slant.

The only difference between It's Jeff and Silent Tales is that Marvel's book was rated for all ages and I very much think that was what made that issue more enjoyable. It also helps that Jeff is a loyal friend. He's also adorable!

For those of us not in the know, Jeff is a land shark. Genetically modified by a super villain, along with other animals to take over the world of the humans, despite being a shark, Jeff didn't have a single evil bone in his body. (Maybe that's because a shark's skeleton is made of cartilage.) Jeff ended up winning the heart of Gwenpool, who entrusted the fish to Deadpool and Elsa Bloodstone before being reclaimed by Gwenpool and becoming the official mascot of the most recent incarnation of the West Coast Avengers. Now Kate Bishop, the female Hawkeye, is Jeff's primary caretaker.

In this issue, Jeff has about a dozen adventures. Some involve him acting like a very toothy dog, like ruining Avengers Thanksgiving dinner. But many of Jeff's adventures occur as a part of his overactive imagination. Too hot for a snowball fight? Jeff's got you covered! Got a bathtub full of mermaids that need saving? Jeff's got you covered! Just need a friend? Jeff's got you covered!

I had very little trouble understanding these stories. Kelly Thompson did an excellent job plotting everything so that readers 5-95 could follow the plot. Gurihiru's cartoony style is accessible to all. And above all, I wanted more of it! Good thing there's another Jeff special that came out earlier this year. It's just too bad that I passed it over, having not read this one-shot yet and not knowing how magical Jeff is. 

I won't make that mistake again!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Bite Sized Archie: Going Viral

I was such a fan of the first volume that I eagerly anticipated a follow up. While that first year of Bite Sized Archie was a groundbreaking romp that paid tribute to over 75 years of Archie lore and the entire Archie Comics library, there was something not quite right with the second year of strips. It was almost like Ron Cacace and Vincent Lovallo tried to get too experimental with a concept that in of itself was an experiment. The genius of Bite Sized Archie is how an entire story is told in just 4 square panels. Here, the creators tried to do a drawn out story over several strips and the way they did it just didn't work.

First of all, the concept was too wacky. An anthropomorphic cheeseburger takes revenge on Jughead with the help of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and a leprechaun. Then the story is told sporadically instead of several weeks in a row. That's hard enough to keep up with but the creators end up jumping ahead into the storyline with events that happened off page, like Veronica and Reggie getting kidnapped by the reindeer. Add in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and a Kaiju version of Jughead fighting the Cheeseburger and wrap it all up with a stupid punchline for an ending and I was begging for this volume to be over!

Thankfully, Cacace and Lovallo continue to add their director's cut commentary to their strips. Without it, I would've been lost, thinking that some pages of that continuous story were missing. I appreciate the creators wanting to try something new by having a lengthy story. However, I think they were too indulgent with their efforts. 

As Bite Sized Archie continues on over at Archiecomics.com, there's a good chance for a third volume. I just hope Cacace and Lovallo learn from their sophomore year mistakes and can recapture some of that magic from the inaugural year.

Rating: 6 out of 10 years.

Zombie Wife: And Other Tales of Supernatural Law

Zombie Wife continues the adventures of Wolff & Byrd: The Counselors of the Macabre. Though the comic book series Supernatural Law is no more, Batton Lash kept the fun going with a web comic. With a web comic, Lash got to use color, he wasn't restrained by deadlines, page limits or finances. You might think owning your own publishing company would be cookies and cream. But Exhibit A Press had a major cash flow problem despite a loyal following. 

Almost a whole year transpired between the penultimate and final issues!

The main story is titled 'Zombie Wife'. In it, a man is acquitted for the death of his loving bride. As a result, the spouse has not just rolled in her grave, she crawled out and filed a wrongful death civil suit! 

Then the Gorgon Medusa obtains the services of Wolff & Byrd. At first it was to review the contract of her latest tell-all biography. Now it's to defend her from a lawsuit from a rogue cartoonist who has gotten under Medusa's scales! (See what I did there! I said scales not skin because she has snakes for hair!) This one is a longer romp that examines freedom of speech. But it's also a prime example of how Batton Lash would draw characters differently to represent an art form or style instead of being consistent. And I'm finally okay with it!

