I Reads You Juniors September 2020 - Update #91

"Support Leroy on Patreon.

Leroy's Amazon Comics and Graphic Novels Page:

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:  Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates has written a tribute to the recently deceased "Black Panther" actor, Chadwick Boseman," and it appears in today's Marvel Comics titles.

CONVENTIONS - From TheBeat:   The LA Comic-Con is apparently happening as an in-person event, Dec. 11-13, 2020.  Tickets are currently on-sale.

COMICS - From TheBeat:  New comic book publisher, Bad Idea (launched by former Valiant Comics bosses), will launch in 2021 with five titles.

MANGA - From BleedingCool:  In Japan, Akira, Vol. 1 is getting its 101st printing.  And it's cover price is still listed at what it was for the first printing - between 1400 and 1600 yen (about $13 to $15 U.S.).  It is the first collection by Japanese publisher, Kodansha, to be reprinted 100 times.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Writer Kurt Busiek and artist Brent Anderson's long-running, on-again/off-again comic book, "Astro City," may have a new publisher and a new format in the near future.

DARK HORSE - From CBR:   Dark Horse Comics will be publishing Mike Mignola's ("Hellboy") coronoavirus charity sketches in an oversized hardcover book in March 2021.

MARVEL - From CBR:  Marvel Comics reveals four of its 40 variant covers for its upcoming "Eternals #1."

IMAGE COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Image Comics is apparently telling retailers that Rick Remender's new comic book, "Scumbag," is the new "Deadpool."

DC CINEMA - From THR:   Actor Aldis Hodge is in final negotiations to appear as DC Comics' character, "Hawkman," in New Line Cinema's DC Comics movie, "Black Adam," in which Dwayne Johnson will play the title role.

MARVEL - From SlashGear:  Marvel Comics reveals its horror-themed variant covers for Halloween2020.

ARCHIE COMICS - From GamesRadar:  Archie Comics has announced that its comic books will be available as digital editions at comiXology the same day they will be available as print editions in comic book shops - starting immediately.  Archie is the first major American publisher to make this move.

DC TO TV - From Variety:  HBO Max has ordered a new TV series, "Peacemaker," which is a spinoff of director James Gunn's upcoming film, "The Suicide Squad."  John Cena will star.

COMICS TO TV - From Variety:  Amazon has order a spin-off of its hit series, "The Boys," which is based on the Garth Ennis-Darick Robertson comic book.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Gerry Conway has some really good ideas about fixing the American comic book industry.

MARVEL TV - From YouTube:  Here is a trailer for Hulu's "Helstrom" series, based on the Marvel Comics character.  The series debuts Oct. 16th on Hulu.

DC TV - From THR:  The upcoming sixth season of The CW's "Supergirl" will be its final season.  The final season is scheduled to debut in 2021.

MANGA - From FinanceRewind:   Shueisha will hold Jump Festa Event online on December 19-20

WATCHMEN - From Variety:  HBO's miniseries, "Watchmen," becomes the first comic book adaptation to win a top prize at the Primetime Emmy Awards, in this case, "Best Limited Series," one of 11 wins from its 2020 high of 26 nominations.

BATMAN - From DCComics:   Today is September 19, 2020 and it's also BATMAN DAY 2020!

DC ANIMATED - From THR:  HBO Max has renewed the "Harley Quinn" animated series for a third season.  The series had been originally streamed on "DC Universe."

DC COMICS - From THR:  The TV streaming service, "DC Universe," will become a comics-only platform, rebranded as "DC Universe Infinite, and launch in January 2021.

WATCHMEN - From Deadline:   At the Television Academy Honors: ‘Watchmen’ Creator Damon Lindelof Urges Hollywood To Spotlight “Hidden, Buried, Camouflaged” Stories

DC TV - From Deadline:  "Lucifer," based on the DC Comics titles, was cancelled by Fox two years ago, but has found a second life on Netflix where it recently topped Nielsen's streaming ratings for the week of Aug. 17th to 23rd.

MANGA - From BleedingCool:  VIZ Media has announced the impending arrival of the manga, "Moriarty the Patriot," a spin-off and alternate take on the Sherlock Holmes canon.

BOOM STUDIOS - From FlickeringMyth:  Amazon Prime's TV series, "The Expanse," will be adapted into a comic book miniseries.

MARVEL STUDIOS - From ScreenRant:  Chloe Zhao, director of Marvel's "Eternals" film, says the movie will have manga influences.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics celebrates 50 years of legendary writer Chris Claremont in December with the "Chris Claremont Anniversary Special."

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:  The site offers a piece on the best Black Widow stories of all time.

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:  Roy Thomas, the most important and greatest writer in the 50-year history of "Conan" comic books will contribute to Marvel Comics' anniversary book, "King-Size Conan #1."

DC COMICS - From YahooEntertainment:  DC Comics announced Thursday that Beyonce is one of 17 women who will be profiled in an upcoming graphic novel.  "Wonder Women of History" will document females working in politics and government, science and technology, business and sports.

DC CINEMA - From Variety:  Actor Jason Momoa ("Aquaman") shows support for Ray Fisher in his dispute in a Warner Bros. investigation.

MARVEL STUDIOS - From ComicBook:  According to sources... actor Jonathan Majors has been cast as "Kang the Conqueror" in the next "Ant-Man" movie.

AWARDS - From TheBeat:  The winners of the "2020 Ignatz Awards" for small press comics have been announced.

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:  There may be "big writer changes" at DC Comics in 2021.

DC FANDOME:

From DCFanDome:  It's back, Sat. Sept. 12, 2020!

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics publisher Jim Lee again confirms that "5G" or "Generation Five" is not happening.

