Image Comics Releases for November 12, 2025

IMAGE COMICS:

Adventureman Volume 4 Family Free HC, $16.99

Art Of Invincible Season Two HC, $39.99

Artificial #3 (Of 4)(Cover A Maria Llovet), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Artificial #3 (Of 4)(Cover B Maria Llovet Faded Variant), AR (find on eBay)

Artificial #3 (Of 4)(Cover C Maria Llovet Kiss Variant), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Artificial #3 (Of 4)(Cover D Maria Llovet Youngblood Team-Up Variant), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Author Immortal #2 (Cover A Morgan Beem), $3.99

Author Immortal #2 (Cover B Rye Hickman), $3.99

Author Immortal #2 (Cover C JIm Towe & JP Jordan Youngblood Team-Up Variant), $3.99

Blood And Thunder #7 (Cover A E.J. Su & Michele Msassyk Assarasakorn), $3.99

Blood And Thunder #7 (Cover B Khary Randolph & Emilio Lopez), $3.99

Blood And Thunder #7 (Cover C Haining), AR

Blood And Thunder #7 (Cover D Erica Henderson), AR

Blood And Thunder #7 (Cover E Karen S. Darboe), AR

Blood And Thunder #7 (Cover F Blank Variant), $3.99

Blood And Thunder #7 (Cover G E.J. Su Youngblood Team-Up Variant), $3.99

Blood And Thunder Volume 1 The Prisoner On Cell Block X TP (Cover A E.J. Su), $16.99

Blood And Thunder Volume 1 The Prisoner On Cell Block X TP (Cover B J. Scott Campbell), $16.99

Blood Squad Seven #11 (Cover A Paul Fry), $3.99

Blood Squad Seven #11 (Cover B Jim Rugg), AR

Colossal Kaya #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Wes Craig Wraparound Variant), $4.99 (find on eBay)

Colossal Kaya #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Wes Craig Youngblood Team-Up Variant), $4.99 (find on eBay)

Death To Pachuco #2 (Of 5)(Cover A David Lapham & Lee Loughridge), $3.99

Death To Pachuco #2 (Of 5)(Cover B Dani & Brad Simpson), $3.99

Death To Pachuco #2 (Of 5)(Cover C Ryan Cecil Smith), $3.99

Death To Pachuco #2 (Of 5)(Cover D David Lapham), AR

Death To Pachuco #2 (Of 5)(Cover E David Lapham & Lee Loughridge Full Art Variant), AR

Death To Pachuco #2 (Of 5)(Cover F Dani Black & White Variant), AR

Death To Pachuco #2 (Of 5)(Cover G Dani & Brad Simpson Full Art Variant), AR

Death To Pachuco #2 (Of 5)(Cover H Ryan Cecil Smith Full Art Variant), AR

Die Loaded #1 (Cover A Stephanie Hans), $3.99

Die Loaded #1 (Cover B Peach Momoko), $3.99

Die Loaded #1 (Cover C Stephanie Hans Youngblood Team-Up Variant), $3.99

Die Loaded #1 (Cover D Blank Variant), $3.99

Die Loaded #1 (Cover E Stephanie Hans), AR

Die Loaded #1 (Cover F Peach Momoko Full Art Variant), AR

Die The Roleplaying Game Quickstart Edition Game Guide, $6.99

Friday The Complete Series Deluxe Edition HC, $49.99

G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #322 (Cover A Andy Kubert & Laura Martin), $3.99

G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #322 (Cover B Andy Kubert Black & White Variant), $3.99

G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #322 (Cover C Steve Beach Gears Of Joe Variant), AR

Gehenna Naked Aggression TP, $16.99

Invincible Universe Battle Beast Volume 1 Heart Of Glory TP (Cover A Ryan Ottley & Annalisa Leoni Book Market Variant), $16.99

Invincible Universe Battle Beast Volume 1 Heart Of Glory TP (Cover B Ryan Ottley & Annalisa Leoni Direct Market Variant), $16.99

Jim Aparo's DC Classics Artist's Edition HC (Cover A Jim Aparo Book Market Variant), $150.00

Jim Aparo's DC Classics Artist's Edition HC (Cover A Jim Aparo Direct Market Variant), $150.00

Power Fantasy #13 (Cover A Caspar Wijngaard), $3.99

Power Fantasy #13 (Cover B Juni Ba), $3.99

Power Fantasy #13 (Cover C Caspar Wijngaard Youngblood Team-Up Variant), $3.99

Redcoat #15 (Cover A Bryan Hitch & Brad Anderson Wraparound Variant), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Redcoat #15 (Cover B Brad Anderson & Mike Grell), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Redcoat #15 (Cover C Wes Dzioba & Lee Kohse), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Redcoat #15 (Cover D Bryan Hitch Youngblood Team-Up Variant), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Redcoat #15 (Cover E Bryan Hitch Youngblood Team-Up Black & White Full Art Variant), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Spawn #370 (Cover A Jonathan Uribe), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Spawn #370 (Cover B Fede Mele), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Spawn #370 (Cover C Brett Booth Youngblood Team-Up Variant), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Spawn #370 (Cover D Brett Brett Youngblood Team-Up Black & White Full Art Variant), $3.99 (find on eBay)

Transformers #25 (2nd Printing Cover A Jason Howard), $4.99

Transformers #25 (2nd Printing Cover B Jason Howard), $4.99

Transformers #25 (2nd Printing Cover C Jason Howard), $4.99

Transformers #25 (2nd Printing Cover D Jason Howard), $4.99

Transformers #26 (Cover A David Nakayama), $3.99

Transformers #26 (Cover B Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer), $3.99

Transformers #26 (Cover C Jorge Corona & Mike Spicer), $3.99

Transformers #26 (Cover D Kael Ngu), AR

Transformers #26 (Cover E Dan Mora & Andres Juarez), AR

Transformers Volume 4 Conquer And Control TP (Cover A Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer Book Market Variant), $16.99

Transformers Volume 4 Conquer And Control TP (Cover B Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer Direct Market Sword Variant), $16.99

We're Taking Everyone Down With Us #6 (Of 6)(Cover A Stefano Landini), $4.99

We're Taking Everyone Down With Us #6 (Of 6)(Cover B Jesse Lonergan), $4.99

We're Taking Everyone Down With Us #6 (Of 6)(Cover C Jangjolim), $4.99

We're Taking Everyone Down With Us #6 (Of 6)(Cover D Joshua Hixson), AR

Witchblade #16 (Cover A Giuseppe Cafaro & Arif Prianto), $3.99

Witchblade #16 (Cover B Leirix Leirix Li), $3.99

Witchblade #16 (Cover C Sozomaika), $3.99

Witchblade #16 (Cover D Leirix Li Full Art Variant), AR

Witchblade #16 (Cover E Sozomaika Full Art Variant), AR

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover A Rob Liefeld)(Polybagged With Collectible Card), $4.99

