Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 17, 2019

IMAGE COMICS

JAN198546    ASSASSIN NATION #1 2ND PTG (MR)    $3.99
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FEB190117    SPAWN DARK HORROR TP    $16.99
JAN190390    WITCHBLADE #13 (MR)    $3.99

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 17, 2019

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Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for April 17, 2019

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

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FEB191591    LADY DEATH SHI CVR #0 (OF 2) ROYAL BLUE (O/A)    $15.99
FEB191590    LADY DEATH SHI PREVIEW ROYAL BLUE CVR #0 (OF 2) (O/A)    $15.99
FEB191592    LADY DEATH SHI ROYAL BLUE CVR #1 (OF 2) (O/A)    $15.99
FEB191595    LADY DEATH WARRIOR TEMPTRESS ROYAL BLUE CVR #0 (O/A)    $15.99
FEB191596    LADY DEATH WICKED ROYAL BLUE #1/2 (O/A)    $15.99
FEB191597    LADY DEATH WICKED ROYAL BLUE ED #1 (O/A)    $15.99
FEB191342    MARY SHELLEY MONSTER HUNTER #1 SHERMAN CVR    $3.99
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FEB191890    MORNING IN AMERICA #2    $3.99
FEB191351    MOTH & WHISPER TP VOL 01    $14.99
FEB192100    OZ HEART OF MAGIC #1 (OF 5) CVR A COCCOLO    $3.99
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FEB192103    OZ HEART OF MAGIC #1 (OF 5) CVR D WHITE    $3.99
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FEB192105    OZ HEART OF MAGIC #1 (OF 5) CVR F BLANK SKETCH    $10.00
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FEB191646    PIRATE QUEEN LEGEND OF GRACE O MALLEY HC GN    $19.99
FEB191353    PLANET OF THE NERDS #1    $3.99
NOV181928    PRE CODE CLASSICS TALES OF HORROR HC VOL 02    $44.99
NOV181929    PRE CODE CLASSICS TALES OF HORROR SLIPCASE ED VOL 02    $54.99
NOV181930    PRE CODE CLASSICS WEB OF MYSTERY HC VOL 05    $44.99
NOV181931    PRE CODE CLASSICS WEB OF MYSTERY SLIPCASE ED VOL 05    $54.99
SEP181400    RELAY #5    $3.99
FEB191953    RISE #2    $3.99
FEB192287    RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO GN VOL 10 MANGA    $11.95
JAN192449    SORRY FOR MY FAMILIAR GN VOL 04    $12.99
FEB191347    STRONGHOLD #3    $3.99
FEB191818    TAMAMO THE FOX MAIDEN AND OTHER ASIAN STORIES GN    $15.00
JAN192239    TO LOVE RU DARKNESS GN VOL 10 (MR)    $12.99
FEB192034    TV USA AN ATLAS FOR CHANNEL SURFERS SC    $24.95
JAN191581    WILLIAM LAST TP VOL 01    $12.99
FEB192045    X-O MANOWAR (2017) #26 CVR A ROCAFORT    $3.99
FEB192046    X-O MANOWAR (2017) #26 CVR B BODENHEIM    $3.99
FEB192047    X-O MANOWAR (2017) #26 CVR C MANOMIVIBUL    $3.99
JAN199439    X-O MANOWAR (2017) #26 CVR E PRE-ORDER BUNDLE ED    $3.99
JAN192240    YOKAI GIRLS GN VOL 07 (MR)    $12.99
FEB191809    YOUNG MOZART HC    $14.95
AUG181501    ZORRO SWORDS OF HELL #4 MARTINEZ MAIN CVR    $3.99
AUG181503    ZORRO SWORDS OF HELL #4 VISIONS OF ZORRO TOTH LTD ED CVR    $9.99
AUG181502    ZORRO SWORDS OF HELL #4 VOKES WEREWOLF ATTACK CVR    $3.99

MAGAZINES
FEB191665    COMIC SHOP NEWS [90CT BUNDLE] #1661    $PI
JAN192025    DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #536    $11.99
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DEC182036    SCREAM MAGAZINE #53 (MR)    $8.99

BOOKS
FEB192203    BACCANO LIGHT NOVEL HC VOL 10    $20.00
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FEB192205    IVE BEEN KILLING SLIMES 300 YEARS NOVEL SC VOL 04    $14.00
FEB192206    KONOSUBA LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 08    $14.00
FEB191441    LITTLE ARCHIES LUCKY DAY PICTURE BOOK HC (MR)    $14.99
JAN192346    PENGUIN HIGHWAY LIGHT NOVEL HC    $20.00
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FEB191673    STAR WARS MASTER & APPRENTICE HC    $28.99
FEB192208    THAT TIME I REINCARNATED SLIME LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 05    $14.00
FEB191654    WISDOM OF WONDER WOMAN HC    $14.95