From IGN:  HBO Max has renewed the "Doom Patrol" live-action TV series for a third season.

From IGN:  Superman will have a new "super-suit" in the upcoming TV series, "Superman & Lois," from The CW.

From DCFanDome:  There is a panel slash game show for "The Suicide Squad" at DC FanDome.

From Deadline:  The DC Universe animated series, "Young Justice" will get a new title for its fourth season, "Young Justice: Phantoms."

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DIGITAL COMICS - From TheBeat:  Chuck Austen returns to comics with the "comiXology Original" miniseries, "Edgeworld."

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:  Everything you need to know about Kamala Kahn/Ms. Marvel.

DC CINEMA - From Deadline:  "Wonder Woman 1984" has been moved to a Chirstmas Day 2020 release, vacating the recently planned Oct. 2nd release date.

COMICS - From MoneyControl:  Comics flourish on crowdfunding sites, drawing well-known creators.

MANGA - From ANN:  PC maker Mouse Computer began streaming a 3D anime promotional video for Inio Asano's Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction manga on Wednesday.

MANGA - From Crunchyroll:  Yen Press will publish the pro-wrestling manga, "New Japan Academy," as a digital release beginning in October.

DC COMICS - From GamesRadar:  New DC Comics general manager, Daniel Cherry, aims to "leverage the cultural power" of company for "increasingly diverse global fan base."

COMICS TO TV - From EW:  "The Walking Dead" television series, based on the long-running Image Comics title, will end with Season 11.  A spin-off featuring the popular Daryl and Carol characters is being developed.

From TheDailyBeast:  What killed "The Walking Dead" TV series.  [It's an interesting article and I agree with some of it.]

From THR:  What to expect from the end of "The Walking Dead."
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DC CINEMA - From Deadline:  "Wonder Woman 1984," currently slated to open Oct. 2nd, may have its release date moved again... to help "Tenet."

DC COMICS - From GamesRadar:  The Batman anthology comic book series, "Batman: Black and White" will return as a six-issue, prestige format miniseries.

DC COMICS - From GamesRadar:  DC Comics "Generations" event will return in a one-shot, "Generations: Shattered #1."

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Christian Cooper, who was caught up in an infamous incident in Central Park, is turning that is a free digital comic book for DC Comics.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Avatar Press sells out of its "Cinema Purgatorio" box set.

MARVEL - From Previews:  There is a trailer for Marvel Comics' new "Master of Kung Fu" comic book, "Shang-Chi #1."

COMICS SALES - From ICv2:  The top 20 comics for August 2020 in terms of comic shops "point of sale" data.  "Batman: Three Jokers #1" is #1.

EC COMICS - From ICv2:  Taschen will publish the 592-page "The History of EC Comics" in October.  The first printing will be a numbered first edition of 5000 copies, and the book will way over 13 pounds.

BATMAN DAY - From DCComics:  The publisher has a hub for all things "Batman Day 2020."

KICKSTARTER - From BleedingCool:   There is a crowdfunding campaign to fund a comic book adaptation of what is alleged to be a version of the fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast," that was written by notorious fantasy-horror author, H.P. Lovecraft.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Black people are at the top of two of the top five North American comic book publishers:  Daniel Cherry at DC Comics and Nachie Marsham at IDW Publishing.

DC CINEMA - From Variety:  The feud between "Justice League" actor Ray Fisher and Warner Bros. Pictures continues.

MANGA - From ComicBook:   VIZ Media to bring "Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun" to readers next year.

MANGA - From BleedingCool:  Yen Press Announces "ID: Invaded #Brake-Broken Manga."

IDW - From GamesRadar:  IDW Publishing will continue to give comic book shops COVID-19 help through 2020.

COMICS - From Polygon:  6 big superhero comic book shakeups coming this Fall.

DC CINEMA - From Deadline:  The filming of director Matt Reeves' "The Batman" has been halted due to star Robert Pattinson's positive test for COVID-19.

COMICS - From TheBeat:  Nachie Marsham is the new publisher at IDW, and Veronica Brooks is vp of creative affairs.

FANTAGRAPHICS - From Bust:  The site looks at Trina Robbin's new book, "The Flapper Queens: Women Cartoonists of the Jazz Age."

DC COMICS - From THR:  DC Comics hires former Activision eSport executive, Daniel Cherry, as "General Manager."

MARVEL - From LATimes:  "Marvel Voices: Indigenous Voices #1" is a new Marvel Comics titles that hopes to improve Native American representation.

MANGA - From GeekTyrant:  A look at all the manga coming out from VIZ Media in November and December 2020.

HARVEY AWARDS - From CrunchyrollNews:  A look at the manga nominated at the 2020 Harvey Awards' "best manga" category.

COMICS - From BlackEngineer:  The site goes inside Lion Forge Comics

BLACK HISTORY - From 9to5Google:  The September 1st, 2020 "Google Doodle" honors Jackie Ormes who drew the first nationally-published newspaper comic strip drawn by a Black woman.

COMICS TO FILM - From Collider:  Warner Bros. is fast-tracking its film adaptation of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's 2010 comic book miniseries, "Nemesis" (Marvel/Icon).

FANTAGRAPHICS - From PW:  Katie Skelly talks about her upcoming true-crime graphic novel, "Maids" (Fantagraphics).

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IN MEMORIAM - From Variety:  The actor Chadwick Boseman has died at the age of 43, Friday, August 27, 2020, after a four-year battle with cancel.  Boseman was best known for playing T'Challa/Black Panther in Marvel Studios' 2018, Oscar-winning, recording-setting film, "Black Panther."  Boseman also appeared in a number of biopics:  Jackie Robinson in "42" (2013); James Brown in "Get on Up" (2014), and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in "Marshall" (2017).

