DC Meets Hanna-Barbera Vol. 2

In this second assortment of stories starring the heroes of the DC Universe and the nearly unlimited cast of characters from the world of Hanna-Barbera we've got the following:

• The sons of Superman and Batman assist Dynomutt in saving his partner the Blue Falcon from the clutches of his arch-enemy: The Condor!
• Hong-Kong Phooey cashes in a Vietnam War-era favor from Black Lightning in trying to prevent an ancient evil from devouring the Earth in a kung-fu romp set in 1970s Metropolis.
• Aquaman meets the talking shark, Jabberjaw and catches a glimpse of the future of Atlantis.
• Wally West learns that for every positive entity in the Speed Force, that there is an evil version in a race against time with Speed Buggy.

I really enjoyed the first set of DC/Hanna-Barbera stories. They were edgier versions of the Hanna-Barbera characters than we are used too. But the team-ups themselves weren't bad. I think with volume 2, the novelty's luster had worn off.

The Super Sons story was powerful but a little sad. I did rather enjoy the quirkiness of the Aquaman/Jabberjaw adventure with it's awesome Easter Eggs. But I wasn't a fan of the other stories. The Hong Kong Phooey story was too complicated or just plain poorly written. I did like the countless cameos of the Speed Buggy adventure. But I feel that the villains in that story were lame. 

I was a little more appreciative of the artwork. Of course, the art was done in that more gritty Post-New 52 style. But it translated fairly well with assists by Bill Sienkiewicz, Norm Rapmund and others. 

There was also two bonus shorts that were pretty good. Jason Blood summons the spirit of a relatively forgotten Hanna-Barbera character known as the Funky Phantom. Then we have the Wizard SHAZAM bestowing powers on a Neanderthal who once eventually defrosted in modern times will become Captain CAAAAAAVVEEE-MAN!

That story was great. I would pay money for a 4 or 5 issue long miniseries that followed up that yarn. It was that fine a quality.

An enjoyable read. But not my favorite volume. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Santas From Around The World: Cyprus- Ai Vasilis (Advent 2020, Day 12)

Ever wonder how Santa delivers presents to all the good little boys and girls of the world in just one day? Well, here’s a secret: Santa can do it because he spreads his gift giving duties out over the course of December and early January. 

That’s the case with the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus. Here, Santa is known as Ai Vasilis- SAINT BASIL, and he visits children every New Year’s Eve, right after the calendar changes to a new number and the kiddies have gone to bed.

From what I can tell, Ai Vasilis looks and acts pretty much like the traditional Santa of the United States. But his diet is a little more sophisticated than cookies and milk. In Cyprus, Santa passes on the carbs and goes straight for some vino.

The children of Cyprus start their Christmas morning with the cutting of the Vasilopitta or ‘Santa’s Cake.’ In the Vasilopitta, a small coin is hidden and the child who finds it is granted good luck for the rest of the year thanks to a blessing granted by Ai Vasilis while he pounds a goblet full of adult grape juice. It’s then that the children of Cyprus head over to their holiday tree to open their presents from mom and dad. 

The gift giving continues on January 6, Epiphany Day. The children visit their grandparents with an offering of a small song. In return, the grandparents gift the children with a gratuity of money. Now, in my opinion, this is just a trap to get the kids to visit grandma and grandpa. But I must admit that I love getting cash as a present! It’s the most personable gift a person can give. And it eliminates the fear of getting something you didn’t want for Christmas like underwear or Marvel Comics…

So for my advent gift for you today, here’s a twist on the traditional Koulourakia. But instead of Orange Blossom Water, which can be tricky to locate, this one calls for orange zest. So, from Food52.com, here are Cyprus Almond Macaroons. Enjoy!

Leave It To Chance: Trick or Threat & Other Stories

Leave It To Chance. I've seen the books that make up the series in my local library. But I've never read them. With my library having been closed since May, I had not gotten an opportunity to check out all-ages stuff unless it's a part of my collection. Then in October, when my local (and favorite) comic book store reopened, I found this book for sale on discount.  