Review: OBLIVION SONG #1

OBLIVION SONG No. 1
IMAGE COMICS/Skybound – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Robert Kirkman
ART: Lorenzo De Felici
COLORS: Annalisa Leoni
LETTERS: Rus Wooton
COVER: Lorenzo De Felici
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2018)

Rated T+/Teen Plus

Oblivion Song created by Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici

Oblivion Song is a new dystopian, science fiction, and adventure comic book created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Lorenzo De Felici.  Kirkman and De Felici are joined by Annalisa Leoni on colors and Rus Wooton on letters as the creative team.  Oblivion Song follows a man who enters a place called “Oblivion” to rescue humans trapped in this apocalyptic and hellish world.

Oblivion Song #1 is set on an Earth where ten years prior to the story, 30-square miles of land from another dimension were suddenly transposed into an American city.  This event is called the “Transference.”  It brought hordes of gargantuan monsters and a strange fungus-like substance, which caused the murder of some 20,000 people.  Over time, the city was able both to reclaim some of its territory and to drive most of the creatures behind a wall.  This wall separates the city from the slice of inter-dimensional wasteland, which some call “Oblivion,” that lies beyond it.

For a time, there were missions into the wasteland to search for human survivors trapped beyond the wall.  Gradually, the passage of time and the fact that fewer and fewer survivors were found, government funding for and interest in the rescue missions faded.  But not for Nathan Cole.  He won't give up, even when everyone he knows starts to question his motives and to worry what consequences will come from continued trips into “Oblivion.”

Oblivion Song #1 is a big-old, event comic book, but unlike big-old, event comic books from Marvel and DC Comics, Oblivion Song #1 well exceeds the hype.  It is a fantastic read for two reasons.  First, “Oblivion” is a scary place that can be described as a “hellscape,” but there is something alluring about it for the readers and the characters (an allure they call “Oblivion Song”). Second, Nathan Cole is a complicated character who not only has intriguing motivation, but also has multiple competing and conflicting motivations.  He is character readers will want to get to know.

Lorenzo De Felici's illustrations are fantastic, mixing exciting monster comic book graphics with  character melodrama on the temperamental side.  De Felici captures the characters' emotions in bold, powerful strokes that can be explosive, but also subtle in an edgy way that pokes at the reader.

Annalisa Leoni's colors are vivid and also garish.  This garish, however, is good because it conveys both the nightmare reality of “Oblivion” and the frustrations and moods of the characters.  Leoni uses lots of shades of blue, brown, green, orange, and purple, which give this comics narrative a unique look that is both real and hyper-real.

Rus Wooton's lettering is “quiet,” but it is a hot knife through butter.  It is like a balance of just-right and overkill that makes the story punch through any wandering attentions.  Wooton's lettering is a command... no... it is a demand that you pay attention.

Oblivion Song #1 is one of those individual comic books in which writer, illustrator, colorist, and letterer do their best work to create one exceptional work.  This is the kind of comic book that if it wins any awards, all contributors must receive a trophy or certificate, because the honors should go to the entire creative team, at least in this instance.  Issue two has a lot to live up to.

[This issue also a short sketchbook section with commentary by Lorenzo De Felici.]

9 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 and reprint rights and fees.

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

Book Review: BUBBA AND THE COSMIC BLOODSUCKERS

BUBBA AND THE COSMIC BLOODSUCKERS
BOOKVOICE PUBLISHING – @mybookvoice

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Joe R. Lansdale – @joelansdale
ISBN: 978-1-949381-09-2; paperback (February 12, 2019)
259pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S.

Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers is a novel written by author Joe R. Lansdale.  It was originally published in 2017 by Subterranean Press in two limited editions – a “signed limited edition” and a “signed lettered edition.”  This past February (2019), BookVoice Publishing released a “mass market” paperback version of the novel.

Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers is a prequel to Lansdale's 1994 novella, “Bubba Ho-Tep,” an “alternate history” story that was first published in the Elvis Presley-themed anthology, The King is Dead: Tales of Elvis Post-Mortem.  The story pits an aged Elvis Presley and an old African-American man named “Jack” (who claims to be the real President John F. Kennedy) against a senior citizen-killing mummy that Elvis names “Bubba Ho-Tep.”  Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers is set decades before the novella and focuses on a (1970s-era) Elvis who is part of a monster-fighting unit.

Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers opens with an unfortunate drunk who believes that he has made a delightful discovery –  a place to call home in a seemingly abandoned junkyard.  What he finds instead is a life-death as a living ball of food for vampire-like creatures from another dimension.