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover B Rob Liefeld), $4.99

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover C Skottie Young), $4.99

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover D Ryan Stegman), $4.99

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover E Daniel Warren Johnson), $4.99

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover F Ryan Ottley), $4.99

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover G Blank Variant), $4.99

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover H Kael Ngu), AR

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover I E.M. Gist), AR

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover J Mark Spears), AR

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover K Rob Liefeld Signed CGC Graded Foil Variant), AR

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover L Rob Liefeld Original Art Sketch Variant), AR

Youngblood #1 (2025)(Cover M Rob Liefeld Manga Black & White Variant), $4.99

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#IReadsYou Review: ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1

DC COMICS

STORY: Jason Aaron

ART: Rafa Sandoval

COLORS: Ulises Arreola

LETTERS: Becca Carey

EDITOR: Chris Conroy

COVER: Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair; Wes Craig with Mike Spicer; Clayton Crain; Matteo Scalera

36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (January 2025)

Superman created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

“Last Dust of Krypton” Part One: “Down in the Dirt”

Superman is a DC Comics superhero that was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and that first appeared in Action Comics #1 (first published on April 18, 1938).  Superman was born “Kal-El” on the fictional planet Krypton.  As a baby, his parents, “Jor-El” and “Lara” sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm.

The space ship landed in outside of the fictional town of “Smallville,” Kansas, USA.  Farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent found baby Kal-El, adopted him, and named him “Clark Kent.”  Clark began developing superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin, and the Kents advised him to use his powers to benefit humanity.  As an adult, Clark moved to the fictional American city of “Metropolis.”  Clark works as a reporter for “The Daily Planet,” but he fights crime as the superhero, “Superman.”

The origin story of Superman has been its own “Goldberg variations” for decades.  Now, comes a new line of DC Comics, “Absolute Comics,” which is similar to Marvel's “Ultimate Comics” line, in that Absolute Comics presents alternate versions and the changed narratives of familiar DC Comics characters and their back stories.  Welcome to “Earth-Alpha” and the “Absolute Universe.”

Absolute Batman was the first entry in the Absolute Comics line.  The second entry is the recently launched comic book series, Absolute Superman.  It is written by Jason Aaron; drawn by Rafa Sandoval; colored by Ulises Arreola; and lettered by Becca Carey.  In the new series, Superman/Clark Kent is without the fortress...without the family... and without a home.  So what is left is the Absolute Man of Steel?

Absolute Superman #1 (“Down in the Dirt”) shifts in time.  First, it opens in the past on the planet, Krypton, which is nine million light-years from Earth.  It is a world of haves, have-nots, and have-mores.  Jor-El, an engineer, has discovered that something terrible is about to happen to his world.

In the present day, Kal-El, a strange young man who is not of this world, has been helping the have-nots, much to the chagrin of the have-everthings.  Against the advice of his “companion,” “Sol,” Kal-El has been working below in mineral mines, doing deeds that favor of the poor, especially the abused miners, much to the chagrin of Lazarus Corp.  Now, these conflicting values are all coming to a head.

THE LOWDOWN:  I do not receive PDF review copies from DC Comics.  I bought a copy of Absolute Superman #1 from Lone Star Comics' eBay shop.

The art by Rafa Sandoval is pretty, but it is overly detailed.  Most of the panels are so crowded with elements and content that it creates a murkiness between the storytelling and the readers – at least as far as I am concerned.  The colors by Ulises Arreola are also pretty, but sometimes, the colors look like a soupy mess of bright, vivid, heavy, and thick coloring that is not necessary.  Less is indeed more, sometimes.  I find that it is Becca Carey's lettering, of all the elements, that serves to make the story clear.

Superman's origin has undergone major renovation in the past, everything from John Byrne's 1986 comic book miniseries, The Man of Steel, to J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis' Superman: Earth One Volume One.  Even director Zack Snyder's 2013 film, The Man of Steel, takes a radical view of Superman's origin.

Without offering spoilers, I can say that Jason Aaron's re-ordering of Superman's origin is radical on two fronts.  First, his new look at Krypton borrows from Byrne and goes even darker.  Secondly, Aaron takes Superman/Clark Kent's life on Earth and makes it unrecognizable, but familiar in that it recognizes Superman's place as a man of the people rather than as being nothing more than a superhero brand and lucrative IP.

When DC Comics' marketing copy says, “Without the fortress...without the family...without a home...what's left is the Absolute Man of Steel!,” Aaron means it.  Still, I wonder if Aaron is not stripping away a lot of familiar, but worn elements merely to replace them with new elements that will quickly become worn. 

Absolute Superman #1 has high production values and a lot of interesting narrative concepts around it.  In a way, I like what Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval are doing... but I'm not really that interested.  I don't want to pay the price of admission, nor do I want to spend the time to engage with Absolute Superman.  Still, I recommend that curious comic book readers at least give this first issue, Absolute Superman #1, a try.  It is high-quality, professionally executed commercial fiction.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Superman comic books will want to at least try Absolute Superman.

[This comic book features a back-up story, “AEW Presents Darby All In” from writer Steve Orlando; artist Pop Mhan; colorist Hi-Fi; letterer Josh Reed; and editor Michael McCalister.]

B+

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

The ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN VOL. 1: LAST DUST OF KRYPTON hardcover is available at Amazon.

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The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1

DC COMICS

STORY: Scott Snyder

ART: Nick Dragotta

COLORS: Frank Martin

LETTERS: Clayton Cowles

EDITOR: Katie Kubert

COVER: Nick Dragotta with Frank Martin

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Wes Craig; Jim Lee and Scott Williams with Alex Sinclair; Mitch Gerads; Ian Bertram; Jim Lee and Scott Williams

36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (December 2024)

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger

“The Zoo” Part One of Five

Batman is a DC Comics superhero that was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and that debuted in the Detective Comics #27 (apparently first published on March 30, 1939).  Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. Batman's origin story begins when he is a child and his parents are murdered in front of him, leading young Bruce to swear vengeance on the city's criminal element.

The story of Bruce Wayne and of how he became Batman has been its own “Goldberg variations.”  [2012's Batman: Earth One Volume One is an example.]  Now, comes a new line of DC Comics, “Absolute Comics,” which is similar to Marvel's “Ultimate Comics” line, in that Absolute Comics presents alternate versions and the changed narratives of familiar DC Comics characters and their back stories.  Welcome to “Earth-Alpha” and the “Absolute Universe.”

