COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
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AUG201232 WEED MAGIC #4 (OF 4) (RES) (MR) $4.20
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JUL201244 WINGS OF LIGHT SC GN (RES) (MR) $17.99
AUG201814 WITCH AND BEAST GN VOL 01 (MR) $12.99
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JUL201594 WORLDS END HAREM FANTASIA GN VOL 03 (MR) $13.99
AUG201499 X-VENTURE XPLORERS HC VOL 01 LION VS TIGER $16.99
AUG201498 X-VENTURE XPLORERS SC VOL 01 LION VS TIGER $12.99
AUG201125 ZORRO IN LAND THAT TIME FORGOT #1 CVR A MARTINEZ $3.99
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MAGAZINES
DEC191613 007 MAG SPECIAL DANIEL CRAIG JAMES BOND $25.99
APR201765 007 MAGAZINE BOND GIRLS OMNIBUS (MR) $25.99
AUG201694 BACK ISSUE #123 $9.95
JUN201409 BRICKJOURNAL #64 $9.95
JAN201973 CINEMA RETRO #47 (MR) $11.99
AUG201278 COMIC SHOP NEWS [90CT BUNDLE] #1732 $PI
AUG201468 COMICS REVUE PRESENTS OCTOBER 2020 $19.95
FEB201892 DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #550 $19.99
FEB201893 DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #551 $11.99
MAR202009 DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #552 $11.99
APR201978 DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #553 $11.99
JUN201245 DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #554 $11.99
FEB201937 EERIE TALES MAGAZINE #1 $11.99
AUG201425 HORRORHOUND #85 $6.99
JAN201630 ILLUSTRATORS MAGAZINE #29 $24.99
DEC191577 ILLUSTRATORS SPECIAL #7 PIRATES $34.99
JAN201940 JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #418 $13.00
JUN201408 RETROFAN MAGAZINE #11 $9.95
SEP201339 RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE #197 NOV DEC 2020 $9.95
DEC191856 SCREAM MAGAZINE #60 (MR) $9.99
JAN201964 SCREAM MAGAZINE #61 (MR) $9.99
FEB201936 WEIRD MYSTERIES MAGAZINE #1 $11.99
BOOKS
JUL201304 A QUICK & EASY GUIDE TO CONSENT TP (MR) $7.99
SEP201459 BATMAN & MISSING PUNCHLINE YA SC $6.95
SEP201708 BLEACH CANT FEAR YOUR OWN WORLD LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 02 $17.99
AUG201436 DARK CRYSTAL BESTIARY HC $29.99
JUN201161 DARK SHADOWS PAPERBACK LIBRARY NOVEL VOL 09 FOE OF BARNABAS $14.99
JUN201162 DARK SHADOWS PAPERBACK LIBRARY NOVEL VOL 10 PHANTOM & BARNAB $14.99
SEP201455 DC SUPER HEROES ORIGINS YR TP BATGIRL $4.95
SEP201456 DC SUPER HEROES ORIGINS YR TP CYBORG $4.95
SEP201457 DC SUPER HEROES ORIGINS YR TP ROBIN $4.95
SEP201458 DC SUPER HEROES ORIGINS YR TP SUPERGIRL $4.95
SEP201153 DC SUPER PETS YR TP CAVE OF KRYPTONITE $6.95
SEP201154 DC SUPER PETS YR TP CRIME FIGHTING CAT $6.95
SEP201155 DC SUPER PETS YR TP ICE CREAM CAPER $6.95
SEP201156 DC SUPER PETS YR TP TROUBLE PARADISE ISLAND $6.95
AUG201114 DIARY OF A WIMPY KID HC VOL 15 $14.99
JUL201268 DRACULA HC GN $29.99
SEP201460 FLASH & STORM OF CENTURY YR SC $6.95
JUL208781 HEROES FEAST OFF D&D COOKBOOK HC $35.00
SEP201188 I AM C-3PO INSIDE STORY SC $16.99
AUG201941 IS WRONG PICK UP GIRLS DUNGEON FAMILIA GN VOL 02 FREYA $15.00
AUG201940 IVE BEEN KILLING SLIMES 300 YEARS NOVEL SC VOL 08 $14.00
AUG201946 KONOSUBA LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 12 $14.00
AUG201942 LEADEN BATTLEGROUNDS LEAVE NO TRACE NOVEL SC VOL 02 $15.00
AUG201605 MARVEL AGE OF COMICS 1961-1978 TASCHEN 40TH ANNIV HC $25.00
AUG201599 NIER AUTOMATA YORHA BOYS SC $14.99
SEP201157 SAVE THE DAY WONDER WOMAN HC $17.99
