#IReadsYou Review: RUMPUS ROOM #1

RUMPUS ROOM #1 (OF 5)

AWA STUDIOS

STORY: Mark Russell

ART: Ramon Rosanas

COLORS: Ive Svorcina

LETTERS: Andworld Design

COVER: Tony Harris

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mike and Laura Allred; Mark Russell; Tony Harris

32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2023)

Rated: “Mature”

Rumpus Room is a new five-issue miniseries from AWA Studios.  It is written by Mark Russell; drawn by Ramon Rosanas; colored by Ive Svorcina; and lettered by Andworld Design.  The series pits a group of prisoners against their jailer, a billionaire who needs their organs and fluids.

Rumpus Room #1 introduces Bob Schrunk.  He is a tech billionaire, collector of bad art, and sufferer of a terrible skin condition.  That condition can only be treated by a special face cream that comes from deep in the bowels of his Rumpus Room.  Enter Erica Hernandez.  She is looking for her missing sister, Olivia, who apparently worked for Schrunk's company – not that he'd care.  Erica is about to discover the awful truth.

THE LOWDOWN:  AWA Studios' marketing recently began providing me with PDF review copies of their comic book publications.  Rumpus Room #1 is the latest.

I was a huge fan of writer Mark Russell's 2015 reboot of DC Comics' decades old weird comic book series, Prez (1973-74).  Luckily, Rumpus Room is in the vein of the cleverly satirical Prez, only darker, as well as being uncomfortably plausible.  It has an accent that recalls the meanness of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971), but elements of Rumpus Room seem more Clive Barker than Anthony Burgess.

I love the work of the late English comic book artist, Steve Dillon (1962-2016).  In Rumpus Room, artist Ramon Rosanas captures the concise layouts and simplicity of composition that Dillon used to create conflict, tension, and intensity with substance rather than with sound and fury.  I find Rosanas' storytelling mesmerizing, so much so that by the end of this series, Rosanas may have me back on that crack pipe.

Recently, I found another celebrity comics creator whining about the horrid state of the American comics industry.  Maybe, if more readers stopped dry-humping the dead horse that is the Marvel/DC Comics slab of the market and focused on what a publisher like AWA Studios is doing, they'd be happy comic book readers.  So, dear readers, let's enjoy the good stuff, like Rumpus Room #1.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Russell's unique brand of comic books will want Rumpus Room.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

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

AWA Website: https://awastudios.net/

AWA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awastudiosofficial/

AWA Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWA_Studios

AWA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awastudiosofficial

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

Review: FUTURE QUEST #12

FUTURE QUEST No. 12
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Jeff Parker – @JeffParker
ARTIST: Evan “Doc” Shaner
COLORS: Veronica Gandini
LETTERS: ALW Studios' Dave Lanphear
COVER: Evan “Doc”Shaner
VARIANT COVER: Tony Harris
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2017)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“The Last Stand”

Future Quest has come to an end – for now.  Future Quest is a 12-issue comic book series that re-imagines and re-interprets the classic sci-fi and superhero television series created by American animation studio, Hanna-Barbera.  Published by DC Comics, Future Quest brings together the stars of the TV programs “Jonny Quest,” “Space Ghost,” “The Herculoids,” “Birdman,” “Frankenstein Jr.,” “The Galaxy Trio,” “The Impossibles,” and “Mightor.”  The series modernizes the characters from these series and also alters some of them to one extent or another.

Future Quest is written by Jeff Parker; colored by Hi-Fi; and lettered by Dave Lanphear.  Evan “Doc” Shaner is the series' lead artist, with other artists stepping in for particular chapters and side stories (Steve Rude, Ron Randall, and Craig Rousseau).  Future Quest centers on the cast of “Jonny Quest” (referred to as “Team Quest”), as they lead the fight against the universal and time-line threat, Omnikron, and also against a plot by Quest adversary, Dr. Zin, to use the entity.