The first entry in the Absolute Comics line is the recently launched comic book series, Absolute Batman.  It is written by Scott Snyder; drawn by Nick Dragotta; colored by Frank Martin; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.  In the new series, Batman/Bruce Wayne isn't a billionaire with seemingly unlimited resources, but he is still a vigilante by night and now, a thug in the streets.

Absolute Batman #1 opens with a glimpse into the past.  There, we see the incident that spurred young Bruce Wayne onto the mission of 24-year-old Bruce Wayne.  Wayne is a talented, multi-skilled, much-employed, blue-collar civil engineer who fights crime at night as a mysterious vigilante.

In the present day, Alfred Pennyworth is some kind of operative, a secret agent working for a mysterious agency.  His tasks including spying, monitoring, and killing for his bosses.  He is currently in Gotham City investigating the “Party Animals,” apparently a criminal organization with worldwide reach.  These “Party Animals” are in Gotham, killing and terrorizing in the most brutal fashion, and Pennyworth has an eye on them and on a new player in town.

However, this new player in town is like no other Gotham “player,” and he's going to show the Party Animals that he can be every bit as ruthless and as violent as they can be... and more.  Who is “the Batman?”  Without the mansion...without the money...without the butler...what's left is the Absolute Dark Knight!

THE LOWDOWN:  I do not receive review PDFs from DC Comics.  I bought a copy of the fifth printing of Absolute Batman #1 from “Stronghold Collectibles” at their booth at the recent Louisiana Comic Con 2025 (March 8-9) in Lafayette, Louisiana.  So I'm free to say what I want, although, as I remember it, DC does not require people who receive access to their review PDFs to give positive reviews.

Honestly, I enjoyed reading Absolute Batman #1, not as much as I enjoyed series writer Scott Snyder's 2011 Batman #1 (or Tony S. Daniel's 2011 Detective Comics #1).  But I enjoyed it nonetheless.  My reading of this first issue suggests that Absolute Batman #1 seems like a kind of prequel or perhaps actual reboot of sorts of Frank Miller's seminal graphic novel, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (DKR).  I could see the Batman/Bruce Wayne of Absolute Batman becoming the 50-year-old Batman/Bruce Wayne of DKR more than I can see the various iterations of Batman in Detective Comics or in the Batman ongoing comic book becoming DKR's vigilante.

Absolute Batman artist, Nick Dragotta, seems to be doing a riff on the art and compositions of Snyder's 2011 Batman collaborator, artist Greg Capullo.  I'm impressed with Dragotta's take on Batman's costume, but his graphical style is still The New 52 era Capullo.  That said, Dragotta's colorist, Frank Martin, an accomplished comic book colorist, seems to be going vintage in his coloring for this first issue, which I think recalls Richmond Lewis' coloring of David Mazuchelli art on the famous story arc, Batman: Year One (1987).

I can say that letterer Clayton Cowles is just being his good old self, and that is very good enough.  His shifting fonts give Absolute Batman #1 style and flair, and the lettering actually encouraged me to really invest my imagination in the story.

I enjoyed this first issue enough that I may seek out more individual issues of Absolute Batman.  Or I might just wait for the trade paperback collection.  I can say that I'm interested in reading a Batman comic book on a regular basis more than I have been for at least half a decade.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Batman comic books will want to read Absolute Batman.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

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

ABSOLUTE BATMAN VOL. 1: THE ZOO is available at Amazon.

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The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

#IReadsYou Movie Review: SUPERMAN 2025

Superman (2025)

Running time:  129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)

Rating: MPA – PG for violence, action and language

DIRECTOR:  James Gunn

WRITER:  James Gunn (based characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster)

PRODUCERS:  James Gunn and Peter Safran

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Henry Braham (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Craig Alpert and William Hoy

COMPOSERS:  David Fleming and John Murphy

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Maria Gabriela de Faria, Sara Sampaio, Wendell Pierce, Beck Bennett, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Bradley Cooper, Angela Sarafyan, and Sean Gunn

Superman is a 2025 American superhero, fantasy, and action film from writer-director James Gunn.  It is the first film in the new DC Comics cinematic universe known as the “DC Universe.”  The character, Superman, first appeared in the comic book, Action Comics #1 (on-sale date of April 18, 1938), and was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, who also created other characters and situations related to Superman.  In Superman, the embodiment of truth, justice, and the human way must reconcile his desire to help humanity with a shocking revelation about his alien heritage.

Superman opens threes years after the metahuman, Superman (David Corenswet), revealed himself to the people of Metropolis.  His alter-ego, Clark Kent (David Corenswet), works as a reporter for “The Daily Planet,” where he has a relationship with fellow reporter, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan).  Lois knows that Clark is Superman.  She knows that he is Kal-El, a baby sent from the planet, Krypton, by rocket ship to Earth.  Lois also knows that Clark was raised in Smallville, Kansas by his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell), a fact he has kept secrets from others.

Superman recently stopped the country of Boravia, an ally of the United States, from invading its neighboring country, Jarhanpur.  As the film begins, Superman has just received a beat-down from Boravia's own metahuman, the Hammer of Boravia.  Things are not as they seem, however, as brilliant billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has launched a secret plot to destroy Superman, whom he sees not as a superhero, but as an existential alien threat to mankind.  With the help of his lackeys, Ultraman and The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria), Luthor believes that he has the science and technology – the brain power – to beat Superman.

But Superman is not the only metahuman who is a superhero.  He occasionally gets help from the “Justice Gang”:  Michael Holt/Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), and Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced).  And Clark Kent will need all the friends he can get; a complete version of the broken message his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van (Angela Sarafyan), sent with him has come to light.  Now, some of the people of the world are starting to feel differently about Superman just when they need him the most.

Superman is a good film, but not a great film.  Overall, I like it, but I found myself rather cool to it as I watched it in a local theater last night.  I must admit that I felt the same way about the previous two attempts to reboot the Superman film franchise, director Bryan Singer's Superman Returns (2006) and director Zack Snyder's Man of Steel (2013).  Like Superman (2025), the plot and narratives of these earlier films are over-stuffed with subplots, settings, and characters that make the overall plot and narrative struggle to come together.  The over-stuffings are like roadblocks that force the central plot and narrative to veer off their most obvious and productive path.  I don't think the new Superman is as awkward in these areas as the aforementioned Superman reboots, but I do believe that the new film spends its first half bouncing around ideas, subplots, themes, relationships and conflicts.  To me, it is obvious that Superman 2025 borrows the big action set pieces of Man of Steel and also follows Superman Return's veneration of director Richard Donner and star Christopher Reeve's respective work on the Superman film franchise (1978-87).