Enter Elvis Presley.  The King of Rock 'n' Roll turns out to moonlight as a hunter of monsters, (also known as “the Weirdlings”).  Presley is an agent of the “Hidden Agenda,” which deals with supernatural threats to Earth and which is apparently controlled by the President of the United States.  At the time of this story, the commander-in-chief is Richard M. Nixon.  Presley's immediate superior is his “The Colonel” (based on the real-world Elvis Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker), who holds something over Presley to keep him serving the Hidden Agenda.

Presley is part of a team of eccentrics.  Their is the clairvoyant, the “Blind Man,” who is a white-haired albino.  Jack, of Asian extraction, is the “master planner.”  John Henry is the hammer-swinging Black dude of the outfit, and he has an edgy humorous attitude.  Jenny Jo Dallas is the newest member, and she is an up-and-coming singer and recording star known to the public as “Raven.”  Oh, there is Johnny Smack, Elvis' right-hand man, sidekick, and bodyguard (who narrates portions of this story).  Elvis and this strange band are back together, but they don't know that they are about to face their most difficult opponent in “Big Mama” and her cosmic bloodsuckers.  They are about to get woke.

It may be true that there are no more original ideas.  However, author Joe R. Lansdale is such an original voice in American fiction that he must be from another dimension, one where there are still original ideas.  Perhaps, his writer's voice is the secret.  Lansdale can turn a phrase and pound out prose that is evocative.  He can get a laugh, and in his readers' imaginations, he can evoke a fear of monsters and things that go bump – supernatural and otherwise.

There is an excellent comic book adaptation of Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers that is entitled Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers (IDW Publishing).  This five-issue comic book miniseries is written by Joshua Jabcuga; drawn by Tadd Galusha and Horacio Domingues; colored by Ryan Hill; and lettered by Tom B. Long.

One element that the novel emphasizes that the comic book series only touches upon is a sense of melancholy and loneliness that hangs over the Elvis and company.  The characters seem to be striving for connections, if not outright relationships, but they do not seem to be sure of what exactly they want.  It is as if they want another life, but fear of the unknown hampers moving on.  After all, they don't know what their new lives might be like, but the lives they know well, as monster hunters, is one they really don't want to live.

This internal conflict, a kind of existential crises, is what makes Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers something more than a straight-forward horror novel.  Yes, this is an excellent horror novel, and yes, it is told in a gleefully vulgar voice.  But these characters seem larger than one story, and their yearnings and desires extend beyond each Weirdlings fight.  I guess that they are just the kind of people who can fight Cosmic Bloodsuckers.

So I heartily recommend Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers.  As for the title, I assume that “Bubba” and “Bubba Ho-Tep” are used to denote Joe R. Lansdale's version of Elvis Presley, who first came to readers in the novella, “Bubba Ho-Tep.”  As Elvis or as Bubba, this king is still cool, and this novel is indeed cosmic.

8.5 out of 10

[This edition of Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers includes a reprint of the original novella, “Bubba Ho-Tep.]

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.

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Review: KICK-ASS #7 (The New Girl)

KICK-ASS No. 7 (2018)
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Steve Niles
ART: Marcelo Frusin
COLORS: Sunny Gho
LETTERS: John Workman
EDITOR: Rachel Fulton
COVER: Marcelo Frusin.
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jock; Rafael Grampa
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2018)

Rated M/Mature

Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl created by Mark Miller and John Romita, Jr.

This year, writer Mark Millar and creator John Romita, Jr. revived their wildly popular superhero comic book series, Kick-Ass.  The duo transitioned from the story of Dave Lizewski, and Kick-Ass (2018) began the story of the “New Girl” who became Kick-Ass, Staff Sergeant Patience Lee, a combat veteran in the Afghanistan part of the “(Global) War on Terror.”

Both Millar and Romita moved on to other projects after the sixth issue of Kick-Ass.  The seventh issue introduces a new creative team.  It is comprised of writer Steve Niles; artist Marcelo Frusin; colorist Sunny Gho; and letterer John Workman.  At this point in the series, the new girl is still kicking ass, but she is making new and even more dangerous enemies.

Kick-Ass #7 finds Sgt. Patience Lee Kick-Ass moving along quite nicely in her new life.  As Kick-Ass, she has taken over and consolidated several criminal gangs.  She takes down drug operations and divides the spoils among the criminals who have joined her new gang.  Lee does this while keeping only $800 from her Kick-Ass operations for herself, and she still works as a waitress at a diner.  The latest self-styled crime lord that she has targeted is Hector Santos, who mostly seems to stay in hiding.  Santos is also a little more savvy than most of the criminals that Kick-Ass has been kicking around, and our anti-hero may be walking into a trap.

