The G-Man Super Journal: Awesome Origins by Chris Giarusso (Family Comic Friday)

   

A little bit of sage advice about kids and reading- sorry about the language...

  

Page Example of Awesome Origins.

 Parents, I get it. You want your child to read and you want them to enjoy it. Comics are a great way to get kids reading. But you also don't want them to read nothing but comic books. Especially since schools will be requiring them to read chapter books for reports and summer reading assignments.

    So why not combine the best of both worlds with the G-Man Super Journal? Part prose book, part comic book: this will delight readers who love superheroes but need to start reading those pesky chapter books. The Super Journal reads like the ultra-popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Only, the pictures are replaced with comic book panels. 

Cover to Volume 1.

    Awesome Origins is exactly what the title says it is. Inspired by the G-Man comic book series by Chris Giarusso, it tells how G-Man and his friends all got their superpowers in the form of a creative writing journal that the title character must keep for English class. Along with a cast of zany teachers, parents, and grown-up superheroes, this book answers many question about the series that I've always had such as: 

Why is Eddie Delta's only superpower the ability to change color?

What made the material of G-Man and Great Man's outfits magical?

And just what does the 'G' in G-Man stand for anyway?
 Awesome Origins is intended to be the first in a series of G-Man chapter books. I'm completely on board with Giarusso writing more Super Journals. I just hope he doesn't stop publishing the awesome G-Man comics that made me such a fan of his characters and work.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.   

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #13

   Shaggy being brave?

  Scooby on a quest for rengeance... I mean, vengeance?
  
  Daphne able to do wicked somersaults?

   Something is up with the Mystery Machine gang and that can only mean one thing: the ghosts of the DC Universe have arrived. 

    When the Phantom Stranger comes to the gang's house on Halloween, the detectives are whisked away to a ghost town in the deserts of Nevada. Their mission: to find where all of the ghosts of the DCU have been disappearing to and who is behind their apparent ghost- nappings.

    Featuring a veritable Who's Who of DC Universe spooks, this issue was tons of holiday fun. Along with Phantom Stranger and Deadman, this issue features Kid Eternity, JEB Stuart (from the Haunted Tank), the Spectre and many more.

   The only problem I had with this issue was when it was released. The story takes place on All Hallow's Eve. So in theory, this book should have released prior to October 31st. Yet, Scooby-Doo Team-Up #13 was released just yesterday- November 4th. What is this, the Treehouse of Horror? Halloween specials should come out before Halloween- I consider that slight unforgivable.

    Despite the poor timing of when this issue hit shelves, I still consider it Worth Consuming and I rate it a 10 out of 10 stars. There's nothing wrong with the art or quality storytelling by Sholly Fisch and it's not the production team's fault this book didn't mean the Halloween 2015 deadline. 

JLA: Shogun of Steel

 This Elseworlds tale takes place in feudal Japan as a despotic ruler has thrown Japan into a near-fascist state. None is safe as robotic drones wreak havoc in the countryside, eradicating any chance for a force to fight back. A small band of freedom fighters have one last opportunity to fight back, but time is running out. Thankfully, there’s a man who can fly, shoot fire from his eyes, is incredibly strong, and he hates this new ruler of Japan just as much as they do.

   The story is very good. It's kinda original even though I figured out who the bad guy really is about half way before the big reveal and it was really cool and fitting since the heroic mystery man is Kal-El.

   Here’s my problem with this book: while the art is visually stunning, reflecting the woodcut style of ancient Japan, why is Kal-El portrayed as Asian? In regular DC books, Superman looks like a Caucasian male with raven black hair. Here, Kal-El, along with his father Jor-El, is drawn as a Japanese strongman. Shouldn’t Superman look more like he would in the regular DC books since he was born on Krypton and not Earth? I think having him be more like a “fish out of water” in feudal Japan would have been even more poignant.

    There’s a definite Shogun vibe here. In  that novel by James Michener,  an American explorer is thrust into the world of feudal Japan and I think the artist and writer missed a great opportunity to explore that route had they kept Kal-El looking like himself in the comics and not having his appearance drawn like a Japanese man. Though I consider this a serious nit/ continuity error, I consider this book to be Worth Consuming. 

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

American Vampire, Volume 1

   From the brilliant mind of Scott Snyder (New 52 Batman), trek through the mesas of the Old West all the way to Hollywoodland of the Roaring 20s as outlaw Skinner Sweet is on a mission to destroy the old school European vampires responsible for his transformation into a neck nibbler. 

