#IReadsYou Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #105

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #105 (2010)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Sholly Fisch; Barney Topper
PENCILS: Walter Carzon; Dan DeCarlo
INKS: Horacio Ottolini; Dan Davis
COLORS: Silvana Brys; Paul Becton
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Jenna Garcia
EDITORS: Courtney Jordan; Joan Hilty (reprint)
COVER: Walter Carzon and Horacio Ottolini with Silvana Brys
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (October 2020)

Ages 8+

“Clearing the Troll Posts”

Welcome, dear readers, to my continuing journey through the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series, which began publication in 2010.  I renewed my subscription (for a second time), and this is the seventh issue of my third subscription run that I have received.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #105 opens with “Clearing the Troll Posts,” which is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Walter Carzon and Horacio Ottolini.  Mystery Inc.:  Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma discover that Daphne's favorite “vlogger” (video blogger), “Screengirl,” is in trouble.  It seems that she is being trolled by the monstrous “Internet Troll” who is trashing Screengirl's tech.  Can Mystery Inc. unravel the mystery of the Internet Troll, or is there more to this i-haunting than some trolling?

The second story, “Scare Wear,” is, as usual, a reprint and is written by Barney Topper and drawn by Dan DeCarlo and Dan Davis.  [This story was originally published in Scooby-Doo #51 (cover date: October 2001).]  Mystery Inc. is excited about seeing pop star, Ashley Stunn, who is also a fashion icon.  Ashley's outfits, designed by Tim Goodfiger, are a sensation... but those outfits are also haunted!  And the spooks are threatening Ashley's well-being.  Can Mystery Inc. unravel the threads of this designer mystery?

“Clearing the Troll Posts,” the new story in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #105, does not amount to much, and it is hardly worth talking about.  However, the reprint story, “Scare Wear,” is of interest because its pencil art was produced by the late Dan DeCarlo (1919-2001), the great Archie Comics artist who developed Archie Comics' house style, the visual and graphic style that would shape the art of Archie Comics for over 40 years.

DeCarlo and is one of the creators of such popular Archie Comics' franchises as Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, and Cheryl Blossom.  It was because of his lawsuit against Archie Comics over the rights to Josie and the Pussycats that got DeCarlo banished from the publisher.  Before he died, DeCarlo drew comics for other publishers, including two Scooby-Doo comics stories, one of which is “Scare Wear.”

I recommend Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #105 to fans of Scooby-Doo comic books, and, this time, especially to fans of the late, great Dan DeCarlo.  So, until next time, Scooby-Dooby-Doo!

B
6 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: BLACK CLOVER Volume 17

BLACK CLOVER, VOL. 17
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Yuki Tabata
TRANSLATION: Taylor Engel, HC Language Solutions, Inc.
LETTERS: Annaliese Christman
EDITOR: Alexis Kirsch
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0616-7; paperback (September 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Black Clover is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Tabata.  It has been serialized in the manga magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump, since February 2015.  VIZ Media has been publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series under its “Shonen Jump” imprint since 2016.

Black Clover focuses on a hopeful boy named Asta.  He and his friend, Yuno, are found abandoned in the village of Hage of the Clover Kingdom.  Both Asta and Yuno dream of one day being the “Wizard King,” the greatest mage in the land.  Asta has one big problem; he can't use magic.  When he is 15-years-old, Asta receives the rare “five-leaf-clover grimoire” (a book of magic), which gives him the power of anti-magic.  Can Asta become the Wizard King without being able to use magic?  Is he worthy of being in the “Magic Knights” squad, “the Black Bulls?”

As Black Clover, Vol. 17 (Chapters 151 to 160; entitled “Fall, Or Save the Kingdom”) opens, disaster has struck the Magic Knights.  The souls of elves who claim to have been killed by humans have taken over the bodies of members of the Magic Knights.  Now, these elves are going to use their new bodies and enhanced powers to kill humans.  Asta and the Magic Knights are in trouble, but that doesn't mean that Asta is going to give up?  But which side is Yuno on?