Based on the fact that the title story is a Halloween set tale, I was going to read this as part of my Halloween 2020 reading. But when I came across a Christmas story included in the mix, I waited until now to finish it up.

The plot of Leave It To Chance is about the daughter of a famed occultist and paranormal investigator. Chance's father does not want her to follow in the family business. But no matter what the young lady does, it seems that supernatural mischief follows Chance everywhere. From a young boy's pet Capuchin monkey being kidnapped in order to enact a Halloween spell to a classmate getting kidnapped by a phantom during a holiday trip to the local mall, it's up to Chance and her pat dragon, St. George, to save the day!

There were 13 issues in the series. But with budgeting issues, production delays and scheduling conflicts, it took over 3 years for the entire storyline to run it's course. As a result, the 3 volumes that comprise Chance's story are not given numbers. 'Trick or Threat & Other Stories' cover the middle chunk of Leave It To Chance. But that's okay. The stories are fairly self-contained for the most part. 

With swift storytelling and super clean art, I really did enjoy this book. So much, that I have no qualms with adding the other two unnumbered volumes to my wish list!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Rating: 

Santas From Around The World: Nigeria- Father Christmas (Advent 2020, Day 11)

Sadly, this will probably be the only time you see an African nation on this Advent. It’s not because of any bias on my part. But due to the fact that many African nations do not acknowledge Santa Claus or even celebrate Christmas. Many Northern African nations such as Chad are primarily Muslim. Then there are nations like Uganda, that due to devastating civil wars, famine and drought, are too poor for material possessions. Their holiday time focuses on going to church and spending time with family.

Nigeria is one of exceptions to the rule! Nigeria is roughly about half Christian, with most of them living in the South. It’s also a very prosperous nation thanks to a number of tech and medical research companies that have headquarters in Lagos and Abuja. So what is a Nigerian Santa Claus like?

Known as Father Christmas, the Santa of Nigeria is typically black. He looks a lot like a cross between a bishop on a a chess board and the Pope. He wears white priestly garb with a red robe and red pointy hat, fringed in gold. And he carries with him a long staff. Father Christmas doesn’t come into people’s homes on Chirstmas Eve. Maybe that’s because it’s not safe to guide his flying reindeer through the throngs of fireworks displays that go on throughout the night.. Instead, On Christmas Day, Father Christmas and his helpers are stationed throughout Nigeria. After receiving a new pair of clothes from their parents on Christmas morning, the whole family attends church. Only after the service, which can last 2-3 hours long, then do the kids get to find Father Christmas and receive their presents. Gifts are typically crackers, filled with candy, paper hats and other small toys.

I’m not sure what the families of Nigeria eat for the holidays. But I know from working with a woman from that country, their family gatherings normally center around a goat or lamb that has been slaughtered and stewed, served with rice, peas and a variety of vegetable and fruit sides. One of the desserts that is often served is called chin-chin cookies. Man, are those deep-fried biscuits yummy.

As my Advent gift for you today, here’s a recipe on how to make ‘em. Enjoy!

Santas From Around The World: Global- Hanukkah Harry (Advent 2020, Day 10)

Tonight will mark the first night of Hanukkah. As my wife is half-Jewish, the festival of lights is observed to some degree in this Madman’s household. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, finding gelts at our traditional shopping won’t happen as the long-time Durham, NC peddler, Morgan Imports closed its doors for good this Summer. Oh, don’t worry. We’ll find those chocolate coins.

Somewhere.

Hanukkah Harry was given life in December, 1990. Jon Lovitz appeared as the curmudgeon replacement for Santa. With Santa sick with a stomach flu, Hanukkah Harry takes over gifting all of the good little Christian boys and girls with gifts. Only these gifts are more noted for what Jewish kids receive during Hanukkah. Stuff like socks and slacks. At least Hanukkah Harry didn’t forget the gelts and a dreidel!

Hanukkah Harry is dressed like a traditional Rabbi. Only his hat is blue and lined with fur like Santas.