There are things about the new Superman film that I really like.  I think the actors and the way they play the characters, for the most part, are nearly perfect.  The best thing about David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman is that he is the first actor that I have accepted as a true heir to the late Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), who is the gold standard when it comes to a cinematic Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman.  In a way, Superman 2025 offers its audience a vision of Superman as the quintessential nice guy the way Christopher Reeve and Superman: The Movie (1978) did.

Also, Rachel Brosnahan is a true heir to my favorite cinematic Lois Lane, the late Margot Kidder (1948-2018), Christopher Reeve's co-star.  I also got a kick out of Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific.  I liked him in his early roles in such films as Twilight (2008) and X-Men: First Class (2011), and I'd like to see him play Mister Terrific as a lead in either film or television.  I like Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, but the character is played way too over-the-top, but I think Hoult as Luther will be a huge benefit to future DC Universe films.

I obviously don't like James Gunn's Superman as much as I enjoyed his work on Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, which ended with the fantastic Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).  Still, the new Superman is both a fresh start and a start in the right direction.

B

★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, July 11, 2025

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: SUPERMAN III

Superman III (1983)

Running time:  125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes)

MPAA – PG

DIRECTOR:  Richard Lester

WRITERS:  David Newman and Leslie Newman (based characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics)

PRODUCER:  Pierre Spengler

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robert Paynter (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  John Victor Smith

COMPOSER:  Ken Thorne

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/COMEDY

Starring:  Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Annette O'Toole, Robert Vaughn, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Gavan O'Herlihy, Paul Kaethler, and Margot Kidder

Superman III is a 1983 American superhero film and comic-fantasy from director Richard Lester.  The film is the third in the “Superman” film series, which began with 1978's Superman (also known as Superman: The Movie).  The character, Superman, first appeared in the comic book, Action Comics #1 (on-sale date of April 18, 1938) and was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, who also created other characters and situations related to Superman.  In Superman III, Superman becomes the target of a greedy entrepreneur and a computer genius when they realize that he will obstruct their plans for wealth and world domination.

Superman III opens at an unemployment office in Metropolis.  August “Gus” Gorman (Richard Pryor) has discovered that his employment checks have run out, but by chance he discovers information about a school where he can learn to be a computer programmer.  Soon, Gus is working for the conglomerate, Webscoe Industries, where he uses his amazing computer skills to secretly embezzle over $85,000 from the company payroll.

However, Gus' activities do draw the attention of Webscoe's boss, Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn), and his sister and partner, Vera Webster (Annie Ross).  Ross is obsessed with the idea of using technology in order to gain financial domination over the world.  With the help of Annie and his tawdry mistress, Lorelei Ambrosia (Pamela Stephenson), Ross blackmails Gus into using his fantastic computer skills to begin a series of evil tech schemes.

Meanwhile, over at “The Daily Planet,” Metropolis' top newspaper, Clark Kent/Superman (Christopher Reeve) is preparing to return to his hometown of Smallville for his high school reunion, the Class of 1965.  He wants to use the reunion as the subject of a feature article, so he takes Daily Planet photographer, Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure), with him.  At the reunion, Clark reconnects with his childhood friend, Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole), much to the chagrin of Clark's former high school bully, Brad Wilson (Gavan O'Herlihy).

While Clark enjoys his time with Lana and also bonds with her young son, Ricky (Paul Kaethler), Ross and Gus have launched their diabolical plans.  Even the Daily Planet's star reporter, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), ends up being a victim of their moves.  When Ross discovers that Superman be an obstruction to his schemes, he forces Gus to find a way to destroy Superman, and those methods of destruction may come very close defeating the Man of Steel.

Superman III was not nearly the box office success that its predecessors, Superman: The Movie and Superman II (1980) were.  Some fans and critics blamed the film's shortcomings on having Richard Pryor as a cast member.  Some people may remember that Paramount Pictures was considering adding Eddie Murphy as a star of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.  Many of the science fiction and comic book fans that I knew at the time insisted that because Richard Pryor “ruined” Superman III, a science fiction film could not have a “Black comedian” in it or it would be similarly ruined.  They predicted doom and gloom for the fourth Star Trek feature film, but Murphy eventually passed on it to star in The Golden Child (1986).  These early fans that I met were racist and stupid, and, at the time, I thought their opinions about “Blacks” in genre films were racist and stupid.  I am glad that my association with them was short-lived.

Anyway, Pryor, one of the most influential American stand-up comedians of all-time, was known for his raunchy, adult-oriented act during the 1970s.  Into the 1980s, however, he became a more cuddly figure, appearing in a number of mainstream and even family-friendly films.  Although I was surprised that Pryor was cast in Superman III, I thought he was one of the few good things about the film when I first saw it in a theater back in 1983.  I still think that.

Superman III is mediocre because the screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman, or at least what made it to screen, is awkward and sometimes illogical.  Superman III's director, Richard Lester, was a very capable director during his active career; I am still a fan of his 1973 film, The Three Musketeers.  Lester is controversial a figure in the annals of Superman cinema because of the production of Superman II, which I don't feel like getting into right this moment.  Speaking strictly of Superman III, Lester and the Newmans did get one thing right.

When Superman III focuses on the jovial and genial nature of the film's characters, it is quite lovable.  Clark, Lois, Lana, Ricky, Gus, Jimmy, the Daily Planet editor Perry White (Jackie Cooper), and even the film's ostensible villains:  Brad, Ross, Vera, and Lorelei all come across as endearing.  I enjoyed getting to know them as eccentric characters and character types.  When the focus moves to Superman III's conflict/plot, the film turns simply ridiculous.

Almost a day after watching the entirety of Superman III for the first time in 32 years, I'm still thinking about it.  And yes, I like Richard Pryor in this film as much as I like Christopher Reeve, the star of four Superman films from 1978 to 1987, returning to play his signature role.  I don't mind the comic nature of Superman III, especially as some modern superhero movies are too damn dark.  However, it has too many ideas, and too many of them are handled in the most nonsensical manner.  Still, I can't help but kind of like Superman III because it is full of nice people.

B-

★★½ out of 4 stars

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

#IReadsYou Review: GREEN ARROW #6

[This review of "Green Arrow #6" is one of the early comic book review that I ever wrote for my “Negromancer” blog (which began as a website) way back in the Summer of 2001.  For a few years, I wrote my comic book reviews under the column title, "Why I Love Saturn," which I took from Kyle Baker's 1990 graphic novel, "Why I Hate Saturn."

