Aw Yeah! A Hasbro Action Figure Jam

Who says that the adults get to have all the fun?

 In honor of the epic IDW Hasbro crossover Revolution, the publishing company decided to make an all-ages version! Bringing together Rom: Spaceknight, GI Joe, Transformers and the Micronauts, Aw Yeah! A Hasbro Action Figure Jam crafts a story that will delight fans of all-ages of any or all of these franchises. 

However, I felt that a little something was missing to this book by Art Baltazar (Tiny Titans). I think it's that his long-time art and story partner, Franco isn't involved in this miniseries. Normally in an Art Baltazar and Franco adventure has tons of inside jokes, Easter eggs and is fun, fun, fun. This  yarn was missing at least one of the funs and a bunch of the hidden treasures. 

I enjoyed a large majority of this story. Having a very popular good guy changed into a member of COBRA was awesome! Seeing the Micronauts and Snake Eyes fighting together was epic! And anything with ROM is just pure old school fun!

But I hated the ending. It was ambiguous and stories without definitive endings are a huge pet peeve of mine. However, if you are a grown-up or parent who is looking to share over 35 years of Hasbro toy history, this is a very good place to start.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage

A supernatural thriller that starts out really good, gets kinda confusing and then ends as greatly as it started. 

A paranormal investigator who can speak to the dead, has one little problem. Unable to locate her deceased husband, Doctor Mirage has lost her passion for life. But when a former covert ops agent seeks Mirage's help to release himself from a demon, she discovers a chance to reunite with her spouse.

The first third of this book is so much like The Sixth Sense. It wasn't a rip-off of that movie. But it just flowed so well that I didn't want that segment to end. 

The middle act gets a little like that Robin Williams afterlife picture What Dreams May Come. In that regards, things get really metaphysical and weird. (Now, I will admit the Director's Cut commentary at the end of this volume helped clear things up. But it was too little, too late.)

The final act didn't return to The Sixth Sense. But it was such a beautiful ending, I didn't want it to end. If the book had cut out that confusing middle act, I would read further adventures of Doctor Mirage.

This wasn't a bad read from Jen Van Meter (Captain Marvel.) The art from Robert Le Torre was okay. His demons were quite terrifying but some of his other characters were hard to decipher from one person to another. Especially the human characters.

A series that wasn't very smooth in it's transitions. However, there is enough promise that I
would give it another try. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating 7 out of 10 stars.

Family Comic Friday

Family Comic Friday will return on Friday July 6th. 

Until then, read more all-ages comics!

Thor: First Thunder

Relive the first year of Thor's return to earth in this 5-issue collection from Marvel. In terms of an origin story, there's not much being rebooted. But there's not much being rehashed to where I felt that I had read this story before. 

The real crux of this story is the relationship between Donald Blake and Thor. It answers a nagging question that I have had about Thor and Blake for a very long time- where does Blake go when Thor is summoned and vice-versa? 

Donald Blake's love-affair with Jane Foster is another key element that has matured somewhat in this retelling of Thor's origin. It's not that insipid soap opera drivel that Stan and Jack did back in the 1960s. Of the many things Stan Lee could do well, writing a love story wasn't one of them...

The one thing about this book that I had trouble with was the art. Or maybe it's the inks. Heck it could be both. Tan Eng Huat (Legion: Sox of X) is the artist. I admire some of his subtle nuances, like having Donald Blake's bad leg be atrophied. But when it came to noses, the artist gives everybody the same one- a long green bean of a thing. And for some reason, Huat liked to draw faces where you can see up their nose. 

The last quarter of the book is inked by a different person other that Huat ,who for the most part does double duty. The new inker's stuff looks much cleaner and more in the style of John Bryne or Sal Buscema. I like it better as the Huat pencils which also tend to look blurry. That would be okay for action scenes, but even the static ones look out of focus.

A good story with art and inks that need polish. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

My Little Pony: The Ponyville Mysteries #1 (Family Comic Friday)

I hope you like a good mystery because today’s featured comic involves a trio of sleuths, a pair of suspects, and one baffling crime. For this edition of Family Comic Friday we’ll be looking at IDW’s newest all-ages entry in the My Little Pony Franchise: The Ponyville Mysteries.

My Little Pony: The Ponyville Mysteries #1

Written by Christina Rice

Art by Agnes Garbowska

Published by IDW Publishing

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle are the founding members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They go around Ponyville doing good deeds and earning merit badges. Their latest episode of volunteer work take them to Ponyville Hospital where they stumble upon a real mystery.

