Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for November 9, 2016

DARK HORSE COMICS
JUL160195    ARCHIE ARCHIVES DOUBLE DATE AND OTHER STORIES TP    $19.99
SEP160068    CHIMICHANGA SORROW OF WORLDS WORST FACE #2 (OF 4)    $3.99
AUG160058    DRAGON AGE OMNIBUS TP VOL 01    $24.99
MAR160124    HALO 5 FORERUNNER PHAETON SHIP REPLICA    $39.99
AUG168220    LCSD 2016 SERENITY NO POWER IN THE VERSE #1 (OF 6) EXC VAR    $3.99
JUL160171    MASSIVE LIBRARY ED HC VOL 02    $39.99
JUL160183    NEXUS OMNIBUS TP VOL 08    $24.99
JUL160202    PSYCHO PASS INSPECTOR SHINYA KOGAMI TP VOL 01    $11.99
SEP160048    RESIDENT ALIEN #3 (OF 4) MAN WITH NO NAME    $3.99
SEP160104    STRAIN MR QUINLAN VAMPIRE HUNTER #3 (OF 5) (MR)    $3.99
JUN160060    USAGI YOJIMBO GALLERY EDITION HC VOL 02    $125.00

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for November 9, 2016

IMAGE COMICS

SEP160720    CANNIBAL #2 (MR)    $3.99
JUN160620    CASANOVA ACEDIA #7 (MR)    $3.99
SEP160725    FUSE #23 (MR)    $3.99
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AUG169185    GREEN VALLEY #1 (OF 9) 2ND PTG    $2.99
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AUG160638    ISLAND #12    $7.99
AUG168737    LCSD 2016 LYING CAT STATUE EXC (Net)    $100.00
JUL168777    LCSD 2016 MOONSHINE #1 MILLER B&W EXC    $2.99
AUG168150    LCSD 2016 OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA HC BOOK 01 (MR)    $39.99
SEP160806    MICE TEMPLAR TP VOL 05    $17.99
SEP160741    NO MERCY #11 (MR)    $3.99
SEP160635    VIOLENT LOVE #1 CVR A SANTOS (MR)    $3.99
SEP160636    VIOLENT LOVE #1 CVR B SANTOS (MR)    $3.99

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for November 9, 2016

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

AUG168025    4001 AD WAR MOTHER #1 2ND PTG    $3.99
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Review: HOCKEY KARMA Original Grahic Novel

HOCKEY KARMA
ANIMAL MEDIA GROUP

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Howard Shapiro – @hockeyplayer
ART: Andres J. Mossa
COLORS: Andres J. Mossa
LETTERS: Ryan Ferrier
ISBN: 978-0-9861489-3-4; paperback (November 1, 2016)
160pp, Color, $14.95 U.S., $17.95 CAN

Hockey Karma is an full-color, original graphic novel written by Howard Shapiro; drawn and colored by Andres Mossa; and lettered by Ryan Ferrier.  Published by Animal Media Group, Hockey Karma is the third graphic novel in the Forever Friends Trilogy.  This final installment focuses on an aging hockey star and his frustrated best friend.

As Hockey Karma begins, hockey star, Jeremiah “Jake” Jacobson, is struggling with his place on the team for which he has been a star for 14 seasons, the Bay City Blades.  Thirty-two-years old and struggling with injuries, Jake has focused his ire on fast-rising newcomer, Barclay Pedersen, an 18-year-old rookie.  As Jake sinks deeper into bitterness, his wife, Felicity, notices that Jake is practically absent from the lives of her and their two children.  Can Jake stop his downward spiral?

Meanwhile, Tom Leonard, Jake's best friend and agent, is struggling to get a charitable organization started.  Jake was supposed to help him, but is uber-focused on preserving his fading career.  Tom begins to realize that he might be on his on, and a chance encounter with a former flame who might help Tom discover the power of believing in himself.  Can Tom step out of Jake's shadow?

I have not read the previous entries in the Forever Friends Trilogy, Stereotypical Freaks and The Hockey Saint.  I received a copy-for-review of Hockey Karma and the press materials helped me focus on this third novel rather than on the other two.  Still, I think any reader can find Hockey Karma enjoyable without reading the other comics before it.

Writer Howard Shapiro presents Hockey Karma in fairly hot and cold terms.  This is a character, family, friendship, and workplace drama without tears.  Shapiro makes the characters blunt about their shortcomings.  There are no teary interventions; the character with an addiction is presented with the resolution in stark terms.  The book offers a rah-rah, happy ending that might make even Walt Disney roll his eyes, but the characters have earned it because it did not come easy.

I recognized artist Andres Mossa's name from his work as a colorist on some of Marvel Comics' Star Wars comic book series.  Mossa is not a grand master of figure drawing, but his characters have a poignant human quality about them.  Also, it is hard not to like Mossa's dazzling colors.

On the title page for each chapter, Howard Shapiro offers “recommended listening,” songs that he thinks could be the right soundtrack for that particular chapter.  The songs are a collection of classic and modern rock songs and selections from alt-rock and college radio.  I don't think that Hockey Karma needs a soundtrack, although there are a few times when it needs an injection of drama.

