STAR WARS: TAG & BINK WERE HERE #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel
[The review was originally posted on Patreon.]
EDITORS: Dave Land; Mark D. Beazley (collection)
COVER: Lucas Marangon with Michelle Madsen
MISC: Lucas Marangon with Michelle Madsen; Lucas Marangon; Lucas Marangon with Dan Jackson; John McCrea and Jimmy Palmiotti with Dan Jackson
ISBN: 978-1-302-91490-5; magazine (Wednesday, May 2, 2018)
104pp, Color, $7.99 U.S., $10.99 CAN (Diamond order code – MAR180947)
Rated “T”
Tag and Bink are Star Wars characters that debuted in Star Wars humor comic books first published by Dark Horse Comics (which had the license to publish Star Wars comic books from 1991 to 2014). Tag and Bink were created by writer Kevin Rubio and artist Lucas Marangon and starred in two two-issue Star Wars spoof comic book miniseries.
The first was Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1-2 (cover dated: October to November 2001), and the second was Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1-2 (cover dated: March to April 2006). An earlier version of the story that appeared in Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1 was published in Star Wars Tales #12 (cover dated: June 2002). Dark Horse initially collected Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1-2 and Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1-2 in a trade paperback entitled Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here (cover dated: November 2006).
Marvel Comics has regained the license to produce Star Wars comic books that it originally held from the mid-1970s to about 1990. In May 2018, Marvel published its own version of Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here, apparently released to coincide with the May 2018 release of the Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story. Tag & Bink were supposed to appear in Solo, but their scene was reportedly cut from the film.
Entitled Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here #1 and published in the comic book format, this standalone comic book reprints the story pages and cover art of Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1-2, Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1-2. It also reprints the Tag & Bink story in Star Wars Tales #12 (cover dated: June 2002) and also the cover art for Dark Horse's Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here.
Tag & Bink are Tag Greenly, a male human from the planet Corellia, and Bink Otauna, a male human from Alderaan. In the comics, writer Kevin Rubio presents the duo as playing a role or at least being present in pivotal moments depicted in the following Star Wars films: Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
The title of Tag & Bink's first appearance, Tag and Bink Are Dead, is a direct reference to Tom Stoppard 1966 play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are minor characters in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and in Stoppard's play, the duo's actions take place in the background or “in the wings” of the main events of Hamlet. In that manner, Kevin Rubio makes Tag & Bink the stars who view and comment upon the main events of the Star Wars story and sometimes play a pivotal role in main events.
For instance, as background players, Tag & Bink are rebel soldiers aboard Princess Leia's starship (the "Tantive IV") that is captured by Darth Vader's Imperial Star Destroyer at the beginning of the original Star Wars film. As players in a main event, Tag, in disguise as a storm trooper, is the trooper that shoots C-3PO during the “Cloud City” sequence of The Empire Strikes Back.
Writer Kevin Rubio plays Tag & Bink as being the most important Star Wars characters fans never knew existed. He is revealing their true roles in the epic Star Wars saga, but the hapless duo's fateful adventures and misadventures will make you wonder whose side they are on. Honestly, with these characters, Rubio offers some of the best Star Wars humor ever published in comic book form. Rubio cleverly weaves Tag & Bink into Star Wars moments – both major and minor, and he creates some inventive side stories and back stories. The scenes with Lando Calrissian are, quite frankly, quite nice.
Artist Lucas Marangon seems like the perfect collaborator for Rubio. Marangon is an excellent Star Wars cartoonist and comic book artist. He draws the characters, creatures, beings, costumes, sets, backgrounds, backdrops, ships, tech, environments, etc. with stunning accuracy, and does so while creating a humorous and comedic tone. Marangon's illustrations and storytelling are perfect for the Star Wars spoof that is Tag & Bink.
I recommend Marvel Comics' Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here #1 to fans of Star Wars humor and, of course, to collectors of Star Wars comic books. I am confident both groups will enjoy reading these truly funny Star Wars comic books.
