Scooby-Doo Team-Up #27

Trouble has always followed Plastic Man and his sidekick Woozy Winks. But when a fortune teller places a curse on Woozy and things start getting really dicey, it's up to the Mystery Inc. gang to determine if there's really something to this voodoo! Or is their a criminal mastermind element to these threats to Woozy's life?

A very fun team-up of two of Saturday morning cartoons greatest detective teams. Some many remember the Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show from 1979-81. It was on TV and not comics where I was first introduced to Plas and his friends. 

Dario Brizuela does a masterful job turning Plastic Man into a ton of cool things. Thank goodness, writer Sholly Fisch didn't have him become the outfit of either Daphne or Velma. I just can't believe that DC Comics has allowed the character to pull off that bit of sexual assault still to this day. It doesn't mean we need to ban Plastic Man. Just keep him away from the ladies dressing room.

Another gem from a couple of years ago. I bought this new and read it within a day or two of buying it. But for some reason, I got behind on posting my thoughts on it in my blog. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #20

The Mystery Inc. gang go intergalactic in this exciting issue! But this time the phantom is real!

Space Ghost- that star of dramatic cartoon and late-night buffoonery, teams up with Scooby-Doo to defeat a pair of his greatest foes. 

Normally, the Hanna-Barbera team-ups are done by other artists. But this time, it's DC team-ups master, Dario Brizuela, on pencils. It makes logical sense as Space Ghost and Super Friends were both designed by Alex Toth, of which Brizuela is an apt pupil of. 

I loved this issue. It's so unlike the other HB pairings. Those tend to be very silly. And while there's some dry wit and one-liners, this issue is done more in the serious tone of the original Space Ghost. 

Now that a toned-down crossover of Space Ghost and Scooby has been done, I wouldn't mind a silly sequel. I loved Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast. It was utterly surreal. But should that ever occur (as this back issue is over 2 years old), they've got to have Space Ghost's co-host, Brak!

Lots of sci-fi fun!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars!

Harley Quinn 25th Anniversary Special #1

Have you ever found a book and you know that you've read it but you got zero clue how you wound  up with it? That's the case with this book.  

I'm a huge fan of Harley Quinn and I am an original fan. September 11th, 1992: I was watching Batman: The Animated Series expecting a typical Joker episode of the show, when this pixie pops up on screen for just a few short minutes. At that point, the Batman Family forever changed and I became one of the first members of the Gang of Harleys.

All that being said, I really can't remember when I bought this book!!!

In this tribute to the Jokers (EX-) Girlfriend, Harley has a host of adventures. First, she takes the Gotham City Sirens to Sin City and parties in a way only Harls and her girls could. Then BFFs Harley and Ivy are tasked with an important mission by the master of the Green, Swamp Thing! We also get a glimpse of Harley's days are Joker's side piece as she faces celebrating her birthday along. Lastly, it's a battle of sidekicks as Harley takes on Robin in a story that reflects her inner struggle to be a baddie with a heart. 

This was a wonderful collection of stories celebrating one of my all-time favorite looneys. I am a huge fan of crazy characters from The Tick to Deadpool and everything in between. I think it's because I struggle with depression and anxiety; sometimes at the same time. When I see heroic characters dealing with mental health issues, I think it normalizes an otherwise very abnormal life. Harley Quinn is definitely one of those characters that has given me both a lot of laughs and a lot to reflect on.

Many thanks to character creator, Paul Dini for giving us Harls! Kudos to Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner for the amazing job they've done over the past several years with her! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars!

Cretaceous (Family Comic Friday)

Travel back in time to the days of the mighty thunder lizards in this week’s Family Comic Friday with the new graphic novel, Cretaceous!

CretaceousWritten and Illustrated by Tadd Galusha
Published by Oni Press
Pages: 160
Retail Price: $14.99
Tadd Galusha (Godzilla: Rage Across Time) must be a time traveler. I’ve never seen a more accurate portrayal of prehistoric nature than in this graphic novel. Punches are not pulled, literally! Dinosaurs fight- a lot! They die. They get eaten. They pee! There’s even a very graphic depiction of a live underwater birth.

Cretaceous is a book that is deceptively immature. First of all, the stars of this book are all dinosaurs. Kids of all ages love dinos! Then there’s the dialogue- there is none! Other than the Onomatopœia of the T-rex’s roar and crack of a branch from a stalking raptor, there are no words in this book. Even the fact file of creatures featured in back have very few words.

If there ever was a nature documentary on dinosaurs, I would expect it to look just like Cretaceous. The events covered in this book is some pretty intense stuff. The book is recommended for ages 10-12. Normally, I would point out how a book may even be okay for younger readers. Not this time. The level of violence, as well as how accurate the look of the creatures might actually make this book too scary for younger readers.