AUG201951 SISTERS ALL YOU NEED LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 08 $15.00
AUG201947 STRIKE THE BLOOD LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 16 $14.00
SEP201461 SUPERMAN & TOXIC TROUBLEMAKER YR SC $6.95
AUG201943 THAT TIME I REINCARNATED SLIME LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 09 $15.00
SEP201462 WONDER WOMAN & CHEETAH CHALLENGE YR TP $6.95
JUL201829 YES NO OR MAYBE LIGHT NOVEL $14.99
Monday, October 26, 2020
Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for October 28, 2020
DC Comics from Lunar/UCS Distributors for October 27, 2020
DC COMICS:
Absolute Swamp Thing By Alan Moore Volume 1 HC (New Edition), $99.99
Absolute Swamp Thing By Alan Moore Volume 2 HC, $99.99
Action Comics #1026 (Cover A John Romita Jr. & Klaus Janson), $3.99
Action Comics #1026 (Cover B Lucio Parrillo), AR
Batgirl #50 (Cover A Joshua Middleton), $5.99
Batgirl #50 (Cover B Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson), AR
Batman 80 Years Of The Bat Family TP, $29.99
Batman Beyond #48 (Cover A Dan Mora), $3.99
Batman Beyond #48 (Cover B Francis Manapul), AR
Batman Superman #13 (Cover A David Marquez), $3.99
Batman Superman #13 (Cover B Mark Brooks Card Stock Variant), AR
Batman The Man Who Laughs The Deluxe Edition HC, $29.99
Batman Three Jokers #3 (Of 3) Playing Cards, AR
Batman Three Jokers #3 (Of 3)(Cover A Jason Fabok), $6.99
Batman Three Jokers #3 (Of 3)(Cover B Jason Fabok Red Hood Variant), AR
Batman Three Jokers #3 (Of 3)(Cover C Jason Fabok Purple Variant), AR
Batman Three Jokers #3 (Of 3)(Cover D Jason Fabok Black & White Variant), AR
Batman Three Jokers #3 (Of 3)(Cover E Jason Fabok The Killing Joke Hawaiian Shirt And Camera Variant), AR
Batman Three Jokers #3 (Of 3)(Cover F Jason Fabok Stand-Up Comedian Variant), AR
Batman Three Jokers #3 (Of 3)(Cover G Jason Fabok Endgame Mohawk Variant), AR
Batman Three Jokers #3 (Of 3)(Cover H Contact Cover Variant), AR
Dark Nights Death Metal Rise Of The New God #1 (Cover A Ian Bertram), $5.99
Dark Nights Death Metal Rise Of The New God #1 (Cover B Bosslogic Card Stock Variant), AR
DC Connect Checklist Poster #5, AR
DC Poster Portfolio DCeased TP, $24.99
Detective Comics #1029 (Cover A Kenneth Rocafort), $3.99
Detective Comics #1029 (Cover B Lee Bermejo Card Stock Variant), AR
Flash #764 (Cover A Bernard Chang), $3.99
Flash #764 (Cover B In-Hyuk Lee), AR
House Of Whispers Volume 3 Watching The Watchers TP, $19.99
John Constantine Hellblazer #11, $3.99
Justice League Dark #27 (Cover A Yanick Paquette), $3.99
Justice League Dark #27 (Cover B Kael Ngu), AR
Last God Songs Of Lost Children #1, $4.99
Legion Of Super-Heroes #10 (Cover A Ryan Sook), $3.99
Legion Of Super-Heroes #10 (Cover B Darko Lafuente), AR
Red Hood Outlaw #50 (Cover A Dexter Soy), $5.99
Red Hood Outlaw #50 (Cover B Philip Tan), AR
Shazam The Deluxe Edition HC, $34.99
Suicide Squad #10 (Cover A Bruno Redondo), $3.99
Suicide Squad #10 (Cover B Travis Moore), AR
Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? TP, $29.99
Wonder Woman #765 (Cover A David Marquez), $4.99
Wonder Woman #765 (Cover B Joshua Middleton Card Stock Variant), AR
Sunday, October 25, 2020
#IReadsYou Movie Review: "TEEN TITANS: The Judas Contract"
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract – video (2017)
[Please visit the "Comic Book Movies Review" page.]
