Captain America: Operation: Rebirth

Immediately just to clarify, Operation: Rebirth is NOT in any way related to Heroes Reborn. So don't get confused. 1996's Heroes Reborn was a return of several beloved Marvel icons, including Captain America, to the 616 Universe after a very stupid (and poorly received) attempt to modernize some aging super heroes. Instead, Operation: Rebirth begins right after Steve Rogers dies in the 616.

The Super Solider Serum inside of Steve's body was deteriorating. For a brief period of time, Captain America had to operate inside a suit of armor built by Tony Stark as he had lost his super strength. Ultimately, Cap also lost his life. 

The general public is aware of all this. In fact, there was a very public funeral at Arlington held for the World War II veteran. What the populace doesn't know is that the casket is empty! That's because soon after Steve Rogers died, someone stole the body!

The story opens with Steve Rogers in return to his super strong form thanks to the Red Skull! Why is the Sentenil of Liberty's greatest foe helping him to the point of fantastic resurrection? It's because someone has gotten their hands on that blasted Cosmic Cube and altered reality. AGAIN! The Third Reich is still in power in this new world, having never lost the second world war. Normally, the Red Skull would be okay with this; if he was the man in charge. Instead, the leader of these Nazis is none other that Adolph Hitler himself, the Hate Monger!

With this story taking place in 1995, that would put ol' Adolph in his late 80s. Suffering from dementia and extremely paranoid, the Hate Monger fears being deposed. Armed with nukes and ready to use them, this new reality stares down the barrel of World War III. With his arch-enemy on one side and a blast from his past on the other, Captain America must find the Cosmic Cube and change history back or it will be up to only the Watcher to prevent a global nuclear apocalypse!

This trade paperback collects issue #445-448 of Captain America. Mark Waid was the writer and he does an amazing job as usual. True, I feel like I've read this story before what with Cosmic Cube changing the world and all that. But as I said before, this book collects material from 1995 and some of those stories came AFTER this tale. So I can't fault Waid for a lack of originality. (I might accuse Nick Spencer with his Hydra Cap storyline of it...) 

The artwork was my biggest complaint. Ron Garney seems to be a student of the Rob Liefeld School of Over-Exaggerated Comic Book Art. But I don't think he was an honor student as it wasn't that bad. But just enough to get on my nerves. I will admit that Garney's Red Skull is perhaps one of the most menacing versions of the villains that I've ever encountered. But I don't want to give too much praise for a Nazi...

A good story, though I've read it before. The artwork was very 90s but not my least favorite of the era. 

Cap and Red Skull- a match made in hell. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Haunted Mansion (2023)

It's almost kinda freeing to go into a movie with low expectations and to be blown away by it. My wife and her mom wanted to see the new film based on the theatrical production of Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place. I wasn't interested but I agreed to drive figuring I'd see something else. It wasn't in the cards to get to see Oppenheimer, based on the varying showtimes. So I went with Disney's Haunted Mansion.

In just the third weekend, Haunted Mansion has only made back around $45 million of its $150 million dollar budget. Rotten Tomatoes has the movie with a 40% approval rating. A movie and TV fanatics group on Facebook has basically thumbed it's nose at the picture. Like I said, I had low expectations. Yet from scene one, I had a blast.

I've never been to the Haunted Mansion at Disney. I've seen pictures and merchandise. That's it. Yet after watching this film, I really felt like I been in on it!

For those of you unfamiliar with the plot of the ride, 999 souls have died in the Haunted Mansion. If the evil spirit of the Hatbox Ghost can claim another willing soul by the time of the full moon, he'll have enough power to escape the house to wreak literal hell on earth.

It will take a group of misfits to solve the mystery of the Haunted Mansion and save the earth. The film really seemed to have that old 70s Disney live action magic. Just enough scares to be fun. Just enough humor to not be over-the-top. I felt vibes of Escape from Witch Mountain and the Apple Dumpling Gang movies, if Don Knott's and Tim Conway were stuck in a haunted house.

