Saturday, March 17, 2018

Review: IRON FIST #1

IRON FIST No. 1 (2017)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted at Patreon.]

STORY: Ed Brisson
ART: Mike Perkins
COLORS: Andy Troy
LETTERS: VC's Travis Lanham
COVER: Jeff Dekal
VARIANT COVERS: Mike Perkins with Andy Troy; Alex Ross; Kaare Andrews
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (May 2017)

Rated T+

Iron Fist created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane

Iron Fist a.k.a. Daniel “Danny” Rand is a Marvel Comics superhero.  The character was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane and first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15 (cover dated:  May 1974).  Iron Fist is a practitioner of martial arts, and he wields the mystical force known as “the Iron Fist,” which allows Danny to summon and focus his chi.

Iron Fist has had his own comic book series numerous times, but is best known for his association with the character Luke Cage/Power Man.  The two were stars of the long-running comic book series, Power Man and Iron Fist (which was recently revived).  Now, there is a new solo series, Iron Fist.  It is written by Ed Brisson; drawn by Mike Perkins; colored by Andy Troy; and lettered by Travis Lanham.

As Iron Fist #1 opens, we learn that Danny Rand is in a funk since the destruction of K'un Lun, the mystical city where Danny became the Iron Fist.  Now, Danny travels the world finding fights wherever he can, but these dudes he fights, no matter how skilled they might be, are beneath Danny.  Now, someone is about to call Danny out and offer him a way to find answers.

I think I picked up this Iron Fist #1 because it was (1) a first issue and (2) I like Jeff Dekal's cover art.  However, this is actually a good read.  I am not that crazy about inconsistent Mike Perkins' art, which ranges from good pages to hot mess pages.

There are several fight scenes and sequences in Iron Fist #1, but there is a page-turning quality to the funk writer Ed Brisson depicts in Danny Rand.  By the end of this issue, I really wanted to know, “What's next?”  For a superhero comic book, that's a good mark.

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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Thursday, March 15, 2018

Review: SCOOBY DOO TEAM-UP #22

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP No. 22
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Sholly Fisch
ART: Dave Alvarez
COLORS: Dave Alvarez
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte
COVER: Dario Brizuela with Franco Riesco
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (March 2017)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

“Nothing is Impossible”

Scooby-Doo, that famous Saturday morning cartoon dog, and his human companions:  Shaggy Rogers, Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake, and Fred Jones, first appeared in the Saturday morning animated series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969-1971 from Hanna-Barbera).  This quintet is known as Mystery Inc. (or the “Mystery Inc. gang” or the “Scooby gang”).

The second Scooby-Doo animated series was “The New Scooby-Doo Movies,” which premiered on September 9, 1972 and ran for two seasons on CBS until 1974.  It was the first Scooby-Doo cartoon series that I ever saw.  [I saw “Scooby Doo, Where Are You!” in reruns not long afterwards.].  “The New Scooby-Doo Movies” began my life-long love of Scooby-Doo and his pals.

An hour-long show, “The New Scooby-Doo Movies” featured a rotating series of special guest stars.  Each episode guest-starred a real-life celebrity or well-known fictional character that joined Mystery, Inc. in solving the mystery of the week.  Some celebrities were living at the time of an episode’s first airing (Don Knotts, for instance).  Some were deceased or retired (The Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy).  There were also real-life celebrities who would become cartoon characters in other series (Harlem Globetrotters).  Some guests were stars of other Hanna-Barbera animated series (Josie and the Pussycats, Speedy Buggy).

Three years ago, DC Comics debuted the comic book series, Scooby-Doo Team-Up, as a sort of follow-up to The New Scooby-Doo Movies.  It has been three years since I wrote my only review of the series, a review of Scooby-Doo Team-Up #1.  That issue united Mystery Inc. and Batman and Robin to take on tragic Batman adversary, Man-Bat.

I only read the first five issue of Scooby-Doo Team-Up, but I recently picked up two recent issues of the series.  One of them really stood out to me, so much so that I decided to talk about it in a review.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #22 unites Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma with Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles, stars of an old-school or classic Saturday morning cartoon series.  Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1966.  It ran for two seasons on CBS from September 1966 to September 1968.