Someone has been stealing supplies from the storage closet. Is it the very grumpy (and scary) old janitor, Distemper? Could it be the very sweet and timid Nurse Redheart? Or is one of the patients involved in this sticky-fingered crime? It’s up to the Cutie Mark Crusaders to find the culprit and save the day!

My Little Pony fans of all ages will delight at this new series. Compared to a lot of all-ages mystery stories, this one isn’t at all scary. It was smartly written and the mystery was actually a very good one. This story has some real twists and turns to it.

One thing Christina Rice doesn’t seem to do is name the members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. If you are already associated with them, it will not be hard to know who is who. But considering that this was my first encounter, I wouldn’t have known the names of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle if I hadn’t looked them up. If IDW is trying to win new readers, they got to remember to incorporate the characters names. Maybe not do it for every issue, but at least attempt the introductions in the first issue.

The artwork seems pretty standard for the new style of My Little Pony. In the 80s, the characters were depicted as being softer and more life-like akin to how a real horse should look. The modern version is more Manga styled with sharper edges. Plus, there sure are a bunch more unicorns that I remember from when I was a child.

The Ponyville Mysteries is a series that will delight, tease and maybe even make you smarter. You have to really study the book for clues! The story really felt like an Encyclopedia Brown mystery, only with ponies. Recommended for readers 6-8 years old, the My Little Pony Brand has universal appeal with both boys and girls of all ages. This title is no different as any Pegasister or Brony is gonna love it! With 4 more issues in the series left to be published, the real mystery is what are you waiting for? Get it today!

My Little Pony: The Ponyville Mysteries #1 debuted in stores and digital platforms on May 30th. Issue #2 is schedule for later this month.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

I saw Solo last weekend during it's first week in theaters. However, due to work and other things, I forgot to do a review until now. The latest Star Wars film isn't doing so very well and if I am any part to blame for not reflecting on my experience, I apologize to my fellow Star Wars devotees. 

Solo doesn't have any of the original cast in the film. The ever cool Harrison Ford is now replaced by the ever trying Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!). Instead of super-suave Billy Dee Williams as Lando, Childish Gambino himself, Donald Glover, has some big capes to fill. Sadly, Peter Mayhew is unable to portray the Wookiee Chewbacca due to ill health even in sitting down roles. But I don't think it was the acting that kept fans away.

The biggest kiss of death for a film is anytime there are massive re-shoots. Needing to go back and do a couple of scenes due to corruption of the film or poor sound quality is one thing. But Solo had around 70% of the film redone due to the poor directorial efforts of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Thankfully, the legendary film maker, Ron Howard (Apollo 13) stepped in and saved the film. However, I don't think many had faith in Howard's ability to save the project.

You can tell when the movie has the original scenes still attached and not fixed by Ron Howard. They lack the magical Star Wars feel to them. They're quite gritty, extremely slow paced and don't seem to fit. Howard, being a former protege of George Lucas with the filming of Willow, at least knew how to rekindle that flame of wonderment and excitement that I remember having watching Star Wars as a kid.

Solo does exactly what I expected it to do- fill in the huge gaps in the backstory of Han Solo. However, some fans feel that this film did too much to try and answer all of the questions at once. I might agree with one or two aspects. But overall, I think the effort of this movie was just fine. 

Some critics say that because Solo wasn't as cerebral as the past two Star Wars sequels, it failed as a Star Wars story. Clearly, there's some childhood bias here because I can site a number of things wrong with the original 3 Star Wars films- like Luke's whining about going to Toshi Station, Leia losing her British accent after the destruction of Alderaan, and the entire plot of the Ewoks in the last act of Jedi. 

Solo is a return to the feel good days of sci-fi movies that didn't have to be 100% scientific nor did it have to be Oscar quality. I came out of the film wanting to see it again and that was something I did not feel about watching Avengers: Infinity War. Besides with all of the Easter eggs in Solo, I probably need to watch it again to catch them all. But that biggie at the end of the film- I caught it and I loved it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

An Interview with the Creators of SuperOwl (Family Comic Friday)

Welcome to a very special edition of Family Comic Friday.  Normally with this column, I review a comic book or graphic novel that is family friendly and fun for readers of all ages. Today, I’m sitting down with Lester Jones and Steven Dodd, the creative team behind the new children’s book: SuperOwl: Being Different Makes You Super!

Just who is SuperOwl? Why he’s the hot new superhero with autism who has taken Amazon by storm! By day, SuperOwl is the young owlet, Little Bro’ and he has Asperger Syndrome. But he’s also pretty amazing as he uses his special skills as well as his disability to save the day from a dastardly falcon!