LaKeith Stanfield, who played the homicide detective in the first Knives Out movie was great as ghost skeptic Ben. I enjoyed the additional cast of Tiffany Haddish, Rosario Dawson and Owen Wilson as members of Ben's anti-ghost team. Danny DeVito steals the show, as usual, as a bumbling history professor with a bad ticker. But the actor to watch has got to be 13-year old Chase Dillon who plays Travis, the young son of the Haunted Mansion's new owner. This kid gave me vibes of Gary Coleman and Tyler James Williams when he was on Everybody Hates Chris. I really think Chase Dillon is going to be a star and deserves to be nominated for a Golden Globe at least! 

Really, the only thing about this movie that got on my nerves was the product placement. It was cute at first seeing Travis play with action figures based on Marvel super heroes. It was amusing when he pulled out the Marvel Super Heroes Monopoly. But then come the references to Amazon, CVS, Target, Yankee Candle, Burger King. I started to feel like I was watching the commercials instead of a movie. In fact, I think when this movie hits TV, families are going to have a hard time knowing when the movie stops and the commercial breaks take place as there is a ton of free advertising in this film.

One bit of free advertising I did not mind was for the city of New Orleans, where several scenes of this movie take place. I went to New Orleans years ago and this film made me want to go back! Great music. Amazing food. The haunted tours. The jazz funeral! I really miss the Big Easy.

Haunted Mansion has the potential to become a Halloween favorite. Like with 1982's The Thing, Universal Pictures made a huge mistake releasing the now cult classic horror movie in the middle of summer. Some argument that the problem with this film was that it was too 'woke.' I didn't feel like I was being preached at watching this movie. I did feel like it should be a heck of a lot cooler outside and closer to All Hallow's Eve when I was in the theaters for this one. I think if Disney can really link the streaming and possible network premiere of this film to Halloween, they'll have a sleeper hit on their hands like Hocus Pocus has become over the years. 

Only time will tell.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Pencilmation: The Graphite Novel (Family Comic Friday)

Ross Bollinger's Animated Youtube sensation Pencilmation is now a graphic novel! 

Pencilmation is primarily the misadventures of the stick man character Pencilmate. From dealing with flies in his soup to becoming the thumb wrestling champion of the world, weird and wacky things always happen to Pencilmate. There are dozens of short stories; a few of which star the female protagonist of Pencilmation, Pencilmiss. Watch as she stars in a zany parody of the Cinderella story and marvel in her secret identity as Super Pencilmiss! Other beloved characters of the web series such as Tall Guy, Granny and the Red Box Guy make appearances in this hilarious book.

I read that Ross Bollinger got his inspiration for Pencilmation thanks to a Daffy Duck cartoon. However, I really felt like I was in the middle of the Ren & Stimpy universe with this book. The gags are often surreal. The characters reactions are over-the-top. There's fart jokes. And in-between every couple of stories, there are fake ads, just like on Ren & Stimpy. At one point, I was singing 'Everyone wants a Log!'... Google it, kids!

Anyway, I was a huge fan of this book. And now that I know that there's literally dozens of Pencilmation episodes on Youtube, I'm gonna have some laughs. 

Now, yes, I am trying to persuade parents and guardians to help use comics and graphic novels as a reading aid in my reviews. Some of you are probably thinking that I'm supporting cartoons over reading. Just the opposite. I found out about Pencilmation the graphic novel before the web toon. I'm assuming most kids know about the cartoons but didn't know about the book. BOOKS! There's currently a Pencilmation sticker book and a joke book on the market right now. This Halloween, a pair of chapter books will available. Thus, if the young reader in you life is a fan of Pencilmation's animated antics, then show them the books based on those lively characters and get those young ones reading!

The fart jokes and other elements of potty humor is probably the only down side to this book. I remember when I was younger, parents and politicians freaked out over the content of Ren & Stimpy. I even think Nickelodeon went so far as to having to ban an episode or two. With The Graphite Novel, I don't see anything that went too far. Gross humor is a part of growing up. This book is recommended for ages 8-12. But if you as the responsible grown-up think that your young reader needs a couple more years under the belt before introducing them to Pencilmation, that's a-okay. Just understand that other parents and guardians out there might have no qualms with the humor elements of this book and that's okay too!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Big Time

Is it possible to still be a fan of the Green Goblin while hating Norman Osborn? Because I do! Other characters have been the Green Goblin when Osborn has been either cured of his mental illness or dead. Plus, the Goblin seems to be a separate character as opposed to Norman, who does have a type of multiple personality disorder or schizophrenia. Or both, maybe. Not sure. 

