Showcase Presents: Superman Family, Volume 4

  When I was a little kid, it would be a special treat when my father would bring our his collection of comics from when he was a youngster. Born in 1955, my dad's collection was from the Silver Age of comics. So  most of my introduction into comics were titles from about 1956-1968. That's not a bad tutorial for a kid born in 1977 to have.

   My pop had things like the first appearance of the Barry Allen Flash, the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, and the Black Panther. (I later inherited these gems only to have them stolen by an older high school 'friend.') But my favorite comics were the ones that starred Superman, particularly those adventures that starred members of Superman's Family. Those titles included Superman's best friend Jimmy Olsen and the Man of Steel's best gal, Lois Lane.

    This collection reprints some of those gems from the Olsen and Lane titles. Ranging from 1959-1960, this book includes the first appearance of Jimmy as Giant Turtle Man, the beginning of the Imaginary Tales stories that pondered what would happen if Superman finally married Lois, and numerous cameos from another Superman Family favorite of mine- Supergirl!

    Featuring art from Silver Age legends Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger, these stories are true American treasures. Sadly, just who wrote most of these classics has become lost to time or poor record keeping but you can see the deft handiwork of iconic DC editor, Julius Schwartz. The only thing missing would be a few ape covers because hey- gorillas sell books, kids!

   Besides being an anthology of some of the lesser known Superman titles, this was a time capsule to my childhood. It's been almost exactly 2 years since this title was published and a fifth volume in this series has yet to be issued. I hope DC hasn't given up on this series as there are at least another 10 years worth of stories left to be retold.

  Sometimes hokey, with some archaic views towards women and teens, but never boring, this is great stuff from the Silver Age that's totally Worth Consuming!

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula (Family Comic Friday)

  

 Poor Princess Decomposia! Her father, the king, is a bit of a hypochondriac and hasn't left his bed for years. Thus, the Princess has become the unofficial official head of state. With very little time to herself and even fewer friends, she's very lonely, overworked, and unappreciated. So when the castle cook quits suddenly, the Princess must act quickly and she immediately hires a pastry chef who happens to be a vampire without fangs but a very mean sweet tooth.

    Armed with Count Spatula's vast array of culinary masterpieces, Decomposia is on the verge of finally succeeding as the Underworld's de facto leader. But as their friendship grows, a budding romance between the princess and chef begins to blossom. Soon, Decomposia starts to find time for herself and actually enjoy life. But when the rest of the castle staff begin to gossip that the zombie Princess is falling for a vampire, will the two live happily ever after or will the king put an end to this affair before love finally gets a chance to bloom?

    Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula is just such a great book. I love the title which is a play on Dracula. I thought the art though a little rough, was very whimsical and appropriate for this story. The plot was excellent and the dialogue was very clever. Each character had their own unique voice and dialect. And Imagination! WOW! Besides the numerous unique monsters that appear throughout this book (including a super creepy eyeball creature) the recipes that Spatula devices are culinary dreams!

As a professional chef, I think this book was neat and something needed in the comic book world. There're all sorts of titles devoted to superheroes, scientists, writers, soldiers, reporters, and the like. But where are the graphic novels about chefs? 

    If you've got an aspiring chef home then this is the book for them!  This is the type of book that as a kid if I read this, it would have inspired me to have become a chef a lot sooner that I did. It's got wonder, whimsy, and most of all heart. It's a true winner.

    The only thing I wish this book would've done was to explore the monster realm a little more. There's quite a bit about the goings on of the castle. But considering how wondrous the castle employees are, I'm sure the residents of the Underworld are just as creative. Maybe there'll be future volumes of the adventures of Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula. We can only hope!

A very quick read, this book, published by First Second, is geared for those in grades 6-10. It teaches valuable lessons about delegating, honesty, and friendship. Also, if you read a little between the lines and look at the potential romance of a zombie and a vampire, there's also a little lesson about race and how it can transcend cultures and overcome prejudice. Who knew graphic novels could be so deep?

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #41

   The final issue of Legends of the DC Universe threatens to tear apart the very fabric of the DCU. With only the most annoying character in the history of DC Comics to aid him, Snapper Carr, the Atom must literally race against time! His mission is to prevent the workings of Chronos from stopping time itself after the villain set up a battery to drain a time machine called the Time Pool of temporal energy. Left running, the battery is causing velociraptors, knights, tanks, and sink holes from all of history to converge on the Atom's home of Ivy Town.   

   Will the tiny hero be able to save the day before time runs out? 

   The final issue of this dynamic series ended with lots of time-bending action. I enjoyed seeing tanks and dinosaurs destroying a small town, but I would've liked to have seen more of it. More variety too. I kinda wanted to see some of the old Justice Society heroes or even villains from that era, but then I remembered that at this point in DC history, they would've been on Earth-2. So, I guess they couldn't have made an appearance after all. 

   I also found myself doing something I didn't expect- liking Snapper Carr. When he was first introduced in the pages of Justice League of America, he was nothing more than a glorified sidekick with the job of either writing down the latest adventures of some of the heroes or get himself into trouble. He was clearly around to appeal to the younger generation in hopes that those young readers might relate to the character. But why they didn't use Robin or Jimmy Olsen for that role is beyond me. Still, writer Rich Faber did a really excellent job in making this Snapper a more of a  down-to-earth character who lacks confidence and doesn't over congratulate himself with those annoying snaps of his. 