[This volume includes bonus material:  “The Blank Page Brigade;” an “Afterword;” and sketches.]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Black Clover manga is one of the best shonen battle manga available to English-speaking audiences.  I have read seven volumes so far this year, and every time I read one it is like rediscovering how amazing this series is.

Black Clover Graphic Novel Volume 17 moves deeper into this shocking elves-possession story line.  It just came out of nowhere, and truthfully, it could have turned out to be a disaster.  Elvish ghosts; elvish genocide; possession; revenge: yeah, that could have been a disaster.  Instead, Vol. 17 is the latest volume in a really fun to read graphic novel series.  I practically tore through this volume.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the top Weekly Shonen Jump manga will definitely want to try the “Shonen Jump” series, Black Clover.

A+
10 out of 10

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


https://www.viz.com/
https://twitter.com/VIZMedia
https://www.instagram.com/vizmedia/
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialVIZMedia
https://www.snapchat.com/add/vizmedia


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: GREY Chapter 2

GREY. CHAPTER 2
THE GREY ROOM

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Kris Hornett
ART: Ardee Arollado
SPECIAL PROJECTS ART: Kenet Guevarra
COVER: InHyuk Lee
EDITOR: Lisa Taylor
28pp, B&W, $10.00 (August 2020)

Chapter 2 “Nimbus”

Grey is a recently-launched. independently published comic book series from writer Kris Hornett and artist Ardee Arollado.  Published by The Grey Room, Grey is a hybrid, a combination of an American comic book format and Japanese manga.  Grey is similar to OEL manga or “original English language” manga, American graphic novels in which the storytelling borrowed or mimicked the aesthetics, styles, attitudes, genres, graphics, pacing, etc. of Japanese manga (comics).

Grey is set in the realm of Ketiyama (apparently an archipelago) and takes place some time after an event known as “the Sonoma Incident.”  This outbreak of the lethal “Moon Virus” on Nacirema, one of Ketiyama's islands, led to chaos, destruction, and division.  As a sign of good faith and as a last attempt to restore order, the ruling Board of Officials allowed the people to elect a team of highly trained tactical agents, known as “the Bureau,” to serve and protect them.  Within the Bureau is an elite unit known as “Nimbus.”  This team of five agents are sworn to maintain moral balance and to enforce the law.  The agents of Nimbus are also able to manipulate their “prana” (“life energy”).

The agents of Nimbus are Samara Asuhara, Kouken Masimuto, Shuyin Hagamuri, Manu Yagyu, and Kale Schaefer.  Belisia Asuhara is their handler and the creator of Nimbus.

As Grey. Chapter 2. (“Nimbus”) opens, the media confronts Renee Dubois, the commissioner of the Bureau, about recent events.  There was the shocking murder at the International Fashion Fest (IFF).  There was an invasion of Bureau headquarters in which nine agents were killed.  The Bureau's evidence room was also infiltrated and an “okami mask,” with a notorious past was stolen.  Belisia Asuhara is pushing her agents of Nimbus to get involved in this case because everything about it is abnormal and beyond the scope of ordinary Bureau agents.

Meanwhile, Samara does some pushing of her own.  She wants Shuyin to accept that Willow, a woman from his past, is connected to their case, but Shuyin really has no idea what Willow is doing.  But first, Shuyin receives a special visitor.

THE LOWDOWN:  As I wrote in my review of the first issue:  Grey is not one of those comic books that you read and toss in the already-read-pile before moving on to the next comic book.  Grey is conceptually well-developed, and the world in which it is set has a complex history.

Grey Chapter 2 begins the deep dive into the narrative, after Chapter 1's teasing nature, in which the creative team of Kris Hornett and Ardee Arollado teased readers through the door and into the world of Grey.  In Grey Chapter 2, Hornett seems to be establishing the independence and the individuality of the characters.  Even the bit players, some of whom might be captives for all I know, come across as persons with their own lives outside of game of which they are part.

