#IReadsYou Review: FLOWER GIRLS

FLOWER GIRLS

GUMROAD

STORY: Francesca Lyn

ART/DESIGN: Sally Cantirino

24pp., Color/2-color; $3.00 U.S. (2018)

Flower Girls is a 16-page digital comic book written by Francesca Lyn and drawn by Sally Cantirino.  The story examines the life of a former “magical girl” who is now an adult.  The “magical girl” is a sub-genre of manga (Japanese comics) about girls who have magical powers.

Flower Girls introduces Rose, who was the leader of a magical girl group.  Rose was extraordinary, and at one point she was so popular that merchandisers sold a million “Rose” dolls.  Now, Rose lives in an below-average apartment with her cousin, Jay.  After Jay disappears, Rose is forced to confront how her past shaped her present and what her life will be going forward.

THE LOWDOWN:  Flower Girls will get a high grade from this review, which it might not get under other circumstances.  It is not highly polished like a comic book from a big publisher, but what it lacks in polish, it makes up for in heart, soul, and artistic ambition.

This digital comic book is filled with a sense of love and magic.  The love is in the way Francesca Lyn tells this story, exploring and searching for a way to convey Rose's own searching and yearning.  There is love in everything that Sally Cantirino does to create the graphics for this comic – from the illustrations and lettering to the toning and the two-color and color shifts.  Cantirino makes this feel like a handmade comic book coming into existence before our very eyes.

Flower Girls is also infused with a sense of wonder and with magic.  Sometimes, storytelling about magic feels bereft of the very thing it seeks to define or convey.  Sometimes, the magic seems mechanical, as through the science of computer-generated effects.  This is not the case with Lyn and Cantirino's comic.  Flower Girls, a tale of lost magic, is like a book of magic with its sense of mystery and its dream-like and mystical moments and flourishes.

I would like to see more Flower Girls or, at least, more work from Lyn and Cantirino as a creative team.  At $3, Flower Girls is a bargain for fans of fantasy comic books.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of magical girl manga will want to read Flower Girls.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

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

Flower Girls can still be purchased as digital comic at Gumroad or at https://gumroad.com/l/lZJGn

http://www.francescalyn.com/

https://x.com/francescalyn

https://srcantirino.carbonmade.com/

https://sallycantirino.com/

The text is copyright © 2026 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: ECTYRON: Rise of Nemehiss

ECTYRON: RISE OF NEMEHISS
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/Warning Comics – @candlelightpres @attila71

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Carter Allen
SCRIPT: John Ira Thomas
ART: Carter Allen – @attila71
LETTERS: John Ira Thomas
COVER: Carter Allen
BACK COVER: Will Grant
28pp, Color, $5.00 U.S. (2018)

Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss is a 2018 comic book published by Candle Light Press (CLP).  It is written by CLP stalwarts Carter Allen (plot) and John Ira Thomas (script/letters) and drawn by Allen.  This comic book focuses on Ectyron, a giant-sized chicken that battles monsters known as “kaiju.”  This term is used to describe a genre of Japanese films that feature giant monsters, and the term is also used to describe the giant monsters themselves.  [Godzilla is an example of a kaiju.]

Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss opens in South Chippewa Basin, Lake Michigan.  The USCGS Narcissus, a shallow water submarine, has been chasing a sonar shadow that suddenly changes from shadow to monster.  Meanwhile at “Sustenatione Stabilitas Base” in the Great Basin Desert, kaiju fighter Jake is working on the latest kaiju-fighting vehicle.  “Tonnerre Blue,” a “suborbital hopper” that can transport and fight in the battle against the kaiju.

Jake and his colleague, Iowa, will need this new kaiju-fighting tech when the giant-goose kaiju, known as Nemehiss, terrorizes a small Minnesota town.  The kaiju fighters will also need all the help they can get... from Ectyron!

Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss, like the previous Ectyron Against Lagaxtu, is the kind of monster comic that writer, artist, cartoonist, designer, and graphic novelist, Carter Allen does so well.  His Gozilla-sized creations, which includes monsters, beasts, machines, contraptions, and heroes, are pure comic book fun.

The Ectyron series offers big monster fun told with big illustrations and graphics.  John Ira Thomas' dry humor adds a nice touch, and his dialogue, as polished as the kind you would find in a screenplay for a big Hollywood event movie, helps the readers take the action seriously.  Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss is both monster comic book and sci-tech action adventure.

The truth is that readers get a little more than they expect from Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss.  In fact, they get enough to want more.  Plus, the back cover features another delightful Will Grant full-color illustration.  [Since the publication of Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss, CLP has published a third Ectyron comic book.]

8.5 out of 10

http://candlelightpress.tumblr.com/
www.warningcomics.com

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE #1

THE SANDMAN UNIVERSE No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Neil Gaiman
WRITERS: Simon “Si” Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, and Dan Watters
ART: Bilquis Evely, Tom Fowler, Dominike “Domo” Stanton, Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara
COLORS: Mat Lopes
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
EDITOR: Molly Mahan
COVER: Jae Lee with June Chung
VARIANT COVERS: Dave McKean; Jill Thompson; Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair; Sam Keith; P. Craig Russell with Lovern Kindzierski; David Mack
48pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (October 2018)

“Suggested for Mature Readers”

The Sandman created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg

The Sandman is a DC Comics comic book series created by writer Neil Gaiman and artists Sam Keith and Mike Dringenberg.  Published by DC Comics from 1989 to 1996, The Sandman ran for 75 issues, and tells the story of “Dream” of “The Endless.”  Also named Morpheus (as well as other names), Dream rules over the world of dreams.

DC Comics announced earlier this year an expansion and quasi sequel to The Sandman, “The Sandman Universe.”  This will be a line of four comic books that will launch in September and October of 2018.  The release dates are timed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sandman #1, which was covered dated January 1989, but released to comic book stores in October 1988.  It will also commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Vertigo imprint.

The Sandman Universe titles are a mixture of new and revived titles.  The first is The Dreaming (Sept. 5th), written by Simon “Si” Spurrier and drawn by Bilquis Evely.  The second is House of Whispers (Sept. 12), written by Nalo Hopkinson and drawn by Dominike “Domo” Stanton.  The third is Lucifer (October 17), written by Dan Watters and drawn by Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara.  The fourth is Books of Magic (Oct. 24), written by Kat Howard and drawn by Tom Fowler.

These four titles are previewed in the stand-alone anthology comic book, The Sandman Universe #1.  Neil Gaiman provides the story for this single-issue comic book.  Simon Spurrier, Kat Howard, Nalo Hopkinson, and Dan Watters write the scripts for previews of the respective titles they are writing.  Bilquis Evely, Tom Fowler, Dominike “Domo” Stanton, and Max Fiumara and Sebastian Fiumara draw the art for the previews of the respective series they are drawing.  The Sandman Universe #1 is colored by Mat Lopes and lettered by Simon Bowland.

