Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #1 (1978)

   On Friday, home sick and propped up in my chair, I binged watched about 5 episodes of CW's The Flash. One of the main storylines was Firestorm. This character has aesthetically been one of my favorite superheroes, since the days of the Nuclear Man being a regular on the Super Friends/ Super Powers cartoon shows and his involvement in Crisis.
 
    As a comic, the book seemed a little too old for me. I liked the art, but the stories were very complicated for a 5-8 years old boy. The premise was that teenager Ronnie Raymond and physics professor Martin Stein were involved in a nuclear explosion that caused the two men to form a single superhero- Firestorm. Many of the stories revolved around the dangers of nuclear power and the struggle for equality amongst the sexes. Like I said, this was some complicated stuff for a grade-schooler to wrap his tiny little brain around. So, I stuck to enjoying Firestorm on TV instead of print.

   Well, finally getting to see Firestorm in a live action version was an awesome treat. I loved how the CW handled the dynamic of having the Nuclear Man made up of two separate people. Plus, having it explained that the reason the superhero looks like Ronnie but has the brain of Stein as a sort of survival of the fittest amalgam of the best of both men made perfect sense to me. Plus, it didn't hurt having the great Victor Garber play Dr. Stein while providing the interior monologue for Firestorm. It all worked really well.

   So let's flash forward to last night. I'm currently reading 'Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents: Superman Team-Ups, Volume 1', in which I got to issue 17, a team-up with Superman and Firestorm versus Killer Frost. Normally, I would just read on and tried to make connections when previous storylines are mentioned. But in both the introduction and the 'next issue' blurb for DCP #16, it's urged that you first read Firestorm #5.
 
 Well, I'm riding the high from my Flash-binge and I just happened to have the complete 5-issue run of the first Firestorm series. So, naturally, I decided to give the adventures of the Nuclear Man a solid read.

   Issue #1 is the origin story. It's pretty much what I already told you about how it came about that Raymond and Stein have the ability to fuse together. The most Interesting aspect of this story was the character of Ronnie. He's a dumb jock and in a twist that you don't see anymore or ever- he's bullied by a super smart nerd! When Ronnie decides to run with an anti-nuke crowd in order to impress a pretty girl at school, he ends up a patsy as this gang is seeking to blow-up the new reactor in town to keep it from becoming a potential pollution hazard.

   I'd like to know who the brains behind this idea were. Wouldn't the destruction of a nuclear power plant even before it goes online be a bad thing? Wouldn't the uranium rods cause some sort of meltdown?

   Well, nobody said Ronnie Raymond was a rocket scientist.

    Other than that flap, it was a pretty good opening act. The cover was great and the art inside was awesome. But with a story by Gerry Conway, who co-created the character of Firestorm with Al 'Marvel Fanfare' Milgrom, I'd expected a little better thought on the logistics of destroying a nuclear power plant.

   Not bad for a find in a comic book grab bag.

  Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Volume 1

This collection of 5 stories was written as a potential blueprint for expanding the Ultimate universe. At the time these issues were published, the only Ultimate title starred Spider-Man. So, expect to be a little confused, if like me, you’ve read a lot of Ultimate stuff before you come to this and the plots and background stories don't seem to match what you already know about Wolverine, Iron Man, and the Hulk. When those heroes appear in these stories it is their first ever Ultimate appearances. So, like many pilot episodes (on TV), these are really rough drafts of the exciting things yet to come.

   The first story presents Wolverine as a metrosexual wuss than an unbridled animal. Sabretooth, in his bushy fur coat, wasn't any better.  I was really beginning to hate this series, when in issue 3, I realize that Hulk’s rampage in New York is what results in Banner being incarcerated at the beginning of Ultimates #1. Also, we come to a great 2-issue Iron Man tale by Mike and Laura Allred. Getting to experience anything done by the Allreds is always a nice unexpected surprise. 