Each episode contained two segments.  “Frankenstein Jr.” starred a giant heroic robot named “Frankenstein Jr.” and focused on his adventures fighting supervillains with his creators, Professor Conroy and his son Buzz Conroy.  The other segment, “The Impossibles,” started a trio of superheroes, “The Impossibles” (Multi-Man, Fluid Man, and Coil Man) who posed undercover as a Beatles-like rock band, also called “The Impossibles.”

As Scooby-Doo Team-Up #22 (“Nothing is Impossible”) opens, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo are enjoying a stadium concert performance by The Impossibles.  Suddenly, a shadowy, giant robot attacks and starts tearing apart the stadium.  It's Frankenstein Jr.!  But isn't he supposed to be a good guy?  His pal and co-creator, Buzz Conroy, appears on the scene to explain how an old adversary, the Mad Inventor, is responsible for Frankenstein Jr.'s new destructive attitude, and the villain is proving practically impossible to stop... with Frankenstein Jr. under his control.

What made me want to review Scooby-Doo Team-Up #22?  Frankly, I was stunned by the art, colors, and page design work on this issue by Dave Alvarez.  Alvarez is one of the best Scooby-Doo comic book artists in recent memory.  His coloring for this issue and the page design form a combination that reminds me of the color and design aesthetic of Hanna-Barbera's sci-fi and superhero animated series of the mid to late 1960s.  That's it, ladies and gentlemen.  As I started reading this comic book, I wondered if Alvarez had merely reproduced actual, vintage animated cel art for this issue.

But no, he is just a comic book artist who is exceptionally good at Scooby-Doo comic books.  The cover artist for this issue is Dario Brizuela, another comic book artist who is really good with Scooby-Doo comic books.

You know, reading Scooby-Doo Team-Up makes me think that I need to become a regular Scooby-Doo comic book reader again.  The story by writer Sholly Fisch is fun, and uses some meta-fiction to poke fun at both the Scooby-Doo franchise and at “Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles.”  After all, only the most clueless person could not figure out that “The Impossibles” rock trio is the same as “The Impossibles” superhero trio.

A-

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Review: BLACK #6

BLACK No. 6
BLACKMASK STUDIO

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Kwanza Osajyefo
DESIGNER: Tim Smith 3
ART: Jamal Igle
INKS: Robin Riggs
TONES: Derwin Roberson
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
COVER: Khary Randolph
44pp, B&W and some Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2017)

“Chapter Six”

Black was a comic book miniseries created by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3.  This comic book was first introduced to the public as a Kickstarter project seeking to earn $29,999, but ultimately earned almost $100,000.  Black is set in a world where only Black people have super-powers.

Black was written by Osajyefo; drawn by Jamal Igle (pencils) and Robin Riggs (inks); toned by Derwin Roberson and Sarah Stern; and lettered by Dave SharpeKhary Randolph was the series cover artist.

Black opened with Officer Ellen Waters of the New York Police Department (NYPD) recounting a shocking incident.  She witnessed three young Black teenagers mistakenly identified as three perpetrators of an armed robbery.  All three were subsequently shot to death in a hail of bullets fired by White police officers.  Officer Waters also witnessed one of the three teens, Kareem Jenkins, get up from his injuries as if he were never harmed.  What Waters did not realize was that the truth behind Jenkins miraculous survival was even more mind-blowing.  He had super-powers – called Quarks.

Black #6 opens at “Negromuerte,” the research facility that is also a prison.  Here, Black people with super-powers are imprisoned so that they can be the subjects of experimentation designed to replicate their powers.  Recently imprisoned there, Kareem has discovered that his cellmate is the Black super-powered terrorist, “O,” who is determined to kill Negromeurte's director and lead scientist, Theodore Mann.  Now, it is Mann vs. “O,” with Kareem caught in the middle.

As I wrote in my review of Black #1, I remember the Kickstarter campaign for Black, and I was impressed by what the team behind it presented to the public.  I stated that I was shocked by how successful the campaign was, as it reached its campaign goal in a short time before going on to raise about three times that goal.