In The Sandman Universe #1, the denizens of The Dreaming discover that their master, the Lord of Dreams, is missing.  Now, Matthew the raven must traverse the realms and dreams of four characters:  Dora, Timothy Hunter, Erzulie (a voodoo deity), and Lucifer Morningstar (trapped in the body of an old man) to find Dream.  But does he want to be found?  What if he quit being Dream?

I enjoyed The Sandman Universe #1, but I would not call it an exceptional comic book.  It is a particularly well-produced preview comic book.  The best art, by far, in The Sandman Universe #1 is the work of Bilquis Evely, who is drawing The Dreaming, so I am putting this title on my reading list.

I want to try House of Whispers because I try to support Black writers of speculative and fantasy fiction, and the Jamaican-born, Canadian Hopkinson is a writer of color.  The House of Whispers preview in The Sandman Universe #1 is interesting and is the only truly unique offering in this comic book.  However, I must say that it did not quite connect with me the way I thought it would because of its various elements and ideas.

The Books of Magic preview did pique my interest; for obvious reasons, this is the closest thing to a Harry Potter comic book we likely will ever have.  I found the Lucifer preview to be a chore to read, taxing my patience for most of its six pages.

The Dreaming is both The Sandman Universe #1's framing sequence and the subject of a preview, which is good.  As I just wrote, Bilquis Evely's art is beautiful, and Evely's talent really shows on the killer last page she produces for this story.  As a preview of a line of comic books, The Sandman Universe #1 is as effective as it can be, but most of the effort is really up to the creative teams of the individual titles in the line.  I recommend this to readers interested in “The Sandman Universe” titles, but I doubt longtime fans of The Sandman comic book series will get much out of it.

7.5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: CAPTAIN AMERICA #1

CAPTAIN AMERICA No. 1 (Legacy #705)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review ws originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Ta-Nehisi Coates
PENCILS: Leinil Francis Yu
INKS: Gerry Alanguilan
COLORS: Sunny Gho
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Alex Ross
VARIANT COVERS: Adam Hughes; Joe Jusko; David Mack; Jim Sternako; Frank Miller with Edgar Delgado; Leinil Francis Yu; Paul Renaud; Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; Marko Djurdjevic; Ron Garney with Matt Milla; Mike Zeck with Richard Isanove; John Cassaday with Laura Martin
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (September 2018)

Rated “T+”

Captain America created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

“Winter in America” Part 1

Captain America is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.  Captain America was Steve Rogers, a frail young man who reached the peak of human perfection via the experimental “super soldier” serum.

He first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated:  March 1941), which was published by Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics.  After Captain America Comics was canceled in 1949, there was a revival of the series from 1953 to 1954.  Captain America fully returned to modern comic books in The Avengers #4 (cover dated: March 1964).

Steve Rogers/Captain America embarks on a new beginning again with a relaunch of his title series.  The new Captain America comic book series is written by Ta-Nehisi Coates; drawn by Leinil Francis Yu (pencils) and Gerry Alanguilan (inks); colored by Sunny Gho; and lettered by Joe Caramagna.  In the new series, Captain America faces an existential crises as he wrestles with how people view and perceive him in the wake of the Hydra Captain America impostor that briefly took over the world as an authoritarian dictator.

Captain America #1 opens in the Sayan Mountains of Russia months earlier.  There, something new is emerging from the ashes of Hydra.  In the present day, Captain America and the Winter Soldier battle a small army of men who resemble Cap's old adversary, Nuke.  They are killing civilians in a mass shooting event in and around the National Mall in Washington D.C.  As Captain America battles to save lives and stop these killers, he will also have to face another harsh reality.  No one really trusts him anymore... even the people who should know him best.

I would not call Captain America #1 2018 a great comic book, but it is the best written Captain America comic book that I have read in ages.  Ta-Nehisi Coates cleverly uses the battle at the National Mall's aftermath to depict not so much Captain America in crisis, but the Sentinel of Liberty as man at odds with the people, places, and nation he has sworn to protect and to defend.  It makes for great reading, because we known this is the true Captain America, but the dramatic tension brought by the distrust of Cap from the other characters makes for some good reading.

Leinil Francis Yu has been a skilled graphical storyteller for over two decades, but his drawing style has taken an ugly turn the last several years – as far as I am concerned.  He is better here, and Sunny Gho's evocative colors strengthen how the narrative conveys its ideas and heightens the drama.  Letterer Joe Caramagna creates a steady sense of rhythm that paces the narrative flow for both the action scenes and for the character scenes that confront Captain America.

I think Ta-Nehisi Coates will make me a regular Captain America reader for the first time in ages.  I think this is the beginning of a good age for Captain America.

8 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: ELVIRA Mistress of the Dark #1

ELVIRA MISTRESS OF THE DARK No. 1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT – @dynamitecomics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: David Avallone
ART: Dave Acosta
COLORS: Andrew Covalt
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Kevin Ketner
COVER: Joseph Michael Linsner
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: J. Bone; Kyle Strahm with Greg Smallwood; Craig Cermak with Brittany Pezzillo; Robert Hack with Francesco Francavilla; Craig Cermak; Joseph Michael Linsner; Kyle Strahm
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2018)

Rated Teen+

Elvira: Timescream – Chapter One: “Frankenstein is the Name of the Doctor”

“Horror hosts” present low-budget, low-grade, and cult films to television and radio audiences, with an emphasis on horror, science fiction, and/or B-movies.  Some horror hosts adopt an alternate identity, creating a character they play, such as when actress, Maila Nurmi, became the horror host character, “Vampira” in 1954 for KABC-TV in Los Angeles, California.

In 1981, actress and model Cassandra Peterson created the hostess character, “Elvira.”  Elvira gradually grew in popularity and eventually became a brand name.  As Elvira, Peterson endorsed many products and became a pitch-woman, appearing in numerous television commercials throughout the 1980s.

Elvira also appeared in comic books, beginning in 1986 with the short-lived series from DC Comics, Elvira's House of Mystery, which ran for eleven issues and one special issue (1987).  In 1993, Eclipse Comics and Claypool Comics began the long-running Elvira: Mistress of the Dark.  Eventually, Claypool would be sole publisher, and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark ran for 166 issues until 2007.

Elvira returns to comic books in Dynamite Entertainment's new four-issue, comic book miniseries, also entitled Elvira Mistress of the Dark.  It is written by David Avallone; drawn by Dave Acosta; colored by Andrew Covalt; and lettered by Taylor Esposito.

Elvira Mistress of the Dark #1 (“Frankenstein is the Name of the Doctor”) find Elvira on the set of her latest B-movie.  During a break in filming, she returns to her trailer to find a coffin in the middle of the floor, but it isn't just any old coffin.  It emits a time vortex, and Elvira soon finds herself pushed in and tumbling through time.  First stop, the summer of 1816 and a certain villa near Lake Geneva.

