#IReadsYou Review: CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS... Welcome to Riverdale #1

WELCOME TO RIVERDALE #1

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC./Archie Horror

STORY: Amy Chase

ART: Liana Kangas

COLORS: Ellie Wright

LETTERS: Jack Morelli

EDITORS: Jamie Lee Rotante

EiC: Mike Pellerito

COVER: Liana Kangas

VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Marguerite Sauvage

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2023); on sale in comic book shops October 11, 2023

Rating: Teen+

Eternal high school student and teenage boy, Archie Andrews, and his friends made their debut in M.L.J. Magazines' Pep Comics #22 (cover dated: December 1941), and before long, Archie was the publisher's headliner character.  In 1946, the company changed its named to Archie Comic Publications, also known as “Archie Comics.”

But Archie Comics has a dark side, as seen in the imprint “Archie Horror,” which has been around for a decade.  Part of the Archie Horror imprint is a series of one-shot comic books under the title Chilling Adventures Presents...  The latest is Welcome to Riverdale No. 1.  It is written by Amy Chase; drawn by Liana Kangas; colored by Ellie Wright; and lettered by Jack Morelli.  Riverdale, the hometown of Archie and its pals, is the creepy setting for this new tale.

Chilling Adventures Presents...  Welcome to Riverdale No. 1 opens as fun-loving teen, Ginger Snapp, arrives in Riverdale at the invitation of her friend, Nancy Woods.  Living in Hilldale, Ginger has read a lot about Riverdale, but she is still amazed by how wholesome and welcoming the town truly is.  But the overwhelming happiness and endless smiles do feel a bit uncanny, and meeting Riverdale's Mayor Glibb does not help Ginger shake her feelings of unease.

How can everyone in Riverdale be so nice and kind?  Well, there is a dark secret to Riverdale, and it is dark enough to earn the term “toxic positivity.”

THE LOWDOWN:   I have been reading comic books, on and off, for decades.  I have sporadically read Archie Comics titles over that time, including some Archie Horror titles, especially Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  Over the last few years, Archie's marketing department has been sending PDF copies of some of their titles for review.  Welcome to Riverdale No. 1 is the latest.

Welcome to Riverdale No. 1 is a really good, but not great one-shot, but I do think it could be the beginning of something great if the story continues in the future.  For those of you who don't know, Ginger Snapp was a 1950s Archie Comics character that had her own book and was meant to be a female Archie Andrews-type.  Apparently, the publisher's hope was that the book, entitled Ginger, would replicate the success of the flagship Archie title.  Ginger ran for ten issues from 1951 to 1954.

Amy Chase's story for Welcome to Riverdale No. 1 is intriguing and is an engaging read.  However, the storytelling by artist Liana Kangas is a bit muddled in several places; it is as if she is trying to use surreal elements to give the story more depth.  It isn't so much a question of style as it is execution, and the Ellie Wright's coloring – uninspired as it seems – doesn't help.  None of this is bad work; as I said, it is intriguing, and it certainly has potential.

So, there is something to build upon in Welcome to Riverdale No. 1 – if someone is willing to put more thought behind it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Archie Comics' “Archie Horror” imprint will want Welcome to Riverdale No. 1.

[This comic book includes a two-page section on the making of Welcome to Riverdale No. 1.]

B

★★★ out of 4 stars

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

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#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1 (2023)

TITAN COMICS/Heroic Signatures

STORY: Jim Zub

ART: Roberto de la Torre

COLORS: José Villarrubia

LETTERS: Richard Starkings of Comicraft

EDITOR: Phoebe Hedges

COVER: Dan Panosian

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Roberto de la Torre; Artgerm; Patch Zircher; Mike Mignola; E.M. Gist, Dan Panosian; Jae Lee; Colleen Doran; Chris Jones; Dave Wilkins; Mark Schultz; Junggeon Yoon; Ian Nicholls; Eric Ray; Jay Anacleto; Chris Ehnot

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2023)

Suggested for mature readers

“Bound in Black Stone” Part I: “Scourge of the Dead”

Conan the Cimmerian was born in the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard (REH), first appearing in the magazine, Weird Tales (1932).  In 1970, Marvel Comics brought Conan to the world of comic books via the title, Conan the Barbarian. With only a few pauses, Conan comic books have been published for the better part of five decades.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures are the new producers of Conan comic books, and they start with a new Conan the Barbarian series.  It is written by Jim Zub; drawn by Roberto de la Torre; colored by José Villarrubia; and lettered by Richard Starkings.  The new series finds Conan returned to his homeland of Cimmeria just when it faces a terrible new threat.

Conan the Barbarian #1 (“Scourge of the Dead”) opens in Northern Aquilonia, specifically at the outpost known as “Hauler's Roam.”  Recently arrived, Conan the Cimmerian is the closest that he has been to his homeland of Cimmeria in eight years.  But first, he must extricate himself from “the Bleeders,” the band of mercenaries of which he has been a part.

A weary Conan has returned to his homeland to seek rest and solitude, but a mysterious scout, Brissa, rides into Haurler's Roam” with a warning of an imminent threat on the march from the Pictish wilderness.  Will Conan and his new ally be able to hold off this new horde of invaders?

THE LOWDOWN:  Titan Comics has been providing me with PDF copies of their publications for review for several years now.  Their debut Conan title, Conan the Barbarian #1, is the latest.

When Marvel Comics resumed publishing Conan the Barbarian comic books in 2019 – for the first time since the late 1990s – I was somewhat exited.  I read a few issue, and while they did recall some of the best of classic Marvel Conan for me, I saw no reason to keep reading past the first six months of the revival.

Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' debut Conan the Barbarian #1 seems a bit edgier than Marvel Comics' 2019 Conan the Barbarian... at least, in hindsight to me.  Part of it may be that writer Jim Zub's introductory story fits itself in with some of the literary Conan chronologies.  For instance, “Scourge of the Dead” references the “Sack of Venarium,” also known as the “Battle of Venarium,” which is depicted in the 2003 Conan novel, Conan of Venarium, written by Harry Turtledove.

Conan is apparently 14 or 15 at the time of the battle, but Zub may be setting his age at 16.  Eight years later, this story, “Scourge of the Dead” begins, and Zub references Conan's “twenty-four summers.”  In an interview, Zub said that this story takes place after the original Robert E. Howard Conan short story, “The Frost-Giant's Daughter.”  In some Conan chronologies, Conan is almost 30 at this point.

That said, by firmly planting Conan in a literary tradition, Zub makes this story feel like something substantial in the catalog of Conan fiction and storytelling.  This is something more than just another licensed comic book tie-in.  Also, having Conan face a seemingly unstoppable horde of ravenous killers also gives the story a kick.

The art and storytelling by artist Roberto de la Torre is what really sells Zub's script.  De la Torre's art here resembles of mix of the late John Buscema's Conan the Barbarian comic books and the late Joe Kubert's Tor comics.  De la Torre makes me feel the blood, violence, and the heat of bone-breaking, and he creates a sense of foreboding and then, terror when the horde strikes.