8 out of 10
Below are the creator credits for the story material reprinted in Marvel's Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here #1:
Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1 - “Episode IV.1: Tag and Bink Are Dead” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: October 2001)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
PENCILS: Lucas Marangon
INKS: Howard M. Shum
COLORS: Michelle Madsen
LETTERS: Steve Dutro
Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #2 - “Episode IV.1: Tag and Bink Live” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: November 2001)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
PENCILS: Lucas Marangon
INKS: Howard M. Shum
COLORS: Michelle Madsen
LETTERS: Steve Dutro
Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1 - “Episode VI.1: The Return of Tag and Bink – Special Edition” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: March 2006)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
ART: Lucas Marangon
COLORS: Dan Jackson
LETTERS: Michael David Thomas
Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #2 - “Tag & Bink: Episode I – Revenge of the Clone Menace” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: April 2006)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
ART: Lucas Marangon
COLORS: Dan Jackson
LETTERS: Michael David Thomas
Star Wars Tales #12 – “The Revenge of Tag & Bink” (originally published by Dark Horse Comics; cover dated: June 2002)
STORY: Kevin Rubio
PENCILS: Rick Zombo
INKS: Randy Emberlin
COLORS: Dan Brown
LETTERS: Steve Dutro
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
--------------------------
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Friday, March 29, 2019
Review: STAR WARS: Tag & Blink Were Here #1
Labels:
Dan Brown,
Dan Jackson,
Dark Horse,
Disney,
Jimmy Palmiotti,
Marvel,
Michelle Madsen,
Review,
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Star Wars Review
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Review: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Universe, Volume 1
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES UNIVERSE, VOLUME 1: THE WAR TO COME
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
LETTERS: Shawn Lee; Chris Mowry
EDITORS: Bobby Curnow (series); Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon (collection)
COVER: Freddie E. Williams II
MISC. ART: Ben Bishop; Freddie E. Williams II; Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird; Kevin Eastman with Tomi Varga; Antonio Fuso; Damian Couceiro; Agustin Graham Nakamura; Eddie Nunez; Ian Chase Nichols; Dan Duncan; Tess Fowler with Tamra Bonvillain; Sajao Shah; Johnnie Christmas with Tamra Bonvillain
ISBN: 978-1-63140-874-8; paperback; 6 5/8 x 10 3/16 (May 2, 2017)
120pp, Color, $19.99 U.S., $25.99 CAN
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (also known as TMNT and Ninja Turtles or sometimes as “the Turtles”) are a media empire that began with characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird for the comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (cover dated: May 1984). Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael are four teenage anthropomorphic turtles who walk and talk like humans). IDW Publishing has held the license to produce Turtles comic books since 2011 and has essentially rebooted the Turtles comic book universe.
Launched in August 2016, the comic book series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, explores characters and story-lines that are pivotal to the IDW TMNT universe. The first trade collection of the series is entitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Volume 1: The War to Come. It reprints Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #1-5.
The opening story arc of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Volume 1: The War to Come is “The War to Come” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #1-4). The Ninja Turtles are facing increasing threats against their existence. An organization called the “Earth Protection Force” (EPF) is determined to wipe mutants from the world. Led by Agent Bishop, the EPF launch an attack on the Turtles and others it considers mutants and freaks.
The Turtles find a reluctant ally in a murderous scorpion-like mutant named Zodi. Meanwhile, Turtle ally, April O'Neil, goes to her former boss, the mad scientist and Turtle adversary, Baxter Stockman, who is also reluctant to help them. However, the full-on assault of the EPF may force some to become the saviors of those who would be their enemies.
This trade paperback contains two stand-alone tales. In the story, “Inside Out” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #4), Leonardo fights the Foot Clan, Utroms, Koya, the Rat King, and his own fear. In the story “Urban Legends” ( Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #5), two mutants, Hob and Leatherhead, raid a dog-fighting tournament, but being on the same side does not mean being on the same side.