Then we've got a story about a wiccan who is offended by Halloween. She claims that All Hallow's Eve has been watered-down the legitimacy of true witches. In what is the second holiday themed story of the franchise, I'm kicking myself that I didn't wait for Halloween to read this one!

Zombie Wife is wrapped up with four-color reprints of the Vampire of Hollywood issues. Not sure why Batton Lash decided to reprint those issues. They had just been published in the volume prior. I would have liked to seen a couple of the earliest issues remastered.

The whole book was great. There are hints of the OJ trial, Scott Peterson, Charlie Hebdo, and Madalyn Murray O'Hare. I'm a little disappointed in the choice of floppy reprints (mostly because of how recently I had read them). But I really enjoyed this book!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Bite Sized Archie (Family Comic Friday)

Forget that just 2 weeks ago, I reviewed an Archie comic for Family Comic Friday. I haven't had a chance to head to my local library for some new all ages reads yet. And with a release date of May 17th, this is one of the few times I'm ahead of the game instead of catching up. 

Bite Sized Archie is a weekly web comic from Archiecomics.com. Written and illustrated by Ron Cacace and Vincent Lovallo, a couple of Archie veterans, this print volume collects the first year of strips. 

Now I know what you're thinking. There's only 52 weeks in a year. This book is 112 pages long. And the strip is only 4 panels long. What's going on here? Along with the finished product, this book also presents the original sketches of each strip. Plus, there's factoids and BTS information on how the strips came to life and valuable tips about computer generated art and story structure.

Most books I review for my Family Comic Friday column are constructed where the entire book is fun for the whole family. This book is different. The readers under age 8 will love the Chibi inspired artwork  The teen and under 30s family members will love the references to social media and anime. The older readers will enjoy the classic pop culture references to movies and the 80 year plus history of Archie Comics. Throw in the background factoids and art class additions and if you've got any aspiring writers or artists in the family and I think you've got everyone covered. 

Unfortunately, just don't think every page offers something that every member of the theoretic comics reading family will enjoy. For example- the use of the Japanese inspired Chibi art technique, the older readers who grew up with Archie in the 70s and 80s won't quite understand why Archie and friends look so angelic. I should know! I showed this book to my bride and Vincent Lovallo's images confused the heck out of her! I at least thought the characters seemed inspired by my personal favorite Archie series, Little Archie. But I can understand how wonky our brains get if something rebooted doesn't reflect the icons we grew up with. 

This first volume ended too soon. I want to read ahead but I don't want to miss out being surprised on what I expect to be next year's second collection. Sure, we'll get all the great director's cut commentary. But I think I'll stay away from the internet in order to stay surprised. 

A book full of something for the whole family. Just don't expect everyone to be on the same page!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

#bitesizedarchie 

How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You

As a life-long cat lover, when I found this book, I just had to have it. A collection of cat themed digital comics by Matt Inman, also known by web comic fanatics as The Oatmeal.

Most of the comics are about how felines really secretly want to off us. Every comic was 100% accurate and hilarious. I was getting afraid for a moment that this realism might put me off of gatos. But this book actually makes me love them more.

As with any sort of collection of humorous skits, there's always one episode that runs rather long. And just not all that funny. Amazon Women on the Moon has the Funeral Roast skit. The Kentucky Fried Movie has 'A Fistful of Yen'. How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You has 'The Bobcats.'

It's about 2 cats, both named Bob, who work in an office. If you read Dilbert- imagine both Dogbert and Catbert as the office bullies. (oh imagine Catbert has a clone.) Now throw in the Mike Judge opus Office Space and you have this skit. Some segments are funny. Some are just cruel. It makes you wonder how these cats haven't been fired yet. Plus, why did these meanies get hired in the first place? 

The 'Bobcats' was the weakest part of this book. It ran about 30 pages too long. Plus, all of a sudden, there's swear words and 'douche' and 'nards' insults are liberally peppered throughout. It wasn't all that necessary. 

If you are a cat lover with a sense of humor, you'll love the one and two page gags. Every single one is something use servants to those furballs we call precious pusses can relate to. I just hate that the 'Bobcats' threw off the pacing to this rapid fire funny book. That skit was broken down into days of the week. I think if Inman had spread those days out throughout the book instead of smack down right in the middle, I would have enjoyed those parts more and it would have made for a better flow.