The art looks even more gorgeous under the colors of José Villarubia, one of the best and most skilled comic book colorists working in American comic books over the last three decades.  Richard Starkings' lettering is the cherry on top of this excellent graphics package.

Will I lose interest in this new series?  There is a good chance that I will, eventually, but I may stick around for longer than I did with the Marvel relaunch.  This new series is not standard Conan the Barbarian, and I like Conan enough to have watched three Conan films:  Conan the Barbarian (1982), Conan the Destroyer (1984), and Conan the Barbarian (2011), many times.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Conan comic books will want to try Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures' Conan the Barbarian.

[This comic book includes the essay, “Robert E. Howard and His Ages Undreamed Of,” by Jeffrey Shanks.]

A

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

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#IReadsYou Review: SHEENA, Queen of the Jungle #1

SHEENA: QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE VOLUME 2 #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Stephen Mooney
ART: Jethro Morales
COLORS: Dinei Ribero
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Joseph Rybandt
COVER: Lucio Parrillo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Rose Besch; Arthur Suydam; Joseph Michael Linsner; Carla Cohen; Stephen Mooney; Leslie Leirix; Lucio Parrillo; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2021)

Rated Teen+

Sheena originally created by S.M. “Jerry” Iger and Will Eisner

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle is an American comic book character.  She first appeared in the British magazine, Wags #46 ( January 1938), and was created by legendary American comic book creators, Will Eisner and S. M. “Jerry” Iger.  Sheena made her first American appearance in Jumbo Comics #1 (Fiction House, cover dated: September 1938) where she was a mainstay until 1953.  Sheena was also the first female comic book character to star in her own series.  A “jungle girl heroine,” Sheen was an orphan, like Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan, who had adventures featuring African natives, wild animals, and white hunters and villains.

Dynamite began publishing Sheena comics in 2017 with a series that ran ten issues.  Dynamite is debuting a second series, Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, Volume 2.  It is written by Stephen Mooney; drawn by Jethro Morales; colored by Dinei Ribero; and lettered by Taylor Esposito.  The story finds Sheena investigating the strange goings on in a cutting-edge bio-dome.

As Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, Volume 2 #1 opens, Sheena awakens in a swanky hotel in Val Verde.  Apparently, the Cardwell family has come calling again.  It seems they are behind a huge scientific project, a “bio-dome” in the middle of the Val Verde jungle.  It is an amazing synthesis of the natural world and the man-made world of the future, but the first travelers into the dome have disappeared.

That is where Sheena comes into the picture.  With her friends:  Yaqua, Chim, and Pete held out as ransom, of a sort, Sheena enters the bio-dome to find the missing people.  The walled-off jungle however hides violent death, many mysteries, and human trickery and deceit.

THE LOWDOWN:  Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Sheena Queen of the Jungle Volume 2 #1, which is the first Dynamite Sheena comic book that I have read.  I think I did read Marvel Comics' two-issue version of its adaptation of the 1984 film, Sheena (which starred the late Tanya Roberts in the title role).

Stephen Mooney, Jethro Morales, Dinei Ribero; and Taylor Esposito, the creative team behind the recent comic book miniseries, Bettie Page and the Curse of the Banshee, slide right on into Sheena: Queen of the Jungle Volume 2, delivering deceit, trickery, and murder mystery most foul.  Mooney's script is a reader-grabber right from the first page, and by the end of this first chapter, that script practically held me hostage right along with Sheena.

Stephen Mooney can draw good girl art with the best of them, but his graphical storytelling is as strong as the illustrations are pretty.  Dinei Ribero also delivers pretty colors, but it can turn pretty dark when Sheena starts finding bodies.  Taylor Esposito's lettering tosses around the humor just before dropping in all the shocking reveals.

I'm totally surprised, as I really didn't expect a lot from this new Sheena series.  I thought it might be mildly entertaining, but this first issue makes me anxious for the next issue.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Sheena will want to try Sheena: Queen of the Jungle Volume 2.

A-

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

You can purchase the SHEENA Queen of the Jungle Vol. 1 trade paperback from Amazon.

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#IReadsYou Review: BIG GAME #2

BIG GAME #2 (OF 5)

IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Pepe Larraz

COLORS: Giovanna Niro

LETTERS: Clem Robins

EDITOR: Sarah Unwin

COVER: Pepe Larraz with Giovanna Niro

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Leinil Yu with Sunny Gho; Pepe Larraz

28pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2023)

Rated M / Mature

Big Game is a new five-issue comic book event miniseries from writer Mark Millar and artist Pepe Larraz.  Big Game is a crossover event series that pulls together all the franchises that are part of Millar's company/imprint, “Millarworld.”  That includes Kick-Ass, Kingsman, Nemesis, and The Magic Order, to name a few.  Colorist Giovanna Niro and letterer Clem Robins complete the series' creative team.

Big Game is a sequel to the first Millarworld comic book miniseries, Wanted (2003-04).  The stars of that series, The Fraternity, the super-villains that secretly rule the world, defeated their superhero adversaries in 1986.  Now, this entity is concerned about the reemergence of superheroes, so it unleashes it new superhero killer, Nemesis (from Nemesis: Reloaded), on a hero assassination spree.

As Big Game #2 opens, Edison Crane (Prodigy) and Bobbie Griffin meet the Chrononauts, Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly.  Crane, the world's smartest man, wants the duo to take him and Griffin back in time to 1986 for proof of that what Griffin says is true.  Superheroes did exist in the past.

Meanwhile, Doctor Choon-He Chung (The Ambassadors) and her international rescue squad, The Ambassadors, search for a missing Ambassador.  Plus, two early Millarworld favorites are forced together on new comics day.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have been receiving PDF review copies of Netflix/Millarworld's comic book titles since late 2021.  Big Game #2 is the latest.

Some of Millarworld's most popular comic book franchises and series have been adapted into Hollywood feature films.  They are Wanted (2008), Kick-Ass (2010), Kick-Ass 2 (2013), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), and The King's Man (2021).  These movies are so disparate that you, dear readers, would be surprised to know that their source material originates from a shared universe.

As a longtime Millarworld fan, it is both terrifying and thrilling to read Big Game, especially because Nemesis is on the prowl and is killing some of my favorite Millarworld good guys and anti-heroes.  Writer Mark Millar is having himself quite a bit of fun by tearing things apart, but the smart Millarworld readers (Is there any other kind?) know that Mark has shocks and surprises in store for us.  Plus, :nothing is really what it appears at first” is a truism in every one of Millar's comic book series.

Pepe Larraz's art is similar to the work of Bryan Hitch, a specialist in event comic books, and Larraz's storytelling style certainly suggests that this is truly a BIG event.  He is also good at creating an air of menace, suggested in the faces of the characters and in the overall narrative.  Giovanna Niro's colors serve this “dark universe” quite well, and Clem Robins' lettering is uniquely fashioned to amplify the soundtrack of Millar's scripts.