First, let me say that the two short stories, “Inside Out” and “Urban Legends,” are not particularly special. “Urban Legends” is the better of the two, but “Inside Out” features the art team of Kevin Eastman (layouts) and Bill Sienkiewicz (pencils and inks), which is something of a big deal... at least, for me.
The main story, “The War to Come,” is a really good story. From the start, the stakes feel high, and the Ninja Turtles are very much in peril. The EPF is a collection of mean, murdering bastards, and the Turtles allies are questionable, at best, so the story is edgy and intense. Writer Paul Allor also plays up the conflict within the Turtles as a group, so the readers get complications on top of the threat to the heroes. That certainly makes for a riveting read.
The art team of Damian Couceiro (pencils-inks) and Ronda Pattison (colors) is gritty and reflects the stinginess of hope for salvation that Allor depicts in the story. I would say that “The War to Come” is the kind of story TMNT fans will want to read, and it alone makes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Volume 1: The War to Come a worthwhile purchase.
I must say that I am surprised. When IDW sent me a review copy of this book a while back, I did not expect much upon first glance.
B+
7 out of 10
----------------------------------------------------------
The stories reprinted in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Volume 1: The War to Come
“The War to Come” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #1-4)
STORY: Paul Allor
ART: Damian Couceiro
COLORS: Ronda Pattison
“Inside Out” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #4)
STORY: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, and Tom Waltz
SCRIPT: Tom Waltz
LAYOUTS: Kevin Eastman
ART: Bill Sienkiewicz
COLORS: Tomi Varga
“Urban Legends” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe#5)
STORY: Chris Mowry
ART: Michael Dialynas
COLORS: Tomi Varga
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.
----------------------
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
LETTERS: Shawn Lee; Chris Mowry
EDITORS: Bobby Curnow (series); Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon (collection)
COVER: Freddie E. Williams II
MISC. ART: Ben Bishop; Freddie E. Williams II; Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird; Kevin Eastman with Tomi Varga; Antonio Fuso; Damian Couceiro; Agustin Graham Nakamura; Eddie Nunez; Ian Chase Nichols; Dan Duncan; Tess Fowler with Tamra Bonvillain; Sajao Shah; Johnnie Christmas with Tamra Bonvillain
ISBN: 978-1-63140-874-8; paperback; 6 5/8 x 10 3/16 (May 2, 2017)
120pp, Color, $19.99 U.S., $25.99 CAN
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (also known as TMNT and Ninja Turtles or sometimes as “the Turtles”) are a media empire that began with characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird for the comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (cover dated: May 1984). Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael are four teenage anthropomorphic turtles who walk and talk like humans). IDW Publishing has held the license to produce Turtles comic books since 2011 and has essentially rebooted the Turtles comic book universe.
Launched in August 2016, the comic book series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, explores characters and story-lines that are pivotal to the IDW TMNT universe. The first trade collection of the series is entitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Volume 1: The War to Come. It reprints Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #1-5.
The opening story arc of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Volume 1: The War to Come is “The War to Come” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #1-4). The Ninja Turtles are facing increasing threats against their existence. An organization called the “Earth Protection Force” (EPF) is determined to wipe mutants from the world. Led by Agent Bishop, the EPF launch an attack on the Turtles and others it considers mutants and freaks.
The Turtles find a reluctant ally in a murderous scorpion-like mutant named Zodi. Meanwhile, Turtle ally, April O'Neil, goes to her former boss, the mad scientist and Turtle adversary, Baxter Stockman, who is also reluctant to help them. However, the full-on assault of the EPF may force some to become the saviors of those who would be their enemies.
This trade paperback contains two stand-alone tales. In the story, “Inside Out” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #4), Leonardo fights the Foot Clan, Utroms, Koya, the Rat King, and his own fear. In the story “Urban Legends” ( Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #5), two mutants, Hob and Leatherhead, raid a dog-fighting tournament, but being on the same side does not mean being on the same side.
