Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1965 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In 1965, the United States Special Forces (USSF) A-Team designated A-342 was assigned to be advisors to a rag-tag bunch of Vietnamese farmers, tribesmen, 'draft dodgers' and neighboring Cambodians. It was the soldiers' mission to train these volunteers into fighters against the forces of the National Liberation Front. Due to their location, these trainees would be among the first line of defense against the Vietcong Army.

Stationed at a makeshift base in Dong Xoai, the USSF team were getting very high indications of an attack. Several spies were caught around the base perimeter and nearby smaller villages were being raided by the VC. The advisers made a request for further reinforcements. They were granted a grand total of 9 Seabees, Navy personnel whose expertise is in building temporary and permanent military infrastructures. 

At nearly midnight of 9 June, VC forces began their attack of the Dong Xoai compound. Artillery and ground forces numbering anywhere from 2-4,000 VC troops swarmed the combined forces of American and South Vietnam troops (50 years later and both sides still can't confirm the exact number of soldiers or fatalities). The first attack lasted until late morning the next day. As it appeared that the Communists were going to win the battle, nearly all of the native and Cambodian forces fled the base leaving a handful of Americans to battle for their lives until their extraction, around 2pm.

After nearly 13 hours of fighting, 3 of A-342 and 2 Seabees lost their lives in the battle. The remaining American soldiers were taken to the relative safety of the Phuoc Vinh Base Camp. Every survivor required medical attention ranging from minor to critical. A fourth member of the USSF team died of their injuries in transport. 

The slew of South Vietnamese forces aided by American 'advisers' retook Dong Xoai just a couple of days later. The battle was considered a turning point in the Vietnam conflict and resulted in President Johnson increasing the number of military trainers to be sent to the region. At least 4 of the members of A-342 returned to active duty. The team's Executive Officer, Charles Q. Williams earned the Medal of Honor, with 3 members receiving distinguished service crosses. Numerous Bronze and Silver stars were awarded and every American soldier involved in the first night of battle earned purple hearts. 

In the late 2000s, war art legend Joe Kubert decided to chronicle the battle. Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1965 features artwork that is very much like and unlike the numerous works of Kubert devoted to the history of the fighting forces, both real and imagined. Every pose is action packed and the faces of the characters bear that Joe Kubert trademarked pained look of 'war is hell'. However, Kubert decided to not ink this book. Instead all 166 pages of story are penciled sketches with some images still bearing the establishing marks artists use to frame faces and physiques. 

At the end of this book, surviving members of A-342 crafted an extensive dossier on the events leading up to the battle of Dong Xoai, along with an hour-by-hour narrative of the attack and a brief follow-up into the post-Vietnam lives of the veterans. These pages are filled with dozens of photos and charts that make the reader feel even more familiar with these heroes. (When I learned that one of my favorite characters in the book died in 2008, I was heartbroken.)

Before one gets upset that I refer to these real life members of American history as characters, it's important to point out that in Kubert's narrative, the participants in Dong Xoai really are characters. None of the soldiers' real names are used in Kubert's account. Like with a 'based on a true story' movie, some of the events are edited or condensed to make for a more cohesive story. Some actions that one soldier performed are given to another, possibly to make the artwork or script a bit more polished. There are literally dozens of names floating around in this historical graphic novel and truly it is an undertaking keeping everyone straight. Especially if you try to read the dossier simultaneously with Kubert's story.

The Vietnam War is a complicated subject in American history. There are still citizens that adamantly despise anyone who fought in the conflict even though hostilities ended way back in early 1975. For those veterans who are still alive, the scars of the war still bleed. Love them or hate them, the men of A-342 and that tiny group of Navy Seabees were heroes. Grossly out-numbered, this small handful of men did not back down nor did they stop fighting until they breathed their last breath. And 5 of those men did this very thing in the battle of Dong Xoai. 

For those who served in not just Vietnam but at any point during wartime and peace- thank you for your service.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #24 (A War Comic/Graphic Novel) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Blue, Barry & Pancakes, Book 5: Big Time Trouble (Family Comic Friday)

Blue is a worm. Barry is a frog. Pancakes is a bunny. Together, Blue, Barry & Pancakes are the best of friends.

