Kitten Construction Company: Meet the House Kittens (Family Comic Friday)

When Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield and expert on humorous cats recommends a new graphic novel series about funny felines, you follow his lead. That’s why this week’s Family Comic Friday is all about the glorious gato as we review the first volume of Kitten Construction Company!

Kitten Construction Company: Meet The House Kittens
Story and art by John Patrick Green
Published by First Second
Pages: 70+
Retail: $17.99

Marmalade, Samson and Bubbles are all serious about building houses. But as cats, they are only looked at as cute, cuddly and funny! In order to get some respect, the kitties wrangle up some help and decide to show the people of Mewburg that they are the real deal when it comes to house construction!

Upon a recent trip to my local library, I found this book as it was being shelved on the new shelf in the young readers graphic novel section. I asked the librarian shelving it if the book had been popular and she said that it’s constantly in checked-out rotation. I just happened to get lucky when I did to grab it.

Both the recommendation of the librarian, the patrons of the branch, along with a glowing endorsement on the back cover from Garfield’s Jim Davis won me over in giving this book a read and man, am I ever glad that I listened to them all!

Kitten Construction Company was so much fun! I haven’t laughed so hard at something related to those with nine lives this side of a Youtube marathon of cat videos. Disney Adventures’ John Patrick Green obviously knows his felines. He gets the attitudes perfect. When Bubbles is distracted by a laser pointer, Green is flawless in how determined pussycat plumber is to ‘have that red dot!’

The artwork of the cats themselves are just adorable. Each one has personality and style. And all of the character kitties are extremely memorable.

This book debuted late last year. Had I found out about it sooner, it might have been my top hit of the 2018 season. It’s too late to do anything about it now. But better late than never, huh?

Book two in this new series, A Bridge Too Fur, debuts this October. So, before then, if you know of a fan of comic books and graphic novels aged 6-10 years old, check out the Kitten Construction Company. I guarantee that you’ll be so impressed by the antics of these purr-cocious carpenters that you will want them to build all of your future homes and places of business!

Kitten Construction Company: Meet the House Kittens debuted in print and digital platforms on September 4, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Tales of the Unexpected #98

A late 1960s DC treasure. I don't care if this was Marvel or Harvey or Charlton. I love these old school sci-fi anthology series. They're so kitschy that I can help to eat them up whenever I find one for a good deal!

There's a trio of stories in this issue. The cover story involves a man who must have emergency heart surgery. As a result, he's given an experimental mechanical heart which has some interesting side-effects. Due to a flaw in the heart's calibration with the man's metabolism; the patient is slowly turning into a machine!

The next story involves a character called 'The Green Glob'. A sort of Oa'n pre-cursor to the Green Lantern Corps, these unnoticeable gas clouds go around the universe secretly impacting the lives of total strangers. In this adventure, a con man flees to South America on a cruise line. Determined to keep his head down, the rogue finds himself the hero in a number of accidental situations. 

The final story was my favorite. Four strangers on an elevator find themselves in another dimension when the doors open. It's one of those morality play stories in which each person overcomes their individual unique flaws to save the lives of the other three. I'm a sucker for these type of yarns and it was done extremely well! 

They just don't make comic books like this anyone more! Interesting, intriguing and certainly unexpected!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Shazam! (2019)

Finally, the REAL Captain Marvel made his modern day debut on the big screen.

Asher Angel portrays orphan teen Billy Batson. While fleeing from some bullies, Batson seeks refuge in a subway car that transports the lad to the Rock of Eternity. There, Billy meets an ancient wizard who imbues the teen with 6 wondrous powers

whenever Billy exclaims 'Shazam!’

With a bolt of lightning, Billy Batson turns into Captain Marvel, played by Zachary Levy

(Chuck). (Due to some clever wordplay, the hero is never called by this name so to not

be hit with a lawsuit by Marvel Comics. But he is listed as C.M. in the credits.) For about

an hour, Shazam is a superhero twist on the Tom Hanks classic, Big.The Big Red Cheese explores his powers with fellow foster kid, Freddy Freeman (It'sJack Dylan Glazer) in hilarious fashion. But this all changes around the Midway point of this just over 2 hour long film.

The change in the film's tone from comedy to mystical thriller occurs when Dr. Silvana makes his presence known to Batson and Freddy. Sherlock Holmes'Mark Strong portrays the normally simpering mad scientist as a total heel. Evil through and through with powers to boot, I think Warner Bros. added some aspects to Dr. Silvana normally seen in fellow Captain Marvel baddie, Black Adam.

After seeing Shazam!, I think it's clear that the Black Adamfilm can be done and done well. But instead of trying to get Henry Cavill to appear in the film as Superman, make Levy's character be the film's protagonist. WB and DC has proven that their Captain Marvel can lead the DC Universe as well as be more socially appetizing for movie goers.