First, let me say that the two short stories, “Inside Out” and “Urban Legends,” are not particularly special. “Urban Legends” is the better of the two, but “Inside Out” features the art team of Kevin Eastman (layouts) and Bill Sienkiewicz (pencils and inks), which is something of a big deal... at least, for me.
The main story, “The War to Come,” is a really good story. From the start, the stakes feel high, and the Ninja Turtles are very much in peril. The EPF is a collection of mean, murdering bastards, and the Turtles allies are questionable, at best, so the story is edgy and intense. Writer Paul Allor also plays up the conflict within the Turtles as a group, so the readers get complications on top of the threat to the heroes. That certainly makes for a riveting read.
The art team of Damian Couceiro (pencils-inks) and Ronda Pattison (colors) is gritty and reflects the stinginess of hope for salvation that Allor depicts in the story. I would say that “The War to Come” is the kind of story TMNT fans will want to read, and it alone makes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Volume 1: The War to Come a worthwhile purchase.
I must say that I am surprised. When IDW sent me a review copy of this book a while back, I did not expect much upon first glance.
B+
7 out of 10
----------------------------------------------------------
The stories reprinted in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, Volume 1: The War to Come
“The War to Come” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #1-4)
STORY: Paul Allor
ART: Damian Couceiro
COLORS: Ronda Pattison
“Inside Out” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #4)
STORY: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, and Tom Waltz
SCRIPT: Tom Waltz
LAYOUTS: Kevin Eastman
ART: Bill Sienkiewicz
COLORS: Tomi Varga
“Urban Legends” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe#5)
STORY: Chris Mowry
ART: Michael Dialynas
COLORS: Tomi Varga
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.
----------------------
Labels:
Bill Sienkiewicz,
Chris Mowry,
Freddie Wlliams II,
IDW,
Kevin Eastman,
Peter Laird,
Review,
Tamra Bonvillain
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Book Review: DEATH IN PROVENCE
DEATH IN PROVENCE (Penelope Kite Volume #1)
HARPER (HarperCollins Publishers) – @HarperCollins
@HarperBooks
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
AUTHOR: Serena Kent – @SerenaKentBooks
ISBN: 978-0-06-286985-2; hardcover (February 19, 2019)
352pp, B&W, $26.99 U.S.
Death in Provence is a 2019 mystery novel from author Serena Kent, which is the pen name of husband and wife writing team, Deborah Lawrenson and Robert Rees. Death in Provence is Serena Kent's debut novel and is also the first novel in the “Penelope Kite” series. The novel focuses on an retired Englishwoman and young-at-heart divorcee with a knack for stumbling across dead bodies.
Death in Provence introduces Penelope Kite, a 50-something Englishwoman. For years, Penelope put her unfaithful ex-husband, David, and her ungrateful stepchildren, Justin and Lena, first. She has also been an unpaid babysitter and chauffeur for her grandchildren. Now, Penelope has taken early retirement from her job in forensics at the Home Office in London. Deciding to do something for herself, Penelope buys an old stone farmhouse in the Luberon valley of Provence, a region in southeastern France.
Located in the (fictional) village of St. Merlot, the farmhouse, named “Le Chant d’Eau” (The Song of Water), is an impulse buy because it needs major renovations, although it does have a garden, a swimming pool, and sweeping mountain vistas. Penelope moves in and starts her new adventure, but she did not think her new life would begin with her finding a corpse in her swimming pool.