   Assisting Mr. Snyder is the Master of Horror himself, Stephen King. This is the horror writer's first ever comic book effort and his skill level doesn't waver one bit. 

  It's actually fitting that Snyder chose the novelist to help with the writing duties since Stephen King's 1975 'Salem's Lot' is considered the work that modernized the vampire for the late 20th Century. With that novel, bloodsuckers were no longer viewed as just the Bram Stoker Dracula that spent it's days in the dungeon of Castle Dracul. Vampires were mean, cruel, and eerily able to blend into any situation or setting.

   American Vampire builds on that lore and the modern archetype established by King's masterpiece. Snyder makes this new world bloodsucker literally unstoppable unless it's a moonless night. It actually makes sense to retool the vampire for the superhero age. The Bela Lugosi-type vampires established in the Victorian Era were pretty vulnerable for being the king of the monsters. Mild sunburns are deadly. A misplaced pencil could be lethal. And if you worked at an Italian restaurant, you were probably going to live to see another day from a vampire attack because you reeked of garlic. 

    Series creator Scott Snyder crafted the American Vampire as the perfect vampire to the point it's enough for wrestling fans to chant 'USA! USA!' Stephen King takes Snyder's blueprint and weaves a sweeping origin tale that spans over 50 years of American history. Added to the mix is the deft artistic style of Rafael Albuquerque (Blue Beetle) which blends European gothic with American realism

    Needless to say, by the very last page, I was lamenting that I didn't have volume 2! I'll be rectifying that problem real soon, believe me. But this wasn't a bad investment of only $3 from the year-round book sale shelf at my local library and I wouldn't have been upset if I paid more for this either.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Ghosted, Volume 2: Books of the Dead

Once upon a time, Jackson Winters planned a heist in Las Vegas. The job involved robbing a casino and then making off with riches beyond compare with the love of his life. But the job went sour, the entire crew was killed and Winters imprisoned. Word on the street according to Jackson was that ghosts killed his cronies. 

   When you claim that ghosts are why your big score went bust, people tend to look at you as a little cray-cray. But in Jackson's case, it attracted the attention of a paranormal activity buff and the criminal was busted out of jail, and promised his freedom if he would help the ghost hunter catch a ghost. That job didn't go so well either, but it allowed Winters the opportunity to fake his own death and start anew.

 Despite being a free man, Jackson Winters has a lot of targets on his back. He has a chance to finally get a couple of those targets removed when he agrees to go into the Mexican jungle to rescue the granddaughter of the owner of the very casino he tried to rob. This new deal will take Jackson to an abandoned temple where he discovers a virtual paradise of babes, sex, and vice. 

   But this is Ghosted and in this horror series from Image, nothing is as it seems. 

   I liked volume one very much. But I think this volume was even better. This story was pretty cut and dry as opposed to the first storyline that involved a series of double and triple-crosses that left me scratching my head. Plus, there are plenty of great twists and turns that builds on the latter volume without making it a rehash of the haunted house adventure Jackson partakes in to win his freedom. Plus, we finally learn what happened in the infamous casino heist that left Jackson ghosted.

    The art by Davide Gianfelice also got better in this volume. I loved how the variety of spirits Jackson encounters each have their own different look and appearance. It was almost like series creator Joshua Williamson had a different artist draw each ghoulish creature. It gave variety and texture to a thrilling story of pain, redemption, and of course, GHOSTS...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

The Tick: Big Halloween Special, 2000 Edition

 

 The Tick and Arthur go on their annual trip to the pumpkin patch. Just when Arthur is about to pick the perfect pumpkin, the squash turn ugly. Soon, the entire crop has morphed into evil jack o'lanterns and are  attacking the city. Assisted with a Punisher-type representative of the USDA, the Tick and Arthur must discover the hive mind behind the Attack of the Killer Pumpkins in order to save All Hallow's Eve.

    I saved this holiday special for Halloween night and it was worth the wait. Written by the dynamic duo of Clay and Susan Griffith, I laughed out loud several times. I shouldn't be surprised at the story quality, though. If Ben Edlund isn't around to write a Tick story, the Griffiths' are my next choice if I'm looking for a Tick-filled laugh. 

    This isn't an easy find. I had to go to the New England Comics Press website in order to finally locate a copy. But NEC has some amazing deals on their Tick stuff, mostly because you're buying direct and not through a middleman. I highly recommend their services as much as I deem this Halloween special...

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Happy Day of the Dead, 2015!

feliz día de los Muertos