A funny book devoted to living with kitties. But in need of some better organization of the content.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection

I really enjoyed Kate Beaton's first collection of Hark! A Vagrant cartoons. Her web comic, that tackles everything from feminism to Greek mythology, Victorian era holiday decorations to comic books, is extremely funny. It's also very, very smart. 

You don't have to have a college education to enjoy Hark! A Vagrant. But it sure doesn't hurt. Beaton's sense of humor is on par with that of Dan Piraro's Bizarro. Just add college credits to the mix. There's also a touch of the unexpected, similar to Gary Larson's The Far Side. Only, up the age rating to PG-13. 

This volume added a neat premise in where Beaton took classic images and expounded on what really was going on. Haven't you always wondered just what the heck was Nancy Drew doing on all her covers? You'll finally get your answer in this book.

One thing that I was disappointed in was the quality of some of the artwork. There was a lot of which looked like rough sketches. I'm not sure if Kate Beaton was trying to add some sketchbook extras to the book or if this is how some of her web comics really looked. I know it's been a while since I read the first collection; but I do not remember there being so many these hastily produced-looking pieces in it.

One more thing. It's not really a negative but a suggestion. If there is to ever be a volume 3, either Beaton or her editors should change how some pages are presented. Typically when a new subject comes about, the title is at the top. There's then one or two cartoons in the middle of the page. Then at the very bottom are notes from the cartoonist about her inspiration for the jokes. Sometimes, there is also some very important back story that is lost if you don't go to those notes first. 

Might I suggest for the next book putting those note before the cartoons? It would make for a smoother transition. Plus, reading those notes first help with understanding the punchlines better. As much as I might know of Wuthering Heights and the Fall of Troy, I also haven't read up so much on the life of Doctor Sara Josephine Baker. So some context in the right place is much needed.

I laughed out loud at several of these. I'm still laughing at one of them everytime I think of it. Some of the strips went right over my head. But, that's comedy. Step Aside, Pops was a delight to read and I can't wait until there will be another volume! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Axe Cop, Volume 3

I really enjoy this extremely bizarre but tons o' fun series. Illustrated by Ethan Nicolle, the art is very clean and very iconic. The stories are the stuff of imagination. The imagination of a young 5-year old child; Ethan's brother, Malachi. 

But like I told the owner of the comic book store in which I bought this collection, this series isn't going last forever. After a while, Malachi is going to get older and he's not going want to keep coming up with stories full of potty humor, axe wielding officers of the peace, and tons of other really silly stories. And I think I might be right about this.

Doing a search, there's not been a new Axe Cop series published since 2014. Going on to the Axe Cop website where this series began as a web comic, there hasn't been any new work added since September of last year.

This collection of shorts includes a number of Ask Axe Cop vignettes in which AC gives really bad advice. Plus, there's a fantastic crossover with another one of my favorite all-time web comics- Dr. McNinja! 

Are Axe Cop's best days behind him? I hope not because I am such a fan of this series. But I would completely understand if the end of Axe Cop is at hand. Though if in about 15 years, Axe Cop returns with Malachi Noelle being the illustrator and Ethan's young son or daughter becomes the next mastermind of the Axe Cop universe, that would be so cool.

Talk about things going around in full circle. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Geek Girl #1

New To the Game

   A winning hand at strip poker gifts coed Ruby Kaye a pair of hi-tech glasses. When she dons them, Ruby gains super strength. Thanks to the glasses, she can now fly. And thanks to a flaw in the depth-perceptions of the lenses, Ruby also becomes super-klutz.

   A nerd to the core, Ruby eagerly creates a costume and patrols her city as Geek-Girl! Things are relatively easy until one of her idols comes crashing down from the Heavens right in front of her. Still new to the super-heroing game, does Ruby have what is takes to avenge a fallen comrade?

With Great Promise Comes Great Readability…

   This comic by Indy publisher AAM-MARKOSIA has great promise. Ruby struggles to balance her secret identity with her new life as a superhero. Her battle with everyday problems as well as her reputation makes her a female equivalent to Spider-Man. She even battles a Flash Thompson-like bully at her college.