I loved and still love the original Kick-Ass comic books, which were published by Marvel Comics' Icon imprint.  Kick-Ass is my favorite work of artist John Romita, Jr., and it is my favorite work of Mark Millar, although his new comic book, The Magic Order, could overtake it.  I was not excited to hear that a new creative team would take over the series with the seventh issue of Kick-Ass (2018).

However, Kick-Ass #7 turns out to be a thoroughly enjoyable comic book.  Writer Steve Niles and artist Marcelo Frusin do not miss a beat in keeping the series consistent with the momentum Millar and Romita, Jr. built over the previous six issues.  The transition from originals to the new creative team for the “New Girl's” story is for all intents and purposes seamless.

In his story and script, Niles slowly builds the tension before exploding the story with a surprising change of plot.  No one can duplicate John Romita Jr.'s unique visual and graphical style, but Frusin makes Kick-Ass his own graphical storytelling feat.  This is still Kick-Ass (2018), but now, this gritty crime story is a gritty crime comic book.  Instead of Romita's explosive pop comics illustrations, Frusin gives us art that recalls recent popular crime comic books like 100 Bullets and Criminal.

Colorist Sunny Gho, who always seems to be offering something new with his comic book coloring, heightens Frusin's sense of tense drama and explosive action with subdued colors.  As always, John Workman proves that he is a master letterer with indispensable fonts and word balloons that are as beautiful as the art and are perfectly placed.

So I need not worry.  Steve Niles and Marcelo Frusin will make sure that Kick-Ass keeps kicking readers' imagination.  I am ready for the next issue.

8.5 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 and syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: PLASTIC MAN #1

PLASTIC MAN No. 1 (OF 6)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Gail Simone
ART: Adriana Melo
COLORS: Kelly Fitzpatrick
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
COVER: Aaron Lopresti
VARIANT COVER: Amanda Conner with Dave Johnson
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2018)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

Plastic Man created by Jack Cole

Plastic Man is a DC Comics superhero, but the character was originally the property of now-defunct publisher, Quality Comics.  Plastic Man was created by cartoonist, Jack Cole, and first appeared in Quality's Police Comics #1 (cover dated: August 1941).  One of the first characters to incorporate humor in superhero comics storytelling, Plastic Man was a criminal named Patrick “Eel” O'Brian, a criminal who was part of a burglary ring.

During a heist, Eel was exposed to a chemical that entered his bloodstream and caused a radical physical change.  Eel's body now had all of the properties of rubber, and he could stretch, bounce, and mold his body into any shape.  Eel created a red, black, and yellow (later red and yellow) rubber costume and began capturing criminals as the superhero, Plastic Man.

Plastic Man and his origin are the subjects of a new six-issue comic book miniseries from DC Comics.  Plastic Man is written by Gail Simone; drawn by Adriana Melo; colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick; and lettered by Simon Bowland.

Plastic Man #1 opens with petty thug Eel O'Brian getting a beating from three fellow thugs:  Sammy “Suitcase” Mizzola (the ringleader), “Brutal” Benny Turlin, and “Dizzy” Darren Fitzroy.  Eel is angry that he did not get a cut of a recent burglary and that a security guard was killed, but something has changed since the burglary.  Eel is supposed to be dead, and coming back from the dead has angered Sammy.  What Sammy doesn't know is that Eel has come back really different.  He's Plastic Man!  But even Eel himself is in for a shock about what actually happened that night of the burglary.

Over its 80-plus years of existence, DC Comics, in its various incarnations, has gobbled up a number of characters that did not originate with it.  The publisher really has not done much with some of those characters, except make them lesser than the original incarnations.  Shazam/Captain Marvel is one of them.  Plastic Man is another.

I think Kyle Baker, who wrote and drew 20 issues of a Plastic Man (2004-2006) for DC, is one of the few comics creators that have captured the craziness and surrealism of Jack Cole's original Plastic Man comics. [Cole's Plastic Man comics are worth your efforts to find them in reprint or archival form.]  Gail Simone and Adriana Melo are not among them.

That's okay, really.  Plastic Man 2018 is an attempt to normalize an abnormal character so that it fits in with the uniformity of the “DC Universe.”  Simone drains Plastic Man of his inherent zaniness, and the art team of illustrator Adriana Melo and colorist Kelly Fitzpatrick bleeds the graphical wackiness and color right out of the character.  Even Simon Bowland's lettering comes across as mechanical, although it isn't.  This work is not bad; individually, the contributors deliver the inoffensively average.

The result is a professionally produced comic book that is the reading equivalent of a cauliflower and mayonnaise sandwich on white bread with the crust removed.  Flavorless Flav!

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 and syndication rights and fees.

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