As Future Quest #12 (“The Last Stand”) opens, the plan created by Dr. Benton Quest and his fellow scientists to stop Omnikron has failed.  Now, the fate of the Earth may rest in the hands of young Jonny Quest and his brother, Hadji, but will their tragic losses of their pasts hold them back from doing the very thing that can hurt Omnikron?

Overall, I liked Future Quest.  I still say that the best issues were the early issues, maybe the first three.  At times, the series seems to meander, as writer Jeff Parker moves from one side-story to another, from one origin/back story to another.  There are so many characters that Parker does not really engage many of them beyond a surface level, except for a few moments.  One of those few moments happens this issue and employs Jonny and Hadji to great affect.

Lead series artist Evan Shaner did not draw every issue of this series, but he returns for issues #11 and 12.  Other than Steve Rude, Shaner is the best choice for Future Quest.  Stylistically, his work recalls classic Hanna-Barbera character and conceptual design, both in spirit and in execution.  Shaner's storytelling is fantastic.  Most of the pages he draws here are wonderful, as he captures that classic sense of wonder that has drawn young readers to comic books for decades.

I think there will be more Future Quest series, which is a good thing.  I would like to see Parker and Shaner return to it, but focus on a single Hanna-Barber series.

A-
8.5 out of 10

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


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

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

Review: THE LOST BOYS #1

THE LOST BOYS No. 1
DC COMICS/Vertigo – @DCComics @vertigo_comics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Tim Seeley
ART: Scott Godlewski
COLORS: Trish Mulvihill
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Tony Harris
VARIANT COVER: Joelle Jones with Trish Mulvihill
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2016)

Suggested for mature readers

“The Lost Girl” Part 1 of 6

Many of your favorite characters from the 1987 vampire horror-comedy film, The Lost Boys, are back in DC Comics' new comic book sequel to the film.  Entitled (what else) The Lost Boys, this six-issue comic book is written by Tim Seeley; drawn by Scott Godlewski, colored by Trish Mulvihill, and lettered by Clem Robins.

The Lost Boys #1 (“The Lost Girl” Part 1) opens with Sam Emerson telling the story of how he and his older brother, Michael, and his mother, Lucy Emerson, moved to Santa Clara, CA to live with his Grandpa.  Michael fell in love with Star, a beautiful and mysterious young woman, who happened to be a vampire.  The Emerson boys joined the Frog Brothers, Edgar and Alan, fearless young vampire hunters, to clean out the nest of head vampire, Maxwell “Max” Hooker.  That nest included the beautiful, bad boy vampire, David, who was Star's boyfriend (more or less)

Sam is telling his story to another mysterious young woman who has stopped by his place of employment, “Fantasy World Comics.”  Like his brother and friends, Sam is in a bit of a post-vampire-slaying funk.  What to do next?  Well, there is one thing about Santa Clara that never changes; there is always more darkness.

I did not see The Lost Boys when it was first released to movie theaters.  I saw it on cable – probably on HBO.  I couldn't' believe how good it was – at least to me.  Afterwards, I watched it every chance I got, and I eventually bought the film on DVD.

The film's titular vampires, “The Lost Boys,” never grew old and never died, and the film certainly has grown old, but it has a timeless quality.  It never looks old, and because of that, The Lost Boys has always begged for sequels.

This new comic book is a sequel, one that is set shortly after the events of the original film.  I have read a few comic books written by Tim Seeley, and I have enjoyed them to one extent or another.  The Lost Boys is my favorite Tim Seeley comic book, so far.  The dialogue snaps and crackles; to me, this comic book reads as if the writer is having a blast writing it.

Artist Scott Godlewski captures the visual sensibilities of the first film and draws the characters in a way that resembles the live-action actors of the original film just enough to remind the readers where they are.  Godlewski is respectful, however, considering that not all the actors of the original film are still living.

I liked this comic book and could not stop reading it.  I even went back and reread sections of it while reading it the first time.  I feel comfortable recommending it to fans of The Lost Boys film, as well as to fans of vampire comic books and films.  I can tell after The Lost Boys #1 that this comic book series is going to be a blast to read.  Please, don't disappoint me, guys.