Writer David Avallone and artist Dave Acosta are the creative team behind Dynamite Entertainment's most excellent crossover comic book, the four-issue miniseries, Twilight Zone: The Shadow (2017).  A moody, stylish, atmospheric piece, the narrative focused on reckoning for The Shadow.

Avallone and Acosta deliver something quite different with Elvira Mistress of the Dark.  Avallone's story is campy, kind of like a rollicking romp of a horror movie that plays loose with the history of horror fiction.  Acosta's illustrations recall classic Warren Publications horror comics with humor that is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and the storytelling is perfect for the mood.

Andrew Covalt's coloring of Acosta's  illustrations is visually and graphically striking.  It is a deft mixture of sparkling color effects and and something like the colorful and sometimes garish cinematography of Hammer Film Productions (the legendary British film studio that produced numerous horror films).  As usual, Taylor Esposito's lettering is solid and perfectly captures this first chapter's mood and also Elvira's snark, sarcasm, and wit.  Esposito even delivers comedy gold on the characters' screeching and yelling.  “Edgar Allan Freaking Poe!, indeed.

Elvira Mistress of the Dark is blessedly cursed with an excellent creative team.  I can't wait for the second issue.  Maybe, these guys could produce a readable Harley Quinn comic book.

9 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#iReadsYou Review: PRODIGY #1

PRODIGY No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics @TheMagicOrder

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Mark Millar – @mrmarkmillar
ARTIST: Rafael Albuquerque
COLORS: Marcelo Maiolo
LETTERS: Peter Doherty
EDITOR: Rachel Fulton
COVER: Rafael Albuquerque
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Frank Quitely; Rafael Albuquerque
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2018)

Rated M / Mature

Prodigy is a new comic book miniseries created by Mark Millar and Rafael Albuquerque.  It is the second series (following The Magic Order) produced by Millar since he sold his company, Millarworld, to Netflix.  Prodigy focuses on the world's smartest man, who believes that he is the go-to guy when there is a global crisis to solve.

Prodigy #1 opens in 1993 at the end of the “Inter-School Polo Cup Final.”  Eleven-year-old Edison Crane is the star of the match, much to the ire of some of his teammates who are high school students of actual high school age.  How he deals with those violent, bitter teammates is a hint at what Edison will become – a man who will take on any problem or challenge on the road to becoming the world's smartest man running the world's most successful business.

But Edison Crane is not content because his brilliant mind needs constant challenge, so he becomes the go-to guy for governments around the world when they have a problem or crisis they cannot solve.  When strange cars containing crispy critters start popping up around the world, however, Edison may finally face something that will truly challenge him.

I am a fan of a number of Mark Millar's creator-owned comic book series, with Kick-Ass, Empress, and The Magic Order (also a Netflix title) being among my favorite.  I only read the first issue of the previous Millar-Albuquerque collaboration, Huck, which did not interest me enough to keep reading past the first issue.

Prodigy #1 is a teaser; the series' narrative really won't kick off until the second issue.  Millar uses this first issue to sell Edison Crane, who has a thoroughly unlikable personality, to his readers.  By the end of this issue, you might think Edison is a thoroughly intriguing character, dear readers; I did.  This first issue also has one killer scene, which concerns surgery.

Rafael Albuquerque continues to transform as a comic book artist, in terms of his draftsmanship and in terms of the flair in his illustrative style.  This stylishly-drawn first issue is among his best work, and Marcelo Maiolo's bright coloring makes this one gorgeously drawn comic book.

I am intrigued by this first issue, so I plan to keep reading Prodigy.  Of course, I recommend it to all loyal Mark Millar readers.

7.5 out of 10

http://www.millarworld.tv/
www.imagecomics.com

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: BITTER ROOT #1

BITTER ROOT No. 1 (OF 5)
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: David F. Walker and Chuck Brown
ART: Sanford Greene
COLORS: Rico Renzi and Sanford Greene
LETTERS: Clayton Cowles
EDITOR: Heather Antos
COVER: Sanford Greene with Jarreau Wimberly
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mike Mignola; Denys Cowan and Don Hudson with Rico Renzi; Brittney Williams; Sanford Greene with Jarreau Wimberly
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2018)

Rated M/Mature

Bitter Root created by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene

Bitter Root is a new comic book miniseries from Image Comics.  It is created by writers David F. Walker and Chuck Brown and artist Sanford Greene.  It follows a family of monster fighters who are based in 1920s Harlem.  The rest of the creative team is composed of Rico Renzi who colors the book with Sanford Greene and Clayton Cowles who provides lettering.

Bitter Root #1 opens in New York City of the 1920s.  The Harlem Renaissance is in full swing, and at one of Harlem's hottest spots, “Sweet Pickin,” people are shaking their tail feathers.  But all is not well.  Supernatural forces are threatening humanity, and only the Sangerye Family can save New York and the world from the demon... the monster... the “Jinoo.”

Ma Etta does the root work to create the curing serum.  Blink assists her, but the young woman wants to be out in the field fighting monsters with the boys.  The burly and loquacious Berg puts young Cullen through his paces.  The family, however, is not as large in number as it used to be, worn down by tragedy and conflict.  They must heal and recover or watch the world be destroyed.

Black science fiction and fantasy – in film and television, in prose, and in comic books – is in full bloom.  Comic books like Black Panther, House of Whispers, and Jook Joint provide a regular and consistent view of black and brown faces in speculative and fantastic fiction.  Writer David F. Walker has been at the forefront of “Black Comics” thanks to his work on titles like Cyborg, Luke Cage, and Nighthawk, to name a few.

Walker and co-writer Chuck Brown, in Bitter Root, deliver a concept with quite a bit of potential.  Even after one issue, it seems that five issues will not be enough to contain what they have created.  I like the idea of hate being a thing that creates monsters, but Bitter Root seems to want to explore evil in ways that are layered if not complex.  Plus, there are the dynamics of the Sangerye Family.  They are four strong individuals, each one truly unique from the others, and all with glorious black and brown faces.

As an comic book artist and illustrator, Sanford Greene is bold and dynamic.  The influence and manga and anime on Greene's graphical storytelling is evident, even in Bitter Root.  Characters emote with kinetic ferocity and the suggestion of figures in motion here makes the characters move like a cat on a hot tin roof.  Green's storytelling is alive and hypnotic.  Is it okay to say that this is like crack for the comic book readers' eyes.  Greene's coloring, done with Rico Renzi, is equally heady and kinetic.

The ever reliable letterer, Clayton Cowles, also goes shaka zulu with his lettering.  A nervy story needs nervy lettering in order to be a nervy read, and Cowles work here is quite nervy.  Bitter Root keeps the black gold flowing in our “Golden Age” of “Black Comics.”  I recommend it and can't wait for the second issue.

9 out of 10

[This comic book includes text pieces by David F. Walker and Chuck Brown (“Bitter Truths: That ain't nothing but the Devil!”); Toni Morrison (excerpt from Beloved); and John Jennings (“Deep Roots / Rich Soil: Race, Horror and the Ethnogothic”).]