   One thing about this book that ticked me off a little was that I've previously read both the Wolverine and the Iron Man team-ups before. Iron Man's story was reprinted in the Best of Spider-Man Volume 1. I can't recall where I encountered the Wolverine tale before off the top of my head, but I know I have. The Hulk story was the only one not reprinted (thus far or as much as I can tell.) Being reprinted in other formats and trades won't swear me off of getting volume 2 and 3 of this series. But since there is a chance I might have stumbled upon those issues in another format already, I will make sure I don't spend more than half of the cover price when I do come across them. 

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

   

Explorer: the Hidden Doors (Family Comic Friday)

   Explorer: the Hidden Doors is the third book in an anthology graphic novel series designed for readers of all ages. Each volume has a perticular theme. With the Hidden Doors, the idea is that each time you open a door, no matter how mediocre it may seem, you open a portal to adventure. I must say I thought the premise was unique and oh so clever.

   In this book, which features a vast array of writers, artists, and colorists, will take it's reader from the tombs of ancient Egypt to an abandoned doorway in a forest in modern day America to the future where therapists can treat trauma victims by exploring the inner recesses of the human mind. There is literally nowhere this collection of tales will not go as long as there's a doorway to be opened.

   I really enjoyed this book. Each story was about 20-pages in length. A few concepts are a little more complex than others, such as the therapy tale. So, younger readers might not enjoy that one as much as they might like the Fish N' Chips tale that stars a genius goldfish inside a robotic suit and his loopy feline pal as they try to save the world from a cat robot on the fritz. But there's really nothing objectionable in this edition that can't prevent it from being an all-ages read. No swears, nothing sexual, and very little to consider controversial- it's a near perfect graphic novel.

  As I mentioned before there are two more volumes in the Explorer anthology series. I was so impressed with this collection that I hope to be able to get my hands on the other titles real soon. All three books can be found on Amazon in both hardback and paperback formats for less than $18 a piece.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

The Batgirl Cover Controversy- Pros and Cons

If this cover is so offensive then why does every article I see bashing it put it in their story?

   This week, DC Comics announced that it was cancelling one of the variant covers for the forthcoming Joker Month. Sometime in June, a variety of titles were going to feature a special variant cover that reflected that featured the title's star and their turbulent history with the Joker. The covers were in honor of the Clown Prince of Crime's 75th Anniversary in comics.

   But one title has caused the comics community to lose it's freakin' mind- the cover to Batgirl #41. The cover, which I've included in this post speaks for itself. Doesn't it? The cover shows the Joker with his arm around Batgirl, a bloody smiley face painted on her lips. The villain is holding a gun that's cocked and he's wearing a purple fedora and a Hawaiian shirt.

   The cover, crafted by artist Rafael Albuquerque, is meant to be an homage to Alan Moore and Brain Bolland's 'The Killing Joke.' In that seminal work, the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon, paralyzing her. But that's not all the Batman villain does. He also strips her naked, takes photos of her in duress and then forces her father to relive the entire event in chains.

   'The Killing Joke' changed the Batman family forever. Barbara was no longer Batgirl. Instead, the wheelchair bound redhead became Oracle- who assisted Batman by using her hi-tech array of computers to tap into CCTV feeds and do research on villains and clue leads.  Barbara overcame her trauma and was a valuable asset to the Dark Knight and even ran her own squad of heroes for a while. Then 3 years ago, DC retconned her attack by the Joker by having her still be shot but eventually regaining the use of her legs and being a superhero once again.

  Let's jump back to this week. On Monday, the story broke that DC would be cancelling the cover because the artist had received death threats over the image. Comics fans pointed out the hypocrisy of objecting to a cover that depicts violence by threatening to kill the artist who rendered the infuriating picture. DC and Alberquerque 'clarified' that they were not threatened but that fans who had objected to the image were being bullied. I'm not really sure why DC is changing their tune here but it seems to me that the backlash from fans in favor of keeping the cover lead DC to try to look less like a wimpy victim and more like a superhero standing up for the downtrodden.