Recently, I was able to recover my files from two 2000s-era hard drives.  Beginning with this review, I am going to go back and re-edit all my original “Negromancer” comic book reviews and post these updated versions on here, my “I Reads You” blog.  I hope you enjoy the trip back in time.]

GREEN ARROW #6 (2001)

DC COMICs

"Why I Love Saturn" Episode Seven

STORY: Kevin Smith

PENCILS: Phil Hester

INKS: Ande Parks

COLORS: Guy Major

LETTERS: Sean Konot

COVER: Matt Wagner

36pp, $2.50 U.S., $4.95 CAN (September 2001)

“Quiver, Chapter 6”: “The Hollow Man”

Every time that I think that Kevin Smith and Phil Hester's current Green Arrow comic book series might slip in quality, it remains good, and often gets better.  This is a well-written comic book by a man who knows comic books, their history, their structure, and how to tell a good story.  Hester is a strong storyteller who dazzles with a unique graphical style. Clearly, this is an example of how to create a good, long serial – every chapter counts and every chapter engages. You go, boys!

I’ve only seen one of Smith’s movies, the brilliant and funny Clerks.  [At the time that I wrote this interview, I'd only seen one of Smith's films.]  On the surface, it seemed as if the characters in the movie talked too much.  While some writers can use very few words to convey volumes, some use lots of words to tell the whole damn story.  Smith is one of those writers; he uses every word to paint his mural. He pours forth the verbiage, to inform and illuminate.  If after all that talk, you still can’t get it, dear readers, you’re probably some version of slow.

So what Kevin does best, he does in Green Arrow #6 (“The Hollow Man”).  The Oliver Queen Green Arrow returns to the land of the living some years after his death in an aircraft explosion.  He remembers nothing of the life we saw him live the last 20 years, which was his life in the hands of writer/artist Mike Grell.  Smith weaves a complex, but not complicated, engaging mystery that carries Queen, his cohorts, including Batman, and us along on a whodunit that is the best I have seen in comics in a long time.  Here, the Dark Knight Detective is really a detective, and Queen is a simply a man at odds with the time he is in now.  The character has usually been at odds with the times in which he lives. Reading this fine magazine can give one the idea that Green Arrow has been around for decades waiting for a balladeer worthy of telling his story, and that is the Kevin Smith-Phil Hester team.

Hester, this series' pencil artist, is a capable draftsman. He seems to understand Smith and lays out panels that interprets the script and turns it into riveting storytelling.  Scriptwriter and artist work so well together that they almost seem to be one really good comics creating unit.

Smith undoubtedly is a man that could help revitalize comics if he did more work. His clear, straightforward stories, unadorned by intellectual pretensions, could entertain and enthrall comic book novice readers and aficionados alike.  However, we must respect his wishes to produce movies.  My greedy ass will content myself with what I can get, while hungering for much, much more.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

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

Kevin Smith and Phil Hester's run on "Green Arrow" is collected in GREEN ARROW: ARCHER'S QUEST OMNIBUS, VOL. 1 with available at Amazon.

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You #132

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (2010) #132

DC COMICS

STORY: Sholly Fisch

PENCILS: Randy Elliot; Robert Pope

INKS: Randy Elliot; Scott McRae

COLORS: Silvana Brys; Jason Lewis

LETTERS: Saida Temofonte

EDITORS: Courtney Jordan; Alex Antone (reprint)

COVER: Randy Elliot with Silvana Brys

32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (April 2025)

Ages 8+

“Trial and Error”

Welcome, dear readers, to my continuing journey through the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series, which began publication in 2010.  I continue to renew my subscription so that I can continue to review this series for you, dear readers.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #132 opens with “Trial and Error,” which is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Randy Elliot.  The story finds Mystery Inc.:  Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma at the county courthouse.  Why are they there?

The gang are witnesses for the prosecution in the trial of the crooked real estate developer, “Ethical” Ed Morrissey, who pretended to be an “alien gorilla” as part of his real estate scams.  The problem is that a trio ghosts:  a judge, a prosecutor, and bailiff, has appeared, and these apparitions are determined to put our favorite ghost-hunting detectives on trial.  And the punishment is being sent down the River Styx. 

As usual, the second story, “Go for Broke,” is a reprint story.  It is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Robert Pope (pencils) and Scott McRae (inks).  [This story was originally published in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You #31 (cover date: May 2013).]  The story opens at Bunny's ski lodge where a ghost on skis is terrorizing and, in some cases, even hurting the lodge's guests.  Now, it's time for Mystery Inc. to get involved, but the last time they tangled with that ghost, they all ended up with broken legs!

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #132 offers as a theme scheming ghosts.  For me, however, the best part is that this issue offers the work of some of my favorite Scooby-Doo artists.  Randy Elliot rocks the courtroom with some traditional Scooby-Doo antics, while the art team of Robert Pope and Scott McRae dazzle (as always) with a mystery that is staged in a traditional Scooby-Doo setting, the haunted ski lodge.

Writer Sholly Fisch anchors this issue with two imaginative tales.  Stalwart Scooby-Doo comics colorist, Silvana Brys, delivers the goods, as usual, while colorist Jason Lewis dazzles in the reprint story, “Go for Broke.”  Letterer Saida Temofonte is perfect for Scooby-Doo.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #132 is as enjoyable as Issue #131 was, so hopefully, this is the start of a good run in the series.  So grab your “Scooby Snacks” and read this issue, and maybe watch a Scooby-Doo movie, later.  And until next time, Scooby-Dooby-Doo!

B

[This comic book includes a seven-page preview of the DC Comics original graphic novel, “Primer: Clashing Colors” by Jennifer Muro & Thomas Krajewski and Gretel Lusky.]

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

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#IReadsYou Review: ORION #15

[This review of "Orion #15" is the first comic book review that I ever wrote for my “Negromancer” blog, the original version, way back in mid-Summer of 2001.  For a few years, I wrote my comic book reviews under the column title, "Why I Love Saturn," which I took from Kyle Baker's 1990 graphic novel, "Why I Hate Saturn."

Recently, I was able to recover my files from two early aughts hard drives.  Beginning with this review, I am going to go back and re-edit all my original “Negromancer” comic book reviews and post these updated versions to my “I Reads You” blog.  I hope you enjoy the trip back in time.]