Plus the Goblin is one of the most aesthetically pleasing designed super-villains of all time. The purple and green. That demonic face. The orange pumpkin bombs. The flyer. I just love this villain.

And then there are the impostors. Many have attempted to become a better version of the Goblin. There are like 6 different Goblins in the pages of Marvel today, including a female version that I think is also a spawn of Carnage... But the best of the usurpers has got to be Hobgoblin!

In this collection of Spider-Man stories from the early 2010s, life couldn't be better for Spidey nor could it be any worse for Peter Parker. Spider-Man is a member of the Avengers now. He's respected again by the police force. Despite the ire of Mayor J. Jonah Jameson, the wall-crawler is the darling of the New York public and media. As for Peter, he lost his job at the Bugle for falsifying photos. Behind on rent, he's now homeless as his roommate just moved out for the West Coast. There's even a rift between Peter and Aunt May!

Meanwhile, a new Hobgoblin has come on scene. He's got access to all of a currently incarcerated Norman Osborn's old gadgets and weapons and he's looking to become the newest enforcer for the Kingpin!

This collection is the start of Dan Slott's massive Big Time story line which would run for 52 issues, culminating with issue #700. You can see the wheels of that issue's massive twist ending in these pages as Doctor Octopus and a new line-up of the Sinister Six are moving pieces of their giant chess board into place. 

Though there was a lot of backstory that I wasn't very familiar with, I was able to enjoy this story very well. It was great seeing Spidey teamed up with both the Avengers and Fantastic Four in the opening chapter. Very awesome twist finale that adventure as well!

Not everything was so exciting. Artist Humberto Ramos' style is very, um... well gnarly. And I'm not talking about that skateboarding term of appreciation and excitement. Everyone looks very spindly. For Spidey, the art style is appropriate. But for the rest of Manhattan, Ramos' pencils makes everyone look like a descendant of Abe Lincoln!

Having completed this book, there's basically 46 more issues in this Big Time saga to go. Will I devote time and energy to finding the rest of the story? I doubt it as there's tons more stuff in my wish list that I want to own and read first. However, should I ever find an affordable omnibus of this story arc, I would seriously consider getting it to read. Perhaps I can find the rest at my local library.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Torch

Alex Ross reintroduces the original Human Torch and his sidekick Toro to the modern Marvel Universe in this 8-part miniseries. It's a complex story involving the Mad Thinker, A.I.M (Advanced Idea Mechanics) and the son of an escaped Nazi who created a panacea hidden in the jungles of South America. With the exception of some gaps as to how both the Human Torch and Toro both died at the hands of the Thinker, the source material is something I'm fairly familiar with. Although, I didn't know either one of these characters had died. But I pretty much can get behind all of this. What I don't understand is why is Dynamite Entertainment publishing this trade paperback and not Marvel?

I've attempted to Google for an answer. I don't really get a clear answer. I feel like a conspiracy theorist with a whole bunch of photos on a wall connected by strands of red string. From what I can determine, in 2008, Alex Ross worked with Dynamite to reintroduce a bunch of forgotten superheroes from the 1940s. That same year, Ross produced an Avengers/Invaders crossover FOR Dynamite! This miniseries brought Toro back from the dead. So in 2009, Ross produces this series which also brings the original Torch back as well.

Again, why Dynamite? I pretty much understand Alex Ross' timeline. But why Dynamite? Was Marvel in such dire straits that less popular miniseries such as these, which focus on Golden Age pre-Marvel heroes, were outsourced to other companies? I'd really like more info on this.