Big Game #1 had me curious to see what was next.  After reading that first issue, I almost guaranteed that the second issue of Big Game would blow the doorway to your imagination off its hinges, dear readers.  My hinges gave out.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and especially of his Millarworld titles will want to read Big Game.

A+

10 out of 10

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

You can buy the BIG GAME VOL. 1 trade paperback at AMAZON.

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#IReadsYou Review: ARCHIE Valentine's Spectacular #1 2023

ARCHIE VALENTINE'S SPECTACULAR #1 (In-stories and on digital Wed., Feb. 1st)

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC.

STORY: Jamie Lee Rotante; Greg Crosby; Craig Boldman; Dan Parent

PENCILS: Holly G!; Pat Kennedy; Rex Lindsey; Dan Parent

INKS: Jim Amash; Jon D'Agostino; Rich Koslowski; Rudy Lapick

COLORS: Glenn Whitmore; Barry Grossman

LETTERS: Jack Morelli; Bill Yoshida

EDITORS: Jamie Lee Rotante; Vincent Lovallo; Stephen Oswald

EiC: Mike Pellerito

COVER: Dan Parent with Rosario “Tito” Peña

32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (March 2023)

Rating: All-Ages

“More Than Meets the Eye: Rise of the Sports King!”

Eternal high school student and teenage boy, Archie Andrews, and his friends made their debut in M.L.J. Magazines' Pep Comics #22 (cover dated: December 1941), and before long, Archie was the publisher's headliner character.  In 1946, the company changed its named to Archie Comic Publications, also known as “Archie Comics.”

Archie Comics frequently publishes themed one-shot comic books featuring Archie's characters (sometimes referred to as “the Archie Gang”).  One of them is the Archie Valentine's Spectacular No.1.  It features one new story and four reprint stories.  Entitled “More Than Meets the Eye: Rise of the Sports King!,” the new story stars Archie Comics' newest character, “Cassie Cloud.”  The story is written by Jamie Lee Rotante; drawn by Holly G! (pencils) and Jim Amash (inks); colored by Glenn Whitmore; and lettered by the great Jack Morelli.

Introducing Cassie Cloud in “More Than Meets the Eye: Rise of the Sports King!”:

The story opens at the "Valentine's Spectacular Dance."  The newest student at Riverdale High is Cassie Cloud, who recently transferred from Centerville.  Cassie is tall, confident, funny, and catching all the guys’ attention – much to the chagrin of the girls.  Betty and Veronica notice, however, that Cassie doesn't seem interested in the attention of the most popular boys in school, including Archie and Reggie.  So Ethel and Midge join them for some research into Cassie.

Why is the hot new girl hanging out with the likes of Dilton, Toño, Raj, Randolph, and even Simon a.k.a. “Prankenstein” – all known as nerds?  And do the girls have something to learn from her about learning to love the “short kings?”

THE LOWDOWN:   I have been reading comic books, on and off, for the better part of five decades.  I have sporadically read Archie Comics titles over that time, so I usually miss the publisher's introduction of new characters.  Thus, Cassie Cloud isn't the only character that is new to me in Archie Valentine's Spectacular No. 1.

I think she has a lot of potential, as set up in this nice five-page story that is “More Than Meets the Eye: Rise of the Sports King!”  Cassie is similar to classic Archie female characters like Betty and Veronica, but she is different enough, especially in terms of her interests, to create hopefully exciting new story scenarios across all Archie titles.  Writer Jamie Lee Rotante and artist Holly G! have created a winning story for this character, and hopefully, they will do more.

The rest of Archie Valentine's Spectacular No. 1 is comprised of reprints:  three “Veronica” solo stories and one “Jughead” solo.  One Veronica story, “Valentine's Day Dilemma,” finds Archie struggling to figure out what kind of Valentine's Day gift he could give to the rich girl (Veronica) who already has had a better version of anything he can afford.  In “Sweets to the Sweet,” Jughead is sure that he has the perfect way to scam the girls of Riverdale out of their Valentine's candy.

If you are like me and love classic-style Archie Comics, you will love these stories.  And Archie Valentine's Spectacular is for you.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic-style Archie Comics will want to find a copy of Archie Valentine's Spectacular No. 1.

A-

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

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#IReadsYou Review: SINS OF THE SALTON SEA #1

SINS OF THE SALTON SEA #1 (OF 5)

AWA STUDIOS

STORY: Ed Brisson

ART: C.P. Smith

COLORS: C.P. Smith

LETTERS: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

COVER: Tim Bradstreet

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mike Deodato, Jr. with Lee Loughridge; Chris Ferguson; Mike Deodato, Jr.

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (June 2023)

Rated: “Mature”

Sins of the Salton Sea is a new five-issue comic book miniseries from writer Ed Brisson and artist C.P. Smith.  Published by AWA Studios, the series focuses on a professional thief who finds himself with lives on his hand rather than the money promised in his hand.  Letterer Steve Wands completes the series creative team.

Sins of the Salton Sea #1 opens somewhere out in the American West.  It introduces Wyatt, a professional thief living off the grid.  What he doesn't know is that his brother, Jasper, has been keeping tabs on him, and now, he has come asking for help.  Jasper has allegedly scored information on one of those proverbial “last big scores.”  If Jasper and his team can pull this off, everyone will be set for a long time, maybe even life.

Problem is that Jasper needs a fifth member of his team, and that would be Wyatt, an explosives expert.  Wyatt reluctantly agrees, and he is right to be cautious.  This heist is not anything like what Jasper and his team expects.

THE LOWDOWN:  AWA Studios marketing recently began providing me with PDF review copies of their comic book publications.  Sins of the Salton Sea #1 is the latest.

I don't have a lot to say about Sins of the Salton Sea #1, but it is a damn good read.  Writer Ed Brisson offers a tale that when it blows up in the reader's face – and it does – it leaves everything changed and the direction of the story totally different from what the reader expected.

Meanwhile, artist-colorist, C.P. Smith, depicts the West in true grand fashion with a clean compositional style and panels that feel wide and cinematic.  Smith's colors, however, give the story a deeply intimate feel.  Not only the drama, but also the action scenes bring the readers up close and personal.  I felt like I was there and in trouble with everyone else.

I highly recommend Sins of the Salton Sea #1.  It promises a lot for the rest of this series.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of action thrillers and conspiracies will want to try Sins of the Salton Sea.

A

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

You can buy the SINS OF THE SALTON SEA trade paperback at Amazon.

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#IReadsYou Review: NIGHT CLUB #4

NIGHT CLUB #4 (OF 6)

IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Juanan Ramírez

COLORS: Fabiana Mascolo

LETTERS: Clem Robins

COVER: Juanan Ramírez with Fabiana Mascolo

EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin

VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Juanan Ramírez

28pp, Color, $1.99 U.S. (March 2023)

Rated M / Mature

Night Club created by Mark Millar at Netflix

Night Club is a six-issue miniseries written and created by Mark Millar and drawn by Juanan Ramírez.  An Image Comics publication and a Netflix production, Night Club focuses on a teen boy who is bitten by a vampire and decides to make the best of his new condition.  Colorist Fabiana Mascolo and letterer Clem Robins complete Night Club's creative team.