ORION #15

DC COMICS

"Why I Love Saturn" Episode One

STORY: Walter Simonson

ART: Walter Simonson

COLORS: Tatjana Wood; Digital Chameleon (separations)

LETTERS: John Workman

EDITOR: Joey Cavalieri

COVER: Walter Simonson with Tatjana Wood

56pp, Color, $3.95 U.S., $6.50 CAN (August 2001)

Orion and The New Gods created by Jack Kirby

“At the Edge of the Abyss”

Orion is a DC Comics superhero character that first appeared in New Gods #1 (cover dated: February 1971) and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby.  Orion is the son of the super-villain, “Darkseid” of “Apokolips,” who traded him to “Highfather” of “New Genesis” in a peace deal between the two planets.  Orion has powers similar to that of Superman, and he rids a device called an “Astro-Harness.”  In 2000, DC Comics began publishing Orion, a 25-issue series written and almost entirely drawn by Walter Simonson (best known for his run on Marvel Comics' Thor from 1983-87).

After a little over a year, the fifteenth issue brings to an end what could be considered the first major arc of Walter Simonson’s engrossing epic comic book series, Orion.  The story/epic begins in the first issue with Darkseid’s occupation of the town of Main Line, Nebraska in a bid to extract the “Anti-Life Equation” from the town’s inhabitants. Mentally exhausted and frustrated by his sire’s machinations, Orion meets Darkseid in combat and seemingly kills him in the fifth issue of the magazine. By the eleventh issue, Orion has mastered the Anti-Life Equation and begins to order Apokolips, New Genesis, and Earth in an attempt to end war, suffering and strife. 

Orion #15 offers Darkseid's returns.  But is Darkseid actually another opponent who seeks to engage Orion in battle?

THE LOWDOWN:  I must admit to being mostly disinterested in Jack Kirby’s New Gods and other “Fourth World” comic books that are not the work of Kirby (with the exception of an occasional mini-series or odd stand alone story here and there).  That was the case until John Byrne took over the mid-1990’s revival of the New Gods (Vol. 4, 1995-97) for the final four issues (#12 to #15) and  then, produced subsequent 20-issue series , Jack Kirby’s Fourth World (1997-98).

I was saddened to see Byrne extinguish the title, but I was curious after the announcement that Simonson would have a follow-up magazine that would focus on Orion.  It is in Issue #15 that we can see what Simonson does when he is really “on his game,” and as good as he has been, this issue is a career highlight precisely because he doesn’t rely on the fact that he can rest on his laurels because he is a mature and practiced veteran. His knowledge, ability and passage meet at a nexus that the best comic book creators rarely reach even in a career of standout work.

Orion is one of those rare “these days” books in which the title thrives not just on the popularity and strength of the characters, but primarily upon the skills of the artists involved.  Simonson’s tales are not only epic in scope, but are also melodramatic and operatic in execution. As in the best of serializations, Simonson weaves strong character development, directs engrossing plot lines, and executes the genre trappings with verve of an old hand who is an old master.

Orion is in fact a sad and pitied figure in the tradition of tragic royalty.  Blessed and cursed by birth and history and with power and a great warrior’s skill, he struggles to bring order to his universe precisely because he cannot find that same order anywhere.  His home of Apokolips is a nest of never ending intrigue, betrayal, and hypocrisy.  New Genesis, the enlightened opposite of Apokolips is more of the same except it has flowers, sunshine, and nice architecture.  Earth is the playground of misguided super powered beings that, in the long run, are actually largely ineffective.

It is in the world that the reader must see and engage the lead, which is not a slight of the other characters.  Even those that are not necessarily as developed as others, Simonson endows them with their own list of wants and needs and weaves them into the vast tapestry that is Kirby’s Fourth World. However, it is Orion that we must follow, because Simonson draws the reader to him; the reader sees the world only through Orion’s eyes. Yes, the others are interesting, but we view them always with the thought in mind of how he or she fits into Orion’s story.  Is he friend or enemy of Orion? What does she want of Orion? This is truly one of the standards by which other “solo” books should be measured.  Regardless of how “cool” or interesting a supporting player might be, that player is merely a piece on the lead’s board.  No supporting player should have a story or plot thread concerning him that does not directly affect the lead.

About Simonson art – what is there to say?  Like Byrne, he captures the sense of grandeur, scale, power, and dynamism that was in Kirby’s work, and executes it in their own inimitable style.  Rather than an homage or remake, Simonson continues the saga the way one storyteller would follow the others before him who were also painting, so to speak, on a larger shared canvas.  One can see Simonson’s considerable skill and talent in the vitality of the line work, the simultaneous grace and roughness of the inking, and the draftsmanship of a man who knows what he is doing.  The panel layouts and arrangement so much serve the story in plot and pacing that one knows that it could never be any other way – meaning he didn’t do it to make pretty original art for buyers who are easily wowed by the eye candy of a pinup.  Characters literally leap off the pages, and they pose with the grace and confidence of proven warriors and kings born.  There is pathos and drama that is better than some “movie” and is worthy of the theatrical stage. Every single panel matters, and Simonson wastes nothing.  There is no filler to snap the attention of those easily distracted.  This is quality work, good storytelling, and style over substance.

If you ignore so-called mainstream work, Orion can be your guilty pleasure that is not a guilty pleasure.  For the ones chasing alternate covers, “Ultimate” titles and revamps, there is good food at this table called Orion.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Walter Simonson and of Jack Kirby's “Fourth World” will want to find a trade collection of Orion (2000).

[This comic book also includes the back-up story, “Great Than / Less Than” from writer Kevin McCarthy, artist John Paul Leon, colorist Tatjana Wood, and letterer John Workman.]

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

EDITED:  Sunday, April 13, 2025

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. “I Reads You”

In 2018, DC Comics began publishing trade collections of Walter Simonson's Orion, which you can find at Amazon.

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#IReadsYou Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #131

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (2010) #131

DC COMICS

STORY: Derek Fridolfs; Sholly Fisch

PENCILS: Walter Carzon; Randy Elliot

INKS: Horacio Ottolini; Randy Elliot

COLORS: Silvana Brys; Pamela Lovas

LETTERS: Saida Temofonte

EDITORS: Courtney Jordan; Harvey Richards (reprint)

COVER: Derek Fridolfs with Silvana Brys

32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (February 2025)

Ages 8+

“Scaries Not Included”

Welcome, dear readers, to my continuing journey through the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series, which began publication in 2010.  I continue to renew my subscription so that I can continue to review this series for you, dear readers.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #131 opens with “Scaries Not Included,” which is written by Derek Fridolfs and drawn by Walter Carzon (pencils) and Horacio Ottolini (inks).  The story finds Mystery Inc.:  Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma attending the “Coolsville Collectible Toy Fair.”  There, they hope to collect items for the “Children's Toy Drive.”

What they find instead is agitated toy collectors looking for items that are exclusive to the toy fair.  Everyone is caught up in exclusives fever when an elf, specifically an elf-like “drow,” crashes the show.  Can the gang survive collector's mania long enough to solve the mystery of this dark elf?