    The art by Charmed’s Carlos Granda was quite stunning. Geek-Girl is extremely gorgeous with a John Byrne’s She-Hulk kind of allure. The vast array of heroes that patrol Ruby’s look amazing. The fight scenes that involves a villain with lightning powers and a grudge against the superhero community was quite crisp and electric.

A New Comic Crush in the Mix

     Sam Johnson’s creation is a visually appealing book. The first issue is a little rough but you know Batman wasn’t perfect when he first debuted in Detective Comics #27. Geek-Girl deserves a look by old and new comic fans alike. But you’re gonna have to be willing to go digital to find her. All 4 current issues are available only at Comixology. I’m a paper guy myself but there’s nothing wrong with dipping your toe occasionally in the digital end of the pool.

    Geek-Girl is smart, funny, and very sexy. But what makes her all that more appealing is that she’s not your typical damsel in distress heroine. As a rookie superhero, she may not know the ropes but she’s not some dumb blonde whose curiosity gets the better of her. A female hero for the new millennium, I think Geek-Girl could become your next comic book crush.

Worth Consuming!

Ratings: 9 out of 10 stars.

Review was originally published on July 15, 2017 on outrightgeekery.com.

DC Super Hero Girls: Finals Crisis (Family Comic Friday)

   Imagine if most of the heroes and villains of the DC Universe all attended a high school in Gotham City. While enrolled, they are trained by their teachers to become the next generation of Super Heroes. That's DC Super Hero Girls in a nutshell.

    Now a bestselling line of dolls, young adult novels, and a popular web series, this volume collects the first storyline of the web comic series from 2015-16.

     It's almost finals and the girls of Super Hero High are practicing, studying, and preparing for their exams. Yet one by one, the young heroes are kidnapped by a mysterious foe. It's up to Harley Quinn to track her companions down and save the day! 

     Uh-oh! They're doomed!

    This was a very enjoyable little series. There was lots for not only girls but boys to enjoy! Parents will delight too- especially if they grew up reading DC Comics. There's tons of great Easter eggs and throw backs to vintage DC. 

     The only thing I had an issue with was the artwork. Every characters is stunningly rendered and they look so much like the toys. But the posing of the characters just looked a little off. For example, there's a scene at the end where all the Super Hero Girls are together posing for a class picture. Sadly, Supergirl looks too small and two or three other characters look like they are floating about 6 inches of the stage. It's definitely a composition issue.

    A delightful read based on a toy line that is full of girl power!

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo (Family Comic Friday)

  Charles thinks he's going to hate the new town his parents moved to, Echo City. His father has just been appointed the new caretaker of a former hotel and his family gets to live in the building for free as it's being renovated into an apartment complex. While his room is like a tiny prison cell, Charles does like all the cool stuff his dad finds that past tenants have left behind. An aspiring news reporter, Charles writes about these things on a blog during his downtime. But he's still not happy with the move. 
   One night, while Charles is asleep, something strange comes into his room and steals some of his stuff, including a beloved action. Desperate to get his toy back and eager for answers, Charles is given a business card from one of the new friends he's made in hopes of helping him out.
    Help comes in the form of Margo Maloo, a girl of about 10 whose got some serious street smarts. The young lady also has a mysterious connection with the monsters, goblins, and ghosts that secretly dwell in Echo City and she assists Charles in negotiating with a troll in his building's basement for his missing items. 
    Smelling the scoop of the century, Charles becomes Margo's assistant, documenting away as the young sleuth solves supernatural related crimes for both the humans and monsters throughout Echo City. Why, by the end of the duo's first caper, Charles just might also find himself liking his new hometown.
     Where was this book when I was a kid? It would have been an all-time favorite of mine!
     Where was this book last year? I would have added it to my best of 2016 review! 
     The answer to the first question is that this series wasn't invented yet when I was a kid. As for the latter, the book was floating around the children's graphic novels section, I just didn't notice it until too late. But I'm noticing it now and I love it!
       This 2016 book from First Second is actually a collection of strips from artist/ author Drew Weing. Two years ago, the Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo was started as web-comic that issued forth new pages every couple of days. As is becoming a trend with web series like this one, when an artist has enough source material, and financial backing, they get published in print too!
     Along with a reprinting the first strip, City of Monsters, Weing also includes 2 book-only adventures, The Ghost in the Post and the Ogre's Baby. That's right, you can only find those full-length tales in print. Hopefully, the current adventure of Margo and Charles, Panic in the Attic will see physical publication sometime soon. (I know I could go ahead and read this story online, but I really love paper!)
      The neat thing about this comic is what it really is deep down: Margo Maloo is really Sherlock Holmes. I also enjoy that it's done in such a way without being a knockoff or parody. Still not convinced? Think about it for a moment. Both Sherlock and Margo make excellent deductions. Both have a certain knack with secret societies, informants, and back alley meeting places. And Charles is Doctor Watson, as they both record their brilliant detective buddy's amazing adventures. The only difference is that Sherlock's spooky adventures were always found to be science related; he never dealt with actual monsters.
      I love this new series that is equally parts fun, spooky, and oh so mysterious. The book is recommended for ages 8-12 but I think older kids and adults (like me) will enjoy this graphic novel collection as well. This series is silly at times. But it's also very smart with a lot of the clues being peppered in throughout. Weing's art is really amazing and after the read through each mystery, you're going to want to go back and examine each and every corner of Echo City.
     Drew Weing has created a really awesome little universe here with Margo, Charles, and the monsters who occupy Echo City. It's a place I want to visit again and again. I think the young graphic novel reader in your life will too!