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: JEEPERS CREEPERS #1

JEEPERS CREEPERS, VOLUME 1 No. 1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT – @dynamitecomics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Marc Andreyko
ART: Kewber Baal
COLORS: Jorge Sutil
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Matt Idelson
COVER: Kelley Jones with Doug Hazlewood
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Kewber Baal with Schimerys Baal
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 25, 2018)

Rated “Teen+”

Jeepers Creepers created by Victor Salva

Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva.  The film takes its name from the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers" (which is featured in the film) and tells the story of two siblings who become the targets of a demonic creature in rural Florida.  Salva wrote and directed a sequel, Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003), and a third film, Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017), which is set in a time period between the first and second films.

The adversary in all three films is an ancient creature known as “the Creeper” that awakens every 23rd spring for 23 days.  During this awakening, the Creeper feasts on human body parts, which then form parts of the creature's own body.

Dynamite Entertainment recently obtained the license to produce comic books based on the Jeepers Creepers film, and the result is Jeepers Creepers Volume 1.  This new comic book series is written by Marc Andreyko; drawn by Kewber Baal; colored by Jorge Sutil; and lettered by Taylor Esposito.

Jeepers Creepers, Volume 1 #1 introduces Devon James, an American college graduate student just arriving in Mexico.  He is there to work on his graduate thesis (“The Cross-Cultural Appearances of the Dragon in North American Mythology from the Aztecs to Today”).  When he arrives at the archaeological site, “The Lost Aztec City of Teotihuacan,” Devon decides that he should not act like a regular tourist and follow the tour guide.  Instead, he summons his inner Indiana Jones without realizing the danger in which he is putting himself.

Twenty pages of actual story for a cover price of $3.99 is long-term, slow suicide for the American comic book market.  For instance, Jeepers Creepers #1 offers some effective teasing, and that is what 20 pages of a first issue comic book narrative is today – a cock tease.  The teasing is so good here that I am ready for the second issue, and I imagine fans of the Jeepers Creepers films will also enjoy this comic book.  But 20 pages for $3.99...  I am emphasizing price point and page count because I think that they will negatively effect this new comic book's reception.  But this is a really good comic book.

Marc Andreyko's script diverges from the mythology of the films, but in a way that would still connect it to overall narrative of the franchise.  Kewber Baal, whom I remember from Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies (Approbation Comics), offers imaginative compositions, while Jorge Sutil's colors create the perfect Jeepers Creepers atmosphere and mood.  Taylor Esposito's lettering is all-around effective because he makes the dialogue and first person narration seem like one flowing conversation, although one floats in word balloons while the other sits in caption boxes.

Yes, the creative team of Jeepers Creepers #1 has delivered a first issue will make readers want to come back for more.  I know I want more.  I hope 20 pages/$3.99 does not hold some of us back.

8 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: WILLIAM THE LAST #1

WILLIAM THE LAST No. 1
ANTARCTIC PRESS/GUARDIAN KNIGHT STUDIOS – @AntarcticPress

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Brian Shearer – @brian_shearer
24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2018)

William the Last in a new comic book series created by Brian Shearer.  Shearer has drawn such comic books as Ghostbusters, Star Trek, and Transformers for IDW Publishing.  William the Last chronicles the adventures of an orphan whose name is forbidden word in a strange kingdom.

William the Last #1 introduces us to a boy named “William,” who lives on an island with his grandfather.  They seem to live in and around the area of a beach and small forest that gird the island's primary feature, a bulky cliff or mountain.  After his grandfather's death, William does as the old man once suggested, climb the cliff.  What he finds is a strange city, a mystery, and danger.

Brian Shearer writes, draws, colors, and letters William the Last, and he does all of that quite well.  William the Last #1 reminds me of Mouse Guard and Farlaine the Goblin, two independently published, fantasy comic book series that have the look and feel of classic children's fantasy fiction.  This first issue mainly introduces William and also what seems to be a primary supporting character and also a dangerous adversary.  There are not many details in this first, but it is still intriguing.

That is the nice thing about this first issue – the sense of anticipation.  From the first page, I felt the urge to hurry to the next page and then, turn to the next.  This suggests to me that William the Last has potential, and I like Shearer's illustrative style.  I must say also that Shearer's pretty coloring has a bright, attractive quality.

Interested readers (and there should be a lot of you... eventually ) will want to pre-order William the Last.  I get the feeling that many comic book shops won't carry “copies for the shelf” unless there is some level of pre-ordering on individual issues.  I had to back-order the copy I got.  We should pay attention; William the Last could come out of nowhere like Mouse Guard or Bone did, and then, some of you will be feeling left behind

7.5 out of 10

http://www.williamthelast.com/
http://brian-shearer.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BrianShearerArt/
https://www.instagram.com/brian_shearer/

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: PLASTIC MAN #1

PLASTIC MAN No. 1 (OF 6)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Gail Simone
ART: Adriana Melo
COLORS: Kelly Fitzpatrick
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
COVER: Aaron Lopresti
VARIANT COVER: Amanda Conner with Dave Johnson
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

Plastic Man created by Jack Cole

Plastic Man is a DC Comics superhero, but the character was originally the property of now-defunct publisher, Quality Comics.  Plastic Man was created by cartoonist, Jack Cole, and first appeared in Quality's Police Comics #1 (cover dated: August 1941).  One of the first characters to incorporate humor in superhero comics storytelling, Plastic Man was a criminal named Patrick “Eel” O'Brian, a criminal who was part of a burglary ring.

During a heist, Eel was exposed to a chemical that entered his bloodstream and caused a radical physical change.  Eel's body now had all of the properties of rubber, and he could stretch, bounce, and mold his body into any shape.  Eel created a red, black, and yellow (later red and yellow) rubber costume and began capturing criminals as the superhero, Plastic Man.

Plastic Man and his origin are the subjects of a new six-issue comic book miniseries from DC Comics.  Plastic Man is written by Gail Simone; drawn by Adriana Melo; colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick; and lettered by Simon Bowland.

Plastic Man #1 opens with petty thug Eel O'Brian getting a beating from three fellow thugs:  Sammy “Suitcase” Mizzola (the ringleader), “Brutal” Benny Turlin, and “Dizzy” Darren Fitzroy.  Eel is angry that he did not get a cut of a recent burglary and that a security guard was killed, but something has changed since the burglary.  Eel is supposed to be dead, and coming back from the dead has angered Sammy.  What Sammy doesn't know is that Eel has come back really different.  He's Plastic Man!  But even Eel himself is in for a shock about what actually happened that night of the burglary.

Over its 80-plus years of existence, DC Comics, in its various incarnations, has gobbled up a number of characters that did not originate with it.  The publisher really has not done much with some of those characters, except make them lesser than the original incarnations.  Shazam/Captain Marvel is one of them.  Plastic Man is another.