In this latest adventure, Blue is all set to give a poetry reading to his friends and neighbors. Unfortunately, Blue has a major case of stage fright. Maybe if he had a special item like a lucky penny, Blur would have the courage to perform his show. 

Thanks to Barry's newest invention, a time-travelling helmet, the 3 friends go back in time to meet one of Blue's ancestors in hopes that the distant family member might have something special the nervous worm can use to battle the fears away. But when Blue learns that his all of his poet ancestors had special trinkets to provide them with luck, he's compelled to keep collecting charms from even more relatives. 

Before you know it, Blue has an entire collection of heirlooms. But he's got to have just one more; this time from a Great-Great-Great (okay, I'm gonna stop here, but there are a lot of greats) grandfather who lived during the time of dinosaurs. Once Blue gets that forefather's fetish, the pals can go forward in time, back to the poetry recital. There's only one problem: the giant prehistoric duck that is terrorizing Blue's caveman predecessor just broke Barry's time travel helmet, leaving everyone stuck in the very distant past!

Big Time Trouble is the 5th book in the Blue, Barry & Pancakes series. It's my first trip with these three friends. I just happened to stumble across this book as it was being displayed on the new release shelf of family friendly graphic novels at my local library. This book was hilarious. I laughed out loud several times. While I wasn't happy with the solution of how the three buddies get back to present day, this was a fantastic read. One of which really makes me want to read the other 4 books in the series. 

Real life BFFs Dan & Jason are the creative team behind this book. The duo did a fantastic job. The level of humor and camaraderie is on par with that of another creative duo, Art Baltazar and Franco! I really hope Dan & Jason achieve the same level of success as the Aww Yeah! inspired creative team of which I am a big fan of. 

With some fun & games and a craft activity at the end of this book, the enjoyment of Blue, Barry & Pancakes can continue long after the story is over. And with 4 other books in the series (thus far) families of all ages can keep the amusement going for quite a while. With these extras, parents and guardians of readers aged 5-9 should think of purchasing these books as a way to make the upcoming summer vacation season a time of enjoyment and learning--- while having a great time, of course!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Plan 9 From Outer Space Strikes Again!

I really thought I had reviewed the book before. Yet, I've been re-cataloging my collection lately and I just don't have any evidence of any such entry in this blog. I guess I must have dreamed it or wrote it out in my head; both of which are things I've done before without realizing it.

Plan 9 From Outer Space Strikes Again is Blue Water Comics' sequel to the 1959 B-movie classic by schlock master Ed Wood. Until Tommy Riseau's The Room, Plan 9 From Outer Space was considered the worst film ever made. I, however, love it! 

Ed Wood, despite his flaws, was a passionate film maker. Yes, some of his short cuts were due to his inability to see flaws. But a lot of the stuff Wood is maligned for is really due to the inability to obtain adequate funding for the grandiose plans he had built up in his head for his projects. The 50s weren't exactly a period in Hollywood history when producers opened the floodgates of cash towards horror and sci-fi pictures. But man, did Ed Wood try his best. It just wasn't good enough for the general public.

This 2009 sequel was created in tribute to the original films' 50th anniversary and it was a mixed bag for me. I thought that the plot was worse than the original Plan 9. However, I loved how the art and production staff added continuity errors, smudges and off center pages to this book to make it appear technically flawed like so many of Ed Wood's classics. Artist Giovanni Timpano even leaves the strings of the attacking flying saucers visible! It was also very cool seeing some of the original actors of the 1959 film making cameos in this book. Tor Johnson, Vampira and Criswell all return to help the aliens try once more to conquer the earth. Other actors from the first movie might be in this book; but their likenesses might be too generic for me to recognize.

The one thing about this one-shot that really bugged me was the ending. It felt unfinished. Even though Criswell closes the story much like he did the live-action film, I closed this book feeling like something was missing. Well, it turns out in an odd sort of way that I am right.

