Bleach: Sorry I Am Strong

I read Bleach, Vol. 66

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

Review: MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #1

MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder
ARTIST: Natacha Bustos
COLORS: Tamra Bonvillain
LETTERS: VC's Travis Lanham
COVER: Amy Reeder
VARIANT COVERS: Trevor Von Eeden; Jeffrey Veregge (Hip Hop variant)
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2016)

BFF Part 1: “Repeat After Me”

Devil Dinosaur is a Marvel Comics character that first appeared in Devil Dinosaur #1 (cover dated: April 1978).  Created by writer-artist Jack Kirby, Devil Dinosaur is a red Tyrannosaurus Rex, turned red by mutation.  He has a friend and partner, the ape-like Moon Boy, and they live on “Dinosaur World,” a parallel Earth where dinosaurs and primitive humanoid beings live at the same time.

With the launch of the “All-New, All-Different Marvel,” Devil Dinosaur returns in a new comic book series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.  The series is written by Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder; drawn by Natacha Bustos; colored by Tamra Bonvillain, and lettered by Travis Lanham.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1 (“Repeat After Me”) opens in Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City.  We meet Lunella Lafayette, girl of science.  Little else in life, but for the scientific, interests her, and we are talking far-off, theoretical, and super-science.  Then, she discovers a glowing stone or orb of some kind.  Meanwhile, in “The Valley of Flame,” events are occurring that will bring new creatures, including a big red dinosaur into Lunella's life.

After only reading one issue of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, I can say with confidence that it is one of the best kids' comics that Marvel Comics has published in a long time.  It is an accessible comic book for kids ages 8 to 12 ('tweens?), but I think that some readers younger than that age group can access this wonderful comic book.

I recently complained that first issues of comic books (especially of ongoing series) tend to be vague, at best a taste of what the series will offer rather than being an actual first chapter of a story arc.  Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1 is an actual first chapter.  Writers Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder give readers a good glimpse into Lunella Lafayette (“Moon Girl”), who she is, what she wants, her obstacles and conflicts, etc.  They also provide a solid look at the world from which Devil Dinosaur originates, at least enough to make the reader more curious about the Valley of Flame.

The art by Natacha Bustos is the kind of drawing style one might find in alternative and small press comics and also in graphic novels published by book publishers like Scholastic and First Second Books.  It is clean and recalls classic comic book art of the late 1950s and 1960s.  This allows the graphical storytelling to be clear, but also energetic and rife with possibility.  There is a sense of wonder, of mystery, of the unknown in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur that modern superhero comic books mostly lack.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1 is a break-out first issue, and I can't wait for the second issue.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

Review: BLOODY MARY Volume 2

BLOODY MARY, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Akaza Samamiya
TRANSLATION: Katherine Schilling
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8314-3; paperback (March 2016); Rated “T” for “Teen”
168pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Akaza Samamiya has created such manga as Hatsukoi Canvas (First Love Canvas), Torikago Syndrome (Birdcage Syndrome), and Ouji wa Tadaima Dekasegichuu (The Prince Is Gone on Business).  All three of these series have been published in the popular Japanese shojo magazine, Asuka.  Her latest series is the supernatural vampire drama, Bloody Mary.

Bloody Mary focuses on Ichiro Rosario Di Maria.  This young man has the “Power of Exorcism,” which enables him to kill vampires.  He meets the vampire, Bloody Mary, who is unlike most vampires because he is both immortal and has red hair.  Bloody Mary wants to die, and Ichiro offers to kill him, but first...  Ichiro wants to kill every other vampire on Earth, and Mary will be his bodyguard.

As Bloody Mary, Vol. 2 (Chapters 5 to 8) opens, Takumi Sakuraba, Ichiro's life-long friend, meets someone who looks like his pal.  This isn't Ichiro, though; it is Yzak Rosario di Maria, Ichiri's paternal grandfather.  Yzak has secrets to reveal and wants Takumi to kidnap Mary.

Meanwhile, Mary digs into his past and unearths “Red Memories” that he has suppressed.  Now, he is sure that he met Ichiro long ago, but tragedy may be involved with that first encounter.

[This volume includes bonus manga content.]

Anyone who has read enough of my reviews may have already figured out that I am a sucker for vampire manga.  Still, I was not sure that I would like the Bloody Mary manga.  For one thing, I have a minor hang-up about men with the name Mary.

I have to admit that I was halfway through Bloody Mary Volume 2 before I started to warm up to the manga.  I think that I am intrigued by both this series' internal mythology and by the possibility of a past full of secrets, which series creator Akaza Samamiya teases.  I must also admit that I am not really buying the tepid boys' love dynamic between Ichiro and Mary.  Still, fans of vampire manga will want to try a Bloody Mary.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

Review: SHERIFF OF BABYLON #1

THE SHERIFF OF BABYLON No. 1
DC COMICS/Vertigo – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Tom King
ART: Mitch Gerads
COLORS: Mitch Gerads
LETTERS: Tom Napolitano
COVER: John Paul Leon
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2016)

Suggested for mature readers

The Sheriff of Babylon is a new comic book series from writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads.  Published by DC Comics' imprint, Vertigo, this eight-issue miniseries opens in Baghdad, Iraq in February 2004.  That is 10 months after the fall of Baghdad in the wake of the United States-led coalition's invasion of Iraq.

The Sheriff of Babylon #1 introduces Christopher, a former Florida police officer who believes that his failure to follow a lead led to a catastrophe.  Now in the U.S. Army, Chris trains men in Baghdad to serve in the new Iraqi police force (because someone thought it was a great idea to disband the “old” Iraqi police force).

When one of his trainees, Ali Al Fahar, turns up dead, Chris is expected to deal with the situation.  For help, Chris calls on Sofia, a former Iraqi exile who has returned to Baghdad in order to take control of the city's criminal underworld.

I am intrigued by the premise of The Sheriff of Babylon, and I am aware of that premise because I obtained a copy of the Vertigo 2015 Preview (which was provided free to customers at comic book shops).  In fact, that preview has more about The Sheriff of Babylon's characters and premise in two paragraphs than in the entirety of first issue of the actual comic book itself.

I know that this is the comic book world in which we live.  As a friend of mine always says, first issues are now teasers in which you do not find out about the series so much as you get a taste of it.  So, if The Sheriff of Babylon #1 is a taste, it is, as I said mere sentences ago, an intriguing taste.

Tom King's Baghdad circa 2004 is every bit the disaster news reporting, documentary films, and television media claimed it was.  No one seems to know what is going on.  Everyone is ready to pass a problem along to someone else.  There is a vast network of people who might be able to help you, but there is certainly always someone who needs your help.

As far as the art by Mitch Gerads, it is standard Vertigo fare, or at least standard as far as comics that depict military situations and criminal settings go.  I generally like such graphic styles.  That said, the storytelling is... well, intriguing.  I plan on trying at least one more issue.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency -The Pillar Men Trinity

I read JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 2--Battle Tendency, Vol. 2

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

Review: MOTORCYCLE SAMURAI Book One: A Fiery Demise

THE MOTORCYCLE SAMURAI BOOK ONE: A FIERY DEMISE
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

CARTOONIST: Chris Sheridan
EDITORS: Chris Staros and Leigh Walton
ISBN: 978-1-60309-370-5; paperback with French flaps (August 4, 2015)
168pp, Color, $19.99 U.S.

First published on the digital comics website, Thrillbent, The Motorcycle Samurai is a digital comic from cartoonist and comics creator, Chris Sheridan.  Last year, Top Shelf Productions published the first story arc in the full-color paperback, The Motorcycle Samurai Book One: A Fiery Demise.  Top Shelf kindly provided your stalwart reviewer with a copy-for-review.

The Motorcycle Samurai is set in an indeterminate post-apocalyptic future.  Riding the desert wastelands on her motorcycle is “The White Bolt.”  She has a coconut-shell like helmet emblazoned with a calavera-like skull covering her head and face, and she has a katana at her side.  As the story opens, the White Bolt has a bounty strapped to her bike's “sissy bar.”  He is Happy Parker, and the White Bolt is taking him back to small town of Trouble to collect a bounty.

Everything in Trouble, however, is... troubled.  Boss Frankie Parker and Pierre Parker (the “Iron King”) have a claim on Happy.  The new sheriff, Roy Keane, wants him to.  There is lots of want when it comes to Happy, but the White Bolt knows that it's all headed to a fiery demise.

When I first saw the cover of The Motorcycle Samurai Book One: A Fiery Demise, I was inclined to dislike it.  I need to stop judging books by their covers unless they are Henry Cavill or Charlize Theron (but I digress...).  Not far into reading the book, I started to find it to be an enjoyable read.

The Motorcycle Samurai borrows elements of Italian film director Sergio Leone's “Dollars Trilogy” of Western films (starring Clint Eastwood).  Of course, this comic also spiritually summons Japanese film director, Akira Kurosawa's 1961 film, Yojimbo, the movie that influenced the first “Dollars Trilogy” flick, A Fistful of Dollars (1964).

However, many comic book creators use many influences for their pop comics, and The Motorcycle Samurai is a pop confection full of delightful caramels, gum drops, hard candy, jujubes, konpeito, lollipops, marzipan, taffies, etc.  For instance, Sheriff Keane resembles Evel Knievel, and there is a nod to the rocket pack-wearing heroes of the 1930s and 40s.  The entire affair also has the feel of a animated television series destined for Cartoon Network's “Adult Swim” lineup.

I won't call The Motorcycle Samurai a great comic, but its energy makes it a fun read.  You know, a fun comic is often better than a comic book trying to be literature.  The dynamic graphic design, vivid colors, and inventive elements makes The Motorcycle Samurai pure comics, created by a writer-artist who is grabbing at the visual and graphical possibilities of the medium.

Best of all, the White Bolt just looks so cool.  That is saying a lot because The Motorcycle Samurai Book One: A Fiery Demise is full of cool-looking characters.  Fans looking for flashy digital comics and webcomics will want The Motorcycle Samurai Book One: A Fiery Demise.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for March 14, 2016

DC COMICS

DEC150329     AQUAMAN TP VOL 06 MAELSTROM     $19.99
JAN160346     ASTRO CITY #33     $3.99
JAN160285     BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL #24     $2.99
NOV150271     BATMAN HC VOL 08 SUPERHEAVY     $24.99
DEC150331     BATMAN TP VOL 07 ENDGAME     $16.99
DEC150223     BLACK CANARY #9     $2.99
JAN160350     CLEAN ROOM #6 (MR)     $3.99
DEC150313     COLORING DC BATMAN ADVENTURES MAD LOVE TP     $15.99
JAN160313     DC COMICS ESSENTIALS SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #1     $1.00
JAN160265     DOCTOR FATE #10     $2.99
DEC150332     GOTHAM ACADEMY TP VOL 02 CALAMITY     $14.99
JAN160242     GREEN ARROW #50 (NOTE PRICE)     $4.99
JAN160306     INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US YEAR FIVE #6     $2.99
DEC150334     JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 TP VOL 01 DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN     $16.99
JAN160226     LEGENDS OF TOMORROW #1     $7.99
JAN160357     LUCIFER #4 (MR)     $3.99
JAN160254     MARTIAN MANHUNTER #10     $2.99
JAN160292     POISON IVY CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH #3     $2.99
NOV150248     QUARANTINE ZONE HC     $22.99
JAN160359     RED THORN #5 (MR)     $3.99
JAN160297     ROBIN SON OF BATMAN #10     $3.99
DEC150339     ROBIN TP VOL 02     $24.99
JAN160301     SINESTRO #21     $2.99
JAN160229     SUPERMAN #50 (NOTE PRICE)     $4.99
JAN160275     SUPERMAN AMERICAN ALIEN #5     $3.99
JAN160274     SUPERMAN THE COMING OF THE SUPERMEN #2     $3.99
DEC150348     SUPERMAN THE GOLDEN AGE TP VOL 01     $19.99
JAN160280     SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #27     $3.99
JAN160273     TITANS HUNT #6     $3.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

AUG150309     DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS JOKER & HARLEY QUINN STATUE 2ND ED     $250.00