   Legends of the DC Universe was a fun series and I'm a little sad to see it go. The New 52 tried to revive this idea slightly with its 'DC Universe Presents' series, but it just wasn't the same. On the bright side, there's still an 80-page Giant that I've yet to find and add to my collection so I got that to look forward to. But with DC being on a kick to bring back some old favorites as a result of its Convergence storyline, I don't see why the publisher couldn't revamp this dynamic anthology series once again.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #40

  

   The final storyline of this epic series is a 'Time Pool Saga.' For those of you unfamiliar with this term, it was a continuing storyline in the 1960s starring the Atom as he'd travel through time in a device known as the Time Pool, created by a physics professor at Ivy College. Often, the diminutive hero would battle his arch-enemy Chronos, the Master of Time through the annals of history in an attempt to prevent the criminal from making off with priceless works of art. 

    Ironically, these treks through the ages were for naught as at least during the Golden and Silver Age of DC Comics (the latter period which this story is set) it was established that no matter what you'd do it the past, you couldn't change past time. (See any of the numerous times Superman and his friends would travel to the past.) Thus even if you were to steal the Mona Lisa when you got back to the present, the item would disappear back into the past. That would render any venture  moot. But, still DC devoted dozens upon dozens of stories to time travel that really didn't change history- but we the reader didn't seem to care. (Since the future was unwritten, future time and the present could be changed. See: Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash of the 30th century.) 

   It should be noted that DC would later establish the certain points in time could be altered, as when the Anti-Monitor seeks to prevent the creation of the DCU. Thus by 1986, history could be rewritten and some couldn't depending on if a writer had an inkling to reboot a particular character or event in the post-Crisis universe.

    Anyway, back to this story. Here, Chronos is aided by a mysterious benefactor in setting up some equipment that will syphon off temporal energy from the time pool, thus making it possible for the time thief to actually steal priceless works from history without them disappearing back into the past. Before the villain can fully power himself up, the Atom arrives to apprehend him. But with Chronos now in police custody, there isn't a catalyst to drain the villain's time battery and all of history looks to fold in on itself.

    A pretty good opening chapter. I've never really been a fan of the Atom, but I find the Time Pool stories to be quite entertaining. Also, I like the character of Chronos a lot and see him as one of the less buffoonish villains of DC's Silver Age. Time travel is one of my favorite types of sci-fi stories (I named my blog after the Doctor for goodness sakes) and though I know that many time-altering episodes set during this period of DC Comics were fraught with anachronisms, paradoxes, and the occasional cop-out, I love reading these stories anyway.

   I wasn't very much a fan of the art though. Drawn by Drew Johnson, I felt it looked too much like a 90s Flash issue instead of a 1960s romp through time as this issue is supposed to be set. I would've like to have seen an artist like Gil Kane (who co-created the Atom) or Neal Adams give this story their timeless touch to this story.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #39

   A scientist discovers that his home planet is doomed to explode and launches his child into space to escape the coming holocaust. Sounds familiar? Well, what if I told you that the doomed planet was earth?

   Is this Superman tale an Elseworlds story? Is it canon? I don't want to spoil this tale. It's that good.

   A perfect example of what Legends of the DC Universe was supposed to be- a venue to pit great writers and artists while crafting tales that don't quite fit in any of DC's titles but still should be told.

   Awesome Stuff

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Captain Marvel, Volume 2: Stay Fly (Marvel Now!)

 

The adage 'don't judge a book by its cover' applies here. Well, at least that's the case for the back cover. I must have found a misprint at the library because the little blurb on the back of the book didn't match the contents at all.

   In big bold letters, the back cover says that the secrets of Chewie (Captain Marvel's cat) are revealed. That part was true and I'll discuss more on that in a minute. Underneath that blurb is a paragraph that describes Carol Danvers continuing her mission in space by saving a princess from the dread Sspartax, all the while being tempted by a man from her past, guest starring the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Well, there were no Sspartax whatsoever, there was a princess but she didn't need saving, some folks from Carol's past did pop up by they were girls, and one Rocket Raccoon does not a full roster of Guardians make.

   So, let's discuss what DID happen in this volume. Well, as I mentioned earlier, the truth about Carol's cat Chewie is revealed and it's "not a cat." To make matters worse, Chewie has just gone into labor (turns out the 'not a cat' is also not a boy) all the while Rocket lets it slip to the local bounty hunting community that he's got a rare alien in his possession. Then Captain Marvel and her young ward meet up with an intergalactic rock star and must help her find a way to not become the trophy wife of a young Prince. This is where the princess comes in, but I won't spoil who marries who.

     Lastly, Carol takes an emergency trip back to earth for 24-hours to visit a sick friend and winds up in the Big Apple on New Year's Eve. When she and a department store Santa are kidnapped by some deranged foes from Carols past (once again girls, not guys) the Avenger may have to rely on some Christmas magic to save the day.

   Don't get me wrong, this volume by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Marcia Takara was really good. The art was stunningly well executed, with lots of action and humor. Tons of cool Easter Eggs, mostly in the Christmas issues, are sprinkled throughout the book. And did I mention there's a Christmas-themed story in this volume as well?

    It's just Marvel's production team dropped the ball when it came to recording the events that transpire on the back of the book. This is not the first time Marvel has done this in the past couple of years, but this is perhaps the biggest goof they've made as a whole. Not only that but I feel like if you piece together some of the things that happen in this book together with the incorrect plot synopsis on the back cover, you'll actually be spoiled as to what will most likely occur in volume 2.

   I'm torn how to rate this book. The story itself is Worth Consuming but the cover sure as heck isn't. To be fair, I'll only deduct one star from a book I'd otherwise rate a 9.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Take you 1st sneak peak at the CW's newest DC series- Legends of Tomorrow!

   Folks, I just viewed a 3 minute teaser for Legends of Tomorrow and it looks awesome! I can't wait for it to air!  Sadly, you have to wait until 2016 for it!

  Here's the trailer from Youtube! Enjoy!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MubNoWQiSc&feature=youtu.be