Now, Penelope must navigate colorful French locals, like her realtor Mme. Clémence Valencourt; dashing Mayor Laurent Millais; disdainful Chief of Police Georges Reyssens and Inspector Paul Gamelin; and mysterious neighbor, the farmer Pierre Louchard, to name a few. Thankfully, Penelope's oldest friend, Frances Turner-Blake a.k.a. Frankie, is just a flight away. She will need Frankie. The answers to this crime are buried in the unique culture and shadowy history of both the village of St. Merlot and in Penelope's beloved, but troubled new home, “Le Chant d’Eau,”
Readers who enjoy mystery novels in the tradition of Agatha Christie will like Death in Provence. It reminds me of those Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (HMM) made-for-television mystery movies that feature intrepid professional women who play sleuth and amateur detective on the side. Regular HMM viewers are familiar with such television movie series as the “Garage Sale Mysteries” and the “Morning Show Mysteries,” so I think that this new Serena Kent novel will also seem familiar to HMM viewers.
Death in Provence could also be an installment of the classic cozy mystery series, “Murder, She Wrote.” In fact, when I think about it, Serena Kent may be offering a modern, British update of Jessica Fletcher, the star of “Murder, She Wrote,” an American character played by Angela Lansbury, the London-born actress who also has American citizenship.
I like Penelope Kent. No, she is not Sara Paretsky's rough-and-tumble V.I. Warshawski, but Penelope does her thing. Her resourcefulness, even when she is flustered, helps to make Death in Provence a delightful read, imbued with the color of Provence, the character of its eccentric citizens, and the flavor of its foods and wines (which puts Penelope at war with her weight). Readers should not be fooled, as Death in Provence can be surprisingly edgy in spots. This is a story of murder most foul, after all.
So the Penelope Kite series is off to a good start, and I think the series will find an identity as we see Penelope Kite take on more killers and more colorful characters. For now, Death in Provence demands that you find a cozy corner and delight your mystery lover's imagination.
7 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
---------------------------
HARPER (HarperCollins Publishers) – @HarperCollins
@HarperBooks
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
AUTHOR: Serena Kent – @SerenaKentBooks
ISBN: 978-0-06-286985-2; hardcover (February 19, 2019)
352pp, B&W, $26.99 U.S.
Death in Provence is a 2019 mystery novel from author Serena Kent, which is the pen name of husband and wife writing team, Deborah Lawrenson and Robert Rees. Death in Provence is Serena Kent's debut novel and is also the first novel in the “Penelope Kite” series. The novel focuses on an retired Englishwoman and young-at-heart divorcee with a knack for stumbling across dead bodies.
Death in Provence introduces Penelope Kite, a 50-something Englishwoman. For years, Penelope put her unfaithful ex-husband, David, and her ungrateful stepchildren, Justin and Lena, first. She has also been an unpaid babysitter and chauffeur for her grandchildren. Now, Penelope has taken early retirement from her job in forensics at the Home Office in London. Deciding to do something for herself, Penelope buys an old stone farmhouse in the Luberon valley of Provence, a region in southeastern France.
Located in the (fictional) village of St. Merlot, the farmhouse, named “Le Chant d’Eau” (The Song of Water), is an impulse buy because it needs major renovations, although it does have a garden, a swimming pool, and sweeping mountain vistas. Penelope moves in and starts her new adventure, but she did not think her new life would begin with her finding a corpse in her swimming pool.
Now, Penelope must navigate colorful French locals, like her realtor Mme. Clémence Valencourt; dashing Mayor Laurent Millais; disdainful Chief of Police Georges Reyssens and Inspector Paul Gamelin; and mysterious neighbor, the farmer Pierre Louchard, to name a few. Thankfully, Penelope's oldest friend, Frances Turner-Blake a.k.a. Frankie, is just a flight away. She will need Frankie. The answers to this crime are buried in the unique culture and shadowy history of both the village of St. Merlot and in Penelope's beloved, but troubled new home, “Le Chant d’Eau,”
Readers who enjoy mystery novels in the tradition of Agatha Christie will like Death in Provence. It reminds me of those Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (HMM) made-for-television mystery movies that feature intrepid professional women who play sleuth and amateur detective on the side. Regular HMM viewers are familiar with such television movie series as the “Garage Sale Mysteries” and the “Morning Show Mysteries,” so I think that this new Serena Kent novel will also seem familiar to HMM viewers.
