Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 29, 2018

MARVEL COMICS

JUN180972    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION TP VENOM    $39.99
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Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for August 29, 2018

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

MAY182007    2021 TP VOL 01    $16.99
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JUN181808    BABY SITTERS CLUB COLOR ED HC GN VOL 06 KRISTYS BIG DAY    $24.99
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JUN181335    BEYONDERS #1 CVR A ST CLAIRE    $3.99
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JUN181870    CATALYST PRIME KINO #9    $3.99
JUN182285    CITRUS GN VOL 08 (MR)    $13.99
JUL181917    CREEPY CASE FILES MARGO MALOO HC GN VOL 02 MONSTER MALL    $15.99
APR182083    CUTIE HONEY CLASSIC COLLECTION HC (MR)    $27.99
MAY182265    D FRAG GN VOL 12    $12.99
MAY189631    DARK TOWER BEGINNINGS HC VOL 01 GUNSLINGER BORN    $24.99
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MAY181627    DF ACTION COMICS #1000 CURT SWAN EXC SGN KING    $49.99
FEB181506    DF CAPTAIN AMERICA #700 MARK WAID GOLD SGN ED    $77.00
FEB181505    DF CAPTAIN AMERICA #700 MARK WAID SGN ED    $19.41
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MAY182269    HOW TO BUILD DUNGEON BOOK OF DEMON KING GN VOL 04 (MR)    $12.99
JUL181673    I LOVE THIS PART HC GN (RES)    $16.99
JUN181855    KODT BUNDLE OF TROUBLE TP VOL 60    $14.99
JUN181631    LA MUERTA RETRIBUTION #1 (OF 2) (MR)    $4.99
JUN181632    LA MUERTA RETRIBUTION #1 (OF 2) FIREPOWER ED (MR)    $4.99
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JUN181856    LIFE ON EARTH YA GN BOOK 01 LOSING THE GIRL    $11.99
JUN181450    LIFE WITH ARCHIE TP VOL 01    $10.99
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JUL181732    LYRIC MCKERRIGAN SECRET LIBRARIAN HC PICTURE BOOK    $17.99
APR182093    MAGICAL GIRL APOCALYPSE GN VOL 15 (MR)    $12.99
MAY181824    MARRY ME TP VOL 02    $14.99
JUN181384    MATEO AND THE FLOWER OF THE RAIN GN    $9.95
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AUG172236    MONSTER HUNTERS SURV GUIDE CS FILES WENDIGO #1 CVR A CHEN    $5.99
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JUN182176    PERSONA 4 GN VOL 07    $13.99
JUN181648    PHOENIX COLOSSAL COMICS COLLECTION TP VOL 02    $14.99
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JUN181901    RICK & MORTY #41 CVR A    $3.99
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JUN181477    SUPERMAN BATMAN #8 ASPEN VAR CVR A    $34.99
JUN181478    SUPERMAN BATMAN #8 ASPEN VAR CVR B    $34.99
JUN182237    TALES OF WEDDING RINGS GN VOL 03    $15.00
JUN182019    TANK GIRL ALL STARS #3 (OF 4) CVR A PARSON    $3.99
JUN182020    TANK GIRL ALL STARS #3 (OF 4) CVR B BOND    $3.99
JUN182021    TANK GIRL ALL STARS #3 (OF 4) CVR C MAHFOOD    $3.99
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MAR182137    VAN HELSING VS ROBYN HOOD    $9.99
JUN181343    WALK THROUGH HELL #4    $3.99
DEC171857    WONDERFUL WORLD OF TANK GIRL HC (MR)    $22.99
JUN182089    X-O MANOWAR (2017) #18 CVR A LAROSA    $3.99
JUN182090    X-O MANOWAR (2017) #18 CVR B MAHFOOD    $3.99
JUN181326    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #51 CVR A CELOR (MR)    $4.99
JUN181327    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #51 CVR B CELOR RISQUE (MR)    $4.99
JUN181328    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #51 CVR C AXEBONE (MR)    $4.99
JUN181329    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #51 CVR D AXEBONE RISQUE (MR)    $4.99
JUN181330    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #51 CVR E MENDOZA (MR)    $4.99
JUN181331    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #51 CVR F MENDOZA RISQUE (MR)    $4.99