Night Club introduces 17-year-old Danny Garcia, who had ambitions to gain fame and fortune as a YouTube star with his friends, DJ Sam Huxley and Amy Chen.  Then, after a terrible accident, a vampire bites him, and his life goes awry.  Instead of living like a stereotypical vampire, Danny decides to live “la vida loca” of a superhero.

Night Club #4 opens with Starguard (Danny), Thundercloud (Sam), and Yellowbird (Amy) having to deal with the fallout of their disastrous rescue mission.  Danny is trapped, weak, and without a source of food … and the cops have him cornered.  Sam and Amy aren't better, but maybe Amy can't think a way out of this.

So they need someone to come to their rescue.  But what if a rescue isn't quite a rescue when Laskaras is involved?

THE LOWDOWN:  Netflix/Millarworld sends me PDF review copies of their comic books.  Thus, I have been lucky enough to get review copies of the first four issues of Night Club.

Writer Mark Millar specializes in a variety of bad-ass and crazy-ass mutha f**ka type characters.  Big Daddy and Hit-Girl of Kick-Ass; Magneto-killing Professor X from Ultimate X-Men; beat-your-wife Henry Pym/Giant-Man of The Ultimates; Nemesis of the Nemesis comic books; the descendants of an evil Earth in Prodigy; and every single character in The Magic Order.

Detective Nick Laskaras, a powerful vampire, is one of Mark's newest “bastard of bastards.”  He is the great darkness at the edges of Night Club – soon to strike at the heart of the narrative.  I'm so scared of him that I was hoping he would stay away for a long time, but he couldn't stay away forever.  After all, this is the fourth issue, so Laskaras returns with a vengeance, swinging the biggest d*ck possible.

Artist Juanan Ramírez and colorist Fabiana Mascolo, a team whose graphics and storytelling stand out from everything else, present Laskaras in all his reptilian and lava-eyed glory.  The art and colors create a sense of anticipation; doom is coming.  And we'll want to back for the fifth issue, dear readers, because the bastard seems ready to be a bastard to three young, dumb vampires.

Night Club is infectious and addictive, a vampire comic book determined to be a new kind of batty.  I am recommending Night Club #4 as I did the previous three issues.  Drink deeply of its fun; this comic book has flavors in layers and waves.  And it only costs a $1.99.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of vampire comic books will want to be bitten by Night Club.

A+

10 out of 10

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

You can buy the NIGHT CLUB trade paperback here at AMAZON.

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The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Manga Review: WITCH OF THISTLE CASTLE Volume 1

WITCH OF THISTLE CASTLE VOL. 1

TITAN COMICS/Titan Manga

MANGAKA: John Tarachine

TRANSLATION: Motoko Tamamuro and Jonathan Clements

LETTERS: Jessica Burton and Cale Ward

EDITOR: Phoebe Hedges

ISBN: 978-1787741416; paperback (October 31, 2023)

176pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $16.99 CAN, £9.99 UK

Azami no Shiro no Majo is a fantasy manga from writer-artist John Tarachine.  It began serialization in the Japanese magazine, Comic Tatan, in 2019.  Titan Manga is publishing an English-language edition of the manga under the title, Witch of Thistle Castle.

Witch of Thistle Castle, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) opens in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Spirits and magic are everywhere in this city's streets – if only you dare to see it.  Marie Blackwood is the last in a long line of Witches of the Black Wood, and she is also known as “the Black Witch of Albion.”  However, Marie Blackwood lives a quiet life in Edinburgh – away from the scrutiny of the Church of London, which oversees magic.

Then, the Church thrusts 13-year-old Theo Edison into her hands for safekeeping.  Marie suddenly gains the responsibility not only of taking care of a teenager, but also of protecting the world, and Theo himself, from the amazing power that lives inside of him.  It is the power known as “the Blood of Righteous Anger.”  Is Theo Marie's apprentice or burden … or more?

THE LOWDOWN:  Beginning last month (October 2023), Titan Comics started providing me with print copies of their manga publications for review.  Witch of Thistle Castle 01 is the second.  The Witch of Thistle Castle manga is also the first title created by John Tarachine that I have read.

Witch of Thistle Castle Graphic Novel Volume 1 is intriguing simply because of the way that author John Tarachine presents magic.  In this world, magic works by negotiating with spirits that humans can't see, and even magic users need special means by which to see these spirits.  The narrative is at once playful, but there is always an air of menace about it.  Tarachine seems to use the sense of mystery and of the unknown as a lure to ensnare readers, which if fine by me.  Like me, I think readers will want to know more, much more about the world of this series.

Witch of Thistle Castle presents some of the most beautiful drawn manga art that I have seen in a while.  The figure drawing is a combination of sexy angles and playful elegance.  The detailed backgrounds are lavish and imaginative, and they serve to transport readers to this world with its unique and eccentric methods of magic and madness

My second experience with Titan Manga is also a win.  I hope to keep reading Witch of Thistle Castle.  I highly recommend this magical girl manga that is like no other.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of magical girl manga will want to try Titan Manga's Witch of Thistle Castle.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

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

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#IReadsYou Review: JOSIE ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR #1

JOSIE ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR #1

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC.

STORY: Holly G!; Frank Doyle; Tom DeFalco

PENCILS: Holly G!: Dan DeCarlo; Kennedy Bros.

INKS: Jim Amash; Rudy Lapick

COLORS: Glenn Whitmore

LETTERS: Jack Morelli; Vincent DeCarlo; Bill Yoshida

EDITORS: Jamie Lee Rotante; Vincent Lovallo; Stephen Oswald

EiC: Mike Pellerito

COVER: Dan Parent with Rosario “Tito” Peña

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2024); on-sale November 8, 2023

Rating: All-Ages

Josie and the Pussycats in “Rock Cats”

In December 1962, Archie Comics published a comic book entitled She's Josie.  She's Josie #1 (cover date: February 1963) gave a starring role to a level-headed redhead named “Josie Jones” and focused on her fanciful life and times as a teenager.  Created by Dan DeCarlo, Josie first appeared in Archie's Pals 'n' Gals #23 (cover dated: Winter 1962-1963).

Josie Jones would become "Josie James," and later, she would take the name by which most readers and fans know her, “Josie McCoy.”  She's Josie was renamed Josie with issue #17 (cover dated: December 1965).  The series became Josie and the Pussycats with issue #45 (cover date: December 1969), in which Josie and her friend, Melody, formed a band called the Pussycats.  The two friends added bassist, Valerie Smith, the new girl in school and one of the first major African-American comic book characters.  The trio donned leopard print band uniforms that came with long tails and cat-ear headbands.  Hanna-Barbera adapted this new-look Josie into the Saturday morning animated television series, “Josie and the Pussy Cats” (1970-71), and the follow-up, “Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space” (1972-73).

2023 is the year Archie Comics is celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of Josie's debut.  Archie has just published the one-shot comic book, Josie Anniversary Spectacular, No. 1.  The comic book features one new story, “Rock Cats.”  It is written by Holly G!; drawn by Holly G! (pencils) and Jim Amash (inks); colored by Glenn Whitmore; and lettered by the great Jack Morelli.

Josie and the Pussycats in “Rock Cats”:

The story opens with Josie and the Pussycats: Josie McCoy, Valerie Brown, and Melody Valentine being launched into space aboard the first Lodge/Cabot rocket for an extraordinary concert event.  It's a first – Pussycats in orbit!  There is trouble in space, however, and soon the girls have lost contact with their fans back on Earth.  Can a passing space fan save the day and the concert? 

The story features a host of characters from the world of Archie Comics.  From Josie and the Pussycats, there is Alan M. Mayberry, Alexander Cabot III, Alexandra Cabot, and Pepper Smith.  The “Archie Gang” includes, Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, and Veronica Lodge, to name a few.  Plus, there is a special appearance by Cosmo the Merry Martian.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have been a fan of the Josie and the Pussycats franchise since I was a small child.  I am crazy about classic Josie comic books from the 1960s to the early 1980s and of the 1970s animated series.

Josie Anniversary Spectacular No. 1 offers a new story in “Rock Cats” that manages to hit upon a number of familiar Josie elements, although it is only five pages long.  I must admit that I like writer-artist Holly G!'s visual nod to the rocket ship that the legendary comic book artist and illustrator, Alex Toth, designed for the “Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space” animated series.

Josie Anniversary Spectacular, No. 1 also reprints two vintage Josie stories drawn by Dan DeCarlo, Josie's creator.  They are “A Gym Dandy” from She's Josie #1, and “The Ghostly Guardian” from Josie and the Pussycats #61 (cover dated: April 1972).  This comic book also includes a story starring one of the original She's Josie's supporting characters, Pepper Smith, who has made something of a comeback.  It is a modern story entitled “Only the Strong Survive” from World of Betty and Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #18 (cover dated: August 2022).

I must warn you, dear readers.  I will always recommend classic-style Archie Comics titles.  Thus, I am happy to recommend Josie Anniversary Spectacular, No. 1, and I am pleased that Archie Comics has published it.  Here's to a brighter future for Josie and the Pussycats.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic-style Archie Comics and of Josie and the Pussycats will definitely want to get a copy of Josie Anniversary Spectacular No. 1.

A

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

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#IReadsYou Review: JENNIFER BLOOD VOL. 2 #5

JENNIFER BLOOD VOLUME 2 #5
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Fred Van Lente
ART: Vincenzo Federici
COLORS: Dearbhla Kelly
LETTERS: Jeff Eckleberry
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Lucio Parrillo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS:  Joseph Michael Linsner; Lesley Leirix Li; Juggeun Yoon; Ken Haeser; Vincenzo Federici; Jimmy Broxton; Lucio Parrillo; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2022)

Rated Teen+

Jennifer Blood created by Garth Ennis and Adriano Batista.

“Bloodlines” Chapter Five: “There Goes the Neighborhood”

Jennifer Blood is a a comic book character created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Adriano Batista.  A suburban wife and mother by day, Jennifer Blood is a ruthless vigilante by night.  Born “Jessica Blute,” she took her mother's first name, Jennifer, and created the alter ego, “Jennifer Blood, and sought revenge against her father's family for the death of her parents.  The first Jennifer Blood comic book series ran for 36 issues from 2011 to 2014.

Jennifer Blood returns from the dead in a new comic book series, Jennifer Blood Volume 2.  It is written by Fred Van Lente; drawn by Vincenzo Federici; colored by Dearbhla Kelly and lettered by Simon Bowland and Jeff Eckleberry.  In the new series, someone is acting like Jennifer Blood, who is supposedly dead.  And this “copycat” loves to kill criminals just like the original did.  Her killing ground is Bountiful, Utah – a town run by and for criminals.  Bountiful (population 4302 ) is where the U.S. Department of Justice sends the most infamous East Coast mobsters into the federal “Witness Protection Program” (WPP).

Jennifer Blood Volume 2 #5 (“There Goes the Neighborhood”) opens in Bountiful in the wake of the slaughter of FBI agents in Salt Lake City.  They were the agents that were responsible for overseeing Bountiful.  There killer?  Jennifer Blood!  Or maybe not.

Alphonso “Don” Giallo – the former overboss of Newark, NJ who is now the boss of Bountiful – believes that the true killer is Giulietta Romeo, the top assassin for the Neopolitan Camorra.  Giallo brought her to Bountiful to hunt Jennifer Blood, and he made her Sheriff Giulietta.  Now, thanks to some video evidence, the don thinks his hired assassin is the killer she was hired to take out.

On the other hand, Giulietta believes that she has solved the mystery of Jennifer Blood's identity.  The real question is can she live long enough to prove her theory?

THE LOWDOWN:  In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Jennifer Blood Volume 2 #5.  This is the fifth Jennifer Blood comic book I have read, although I had previously heard of the series.

Unfortunately, Jennifer Blood Volume 2 #5 is the final issue of this current series.  I say “unfortunately” because the series got better with each issue.  After reading the first issue, I wasn't sure if I would like Jennifer Blood Volume 2 over its entirety.  However, writer Fred Van Lente always offered something new and made each issue seem better than the previous.  He made reading about Jennifer Blood killing a lot of people every issue fun to read, and in Giulietta Romeo, he had a great secondary lead and foil

The art and storytelling by Vincenzo Federici perfectly fit Van Lente's depraved comic tone and madcap violence, and the colors by Dearbhla Kelly were the perfect accompaniment with its spurts of blood.  And throughout, Simon Bowland and Jeff Eckleberry's lettering was the soundtrack of sacrifice to mob violence and bloody revenge.

If you haven't read it yet, and you like comic books like The Punisher, then, Jennifer Blood Volume 2 is for you, dear readers.  In the meantime, I will hope that we get a third volume of this fun craziness.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Jennifer Blood will want to read Jennifer Blood Volume 2.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

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

You can buy a copy of the JENNIFER BLOOD: BLOODLINES VOL. 1 trade paperback here at AMAZON.

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#IReadsYou Review: NEMESIS RELOADED #4

NEMESIS RELOADED #4 (OF 5)

IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Jorge Jiménez

COLORS: Giovanna Niro

LETTERS: Clem Robins

EDITOR: Sarah Unwin

COVER: Jorge Jiménez with Giovanna Niro

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Brett Booth; Jorge Jiménez

28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2023)

Rated M / Mature

Nemesis created by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven

Nemesis Reloaded is a five-issue comic book series from writer Mark Millar.  It is a soft reboot of Nemesis, Millar's 2010-11 four-issue comic book miniseries that he created with artist Steve McNiven.

Nemesis: Reloaded is drawn by Jorge Jiménez; colored by Giovanna Niro; and lettered by Clem Robins.  In the new series, Nemesis has plans for Los Angeles and its ruling class.  By the time he is done, the city won't be the same, nor will its top politicians.  And maybe the secrets of Nemesis will be revealed.

Nemesis Reloaded #4 opens in Los Angeles, a city under siege and on fire.  Nemesis has one more score to settle – with retired and disabled former cop, Maggie Cheung – before he moves on to his primary target.  That would be the cop-turned-district attorney, Joe Costello, the mayor-elect of Los Angles.

By Nemesis's command:  people cannot leave their houses or a nuclear bomb will go off in a secret location.  Everyone remains in lock down. Now, the penultimate chapter prepares to give way to the final showdown.

THE LOWDOWN:  In my earlier reviews of Nemesis Reloaded, I talked about how those issues fit into the tradition of the groundbreaking and daring comic books of the 1980s, especially of the early to mid-1980s.

Years ago, I read an article which stated that the people who published comic books back in the 1940s believe that the primary readers of comic books were children who were not bright and adults who were morons.

One might argue that quite a few adults who read comic books, then and now, are crazy – euphemistically or certifiably.  For instance, I'm crazy enough to imagine elaborate revenge fantasies in which I hurt people who have hurt me personally and especially professional.  I'd love to tie them in a chair and burn them alive.  Then, I'd mow down every law enforcement and first responders that showed up to rescue my burning victim(s).  And whadda-u-know!  There's a comic book where the main character does precisely that.

Seriously, writer Mark Millar and artist Jorge Jiménez have embraced the crazy.  If the publishers of the 1940s were right about their readers (they weren't), then, comic books should go all out to be wild, weird, and wonderful. If there is some truth to crazy, then, why not do crazy comic books.  Mark and Jorge have brought the bat-shit crazy of 1980s comic books like Elektra: Assassin and American Flagg! back in full effect with the crazy, balls-to-the-wall, Nemesis: Reloaded, especially this fourth issue.

When Nemesis walks out of that burning building and starts killing cops and then, confronts Mayor Joe, well, it was exhilarating.  Nemesis: Reloaded isn't mere entertainment; it is pure, unashamed, weird fiction that triggers and activates its readers.  This ain't just another comic book; it is the kind that goes after that dangly thing in the back of your throat (hip hop reference).  That's why you want to read Nemesis Reloaded #4 on the way to reading the entire series.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of comic books that make readers beg for more will desire Nemesis Reloaded.

A+

10 out of 10

You can buy the NEMESIS: RELOADED trade paperback here from AMAZON.

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

https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/

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#IReadsYou Review: NITA HAWES' NIGHTMARE BLOG #11

NITA HAWES' NIGHTMARE BLOG #11

IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Rodney Barnes

ART: Szymon Kudranski

COLORS: Luis Nct with mar and Silvestre Galotto

LETTERS: Marshall Dillon

EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello

COVER: Szymon Kudranski

VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Szymon Kudranski; Chris Visions

28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (January 2023)

Rated “M/ Mature”

Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog created by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander

“Murder By Another Name” Part V: “The Wake-Up Call”

Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog is a comic book series created by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander.  Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog is written by Barnes.  The current artist is Szymon Kudranski.  Colorist Luis Nct and letterer by Marshall Dillon complete the creative team.  The series focuses on a woman who is on a quest to root out evil by helping the people who contact her blog.

In Baltimore, Maryland, which some call “Bodymore, Murderland,” there is a woman named Dawnita “Nita” Hawes.  She is the owner of “Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog” where citizens can contact Nita when they have a problem of a supernatural or paranormal nature.  Nita has just begun her quest to root the evil out of her city – with the help of her dead brother, Jason.

Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog #11 (“The Wake-Up Call”) opens with Nita freed from the clutches of “Jackie the Ripper.”  Her savior, Anasi the Spider-God, wants Nita to show appreciation because he saved her from a Hell she never imagined.  He believes that Nita can show that by not returning to the clutches of the Ripper...

… But that can't be.  Nita must ignore Anansi's warnings and go looking for a formidable creature with the assistance of  Detective Harden.  As Nita comes one step closer to uncovering Jackie's dark secrets, she becomes her next target, again, as the killer desires to enjoy some more killing before returning to her next big sleep. 

THE LOWDOWN:  Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog is a spin-off of Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander's hit vampire comic book, Killadelphia.  The current story arc, “Murder By Another Name,” is making several direct connections to recent and ongoing events in Killadelphia, while rocking the “Killadelphia-verse” in its own way.

I like Barnes and Kudranski's take on Jack the Ripper.  She is a slave turned monster by the ghosts of those who killed her.  In a sense, because she was killed as chattel property and now “lives” as an murderous entity, she can never truly be a “former slave.”

I think that this story arc, “Murder By Another Name,” especially Chapter 4 (issue #10), is about Nita fully taking control of her mission.  Her “Nightmare Blog” is something she took upon herself, and she must take on that mission and must embrace it in her way regardless of the pleadings of well-meaning gods and baby ghosts.

I think next issue's closing chapter of this story arc will be big.  Keep reading, dear readers.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Killadelphia and of the original Hellblazer will want Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog.

A+

You can buy the NITA HAWES' NIGHTMARE BLOG VOL. 2 trade paperback here at AMAZON.

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

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#IReadsYou Review: THE MAGIC ORDER 3 #6

THE MAGIC ORDER 3 #6 (OF 6)

IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Gigi Cavenago

COLORS: Valentina Napolitano

LETTERS: Clem Robins

EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin

COVER: Gigi Cavenago

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Gigi Cavenago; Greg Tocchini

36pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2022)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Magic Order was a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  Published in 2018-19, the series focuses on The Magic Order, a band of sorcerers, magicians, and wizards – with a focus on the Moonstone family.  They live ordinary lives by day, but protect humanity from darkness and monsters of impossible sizes by night.  A second six-issue miniseries, The Magic Order 2 (2021-22), was recently published.

The Magic Order 3 introduces the Asian chapter of the The Magic Order.  A six-issue miniseries, this third installment is written by Millar; drawn by Gigi Cavenago; colored by Valentina Napolitano; and lettered by Clem Robins.  The series finds Cordelia Moonstone focusing her attention on the Asian chapter's Sammy Liu and his impossible wealth.  Meanwhile, the ghosts of an old conflict stir, and someone within the Order is living foul.

The Magic Order 3 #6 opens with Cordelia forced to punish her brother, Regan, who has been casting a spell that protects him but steals from everyone else.  Meanwhile, their reunited parents, Leonard and Salome, meet their dark destiny.  Everything begins to fall apart for the Moonstones and for the Order like never before.

THE LOWDOWN:  My favorite Mark Millar Netflix creation is The Magic Order.  It always surprises me, and before I read each issue I wonder not if, but how I will be surprised.

Well... I certainly can't spoil this for you, but Millar stabs your brain.  Gigi Cavenago draws it all out in order to shock what is left of your brain after an issue full of shocking shocks and salad-tossing surprises.  Napolitano's colors have a strobe effect, the better to freeze your blood, dear readers, as you are reading the lurid events of this crazy-ass final issue of The Magic Order 3.  It is all there – written in acid via Clem Robins great-as-usual lettering.

I believe that I always say the following:  Mark and his collaborators obviously have respect for their readers.  They go out of their way to throw one curve ball after another, and they always give us more than we expect.  The Magic Order is like the marriage of Godfather II and the darkest elements of Harry Potter, with some British crime cinema nastiness thrown into the cauldron.

Also, while The Magic Order and The Magic Order 2 were, more or less, standalone series.  The Magic Order 3 is intimately and wretchedly tied to the upcoming The Magic Order 4.  I would ask God to help us, but he knows that many of us have also read American Jesus.  So we're on our own with the dark and darker delights to come in The Magic Order franchise.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 3.

A+

You can buy a copy of THE MAGIC ORDER VOL. 3 trade paperback here at AMAZON.

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

https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/

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#IReadsYou Review: JOHN CARTER OF MARS #1

JOHN CARTER OF MARS, VOL. 1 #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Chuck Brown
ART: George Kambadais
COLORS: George Kambadais
LETTERS: Jeff Eckleberry
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Junggeun Yoon
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Joseph Michael Linsner; Jonathan Case; George Kambadais; Marat Mychaels; Sebastian Piriz; Guillem March; Piper Rudich; Ryan Kincaid; Johnny Desjardins; Rachel Hollon and David Turner (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2022)

Rated Teen+

Based on the characters and stories created by Edgar Rice Burroughs

John Carter is a character that first appeared in the serialized novel, Under the Moons of Mars (The All-Story, 1912), written by Tarzan creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs.  When it was first collected and published in hardcover, the novel was re-titled, A Princess of Mars (1917), the first of Burroughs' “Barsoom” novels, which were set on Barsoom, a fictional version of Mars.

John Carter is a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War who is transported to Mars via “astral projection.”  There he gets a new body that is similar to the one he leaves behind on Earth.  John makes several trips back and forth between Earth (which the Martians call “Jasoom”) and Barsoom, and Dejah and John are married and have two children.

John Carter first appeared in comic books in the early 1950s and continues today as a comic book character via Dynamite Entertainment.  His latest comic book series is John Carter of Mars.  The series is written by Chuck Brown; drawn and colored by George Kambadais; and lettered by Jeff Eckleberry.  In the new series, a re-imagining of and a sequel to the original “Barsoom” novels, John Carter is back on Earth and discovers that Martians are being transported to Earth while humans are being transported to Mars.

John Carter of Mars #1 opens on Barsoom.  John Carter is enjoying his reward – domestic life with his wife, Dejah Thoris (the Princess of Mars), and their son.  Suddenly, for the first time in ages, he is whisked back to Earth, but he isn't the only one.  It is 1919, and Carter is back in his old mansion estate.  There, he finds himself in a fierce battle with Green Martians that have also been transported to Earth.  And they are determined to make trophies of his head and limbs.

Meanwhile, a young Black U.S. Army officer, Lt. Fred Hines, and his friend, Charlie, have arrived at the estate to investigate the disappearance of his wife, Thai, a Civil War historian who has studied John Carter's journals.  She is also one of the humans missing on Earth that may have been transported to Mars.  Fred and Charlie are shocked to find John Carter alive and fighting for his life, a fight they must now join.

THE LOWDOWN:  In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is John Carter of Mars #1.  It is the first solo Dynamite John Carter comic book that I have read.

Simply put, writer Chuck Brown has created in John Carter of Mars #1 the kind of comic book that I could not stop reading.  What a blast!  It may be the freshest take on John Carter, if not ever, then, in a long time.  Brown simultaneously reinvents Burroughs influential series and also may well revitalize interest in it.  Brown has also created a comic book that can be enjoyed by many ages – from middle school to old school readers.

George Kambadais's art and coloring remind me of the work of Bruce Timm, and the graphical storytelling hops from one page to another like a lit fuse.  It has a classic comics feel with a sense of wonder and mystery.  My only complaint is that I wish I could see Kambadais' work for issue #2 now, so, of course, I am highly recommending John Carter of Mars.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Dynamite's Barsoom comic books will want to try John Carter of Mars.

[This comic book includes “Dynamite Dispatch,” which features an interview with writer Tom Sniegoski.]

A+
★★★★+ out of 4 stars

Buy the JOHN CARTER OF MARS trade paperback here at AMAZON.

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


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#IReadsYou Review: ELVIRA Meets Vincent Price #1

ELVIRA MEETS VINCENT PRICE #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: David Avallone
ART: Juan Samu
COLORS: Walter Pereya
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito with Elizabeth Sharland
EDITOR: Joseph Rybandt
COVER: Dave Acosta
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Dave Acosta; Juan Samu; John Royle
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2021)

Rated Teen+

Chapter One: “The Price is Right!”

In 1981, actress and model Cassandra Peterson created the “horror hostess character,” known as “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).  Eclipse Comics and Claypool Comics began the long-running Elvira: Mistress of the Dark from 1993 to 2007.  In 2018, Elvira returned to comic books via Dynamite Entertainment in the four-issue comic book miniseries, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, that actually ran for 12 issues.

Vincent Price (1911–1993) was an American actor and a legendary movie star.  Price was and still is best known for his performances in horror films, although his career spanned other genres.  Price appeared in more than 100 films, but he also performed on television, the stage, and on radio.  Thus, he has two stars on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame,” one for motion pictures and one for television.

Elvira and Vincent Price team up for the first time in the comic book miniseries, Elvira Meets Vincent Price.  The series is written by David Avallone; drawn by Juan Samu; colored by Walter Pereyra; and lettered by Taylor Esposito with Elizabeth Sharland.  The series finds Elvira and Vincent searching for a long-lost movie in order to save the world.

Elvira Meets Vincent Price #1 opens after the events depicted in Elvira: The Omega Ma'am.  [This is a Kickstarter comic book that shipped to campaign supporters the first quarter of this year.]  Elvira and her writing partner, Eddie Mezzogiorno, are in the offices of a powerful streaming service.  The duo is (desperately) pitching ideas for new “Elvira” television series with no luck.  In fact, things have been a bit dark of late for the “Mistress of the Dark,” with the possibility of darker still to come.

After a night of drinking, Elvira experiences an intense dream-vision in which her “favorite all-time movie star” – living or dead – appears.  It's the late, but still great Vincent Price!  He needs Elvira's help to find a lost movie of his, but this match made in cinematic-Hades seems to have the forces of darkness aligned against them.

THE LOWDOWN:  I have been a fan of writer David Avallone's Elvira comic books for a few years now.  When Avallone is teamed with artist Dave Acosta, they deliver hugely-entertaining Elvira comic books; they are the “Misters of the Dark.”

For Elvira Meets Vincent Price, Avallone teams up with talented Spanish artist, Juan Samu, who has drawn Marvel Action Black Panther and Transformers comics for IDW Publishing.  Here, Samu's layouts and page designs deftly capture the wild mood swings of this first issue – from the banality of office spaces to the mirthful macabre of Elvira's dwellings and from the fever dreamscapes of Elvira to the crusty outback of the California film making industry.  Samu is also a man of a thousand facial expressions, as he is always conveying different character tempers and humors, panel per panel.  Walter Pereya's colors add a quality to the storytelling that is both lurid and dreamlike.

David Avallone's script is filled with sparkling and witty dialogue, the kind of which DC Comics' Harley Quinn comic books so desperately need.  Reading Avallone's dialogue for Vincent Price certainly made my imagination believe that Price was actually speaking.  The interplay of bold and plain text in the lettering by Taylor Esposito and Elizabeth Sharland balances the need for the script to be funny, and it also advances a plot.

So I encourage everyone looking for (really) funny macabre comedy to purchase and read Elvira Meets Vincent Price #1.  I want a sequel to this series, already.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Elvira and of Vincent Price and of David Avallone's Elvira comic books will want to read Elvira Meets Vincent Price.

A

9 out of 10

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


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Buy the Elvira Meets Vincent Price trade paperback collection here.

#IReadsYou Review: THE AMBASSADORS #4

THE AMBASSADORS #4 (OF 6)

IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar

ART: Olivier Coipel

COLORS: Giovanna Niro

LETTERS: Clem Robins

EDITORIAL: Sarah Unwin

COVER: Olivier Coipel with Giovanna Niro

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Ryan Sook; Olivier Coipel

28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (June 2023)

Rated M / Mature

The Ambassadors created by Mark Millar at Netflix

The Ambassadors is a new comic book miniseries written and created by Mark Millar.  The series focuses on the six people out of eight billion humans who will receive super-powers.  Each person will become a member of  the international rescue squad, The Ambassadors.  Each issue of The Ambassadors will be drawn by a different superstar comic book artist.  The fourth issue is drawn by Olivier Coipel; colored by Giovanna Niro; and lettered by Clem Robins.

The Ambassadors focuses on the efforts of Doctor Choon-He Chung.  The technology of her company, Chung Solutions (the world leader in bio-engineering and artificial intelligence), built her a new body.  Now, she wants to share super-powers with the world.  From her “Base-Control” is in Antarctica, Choon-He is building “The Ambassadors.”

The Ambassadors #4 opens in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  There, the police have defeated the gangs, but now these enforcers of the law have become the crime lords.  A lone voice, Father Vitor Pereira fights the corruption from his church, and for his efforts, he has been chosen “Codename Brazil,” the superhero who will be Brazil's “Ambassador.”

But he doesn't want it.  What part do Captain Eduardo Lobo, the policeman turned militia leader and crime lord, and his female killer, Zee, play in Farther Pereira's ultimate choice?  Meanwhile, Jin-Sung, Choon-He's ex-husband, continues to sell super-powers to the super rich...

THE LOWDOWN:  Thanks to a review copy provided by the Mark Millar division of Netflix, I have been able to read the first four issues The Ambassadors.  This is a treat for which I have been awaiting since the announcement of the series last year.

In The Ambassadors #4, artist Olivier Coipel captures the grittiness, persistent poverty, and brutal violence of Rio de Janeiro in an artistic tableau of stylish graphics, eye-catching graffiti, and expressive graphic design.  Under Giovanna Niro's lavish colors, Coipel's art matches the aesthetic of writer Mark Millar's darker series, such as the recent Nemesis Reloaded and Night Club.

Millar's script, however, offers a poignant tale of a rose growing in concrete, but a flower showing its thorns in a life of horrid violence.  This is a tale of a man determined to make that flower bloom beyond full, even if he has to give up the greatest material things any human could ever get on the planet Earth.

The Ambassadors #4 is a nice follow-up to the amazing third issue.  This fourth issue keeps the series undeniable and unmatched.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of big concept superhero comic books will want to read The Ambassadors.

A+

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

https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/

https://twitter.com/ImageComics

https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar

https://twitter.com/netflix

http://www.millarworld.tv/

www.imagecomics.com

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: JAMES BOND: Agent of SPECTRE #5

JAMES BOND: AGENT OF SPECTRE #5
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Christos Gage
ART: Luca Casalanguida
COLORS: Heather Moore
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
EDITOR: Matt Idelson
COVER: Luca Casalanguida
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Luca Casalanguida
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2021)

Rated T+

Based on the characters and stories created by Ian Fleming

“James Bond” is a fictional British Secret Service agent created by Ian Fleming, a British writer and novelist.  Fleming introduced James Bond in the 1953 novel, Casino Royale, and featured the character in 12 novels and two short-story collections.  Of course, most people know Bond because of Eon Productions' long-running James Bond-007 film series, which began with the 1962 film, Dr. No.

Over the past 50+ years, Bond has made sporadic appearances in comic books, but Dynamite Entertainment has been steadily publishing James Bond comic books since early 2016.  Their latest James Bond comic book is the five-issue miniseries, James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE.  It is written by Christos Gage; drawn by Luca Casalanguida; colored by Heather Moore; and lettered by Simon Bowland.   The series finds James Bond taking sides in a civil war within SPECTRE, the international criminal organization that has long been Bond's enemy.

Titania Jones, an upstart American member of SPECTRE, is attempting a coup, threatening to depose its longtime leader, the criminal mastermind, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.  Titania is on guard against Blofeld's men, so to take her out, Blofeld recruits a wild card, James Bond!  With Blofeld threatening the life of his friend, CIA operative, Felix Leiter, as leverage, Bond agrees.  However, Bond has a plan to use this internal strife to bring SPECTRE down once and for all.  Will he succeed, or is this a dark path from which even 007 cannot return?

James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE #5 opens on the Island of Meraki, Greece.  It is the location of the ancestral home of Blofeld, and it is the site of the final showdown between Blofeld, 007, and Titania Jones, the would-be new leader of SPECTRE.  This “SPECTRE Civil War” reaches its explosive conclusion, but who will come out on top, the established Blofeld or the upstart Titania?  And will 007 survive this struggle, and can he use it to bring SPECTRE down from within?

THE LOWDOWN:  The only Dynamite James Bond comic book series I have read is Warren Ellis' twelve-issue run, James Bond, Vol. 1 (2016-17), which is comprised of two story arcs, “Vargr” and “Eidolon.”  Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of the first batch is the fifth and final issue of James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE.

James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE #5 is the first issue of the series that I have read.  I used the Diamond Comic Distributors' “Previews” listings to get the lowdown on the previous four issues of the series.  I figured out enough about the story line to say that writer Christos Gage has brought James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE #5 to a satisfying conclusion.  Gage also sets up some interesting threads for future James Bond comic books.

The art team of Luca Casalanguida and colorist Heather Moore are good, but Casalanguida's compositions are a little too impressionistic for this story.  I do like Casalanguida's interpretation of James Bond as a burly, brawny, meaty man who can throw his fists around.  Moore's coloring tends towards the garish a few times.  Simon Bowland's solid lettering keeps the art and graphical storytelling from being too off the wall.

I can say that James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE #5 suggests to me that this series might make for a fun read as a trade paperback.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of James Bond comic books will want to try James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE.

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


https://twitter.com/DynamiteComics
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNOH4PEsl8dyZ2Tj7XUlY7w
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamite-entertainment


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).