Death in Provence could also be an installment of the classic cozy mystery series, “Murder, She Wrote.” In fact, when I think about it, Serena Kent may be offering a modern, British update of Jessica Fletcher, the star of “Murder, She Wrote,” an American character played by Angela Lansbury, the London-born actress who also has American citizenship.
I like Penelope Kent. No, she is not Sara Paretsky's rough-and-tumble V.I. Warshawski, but Penelope does her thing. Her resourcefulness, even when she is flustered, helps to make Death in Provence a delightful read, imbued with the color of Provence, the character of its eccentric citizens, and the flavor of its foods and wines (which puts Penelope at war with her weight). Readers should not be fooled, as Death in Provence can be surprisingly edgy in spots. This is a story of murder most foul, after all.
So the Penelope Kite series is off to a good start, and I think the series will find an identity as we see Penelope Kite take on more killers and more colorful characters. For now, Death in Provence demands that you find a cozy corner and delight your mystery lover's imagination.
7 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
---------------------------
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Review: SIMPSONS COMICS Showstopper
SIMPSONS COMICS SHOWSTOPPER
HARPERCOLLINS/Harper Design – @HarperCollins @harperdesignbks @TheSimpsons
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Ian Boothby; Mary Trainor; Len Wein; Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Phil Ortiz; John Costanza
INKS: Mike DeCarlo; Phyllis Novin
COLORS: Art Villanueva
LETTERS: Karen Bates
EDITOR: Bill Morrison
COVER: Matt Groening
ISBN: 978-0-06-287877-9; paperback (February 5, 2019)
128pp, Color, $16.99 U.S., $21.00 CAN
“The Simpsons” created by Matt Groening
Since 2016, HarperCollins' imprint, Harper Design, has been sending me review copies of its full-color trade paperbacks that reprint comic books based on “The Simpson's” animated television series. Those comics have been published by Bongo Comics since 1993.
Simpsons Comics Showstopper (the fifth that I have received) is the newest trade paperback in the series. Simpsons Comics Showstopper collects stories from Simpsons Comics issues #127, #128, #129, #132, and #133 (published between February and August 2007).
“The Simpsons,” produced first run for the Fox Broadcasting Company, presents 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.
Simpsons Comics Showstopper opens with “25” (written by Ian Boothby and drawn by Phil Ortiz and Mike DeCarlo). It is a parody of Fox's long-running, live-action television series, “24.” Homer is late for work... again. Meanwhile, at his place of employment, Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, his boss Montgomery Burns, believes that he has killed Homer. His solution to cover up this supposed crime – set the plant to meltdown! Now, only Homer can save the plant and Springfield, but can he make it to work on time – when he hasn't after being twelve hours late?!
In “Simpson Family Robinson Crusoe” (written by Mary Trainor and drawn by John Costanza and Phyllis Novin), we get a Simpsons spin on two classics of Western literature, Robinson Crusoe (1719) and The Swiss Family Robinson (1812). In “You'd Better Sloth Around” (written by Len Wein and drawn by Costanza and Novin), Homer buys a “Hoveround”-like vehicle called the “Sloth-Around,” despite his family's objections to that purchase. Homer becomes a menace on the thing, but karma might have a surprise for him.
“A Brand New Burns Part One!” and “Part Two,” are written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Costanza and Novin. In the story, Montgomery Burns and his loyal confidant, Smithers, travel to Mexico where Burns will spend some time at “Rancho Segundo Posibilidad” for rejuvenation treatments. So why does Burns end up in a sweatshop? Why is Smithers back in Springfield with a younger Burns?
The comic book stories in Simpsons Comics Showstopper are inventive, full-length tales. The best of the lot is “A Brand New Burns,” if for no other reason than the famous and infamous people writer Chuck Dixon depicts as being denizens of Hell. Artists John Costanza and Phyllis Novin and colorist Art Villanueva deliver a few graphically striking panels, especially the ones that depict Montgomery naked and floating/swimming towards the afterlife.