Critics hailed the House of Ideas’ Captain Marvelstarring Brie Larson, as the diversity driven superhero film of 2019. But in reality that honor needs to go to Shazam!People of color, women, the disabled and most importantly, the microcosm that is the foster child program are championed in this film. I strongly made the diversity connection in this film without having to be preached at by the cast of Marvel's Agents

of SHIELD

I really want to get back to the foster family aspect for a moment. Family is the key theme in Shazam!and the roles of Billy Batson and Dr. Silvana show some interesting contrasts. Silvana comes from a upbringing with a father and brother. Yet, he couldn’t be more distant from his

relatives in he was on Mars and they on Earth. Batson, while an orphan, is brought

into a loving foster home complete with 5 foster siblings willing to accept and love him right off the bat.

It’s not often you get to see social services or foster families in a positive light. My wife and I are avid watchers of NBC’s Chicago trilogy of shows and it seems that creator Dick Wolf reallyhas some sort of beef against social workers. If you work in social services or as a foster parent, you really need to get a group of fellow colleagues together and watch this movie. It

will make you feel good about the thankless service you give to your community!

Man, I only seem to be giving this film praise. That’s not to say that I didn’t have some problems with the film. The biggest issue I had was the release date. The film takes places

right around Christmas. Finally, superhero fans have a holiday movie! So why didn’t DC and

Warner Brothers release this in November or December? Were there production delays? Shazam! did around $55 million in the US on opening weekend. But had they released this at Christmas time, I guarantee it would have broke $70!

The other thing I did not like about this movie is something I have had problems with ever since Man of Steel. What is up with the super-slomo action scenes??? Justice Leagueand Wonder Womanwere riddled with these snail’s pace fight scenes. I really had thought Shazam! had risen above that but somebody decided during the film’s climax to slow the pace down by 40%.

And it annoyed the hell outta me!

I was all set to give Shazam!a solid 9 until the very last scene before the credits. I will not give away the spoiler. But it completely redeemed the movie. Let’s just say it was sup-, uh-Marvelous!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Rocko's Modern Afterlife #1 (A Family Comic Friday Extra)

Another beloved all-ages franchise adds zombies to the mix and gets gritty in this Family Comic Friday Extra. First it was Archie. Then Scooby-Doo went on to battle the walking dead. Now from your friends at Nickelodeon and Kaboom, it’s Rocko’s Modern Afterlife!

Rocko’s Modern Afterlife #1
Created by Joe Murray
Story by Anthony Burch
Art by Mattia Di Meo
Published by The Boom! Studios Imprint Kaboom
Retail: $3.99

A zombie apocalypse has infected the residents of O-Town. It’s unsafe to be out on the streets. But that’s a-okay with Rocko as he’s not really big on technology or large crowds of people. Yet, when his food supply suddenly runs low and the fate of one of his best friends hangs in the balance, our hero wallaby will have to risk his neck to save the day!

A story involving a monster doesn’t necessarily mean that the adventure isn’t for kids. Children literature is full of age appropriate tales of vampire bunnies and elementary school workers who are witches or werewolves. The same goes for this 4-issue mini-series written by actor and writer Anthony Burch (A Bug’s Life). Rocko’s Modern Afterlife is a book that can be enjoyed by some children; just not all.

The experience of seeing characters change from a normal everyday job to brain-eating ghoul can be unnerving. Plus, having the undead attack, bite and even feast on others is also quite intense for younger readers. Back issues of sister series Rocko’s Modern Life are aimed for readers aged 8-12. I would advise the age range for this series to be for readers 10 and up. But as always with Family Comic Friday, I make parental suggestions and not demands. Besides, those of you who grew up watching Rocko in the 90s know that the show was never one to shy away from pushing the envelope with double entendres or satirical social commentary.

Mattia Di Meo’s art is very well done. The Rugrats and Adventure Time artist does a fabulous job of rendering the characters are they looked on the TV screen. And the zombies are extremely menacing. I believe that Di Meo’s stunning art is one reason why Rocko’s Modern Afterlife might not sit well with the youngest of comic book fans.

This new take on Rocko’s Modern Life keeps the quirky spirit of the franchise alive and well, even if some of your favorite characters aren’t. It’s a little more mature that the 90s cartoon. But unlike Afterlife with Archie and Scooby Apocalypse, the Rocko franchise has not gone into the realm of teen plus. With the subtle scares, this series would have been perfect for a September/October drop just before All Hallow’s Eve.

If the younger reader in your life isn’t quite old enough to enjoy this mini- don’t worry. They’ll grow up. And when they do, as Marty McFly would say, ‘Your kids are gonna love it!’

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Sirens #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Today’s Family Comic Friday selection is one that kids of the 80s are going to want to share with their kids and grandkids! Jim Henson’s The Storyteller is back in comic book form in a new miniseries devoted to mermaids and other sirens of the sea!