From TheStar:  "We lost our own superhero." How Chadwick Boseman — as a Black superhero on the big screen — made families feel seen.

From CJME:  Comic book fans reflect on the death of "Black Panther" star, Chadwick Boseman.

From KITVHonolulu:  Chadwick Boseman had a unique ability to breathe life into legendary characters.

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SEPTEMBER 2020 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:
From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  Rebellion for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  Red 5 Comics for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for September 2020
From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for September 2020

OCTOBER 2020 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:
From 1stComicsNews:  AfterShock Comics for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  Albatross Funnybooks for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  Behemoth Comics for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  Hero Collector for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for October 2020
From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for October 2020

NOVEMBER 2020 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:
From BleedingCool:  Abaze for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Behemoth Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Hero Collector for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Oni Press/Lion Forge for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Scout Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Valiant Entertainment for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for November 2020
From BleedingCool:  Zenescope Entertainment for November 2020

DECEMBER 2020 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for December 2020

From BleedingCool:  Albatross Funnybooks for December 2020

From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for December 2020

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for December 2020 

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for December 2020

From BleedingCool:  Chapterhouse for December 2020

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for December 2020
From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for December 2020

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for December 2020
From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for December 2020

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for December 2020

From 2000AD:   Rebellion Comics for December 2020

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for December 2020

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for December 2020

From BleedingCool: VIZ Media for December 2020

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#IReadsYou Review: FARMHAND #15

 

FARMHAND #15
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rob Guillory
ART: Rob Guillory
COLORS: Rico Renzi
LETTERS: Kody Chamberlain
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Burt Durand
COVER: Rob Guillory
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(April 2020)

Rated “M/ Mature”

Farmhand created by Rob Guillory

Chapter 15: “The Knowledge of Good and Evil”

Farmhand is a dark fantasy comic book series from comic book creator, Rob Guillory.  Guillory is also known for his award-winning tenure on the long-running comic book, Chew (Image Comics), with writer John Layman.  Farmhand is written and illustrated by Guillory; lettered by Kody Chamberlain (who also designed the Farmhand logo); and currently colored by Rico Renzi.

Farmhand's central character is Ezekiel “Zeke” Jenkins, a husband, father, and graphic designer and illustrator.  He returns to his hometown of Freetown, Louisiana with his wife, Mae, and their children, Abigail and Riley.  Zeke's father, Jedidiah “Jed” Jenkins, and sister, Andrea (“Andy”), own and operate “Jenkins Family Farmaceutical Institute.”  The “farm” grows plant-based replacement human organs and tissue, and once upon a time, people, especially transplant recipients, saw this as a miracle.  But, since he returned, Zeke has discovered that the great miracle hides a great evil.

Early in Farmhand #14, Zeke gets a call from Randall Lafayette, summoning Zeke to “Uncle Randy's” house for some information exchange.  While there, Zeke has some kind of seizure and collapses to the floor unconscious.

Farmhand #15 (“The Knowledge of Good and Evil”) opens to find Zeke in some kind of dream state or some place between life and death.  And he sees it all – everything that happened that fateful day between his father, Jed; his late mother, Anna; and his father's partner, Monica Thorne.

When he regains consciousness, Zeke joins Randy, and the two head to the church of longtime family friends, Pastor John “Tree” Moore and his wife, Nancy.  Also, gathered at the church are Jed and eventually, Mae and Andrea... and of course, Monica.  Ms. Thorne wants to show herself – all her power and her army.  And nothing will be the same again.

THE LOWDOWN:  Farmhand #15 concludes Farmhand's third story arc, “Roots of All Evil” (a.k.a. Season Three), which began with issue #11.  Like plant life, Farmhand is ever-growing and evolving with a cycle of life and death that brings about change.  [Season One is Farmhand #1-5, “Reap What Was Sown” and Season Two is Farmhand #6-10, “Thorne in the Flesh.”]

“Roots of All Evil” is about revelation, however, more than it is about change.  Yes, there are new characters, but some of the most crucial moments of Farmhand's back story explode out of the ground, the way those amazing mutant crawfish explode out of the pond in Farmhand #12.  Farmhand's origin story seems to be about its own take on the Biblical bite of the apple, but there is more to the knowledge in “the knowledge of good and evil” than any one chapter can tell.  So I would not be surprised to see a future issue of Farmhand return to the events of the flashback depicted in issue #15

I have thought of Rob Guillory's storytelling as brilliant since the day I first got a preview of Farmhand #1, but it turns out that I had no idea of what was really coming.  It is hard to believe, but I must believe it since I have read it with my own eyes.  Every issue of Farmhand is fresh from the garden of Guillory's imagination, and each one offers something new or some new things.  While I await the next bumper crop, dear readers, you must go back to the beginning and discover Farmhand.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of dark fantasy fiction will want to be a Farmhand.

[This comic book also includes the one-page comic, “Freetown Funnies,” by Burt Durand.]

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://robguillory.com/
https://twitter.com/Rob_guillory
https://www.instagram.com/rob_guillory/


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: JOHN CONSTANTINE Hellblazer #1

JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER #1
DC COMICS/DC Black Label – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Simon “Si” Spurrier
ART: Aaron Campbell
COLORS: Jordie Bellaire
LETTERS: Aditya Bidikar
EDITOR: Chris Conroy
CURATOR: Neil Gaiman
COVER: John Paul Leon
VARIANT COVER: Charlie Adlard
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2020)

“Ages 17+”

John Constantine created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben and Jamie Delano & John Ridgway

“A Green and Pleasant Land, Part One”

John Constantine is a DC Comics character, an anti-hero, magus, con man, troubleshooter, and occult detective.  He was originally created by writer Alan Moore and artists Steve Bissette and John Totleben as a supporting character in the horror comic book series, The Saga of the Swamp Thing (1982), first appearing in issue #37 (cover dated: June 1985).  John Constantine starred in his own comic book series, Hellblazer, which ran for a quarter-century, beginning with Hellblazer #1 (cover date: January 1988) and ending with Hellblazer #300 (cover date: April 2013).  In Hellblazer (the first of  four series), the character was further defined and refined by writer Jamie Delano and artist John Ridgway.