MAGAZINES
DEC172096    AMAZING FIGURE MODELER #65    $10.00
JUN181630    CINEFEX #160    $12.50
JUN181639    COMIC SHOP NEWS #1628    $PI
JUN181884    COMICS REVUE PRESENTS AUG 2018    $19.95
APR181830    HOBBY JAPAN JULY 2018    $20.00
MAY181814    ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE #61    $15.00
MAR182206    MEGAMI JUNE 2018    $20.00
MAR182207    NEWTYPE JUNE 2018    $20.00
MAY181878    NON SPORT UPDATE VOL 29 #4    $5.99
JUL182032    RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE #184    $9.95

BOOKS
JUN181933    DARK & FETISH ART SC (MR)    $49.95
JUN182303    DIDNT I SAY MAKE ABILITIES AVERAGE NOVEL SC VOL 03 (MR)    $13.99
JUN181838    HIDDEN UNIVERSE TRAVEL GUIDES FIREFLY SC    $19.99
JUN182304    HOW REALIST HERO REBUILT KINGDOM LIGHT NOVEL VOL 01    $13.99
JUL182218    MARVELS SPIDER-MAN HOSTILE TAKEOVER MMPB    $7.99
JUL182299    MIYAZAKIWORLD A LIFE IN ART HC    $30.00
MAY182280    MONSTER GIRL DOCTOR LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 03 (MR)    $14.99
JUN181392    OZY AND MILLIE YR GN VOL 01    $9.99
JUN182221    REBORN VENDING MACHINE I NOW WANDER DUNGEON NOVEL SC VOL 02    $14.00
JUN181965    RIVERDALE STUDENT HANDBOOK SC    $9.99
JUL182230    ROBERT CRUMB SKETCHBOOK HC VOL 02 SEPT 68-JAN 75 NEW PTG (MR    $40.00
JUN181963    SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 133 SYNDICATE OF SIN MERRY MRS MACBE    $14.95
FEB180963    TERRY MOORE STRANGERS IN PARADISE GALLERY EDITION    $125.00
JUN181981    VOLTRON COALITION HANDBOOK SC    $7.99
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JUN181983    WHERE IS ROBIN READY TO READ HC CHAPTERBOOK    $17.99
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I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #93

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #93
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Sholly Fisch; Joe Edkin
PENCILS: Scott Jeralds; Eric Doescher
INKS: Scott Jeralds; Andrew Pepoy
COLORS: Silvana Brys; Paul Becton
LETTERS: Travis Lanham; John Costanza
EDITORS: Harvey Richards; Heidi McDonald
COVER: Scott Jeralds with Silvana Brys
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

Let's continue through the renewal of my subscription to the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series.  I recently received the eighth issue of that renewed subscription.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #93 opens with “Safari, So Good” (written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Scott Jeralds).  Mystery Inc.:  Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma are on an African Safari.  Their guide, Khayone, and driver, James, take them across an African plain so that they can view and photograph elephants, lions, impala, and other exotic wildlife.  When a ghostly interloper, calling itself the “Spirit of the Land,” appears, the gang suddenly has its latest mystery to solve.

The second story is “The Weeping Bride of Lover's Leap!” (written by Joe Edkin and drawn by Eric Doescher and Andrew Pepoy).  From its shocking start, this mystery will have you trying to solve the mystery of why Scooby is wearing a dress and why Shaggy, dressed in a snazzy suit, is proposing marriage to Scoob.

Well, the young sleuths of Mystery Inc. are at “Lover's Leap” to discover if an urban legend is true.  Does the ghost of a grieving young woman haunt a popular cliff-side spot for young lovers?  Now, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy have to pretend to be a young couple in the throes of a marriage proposal, so are they destined to face “The Weeping Bride of Lover's Leap.”

I like that “Safari, So Good!” deals with the timely subject matter of animal poaching in Africa.  The “Spirit of the Land” is a lame phantom, but the setting and plot are worth it if they inform even a few young readers (and adults) about animal conservation”

“The Weeping Bride of Lover's Leap” is this issue's reprint story.  [It was originally published in Scooby-Doo #35 (cover dated: June 2000).]  The art team of Eric Doescher, Andrew Pepoy, and Paul Becton turn in some nice work, and John Costanza, one of comics' best letterers, make this dialogue-heavy story easy to read with some well-placed word balloons and some eye-catching fonts.  Kudos to writer Joe Edkin for putting Shaggy and Scooby-Doo in their Sunday best.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #93 was a fun read, and I hope that the next issue can offers some of this issue's pleasant surprises.