So, who is to be believed and who is in the right and who is in the wrong? Let's look at some of the pros and cons of this controversy.

Pros- There aren't any.

Cons-  Where do I start?

Con #1- Batgirl is considered a title geared more towards teen girls. So choosing to release a cover in which the heroine is being victimized probably wasn't the smartest idea. DC could have easily chosen to put the cover on another Bat-title.

Con #2- the fan base of modern comics is given too much power. It used to be if you hated a comic you don't buy it. If you loved it, you yell "Shut up and take my money." If enough people buy your comic it becomes popular. If nobody buys it, it becomes fodder for the dollar box and
I yell "SCORE!" when I snag it years later on down the road. But our society is too brainwashed thanks to shows like American Idol in which your vote helps to determine the fate of the free world.  Thus, if you really hate something you just have to gripe and complain and put a hashtag in front of a snappy phrase and viola corporate America will do you bidding.
 
    The only difference between the old way of comic fandom power and the new is that thanks to information being at your finger tips the threat of withholding money is more powerful than actually not buying something.

Con #3- Thanks to a ton of complaints,  the publisher wins. See the Batgirl title isn't due in stores for 4 more months so the issues probably haven't even been printed yet. Because of the extra time comics have to win over readers thanks to information about upcoming releases are given out so far in advance, DC probably won't lose any money on not issuing a variant cover to Batgirl #41. In fact, DC won't suffer at all thanks to the haters saving them money. Without DC losing money on hedging their bets on something offensive, it won't challenge the publishers, writers, and artists to try harder. Plus, it's free advertising.

Con #4- The publishers are going to keep caving in. Marvel did it a few months ago when they decided to pull a highly sexualized Spider-Woman cover. Now DC caved in and won't release a Batgirl in peril cover. That's twice that the 'masses' got their way and it's now not going to stop them anytime soon. In fact, DC and Marvel all you've done is encouraged them to do it again when something else pisses them off.

and finally Con #5- the rift between old school collectors and newcomers to the industry has only gotten bigger. DC claims that the old timers threatened the newbies who were ashamed of the cover. So, in order to protect these fans, the cover was pulled.

   I'm in the old school camp. I've been collecting since 1980. I'm into my fourth decade of collecting comic books. When I saw the cover a few weeks ago, I knew there would be some hell over it. I just didn't expect it to be this bad.

   The average newcomer to comic books knows only from what they've seen on TV and movies. I'm not just spouting this from off the top of my head. I've seen dozens of reports on CNN, Bloomberg, Fox, CBS, ABC, and other media sites that back this statement up.

   The reader of comic books is considered a dinosaur to the survival of the superhero. It's the merchandising, movies, and video games that will rake in the money for DC and Marvel. So when somebody sees an image and it told by social media that it's evil, well the masses are going to grab their torches and pitchforks. (sorry to offend those angry villagers out there.) But when the publishers consistently take the side of the newbie instead of the established fan it's going to anger some folks and even push them away.

   Plus what's to keep the media masses from demanding that the 'Killing Joke' be permanently banned or from some poor guy who dresses as the Joker from the KJ from getting pulverized by a bunch of anti-Albuquerque cover advocates at the next ComicCon? I'm in the consensus that these sort of things are going to get worse instead of better any time soon.

   I've not given up hope on comics, but I will have to say that this most recent episode has really given me fits. It's also made me think something that I never thought I would in a million years- I want the Comics Code back. It's clear to me that the lunatics are running the asylum and social media in my opinion makes for a lousy warden. We're in the next comic book scare folks. Only this time, the industry is going to have to self-regulate in order to make everyone happy instead of protecting our youth from the evils of comics.

Sadly, the problem isn't so much that comics aren't diverse enough. It very well might be too diverse and now you can't publish anything that doesn't offend somebody some of the time. There's no way around this. But instead of trying to make a comic more diversity friendly let's just exercise some common sense here. If Batgirl really is aimed at teen girls (and believe me when I say I didn't know that it was) then don't put a sex offender on the cover doing some offendering to the hero. It's that simple.