“You'd Better Sloth-Around” epitomizes one of the things that “The Simpsons” does so well, satirize the American desire to get over on people and to beat the system. “Simpson Family Robinson Crusoe” is a cute send-up of the source material. That may be the best way to define the comics in Simpsons Comics Showstopper – cute, nice, and entertaining, but none of this material is great. This collection may satisfy Simpsons comic book fans, but it is not an exceptional Simpsons comics collection, which I can say about some of the others (like 2018's Bart Simpson Bust-Up).
7 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
-----------------
HARPERCOLLINS/Harper Design – @HarperCollins @harperdesignbks @TheSimpsons
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Ian Boothby; Mary Trainor; Len Wein; Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Phil Ortiz; John Costanza
INKS: Mike DeCarlo; Phyllis Novin
COLORS: Art Villanueva
LETTERS: Karen Bates
EDITOR: Bill Morrison
COVER: Matt Groening
ISBN: 978-0-06-287877-9; paperback (February 5, 2019)
128pp, Color, $16.99 U.S., $21.00 CAN
“The Simpsons” created by Matt Groening
Since 2016, HarperCollins' imprint, Harper Design, has been sending me review copies of its full-color trade paperbacks that reprint comic books based on “The Simpson's” animated television series. Those comics have been published by Bongo Comics since 1993.
Simpsons Comics Showstopper (the fifth that I have received) is the newest trade paperback in the series. Simpsons Comics Showstopper collects stories from Simpsons Comics issues #127, #128, #129, #132, and #133 (published between February and August 2007).
“The Simpsons,” produced first run for the Fox Broadcasting Company, presents 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.
Simpsons Comics Showstopper opens with “25” (written by Ian Boothby and drawn by Phil Ortiz and Mike DeCarlo). It is a parody of Fox's long-running, live-action television series, “24.” Homer is late for work... again. Meanwhile, at his place of employment, Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, his boss Montgomery Burns, believes that he has killed Homer. His solution to cover up this supposed crime – set the plant to meltdown! Now, only Homer can save the plant and Springfield, but can he make it to work on time – when he hasn't after being twelve hours late?!
In “Simpson Family Robinson Crusoe” (written by Mary Trainor and drawn by John Costanza and Phyllis Novin), we get a Simpsons spin on two classics of Western literature, Robinson Crusoe (1719) and The Swiss Family Robinson (1812). In “You'd Better Sloth Around” (written by Len Wein and drawn by Costanza and Novin), Homer buys a “Hoveround”-like vehicle called the “Sloth-Around,” despite his family's objections to that purchase. Homer becomes a menace on the thing, but karma might have a surprise for him.
“A Brand New Burns Part One!” and “Part Two,” are written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Costanza and Novin. In the story, Montgomery Burns and his loyal confidant, Smithers, travel to Mexico where Burns will spend some time at “Rancho Segundo Posibilidad” for rejuvenation treatments. So why does Burns end up in a sweatshop? Why is Smithers back in Springfield with a younger Burns?
The comic book stories in Simpsons Comics Showstopper are inventive, full-length tales. The best of the lot is “A Brand New Burns,” if for no other reason than the famous and infamous people writer Chuck Dixon depicts as being denizens of Hell. Artists John Costanza and Phyllis Novin and colorist Art Villanueva deliver a few graphically striking panels, especially the ones that depict Montgomery naked and floating/swimming towards the afterlife.
“You'd Better Sloth-Around” epitomizes one of the things that “The Simpsons” does so well, satirize the American desire to get over on people and to beat the system. “Simpson Family Robinson Crusoe” is a cute send-up of the source material. That may be the best way to define the comics in Simpsons Comics Showstopper – cute, nice, and entertaining, but none of this material is great. This collection may satisfy Simpsons comic book fans, but it is not an exceptional Simpsons comics collection, which I can say about some of the others (like 2018's Bart Simpson Bust-Up).
7 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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