Hockey Karma moves to its own beat, digging into themes of friendship, life changes, and intimate relationships.  And that beat engages the reader until its satisfying final chapters and last panel.  Hockey Karma is not perfect, but it has heart and its emotions feel genuine.

www.animalmediagroup.com

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: PLATINUM END Volume 1

PLATINUM END, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Tsugumi Ohba
ARTIST: Takeshi Obata
TRANSLATION: Stephen Paul
LETTERS: James Gaubatz
EDITOR: Alexis Kirsch
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9063-9; paperback (October 2016); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Platinum End is the new manga from the mangaka team of writer Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata.  They are best known for their bestselling and controversial manga, Death Note, and also for the insider manga, Bakuman。.

Platinum End, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 3) introduces orphan Mirai Kakehashi.  He is tired of life and attempts suicide by jumping from the roof of a building.  Instead of dying, Mirai is saved by an angel named Nasse.  Through her, Mirai learns that 13 humans have been chosen as candidates to replace God.  Each has a guardian angel, and Nasse is Mirai's.

Nasse gives Mirai the “angel's arrow” which can make anyone, male or female, hit with that arrow love Mirai for 33 days.  She gives him wings that allow him the freedom to go anywhere he wants.  The problem is that these new powers and this God candidate contest both have a dark side.

The Platinum End manga, like the Death Note manga, is shockingly edgy.  It is obvious from the beginning that this new manga by the Ohba-Obata team will be dark, but by the end of this volume's three chapters (which are rather longish), events reveal a sinister mood that is beyond the obvious.

Platinum End Volume 1 is the kind of first volume that practically forces the reader to return for more.  And I love this sinister.  Dear reader, I should admit that I am a huge fan of Ohba and Obata's Bakuman。and plan to read it again.  I think that Obata certainly deserves his nickname, “the god of drawing;” he is that good.  Trust me, however; Platinum End is going to be a helluva manga, and it has a heckuva first volume.

A

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SIMPSONS COMICS COLOSSAL COMPENDIUM Volume 4

SIMPSONS COMICS COLOSSAL COMPENDIUM VOLUME 4
HARPERCOLLINS/Harper Design

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Tom Gammill & Henry Gammill; Brian Houlihan; Mary Trainor; Max Davison; Sergio Aragones; and others
PENCILS: Mike Kazaleh; John Delaney; James Lloyd; Tone Rodriguez; Kassandra Heller; Sergio Aragones; and others
INKS: Andrew Pepoy; Mike Kazaleh; Dan Davis; Sergio Aragones; and others
COLORS: Art Villanueva; Nathan Hamill; Kassandra Heller; and others
LETTERS: Karen Bates
COVER: Matt Groening
ISBN: 978-0-06-242326-9; paperback (July 5, 2016)
176pp, Color, $17.99 U.S., $21.99 CAN

“The Simpsons” is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company.  “The Simpsons” began in 1987 as a series of animated shorts that were part of the comedy variety television program, “The Tracey Ullman Show.”  The shorts were eventually developed into a half-hour animated TV series and began being broadcast on Fox in December of the 1989-90 television season.  “The Simpsons” continues to this day, and Fox has ordered new episodes into 2018.

“The Simpsons” present a satirical depiction of a working class family which consists of Homer Simpson (the father), Marge Simpson (the mother), Bart (the oldest child and only son), Lisa (the precocious and brilliant elder daughter), and Maggie (a baby girl).  “The Simpsons” also parodies American culture, pop culture, society, politics, media, etc. via the denizens of The Simpsons home town, Springfield.

In 1993, Matt Groening, Bill Morrison, and Steve and Cindy Vance founded Bongo Comics Group (or simply Bongo Comics).  Over the course of more than two decades, Bongo Comics has published numerous comic book series and single-issue publications based on “The Simpsons.”  The comic books have starred and featured all the characters that are part of this franchise, from the Simpsons clan to the various supporting characters, including Ralph Wiggum and his father, Chief Wiggum; Itchy & Scratchy; Krusty the Clown, Duffman, McBain, and Mr. Burns and Smithers, to name a few.

Since 2013, Harper Design, an imprint of HarperCollins, has been publishing Simpsons Comics Colossal Compendium.  This is a paperback graphic novel (or trade paperback) series which reprints select comic book stories starring characters from “The Simpsons” that were originally published by Bongo Comics.  Harper Design recently published Simpsons Comics Colossal Compendium Volume 4 (July 2016).

It has been at least a decade since I last read a Simpsons comic book (although I have read one since I finished this book).  I always enjoyed them, so I don't know why I stopped.  Bongo Comics consistently delivers high-quality comic books that capture the spirit of “The Simpsons” television series.  I was intrigued when Harper Design sent me a copy of Simpsons Comics Colossal Compendium Volume 4.