That Kickstarter campaign assured the Black would indeed become a full-fledged comic book project.  Since Black #6 was published last year, the series has been optioned for film and a sequel miniseries and an original graphic novel set in that world were announced (with the graphic novel recently being published and reportedly being sold out).

Black #1 was awkward and a bit ungainly, but it was hard to deny the boldness and audacity of its concept.  Black #6 is, of course, more polished.  Jamal Igle's compositions are solid and his graphic storytelling pops off the page.  Robin Riggs' inks on Igle pencil's give the art a solidity and firmness the art seemed to lack in that first issue.  The tones (basically coloring for black and white illustrations) by Derwin Roberson are superb and bring beauty and strength to Igle and Riggs illustrations.  Yes, Dave Sharpe's lettering is... sharp and conveys power to the story.

I think that the thing I most enjoy about Kwanza Osajyefo's storytelling is simply that it exists.  It takes backbone and balls of steel to both create a comic book that says only black people have super-powers, and then to release it to a market that serves an aging white male fan-base.  And this is a base that often bristles when presented with black comic book characters that do not “know their place” in fictional comic book worlds like the Marvel and DC Comics universes.

I like that Osajyefo brings diversity and variety to the way his characters speak.  I like that Osajyefo ultimately lets Kareem Jenkins be a really free black man.  I like that there will be more from the world of Black.  It is too Black and too proud to be a one-time thing.

9 out of 10

[This comic book includes a preview of the comic book, Calexit, from Black Mask Studio.]

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.

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


Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Book Review: A DEATH IN LIVE OAK

A DEATH IN LIVE OAK
HARPER (HarperCollins Publishers) – @HarperCollins @HarperBooks

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: James Grippando – @James_Grippando
ISBN: 978-0-06-265780-0; hardcover (February 6, 2018)
384pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S.

A Death in Live Oak is a 2018 novel from author and attorney James Grippando.  It is Grippando's 26th novel and also the 14th novel starring Grippando’s Miami-based, criminal defense attorney, Jack Swyteck.  Grippando was the 2017 winner of the Harper Lee Prize for legal fiction (for 2016's Gone Again – Jack Swyteck #12).  In A Death in Love Oak, Swyteck defends a white fraternity president accused of killing a black fraternity president.

Jamal Cousin is the president of the preeminent black fraternity at the University of Florida (UF).  One day, his body is discovered hogtied and hanging from a tree in the dark water swamps of the Suwanee River Valley, near the town of Live Oak, in north-central Florida.  Jamal's murder recalls the gruesome murders of the Jim Crow era, particularly a similar murder of a young black man in 1944.

The police arrest three white fraternity brothers from Theta Pi Omega, the premiere (and all-white) fraternity at the University of Florida, in the killing of Jamal Cousin.  Jamal's death sets off a firestorm that threatens to rage out of control, and defense attorney Jack Swyteck is thrown into the middle of it when he agrees to represent one of the accused, Mark Towson, the president of Theta Pi Omega.

Jack must contend with rising political tensions, racial unrest, and a sensational media, and the evidence against Towson is damning.  It includes a text from Mark's phone to Jamal that references “'strange fruit' on the river.  Inside and outside the old Suwanee County Courthouse, Jack fights to protect his client's life and prove his innocence, and the more he investigates, the more he believes that Mark himself may be the victim of a sinister criminal plan.  Meanwhile, Jack's wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, is in the north-central Florida area working an undercover assignment that may be connected to her husband's case.

I read my first Jack Swyteck novel, Blood Money (2013), a few years ago.  Since then, I eagerly look forward to each new James Grippando novel, especially the Jack Swyteck series.

A Death in Live Oak is probably Grippando's most daring and thrilling Swyteck novel to date.  The author tackles the red-hot, hot button issue of American racial relations while digging in the past to show that racism haunts all Americans, not only spiritually, but also in affecting the way people act and live to this very day.  Some of this novel's plot, subplots, and narrative may stretch credulity, but the emotions, the heartache, and the betrayal resonate and seem honest.

