#IReadsYou Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #110

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (2010) #110
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Sholly Fisch; Paul Kupperberg
PENCILS: Randy Elliot; Fabio Laguna
INKS: Randy Elliot; Fabio Laguna
COLORS: Silvana Brys; Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Travis Lanham
EDITORS: Courtney Jordan; Harvey Richards (reprint)
COVER: Randy Elliot with Silvana Brys
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (August 2021)

Ages 8+

“Pulp Friction”

Welcome, dear readers, to my continuing journey through the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series, which began publication in 2010.  I continue to renew my subscription so that I can continue to review this series for you, dear readers.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #110 opens with “Pulp Friction,” which is written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by Randy Elliot.  Mystery Inc.:  Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma arrive at “Sunshine Citrus Grove.”  They've been called there by the grove's owner, Lyman Valencia, who needs the gang to save his business from the “the ghost of Jimmy Orangepeel.”  But Shaggy and Scooby only want to enjoy the oranges, lemons, and limes.

The second story, “Over the Boardwalk,” is, as usual, a reprint story and is written by Paul Kupperberg and drawn by Fabio Laguna.  [This story was originally published as the back-up story in Scooby-Doo #155 (cover date: June 2010).]  Mystery Inc. is enjoying some time off at Coney Island.  Shaggy and Scooby are enjoying a roller coaster ride and the food.  Velma is taking the “walking tour” so that she can enjoy the history of the area.  Daphne and Fred are going to enjoy the beach.  However, an invasions of demons threatens everyone's fun.

The art team of illustrator Randy Elliot and colorist Silvana Brys make “Pulp Friction” (an awful name for this story) a fun read.  Elliot's art is both pretty and stylish, and Brys' colors are radiant in a way that conveys the verdant state of the grove.  The story is okay, but I can't help buy smile at the Johnny Appleseed riff.

“Over the Boardwalk” is nicely offbeat.  I like the idea of the Mystery Inc. kids going their own way at a particular location to do their own thing.  Like the new story, “Pulp Friction,” this reprint story has the theme of greed.  In both cases, one business owner attempts to use the supernatural to scare away another business owner, so that he can swoop in a buy the other business.  This is a theme that has been familiar throughout the half-century of the Scooby-Doo franchise.

So, I recommend Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #110 to Scooby-Doo fans.  And until next time, Scooby-Dooby-Doo!

B-
5 out of 10

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


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#IReadsYou Movie Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: Apokolips War

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020)

Running time:  90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody violence, language, and some sexual references
DIRECTORS:  Matt Peters and Christina Sotter
WRITERS:  Ernie Altbacker and Mairghread Scott; from a story by Mairghread Scott (based on characters appearing in DC Comics)
PRODUCER:  Amy McKenna
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Sam Register and James Tucker
EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinski
COMPOSER:  Frederik Wiedmann
ANIMATION STUDIO:  Tiger Animation

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  (voices) Matt Ryan, Camilla Luddington, Taissa Farmiga, Jerry O'Connell, Rebecca Romijn, Rosario Dawson, Jason O'Mara, Stuart Allen, Hynden Walch, Rainn Wilson, Liam McIntyre, Ray Chase, John DiMaggio, Roger Cross, Shemar Moore, Christopher Gorham, and Tony Todd

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is a 2020 straight-to-video animated superhero film from Warner Bros. Animation.  It is the thirty-eighth film in Warner Home Video's line of “DC Universe Animated Original Movies.”  This film features the marquee DC Comics superhero teams:  Justice League, Teen Titans, and Suicide Squad.  The title of the movie references the supernatural-leaning version of the Justice League, the “Justice League Dark.”  In Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, the Earth's remaining superheroes engage in an epic battle to save what is left of Earth from Darkseid.

As Justice League Dark: Apokolips War opens, Superman (Jerry O'Connell) has devised a plan in which the Justice League will lead a first-strike attack on the all-powerful New God, Darkseid (Tony Todd), who has made two failed attempts at conquering Earth.  The plan is also for the Teen Titans to stay behind and protect the planet.  Unfortunately for the heroes of Earth, Darkseid has learned of their plans and overwhelms them with his “Paradooms,” a genetic hybrid creature made from combination of Darkseid's Parademons and Doomsday, the alien creature that once “killed” Superman.