As usual, the second story, “Not Just Yeti,” is a reprint story.  It is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn Randy Elliot.  [This story was originally published in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You #94 (cover date: October 2018).]  The story opens at “Benji Ford's Rockin' Gym,” an indoor climbing wall facility.  It's being haunted by a “yeti,” and the owner, Benji Ford, believes that the only ones who can help him are the experts of Mystery Inc.  While the gang has taken on the yetis a.k.a. “abominable snowmen,” in the past, this is the first time a yeti mystery is set on top of an indoor climbing wall and not at or near the top of a mountain. So what is really going on here?

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #131 offers a Christmas-like theme via the opening story, “Scaries Not Included.”  Although there isn't much Christmas spirit among the toy collectors in this new story, it is a treat from Scooby-Doo comic book stalwarts:  Derek Fridolfs, Walter Carzon, and Horacio Ottolini.  I consider that a Christmas gift from this comic book series.  Also, “Scaries Not Included” accurately depicts the collector's mania atmosphere that permeates conventions and toy fairs where show exclusive toys, action figures, and play sets are offered.

The reprint story, “Not Just Yeti,” another duo of Scooby-Doo stalwart creatives, Sholly Fisch and Randy Elliot, offer a Scooby-Doo mystery favorite supernatural pest, the yeti.  Honestly, yetis in Scooby-Doo television series have always scared me, so I consider this tale a nice offering.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #131 offers a reading experience that is a bit more fun than what the previous issue presented.  So grab your “Scooby Snacks” and read this issue, and maybe watch a Scooby-Doo movie, later.  And until next time, Scooby-Dooby-Doo!

B

[This comic book includes a seven-page preview of the DC Comics original graphic novel, “Anti-Hero” by Kate Karyus Quinn, Demitria Lunetta, and Maca Gil.]

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

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The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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DC Comics from Lunar Distributors for March 12, 2025

DC COMICS:

Absolute Batman #4 (2nd Printing Cover A Guillem March), $4.99

Absolute Batman #4 (2nd Printing Cover B Gabriel Hernandez Walta & Frank Martins Card Stock Variant), AR

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Batman Adventures #12 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover B Super Powers Variant), $4.99

Batman Adventures #12 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover C Mike Parobeck & Rick Burchett Foil Variant), $7.99

Batman Adventures #12 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover D Blank Variant), $4.99

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Batman Dark Patterns #4 (Of 12)(Cover A Hayden Sherman), $4.99

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Batman Detective Comics (2022) Volume 5 Gotham Nocturne Act III HC, $49.99

Batman Detective Comics (2022) Volume 5 Gotham Nocturne Act III TP, $29.99

Black Lightning #5 (Cover A Fico Ossio), $3.99

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DC Finest Suicide Squad Trial By Fire TP, $39.99

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DC Vs. Vampires World War V #7 (Of 12)(Cover C Marguerite Sauvage Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Deadman Omnibus HC (2025 Edition), $125.00

Detective Comics #31 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover A Bob Kane), $6.99

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Green Arrow (2023) Volume 3 Against The Wall TP, $19.99

Green Arrow Archers Quest Omnibus Volume 1 HC, $125.00

Green Lantern Corps #2 (Cover A Fernando Pasarin & Oclair Albert), $3.99

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Superman '78 TP, $17.99

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

#IReadsYou Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You #130

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (2010) #130

DC COMICS

STORY: Sholly Fisch; Scotty Beatty

PENCILS: Valerio Chiola; Robert Pope

INKS: Valerio Chiola; Scott McRae

COLORS: Valerio Chiola; Heroic Age

LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Dezi Sienty

EDITORS: Courtney Jordan; Kwanza Johnson (reprint)

COVER: Valerio Chiola

32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (December 2024)

Ages 8+

“Mayor May Not!”

Welcome, dear readers, to my continuing journey through the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series, which began publication in 2010.  I continue to renew my subscription so that I can continue to review this series for you, dear readers.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #130 opens with “Mayor May Not!,” which is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Valerio Chiola.  The story finds Mystery Inc.:  Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma attending a costume ball thrown by Mayor Flowers.  The party is also a campaign event for the mayor's reelection campaign.  It seems as if the mayor has invited the whole city to this event, but did he also unknowingly invite a werewolf?

As usual, the second story, “Paranoidal Activity,” is a reprint story.  It is written by Scott Beatty and drawn by Robert Pope and Scott McRae.  [This story was originally published in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You #19 (cover date: May 2012).]  The story opens as the Mystery Machine drives up to “the Spectral Silk Mill.”  Mystery Inc. has been called to this old silk mill by its current owners, Mr. Stanislaus and Mr. Oliveri, to discover if the place really is haunted.  For their latest case, the gang has decided to test their new high tech equipment in the detection of ghosts.  Will that work, or will it just get in the way of the ghost-busting?

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #130 doesn't really have a theme so much as it finds its ghostly instigators in suspects that manage to be both surprising and expected.  This isn't a particularly good issue, but like #129, the lead story is drawn by Valerio Chiola.  I really dig Chiola's quirky and funky illustrative style which brings some needed freshness to the pages of this series that is well into its second decade.  Chiola's squashed and stretched art reminds me of legendary cartoonist and Plastic Man creator, Jack Cole, and it looks like some of the graphical storytelling frequently found in kids' comics and graphic novels.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #130 may not be top of the line, but it is still a Scooby-Doo comic book.  So grab your “Scooby Snacks” and read this issue, and maybe watch a Scooby-Doo movie, later.  And until next time, Scooby-Dooby-Doo!

C

[This comic book includes a seven-page preview of the DC Comics original graphic novel, “Deadman Tells the Spooky Tales” by Franco and Sara Richard, Isaac Goodhart, and others.]

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

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

Running time:  124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some language

DIRECTOR:  James Wan

WRITERS:  David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick; from a story by James Wan and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick & Jason Momoa and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett (based on the character created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger and appearing in DC Comics)

PRODUCERS:  James Wan, Rob Cowan, and Peter Safran

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess

EDITOR:  Kirk M. Morri

COMPOSER:  Rupert Gregson-Williams

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/SCI-FI and ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amber Heard, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Randall Park, Jani Zhao, Indya Moore, and Nicole Kidman with the voices of Martin Short, John Rhys-Davies, and Pilou Asbaek

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a 2023 superhero, action-adventure and science fiction-fantasy film from director James Wan.  It is a direct sequel to the 2018 film, Aquaman, and it is also the 15th and final installment of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).  The film is based on the DC Comics character, Aquaman, that was created by artist Paul Norris and editor Mort Weisinger and first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (cover dated: November 1941).  In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Black Manta forges a deal with a mysterious evil from Atlantis' past, forcing Aquaman to forge an alliance with his imprisoned brother in order to save Atlantis.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opens four years after Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) became King of Atlantis and married Mera (Amber Heard).  They are now parents to a son, Arthur Jr.  Aquaman splits his life between land and sea, strengthening his bond with his father, Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison), and getting wise advice about being a father from him.  However, splitting time between his life on land and his life as the ruler of Atlantis has led to clashes with the High Council of the Seven Kingdoms.