Just today, Dren Productions released the first of a 3-part miniseries titled Plan 59 From Outer Space which continues the story after another 50 disastrous attempts by those very same aliens to conquer our planet. Will that series even mention this comic? I doubt it. But I'll find out soon enough. It looks like another zany tribute to what every fan of 1950s B-movies confers to be Ed Wood's opus!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Real Clue Crime Stories #9 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Inspired by the success of Lev Gleason Publications' Crime Does Not Pay, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon decided to make a crime comic. As a result, Hillman Publications produced the title Clue Comics. It featured true crime stories that both glorified the underworld lifestyle of sex, murder and greed utilizing a narrator that foretold each tale as a fable for sticking to the path of the straight and narrow. After the third issue, Kirby and Simon were able to convince editor Ed Cronin to add the word 'Crime' to their newest creation. As a bit of a compromise, the word 'Real' was also added since the stories told in the publication were based on true stories, even if these tales were embellished quite a bit. 

Real Clue Crime Stories made its newly named debut with the June, 1947 edition. The life story of the notorious gangster Ma Barker and her family of killers were the cover feature; though historians now believe that this story was made up by the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover to cover for the accidental death of the elderly matriarch during a shoot-out in 1935. 

For the November, 1947 issue of Real Clue Crime Comics, I was able to verify that 4 stories are in fact about real life criminals. Opening story 'Kid Twist' is about the Austrian-Hungarian/Italian gangster Max Zweifach (Zwerbach), who led the Max Eastman gang until he was gunned downed by a team of a rival gang and his own men in broad daylight. Then meet Jack 'Legs' Diamond, a crime lord who became so fearful of being killed, he sets himself up in a literal fortress in upstate New York and runs his operation by plane and proxy.

 'The 9 Lives of Michael Malloy' would be a hilarious story, if it wasn't true. Malloy is a drunkard who claims that he is near death. So a group of friends at the tavern Malloy frequents decide to take an insurance policy out on him. But Malloy just keeps breathing. So, they poison his beer. And Malloy just keeps drinking. After several murder attempts, the fellas finally kill off Michael Malloy. Only now, the insurance company smells a rat. This interesting story was featured on an episode of Mysteries at the Museum and was the inspiration for the episode 'One for the Road' on the NBC 80s anthology series Amazing Stories.

The last verifiable story is the required prose tale Hillman needed to maintain first class postage rates for the comic. It tells of the counterfeit ring of 'Count' Victor Lustig that ultimately brought the con man down. Though he managed to rake in millions of dollars in 1930s and 40s greenbacks, Lustig's most interesting con was his selling of the Eiffel Tower... twice!

The penultimate story of this issue is about a Revolutionary War era highwayman whose generosity turns out to be his downfall. The final tale is a take on the urban legend in which someone is challenged to go to a graveyard at midnight and to plunge a knife into a famous grave. In typical fashion, the knife manages to snag the clothing of the participant. The belief that the dead have risen from the grave due to this insult scares the defiler to death. Only with this being a crime comic book, there's a devious twist at the end. 

The cover and the first story were illustrated by Dan Barry, who drew a ton of beloved comic strip characters including Flash Gordon, Tarzan and Spider-Man in a career that spanned 6 decades. The only other artist who provides a signature is Art Helfant, a gag artist who crafted the 3 one-page funnies that add a slight doze of brevity to an otherwise intense and melodramatic book.

Kirby and Simon left Hillman in 1948. Yet despite this departure, Real Clue Crime Comics lived on. 5 more volumes of 12 issues each were published from 1948-52. A 6th volume was begun in 1953, amassing 3 issues before Hillman decided to shutter its comic book unit. Hillman Periodicals continued to publish a number of general interest and right-wing opinionated magazines until 1961 when publisher Alex L. Hillman sold off his very popular digest-sized Pageant to McFadden Communications. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #13 (With the word 'Clue' in the Title) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Superman: Doomed

I haven't been overly enthralled with everything New 52. Batman: Zero Year was decent and the #0 books that tie-in about 2 dozen members of the DC Universe to that incident was fantastic. But when it came to the portrayal of the Man of Steel in the pages of Superman and Action Comics left me frigid. That all changes here in Superman: Doomed!

A clandestine group that thinks Superman is a threat to our planet, makes the brilliant decision to free Doomsday from the Phantom Zone projector located in Kal-El's Fortress of Solitude. At the exact same time, the entire town of Smallville has been rendered unconscious under mysterious circumstances. When Doomsday arrives on the outskirts of the town, Superman takes things personally and unleashes hell on the colossus!