A

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1

STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3P0 No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon. Visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

WRITER: James Robinson
ART: Tony Harris
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Tony Harris
VARIANT COVERS:  Tony Harris; Reilly Brown; John Tyler Christopher; Dave Dorman; Todd Nauck
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (June 2016)

Rated “T+”

“The Phantom Limb”

In the recent Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we discovered that C-3PO, the goldenrod protocol droid, now had a red left arm.  We were told that there was a story behind the red arm, and recently, Marvel Comics told it to us in the one-shot comic book, Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1.

C-3PO #1 (“The Phantom Limb”) is written by James Robinson; drawn and colored by Tony Harris, and lettered by Joe Caramagna.  The story is set before the events depicted in The Force Awakens.  C-3PO and five other droids are stranded on a planet, and one of the droids, Omri, is a prisoner.  He knows the location of Admiral Ackbar, who is being held prisoner by the First Order.  The droids must travel across a vast and perilous 87-kilometer landscape to a homing beacon that can help get them off this dangerous world.  The problem is that even droids can have interests contrary to programming.

Either Marvel or Dark Horse Comics have been publishing Star Wars comic books for four decades (with about a five or six year gap when neither did).  I have probably read Star Wars comic books for about half that time, and in that span, Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1 is at the bottom of the heap.

I am reluctant to use the word “worst” in conjunction with Star Wars.  After all, Star Wars is practically a religion or at least a faith for me.  The Star Wars films and, to a lesser extent, the spin-off stories have hugely affected me personally and professionally.  If that were not the case, I would call Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1 the worst Star Wars comic book that I have ever read.

That shocks me.  I have enjoyed comics previously written by James Robinson, and I have seen some nice, even beautiful artwork produced by Tony Harris, including the cover for this very comic book.  [I have not read DC Comics' 1990s iteration of Starman that was produced by the team of Robinson and Harris.]  Here, however, Robinson offers a mundane yarn that is not worth telling (or selling).  Harris' art is a combination of muddy composition and water-logged coloring.  The graphical storytelling is murky; actually, it is the dialogue (stiff as it is) that really lets the reader understand the action.

The resolution offers a heartfelt moment, and an appearance by lovable Episode 7 droid, BB-8, washes away a little of the bitter aftertaste of “The Phantom Limb.”  I have to say that rather than buy this comic book, one should simply search the Internet for the story behind C-3PO's red arm.  Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1 is definitely not worth the $4.99 cover price.

D

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: ROCKETEER Adventures #4

ROCKETEER ADVENTURES No. 4
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Dave Gibbons; Joe Pruett; John Arcudi
ARTISTS: Scott Hampton; Tony Harris; Brendan McCarthy
COLORS: Scott Hampton; JD Mettler; Jamie Grant
LETTERS: Shawn Lee
PIN-UPS: Ashley Wood
COVER: Alex Ross
ALTERNATE COVERS:  Dave Stevens (Cover B), Alex Ross (Cover RI – sketch); and Dave Stevens (B/W Incentive Edition)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2011)

Rocketeer created by Dave Stevens

Long live The Rocketeer!

Born in 1955, Dave Stevens was an illustrator, artist, and storyteller who worked on newspaper comic strips and as a storyboard artist on both live-action and animated films and also for television.  Many, like me, know Stevens for his comic book work.  While there was not much of it, what Stevens did produce was spectacular and beautiful.

His most famous comic book creation is The Rocketeer, a superhero Stevens first introduced in 1982.  The Rocketeer’s style and the mode of his adventures recall the Saturday matinee heroes of the 1930s and 1940s.  The Rocketeer’s exploits are mainly set in and around Los Angeles, beginning in 1938 and into the 1940s.  The Rocketeer even made it onto the big screen in a 1991 film from Walt Disney Pictures.

The Rocketeer is Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers an experimental jet pack (or rocket pack).  When he straps it on, Cliff can fly and becomes The Rocketeer.  Cliff’s friend, Peevy, an airplane mechanic, helps him maintain and modify the rocket pack.  Cliff’s girlfriend is the actress, Bettie, whom Stevens based on real life, 1950s pin-up and fetish model, Bettie Page.