      Worth Consuming

      Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

    

Finding Molly: Adventures in Catsitting #4 (Family Comic Friday)

   I wanted to go a little different for my Family Comic Friday selection this week. I've not had a chance to go to the library in weeks and at my local comic bookstore is some good stuff. But I wanted to review something different than Disney, Archie, or Scooby-Doo. 
   My choice for this week is based on a Kickstarter project by Emet Comics, a publisher devoted to giving female writers and artists a venue. I'm all for girls and women getting into comic books and I'm always game to try a new comic aimed at young female readers and then help spread the word. Plus, this cover had a Siamese kitten who looks like my baby girl Sarakit (she's so darn cute!) that I just had to try it.
    Finding Molly is about a young aspiring artist who just moved to LA to find her fortune in the world of comics. To make ends meet while her web comic gets off the ground, Molly works as a catsitter. Just as she takes a freelance position at a trendy new website, Molly accepts a catsitting job in Malibu, to which all her friends see as a chance for a weekend beach trip. Just as a deadline looms, a missed chance at love occurs and on her way back to the City of Angels, Molly discovers that the precious Siamese from the cover, stowed away in her purse and is now making a nuisance of herself at Molly's new job.
    First of all, I could totally see my Siamese doing this. One day, I'm going to find the car missing as her son Andre has taken daddy's car keys and driven Miss Sarakit around town. 

Miss Sarakit, the Cross-eyed Wonder.

I love my Siamese and her half-British Blue son. But they can be a handful.
    Now about Finding Molly. I found it in the young readers section of a really great comics and hobby shop called Atomic Empire in Durham, NC. While yes, young adult readers will like this book, it's not an all-ages affair. With some mild swears and use of alcohol (albeit responsibly) this book is more suitable for those 12-15. 11, if shows like Gossip Girl or Jane, The Virgin are acceptable for your child to watch. 
    The team of Justine Prado, Jenn St-Onge and Carey Pietsch are ones to watch. The artwork is whimsical and their cats are so gosh darn precious. The color palette is stunning. The storyline is pretty funny. It's a tench on the more for the Millennial generation side for this Gen-Xer, but it wasn't bad. Plus, while the story ends with a 'cliffhanger', the story itself ties up nicely like an episode of something like Doctor Who, where there is a general theme throughout the whole season but each episode has a satisfying conclusion.
   For more about Finding Molly: Adventures in Catsitting and other titles from Emet Comics click here!
  
   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Axe Cop, Volume 2: Bad Guy Earth

   When an evil planet appears in the sky, ready to wipe out the earth, it's just the beginning of another epic madcap adventure starring Axe Cop and friends. Menacing twins, dinosaurs vs. alien invaders, a terrifying witch that rides a gorilla that rides a lion, zombies, evil doppelgangers, and wishing grant unicorn horns are just some of the most bizarre elements in this the second volume of Axe Cop. From the mind of a 6-year-old genius-in-training and his 20-something older brother, Malachai & Ethan Nicolle, expect the unexpected. 