I think Kyle Baker, who wrote and drew 20 issues of a Plastic Man (2004-2006) for DC, is one of the few comics creators that have captured the craziness and surrealism of Jack Cole's original Plastic Man comics. [Cole's Plastic Man comics are worth your efforts to find them in reprint or archival form.]  Gail Simone and Adriana Melo are not among them.

That's okay, really.  Plastic Man 2018 is an attempt to normalize an abnormal character so that it fits in with the uniformity of the “DC Universe.”  Simone drains Plastic Man of his inherent zaniness, and the art team of illustrator Adriana Melo and colorist Kelly Fitzpatrick bleeds the graphical wackiness and color right out of the character.  Even Simon Bowland's lettering comes across as mechanical, although it isn't.  This work is not bad; individually, the contributors deliver the inoffensively average.

The result is a professionally produced comic book that is the reading equivalent of a cauliflower and mayonnaise sandwich on white bread with the crust removed.  Flavorless Flav!

5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: STAR WARS: Tag & Blink Were Here #1

STAR WARS: TAG & BINK WERE HERE #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[The review was originally posted on Patreon.]

EDITORS: Dave Land; Mark D. Beazley (collection)
COVER: Lucas Marangon with Michelle Madsen
MISC: Lucas Marangon with Michelle Madsen; Lucas Marangon; Lucas Marangon with Dan Jackson; John McCrea and Jimmy Palmiotti with Dan Jackson
ISBN: 978-1-302-91490-5; magazine (Wednesday, May 2, 2018)
104pp, Color, $7.99 U.S., $10.99 CAN (Diamond order code – MAR180947)

Rated “T”

Tag and Bink are Star Wars characters that debuted in Star Wars humor comic books first published by Dark Horse Comics (which had the license to publish Star Wars comic books from 1991 to 2014).  Tag and Bink were created by writer Kevin Rubio and artist Lucas Marangon and starred in two two-issue Star Wars spoof comic book miniseries.

The first was Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1-2 (cover dated: October to November 2001), and the second was Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1-2 (cover dated: March to April 2006).  An earlier version of the story that appeared in Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1 was published in Star Wars Tales #12 (cover dated: June 2002).  Dark Horse initially collected Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1-2 and Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1-2 in a trade paperback entitled Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here (cover dated: November 2006).

Marvel Comics has regained the license to produce Star Wars comic books that it originally held from the mid-1970s to about 1990.  In May 2018, Marvel published its own version of Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here, apparently released to coincide with the May 2018 release of the Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story.  Tag & Bink were supposed to appear in Solo, but their scene was reportedly cut from the film.

Entitled Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here #1 and published in the comic book format, this standalone comic book reprints the story pages and cover art of Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1-2, Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1-2.  It also reprints the Tag & Bink story in Star Wars Tales #12 (cover dated: June 2002) and also the cover art for Dark Horse's Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here.

Tag & Bink are Tag Greenly, a male human from the planet Corellia, and Bink Otauna, a male human from Alderaan.  In the comics, writer Kevin Rubio presents the duo as playing a role or at least being present in pivotal moments depicted in the following Star Wars films:  Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

The title of Tag & Bink's first appearance, Tag and Bink Are Dead, is a direct reference to Tom Stoppard 1966 play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are minor characters in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and in Stoppard's play, the duo's actions take place in the background or “in the wings” of the main events of Hamlet.  In that manner, Kevin Rubio makes Tag & Bink the stars who view and comment upon the main events of the Star Wars story and sometimes play a pivotal role in main events.

For instance, as background players, Tag & Bink are rebel soldiers aboard Princess Leia's starship (the "Tantive IV") that is captured by Darth Vader's Imperial Star Destroyer at the beginning of the original Star Wars film.  As players in a main event, Tag, in disguise as a storm trooper, is the trooper that shoots C-3PO during the “Cloud City” sequence of The Empire Strikes Back.

Writer Kevin Rubio plays Tag & Bink as being the most important Star Wars characters fans never knew existed.  He is revealing their true roles in the epic Star Wars saga, but the hapless duo's fateful adventures and misadventures will make you wonder whose side they are on.  Honestly, with these characters, Rubio offers some of the best Star Wars humor ever published in comic book form.  Rubio cleverly weaves Tag & Bink into Star Wars moments – both major and minor, and he creates some inventive side stories and back stories.  The scenes with Lando Calrissian are, quite frankly, quite nice.

Artist Lucas Marangon seems like the perfect collaborator for Rubio.  Marangon is an excellent Star Wars cartoonist and comic book artist.  He draws the characters, creatures, beings, costumes, sets, backgrounds, backdrops, ships, tech, environments, etc. with stunning accuracy, and does so while creating a humorous and comedic tone.  Marangon's illustrations and storytelling are perfect for the Star Wars spoof that is Tag & Bink.

I recommend Marvel Comics' Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here #1 to fans of Star Wars humor and, of course, to collectors of Star Wars comic books.  I am confident both groups will enjoy reading these truly funny Star Wars comic books.

8 out of 10

Below are the creator credits for the story material reprinted in Marvel's Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here #1:

Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1 - “Episode IV.1: Tag and Bink Are Dead” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: October 2001)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
PENCILS: Lucas Marangon
INKS: Howard M. Shum
COLORS: Michelle Madsen
LETTERS: Steve Dutro

Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #2 - “Episode IV.1: Tag and Bink Live” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: November 2001)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
PENCILS: Lucas Marangon
INKS: Howard M. Shum
COLORS: Michelle Madsen
LETTERS: Steve Dutro

Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1 - “Episode VI.1: The Return of Tag and Bink – Special Edition” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: March 2006)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
ART: Lucas Marangon
COLORS: Dan Jackson
LETTERS: Michael David Thomas

Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #2 - “Tag & Bink: Episode I – Revenge of the Clone Menace” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: April 2006)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
ART: Lucas Marangon
COLORS: Dan Jackson
LETTERS: Michael David Thomas

Star Wars Tales #12 – “The Revenge of Tag & Bink” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: June 2002)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
PENCILS: Rick Zombo
INKS: Randy Emberlin
COLORS: Dan Brown
LETTERS: Steve Dutro

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: XERXES: The Fall of the House of Darius #1

XERXES: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF DARIUS AND THE RISE OF ALEXANDER #1 (OF 5)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Frank Miller
ART: Frank Miller
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
EDITOR: Freddye Miller
MISC. ART: Paula Andrade
COVER: Frank Miller
36pp, Color, $4.99 (April 2018)

Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander is a five-issue miniseries written and drawn by Frank Miller with colors by Alex Sinclair.  Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander is a companion series to Miller's 1998, five-issue miniseries, 300.

Historically inspired, 300 is Frank Miller’s fictional retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae and the events leading up to it.  Miller tells the story from the perspective of a fictional version of the king, Leonidas of Sparta.  Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander (Xerxes, for short) focuses on Persian King Xerxes, who sets out to conquer the world to avenge his father, Darius's defeat.  Xerxes, a “god king,” wants to create an empire unlike anything the world has ever seen, but soon faces his adversaries, The Greeks' own “god king,” Alexander the Great.

Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander #1 opens in 499 B.C. with the sacking of a city which turns into a grudge on the part of emperor of the Persian Empire, Darius.  490 B.C., the Persians return with a vengeance, but this time they will face Themistokles and the forces of Athens.  Later, General Miltiades leads the Greeks in an epic battle at Marathon.  Will Greek “democracy” survive Persian “tyranny?”

I find Xerxes to be far less racist than 300, with its historically simplistic and strident “war of civilizations.”  Frank Miller has been one of the most influential creators of American comic books over the last four decades.  Publishers fawn over him and throw money at him, yet you would not know it by Miller's publicly displayed persecution complex.  Comic book stores generally stock his publications in copious amounts.  Miller writes and draws practically anything he wants, yet he complains about the censorship of his work, which has happened... when?

300 was the creative culmination of a prince of the realm so blessed with privilege that such an embarrassment of riches made him think that he was THE persecuted comic book creator of the late twentieth century.  Yet 300, with its beautiful color renderings by Miller's then-wife, Lynn Varley, was a huge success in a decade, the 1990s, that saw Frank Miller reach his high-point as a comic book artist, illustrator, and graphics artist.

Xerxes #1 recalls the graphical design and graphics tour de force of both 300 and Miller's Sin City (also published by Dark Horse).  That is on display in the costumes (especially the uniforms of the Persian archers), in the weapons and tools (Greek blades and shields), and in the staging of action sequences (when the Persians climb Hephaistos).  Xerxes #1 is a graphics, design, and illustrative, visual feast for the comic book reading eyes and imagination.

The more you can set aside and ignore the Greek democracy vs. Persian tyranny tripe, the more you can enjoy Xerxes #1.  Xerxes' soliloquies about Greek democracy ring as hollow as Obi-Wan Kenobi telling Anakin Skywalker that his (Kenobi's) allegiance is to democracy and to the Republic before their epic duel to the death or grievous bodily injury (in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith).

Alex Sinclair, known for coloring Jim Lee and Scott Williams' comic book art at DC Comics and for coloring Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson's art on Dark Knight III: The Master Race, is Xerxes' colorist.  Sinclair is one of the best colorist of this still young twenty-first century, but he does not hold a proverbial candle to Lynn Varley.

I would not call Xerxes publication late, not by two decades or by ten years.  Still, without Varley's colors, Xerxes does come across as something, if not late, then, too long in coming to be relevant to anything.  Maybe not having Lynn Varley could discourage comparing Xerxes to 300, which is a good thing.  300 came at the end of Frank Miller's peak period, and it is best not to think about what was anymore.  Xerxes is good enough and helps us accept what is, now.

7 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: HEY KIDS! COMICS! #1

HEY KIDS! COMICS! No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER/ARTIST: Howard Chaykin
COLORS: Wil Quintana
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
EDITOR: Thomas K
COVER: Don Cameron
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated “M / Mature”

Hey Kids! Comics! is a new comic book from writer-artist, Howard Chaykin.  This comic book depicts nearly a century of turbulence and and drama in the American comic book industry, and tells the stories of the men and women that created it (with names changed, of course).    Chaykin's creative team on this series includes colorist Wil Quintana and letterer Ken Bruzenak, a longtime Chaykin collaborator.

Hey Kids! Comics! #1 opens in 1967 with an encounter between a comic book mogul and one of his former comic book creators slash freelancers... on Broadway!  Moving back to 1945, we meet Ted Whitman, recently discharged from the Navy, and Ray Clarke, recently discharged from the Army.  Whitman, a rare black man working in comics, and Clarke, who had some work before military service, are both looking to get back to work in the comics biz.  But things have changed since they last worked for a comics publishing firm, and they seem to be changing still... and not for the best... when it comes to the rank and file.

Hey Kids! Comics! #1 is told in scenes that take place in five different years (1945, 1955, 1965, 1967, and 2001).  The story involves several characters, multiple employers, and lots of job changes.  The shifts in time are jarring, and Chaykin introduces characters, plots, and settings without really focusing in on developing characters.  Thus, this first issue seems to be more about introductions than it is about examining the nitty gritty details of character, storytelling, and drama.

Still, I find Hey Kids! Comics! #1 hugely engrossing.  I have been a fan of both fiction and non-fiction books that take readers behind the scenes of comic book publishing.  My favorites are Michael Chabon's 2000 novel, The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a work of fiction, and two recent non-fiction works, Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (2012) and Larry Tye's Superman: a High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero (2012).

Chaykin also began his comic book career working as an assistant for Gil Kane and Wally Wood, two comic book legends who started working in American comic books in the 1940s.  Chaykin also worked as an assistant for Neal Adams, who emerged in the 1960s and early 1970s as a superstar.  From anecdotes I have both read and been told, Adams' manner of working and his graphics style may have irritated comic book artists who had been working in comic books long before Adams.

So I am really looking forward to future issues of Hey Kids! Comics!  I will always recommend Chaykin's comic books to people who are already fans of his, but I think that readers interested in the history of comic book publishing will also want to take a look at Hey Kids! Comics!

7 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReads You Review: THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE #12

THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE No. 12 (OF 12)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Gail Simone
ART: Jill Thompson; Ryan Sook
COLORS: Trish Mulvihill; Laura Martin; Andrew Crossley
LETTERS: Clem Robins
MISC ART: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Joe Prado with Mark Chiarello; Adam Kubert
COVER: Frank Miller with Alex Sinclair
VARIANT COVERS: Ryan Sook; Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Joe Prado with Trish Mulvihill
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (February 2018)

Rated “T” for Teen

Kamandi created by Jack Kirby

[Afterword by Paul Levitz]

“The Boundless Realm”

Created by Jack Kirby, Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth was a comic book series published by DC Comics in the 1970s.  Running from 1972 to 1978, the series starred Kamandi, a teenaged boy in a post-apocalyptic future.  In this time, humans have been reduced back to savagery in a world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals.

Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth #1 (cover dated: October 1972) opens some time after a huge event called “The Great Disaster,” which wiped out human civilization.  In “Earth A.D.” (After Disaster), many animals have become humanoid, bipedal, and sentient, and also possess the power of speech. These newly intelligent animal species have equipped themselves with weapons and technology salvaged from the ruins of human civilization and are constantly at war in a struggle for territory.

The world of Kamandi returned in the DC Comics miniseries, The Kamandi Challenge.  Ostensibly a tribute to the 100th anniversary of Jack Kirby's birth (1917), The Kamandi Challenge brought together 14 teams of writers and artists.  Each team produced a single issue (or worked on a single issue) of The Kamandi Challenge, which ended in an cliffhanger.  The following issue's creative team would resolve that cliffhanger left behind by the previous creative team however it wanted.  That team would craft its own story, which also ended in a cliffhanger, which the next creative team would have to resolve... and so on.