Running time: 84 minutes
MPAA – PG-13 for language, some violence, sensuality, thematic elements and brief drug use
DIRECTOR: Sam Liu
WRITERS: Ernie Altbacker (based on the comic book story by Marv Wolfman and George Perez and on the DC Comics characters)
EDITOR: Christopher D. Lozinsk
COMPOSER: Frederik Wiedmann
ANIMATION STUDIO: The Answerstudios
Starring: (voices) Sean Maher, Kari Wahlgren, Stuart Allan, Taissa Farmiga, Brandon Soo Hoo, Jake T. Austin, Christina Ricci, Miguel Ferrer, Gregg Henry, Meg Foster, Masasa Moyo, Jason Spisak, Crispin Freeman, and Kevin Smith
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is a 2017 straight-to-video animated superhero film from Warner Bros. Animation. The films stars the DC Comics superhero team, the Teen Titans. The film's story is based on “The Judas Contract,” the 1983-84 story arc that was published in The New Teen Titans #39 to #44 and in The New Teen Titans Annual 3, which were created by the writer-artist team of Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Teen Titans: The Judas Contract the movie focuses on the Teen Titans and their battle against an insane cult leader and his conspiracy against them.
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract opens with the original Teen Titans: Robin/Dick Grayson (Sean Maher), Speedy (Crispin Freeman), Kid Flash (Jason Spisak), Beast Boy (Brandon Soo Hoo), and Bumblebee (Masasa Moyo). During a mission, the Titans rescue an alien princess, Koriand'r of Tamaran (Kari Wahlgren), also known as “Starfire,” from her captors.
Five years later, Dick Grayson, now known as “Nightwing,” rejoins the Teen Titans, who are led by Starfire. In addition to original member, Beast Boy, the team is now comprised of Raven (Taissa Farmiga), Terra (Christina Ricci), Blue Beetle (Jake T. Austin), and the current Robin, Damien Wayne (Stuart Allan). The Titans have been battling a high-tech terrorist organization called “H.I.V.E.” and are trying to find its leader, “Brother Blood” (Gregg Henry), the head of a terrorist cult.
Brother Blood has grown tired of the Titans interfering in his plans, but he desires to possess their powers. Blood hires the mercenary/assassin, Deathstroke (Miguel Ferrer), to capture the Titans, and to that end, Deathstroke has a spy inside the Titans.
For most of the 1980s, The New Teen Titans was one of DC Comics' most popular comic book titles, and for awhile, it was the publisher's most important and popular title. “The Judas Contract” was The New Teen Titans' signature story line. Teen Titans: The Judas Contract the movie is true to the spirit of the original story, both in depicting how close a team of disparate individuals can become and in depicting the sting of betrayal committed by one member against the rest of the team.
I really enjoyed this movie, and I am surprised that I liked all the characters and all the voice actors' performances. Christina Ricci does stand out and conveys the pathos and conflict within Terra Markov, while Brandon Soo Hoo gives comedic depth and dramatic weight to Beast Boy. I will note, however, that film director, Kevin Smith, appears as a cartoon version of himself, and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract could have done without him.
Fans of the direct-to-video, DC Comics animated films will find that Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is a high point in this long-running series. Teen Titans fans will also find that, although the film changes the original story quite a bit, this version of The Judas Contract maintains the core of the comic book original, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.
8 of 10
A
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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Book Review: WANDERING IN STRANGE LANDS
HARPERCOLLINS – @HarperCollins
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
AUTHOR: Morgan Jerkins
ISBN: 978-0-06-287304-0; hardcover (August 4, 2020)
304pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S.
Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots is the new nonfiction book from Morgan Jerkins, magazine editor and writer, cultural critic, and bestselling author of the book, This Will Be My Undoing. In Wandering in Strange Lands, Jerkins journeys across the United States in order to understand her roots, the Great Migration, and the displacement of black people across America.
At the center of Wandering in Strange Lands is the fact that between 1916 and 1970, six million black Americans left their rural homes in the South for jobs in cities in the North, West, and Midwest. This movement is known as The Great Migration, and it was an event that transformed the complexion of America. The Great Migration brought black people to new economic opportunities, but Morgan Jerkins argues that this massive movement also left African-Americans disconnected from their roots, their land, and their sense of identity. Both sides of Jerkins family made the Great Migration, but to what extent? Who were the family members left behind? Who are the founders of her family lines?