    Now if this was something published by DC or Marvel I would rip it a new one in my review. But this book was designed as an experiment to see just how in-depth of a story could a 6-year old craft. With that in mind, I would say that this test was a success. 

   You can't expect a child to write Shakespeare. They don't have the attention span to see a story get from point A to point Z without about 500 tangents. Thankfully, big bro Ethan kept Malachi on task. for the most. But man, does that little guy have an imagination! And man, can older brother draw!!! (Thought why his intelligent rabbit folk look like those Rabbids video game characters are intentional or not is up for debate.)

   Axe Cop has made me laugh every since I got my hands on the first volume almost 5 years ago. Then when we got the short-lived but oh so great Axe Cop cartoon starring Nick Offerman as the voice of the hero. And I was hooked!!!  Now, I can't see Offerman without thinking 'AXE COP' but I also can't read Axe Cop without hearing Offerman's deep soothing voice. 

    If you are a fan of totally insane webcomics like Doctor McNinja then this is the series for you. Plus, since it's written by a child, kids and adults will delight. One caveat- this book is written by a child;, so expect some gross humor and lots of violence. Not gory, but definitely not safe either.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, Volume 3: King Radical

 

Oooooooh, slanty.

 In volume 2, the whole world saw Dr. McNinja and mayor of Cumberland, Chuck Goodrich die in a fiery shuttle crash as they tried to save the world from dinosaurs. Or was it zombies? Or was it zombies riding on dinosaurs? Without it's heroes, a power vacuum forms in the city, as McNinja's arch-enemy King Radical seeks to claim the burg as his criminal base of operations under the guise of being the community's new benefactor. But when a hobo uses a bizarre clause in the city's charter to become the new mayor of Cumberland, it puts a serious crimp in the Monarch of Awesome's style. Though having a powerful mummy for assistant mayor helps too.

    Join McNinja's family, his 12-year old mustached sidekick Gordito, his ape secretary Judy, and the rest of the McNinja gang of oddballs as they try to keep the peace in the good doctor's memory. That's easier said than done now that a powerful demon has come searching for Mayor Goodrich's soul and an insane Jesuit gym teacher has shown up at the local Catholic high-school. And just who is this mysterious new doctor wearing a Lucha libra mask and has the ability to cure a disease that turns people's butts into spiders at night?

   Okay- I can't believe I just typed that last sentence...

   Anyways. I was first introduced to the madcap world of Christopher Hastings and Anthony Clark's Dr. McNinja about a year ago when my library had volumes 1&2 on the new shelf. The udder ridiculousness of a ninja doctor trying to thwart the attempts of a Burger King look-a-like powered by Mountain Dew from taking over the world was just perfect for me.  I love absurd stuff and this is about as surreal as it gets. Time travel, mummy's curses, cities turned into giant robots, zombies, and massive orders of 200 expensive pizzas are just some of the bizarre things waiting inside this book based on the webcomic of the same name.

    Readers of my blog will note that I love the oddball comic series The Tick. But Dr. McNinja is completely different. For one thing, the Tick is a parody whereas, okay, honestly, I don't know what the hell to classify McNinja as... The closest I can I come to classifying this series is that it is a surrealist slapstick comedy a la Buster Keaton or the Three Stooges. In terms of other comic books, this book is a lot like another Dark Horse publication called Axe Cop. Only, this book wasn't written by a 5-year. (And that's not an insult! Axe Cop really was written by a 5-year old, though he's much older now. Google it...)

    I enjoyed this book but not as much as I think I could have. Having been so long since I read volumes 1& 2, I was a little lost trying to re-familarize myself with this series. It's one reason why I like to have all of a series before I read it but when you are depending on the library to help supplement your comic book collecting and reading, then beggars can't be choosers.  But if you are new to this series and somehow get the chance to get your hands on all three volumes at once, I think you'll truly benefit by reading them all in a close grouping.

    Amazingly clean art, crazy plots and even crazier ideas, and tons of surprises, Dr. McNinja, volume 3 is a great read, even if you did forget some of what happened earlier in the story. It's not like we've got the brilliant photographic memory of a ninja or something...