In a show of unlimited power, Superman lands a punch that vaporizes Doomsday. And then the Man of Tomorrow inhales him! Always thinking of others, Superman absorbs his foe in order to prevent the creature from reforming and possibly mutating any of the by-standers of the battle. As a result, Superman has infected himself with the most deadly killing machine in history and he's turning into a version of a Kryptonian powered Super-Doom!

Three things really impressed the heck out of me in this 500 page plus book:

1. The relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman. This is a great power couple and they work very well. Not liking the other Superman books, I never went for the Superman/Wonder Woman team-up title. That will change.

2. Taking a page from The Incredible Hulk, readers get a chance to see inside the mind of Kal-El. There's this amazing banter between the Clark Kent and Doomsday sides that are battling for control. Yes, I know it's a swipe from Marvel's most well-known dissociative. But the massive creative team headed by writers Greg Pak and Charles Soule, among others, managed to make these scenes extremely fresh and entertaining. 

3. The Maid of Might. I love Supergirl and I am doing my best to get the entire run of her New-52 title. I don't quite understand why she's with the Red Lanterns. But I like it. I also don't understand why half-way through this story Kara stops being a Red Lantern. Did she renounce membership? Is she on hiatus? It's not made clear. But I'll find out one day. I guarantee it!

As for some of my other questions, like if the Big Boss at the end of this book is really the one behind the release of Doomsday and if the infection of Superman was pre-planned or just a happy accident are questions that I doubt I'll ever get a definite answer on.

Lots of different artists, inkers and colorists are involved in this story. Really too many to mention. I didn't feel like a single page was wasted. This was a massive read and I got one fantastic discount having found this $30 book for less than $10 at Ollie's. If you love Doomsday and are a giant fan of the epic 'Death of Superman' storyline, this is a book you cannot afford to miss. Even if it is a part of the New 52!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Comic Book Story of Beer (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

 "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
 -a quote often (falsely) attributed to Benjamin Franklin.

"Beer- Nature's Perfect Food."
     -Homer Simpson

Jonathan Hennessey takes comic book readers on a 7,000 year old adventure into the history of beer. His theory is quite interesting. With both beer and bread being made originally by the same 3 ingredients, grain, water and yeast; as civilizations developed techniques in agriculture, the brewing of alcohol soon followed. 

As a culinary professional, I've always been under the impression that beer was developed first by the Egyptians. However, thanks to this book, I've learned that a recipe even older than the pharaohs was uncovered and it was in China! Though Hennessey explains that scholars still believe that Egypt is the birthplace of beer, the discovery in China is leading historians to rewrite the history books and place the beverage as originating around 5000BC.

Now Egyptian beer is really different than what we know of today. Rice, seeds, fruit, even chocolate have been added to the mix at one time or another. But the main universal difference from the Egyptians is in the addition of hops. Hops are a flowering seed cone that gives beer its distinctive bitterness. It's only been an ingredient in beer since 1079. So for the first 6000 years of beer, it meant that the beverage was a sweeter nectar of the gods.

Beer was also vital for safety and well-being. Despite the alcohol content, the brewing techniques of heating of the ingredients and fermentation of product helped to sanitize a water supply that otherwise might have laid waste to a growing community. 

In fact, until the late 1800s, a majority of people didn't even know that beer had alcohol when social reformer Joseph Livesey conducted science experiments with the drink among the general public. This 'new-found' knowledge helped the temperance movement to put beer on the list of evil drinks. Add the fact that a majority of the beer makers in America were of German descent, by the time World War I rolled around, the time was ripe for the outlawing of almost all alcoholic beverages. 

American prohibition ended in 1933. The Depression, disrepair of unused breweries and good old fashioned American corporate greed left a void in the beer industry. American prohibition resulted in making small time brewers from going out of business. Corporate greed and growth, lead to the death of the rest of the small potatoes. Boredom in otherwise bland mass-produced beer and deregulation of home brewing in the 1970s has resulted in a renaissance in craft brewing. By 1980, there were only 44 American breweries. Jump to 2015, there were 3,200 total breweries with another 2,000 in the works. It's been 8 years since this book was released and according to the Brewers Association, a staggering 9000 plus breweries current operate in this country!