John Constantine: Hellblazer is the fifth and newest John Constantine comic book series.  It is written by Simon Spurrier; drawn by Aaron Campbell; colored by Jordie Bellaire; and lettered by Aditya Bidikar.  John Constantine: Hellblazer and its one-shot prologue (of sorts), The Sandman Universe Presents Hellblazer, brings John Constantine back to the mature-readers, supernatural setting in which the character existed for the first three decades.

John Constantine: Hellblazer #1 (“A Green and Pleasant Land, Part One”) finds John Constantine back in London, after being abroad for quite some time.  Constantine is a bit perturbed to discover that London has changed enough that his jokes offend everyone.  The young people speak a language and a slang that the now-old-man Constantine does not.  And the young women don't drop their panties as soon as John starts working his charm.

However, there is someone who really wants Constantine.  K-Mag, also known as “the Haruspex,” is the kingpin of a local drug gang, “the Ri-Boys.”  K-Mag dabbles in magic, but he is apparently not strong enough to stop a supernatural force that tears apart any Ri-Boys trying to sell drugs in a local public park.  That's where John is supposed to help...

I thought that The Sandman Universe Presents Hellblazer was, except in a few places, a disappointing and mediocre comic book.  Thus, I only bought John Constantine: Hellblazer #1 because I usually buy the first issue of a Constantine comic book, but I did not expect much from it.  Surprise, surprise:  I am glad that I tried this new first issue.

In John Constantine: Hellblazer #1, Simon Spurrier's story recalls the classic, gritty, noir-ish, dark fantasy vibe of the original Hellblazer comic book.  It is as if Spurrier is doing his best Jamie Delano  impersonation.  This first issue is by no means perfect.  I am a little perplexed about the characters and the plot of “A Green and Pleasant Land,  Part One,” but I still am intrigued.

Artist Aaron Campbell is also doing his best John Ridgway impersonation in recalling the alluring, occult vibe of Ridgway's early art on the original Hellblazer.  Campbell's storytelling is gritty, scratchy, and looks like cinematography in post-World War II, American urban crime films.  Jordie Bellaire's coloring brings out the danger and the dangerous atmosphere in this story.  Letterer Aditya Bidikar changes the fonts in ways that convey the dark mode and darker moods of this tale.

So I intend to read more John Constantine: Hellblazer.  I have hopes – hopes that this new series can pick up where the original Hellblazer left off in 2013.

B+
7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for September 30, 2020

BOOM! STUDIOS

JUL200929    ALIENATED #6 (OF 6)    $3.99
JUN200783    AVANT-GUARDS DOWN TO WIRE ORIGINAL GN    $14.99
APR201348    BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER LEGACY EDITION TP VOL 02    $29.99
JUL200879    FIREFLY BLUE SUN RISING #0 CVR A MAIN    $7.99
JUL200880    FIREFLY BLUE SUN RISING #0 CVR B WARD VAR    $7.99
JUN200799    HEARTBEAT TP (MR)    $15.99
JUL200906    MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #54 CVR A MAIN    $3.99
JUL200907    MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #54 FOIL MONTES VAR    $4.99
APR209107    SOMETHING KILLING CHILDREN FACE MASK    $PI
JUL209320    WE ONLY FIND THEM WHEN THEYRE DEAD #1 (3RD PTG)    $3.99
JUL209106    WYND #1 (OF 5) (3RD PTG)    $4.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for September 30, 2020

DARK HORSE COMICS

APR200414    CASTLEVANIA 4 PACK MAGNET SET    $9.99
APR200415    CASTLEVANIA MAGNET SET    $8.99
APR200416    CASTLEVANIA PIN SET    $14.99
APR200417    CASTLEVANIA SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT 4 PACK MAGNET SET    $9.99
APR200418    CASTLEVANIA SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT MAGNET SET    $8.99
APR200419    CASTLEVANIA SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT PIN SET    $14.99
AUG200443    DISNEY PRINCESS GLEAM GLOW & LAUGH TP (RES)    $10.99
JUL200255    STRANGER THINGS SCIENCE CAMP #1 (OF 4) CVR A KALVACHEV    $3.99
JUL200256    STRANGER THINGS SCIENCE CAMP #1 (OF 4) CVR B LAMBERT    $3.99
JUL200257    STRANGER THINGS SCIENCE CAMP #1 (OF 4) CVR C RUIZ    $3.99
JUN200283    UMBRELLA ACADEMY DLX LTD HC VOL 03 HOTEL OBLIVION    $79.99
JUN200284    UMBRELLA ACADEMY LIBRARY EDITION HC VOL 03 HOTEL OBLIVION (C    $39.99
JUL200279    X-RAY ROBOT #2 (OF 4) CVR A ALLRED (RES)    $3.99
JUL200280    X-RAY ROBOT #2 (OF 4) CVR B RUBIN (RES)    $3.99
JUL209295    X-RAY ROBOT #2 (OF 4) CVR C POPE    $3.99