Debuting in 2011, Rocketeer Adventures was an anthology series from IDW Publishing.  Edited by Scott Dunbier, Rocketeer Adventures featured Rocketeer short stories (about 7 to 8 pages in length) produced by some of the most popular, imaginative, and unique creators in comic books.  The series, which had a sequel, basically paid respect to Stevens (who died in 2008) and his most beloved creation.

Rocketeer Adventures #4 features three stories.  The first is “A Day at the Beach,” written by Dave Gibbons and drawn by Scott Hampton, which finds the Rocketeer taking on surfboard thieves.  In “Waterlogged,” written by Joe Pruett and drawn by Tony Harris, the Rocketeer battles a Japanese submarine.  “The Flight of the Aeronaut,” written by John Arcudi with art by Brendan McCarthy and Jamie Grant, finds Cliff battling Nazis who want Peevy’s plans to improve the Rocketeer’s rocket pack.

“A Day at the Beach” shows off Scott Hampton’s technique in illustrated narrative, which I still find eye-catching decades after I first saw his work.  The delicate watercolors (or watercolor-like colors) perfectly convey a sunny day at the beach.  “The Flight of the Aeronaut” is scary, and I wish it were longer.

In fact, since Rocketeer Adventures was first published, IDW Publishing has published three original miniseries starring the Rocketeer (one of them featuring Will Eisner’s The Spirit).  So here’s an idea for another miniseries, Mr. Dunbier, editor of all things Rocketeer, a follow-up to “The Flight of the Aeronaut.”

As a bonus, Rocketeer Adventures #4 features two pin-ups by artist Ashley Wood.  The second of the two, entitled “Heaven Bound,” captures the sense of wonder and hope that the Rocketeer embodies.  Long live the Rocketeer.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Review CYBORG #1

CYBORG #1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: David F. Walker
PENCILS: Ivan Reis
INKS: Joe Prado
COLORS: Adriano Lucas
LETTERS: Rob Leigh
COVER: Ivan Reis and Joe Prado with Adriano Lucas
VARIANT COVER: Tony Harris
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (September 2015)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“Unplugged”

Cyborg created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez

Cyborg a.k.a. Victor Stone is a DC Comics superhero, part-man and part-machine. The character was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, and first appeared in a special insert in DC Comics Presents #26 (cover dated:  October 1980). Cyborg is best known as a member of the young superhero team, the Teen Titans.  However, in September 2011, DC Comics re-launched the DC Universe, rebooting its continuity.  Cyborg was reestablished as a founding member of the superhero team, the Justice League.

Although he was featured in a few Teen Titans spin offs, Cyborg never had his own comic book title.  With the launch of the “DCYou” initiative, he has one, aptly titled, Cyborg.  It is written by David F. Walker; drawn by Ivan Reis (pencils) and Joe Prado (inks); colored by Adriano Lucas; and lettered by Rob Leigh.

Cyborg #1 (“Unplugged”) opens “somewhere in another galaxy.”  This is the scene of a battle between the bestial “Technosapien” and the armor-wearing “Tekbreakers.”  The scene switches back to Earth, specifically S.T.A.R. Labs in Detroit, Michigan.  Outside, it is a scene of protests; inside, Victor Stone has returned to meet his father, Silas Stone, who is a noted scientist.

Victor hopes that his father can help him understand why the machine that gives him his Cyborg powers is evolving.  The problem is that this machine is also his body, and he needs to know what is causing these changes.

Cyborg #1 is intriguing.  Writer David F. Walker isn't offering anything groundbreaking here.  I expect that Walker will occasionally delve into the toxic relationship of the Family Stone.  There is also Sarah, a woman obviously in love with Victor, and she has spent too much time on the sidelines.  Of course, an alien threat looms on the horizon.