Assisting Jonathan Hennessey is head brewer Mike Smith. Smith covers the more technical aspects of the beer making process. I know this because those segments are hosted by a cartoon avatar of the craftsman. I also believe that Smith is responsible for the 9 'Meet the Beer' segments peppered throughout this graphic novel. Those single-page beer profiles discuss not only the bitterness and alcohol by volume in the beer, but food pairings, history of the beverage and other pertinent information that a non-zythophile might need in order to become a connoisseur of fine brews. 

The artwork for this book is by Aaron McConnell, who previously had worked with Hennessey on a pair of graphic novels about the Constitution and Gettysburg Address. McConnell's work is quite impressive (and varied) as he is able to mimic relevant art styles of the time periods being discussed. For example, during a section on Ancient Greek philosopher's thoughts on beef, McConnell draws those noble men as if they were mosaics made of hundreds of tiny tiles. Later, when examining our founding father's love of brewskis, the artist has the heavy hitters looking like they were taken straight from a stack of greenbacks. 

Beer is thousands of years old. Yet, its explosion in creativity and advanced technology has really only occurred in the past 50 years. Wine seems to have the more refined and knowledgeable fan base worldwide. But the beer lovers are coming up fast behind them. For one who might need to know the difference between a lager and an ale AND you love comic books, The Comic Story of Beer is just one of dozens of graphic novels devoted to food and beverage to hit the market in the past 10 years.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #10 (About Food or Beverage) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Star Trek: The Key Collection, Vol. 3

Volume 3 does see some vast improvements in the artwork and coloring in terms of technical merit. The representations of actors William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and others by Alberto Giolitti continue to be second to none. Well, I take that back Nevio Zuccara, who drew several issues in Volume 1, is just as impressive on the likenesses. But things are still far from perfect on the Enterprise. 

The bridge still looks like the cockpit of the Space SHUTTLE Enterprise with everyone crowded around a tiny view screen. The phasers used by the crew are varied and futuristic. But they are not Federation issue. And while the visuals of the crew being transported is starting to look more like what you'd see on the original TV show, the transporter room looks like it is off to the corner of the main bridge, instead in another part of the ship. 

Captain Kirk finally is portrayed wearing an orange/tan looking tunic. But everybody else, including Sulu and Chekov, who makes 2 brief first appearances, are still wearing green. Bones is finally in blue. But I don't think anybody knows for sure what color tunic Scotty is supposed to wear as he's decked out in blue, green and red in different issues of this series. 

It doesn't look like Len Wein was involved in the scripts at this point. The Swamp Thing co-creator's name isn't listed in the credits at the beginning of this book. In fact, nobody is credited as to have written these stories and that's a shame because many of them were very, very good. 

A Taj Mahal in space! Space Mummies! Kirk on trial for assisting iron poachers! A war between two tribes of teens as Spock races across the galaxy to find a cure for a deadly disease! A brat becomes the leader of his planet after his father is murdered by an unknown assailant. Machine/tree hybrids run amok! All very good stories, though I also saw a couple of these stories when they were TOS episodes 'Court Martial' and 'Miri'. 

Also, I refuse to believe that Captain Kirk doesn't know what a black hole is. Granted, his ignorance was used as a plot device to help educate readers as to what this anomaly in space is. But Kirk shouldn't have been the character used for this scene. 

The space Taj Mahal story is also notable for its artwork of an all-new crew member. The Federation historian Dr. Krisp, is assigned to unravel the mystery as to why almost anyone who visits the intergalactic shrine never returns. Dr. Krisp looks amazingly like Julie Newmar (Catwoman on TV's Batman)! Not sure if Giolitti or Zuccara drew that issue, as Gold Key didn't give artist credits. But BRAVO nonetheless. 

This is my last hurrah with the Checker reprints of the Gold Key books. I've already read volumes 4 and 5. Unfortunately, the publisher went defunct after Vol. 5. That means I still need issues 43-61. IDW released 5 hardcover volumes of these books. But they only went to issue #30 and the last edition was published in 2016. So, it's going to bargain bins and affordable back issues in order to complete my read of this entire innovative series that was a constant work in progress.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.