   Worth Consuming

     Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Batman '66, Volume 3

The Joker and Catwoman embark in a dastardly scheme during the Arkham Talent Show.

  A mysterious TV producer creates a series based on a gritty no-nonsense version of the Dark Knight.

  A bat-robot replaces the Dynamic Duo during a crime spree of Gotham's most notorious villains.

  And Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, infiltrates the Bat Cave to steal the Bat-diamond that powers the Caped Crusader's laboratory and data banks...

   All this action and more awaits in the third volume of DC's fantastic Batman '66 webcomic devoted to the 1960s Batman television series. Once again author Jeff Parker, regular series art Jonathan Case, along with guest stints by Art Baltazar and Franco, Dean Haspiel, and others capture the spirit of the campy cult classic that aired on ABC. Also, Michael Allred and wife, Laura continue to thrill with their pop-culture themed covers.

    One thing that I have really liked about this series is that it includes a personal favorite who wasn't around in the 60s, Harley Quinn. Up till now, she's been a minor character as the Joker's therapist, Dr Harleen Quinzel, who sees great promise in trying to reform the Clown Prince of Crime. But in the opening story, we start to see her go down that dark path that will turn Quinzel into the Joker's girlfriend.

   Now, one thing I didn't like about this book. The back cover (and Amazon) promises that Batman: The Lost Episode is in this volume and it ain't. The Lost Episode is taken from a script originally meant to be used in season 4- but never happened as ABC cancelled the series after season 3. This lost episode was to have starred Clint Eastwood as Two-Face. But the rumor and script were lost to time and the bottom of the original screenwriter's desk. Sadly, it's still lost to me until, hopefully, volume 4 hits stores sometime later this year.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Infinite Iron Man: Fatal Frontier

  This is the first print volume of Marvel's new Infinite Comics! line. Infinite Comics are digital series that are canon to the Marvel Universe but are not available in single issue form. This premier volume collects all 12 issues plus the annual of the Infinite Iron Man: Fatal Frontier web series written by Kieron Gillen (Uber.)

    In Fatal Frontier, Tony Stark investigates why a series of rockets were launched at Hollywood by way of the moon. On the natural satellite, Iron Man discovers a Crimson Dynamo prototype named Udarnik, sent to the moon in 1972 by a Soviet Scientist who wanted to colonize the surface with visiting American astronauts. But the NASA moon program stalled out due to costs and a general lack of interest by the general public and poor Udarnik spent the last 4 decades alone. 
   
   Seeing Udarnik's hostile actions on the earth as a cry for help, Stark decides to humor the robot while determining if the droid is an actual threat to humanity. During his time on the moon, Iron Man discovers a new liquid metal with amazing capabilities called Phlogistone. Once the inventor presents his findings to the UN, it sets gold rush to the moon in which the Avenger is appointed as its sheriff. 
    
    Udarnik is thrilled to have new guests on the moon, but Tony isn't so sure about the miracle metal and begins to study it privately. To his horror, Stark learns that this metal is toxic, causing psychosis, hallucinations, and eventually death. Even worse, Tony discovers that he's beginning to show the effects of phlogistone poisoning. With time running out, Iron Man must shut down mining and production or the  earth could face total extinction all in the name of technological progress.

  An action-packed story filled with an assortment of villains from Tony's rogues gallery. You get to see Iron Man do things you'd wish you could do to your boss or worst enemy. The ultimate revenge story in the vein of 'Revenge of the Nerds' and 'Office Space.' Iron Man's deviousness is unbridled, all the while you're asking yourself 'Is this really Tony Stark doing this or is he out of his gourd due to the phlogistone?" I loved it.

   I found this book at my local library, but I ask anyone reading this review to please buy this volume. I excuse myself because until I saw it on the new shelf, I didn't know Infinite Iron Man even existed. But with the comics industry inching ever so closer to digital only, it's encouraging to see Marvel being willing to collect this book into a print form. But they'll only keep doing this if you keep buying great series collections such as this one.

    Perhaps the most essential Iron Man story since 'Demon in a Bottle,' it really is worth consuming.