I'm reading Cyborg for a number of reasons.  First, I have been a fan of the character since I started reading New Teen Titans back in the day.  Secondly, he is one of the coolest African-American characters in comics, and one of the few who is both original and very powerful.  Thirdly, this new Cyborg comic book is thus far the only “DCYou” title written by an African-American writer.  In fact, it is the only DC Comics title currently written by a Black man.  So I got to support – good or bad, I want to support this comic book, although I think it will be good.  By the way, so much for the diversity of the “DCYou.”

Also, the art team of Ivan Reis and Joe Prado has once again delivered stellar work.  I think I would buy this comic book just for their art.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: Clive Barker's NIGHTBREED #1

CLIVE BARKER’S NIGHTBREED #1
BOOM! Studios

STORY: Clive Barker
WRITER: Marc Andreyko
ARTIST: Piotr Kowalski
COLORS: Juan Manuel Tumburus
LETTERS: Ed Dukeshire
COVER: Riley Rossmo
VARIANT COVER: Christopher Mitten (B); Mike Mignola (C); Matthew Roberts (Cards, Comics & Collectibles Exclusive Cover); Tony Harris (Phoenix Comicon Exclusive Cover)
24pp, Colors, $3.99 U.S. (May 2014)

Suggested for mature readers

Famed horror author, Clive Barker, adapted his 1988 fantasy-horror novel, Cabal, into a film entitled Nightbreed.  In both the film and the novel (sometimes listed as a novella), the focus is Aaron Boone, a young man who is an unstable mental patient.  Boone believes that he is a serial killer, because his doctor tells him that he is.  Events lead Boone to an abandoned cemetery connected to a deserted town named Midian.

There, he encounters a community of monsters and outcasts (also called the “Tribes of the Moon”), known as the “Nightbreed” (called “Night Breed” in the book) that hides from humanity.  Boone becomes one of them and protects them from an assault by outside forces, including his doctor and local police.  Boone soon becomes the Nightbreed’s savior, as he leads them on a quest to find a new home.

Released in 1990, Nightbreed was not well received, at the box office or with critics.  However, I loved the movie.  I loved its characters, concepts, setting, and Danny Elfman’s dark and beautiful score.  To be honest, I thought that there were things about the film that needed improvement, but I still loved me some Nightbreed.

In the early 1990s, Marvel Comics published Nightbreed, a comic book follow-up to the film, which ran for 25 issues, and there was also a two-issue crossover with the Hellraiser franchise (also a creation of Clive Barker), entitled Hellraiser vs. Nightbreed: Jihad.  Boom! Studios returns Barker’s “Tribes of the Moon” to comic books in a new series, Clive Barker’s Nightbreed, written by Marc Andreyko, drawn by Piotr Kowalski, colored by Juan Manuel Tumburus, and lettered by Ed Dukeshire.

Clive Barker’s Nightbreed #1 opens in the present, where we meet Dirk Lylesburg, leader of the Nightbreed, who acts as a sort of narrator.  Then, the story moves into the past.  The first tale takes place in July 1857, in a swamp outside Lacombe, Louisiana.  Two runaway slaves, a man and woman who are apparently a couple, desperately try to avoid a slave patrol.  However, an encounter with Peloquin will change their lives, especially for one of the slaves.  Next, the story moves to Boston, Massachusetts in April 1945.  Senator Harold Emery separates from his friends so that he can visit a local cathouse, where he will meet Shuna Sassi.

Normally, I would admit that there is not enough in this first issue to render judgment on the series or even to give this first issue a grade.  But as an African-American of possible Nightbreed extraction, I am so very happy that both my peoples are represented in this fine comic book, so I will give it a good grade.

Seriously, the storytelling by artist Piotr Kowalski is moody and alluring, drawn in a sharp line and with matter-of-fact compositions.  Juan Manuel Tumburus’ rich colors are vivid during the violent scenes and shimmers to give the Boston house of ill repute a magical quality that it needs within the context of this story.

Writer Marc Andreyko gets it, and what is “it?”  It is the thing that is Nightbreed, and if we can’t have Clive Barker, Andreyko is the surrogate who will return us to the world of Midian and her children, the Tribes of the Moon that are the Nightbreed.

A

www.boom-studios.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.