B+
7 out of 10

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


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

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

Review: THE FUN FAMILY

THE FUN FAMILY (OGN)
IDW PUBLISHING/Top Shelf Productions – @topshelfcomix

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Benjamin Frisch
ISBN:  978-1-60309-344-6; paperback with French flaps (July 12, 2016)
240pp, Color, $24.99 U.S. (Diamond: APR16-0643)

The Fun Family is a 2016, full color, original graphic novel written and drawn by cartoonist, Benjamin Frisch.  Published by Top Shelf Productions (an imprint of IDW Publishing), The Fun Family focuses on the growing dysfunction of an American family, whose head of household is a popular newspaper comic strip creator.

The Fun Family introduces beloved cartoonist Robert Fun.  He has earned a devoted following for his circle-shaped, newspaper comic strip, “The Fun Family.”  Robert celebrates the wholesome American family by drawing inspiration from his real home life.  He is married to Marsha, a devoted mother and housewife.  They have four children:  Robby, Molly, Mikey, and J.T. (an infant when the story starts).

Unlike its comic strip equivalent, the Fun Family, however, has some dark secrets, and their idyllic world begins to collapse after two events.  First, Robert's mother, Virginia (“Grandma” to the kids), dies, and then, Robert's creepy menagerie is discovered.  Now, the children must rescue their family, but they will also have to escape the cycle that will have art imitating life imitating art.

One of the most famous “circle-shaped” newspaper comic strips of all time is The Family Circus, which was created, written and drawn by the late Bil Keane.  Cartoonist Benjamin Frisch uses the iconography and visual cues and themes of The Family Circus to create The Fun Family.  Robert Fun even draws a comic-within-a-comic that is virtually identical in graphics, shape, format, and themes to The Family Circus.

That is where the similarities end.  The Fun Family is a riveting read, shocking and poignant in equal doses – so much so that reading this graphic novel can be a disconcerting experience at times.  I want to avoid spoilers by saying that the parents, Robert and Marsha, are the big problems in this scenario.  They are aided and abetted by the “professionals” trying to help them, Dr. Leonard Cohen and Dr. Guru Cohen and also by a “ghost.”

Cartoonist and comic book creator, Jessica Abel, is quoted as saying of The Fun Family, “Simply wrenching... Benjamin Frisch subverts the iconography of family cartooning, exposing the seedy underbelly of America’s obsession with the perfect family.”  That is true, and The Fun Family is a blast to read.  I could not stop reading it once I started.  I highly recommend The Fun Family, which is still in print two years after its debut (http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/the-fun-family/935).

9 out of 10

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/

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


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

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

Review: DIABLO HOUSE

DIABLO HOUSE (TPB)
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Ted Adams; Alan Robert; Robbie Robbins; Troy Little
ART: Santipérez; Troy Little; Alan Robert; Shawn Dickinson
COLORS: Jay Fotos; Leonardo Ito
LETTERS: Robbie Robbins
EDITOR: Robbie Robbins
COVER:  Santipérez with Jay Fotos
MISC. ART: Gabriel Rodrìguez; Ashley Wood; Shawn Dickinson; Ben Templesmith; Santipérez
ISBN: 978-1-68405-120-5; paperback – Trim size: 6 5/8 x 10 3/16 (July 24, 2018)
128pp, Color, $17.99 U.S., $23.99 CAN (DIAMOND CODE: JAN180555 – in comic book shops: June 27, 2018)

Suggested for mature readers

Diablo House created by Ted Adams and Santipérez

Introduction by Paul Tremblay; Afterword by Ted Adams

Diablo House is a four-issue comic book miniseries that IDW Publishing released in the middle of 2017.  Diablo House is created by writer Ted Adams (the CEO of IDW Media Holdings) and Spanish comic book artist, Santipérez.  IDW recently published a collected edition of Diablo House as a full color, trade paperback.

Diablo House is set in and around La Jolla, California, specifically the Diablo House.  It is a place where your dreams come true, if you dare sign on the dotted line.  Surf bum, Riley, invites us into Diablo Home, which is his home, and shares stories of people who fulfilled their desires.  Four of them:  RC, a fast food magnate; Lex Dillon, a pinball wizard and budding cult leader; Señor Diablo, a stage magician and local TV station horror movie host; and Harry Anderson, a car racer who is always losing to his best friend, will chase their desires at the cost of everything else, including the lives of their family and friends.

In an afterword, Ted Adams writes that he wanted to create a modern comic book that recalled classic horror comic books, especially the DC Comics horror titles of the late 1960s and 1970s, which included House of Secrets and such Joe Orlando-edited titles as House of Mystery, Swamp Thing, and The Witching Hour.  Of the artists whose work appears in those comic books, Adams seems most impressed by the art of Mike Kaluta and of the late Bernie Wrightson.