Part of that also comes from Arollado's strong art and graphical storytelling.  No character really looks like another.  It is as if Arollado actually approaches each new figure to draw as a new character.  He or she may be a face in the crowd, but it is HIS or HER face in the crowd and it belongs to no one else.  There are no filler characters; instead, there are players with potential.

I think the strongest element in Grey are the characters.  Each and every one has his or her own motivation, and motivation can be a dangerous thing.  Danger is good for drama.  So let's come back for more Grey.  By the way, Grey Chapter 2 has a beautiful cover drawn by Marvel Comics cover artist InHyuk Lee... which would make a gorgeous poster.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of manga-inspired comic books will want to read Grey.

[This comic book includes additional informative text pieces.]

8 out of 10

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


https://thegreyroom.org/
https://www.instagram.com/thegreyroom_/
https://twitter.com/Hornett_


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: FUSHIGI YUGI: BYAKKO SENKI Volume 1

 

FUSHIGI YUGI: BYAKKO SENKI, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Yuu Watase
TRANSLATION: Matt Treyvaud
LETTERS: Sara Linsley
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1164-2; paperback (August 2020), Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S. $12.99 CAN, £7.99 UK

Fushigi Yûgi Byakko Senki is a shojo manga series written and drawn by Yuu Watase.  It is the second prequel series to Watase's Fushigi Yûgi.  Byakko Senki began with a one-shot story, entitled Fushigi Yûgi Byakko Ibun, before beginning as a serial in the Japanese manga magazine, Monthly Flowers, in August 2017.  VIZ Media began publishing an English-language edition of Byakko Senki as a paperback graphic novel series under its “Shojo Beat” imprint in August 2020.

Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 4) opens in Japan in the year 1923.  Suzuno Ohsugi is a young girl who is doted upon by her devoted mother and father.  Her father, Takao Ohsugi, works in book publishing, which gives him access to the papers of Einosuke Okuda, the translator of the book, “The Universe of the Four Gods.”  Okuda is a controversial figure whom the public believes killed his daughter high in the mountains before taking his life in some kind of murder-suicide ritual.

Suzuno's father now has possession of The Universe of the Four Gods, and he absolutely does not want his daughter to touch it.  Then, “the Great Kanto Earthquake” occurs, and in a bid to save his daughter, Takao sends her into The Universe of the Four Gods.

THE LOWDOWN:  The Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki manga is an “isekai fantasy.”  This is an “accidental travel” genre that is prominent in Japanese entertainment, including light novels, manga, anime and video games.  Isekai fantasy revolves around a normal person from Earth being transported to or reborn in a parallel universe or fantasy world.  The entire Fushigi Yûgi series is an isekai fantasy.

The series began with Fushigi Yūgi, a Japanese shojo manga series written and illustrated by Yuu Watase.  It tells the story of two teenaged girls, Miaka and Yui, who are pulled into the world of a mysterious book, “The Universe of the Four Gods.”  Fushigi Yûgi was serialized in Shōjo Comic from May 1992 to June 1996.  VIZ Media published an English language edition of the manga as an 18-volume paperback graphic novel series under its “Shojo Beat” imprint from December 2003 to April 2006.

Watase produced a prequel to Fushigi Yūgi, entitled Fushigi Yûgi Genbu Kaiden.  It was serialized over a period beginning March 2003 and ending February 2013 in four magazines over the course of its run.  This prequel series details the creation of The Universe of the Four Gods and tells the full story of the Priestess of Genbu.  VIZ Media published an English language edition of the manga as a 12-volume paperback graphic novel series under its “Shojo Beat” imprint from July 2005 to March 2014.

Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki Graphic Novel Volume 1 begins a story that is familiar to anyone who has read the previous two series.  While Byakko Senki is a prequel to the original series, it is also a sequel to Genbu Kaiden, while occurring before the original.  I read at least the last five or six volumes of Genbu Kaiden, but I am not sure if I read any of the original.  If I did, it was no more than the final volume or volumes of the series.