Right from the start, Simpsons Comics Colossal Compendium Volume 4 delivers a bang with the story “Donut Disturb,” which follows Bart and Lisa's battle to win the “Donut Kid of the Year” contest.  This contest is put on by “Lard Lad,” the immensely popular donut chain, and this contest has plenty of wacky contestants.  However, the true fun and the best satirical moments come after the winner claims the crown, which hangs heavy on the head.

Mike Kazaleh, one of my all-time favorite cartoonists, draws the Chuck Jones-inspired “The Man of the House.”  The story makes me think that the true comedic potential of Ralph Wiggum really has not been tapped.  Also, “Sun Burns” shows Mr. Burns in all his grubby Rupert Murdoch-like glory, but the story also showcases the plucky side of the brainy Lisa Simpson.

Writer Sherri L. Smith and artist Kassandra Heller present a wonderful Lisa Simpson tale, entitled “Lisa's Lending Library.”  Heller's pastel like illustrations give this story a fairy tale-like aura.  MAD Magazine legend and Groo the Wanderer creator, Sergio Aragones, offers the delightful two-page “Maggie's Crib,” which shows the toddler's mischievous side.  The Judge Dredd parody, “Judge Redneck,” is an unexpected and clever treat.

You don't have to be a fan of “The Simpsons” to like Simpsons Comics Colossal Compendium Volume 4, but if you like good humor comics, you need an occasional jolt of Simpsons comic books in your reading life.  The creators and editors behind Bongo Comics' Simpsons comics are as good at humorous parody and satire as any other humor comics creator – and better in most cases.  So that is what the Simpsons Comics Colossal Compendium series is here to do – fill your comedy and humor comics needs.

A

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: COUSIN JOSEPH: A Graphic Novel

COUSIN JOSEPH: A Graphic Novel
W.W. NORTON & COMPANY/Liveright – @wwnorton and @LiverightPub

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST:  Jules Feiffer
ISBN: 978-1-63149-065-1; hardcover (August 3, 2016)
128pp, Color, $27.95 U.S., $35.95 CAN

Born in 1929, Jules Feiffer is an American syndicated cartoonist, author, playwright, screenwriter, and comics creator.  He may be best known for his long-running comic strip, entitled Feiffer, which ran for 42 years in the venerable New York City weekly, The Village Voice.

Two years ago, Liveright, an imprint of W.W. Norton & Company, published Kill My Mother: A Graphic Novel, a brand-new, Film-Noir inspired graphic novel by Feiffer.  Kill My Mother opens in Bay City, California in the year 1933.  The story revolves around a woman named Elsie Hannigan and her estranged teenage daughter, Annie, who hates her mother.  Elsie is a widower, following the murder of her husband, Sam Hannigan, a policeman.  Elsie's life is hectic and complicated.  Her boss is her late husband's former partner, Neil Hammond, a hard-drinking, has-been private detective who takes shady jobs.  Hammond ends up murdered, the beginning of a mystery spread over a decade.

Feiffer's new comic book is entitled Cousin Joseph: A Graphic Novel, the follow-up to Kill My Mother.  Cousin Joseph is set in Bay City in 1931, two years before Kill My Mother opens, and it reveals why and how Sam Hannigan was killed.  Detective Sam Hannigan is a bare-knuckled, tough, no-nonsense cop who does not hesitate to use his fists to resolve a case or a dispute.  Sam is also a bag-man for a mysterious Hollywood power broker that he knows only as “Cousin Joseph.”  Sam delivers payoffs to other Hollywood types for Cousin Joseph, and if they don't comply with Cousin Joseph's demands, Sam also delivers brutal beatings.

Bay City is also roiling with labor unrest.  Hardy Knox, owner of the cannery, Knox Works, is facing a strike by his employees who are members of a union led by Billy Doyle.  Billy and Sam go way back, but Sam may have to call out his union-busting team, The Red Squad.  Sam knows that he is on a mission, but it may be the wrong mission – one that will make him enemies – some close to home and some quite deadly.

The first time I tried to read Kill My Mother, I stopped after a few pages.  I avoided the galley/review copy that the publisher Liveright has sent to me.  I finally forced myself to read Kill My Mother and ended up loving it.  I had no such problems with Cousin Joseph, for which I also received a galley, as I dove right into book.

Cousin Joseph is a quintessential American graphic novel and comic book, something rare.  Jules Feiffer not only tackles the complexities of the American dream, he also illustrates how Americans see it differently.  He even delves into the notion which some American have that the American dream is not for everyone who lives in America.  Only certain people can have the best of America, these people believe.  Everyone else:  the second class citizens, those with the wrong skin color, those who worship differently; is of an undesirable ethnic origin.  Those people have to know their place, and it ain't anywhere near the top.  For some, America is about dreams of a place at the top of society and joy of finally reaching that pinnacle.  For others, there is struggle and prejudice, and that is the way it should be, almost as if it were part of a natural order in a certain kind of America.

Years ago, I heard an old white lady tell someone that she loved movies like A Few Good Men (1992) because they reflected the best of us (America).  I like Cousin Joseph because it skins the American myth raw.  This comic book is about the story Americans tell themselves and the whole world, but Americans have no plan to make that myth the real thing.

A

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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