Meanwhile, David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen) continues to seek revenge against Aquaman for the death of his father (as seen in Aquaman).  With the help of marine biologist, Stephen Shin (Randall Park), Kane finds a mysterious artifact, “the Black Trident.”  As soon Kane touches the trident, it possesses him and connects his mind to the mysterious Kordax, the undead king of the lost undersea kingdom of Necrus.  Soon, Kane, at Kordax's command, is poisoning the surface world with an element known as “Orichalcum.”

Aquaman's mother, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the former queen of Atlantis, implores him to seek the help of his imprisoned brother, Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson), the deposed King of Atlantis in order to stop Kane.  But can Aquaman trust Orm, who tried to kill him and whom he removed from the throne of Atlantis?

While watching the original film, Aquaman, I could not help but notice that many of its story points and plot elements were glaringly similar to those found in Marvel Studios' Black Panther, which debuted earlier in the same year, 2018, that Aquaman hit theaters.  I also find Black Panther elements in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but none as pronounced as in the first film.  I also believe that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is strongly influenced by the Star Wars “prequel” films, especially Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

That said, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is like the first film – a grand, old-fashioned, action-adventure fantasy film.  The sequel is quite entertaining, but not as solidly entertaining as the first film.

The plot, narrative, and character drama in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom seem forced when they are not being over-the-top, and are lacking in genuine emotion and feeling when they not being forced and over-the-top.  Director James Wan and his co-writers emphasize sound and fury.  It is as if they believe that the more CGI, action scenes, explosions, subplots, and weird-looking things they throw on the screen the less likely that the audience will realize how ungainly this film is.  Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom isn't cinematic art; it's merely corporate entertainment product, and unlike the first time, Warner Bros. Pictures didn't as lucky with the sequel.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom treads water just not to be mediocre.  I will admit that its production values and special visual effects all look quite good.  Visually, the film is sumptuous even if the drama is rickety.  And as I write this, I am just remembering that I like the film score, although I am sure that I have heard parts of it in another film.

Also, I admire that Jason Momoa throws himself into this film, doing his best to make it seem like the most fun he and the audience could ever have in a superhero movie.  Unfortunately, it was the Aquaman movie before Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom that was really fun.

B-

★★½ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #129

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (2010) #129

DC COMICS

STORY: Derek Fridolfs; Ivan Cohen

PENCILS: Valerio Chiola; Walter Carzon

INKS: Valerio Chiola; Horacio Ottolini

COLORS: Valerio Chiola; Silvana Brys

LETTERS: Saida Temofonte

EDITORS: Courtney Jordan; Rob Levin (reprint)

COVER: Valerio Chiola

32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (October 2024)

Ages 8+

“Dine & Dash”

Welcome, dear readers, to my continuing journey through the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series, which began publication in 2010.  I continue to renew my subscription so that I can continue to review this series for you, dear readers.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #129 opens with “Dine & Dash,” which is written by Derek Fridolfs and drawn by Valerio Chiola.  The story finds Mystery Inc.:  Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma coming off their most recent case which I guess could be called “The Case of the Goblin Golfers.”  Fred decides to treat everyone to dinner at his favorite place, but his favorite place is now a sports-themed bar and restaurant called “Munch Madness.”

Before there was Munch Madness, there was the “Pizza Playhouse,” Fred's favorite... haunt when he was a boy.  The restaurant even featured a band of anthropomorphic animal performers, “the Pizza Pack.”  Although the performers were animatronic, Fred loved them, especially “Elliott the Elephant.”  Fred is feeling a nostalgic sense of loss when a phantom version of Elliott suddenly strikes, so now Mystery Inc. has a new mystery to solve.

As usual, the second story, “Magic Hassle,” is a reprint story.  It is written by Ivan Cohen and drawn by Walter Carzon and Horacio Ottolini.  [This story was originally published in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You #79 (cover date: May 2017).]  The story opens at night as the Mystery Machine drives up a mountain road to “Mystic Mansion.”  It is “the world's most famous magicians' hangout,” and Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo are invited guests to an event being held there.

Tonight is special, as the magician, “Rickey D,” is debuting a new trick in order to tests the skills of Mystery Inc.  Surprisingly, there is something going on between Rickey D and another popular magician, “Murdstone the Magnificent.”  However, that is put aside after some tools-of-the-trade disappear, and a vampire arrives to break-up the show.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #129 has as its theme nostalgia.  The focus is specifically on how people resent the change or disappearance of things they loved fiercely in the past.  In the first story, “Dine & Dash,” Fred is disappointed that his childhood pizza restaurant slash playground has been replaced by an adult sports bar that is now a clubhouse which emphasizes buffalo wings and sports.  In the reprint story, “Magic Hassle,” Murdstone the Magician resents his young rival, Rickey D, and his flashiness and prefers a legendary and groundbreaking magician and escape artist whose act lost favor with audiences decades in the past.

Nostalgia and resistance to cultural change are timely subjects, especially after at least a quarter-century of the rise of so-called “toxic fandom.”  That aside, nostalgia as a theme here makes for highly entertaining stories.  I will say, though, that “Magic Hassle” has an awkward ending.

Many of the recent new stories in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? Have been written by Derek Fridolfs, who is also a comic book artist.  He often draws the cover art for the issues for which he has written a story.  For issue #129, Valerio Chiola draws the opening story and also draws the cover art.  So it is both odd and delightful to see Chiola's quirky graphical and illustrative style featured as the cover art.  Also, “Magic Hassle” is drawn by one of the very best modern Scooby-Doo art teams, Walter Carzon (pencils) and Horacio Ottolini (inks), and the art features the brilliant colors of Silvana Brys.  The art is a big reason why I am giving this issue a high rating.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #129 may have the highest rating that I've every given an issue of this series, but the last year or so has featured some really good individual issues.  So grab your “Scooby Snacks” and read this issue, and maybe watch a Scooby-Doo movie, later.  And until next time, Scooby-Dooby-Doo!

A

[This comic book includes a seven-page preview of the DC Comics original graphic novel, “Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge” by Grace Ellis and Brittney Williams.]

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

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The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).