Jerkins decided to fill in the gaps in her own personal story and in the gaps in the history of both her mother and her father's families. She decided to do this by recreating her ancestors’ journeys across America, following the migratory routes they took from Georgia and South Carolina to Louisiana, to Oklahoma, and to California.
Jerkins follows in her people's footsteps, backwards and forwards, as she seeks to understand not only her own past, but also the lineage of her family and of the entire group of black people who have been displaced, disenfranchised, and disrespected throughout our history as a nation. Jerkins conducts interviews with family, with friends, and with new friends who might be family. She takes photos and collects hundreds of pages of transcription – all of this to gather those loose threads of her family’s oral histories that she might make something whole and hopefully complete. Along the way, she is disabused of some of her notions, and she starts to wonder – who controls our stories?
THE LOWDOWN: My paternal grandmother supposedly had American Indian heritage. Her and her siblings were of so many different skin tones that when I met some of them, I did not realize that they were her siblings. Three of my grandmother's brothers were part of the Great Migration, heading to Detroit for jobs in the automobile industry a long, long time ago. I met them at my grandmother's funeral decades ago.
My maternal grandmother turned out to be the child of former slave, which means my mother was the grandchild of a former slave. Also “the old white man” who came to play with me whenever I visited my maternal grandmother was actually her wayward husband and my mother's father. My mother, who died a few years ago, was the keeper of detailed histories of both her and her husband's families. Mama always had a story. I never recorded them, and now, that she is passed, I feel helpless as I try to rediscover the stories from which I will regrow the family tree.
Wandering in Strange Lands is the story of someone, in this case, a young woman named Morgan Jerkins, who wants to braid the loose threads of the oral histories of both sides of her family. She backtracks across the Great Migration to learn about the Gullah Geechee. She plumbs the mystery of water, of root work, and of root doctors in the Lowcountry of Georgia and South Carolina.
Jerkins heads to Louisiana and visits Natchitoches and Cane River to meet the “Creole” people she once dismissed. She travels south to the Louisiana cities of Lafayette and St. Martinville and discovers her connections to Voodoo. Then, it's on to Oklahoma where threads of her family lead back to North Carolina and Florida and to the stories of the “Freedmen,” “by-blood Indians,” and the “Dawes Roll.” Finally, Jerkins returns to California and to Los Angeles where the Great Migration took black people to a place where things were supposed to be much better than in rest of the racist United States... or so they believed. But it wasn't.
I have been steadily writing reviews for almost twenty years, yet I don't have the words to describe the epic scope of Morgan Jerkins deeply personal story. I can't describe the power this book has; sometimes, I thought it put some hoodoo on me. Jerkins' journey to connect the disparate parts of her family history and their origins is her own story. Somehow, she connects me with and into her story, and I think that she will do that to everyone who reads her book.
Morgan Jerkins makes Wandering in Strange Lands a nonfiction work of black history and of American history. It is a book of religion and of culture, and it is an indictment of America's systemic white racism and pernicious white privilege. The lens through which Jerkins tells this story is a microscope for her family's history and a telescope gathering in the star fields of black history.
In the awful year that is 2020, Wandering in Strange Lands might seem to be the book that was meant to be here. It is not a prophetic work, but the prophets wanted it to be here now. So...yeah... I'm saying it's a must-read.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Readers interested in the stories and oral histories of African-American families will find an essential book in Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots.
10 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
https://twitter.com/MorganJerkins
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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Friday, October 23, 2020
#IReadsYou Review: HELL'S PARADISE: Jigokuraku Volume 3
HELL'S PARADISE: JIGOKURAKU, VOL. 3
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
MANGAKA: Juji Kaku
TRANSLATION: Caleb Cook
LETTERS: Mark McMurray
EDITOR: David Brothers
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1322-6; paperback (July 2020); Rated “M” for “Mature”
216pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £9.99 U.K.
Jigokuraku is a manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Kaku. It has been serialized weekly for free on the Shōnen Jump+ application (app) and website since January 22, 2018. VIZ Media is publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series, entitled Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, under its “VIZ Signature” imprint.
Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku is set in Japan during the “Edo period” (specifically between 1773 and 1841 for this story). The ninja, “Gabimaru the Hollow,” is sentenced to death, but no method of execution can kill him due to his superhuman body. Lord Tokugawa Nariyoshi, the 11th Shogun, offers Gabimaru and other monstrous killers sentenced to death a chance at a pardon. They will travel to a strange island, known as “Shinsenkyo,” where they must find “the elixir of life,” which will make the shogun immortal. The executioner, Yamada Asaemon Sagiri, and others of her clan will accompany these criminals to an island where “Heaven” and “Hell” are said to be practically the same thing.
As Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, Vol. 3 (Chapters 17 to 26) opens, Gabimaru and Sagiri are joined by Yuzuriha of Keishu, (a “kunoichi” or female ninja), and her executioner, Yamada Asaemon Senta (a highly-learned swordsman and Sagiri's clansman). They have just encountered what looks like a small human girl, but they also meet her guardian (of sorts). He is “Hoko” the tree man, and he names the girl as “Mei.”
From him, Gabimaru and company learn that Shinsenkyo, which he calls “Kotaku,” is divided into three regions. It is the center region, known as, “Horai,” where they will find the elixir of life, which the island's denizens call “Tan.” Hoko also warns them of sinister beings roaming the island, the immortal “Lord Tenzen,” that do not allow anyone to leave the island.
However, Gabimaru believes that he does not have time to waste, and sets off on his own to the center of the island. He is unaware of the fate of the other convicts and their executioners who have already met the Lord Tenzen with disastrous results.
[This volume includes miscellaneous art, bonus comics, and “Translation Notes.”]
THE LOWDOWN: I have described the Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku manga as an Edo-period, samurai drama that is also firmly entrenched in the horror genre. I think its English title, “Hell's Paradise,” aptly fits the series' repugnant-attractive elements, a mix of beautiful and imaginative beings and creatures that are really monsters.
Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku Graphic Novel Volume 3 is the first volume in which the lead characters get answers to their questions. I thought that Vol. 2 was one best second volumes of a manga tankobon/graphic novel that I had ever read, just as Vol. 1 was one of the best first volumes. Creator Yuji Kaku does not miss a beat as he reveals more of about the island and about its mysterious inhabitants. If you have already started reading Hell's Paradise, don't stop now, dear readers. If you have not started reading, you don't have far to go back to get in on the ground floor of this utterly fantastic dark fantasy manga.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of “VIZ Signature” titles will want Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku.
A
9.5 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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Thursday, October 22, 2020
#IReadsYou Review: KILLADELPHIA #5
KILLADELPHIA #5
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshal1 Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Neal Adams and Zeea Adams; Inhyuk Lee
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(March 2020)
Rated “M/ Mature”
“Sins of the Father” Part V: “The Sun Will Rise”
Killadelphia is a new comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander. The series focuses on a police officer caught in a lurid conspiracy, and its mastermind is the second president of the United States. John Adams is a vampire, and he has made the corrupt, but historical city of Philadelphia vampire-ridden. Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.
James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. is a Baltimore Police Department beat cop who comes home to deal with the final affairs of his recently murdered father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr. Jimmy hated his father, who is not dead, but is of the undead. Now, son, vampire dad, the chief medical examiner (Jose Padilla), and a rebellious vampire (Tevin “See Saw” Thompkins) are working to save “the City of Brotherly Love” from a vampire apocalypse.
Killadelphia #5 (“The Sun Will Rise”) opens on the morning after the night of revolution. Now, Mayor Gaskins and Lieutenant Zimmerman of the police department are in a state of denial, but Zimmerman will soon get the proof he needs in order to believe... in the unbelievable. Meanwhile, a gospel and a history lesson (sort of) from See Saw.
I believe that each society, even humanity as a whole, will get the apocalypse it deserves and it earns. “You reap what you sow” ends up being more than just wisdom and being words from a religious text. Were America to fall in a vampire, zombie, and monster-driven apocalypse, the nation would finally be harvesting its fated bumper crop, the bountiful yield of its plantation state.
The thing about Rodney Barnes' writing in Killadelphia is that it seems less like fantasy or even speculative fiction, for that matter. It seems like a beautifully composed point of view of an actual reality. And when he isn't writing killer dialogue, Barnes fills exposition boxes with poetry, which makes the violence and bloody righteousness such a beautiful thing.
Artist Jason Shawn Alexander and colorist Luis Nct produce rich and lavish storytelling. They are not simply creating pretty comic book art; they are telling a story with passion and poetry. Still, the pages are resplendent, each a story all its own. Meanwhile, Marshall Dillon acts as a quiet stenographer, lettering this gorgeous vampire tale with the resoluteness of a reporter chronicling the end of city where liberty was born lying.