A Death in Live Oak is a February and winter book release, but it roils like a cauldron filled with several summer pot boiler novels.  Once again, James Grippando proves that he is a high-prince of the legal thriller, filling his novels with the heart and soul and with the sense that flesh and blood people must deal with the consequences of what we think of as mere courtroom drama entertainment.  Fans of suspense, crime fiction, and legal thrillers will find that A Death in Live Oak is a must-read.

9 out of 10

www.jamesgrippando.com

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Monday, March 12, 2018

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors from March 14, 2018

DC COMICS

JAN180254    ACTION COMICS #999    $2.99
JAN180255    ACTION COMICS #999 VAR ED    $2.99
DEC170374    ALL STAR BATMAN HC VOL 03 FIRST ALLY REBIRTH    $24.99
DEC170373    ALL STAR BATMAN TP VOL 02 ENDS OF THE EARTH REBIRTH    $14.99
JAN180258    BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #20    $3.99
JAN180259    BATGIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #20 VAR ED    $3.99
DEC170383    BATGIRL STEPHANIE BROWN TP VOL 02    $24.99
DEC170393    DC COMICS THE ART OF DARWYN COOKE TP    $29.99
JAN180283    DETECTIVE COMICS #976    $2.99
JAN180284    DETECTIVE COMICS #976 VAR ED    $2.99
JAN180243    ETERNITY GIRL #1 (OF 6) (MR)    $3.99
JAN180244    ETERNITY GIRL #1 (OF 6) VAR ED (MR)    $3.99
JAN180287    FLASH #42    $2.99
JAN180288    FLASH #42 VAR ED    $2.99
JAN180291    GOTHAM CITY GARAGE #11    $2.99
DEC170239    GREEN LANTERN EARTH ONE HC VOL 01    $24.99
JAN180299    HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #40    $2.99
JAN180300    HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #40 VAR ED    $2.99
JAN180317    JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #26    $2.99
JAN180318    JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #26 VAR ED    $2.99
SEP170417    JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA BRONZE AGE OMNIBUS HC VOL 02    $125.00
JAN180321    MISTER MIRACLE #7 (OF 12) (MR)    $3.99
JAN180322    MISTER MIRACLE #7 (OF 12) VAR ED (MR)    $3.99
JAN180324    NEW SUPER MAN & THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF CHINA #21    $3.99
JAN180325    NEW SUPER MAN & THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF CHINA #21 VAR ED    $3.99
JAN180330    RAGMAN #6 (OF 6)    $2.99
JAN180332    RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #20    $3.99
JAN180333    RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #20 VAR ED    $3.99
DEC170410    SCALPED TP BOOK 02 (MR)    $24.99
JAN180369    SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #23    $3.99
JAN180370    SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #23 VAR ED    $3.99
JAN180373    SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #91    $2.99
DEC170411    SHERIFF OF BABYLON DELUXE ED HC (MR)    $39.99
JAN180240    SIDEWAYS #2    $2.99
JAN180334    SUICIDE SQUAD #37    $2.99
JAN180335    SUICIDE SQUAD #37 VAR ED    $2.99
JAN180338    SUPERGIRL #19    $3.99
JAN180339    SUPERGIRL #19 VAR ED    $3.99
JAN180348    TITANS #21    $3.99
JAN180349    TITANS #21 VAR ED    $3.99
JAN180350    TRINITY #19    $3.99
JAN180351    TRINITY #19 VAR ED    $3.99
JAN180358    WILDSTORM MICHAEL CRAY #6    $3.99
JAN180359    WILDSTORM MICHAEL CRAY #6 VAR ED    $3.99
JAN180354    WONDER WOMAN #42    $2.99
JAN180355    WONDER WOMAN #42 VAR ED    $2.99