In Santipérez, Adams not only has a style that recalls Wrightson and Kaluta, but also has a storytelling sensibility that is firmly rooted in the graphics of 1960s and 1970s horror comic books.  The Spanish artist has a flare for Antoni Gaudi (1852 to 1926), the Spanish architect from Catalonia, known for his highly-individual style that encompasses neo-Gothic art, Oriental techniques, and nature.  Diablo House resembles Gaudi's Casa Batllo.

Santipérez is the star here.  The story, “Fast Cars and a Faster Girl” is a tour de force of battle footage and race car sequences that are as unexpected as they are stunning.  The relatively unknown Santipérez cannot be so good, but he is as delivers several visually striking illustrations, such as the last two pages of the first story.  Thus, the Diablo House trade paperback is practically a Santipérez art book.  In fact, there is a 21-page sketchbook section at the back of this trade paperback that feature Santipérez luscious pencil illustrations and preparatory art for Diablo House.

I enjoyed reading this Diablo House trade, but the stories could be better.  The opening tale, “There is More Than One Way to Fry a Fish” is poignant and has a shock ending that is good as many endings to episodes of “The Twilight Zone.”  “Fast Cars and a Faster Girl” is wonderfully drawn, but should be longer; Ted Adams does not play up the drama and depth of the lead characters' relationship.  The other two stories each have a good premise, but each one is underdeveloped in some way.

This volume has some nice bonus stories, but they do nothing to eclipse the fact that Santipérez is the star.  Colorist Jay Fotos is a good co-star, as his colors over Santipérez's art allow the illustrations to fully convey the dreamlike and nightmarish quality of the storytelling.  Ted Adams has something good here, and it could get better... if there is a second Diablo House miniseries.  Diablo House probably wants us to visit again.

7.5 out of 10

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


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

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

BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for August 22, 2018

BOOM! STUDIOS

JUN181275    AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL GRAB BAG 2018    $7.99
JUN181246    BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA OLD MAN JACK #12    $3.99
JUN181247    BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA OLD MAN JACK #12 SUBSCRIPTION AC    $3.99
APR181140    GIANT DAYS TP VOL 08    $14.99
JUN181255    JIM HENSON LABYRINTH CORONATION #6 (OF 12)    $3.99
JUN181256    JIM HENSON LABYRINTH CORONATION #6 (OF 12) SUBSCRIPTION TAKE    $3.99
JUN181263    LUMBERJANES #53    $3.99
JUN181264    LUMBERJANES #53 SUBSCRIPTION DOZERDRAWS VAR    $3.99
APR181143    PEANUTS TP VOL 10    $13.99
APR181091    PLANET OF APES VISIONARIES ROD SERLING ORIGINAL HC    $19.99
JUN181273    REGULAR SHOW 25 YEARS LATER #3    $3.99
JUN181274    REGULAR SHOW 25 YEARS LATER #3 SUBSCRIPTION BECK VAR    $3.99
JUN181240    THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR #2 (OF 4) CVR A CASE    $3.99
JUN181241    THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR #2 (OF 4) SUBSCRIPTION BUSTOS VAR    $3.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 22, 2018

DARK HORSE COMICS

JUN180374    BEASTS OF BURDEN #1 (OF 4) WISE DOGS & ELDRITCH MEN    $3.99
JUN180375    BEASTS OF BURDEN #1 (OF 4) WISE DOGS & ELDRITCH MEN VAR CVR    $3.99
JUN180376    BEDTIME GAMES #3 (OF 4)    $3.99
JUN180318    BLACK HAMMER AGE OF DOOM #4    $3.99
JUN180319    BLACK HAMMER AGE OF DOOM #4 HARREN CVR    $3.99
JUN180379    BTVS SEASON 12 THE RECKONING #3 (OF 4)    $3.99
JUN180381    BTVS SEASON 12 THE RECKONING #3 (OF 4) ULTRA VAR FISCHER CVR    $3.99
JUN180380    BTVS SEASON 12 THE RECKONING #3 (OF 4) VAR JEANTY CVR    $3.99
APR180031    GANTZ OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 (MR)    $24.99
JUN180387    GOT BUTTONS COUNTER DISPLAY SERIES 2    $200.00
AUG170016    HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON DRAGONVINE TP    $10.99
FEB180062    LEGEND OF KORRA TP VOL 03 TURF WARS PT 3    $10.99
APR180079    MAMMON HC (MR)    $19.99
APR180050    SULLIVANS SLUGGERS HC (MR)    $19.99