Killadelphia #5 is another great entry in a killin'-it comic book series.
[This issue contains bonus art by Jason Shawn Alexander.]
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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Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Book Review: BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
WRITER: Tamar Herman
DESIGN: Evi-O Studios
ISBN: 978-1-97471-713-2; hardcover; 7.875 x 10.5 (August 2020)
312pp., Color, $27.99 U.S.
BTS: Blood Sweat & Tears is a new hardcover book about the worldwide musical phenomenon known as BTS.
BTS (also known as the Bangtan Boys) is a seven-member, South Korean boy band. The group was first put together, beginning in 2010, by “Big Hit Entertainment,” a South Korean entertainment company. The members of BTS are RM – leader and rapper; Jin – vocalist; Suga – rapper; J-Hope – rapper; Jimin – vocalist; V – vocalist, and Jungkook – vocalist. The members write and produce much of their recorded musical output, and while BTS was initially a hip hop group, the members have embraced a wide range of musical genres.
BTS's debut musical recording was the “single album,” 2 Cool 4 Skool. A June 2013 release, it contained seven singles and two “hidden tracks.” August 2014 saw the release of the group's debut, Korean-language studio album, Dark & Wild. December 2014 saw the release of their debut, Japanese-language studio album, Wake Up. In December 2015, BTS's 2015 album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2, became the group's first album to make the “Billboard 200” United States' album sales chart. On May 27, 2018, BTS's third studio album, Love Yourself: Tear, debuted at the number one position on the Billboard 200 chart. It was the first time a Korean album had topped the U.S. album sales chart, as well as being the highest charting album by an Asian musical recording act.
And there is something... almost... magical about them. BTS's music videos are visually striking with dazzling effects, imaginative production design, and alluring colors Their songs embrace familiar hip-hop and electronic popular music (“electropop”) sub-genres. They also sing R&B-inspired ballads, which should be familiar to fans of Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. BTS's music also sounds like something different and new – sounds from a future that is leaving behind the funky phantoms of pop anthems past. And a seven-member boy-band slash vocal group is just hard to ignore.
Well, BTS has a story to be told, and the New York City-based journalist, Tamar Herman, is telling it in the new hardcover, illustrated book, BTS: Blood Sweat & Tears. Part music-bio and part analysis, this new book is a thorough exploration of BTS's approach to music in the age of globalization, as this super boy band has brought Korean music to the world. Focusing on the members, the music, and the fans, Tamar Herman brings forth the extraordinary story of these young K-pop idols: Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, V, Jimin and Jungkook to life as they transcend the limitations of language, geography, and genre in a way not seen since, perhaps, The Beatles.
THE LOWDOWN: Author Tamar Herman starts her book, BTS: Blood Sweat & Tears, with an informative “Intro” and first chapter, “BTS Meets the World.” In Chapter 1 is a crucial subsection, entitled “What is K-Pop?” Herman uses this essay to inform the readers about the basics of “K-pop,” including that it is more of a brand than a genre of music.
As such, Herman explains how BTS has used songwriting to distinguish itself within the brand. Two members of the group were already writing songs before joining BTS. With other members writing songs plus a dedicated team of songwriters, the group has been able to evolve its songs and sound. Through their own songwriting, BTS produces music and performances that rally against societal norms, express poetic ideas of romance, and praise self-acceptance in the face of adversity. Being involved in the songwriting also allows BTS to stand out both within K-pop and within the larger, crowded, global music scene.
Overall, this book has over 80 photographic images, most of them color and many of them oversize. Herman goes into exacting detail about BTS's collaborators, and she breaks down the group's albums, song-by-song. Herman puts such effort into talking about BTS's music that this book, BTS: Blood Sweat & Tears, is as much a reference book as it is an overview of the band's public life to date.
It is through Tamar Herman's analysis of the who, what, when, and how, as well as the analysis of the music that BTS: Blood Sweat & Tears stands out as a serious book about a group that is serious about its music, it performances, and its public face. BTS: Blood Sweat & Tears is a thorough exploration of an extraordinary musical act and is certainly not some thrown-together paperback looking to make a quick buck off BTS's fame.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of BTS who are looking for a book that will take them inside BTS and its music will want BTS: Blood Sweat & Tears.
https://www.viz.com/viz-media
https://www.tamarherman.com/
https://twitter.com/TamarWrites
https://www.instagram.com/tamarwrites/
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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