Dynamite Entertainment from Diamond Distributors for September 30, 2020

DYNAMITE

JUL200775    BOYS DEAR BECKY #5 (MR)    $3.99
JUL209274    BOYS DEAR BECKY #5 ROBERTSON LINE ART PREMIUM FOC BONUS VAR    $3.99
JUL209275    BOYS DEAR BECKY #5 ROBERTSON VIRGIN ART PREMIUM FOC BONUS VA    $3.99
APR201234    DEATH TO ARMY OF DARKNESS #5 CVR A OLIVER    $3.99
APR201235    DEATH TO ARMY OF DARKNESS #5 CVR B DAVILA    $3.99
APR201236    DEATH TO ARMY OF DARKNESS #5 CVR C ANDOLFO    $3.99
APR201237    DEATH TO ARMY OF DARKNESS #5 CVR D MOONEY HOMAGE    $3.99
JUL200821    DEJAH THORIS (2019) #8 GEORGIEV LTD VIRGIN CVR    $50.00
JUL200822    DEJAH THORIS (2019) #8 LINSNER LTD VIRGIN CVR    $50.00
JUL200824    DEJAH THORIS (2019) #8 LINSNER RARE LTD MARTIAN RED CVR    $100.00
JUL200820    DEJAH THORIS (2019) #8 PARRILLO LTD VIRGIN CVR    $50.00
JUL200823    DEJAH THORIS (2019) #8 PEEPLES LTD HOMAGE VIRGIN CVR    $50.00
JUL200730    VAMPIRELLA TRIAL OF THE SOUL ONE SHOT SEARS LTD VIRGIN VAR    $50.00

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for September 30, 2020

IDW PUBLISHING

JUN200573    BEAUTY OF HORROR HAUNT THIS JOURNAL    $14.99
JUN200572    BEAUTY OF HORROR SC CREATURE FEATURE COLORING BOOK    $16.99
JUL200516    GOOSEBUMPS SECRETS OF THE SWAMP #1 (OF 5)    $3.99
MAR200785    JUDGE DREDD FALSE WITNESS #3 (OF 4) CVR A ZAMA    $3.99
FEB200691    LIFE IN THE STUPIDVERSE GN TP    $19.99
MAR200709    MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #90 CVR A PRICE    $3.99
MAR200710    MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #90 CVR B HICKEY    $3.99
FEB200620    STAR WARS ADVENTURES CLONE WARS #5 (OF 5) CVR A CHARM    $3.99
JUL200570    TMNT BEST OF RAPHAEL    $5.99
JUN200582    TRANSFORMERS #23 CVR A LAFUENTE    $3.99
JUN200583    TRANSFORMERS #23 CVR B BAUMGARTNER    $3.99
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Batman Detective Comics Volume 3 Greetings From Gotham TP, $17.99
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Batman Superman Annual #1, $4.99
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Dark Nights Death Metal Multiverse’s End #1 (Cover A Michael Golden), $5.99
Dark Nights Death Metal Multiverse’s End #1 (Cover B Arthur Adams), AR
DC Connect Checklist Poster #4, AR
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Harley Quinn And The Birds Of Prey #3 (Of 4)(Cover B Ian MacDonald), AR
John Constantine Hellblazer #10, $3.99
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Justice League Annual #2, $4.99
Legion Of Super-Heroes #9 (Cover A Ryan Sook), $3.99
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Low Low Woods HC, $24.99
Red Hood Outlaw #49 (Cover A Dan Mora), $3.99
Red Hood Outlaw #49 (Cover B Philip Tan), AR
Wonder Woman #763 (Cover A David Marquez), $4.99
Wonder Woman #763 (Cover B Joshua Middleton Card Stock Variant), AR
Wonder Woman 1984 #1 (Cover A Nicola Scott), $3.99
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Book Review: ELEVATOR PITCH

ELEVATOR PITCH
HARPERCOLLINS/William Morrow

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Linwood Barclay
ISBN: 978-0-06-267828-7; hardcover; 6 in x 9 in; (September 17, 2019)
464pp, B&W, $26.99 U.S.

Elevator Pitch is a 2019 novel written by Linwood Barclay, the author of such bestselling novels as No Time for Goodbye and Trust Your Eyes.  In Elevator Pitch, two veteran New York police detectives are trying to unravel the mystery of a strange and brutal murder, while a straight-shooting journalist attempts to discover why elevators in New York City are killing people, both of which may be the work of a notorious American terrorist group.

Elevator Pitch opens in New York City on a Monday when it all begins.  At the Lansing Tower on Third between Fifty-Ninth and Sixtieth, four people board an elevator in the Manhattan office tower, each pressing a button for their floor.  The elevator, however, is contrary and proceeds straight to the top floor... before plummeting non-stop right to the bottom of the elevator shaft.  Three of the passengers are killed and a fourth is mortally wounded.

One of the victims is a young woman named Paula Chatsworth.  Three years earlier, Paula had been an intern for the online publication, Manhattan Today, where Barbara Matheson reigns as the top columnist who has a reputation as a straight-shooter.  At first, Barbara's focus is on the tragic death of Paula and on her grieving parents, but then, Paula discovers that mysterious men in black SUVs don't want Paula's parents talking to the press.

Still, the elevator accident at Lansing seems like nothing more than a random tragedy, horrific though it is.  Then, on Tuesday, at the Sycamores Residences, below Sixty-Third, there is another elevator-related fatality.  This time, the incident seems to have a ghastly and macabre sense of humor about it.  When Wednesday brings more elevator death, this time at the Gormley Building on Seventh Avenue between Sixteenth and Seventeenth, New York City, America's capital of finance, entertainment, and media, falls into a state of fear and chaos.  NYC is a vertical city; it cannot function without elevators.  If this is an attempt to terrorize the city, who is behind it?