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Sirens #1
Story by Bartosz Sztybor
Art by Jakub Rebelka
Published by the Boom Studios imprint Archaia
Retail Price: $3.99

If you were a kid growing up in the 80s and had HBO, then you have got to be familiar with Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. Though the show only lasted one very short season, episodes were shown as reruns well through the mid-90s. The award winning series starred Doctor Who’s John Hurt as The Storyteller. Sitting in front of a roaring fire, the narrator regaled his faithful pooch with thrilling, yet obscure, European folk tales.

A 4-episode revival series based on Greek myths debuted in 1990 with Michael Gambon (the Harry Potter series’ Dumbledore) starring as the fabulist. Now some 30 years later, Jim Henson’s beloved creation has returned in an all-new 4-issue miniseries. This time the focus in on stories of mermaids and other sirens of the sea.

Issue #1 focuses on the lesser known tale of ‘The Mermaid and the Fisherman’. This Polish folktale is not to be confused with the story of the Warsaw Mermaid, of which the maiden of the sea is a national icon. However, I wouldn’t doubt that the tale was somewhat inspired by the Warsaw Mermaid as there are some similarities between the two legends.

In this debut issue, a fisherman has his heart set on raising enough money to buy a stunning fishing vessel. No matter how well the angler does on his daily catch, the money his receives is never enough to make him happy. That is until one day when the sailor hears the song of a Mermaid. Having imprisoned the creature, the fisherman soothes his savage spirit to her enchanting song. But at what cost?

Archaia makes the wise move of using native talent for this opening tale. Warsaw’s own Bartosz Szytbor pens this epically sad tale of the sea. But to me, what really blew me away was the amazing artwork of Jakub Rebelka.

Namesake’s Rebelka paints the entire story. His strokes and moody dark tones are quite reminiscent of a lot of Polish folk art that I have seen. I know quite a bit as my wife is a third generation Polish immigrant and I’ve spent a lot of time learning of her family’s Eastern European heritage. That aside, the passion and angst of every character in this issue is masterfully done by the Polish master artist.

This new miniseries based on Jim Henson’s The Storyteller is both entertaining and education. Children of all ages can experience a small slice of Polish life without the indigestion of consuming too much kielbasa and sauerkraut. I only wish that Archaia had gone just a tiny bit further and included a 1-2 page section on something factual  and educational about Poland. I would love to have seen a closing segment on other Polish artists or maybe a fact sheet about the importance of the mermaid in Polish culture. Maybe this is something that could be worked up for the trade collection???

A great opening chapter in a legendary series. It will delight both kids and the adults who grew up watching the show!

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Sirens #1 debuted in print and digital formats on Wednesday April 3rd, 2019.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Beavis and Butt-Head #12 (A Madman Re-read)

I'm a little late in reviewing this, so please forgive...

This is in no way a comic for kids. 

Thankfully, despite being vulgar and stupid, it wasn't blasphemous. Other than a funny running gag that Santa's wife is named 'Mary Christmas' there wasn't anything that seemed pointed at the Christmas story. Why even their search for the true meaning of Christmas was balanced with A Peanuts Christmas nativity and A Christmas Story commercialism. 

Bottom line, if this wasn't a Christmas comic (or other holidays) I wouldn't have bought it and I can most definitely say this series is not going on my wish list anytime soon.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #47

After years of trying, Peebles Pet Shop has finally sold Magilla- to a mad scientist! Good thing Mystery Incorporated stopped by to give Scooby-Doo a good washing after a bout with a marsh monster. As the teen detectives and Mr. Peebles head to the foreboding laboratory, they run afoul of a score of creatures that have had their heads switched. Could this be the fate of our pal Magilla?

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that I think that the Hanna-Barbera are the weaker stories for Scooby-Doo Team-Up. But I really enjoyed this 2019 issue. It may have something to do with the fact that I am not very familiar with the antics of Magilla Gorilla. Grape Ape- I've got a doctorate in stuff involving him. But not so much Magilla. So, maybe the whole concept was more fresh to me. 

Another thing that made this issue a winner was just how well Sholly Fisch did with the story itself. The idea of the mad scientist was a welcome change to the detectives solving another whodunit involving someone in a ghost costume. Plus, the jokes were funny and not as worn out as my walking shoes.

Walter Carzon did a great job on the art. His pairings of animals with different heads was really well done. Plus, I like how the Scooby characters and the Magilla characters meshed together. Sometimes, the HB characters don't look quite right next to Fred, Daphne and Velma, who are drawn more like a realistic teens. But the way Carzon crafted Mr. Peeples, Magilla and the mad scientist, you still got the original look of the characters but without a sense that someone was out of place.

Another great issue of this fun series. SCTU is one of my all-time favs and this issue issue is yet another fantastic reason why!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars