Friday, October 2, 2015

Review: DOCTOR FATE #1

DOCTOR FATE #1 (2015)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Paul Levitz
ART: Sonny Liew
COLORS: Lee Loughridge
LETTERS: Nick J. Napolitano
COVER: Sonny Liew
VARIANT COVER: Ibrahim Moustafa
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (August 2015)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“Blood of the Pharaohs”

Doctor Fate created by Gardner Fox and Hal Sherman

Doctor Fate is a DC Comics magical superhero character that has had several incarnations.  The original version of Doctor Fate was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55 (cover dated:  May 1940).

The “DCYou” publishing initiative offers a new version of Fate and a new Doctor Fate series.  The new comic book is produced by writer Paul Levitz and artist Sonny LiewLee Loughridge is the colorist and Nick J. Napolitano is the letterer.

Doctor Fate #1 (“Blood of the Pharaohs”) opens on Shore Parkway, Brooklyn, where we meet Anubis, the Egyptian Lord of Dead in the form of a mangy-looking dog.  He has launched a plan to restore “the Maat” (“the order of things”), and that involves flooding the world to wash the civilization of mankind away.  And the rain/deluge has begun...

However, Bastet, an Anubis rival, has found the human who must wear the helmet of Fate and preserve the Maat before the flood takes it all.  He is an overwhelmed Brooklyn medical student named Khalid Nelson.  Is he ready to take on such responsibility without even an instruction manual to guide him?

I placed Doctor Fate at the end of my reading slush pile of “DCYou” launches.  I have read very few Doctor Fate comic books over the years, and I have generally found them not to my liking.  Plus, the cover for this new Doctor Fate #1 is unappealing to me to say the least.

Yes, yes:  I know.  Don't judge a book by its cover.  Doctor Fate #1 is quite intriguing.  I think it has potential, and I certainly enjoyed reading this first issue.  In fact, I think this is the most I have enjoyed anything written by Paul Levitz that he didn't write over 30 years ago.  The first issue is like one of the first chapters of a manga that gives the reader the basics about the hero, as well as a little about the opposition in about 20 pages.

The art and storytelling by artist Sonny Liew is just write for what seems like a quirky take on both Fate and also on magic and the supernatural in the DC Universe.  The storytelling is mostly clear and straightforward even when the art turns a bit eccentric.  I'm ready for a second issue of Doctor Fate.

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.


Thursday, October 1, 2015

Toriko: World's Greatest Gourmet Hunter!!

I read Toriko, Vol. 29: World's Greatest Gourmet Hunter

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.





I Reads October 2015

Yea!  October 2015.  I'm trying to be excited... Welcome to I Reads You, a ComicBookBin web and sister publication (www.comicbookbin.com).  We write about the things we read:  mostly comic books, comics, and related books.  Sometimes, we’ll write about or link to other topics:  typically books, politics, and entertainment.

Support me on Patreon.

All images and text appearing on this publication are copyright © and/or trademark their respective owners.


Wednesday, September 30, 2015

#IReadsYou Review: TIM GINGER

TIM GINGER
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

CARTOONIST: Julian Hanshaw – @hanshawjulian
EDITORS: Chris Staros and Leigh Walton
ISBN: 978-1-60309-350-7; paperback (July 2015)
152pp, Color, $19.99 U.S.

Mature readers (16+)

Julian Hanshaw is an award-winning British cartoonist and comics creator.  Hanshaw makes his American debut with the original graphic novel, Tim Ginger, which is published by Top Shelf Productions.  Mixing color and black and white, Tim Ginger focuses on a widower who finds his quite life interrupted by two people, one of whom is an old friend.

Tim Ginger is a former government test pilot who is retired and is living in New Mexico.  Tim has been a widower since the death of his wife, Susan B. Ginger, a little more than two decades before this story opens (apparently 2015).  He lives a quiet retirement in an Airstream trailer situated in an RV park in New Mexico.

He and his late wife did not have children so he is mostly alone.  Then, two people enter his life.  The first person is Karl Pope, a conspiracy theorist who starts asking uncomfortable questions.  Tim may have the answers, so Pope will not stop asking questions – directly or indirectly.  The second person is an old and dear friend, Anna Maynard.  It is her return that causes Tim some discomfort, as he confronts when to let go and when to hold on.

When Pixar Animation's film, Up, was released, some people expressed surprise and amazement that the studio would make an animated feature about a very old man who is still grieving the loss of his wife and the lonely boy with whom he shares a grand adventure.  By the end of Up, which went on to win two Academy Awards, it is obvious that the movie was about love and renewal and not about age.

Tim Ginger is not a very old man; he is apparently in his mid-60s.  He is lonely and grieving, so he does not seem like a good character for a comic book.  Still, there are always comics creators who ignore preconceptions about what comic books should be, and some actually expand readers' expectations of the stories that comic books can tell.  Julian Hanshaw is one of them.

By the end of Tim Ginger, it is obvious that this story is about living instead of merely being alive, and that age is not the only determinate in living one's life, if it is a determinate at all.  While Hanshaw, on the surface, makes his graphic novel meditative, the story is alive.

Hanshaw takes Tim's internal monologue and interior life and pushes it forward as an active, living, breathing graphical narrative.  Tim Ginger's colors, which mimic the warm desert colors and its ethereal sunsets, makes the quiet life of Tim raucous with possibility.  That's why I found this comic book hard to resist.  It is like the alt-comics version of a thriller; I flipped through the pages, while often going back to re-read passages.

I think what most attracts me to Tim Ginger is that this story is so surprising.  Just glancing at this book, you would not think that Tim Ginger could turn out to be such a fantastic work.  I want to read it again.  Tim Ginger is a spectacular American debut for Julian Hanshaw, the calling card that will make readers anxious for his next work.

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.

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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for September 30, 2015

DC COMICS

JUL150327     AMERICAN VAMPIRE SECOND CYCLE #10 (MR)     $3.99
JUL150205     AQUAMAN #44     $3.99
JUN150296     ARROW SEASON 2.5 TP     $19.99
JUL150258     BATMAN ANNUAL #4     $4.99
JUL150264     BATMAN ARKHAM KNIGHT ANNUAL #1     $4.99
JUN150290     BATMAN TP VOL 06 GRAVEYARD SHIFT (N52)     $16.99
JUL150275     GRAYSON ANNUAL #2     $4.99
JUL150285     GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #4     $4.99
JUL150202     JUSTICE LEAGUE #44     $3.99
JUN150288     MADS ORIGINAL IDIOTS COMPLETE COLLECTION     $45.00
JUN150285     MADS ORIGINAL IDIOTS JACK DAVIS TP     $14.99
JUN150286     MADS ORIGINAL IDIOTS WALLY WOOD TP     $14.99
JUN150287     MADS ORIGINAL IDIOTS WILL ELDER TP     $14.99
JUL150233     NEW SUICIDE SQUAD ANNUAL #1     $4.99
JUL150328     SANDMAN OVERTURE #6 CVR A (MR)     $3.99
JUL150329     SANDMAN OVERTURE #6 CVR B (MR)     $3.99
JUL150252     SUPERMAN #44     $3.99
AUG150212     WONDER WOMAN 77 SPECIAL #2     $7.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

JUN150339     BATMAN ANIMATED BAS PENGUIN AF     $24.95
JUN150333     BATMAN ANIMATED NBA POISON IVY AF     $24.95
APR150341     BATMAN BLACK & WHITE STATUE BATMAN BY DANDA     $79.95
MAR150324     DC COMICS SUPER VILLAINS DEADSHOT BUST     $49.95
MAY150300     ELECTROCUTIONER LADY SHIVA HARLEEN QUINZELL AF 3 PK     $69.95

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for September 30, 2015

MARVEL COMICS

JUL150716     CAPTAIN AMERICA WHITE #2     $3.99
JUL150817     CAVALRY SHIELD 50TH ANNIVERSARY #1     $3.99
JUL150747     E IS FOR EXTINCTION #4 SWA     $3.99
JUL150728     GHOST RACERS #4 SWA     $3.99
JUL150846     GREENBERG THE VAMPIRE TP (MR)     $15.99
JUN150817     GUARDIANS OF GALAXY PREM HC VOL 05 THROUGH LOOKING GLASS     $24.99
JUN150748     HAIL HYDRA #3 SWA     $3.99
JUL150758     INFERNO #5 SWA     $3.99
JUN158594     INVINCIBLE IRON MAN WINDOW CLINGS     $3.00
JUL150842     MILES MORALES ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ULT COLL TP BOOK 02     $34.99
JUL150762     MODOK ASSASSIN #5 SWA     $3.99
JUL150845     MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN TP     $39.99
JUL150838     MOON KNIGHT TP VOL 03 IN NIGHT     $16.99
JUL158545     OLD MAN LOGAN #1 SORRENTINO 2ND PTG VAR SWA     $4.99
JUL158546     OLD MAN LOGAN #2 SORRENTINO 2ND PTG VAR SWA     $3.99
JUL158547     OLD MAN LOGAN #3 SORRENTINO 2ND PTG VAR SWA     $3.99
JUL158548     SECRET WARS #1 ROSS 3RD PTG VAR     $4.99
JUL158549     SECRET WARS #3 ROSS 3RD PTG VAR     $3.99
JUL158550     SECRET WARS #4 ROSS 2ND PTG VAR     $3.99
JUL158551     SECRET WARS SECRET LOVE #1 NAKAYAMA 2ND PTG VAR     $4.99
JUL150823     SHIELD #10     $3.99
JUL150833     SHIELD BY LEE AND KIRBY COMPLETE COLLECTION TP     $24.99
JUL150786     TRUE BELIEVERS SPIDER-WOMAN #1     $1.00
JUL150787     TRUE BELIEVERS UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1     $1.00
JUL150749     X-MEN 92 #4 SWA     $4.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for September 30, 2015

IDW PUBLISHING

JUN150491     AIRWOLF AIRSTRIKES TP VOL 01     $17.99
JUL150455     DIRK GENTLYS HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY #4     $3.99
JUL150456     DIRK GENTLYS HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY #4 SUBSCRIPTION     $3.99
JUL150460     GHOSTBUSTERS GET REAL #4     $3.99
JUL150417     GODZILLA IN HELL #3     $3.99
JUL150437     INFINITE LOOP #6     $3.99
JUL150484     JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS OUTRAGEOUS ANNUAL #1     $7.99
JUL150520     KING OF COMICS HC 100 YEARS KING FEATURES SYNDICATE     $49.99
JUN152743     MACHI KORO CARD GAME DELUXE ED     $49.99
JUN150373     TMNT ADVENTURES TP VOL 10     $19.99
JUL150467     TRANSFORMERS #45     $3.99
JUL150473     TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE #45     $3.99
JUL150495     UNCLE SCROOGE #6     $3.99
JUL150416     X-FILES SEASON 10 HC VOL 05     $24.99
JUL150443     ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS #9     $4.99