The Godfather of Britain

Steven Dodd is the inspiration for SuperOwl. Born with Asperger Syndrome, Steven has worked to bring awareness for his special needs. He has a reputation as an  ambassador for autism awareness. But to many, Steven is also known as the British Godfather.

Steven's nickname has evolved from a term of endearment that one of his doctors gifted him years ago. 'One of my doctor's gave me the nickname ‘Padrino’ which is Italian for godfather.’ Over time, people started to add his heritage to his nickname and began calling him the British Godfather.

He marvels at being a top search under the moniker. “You Google ‘British Godfather’ and there's my picture in front of all these Mafia guys. It's great.”

Another area of pride that Steven let's everyone know about is his love of the Special Olympics. Having competed at that level for several years, Steven is looking forward to a chance to represent Team England in the Paralympics in Abu Dhabi in 2020. His chosen sport is deadlifting. “I can do 200 (440.95 pounds) kilos from the ground,’ says Dodd.

While Steven practices for a chance at Abu Dhabi, he's also spreading the word about SuperOwl to his friends and competitors in Special Olympics. “I'm telling everyone that I know about the book. My friends really like it.” Some of those friends also happen to be characters in the book along with members of Steven's family.

It was through the Special Olympics that Steven meet a new friend:  Lester Jones.

About Lester Jones:

Lester is the writer and artist behind SuperOwl.  He is an award-winning artist, designer, musician originally from Wrexham, North Wales but now based in Plymouth, Devon. His inspiration is drawn from his volunteer work supporting cancer patients and encouraging people of all ages to `give it a go.' He met Steven Dodd through his charity work and as a result of many conversations with him, SuperOwl and his friends have now come to life in the pages of this book. Being different makes you SUPER! is Lester's slogan to help and encourage children with Aspergers Syndrome, Autism or any form of disability to enjoy their lives and to show that with support from their friends and family, they can achieve great things.

Interview with Lester:

Q: Lester. Thank you for being able to talk with me a little about SuperOwl. How did the idea for this book comic about?

Lester:  The idea for the book - I am a qualified graphic designer/artist and for the last six years I have been a volunteer at a hospital in Plymouth, England. Part of my work has been in supporting cancer patients and through this I organised fund-raising events in my area. I met Steven Dodd when we organised a Kayakathon with him and discovered he was a double Special Olympics silver medalist in kayaking. Steven has Aspergers Syndrome. We became good friends and one day he asked if I would write his life story for a book.

I told him I would prefer to write and illustrate a children’s book and asked him to choose a character he could be in it. Steven likes owls and loves Super Heroes.. so SuperOwl was born!!

I created a cast of character animals and creatures through chatting with Steven and decided to set the story in a magical garden .

I then spent the next 9 months writing the story and illustrating all the characters and a few scenes from the story. Some of the characters are based on real people in Steven’s life and some from mine.

I have tried to write the story from the mind of someone who has Autism, that is why the story has a “quirky “ feel to it, I also created the slogan..”Being different makes you SUPER! I also created 4 characters in the book who have a disability to try to help children who read it that they can aspire to great things in their lives with help and support from their friends

Q. I hear that some great things have been happening with the book on Amazon. How has reception to SuperOwl been?

Lester:  Reception to the book - It was launched on Amazon UK and USA and Waterstones Books on Monday 21st May 2018. In 48 hours it sold out !! Amazon were not prepared for the demand. It has sold across from the UK, Europe, USA and even in New Zealand. It will be available in stock again very soon.

(Interviewer’s NOTE: The book is currently available via the Kindle digital platform. Some paperback copies are available via other retailers on Amazon as well.)

Q. How long is the book and what is the age range for SuperOwl?

Lester:

The book is 100 pages plus cover. Approximately 18,000 words. Age Range- I would say 6 years to early teens. It is also a book parents would enjoy reading to their children.

Q. Are there plans for more adventures of SuperOwl?

Lester: Future plans - Yes! I am now working on the sequel which will contain new characters to add to the first. I will also be pushing boundaries by helping children deal with matters such as M.E.(Myalgic encephalomyelitis, also referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)), Cancer, Bullying and even a new baby in their family.

Finally I am looking to produce an Audio Book and animated film. I am looking for sponsorship or funding for this from businesses interested in the potential of the project. Maybe Marvel or DC Comics might like to take SuperOwl on?

A Spider-Man/Superman/SuperOwl Team-Up? Yes, indeed Lester and Steven- that would be so very awesome indeed. Here’s to continued success with SuperOwl and the amazing message of hope and purpose he provides.

For more information about SuperOwl and to view his artwork, visit Lester’s  Facebook page `Lester Jones - My Art - My Music.'

This interview was published concurrently at Outrightgeekery.com.