And now, it's time for some Advil. This whole mess is giving me a migraine...

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

   I used to be a foodie, but I'm not anymore. It's not because I don't like food anymore. My waistline is proof of that. The thing is I went from being a food connoisseur to a food artist the day I went to culinary school (and eventually graduated.) Now, I make my living as a sous chef.

   As a chef, there're tons of opportunities to go nuts. You feed people day in and day out. You attempt to create a work of art and people 'in the know' take it back because you put walnuts in a quiche or didn't make a bacon tomato grilled cheese that way their mom used to. In order to keep from going ape poop crazy either personally or on a customer you've got to find humor in things.

   That's where this book comes in. I've been a fan of Jim Gaffigan's for a while now. His bits on the various VH-1 I love the (insert decade here) series left me in stitches. Then one day a few years ago, I heard Gaffigan's epic take on the culinary oddity called the Hot Pocket and a love affair was born.

    Tim Allen is the manly man's comic. Larry the Cable Guy and Jeff Foxworthy are the redneck's comic. Well, Jim Gaffigan is the foodie and chef's comic. Though I've never gotten to see him in person, I've seen several of his specials and I must say he's pretty special.

 'Food: A Love Story' is filled with many of Gaffigan's bits about food. Along with a chapter devoted to the Hot Pocket, there's the comedian's take on cake (it needs booze), his feelings on take out, and his battle with not knowing how to say no. There's quite a lot of new stuff that I've not heard of the comic's stand-up routines so this book was like unearthing a director's cut of one of Gaffigan's Comedy Central shows.

    While Gaffigan points out the both the hypocrisy of the ultra-health nut food craze as well as the problem with our nation's obsession with fast food, I wasn't always agreeable to his ideals and ideas 100%. The comic pokes fun at pretentious food and food fads. He seems to not have a favorable outlook on them nor does Gaffigan really seem to understand food fads. But as a chef, I'm always experimenting with new trends because in order to keep up with the public's demands you've got to have your finger on the pulse of what's hot and new in food.

     For example, I hate kale as much as Gaffigan does. But right now it's the in super food. So, that means I got to cook with it. It just doesn't mean I have to use it every day or go insane and make a kale gazpacho with a kale brownie crumble either. Besides, it's those food fads that will sometimes lure your customers into your establishment. And let's not forget that hot dogs, waffle cones, and hot sauce were once considered food fads. Now they're everyday items around the house.

   The great thing about Jim Gaffigan is that he's clean. Not everything he talks about is for all age groups. But I just read 340 pages of his stuff and I don't remember very many swears and the f-word was nowhere to be found. Unless you count the word 'fat.'

    This book is Gaffigan's second work. Speaking of fat, the name of his first book is called 'Dad is Fat.' After really enjoying this funny tome, I want to find it. I just hope it's as much as a treat as this edition was.

     Lastly, I want to throw something out there just in case this review ever stumbles across Jim Gaffigan's way. I really think 'Food: A Love Story' would make a great series on History Channel or Travel Channel. I see it as a cross between a history of food show mixed in with some cooking segments and a peppering of Gaffigan's humor in between. It would be like Seinfeld meets Man Vs. Food. If Jim ever does make a series based on my idea all I ask for is the following: an autographed book, two tickets to a show, and to be in one episode of the series.

  Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST'S DENTAL HEALTH ACTIVITY BOOK

   I hated going to the dentist when I was a kid. Not much has changed as an adult, but I really hated it as a kid. I had a ton of cavities and when I had to have a filling, I always had this thing wedged into the jaw of my mouth, called a raincoat. Having it inserted hurt like hell and I still think to this day it's been a leading contributor to my TMJ.