The Torch was a good read. It's not my all-time favorite read. But I didn't hate this. If anything, I learned more about the origins of the original Torch along with Toro. I always knew that the first Human Torch actually wasn't human. He was an android. What I didn't know until this book was that Toro WAS HUMAN! I had always assumed he was an android too. I thought the Torch was lonely and wanted a little brother (so something) and thus he created Toro. It turns out Toro was a mutant whose cells were affected by an early encounter with the Torch, giving the lad the ability to catch aflame. 

There's lots of cameos from some of your favorite Marvel characters. The Fantastic Four with their Human Torch. Prince Namor. And the original Vision. Not the Avengers member but a 1940s era Timely Comics hero who was an alien from an alternate dimension. It's a very Marvel heavy book. I still don't know why it's published by Dynamite...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Looney Tunes #272

A while back when I reviewed an all-Stupor Duck issue of Looney Tunes, I closed my post asking DC for an all-Duck Dodgers issue. Well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad!

Derek Fridolfs penned an all-new Duck Dodgers epic with the semi-heroic mallard being sent on a mission to the future to find a rare element. However, the time machine has a glitch and instead of sending Dodgers to the future, it sends him to medieval times. As Duck Dodgers keeps tinkering with the faulty time machine, our hero risks changing the time line; thus potentially preventing the existence of Earth's defense forces from alien invaders!

The reprint story at the end of the book, also by Fridolfs, sees Duck Dodger's sidekick, the Eager Young Space Cadet, getting promoted. Now he's Duck Dodger's superior! Of course, our 24 and 1/2th Century hero is NOT happy about this!

Sandwiched between the two Duck Dodgers stories is a classic Looney Tunes parody of Star Trek. From 1994, this Ivan Cohen story is a riff on everyone's favorite Star Trek movie, The Wraith of Khan! Seeing your favorite Looney Tunes characters dressed in the maroon uniforms was great and I loved the flashback scene of characters in those TOS tunics. 

Okay, so we didn't get 3 stories starring Duck Dodgers. Instead, we got an all-space parody issue and I am completely okay with that! That Star Trek send-up was hilarious! I guess if DC is paying any attention to my blog, I'm going to make another wish. I want an over-sized 80 or 100 page special of nothing but all-Christmas themed Looney Tunes stories (No reprints, if possible!) If DC isn't reading my Madman rants, then I guess I can dream, right?

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Big Brilliant Book of Bart Simpson

When I've had a particularly hard time, I turn to comics that make me laugh. The various books based on the characters of the all-time great animated sitcoms, The Simpsons, are a good bet for some lighthearted comfort. Well, this past week was particularly hard and thankfully, I had a collection of Bart Simpson books on hand to alleviate some sadness and pain.

This volume (#7) reprints issue #25-28 of Bart Simpson comics. Stories include Bart winning an all-expense paid trip to Krustyland California and as part of the trip, he gets to sit right next to Krusty! On a recent trip to Krusty Burger, Bart learns that he accidentally gave a winning game piece to Ralph; who promptly lost it somewhere in the restaurant. With time running out, Bart must fight illness and the embarrassment of asking sister Lisa for help or he'll miss out on a lifetime supply of video games! Then Bart and Milhouse take on the federal government who wants to cut down the very tree that holds up Bart's beloved tree house. 

There's a lot of sibling rivalry afoot in this book. Along with the Krusty Burger yarn, readers get to enjoy a parody of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Lisa and Bart competing for the job being offered by Groundskeeper Willy. Lisa plays detective once again to solve a couple of Nancy Drew-type mysteries. Milhouse joins Bart and Lisa on an out-of-control high air balloon ride. Of course just about all of these benefits Bart. But when Lisa appears in these stories, she's more of her season 1-4 self, a little bit more mischievous as opposed to vegetarian Lisa who becomes the moral compass of Springfield. I miss that Lisa and I think the writers of these comics missed that version as well.

With this being a Bart centered book, you don't get quite as much Marge or Homer. Maggie is virtually non-existent except for a short that the youngest Simpsons dreams up. But if you are a fan of Milhouse, Nelson and the other students at Springfield Elementary, you are in for a treat. If you absolutely cannot stand Milhouse, this probably is the collection of Simpson Comics for you.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.