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Adventures of Dr. McNinja, volume 2: Timefist

Well, it didn’t take very long for me to return to the strange world of Dr. McNinja. Part ninja, part doctor, all Irish (?)- and completely insane, in this volume Doctor McNinja experiences a number of space/time continuum bending adventures. First, The McNinja family has their annual battle with a clan of pirates and we learn the not-so terrible secret behind how McNinja was able to obtain a degree in every field. Then McNinja and a time-travelling clone of the mayor must hi-jack a space shuttle to prevent sentient dinosaurs from outer space from retaking control of the earth. Lastly, McNinja and the mayor clone end up in an alternate time-line in the future, during which said space dinosaurs have ruled the world with an iron stumpy fist for 2 decades.

 

While I very much enjoyed this volume and hope to get my hands on more titles in the future, this volume wasn’t quite as good as the first. The biggest problem was that there was a lot of references to works I hadn’t read yet. Dr. McNinja has been a web series for years and those stories have been reprinted before. Yet, Dark Horse Comics has only published 2 volumes; neither of which contain any of the stories that Christopher Hastings references to in his editorial comments.

 

Also making this story not quite as good as the first is the quantum mechanics of the plot. I love time travel and alternate timeline stories. These tales are very good. However, they may be a little too good. One thing that makes me a fan of Doctor Who is the Timey-Wimey/ Wibbly-Wobbly nature of time travel- meaning time can be rewritten. In this series, time can’t be rewritten, thus if someone travels in time, they create parallel universes, much like Marty does in Back to the Future (parts 1, 2, and 3- but mostly 2.) There’s even a chart in the last story that makes some of the timeline confusion involve a little less head scratching. It helps, but it’s a lot of information to keep straight.

 

Lastly, I want to give kudos to the short story at the end of this volume. I mentioned in my review of volume 1 that Dr. McNinja reminds me so much of Axe Cop, that I heard Axe Cop’s voice when McNinja talks. Well, in this book, I’m hearing double as McNinja and Axe Cop meet for a tale that involves pizzas that turn it’s eaters into blobbish mutants. No, this isn’t an allegory for the obesity problem in America in relation to fast food. Well, it might be, but I think it was unintentional. The team-up was also and I hope the two heroes of the bizarre will reunite real soon. Hopefully, the big-wigs at Fox will take note and add Dr. McNinja to their Animation Domination line-up on Saturday nights. (As well as renew Axe Cop for some new episodes.)

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Adventures of Dr. McNinja volume 1: Night Powers

 

Holey Mol-ey! Am I in love with the one web comic in world history to star an Irish Ninja physician! Dr. McNinja is all three things rolled into one and his world is totally insane. Helping McNinja save the world from evil is his gorilla secretary, Judy and his 12-year old sidekick, Gordito, a cowboy that rides a velociraptor and bears a full mustache.

 

If this series seems completely nuts, it is! There’s definite elements of the Tick, Deadpool, and Supernatural Law. But the comic that is the most like Dr. McNinja is another classic web series known as Axe Cop! This series isn’t written by a six-year old. But when I read McNinja speck, I hear Axe Cop’s voice in my head. (Axe Cop is also an animated feature on Fox and is voiced by the epic Nick Offerman of Parks and Rec.

 

Adding to the craziness are the tiny blurbs on the bottom on each page by series creator Christopher Hastings. They’re like a director’s cut for the absurd.

 

I found this book at my local library. I love that place. I am so glad that they had this book as well as a second volume in the series, which I look forward to eagerly. I have only read one book so far, yet Dr. McNinja has already become not only one of my favorite independent comics, but one of my favorite comics series of all-time. Fantastically bizarre stuff.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer & The Guild FCBD 2012

For some reason, Buffy and Spike venture into outer space to track an interstellar vampire. Only this blood-sucker is the- oh, I can’t give away the spoiler. But, I loved the cameo of the non-Buffy property baddie! It was awesome!

Then, there’s the Guild. It’s a web-comic in print form about a group of online gamers who meet up in person once a week and have oddball adventures. This time around, there meeting moves from the usual meeting place of Shoney’s to the beach! The blending of reality and cyberspace is a clever plot device that lead’s to some crazy antics. I’ve never seen this series before, but I am on the hunt!

Very well written. Very Smart. If you like The Big Band Theory, you’re gonna love this!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars