I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #40

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #40
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Sholly Fisch, John Rozum
PENCILS: Walter Carzon, Robert Pope, Fabio Laguna
INKS: Horatio Ottolini, Scott McRae, Fabio Laguna
COLORS: Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte, Travis Lanham
COVER: Scott Gross
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (February 2014)

Rated “E” for Everyone

I previously wrote that I subscribe to DC Comics’ current incarnation of a Scooby-Doo comic book series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (2010).  I bought the subscription through a fundraising drive for the school my nephew attends.  I recently received the second issue of my subscription.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #40 opens with “Scare Mail” (written by Sholly Fisch and penciled by Walter Carzon).  The story finds Mystery Inc. working for “Tex Mex” delivery service (a spoof of FedEx).  They are delivering a package to the ghost town of Jackpot, but the gang’s true purpose is to investigate the disappearance of previous TexMex trucks that entered Jackpot and never returned.

Next up is a “Howling Good Time” (written by Sholly Fisch and penciled by Robert Pope).  Scooby, Shaggy, and the rest of the gang visit a carnival run by their old pals, the Ghastleys, who first appeared in Scooby-Doo (1997) #107.  The gang learns that everything about the carnival is just fine, except for one small detail.  For the past week, a monster has been rampaging through the carnival and scaring customers away.  If this monster mystery isn’t solved, it will put the carnival out of business.

After reading the first issue of my subscription, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #39, I was disappointed.  This time around, I am disappointed that Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #40 is not double-sized… or even triple-sized.  Sholly Fisch offers two highly-enjoyable stories that capture the fun of the classic Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? television cartoons.  In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing Fisch’s two stories here adapted into Scooby-Doo cartoons.

Penciller Robert Pope and inker Scott McRae, who were excellent in issue #39, return for another story.  I like how Pope fills the panels with characters and background details that give each panel a sense of environment; McRae’s clean inking keeps Pope’s details from becoming cluttered.  However, I have to say that I’m especially impressed by Walter Carzon.  From his drawing hand, classic Scooby-Doo is reborn in the graphics of comic book storytelling.  Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #40 would make an excellent comic book gift for a young reader.

Obviously, I’m ready for the next issue in my subscription.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

One Piece: S.A.D.

I read One Piece, Vol. 69

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

I Reads You Review: AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #2

AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #2
ARCHIE COMICS – @archiecomics and @AfterlifeArchie

STORY: Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa
ART: Francesco Francavilla
LETTERS: Jack Morelli
COVER: Francesco Francavilla
VARIANT COVER: Tim Seeley
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (January 2014)

Rated Teen+ for Violence and Mature Content

Escape from Riverdale:  Chapter Two – “Dance of the Dead”

I am captivated by the surprising new Archie comics series (that I assume it is going to be a miniseries or limited series of some kind).  Entitled Afterlife with Archie, this Archie comics horror series is written by Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa and drawn by Francesco Francavilla.  Afterlife with Archie pits Archie Andrews and the other beloved Archie comics characters against a zombie horde – led by their pal, Jughead.

What may be the end of the world begins when Forsythe P. “Jughead” Jones shows up at the door of Sabrina (the Teenaged Witch).  Jughead is holding the mangled body of his beloved pooch, Hot Dog.  Sabrina helps her friend, but her use of forbidden magic has dire consequences for her, Jughead, and the rest of Riverdale.

Afterlife with Archie #2 is mostly told in flashback from Lodge Mansion.  There, Veronica Lodge tells her father, Mr. Lodge, about the terror that occurred at the annual Halloween dance and about the unfolding horror that is heading their way.  The familiar has now turned very hungry, and Mr. Lodge may have to accept Archie as he never believed he would ever have to do.

Recalling George Romero, The Walking Dead, EC Comics, and other like zombie horror fiction in general, Afterlife with Archie is the real deal.  It is really an excellent and hugely entertaining horror comic book.  Writer Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa has simply turned Archie dark, and he retains what is familiar about the characters.  I think Aquirre-Sacasa is depicting their characteristics and quirks as if they were characters in a nighttime teen soap opera, rather than as in the usual Archie stories.

Certainly, what Afterlife with Archie artist, Francesco Francavilla, is doing is creating a true horror comic book.  It may not look like Dan DeCarlo’s classic Archie, but the spirit of the classic is there, somewhere behind the mood and the dark.

As an extra, Afterlife with Archie #2 reprints the comic book short story, “…Cat!” written and drawn by the late Gray Morrow, a story originally published in Chilling Adventures in Sorcery in the mid-1970s.  Morrow also edited Chilling Adventures in Sorcery, which was part of Archie Comics’ Red Circle Comics imprint.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Happy Marriage?!: Is it All Right if I Stay by Your Side?