Meanwhile, Detective Jerry Bourque and his partner, Detective Lois Delgado, are investigating the homicide of a man whose body was found on the “High Line.”  His face was beaten in until it was unrecognizable, and his fingertips have all been removed.  A lucky break leads Bourque and Delgado to believe that their victim might be connected to the elevator sabotage, and the victim could somehow be connected to a domestic terrorist group, “the Flyovers,” that has been targeting cities along the coasts of America.

Are the incidents of elevator-sabotage, the High Line murder, and the Flyovers connected?  Working separately, Barbara Matheson and the team of Bourque and Delgado will have to answer all those questions... and son.  NYC's latest “big event” is a ribbon-cutting, on Thursday, for the city's newest, and tallest, residential tower, “Top of the Park.”  Practically, everyone who is anyone will be there.  So, it's the perfect time and place for terror, mayhem, and elevator mass murder.

THE LOWDOWN:  Inside the front cover flap of the book jacket, the cover copy declares that Elevator Pitch is “...an edge-of-your-seat thriller that does for elevators what Psycho did for showers and Jaws did for the beach...”  This is a bit of expected salesmanship on the part of William Morrow's marketing division, but I would not call it an overstatement.

Psycho and Jaws are movies, and they were, relative to the time of their respective releases, big hits at the movie theater box office.  Both films were based on books – Psycho a 1959 novel of the same name and Jaws a 1974 novel of the same name – and both films have overshadowed, outlived, and out-shined the books that were their source material.

Elevator Pitch is only a novel, but if it were also a movie, a lot of people would be scared shitless of elevators after seeing it.  Yeah, they would still get on elevators, but some of them would start to think that being in an elevator is like being in a shower with a knife-wielding great white shark.  If a studio could make an Elevator Pitch movie that is as chilling as Elevator Pitch the novel is, movie audiences would have a brand new thrill ride to terrorize them into the summer.

Seriously, though, Elevator Pitch, which was released in hardcover in 2019 and in paperback earlier this year, is such a stone-cold killer of a novel because its author, Linwood Barclay, is an especially effective writer of suspense fiction and of thrillers.  When Barclay starts killing his characters on elevators, there comes a point when readers will believe that any part of the story that takes place even in the vicinity of an elevator will soon turn from character drama to character butchery.  I know that I started to feel a sense of dread every time the story moved into a building with an elevator.

Elevator Pitch even has a quote from Stephen King on the front of its book jacket, which says, “One hell of a suspense novel.”  That is certainly true, and Elevator Pitch is one of those suspense novels that won't let you stop turning the pages.  You can't stop, and you “can't hardly wait,” to get to the next page and to the next chapter.

A synopsis of Elevator Pitch really doesn't do justice to the entirety of the narrative.  There are a lot more characters than I mentioned above, and there are a few back stories and several sub-plots.  They all serve the story, and a few act as effective red herrings to keep the readers' imaginations on overdrive.  The only fault that I find with the novel is that I wish it had focused a little more on the personalities of a few of the characters, for instance, Detectives Bourque and Delgado.

That aside, Elevator Pitch is the perfect pot-boiler novel for any book season.  As long as there are elevators and other vertical transportation machines like that, Elevator Pitch will have a spot in our imaginations, in the places we like to be scared.  Elevator Pitch will be waiting for us... it's sliding doors always open.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Linwood Barclay and of suspense thrillers will want to read Elevator Pitch.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.linwoodbarclay.com/
https://twitter.com/WmMorrowBooks
https://www.facebook.com/WilliamMorrowBooks
https://twitter.com/HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com/


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.


--------------------

#IReadsYou Review: KILLADELPHIA #4

KILLADELPHIA #4
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshal1 Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Eric Canete
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(February 2020)

Rated “M/ Mature”

“Sins of the Father” Part IV: “...Cry Out for Revolution!”

Killadelphia is a new comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander (Empty Zone).  The series focuses on a police officer who is clued onto a lurid secret by his dead father; the corrupt, but historical city of Philadelphia is vampire-ridden.  Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.

James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. is a Baltimore Police Department beat cop who comes home to deal with the final affairs of his recently murdered father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr.  Jimmy hated his father, who is not dead, but is of the undead.  Now, son, vampire dad, and the chief medical examiner are working to stop a vampire apocalypse initiated by... the second President of the United States!

Killadelphia #4 (“...Cry Out for Revolution!”) opens on the night of revolution.  John Adams, President turned vampire overlord, sends him vampire horde into the city of Philadelphia – to terrify it, to destroy it, and to drain it of its lifeblood.  This is Adams' revolution to free mankind and to save humanity.  Meanwhile, one of Adams' lieutenants has apparently turned counter-revolutionary, and he wants to meet Jim, Sr.

I tried waiting extended periods of time between reading issues of Killadelphia.  It was my way of putting some distance between each issue and my mad love for this thrilling, modern vampire comic book.  But forget that.  Image Comics recently made a PDF review copy of Killadelphia #4 available to reviewers and that was vampire crack to a vampire crackhead reader.  That would be me.

Artist Jason Shawn Alexander and colorist Luis Nct, who are starting to seem like the dream team of apocalyptic comic books, present the fall of a city in kinetic compositions and in spurts and splashes of end-times colors.  Meanwhile, Marshall Dillon quietly letters and notes the last, dying hours of a city that was living on borrowed time anyway.

In 2004, Marvel Comics published a small trade paperback, Blade: Black & White, to coincide with the release of the film, Blade: Trinity.  Among the stories reprinted in the collection were two Blade stories written by Chris Claremont (best known for his work on X-Men/Uncanny X-Men) and two by Marv Wolfman (best known for writing The New Teen Titans and Crisis on Infinite Earths).  The four stories were magnificent tales of urban horror and dark fantasy that mixed blaxploitation cinema with the edginess of the urban dramas and the horror movies of 1960s and 1970s.