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for March 14, 2018

MARVEL COMICS

DEC170951    ALL NEW GUARDIANS OF GALAXY TP VOL 03 INFINITY QUEST    $15.99
JAN180999    ALL NEW WOLVERINE #32 LEG    $3.99
JAN181009    ASTONISHING X-MEN #9 LEG    $3.99
DEC178839    AVENGERS #675 3RD PTG LARRAZ VAR LEG    $4.99
DEC178840    AVENGERS #680 2ND PTG JACINTO VAR LEG WW    $3.99
JAN180900    AVENGERS #684 LEG BANNER HULK RETURNS    $4.99
DEC170957    AVENGERS EPIC COLLECTION TP COLLECTION OBSESSION    $39.99
JAN180942    BEN REILLY SCARLET SPIDER #15 LEG    $3.99
DEC170960    CLOAK AND DAGGER TP RUNAWAYS AND REVERSALS    $34.99
DEC170958    DEADPOOL BY POSEHN & DUGGAN TP VOL 02 COMPLETE COLLECTION    $34.99
JAN181010    DESPICABLE DEADPOOL #296 LEG    $3.99
DEC178864    DOCTOR STRANGE #384 2ND PTG VAR LEG    $3.99
JAN180940    DOCTOR STRANGE #387 LEG    $3.99
JAN180979    FALCON #6 LEG    $3.99
DEC178841    INFINITY COUNTDOWN ADAM WARLOCK #1 2ND PTG ALLRED VAR    $4.99
JAN181084    MARVEL GRAPHIC COMIC BOXES HULK (BUNDLE OF 5)    $45.00
DEC178842    MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #2 2ND PTG CHEUNG VAR LEG    $3.99
JAN180976    MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #4 LEG    $3.99
DEC170956    MASTER OF KUNG FU EPIC COLLECTION TP WEAPON OF THE SOUL    $39.99
JAN180926    NEW MUTANTS DEAD SOULS #1 (OF 6) LEG    $3.99
JAN181006    OLD MAN LOGAN #36 LEG    $3.99
JAN180951    PETER PARKER SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #301 LEG    $3.99
JAN180971    PUNISHER #222 LEG    $3.99
JAN180955    SPIDER-MAN DEADPOOL #29 LEG    $3.99
JAN181020    STAR WARS DARTH VADER #13    $3.99
JAN181018    STAR WARS THRAWN #2 (OF 6)    $3.99
DEC178843    THANOS #14 3RD PTG SHAW VAR LEG    $3.99
JAN180961    TRUE BELIEVERS VENOM CARNAGE #1    $1.00
JAN180962    TRUE BELIEVERS VENOM LETHAL PROTECTOR #1    $1.00
JAN180963    TRUE BELIEVERS VENOM SHIVER #1    $1.00
JAN180980    UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #30 LEG    $3.99
JAN181001    WEAPON X #15 LEG    $3.99
JAN181003    X-MEN BLUE #23 LEG    $3.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for March 14, 2018

IDW PUBLISHING

DEC170479    BACK TO THE FUTURE TIME TRAIN #3 CVR A LEVENS    $3.99
DEC170480    BACK TO THE FUTURE TIME TRAIN #3 CVR B MURPHY    $3.99
JAN180498    DUCKTALES #7 CVR A GHIGLIONE    $3.99
JAN180499    DUCKTALES #7 CVR B GHIGLIONE    $3.99
JAN180442    GHOSTBUSTERS CROSSING OVER #1 CVR A QUINONES    $3.99
JAN180443    GHOSTBUSTERS CROSSING OVER #1 CVR B SCHOENING    $3.99
JAN180558    RICK VEITCH THE ONE #2 (OF 6)    $4.99
DEC170452    ROM VS TRANSFORMERS SHINNING ARMOR TP    $17.99
OCT170465    STAR TREK DISCOVERY #3 CVR A SHASTEEN    $3.99
OCT170466    STAR TREK DISCOVERY #3 CVR B PHOTO    $3.99
OCT170457    TMNT ONGOING (IDW) COLL HC VOL 06    $49.99
JAN180465    TRANSFORMERS LOST LIGHT #16 CVR A LAWRENCE    $3.99
JAN180466    TRANSFORMERS LOST LIGHT #16 CVR B MILNE    $3.99
JAN180468    TRANSFORMERS REDEMPTION OF DINOBOTS TP    $19.99