Two years later, Earth is in ruins, and Darkseid has placed three devices, known as “Reapers,” on Earth to mine the planet's core of its magma.  Some superheroes, such as Cyborg (Shemar Moore), Wonder Woman (Rosario Dawson), and Batman (Jason O'Mara), are now Darkseid's slaves.  Many of the surviving heroes blame Clark Kent/Superman for leading them into failure, and worse, Superman has been forcibly de-powered after Darkseid tattooed his chest with liquid kryptonite.  Still, the Man of Steel has not given up on saving Earth.

Supeman and Lois Lane (Rebecca Romijn) have hatched a new plan to stop Darkseid.  Clark recruits the remaining Teen Titans, Damian Wayne/Robin (Stuart Allen) and Raven (Taissa Farmiga), who is struggling to maintain her father, Trigon's (John DiMaggio) imprisonment.  But everything may hinge on the troublesome con man and sorcerer, John Constantine (Matt Ryan).

Within the “DC Universe Animated Original Movies,” there is the “DC Animated Movie Universe.”  The line began in 2013 with the straight-to-video release of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and is comprised of 15 feature length films.  The point of the “DC Animated Movie Universe” was to make animated films that were loosely based on “The New 52.”  Started in 2011, “The New 52” was the publishing initiative in which DC Comics relaunched its entire line of superhero comic books.

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is the last film in the “DC Animated Movie Universe.”  That factoid is second in importance to the fact that Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is a really good DC Comics animated film.  The film probably uses the “Justice League Dark” title rather than simply “Justice League” because of the tone of the story and because, in many ways, John Constantine, the star of 2017's Justice League Dark animated film, is the lynch pin of Apokolips War.

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War takes the viewers in some inventive and intriguing directions in regards to characters, relationships, and mythologies.  The film offers a surprising amount of emotionally fulfilling character drama and arcs, including the usual Lois Lane and Clark Kent relationship.  However, John Constantine and Zatanna (Camilla Luddington) offer a poignant pairing, but the most surprising is the romance between Damian Wayne and Raven.  They're good enough to be the stars of their own animated film.

The surprising turns and compelling directions in which this film travels are matched by some high quality animation, a strong script, and some surprisingly lean and mean directing.  Such a large cast and so many subplots could have dragged on Apokolips War.  Instead, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is an exciting and riveting film, and it is a great way to end one universe in the DC Comics multiverse.

8 of 10
A

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


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: RADIANT BLACK #1

RADIANT BLACK #1
IMAGE COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Kyle Higgins
ART: Marcelo Costa
COLORS: Marcelo Costa
LETTERS: Becca Carey
EDITOR/DESIGNER: Michael Busuttil
COVER: Michael Cho
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Marcelo Costa with Eduardo Ferigato; Marcelo Costa; David Finch, Jimmy Reyes, and Marcelo Costa; Goñi Montes
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (February 2021)

Rated “T+/Teen Plus”

“(Not So) Secret Origin”

Radiant Black is a new superhero comic book series from writer Kyle Higgins and artist Marcelo Costa.  The series focuses on a failed writer who discovers a cosmic force that changes his life.  Letterer Becca Carey complete the series' creative team.

Radiant Black #1 (“(Not So) Secret Origin”) introduces Nathan Burnett.  He just turned thirty-years-old, and things are not going great.  He is a failed writer, has two awful jobs, and has thirty-eight thousand dollars in credit card debt.  Nathan leaves Los Angeles and returns home to Lockport to live with his parents.

Reunited with his old pal, Marshall, he goes out for a night on the town.  This is the night Nathan discovers and unlocks something cosmic that changes his life.  This new thing seems totally unique, but there is more to it than Nathan can imagine.

THE LOWDOWN:  If what I am reading on the Internet is true, Radiant Black may the first entry in a new “shared universe” of superhero titles from Image Comics.  That made me interested in Radiant Black, although I would have read the first issue anyway.

Marcelo Costa's art and colors do look radiant, and Costa's graphical storytelling is straightforward and calm.  That's a good thing; it is as if this story is saying, “Let's not get ahead of ourselves, now!”

I'm not sure what pace writer Kyle Higgins will adapt in revealing Radiant Black's secrets, but there is something charming and sweet in the matter of fact way this first issue reveals itself.  There is an old-fashioned sense of wonder and discovery in Radiant Black, but it is new, at the same time, and I like that.  Even Becca Carey's lettering seems determined to keep everything simple, but moving.

I like Radiant Black #1, but I won't give it a grade, although it seems like something I should call “a perfect first issue.”  I feel as if I need to know more, and I think the second issue will throw lots more at me.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans looking for something new with a touch of classic in superhero comic books will want to try Radiant Black.

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


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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