As research on dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures increases, our idea of what the animals really looked like is evolving. Baby dinos and some predator creatures had wings. This is one of the first non-academic books I’ve come across that actually features that aspect. Even the Jurassic Park trilogy, noted for its realistic depiction of such creatures, hasn’t been able to get that right!

Cretaceous was an extremely quick read. But it was exciting, thrilling and at some moments a little tragic. I know it’s still early in the year, but I think Tadd Galusha should be looked upon as candidate of some sort for an Eisner or other literary award for this graphic novel. It’s that well done and that good!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars!

Cretaceous debuted in print and digital formats on March 26th, 2019.

This review was continuously published on Outrightgeekery.com.

Looney Tunes Greatest Hits, Volume 2: You're Despicable!

Your favorite Looney Tunes characters are back in this collection of DC Comics. 

Magicians Bugs and Daffy complete are only the rabbit and duck could! Foghorn Leghorn recruits the Tasmanian Devil to get rid of the barnyard's protective pooch, Dawg. Pepe Le Peu searches for romance in the streets of Washington D.C. Granny adds a new security device to keep Sylvester from making a quick meal out of Tweety. And a pair of mice named Mac and Tosh try to teach the gang the importance of manners- to little avail!

This was a great read for a rainy day or a pick-me-up. This volume features story and art from some industry greats such as Dan Slott, Dave Alvarez, Terry Collins and Michael Eury.

There's one thing that perplexes me about this book; it's the title. This is Looney Tunes Greatest Hits, Volume 2. It reprints issues #41-47. Volume 1 covers issues 34-40. What happened to issues #1-33? Are they not considered greatest hits? 

While I am extremely glad that this book collects entire issues, I was expecting this to be a mix of stories. I mean it is a mix, it's just not cherry picker stuff. So if you are trying to collect the entire run of DC's Looney Tunes in one way or another, this is an affordable way to do it as the only original run content missing are the ads!

Fun stuff worth quite a few laughs!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Blacklist, Volume 1: The Gambler

There comes a line in every couple's marriage which can never be crossed. For my wife, it's being a fan of James Spader. I can like him but I'm not allow to watch anything with him in it. Okay, I can, but my wife doesn't want to watch it with me or even be in the same house if he's on the telly. For some reason, he gives my wife the heebie-jeebies. 

Thus, I've never seen an episode of the Blacklist. 

So how did I come across this book? Ironically, you can blame my wife for that! I got a Comic Bento Box as a gift from her and this was one of the books in it! Needless to say, I didn't let my wife off the hook without a good ribbing or two about the irony of this. 

This volume focuses on one of the bad guys on Red Reddington's Blacklist. It's a complex story of deceit, espionage and double crossing. I'd be lying if I said I understood all the aspects of this story, having never seen the show. But I really enjoyed this book. 

The story was written by showrunner Nicole Dawn Phillips. I'm glad that someone so close to the TV show was doing this as I think I would have been really lost without her to guide me along. 

The artwork was by True Blood's Beni Lobel. It was a mixed bag. James Spader's Red didn't look anything like the actor. (The cover is great though. Whomever did that did a great job!) But everything else looked really good. Now, whether the other characters looked anything like their real-life counterparts, is beyond me. But I liked most of the art here.

There's one more volume of Blacklist stories. While I am not actively searching them out, if I came across them for the right price, I would definitely give it a read. A nice job at a non-Doctor Who title by Titan. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Valiant

I know that I am not very familiar with Valiant Entertainment. But I think it is safe to say that this 2015 miniseries from Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt is this publisher's Crisis on Infinite Earths.

For 10 centuries, the Eternal Warrior has struggled to protect the Geomancers. These special people are the living embodiment of the planet and have the power to create life on earth and maintain a harmonious balance. Seeking to keep the world in chaos is the Immortal Enemy, who has a pretty impressive track record of defeating the Eternal Warrior's efforts. 

The Immortal Enemy returns every 100 years. His latest return is imminent. Only this time, the Eternal Warrior has a slew of allies to help him protect the latest Geomancer, Kay McHenry. Enter: The Valiant.

While just about every rebooted Valiant Entertainment character is presented in this book, I was unimpressed with the use of these resources. There's some great battle scenes by Paolo Rivera. But that's the only time you will see characters such as Archer, Quantum and Woody (and the Goat!), Faith and others. None of which have any dialogue. Even though Crisis had 30 times as many characters, I never felt that any one character was underused. That's pretty much my only complaint.

I loved the story and the artwork. I was introduced to several characters that I've yet to really be introduced to, such as Ninjak and Bloodshot. Both of which I am now very interested in reading more about.

The Valiant was quite good. Unfortunately, it wasn't properly balanced for a story that would unite an entire universe of characters. I think only having 4 issues in which to tell the tale was what limited the scope. That, plus I think Lemire and Kindt's schedules prevented these two talents from devoted extra time to a 5th, 6th or further along issue.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.