The Kamandi Challenge came to an end with the recently published twelfth issue, featuring two creative teams.  The first team is writer Gail Simone; artists Jill Thompson and Ryan Sook; colorists Trish Mulvihill; Laura Martin; and Andrew Crossley; and letterer Clem Robins.  The second creative team is comprised of writer Paul Levitz; artist José Luis García-López (pencils) and Joe Prado (inks); colorist Trish Mulvihill; and letterer Clem Robins.

The Kamandi Challenge #12 opens with the story “The Boundless Realm” (by the Simone-Thompson/Sook team), which introduces “Kamanda: The Last Girl on Earth.”  Who is she and what does she have to tell Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth as he enters his final battle with “The Misfit?”

The second story is “Epilogue the First: The Answers” by Levitz- García-López.  Kamandi meets his creator Jack Kirby and gets some answers.  But what kind of answers are they?

Let us make no mistake, Jack Kirby is a great artist, worthy of being a comic book icon (or the comic book icon) and being in the hallowed halls of museums and academia.  The problem with tributes to great artist is that those tributes are sometimes offered by people who, while they are influenced by great artists, are not themselves great artists.  In fact, sometimes the people who offer tributes are hacks, in spite of the greatness they admire.

And The Kamandi Challenge is the creation of some who are middling talents, some who are hacks, some exceptional talents that produced middling work in this series.  In this final issue, from the ugly Frank Miller front cover to the “it was all a dream” type ending, The Kamandi Challenge #12, like the earlier issues, is a tribute in name only to Jack Kirby.  Yes, there are some good moments and good issues in this twelve issue maxi-series, but The Kamandi Challenge is a cynical attempt to make money using Jack Kirby's name and legacy.

The best thing about The Kamandi Challenge #12 is Paul Levitz's afterword, which is a true and loving tribute to someone who was obviously a friend, the truly talented and late Len Wein.

5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: FARMHAND #1

FARMHAND No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rob Guillory
ART: Rob Guillory
COLORS: Taylor Wells
LETTERS: Kody Chamberlain
MISC. ART: Burt Durand (“Farmhand Calendar” design)
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(July 2018)

Rated “M/ Mature”

Farmhand created by Rob Guillory

Farmhand is a new comic book series from cartoonist and comic book artist, Rob Guillory.  Guillory is the artist and co-creator with writer John Layman of the hit Image Comics title, Chew.  Guillory is a Eisner Award and Harvey Award recipient for his work on Chew.

Guillory previewed Farmhand #1 two months ago in the Farmhand #1 Ashcan a small, full-color mini-comic book.  Farmhand is written and illustrated by Guillory; colored by Taylor Wells; and lettered by Kody Chamberlain (who also designed the Farmhand logo).

Farmhand #1 introduces Ezekiel “Zeke” Jenkins.  He grew up on his father, Jedidiah “Jed” Elias Jenkins' farm.  Zeke, his wife (Mae), and their children (Abigail and Riley) are embarking on a tour of Jed's farm, which has a new cash crop.

The “Jenkins Family Farm” is now the “Jenkins Family Farmaceutical Institute.”  On the farm, scientist use radical new stem cell research to grow human organs, limbs, and tissue through a combination of plant DNA.  For all that is new in this scientific wonderland, however, something has taken root, and the dark secrets will bloom again.

In my review of Farmhand #1 Ashcan, I wrote that the story bore a resemblance to the macabre side of Americana captured by writer Ray Bradbury and television writer-producer, Rod Serling (“The Twilight Zone”).  I believe that Farmhand is an “American Gothic,” and Guillory is like Stephen King, peeling back the folksy charm of agrarian America and revealing its anthropological roots buried in a rich black soil of dark myths and elder things.

Guillory recently told me that the work of Alfred Hitchcock also influenced the creation of Farmhand.  There is a suspenseful, disquieting quality to the narrative that recalls some of Hitchcock's most (in)famous films, such as Rebecca (1940), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963).  Unlike the “escape-from-dystopia” films of the 1960s and 1970s (think Logan's Run), Farmhand is “let's-go-visit-dystopia,” and in some of Hitchcock's films, the lead character blithely enters a bucolic, pastoral trap (The Birds).  And Farmhand #1 ends on a decidedly menacing note.

The full Farmhand #1 allows the reader to see the full range of Taylor Wells' gorgeous colors, which so perfectly capture the atmosphere that it is appropriate to call her a “co-storyteller.”  Kody Chamberlain's lettering conveys the shifts in the story from domestic semi-tranquility to strange science to conspiracy and horror.

I hope Farmhand #1 is not a fluke.  There is tremendous potential upon which Rob Guillory must deliver in future issues.

9 out of 10

http://RobGuillory.com

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: THE JETSONS #1

THE JETSONS No. 1 (OF 6)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Jimmy Palmiotti
ART: Pier Brito
COLORS: Alex Sinclair
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
COVER: Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts
VARIANT COVER: Dave Johnson
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2018)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“Meet the Jetsons”

“The Jetsons” was an animated situation comedy produced by Hanna-Barbera.  It originally aired during prime time from September 1962, to March 1963 for 24 episodes on ABC.  “The Jetsons” titular family was Hanna-Barbera's Space Age counterpart to “The Flintstones,” a TV series in which the family lives in a Stone Age-like world.  The Jetsons live in the futurist Orbit City, where the buildings hover far above the surface of Earth.

The family was George Jetson (the main character), a loving family man; Jane Jetson, George's wife, mother of their two children, and a homemaker; Judy Angela Jetson, their 16-year-old daughter and a high school student; Elroy Jetson, their highly-intelligent six and a half year old son.  The lead cast also included Rosie, the Jetsons' household robot, whom the family loves and will not replace although she is an outdated model.  Astro is the Jetsons' family dog and is Elroy's best buddy and one of George's best pals.

DC Comics has been reinventing and re-imagining classic Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoons in new comic book series since early 2016, the best example being Scooby Apocalypse, which is “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” with a sci-fi, monster apocalyptic twist.  “The Jetsons” are re-imagined in the new six-issue miniseries, The Jetsons.  It is written by Jimmy Palmiotti; drawn by Pier Brito; colored by Alex Sinclair; and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

The Jetsons #1 opens in a post-apocalyptic world.  The family is still comprised of George Jetson; his boy, Elroy; daughter, Judy; and Jane, his wife.  And their home is still located in a city that floats above the surface, but in this alternate Jetsons scenario, the surface of the Earth is entirely water.  Jane is no longer a homemaker, she is a scientist and she has bad news about the fate of the planet for her fellow scientists at the International Space Station.  This scenario also presents Elroy as older, and he and his friend, Lake Cogswell, are about to start something big.