    But one of the things I really enjoyed about the dentist was getting the free prize at the end of the visit. You always got 3 things: a new toothbrush, a sticker, and a comic book of your choice! For an avid collector like myself, it was the ultimate score and probably the only reason I didn't hide or run away when it was time to visit the dentist. Amongst the comic heroes I could choose from were Donald Duck, Casper, Richie Rich, and the Archie Gang. After picking one of those beauties, it was fun times in the car ride home.

    Sadly, those days are over. All I ever get from visiting my dentist now is that little goodie bag with a toothbrush, some floss, and a tube of toothpaste. True, I am extremely vigilant with my dental hygiene these days. I pride myself in staying away from those darn cavities. But I would gladly give up the free toothpaste to get a comic book for all my dental troubles.

  A few months ago, I found this activity comic at a thrift store. Sure, it has zero value, some of the pages have been colored and filled in, and the cover has a grease penciled price of 10 cents on it. But this is one of the comic books I remember getting as a kid.

  I particularly remember this book for a couple of reasons. Every year a couple of dentist assistants would come to my school and do a little presentation on how to floss and brush your teeth. ( I still remember the song "wiggle giggle, wiggle giggle...1-2-3" as a way to remember how to clean each tooth.) This book was one of the items they would pass out after the lecture. Casper's Activity Book was also an incentive at my dentist that if you choose it, you could pick 2 bonus comics instead of just one. 3 books for a visit that normally would net me just one book? Yes, please. Needless to say, I racked up a bunch of these activity books.

   Drawn in stark black and white, it stars Casper the Friendly Ghost, his ghoulish brothers, and some other guests. Filled with your standard activities: connect the dots, word scramble, mazes, pages to color, and matching, one activity that was always included and I just despised, were the jumbled pictures. With that you either had to copy by hand or cut out and glue. Mine never came out right and cut up a comic book? Are you crazy?

    This little booklet was a fun little trip down memory lane. Too bad you don't see many dentists giving away free comics anymore and if they do, well I just happened to pick one who didn't. It's too bad that those type of freebies don't occur to adults. Like I said earlier, I'd gladly choose an activity book like this in order to get two more instead of that stupid toothpaste goodie bag.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2: Angela (Marvel NOW!)

  I've got to get my hands on the crossover event 'Infinity.' With completing volume 2 of Guardians, that will make it 4 'Infinity' tie-ins that I have read. If there's one thing I can tell you about that storyline is that I know Thanos is involved and he has his sights set on earth. Other than that, I am at a loss as to what that series really is about.

   Marvel's done a fantastic job getting just about every one of their series to tie-in together. The bullpen of the 2010s have built upon Lee and Kirby's philosophy established during the Marvel Age of Comics in the 1960s and exceeded that vision to the Nth degree. Events in this volume relate to important storylines in the various Marvel NOW! Avengers titles as well as Iron Man. I give major kudos to the editors at the House of Ideas for keeping all of these threads straight. I know I've would've made a few knots if that was all up to me.

  In this volume, the bounds of reality have continued to crack throughout the Marvel Universe. Star-Lord is plagued by a terrible vision of all his possible realities and now he seeks out his biggest enemy for answers. Meanwhile, the rest of the Guardians attempt to exercise some R & R  but when an Asgardian princess from an alternate universe that shouldn't exist attempts to kill Gamora, the most dangerous woman in the universe, it's back to business as usual. For the Guardians, that means rescuing SWORD from the clutches of Thanos' armies and eventually saving the earth from the Mad Titan himself.

    'Angela' sees the end of Iron Man's tenure with the team. But I suspect that with the appearance of the assassin of Asgard, the Guardians are going to have a new teammate albeit probably only for a short while. Having two deadly women on one team will make for some killer moments but eventually there's only going to be room for one alpha female.

   The art is dynamic and it matches the might of this action-packed volume. The array of variant covers is stunning as well. But I must say that as an EC Comics fan, I just adore the Weird Science variant covers the most.

   Now to get my hands on that Infinity book I mentioned earlier...

  Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.