Killadelphia's killa scribe, Rodney Barnes, is bringing da funk and da noise of edgy, urban, Black/African-American horror fantasy.  This series offers some of the best vampire fiction in recent memory, and Barnes also seems to be dancing around dropping some major family dysfunction on his readers pretty soon.  So... I'm still giving this my highest recommendation to encourage you to read Killadelphia, dear readers.

[This issue contains bonus art.]

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: PSYCHODRAMA ILLUSTRATED #1

PSYCHODRAMA ILLUSTRATED #1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Gilbert Hernandez
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Gilbert Hernandez with Paul Baresh
24pp, B&W, $4.99 U.S. (February 2020)

Gilbert “'Beto” Hernandez is the prolific half of the comic book creating duo, Los Bros. (the other half being his brother, Jaime Hernandez).  Gilbert and Jaime are the creators of Love and Rockets (Fantagraphics Books), the greatest American comic book series of all time.

Gilbert has produced a number of solo projects including (the infamous) Blubber, Yeah! (with writer Peter Bagge), and Twilight Children (with the late Darwyn Cooke).  Gilbert's latest solo comic book project is the recently launched series, Psychodrama Illustrated.  According to publisher Fantagraphics Books, Psychodrama Illustrated is a new Love and Rockets spin-off focusing on the classic character, Rosalba Martinez, best known as “Fritz,” and on her extended family.  The series will feature stories about Fritz’s film career “that bend Fritz’s reality.”

Psychodrama Illustrated #1 opens with a frontispiece (inside front cover) one-page comic in which Dr. Valus Droog breaks the fourth wall and informs the reader about Fritz.  [He also appear on the inside back cover.]  In the opening story, “False Modesty,” Fritz bumps into an old friend of her half-sister, Luba de los Santos, the classic L&R character known simply as “Luba.”

Fritz finds the gentleman starring at a one-sheet poster advertising the debut album from “Killer,” who is Fritz's grand-niece, Dora Rivera.  It seems that Killer is also a young actress, and she has replaced Fritz in “Hypnotwist 2.0,” a remake/reboot of one of Fritz's film, “Hypnotwist” (the tale of which was chronicled in Love and Rockets Vol. 2 #3).  When Fritz joins the production of the new film, will she really be able to fit in with Killer?  And what does Luba's friend want from Fritz...?

THE LOWDOWN:  I was a huge fan of Beto's Blubber comic book series.  I found it to be in the tradition (or at least the spirit) of Underground Comix with its brave and bold depictions of raunchy sex and surreal sexuality.

After only one issue, I don't quite know what to make of Psychodrama Illustrated, but I have to admit to you, dear readers, or at least the ones that already don't know, that I always love the work of Gilbert Hernandez.  [I feel the same way about Jaime Hernandez.]  I can say that Psychodrama Illustrated feels like the usual Love and Rockets comics starring Fritz, by which I mean that Beto gives us the breath and width of Fritz's character.  Fritz is always acting, in front of, behind, and on the side of the camera.  And she's always gonna f**k somebody (male, female, or otherwise), and here, one guy gets it and one (currently in prison) might get f****d.

“Inscrutable” is the word I most use to describe the late cartoonist Charles Schulz's Peanuts characters.  I will say the same thing about Fritz, and in Psychodrama Illustrated, I hope that Beto does not decide to illuminate to many of the mysteries of Fritz.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Gilbert Hernandez's Love and Rockets comics will have to have Psychodrama Illustrated.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: HELL'S PARADISE: Jigokuraku Volume 2

 

HELL'S PARADISE: JIGOKURAKU, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Juji Kaku
TRANSLATION: Caleb Cook
LETTERS: Mark McMurray
EDITOR: David Brothers
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1321-9; paperback (May 2020); Rated “M” for “Mature”
216pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 U.K.

Jigokuraku is a manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Kaku.  It has been serialized weekly for free on the Shōnen Jump+ application (app) and website since January 22, 2018.  VIZ Media is publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series, entitled Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, under its “VIZ Signature” imprint.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku is set in Japan during the “Edo period” (specifically between 1773 and 1841 for this story).  The ninja, “Gabimaru the Hollow,” is sentenced to death, but no method of execution can kill him due to his superhuman body.  Lord Tokugawa Nariyoshi, the 11th Shogun, offers Gabimaru and other monstrous killers sentenced to death a chance at a pardon.  They must travel to a strange island, known as “Shinsenkyo,” where they must find “the elixir of life,” which will make the shogun immortal.  The executioner, Yamada Asaemon Sagiri, and others of her clan will accompany these criminals to an island where “Heaven” and “Hell” are said to be practically the same thing.

As Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, Vol. 2 (Chapters 7 to 16) opens, Gabimaru, his fellow convicts, and their escorts face murderous creatures that are either gods or monsters.  Stone, animal, insect, and human, these creatures seem to be an impossible blend of all or some of those things.  Meanwhile, we learn the back stories of a number of characters, including Yuzuriha of Keishu, a kunoichi (female ninja); the Aza Brother Bandits, Chobe and Toma; and the mountain tribeswoman, Nurugai, who joins Lord Tenza in a bid to escape the island.

Plus, Gabimaru and Sagiri start to understand each another, just as Sagiri's fellow clansman, Genji, insists she leave the island because she is a woman.  This debates occurs as the convict, Rokurota the Giant of Bizen, approaches them with murder on his mind.