I read Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Review: TIGER AND BUNNY Comic Anthology 2-in-1, Volume 2

TIGER & BUNNY COMIC ANTHOLOGY 2-IN-1, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONISTS: Various
PLANNING/STORY: Sunrise
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Labaamen and John Werry, HC Language Solutions
LETTERS: Evan Waldinger
COVER:  Chinatsu Kurahana with Masami Suzuki
EDITOR: Asuka Henshubu
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5560-7; paperback (December 2013); Rated “T” for “Teen”
372pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 U.K.

Some of Japan’s top amateur manga creators enter the world of Tiger & Bunny in Tiger & Bunny Comic Anthology.  A science fiction and superhero anime series, Tiger & Bunny ran for 25 episodes in 2011.  The series was also adapted into manga, produced by manga and comic book artist Mizuki Sakakibara.  Tiger & Bunny takes place in a world where 45 years earlier, super-powered humans, known as NEXT, started appearing in the world.

The setting is Sternbild City (a re-imagined version of New York City).  There, superheroes promote their corporate sponsors while appearing on the hit television show, Hero TV (or HERO TV).  Each season, the superheroes compete to be named the “King of Heroes.” Tiger & Bunny focuses on two superheroes, Wild Tiger and Barnaby Brooks, Jr.  Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (Wild Tiger) is a veteran superhero whose his ratings keep declining.  His new employer, Apollon Media, forces him to team-up with the newest NEXT sensation, Barnaby Brooks, Jr., the “Super Rookie,” whom Tiger calls “Bunny.”

The latest Tiger & Bunny manga for English readers is the two-volume Tiger & Bunny Comic Anthology.  Back in 2011 and 2012, Kadokawa Shoten Co. Ltd. published the four-volume series, Tiger & Bunny Official Comic Anthology.  VIZ Media published the four Japanese volumes in its 2-in-1 edition format, which collects two graphic novels in one double-sized graphic novel.  VIZ Media gave me a copy of Tiger & Bunny Comic Anthology, Vol. 2 for review.

Inspired by the Tiger & Bunny anime, Tiger & Bunny Official Comic Anthology is a collection of humorous manga shorts created by an all-star manga artist line-up and by Japan’s top doujinshi, self-published, and amateur manga artists.  The stories extend the world of Tiger & Bunny with new adventures, featuring Wild Tiger, Barnaby Brooks Jr. and other memorable characters from the anime.  Some of the stories reveal a whole new “off-duty” side of the characters, in particularly depicting stories set in the rural hometown where Wild Tiger grew up.

First, I have to admit to being a new, but huge fan of Tiger & Bunny, although I have yet to see the original anime series.  I have enjoyed the manga that I have thus far read, and I was happy to hear about the publication of Tiger & Bunny Comic Anthology when it was announced a few months ago.  Tiger & Bunny Comic Anthology Volume 2 reprints Tiger & Bunny Official Comic Anthology #3: Hitch Your Wagon to a Star and Tiger & Bunny Official Comic Anthology #4: The Age of Miracles is Past…!?

The stories featured in this volume are mostly humorous and nearly all are built on a various comic situations and scenarios.  In “Hero Freak” (by Ryoji Hido), Tiger and Barnaby try to come up with a dramatic entry they can use whenever they spring into action.  In “My Story” (by Sana Kirioka), Fire Emblem and Dragon Kid help Blue Rose do her homework, which is to write a short story, with hilarious results, of course.  There is actually a story built around Wild Tiger’s popular recipe for friend rice (“Fried Rice!!!!” by Majiko!).  Origami, whose power is similar to Mystique of the X-Men, pretends to be Tiger for a parent-teacher conference at his daughter’s school in “Mimic Panic! (by Ryo Nakajo).  Blue Rose dreams of teachers in “If Heroes Were Teachers” (by Waka Sagami).

For the most part, the mangaka and cartoonists capture the humor of Tiger & Bunny, offering new spins on the characters, while mostly staying true to what they are.  Many of the stories emphasize Blue Rose’s unrequited love for Wild Tiger in humorous, even occasionally poignant ways.  The glimpses into Wild Tiger’s personal life make this volume worth having for Tiger & Bunny fans.

In fact, these amateur and self-published artists show themselves quite well with their work here.  They prove that Tiger & Bunny is a concept that is strong enough to be interpreted by many different kinds of manga and comics creators.


A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Merry Christmas 2013

To all readers, visitors, and guests:  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Seasons Greetings.

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 24 2013

DC COMICS

OCT130115 FOREVER EVIL #4 $3.99
OCT130120 FOREVER EVIL #4 COMBO PACK $4.99
OCT130121 JUSTICE LEAGUE #26 (EVIL) $3.99
OCT130124 JUSTICE LEAGUE #26 COMBO PACK (EVIL) $4.99