Harry’s workshop is located on Mount Sinai. Instead of a sleigh, this gift giver drives an old wooden cart, like they do in Fiddler on the Roof. And forget about reindeer. Hanukkah Harry has a trio of flying donkeys named Moische, Herschel and Schlomo. 

And if the Easter Bunny ever needs a substitute, Harry got no problems spreading cheer during Easter either. 

While a fictional creation of SNL, Hanukkah Harry has become a new addition to many Jewish families with some parents dressing up as the holiday grumpus to pass out Hannukah delights to boys and girls who stayed of the Kosher naughty list. With the character being referenced on several TV shows and recently deemed the personification of Hanukkah by NPR, it looks like Hanukkah Harry might just be here to stay!

By the way, we celebrators of all things Jewish do really eat cookies during Hanukkah. Due to the importance of oil in the story of the miracle of lights, a good ole fried donut does the trick for us! Here’s a recipe from Better Homes & Gardens for Sufganiyot- a jelly filled donut that is fairly easy to make.

Enjoy!

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry (A Graphic Novel by Joel Priddy)

The story of The Gift of the Magi is one of my all-time favorites. It's by a fellow native North Carolinian in writer O. Henry. And I adore the twist of having two lovers giving up their prized possessions in order to buy something special for the other. 

My all-time favorite version of this story is from Sesame Street in which Bert and Ernie trade favorite items of theirs to Mr. Hooper in order to get a gift for their BFFs. I am happy to say that this edition didn't really do anything to remove that PBS friendly tale from the top spot. 

The artwork was simple. It wasn't bad. But it did very little to invoke the holidays to me. Joel Priddy draws the story in it's original Victorian Era style setting. But this is the first time I've ever seen the household of the two lovers without 1 single Christmas decoration. Not one bough of holly. Not 1 single tree or sprig of mistletoe. In fact, if not for an opening scene of the wise men in some sort of decoration, you might not really know that this story was set during Christmas. 

The translation or adaptation, which I think is more appropriate, also seems a little foreign to me. I've read O. Henry's account. This just didn't seem familiar. This version seems to deal too much with finances and not the quest to find an ideal present for a soul mate. Plus, the husband is hardly in this story. It seems only from the wife's perspective and what has always appealed to me about this story was the parity. 

Other accounts of The Gift of the Magi seems to have a near 50/50 ratio of story spent on the wife and the husband. Here, it's like 90% wife and maybe 10% husband. And his appearance is only in Act 3. The balance of storytelling is off from what I expect it to be and that odd pacing was what threw things off for me big time!

I did enjoy reading this book. But the near 365 days of expectation of waiting to read this book was outweighed by how little this version played out to those expectations in reality. 

A good book. Just not the best version of a personal holiday favorite.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Santas From Around The World: Colombia, Bolivia and Costa Rica- Nino Jesus (Advent 2020, Day 9)

Instead of a visit from Santa, the children of several South American nations get their presents from Baby Jesus! That’s an impressive feat. But then again, Jesus was known for his miracles.

Unlike with Santa, nobody is truly clear how the kiddies get their presents from Baby Jesus. Years ago, the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo decided to get to the bottom of this mystery. There were no definite answers.

From owning a special helicopter that beams the toys into every child’s home to Nino Jesus owning a chain of toy stores and being able to purchase them on a steep discount; one thing is for sure- the Christ Child can’t do his gifting without the use of magic.

The idea of Santa is slowly being introduced to the children of Colombia, Bolivia and Costa Rica. But don’t expect Nino Jesus to go away anytime soon. Though according to polls taken in and around 2015, it looks like the days of Wise Men bringing good little boys and girls presents are over. 

Don’t worry! There’s still one nation that relies on the Magi to bring their kiddies presents during the Christmas season! We’ll get back to them later in this year’s advent... 

I know that I’ve got 3 countries in which to pick my cookie recipe for the day from. But this was a no brainer. I recently taught my culinary students a lesson on the cuisine of Colombia. So we’re focusing on that Northern South American coastal country and I’ve got a classic. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Alfajores. Enjoy!