Although this version of “The Jetsons,” is set in a darker, apocalyptic world, writer Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Pier Brito present a bright and colorful future that is closer to the future scenarios presented in DC Comics titles in the 1960s and 1970s.  Alex Sinclair's colors accentuate this hopeful future of helpful technology that makes that aftermath of “extinction level events” and apocalypse quite livable.

The Jetsons is similar in tone to the settings of the happy 1950s to early 1960s family sitcoms that are now a staple of digital sub-channels like MeTV and AntennaTV.  Apparently, the nuclear family can survive decades (and centuries) of social change, societal upheaval, and the end-of-the-world.  In the end, the nuclear family rocks the casbah and the apocalypse.  And, if the first issue is any indication, those pesky brown people and darkies still barely register (although there are hints of things ominous beneath the waves and in the past).

Still, The Jetsons is an enjoyable read.  I have learned not to expect much from DC's Hanna-Barbera reboots/re-imaginations, and that makes it easier to separate the good, the bad, and the ugly and to also appreciate the really good.  So far, The Jetsons are good enough to earn a second look.

6 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: RISE OF THE BLACK PANTHER #1

RISE OF THE BLACK PANTHER No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Evan Narcisse with Ta-Nehisi Coates (consultant)
ART: Paul Renaud
COLORS: Stephane Paitreau
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
COVER: Brian Stelfreeze
VARIANT COVERS: Paul Renaud; Chris Sprouse and Karl Story with Laura Martin; Tyler Kirkham with Arif Prianto
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2018)

Black Panther created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Rated “T”

“The King at the End of Everything”

Black Panther is a Marvel Comics superhero created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby.  He first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (cover dated: July 1966).  Black Panther is T'Challa, the king and protector of the (fictional) African nation of Wakanda.  Black Panther was also the first Black superhero is mainstream American comic books.

As we approach the release date of the highly-anticipated theatrical Black Panther film from Disney/Marvel Studios, we will see more Black Panther-related comic books from Marvel Comics.  One of them is the new miniseries,  Rise of the Black Panther.  It is written by Evan Narcisse with Ta-Nehisi Coates, the writer of the ongoing Black Panther comic book, acting as consultant.  Paul Renaud is the artist.  Stēphane Paitreau is the colorist, and Joe Sabino is the letterer.

Rise of the Black Panther #1 (“The King at the End of Everything”) is narrated first by Queen N'Yami, the wife of King T'Chaka and the mother of T'Challa, and then by Queen Ramonda, the second wife of T'Chaka and second mother to T'Challa.  The story opens with during World War II where a famous American hero strikes a bargain and friendship with Azzuri, the Panther King of Wakanda and the father of T'Chaka and grandfather of T'Challa.

Azzuri is determined to keep the existence and the whereabouts of his kingdom, Wakanda, a secret.  Because of its wealth, technology, and especially because of its greatest natural resource, outsiders and outside entities with continue to search for the legendary kingdom – including some of the most evil people on Earth.

One of the things that Rise of the Black Panther has going for it is that Brian Stelfreeze is the series cover artist.  Stelfreeze was the opening series artist on Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther series and is responsible for most of that series' conceptual and graphic design.  Stelfreeze provides a striking painted cover for the Rise of the Black Panther #1, and, far as I can tell, also for the second issue.

Evan Narcisse gathers many of the elements from previous Black Panther comic books and brings them together to form a gripping, suspenseful, and thrilling tale of the history of the Black Panther.  It starts during WWII, the dawn of the American superhero, and also the point in time when Wakanda begins its inevitable track to joining the world.  Narcisse gives the story the feel of a “lost world” story that is part Arthur Conan Doyle and part Golden Age comic book.  If the rest of this series is like the first issue, it will be a thoroughly readable and enjoyable.

The series artist is rising star Paul Renaud, whose art was excellent in the shockingly good Generations: Sam Wilson Captain America & Steve Rogers Captain America #1.  Renaud's storytelling is quite good here, but his stylish art is a revelation.  Renaud and colorist Stēphane Paitreau create a rich tapestry of graphical storytelling that recalls narrative paintings.  Rich in detail, backgrounds, sets, and environment, Renaud's art is fitting for a tale of kings and kings' sons.  Joe Sabino's lettering strikes the perfect tone and and enhances the story.

I was not sure of what I should expect of Rise of the Black Panther #1, but after reading this excellent first issue, I expect a lot of the rest of it.

8.5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: BLACKWOOD #1

BLACKWOOD No. 1 (OF 4)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Evan Dorkin
LAYOUTS: Andy Fish
ART: Veronica Fish
COLORS: Veronica Fish
LETTERS: Andy Fish
EDITOR: Daniel Chabon
COVER: Veronica Fish
VARIANT COVER: Becky Cloonan
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (May 2018)

Sometimes, more often than I would like to admit (pride?), I read a comic book that reminds me of why I am still reading comic books.  Blackwood, a new four-issue comic book miniseries published by Dark Horse Comics, is one of those magical comic books that keep me visiting comic book shops and buying comic books wherever I can.

Blackwood is written by Evan Dorkin; drawn Veronica Fish, from layouts provided by Andy Fish; colored by Veronica Fish and lettered by Andy Fish.  Blackwood is a supernatural fantasy about a magical murder in a sorcery school.

Blackwood #1 opens by depicting two men under distress, apparently caused by supernatural forces.  Then, we meet new college student, Wren Valentine, as she arrives via train at Blackwood Station.  Wren meets another student, Reiko Oyuki; both young women have arrived in this isolated area to attend Blackwood College.

Right away, Wren and Reiko discover that there is plenty that is peculiar about the college, which offers odd, eccentric, and esoteric disciplines.  Soon, the two women are meeting fellow new students, who will join them in experiencing something ancient, sinister, and shocking.

You be forgiven for thinking about Harry Potter when you read or read about Blackwood.  The supernatural, magical-mystery boarding school/college is a well-worn fantasy setting.  Heck, DC Comics has published issues of two such comic book series (Gotham Academy; Mystik U) in just the last two years.

What should make Blackwood unique from other magical school fiction is that Evan Dorkin and Veronica Fish are singular comic book creators.  Dorkin is a imaginative storyteller who thrives in multiple genres and who can present different spins on any genre (as he shows in humor series like Milk and Cheese and Dork).

Veronica Fish's illustrations for comic books seem like someone took Archie Comics art and gave it an alternative comics slash Vertigo comics spin.  Fish's use of flat color sells Blackwood's garish Hammer Film Productions quality.  Letter and layout artist Andy Fish ties it all together with a strong sense of design, particularly in terms of what will make this funky premise work.

Blackwood may be familiar in many aspects, but it works by looking and acting differently.  And I had such a blast reading it.  Dorkin and Fish & Fish are creating something so intriguing that I think it has some kind of allure... or maybe glamour, but I found myself in the story:  confused, scared, and running alongside the rest of the Blackwood gang.  Isn't that reason enough for me to recommend Blackwood to you, dear reader?

8 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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