[This volume includes miscellaneous art and “Translation Notes.”]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku manga is an Edo-period, samurai drama that is also firmly entrenched in the horror genre.  It's English title, “Hell's Paradise,” aptly fits the series' repugnant-attractive elements, as this story is like a dark fairy tale turning darker with each page.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku Graphic Novel Volume 2 is one of the best second volumes of a manga tankobon/graphic novel that I have ever read, just as Vol. 1 was one of the best first volumes.  Creator Yuji Kaku's ethereal, illustrative style perfectly visualizes this series' gruesome, nightmarish tableau and tapestries.  From the start, Kaku enthralls the readers with the mysteries of the island of Shinsenkyo; now, he multiplies the mysteries in this second volume.

Caleb Cook's translation conveys Kaku's move to focus on the characters' personalities, desires, and back stories with the same focus in which Cook's work conveyed the demented nature of many of the characters in the first volume.  Letterer Mark McMurray slashes and smashes us with the gory glory of Hell's Paradise using pitch perfect lettering.  Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku is a paradise for fans of manga that blend samurai, ninja, and horror.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:   Fans of “VIZ Signature” titles will want Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku.

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: VENUS IN THE BLIND SPOT

 

VENUS IN THE BLIND SPOT
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTONIST: Junji Ito
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Jocelyn Allen; Yuji Oniki (“The Enigma of Amigara Fault”)
LETTERS: Eric Erbes
EDITOR: Masumi Washington
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1547-3; hardcover; 5 3/4 × 8 1/4 (August 2020); Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”
272pp, B&W, $22.99 U.S., $46.00 CAN, £25.00 UK

Junji Ito is a Japanese writer and artist of horror manga (comics) who has created both long-form horror manga series and manga short works (short stories).  Ito's best known long-form manga include Tomie, Uzumaki, and Gyo.  Tomie was adapted into a live-action film series (beginning in 1998), and Uzumaki was adapted into a live-action film (2000).

VIZ Media has published several hardcover collections of Junji Ito's manga short stories over the last five years.  They are Fragments of Horror (June 2015), Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories (December 2017), Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection (October 2018), and Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection (April 2019).

VIZ's latest hardcover collection of Junji Ito's manga short stories is a “best of” collection, Venus in the Blind Spot.  This striking book gathers ten of the most remarkable short works of Ito's career.  With a deluxe presentation, including special color pages, each chilling tale invites readers to revel in a world of terror created by a modern master of horror manga and comics.

Venus in the Blind Spot includes three stories that Junji Ito adapted from prose fiction writers.  Ito adapts two stories, “The Human Chair” (1925) and “An Unearthly Love” (1926), by Edogawa Ranpo (1984-1965), perhaps the most influential author of Japanese mystery fiction.  Ito also adapts “How Love Came to Professor Guildea” (1900), a short story by Robert Hichens (1864-1950), a British author who, among other things, wrote ghost stories, fantasy, and mystery fiction.

Venus in the Blind Spot opens with the story, “Billions Alone.”  At the center of this story is 19-year-old Michio, who has locked himself in his room for seven years.  He emerges from seclusion as people are being found dead and sewn together in pairs, bound by fishing wire that has been run through every part of their bodies.  Michio wonders that if he attends an upcoming school reunion and coming-of-age ceremony, will he become part of one of these “group corpses?”

A woman with a wicked tongue terrorizes the country as “The Licking Woman.”  A philandering husband discovers a “Keepsake” from his recently deceased wife.  And in the title story, “Venus in a Blind Spot,” the young men of the “Nanzan UFO Research Society” discover that they can't help but love their chairperson, Mariko Shono, but they can't see her either.

THE LOWDOWN:  Junji It's short works (a.k.a. manga short stories) display his incredible imagination and also the diversity in the style and tone in which he executes these stories.  Some are tales of existential terror and threats.  Others feature terrible situations, a twist on a comic situation because, by the end of the story, the reader will laugh nervously while thanking the cosmos that such situations are not his.

Venus in the Blind Spot emphasizes two other signatures Ito types, macabre tales that recall “The Twilight Zone” and eerie stories of haunting.  In such stories, Ito does not make use of beginnings, middles, and ends, so much as he offers episodes that are both terrifying and implausible.

The opening story, “Billions Alone,” is an episode of terror.  It is not metaphorically a tale of loneliness as much as it is a tale of humans alone against an existential terror that does not make sense – an implausible and ridiculous assault on the way humans live.  It is COVID-19 without the hope of science eventually saving our asses.

I have not read any of the three prose short stories that appear here as manga adaptations by Junji Ito.  “The Human Chair” is an Ito gem, and I wonder if Edogawa Ranpo's original is as deranged as Ito's take on it.  [Ranpo's huge cultural influence in Japan can be seen in Gosho Aoyama's manga, Detective Conan, which is published as Case Closed in North America.]  The other two adaptations, “An Unearthly Love” and “How Love Came to Professor Kirida” (from Robert Hichens's “How Love Came to Professor Guildea”).  These two stories have all the hallmarks of Ito's terrible power, and the latter is a tale of a haunting.  Still, they don't quite come together.

Never fear, “The Licking Woman” and “Keepsake” lay siege to your imagination, dear reader, and these two tales, each dealing with a haunting, certainly made my skin crawl.  Damn, that's nasty – both of them.  Venus in the Blind Spot, as a collection, is a good introduction to the short manga of Junji Ito.  New readers will get a taste of what is to come, and, in a way, it is not as deranged, overall, as other collections of Ito's short works.  For Ito's fans, Venus in the Blind Spot is an example of why Junji Ito is our blind spot.  We'll buy just about any book he offers us.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Junji Ito and fans of great horror comics will want the VIZ Signature edition of Venus in the Blind Spot.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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