I like this first volume, but it is sort of all over the place, as it takes place in two time periods, in the Universe of the Four Gods, and in flashbacks.  Matt Treyvaud's translation keeps the story together and coherent.  The lettering by Sara Linsley also helps to establish setting as much as it does tone.

If you, dear readers, are familiar with the work of Yuu Watase, you will like this first volume of Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki, as I do.  There are so many things left unsaid and unfinished in this first volume that I can't wait to return to the story.  However, I must add that you do not need to have read the earlier series to enjoy Byakko Senki.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the Fushigi Yûgi series will like the “Shojo Beat” title, Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki.

8 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: STAR WARS: The Rise of Kylo Ren

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF KYLO REN
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.  Also, visit Star Wars Review Central here.]

STORY: Charles Soule
ART: Will Sliney
COLORS: Guru eFX
LETTERS: VC's Travis Lanham
EDITOR: Mark Paniccia
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Clayton Crain
MISC ART: Carmen Carnero with Rachelle Rosenberg; John Tyler Christopher; Jodie Muir; Stefano Landini and Nicola Righi; Giuseppe Camuncoli with David Curiel
ISBN: 978-1-302-92418-8; paperback (August 11, 2020)
112pp, Color, $15.99 U.S., $20.99 CAN

Rated T

Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren is a Marvel Comics trade paperback collection of the Star Wars comic book miniseries, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #1-4 (December 2019 to March 2020).  The miniseries is written by Charles Soule; drawn by Will Sliney; colored by Guru eFX; and lettered by Travis Lanham.

The Rise of Kylo Ren is an official part of the Star Wars “canon” and explores the backstory of Kylo Ren.  He is the face of the Dark Side in the Star Wars “sequel trilogy” of films:  Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren opens long ago and introduces the mysterious leader called “Ren” and his “Knights of Ren.”  Two brothers, Karrst and Filin,” learn the high cost of being recruited by Ren.  The story moves to the present which finds the Jedi Temple of Luke Skywalker in flames, as Ben Solo, the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo and the nephew of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, watches.

Soon, Ben is accused of murder by three fellow Jedi students:  Voe, Hennix, and Tai.  Escaping their attempts at justice, Ben seeks the counsel of Snoke, a user of the Dark Side of the Force, who has been in contact with Ben for some time.  Snoke points Ben to the Knights of Ren as a “good stop” on his journey to the Dark Side.

But will Ben truly be able to find himself and his place with the Knights?  How will he measure up to the expectations of the Knights' leader, Ren, with his talk of “good death” and of the “Shadow?”  How will Ben deal with his former classmates as they pursue him in the name of justice.  And most of all, when will Ben be able to embrace his new name?...

THE LOWDOWN:  In the recent “Skywalker Saga” Star Wars films, Kylo Ren is a figure of intrigue and mystery.  Except for a few flashback sequences, visions, and what little Luke Skywalker and Kylo himself say, little is known about his past.

In a little more than 90 pages of narrative, writer Charles Soule illuminates the history of Kylo Ren and chases away at least some of the shadows of Kylo's past.  In the little more than five years since Marvel Comics resumed publishing Star Wars comic books, Soule has made himself one of the very best writers of Star Wars comic books.  While he offers a tale of duplicity and violence, Soule also reveals the true struggle of Kylo Ren, to be liberated from the expectations and legacies of others so that he can chart his own path.

After reading Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren, I have no doubt in my mind that Charles Soule could spin many a wonderful yarn featuring Kylo Ren.  I don't want to minimize the work of artist Will Sliney, who is a good graphical storyteller.  Or the work of Guru eFX, which brings this story's settings to life with a variety of hues.  Or the work of letterer Travis Lanham, who is always quite good at capturing the right tone of the characters' dialogue.  However, Charles Soule's writing is the star in Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren simply because he does what so few have done – deliver on the potential of the character known as both Ben Solo and as Kylo Ren.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Star Wars comic books and of Star Wars canon will certainly want to read Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren.

10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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