Review: The Adventures of NIKKI HARRIS the Cybermation Witch #12

THE ADVENTURES OF NIKKI HARRIS THE CYBERMATION WITCH No. 12
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/Warning Comics – @candlelightpres @attila71

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Carter Allen – @attila71
32pp, Color, $3.00 U.S. (2017 – 2nd)

The Fall of Nikki Harris, Part 3: “Take the Long Way Home”

The long-running, independent, sci-fi/space fantasy/adventure/humor comic book, The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch, has released a “final issue.”  When last we saw her, Nikki Harris (cybermation witch and sci-fi heroine) had plunged into the Voyd beast-god, Gar-Lahk.

The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch #12 (“Take the Long Way Home”) reveals that flying into the maw of the alien deity, Gar-Lahk, did not have the effect Nikki desired.  Nikki, however, is nothing if not resourceful, but her new plan may mean the end of her.  Can Nikki's colleague, Berzing, convince Nikki not risk time and space in order to destroy Gar-Lahk?

So the Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch comic book series has come to an end.  Or shall I say conclusion?  It was a blast, and this series is worthy of being missed.  Nikki Harris #12 is quite entertaining, and I can always use the word “entertaining” to describe this series.

Once upon a time, women in science fiction, comic books, and even horror movies served coffee and sandwiches to the male heroes (as they did in Howard Hawks/Christian Nyby's 1951 film, The Thing from Another World).  If Nikki Harris were Wilma Deering, she would take over the Buck Rogers comic strip.  Although Nikki likes fashion like the early version of Sue Storm, I do not see Nikki fretting over which is better, stallion of the sea, Prince Namor, or brainy WWII vet, Reed Richards.  If she were Sue, I think that Nikki would fight one and out-think the other.

No, Nikki is Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, walking into a room full of men who have helped bring the world to the brink and thinking that she is every bit their equal and honestly, their superior.  She is Princess Leia, the true leader of the Rebel Alliance, even before she received the title, “General.”

Carter Allen has only scratched the surface of Nikki in his delightful, throwback comic book, The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch.  And Nikki is bold enough to help him do the scratching if he can't figure it out on his own.  So let's enjoy this end until the next beginning...

A
9.5 out of 10

http://candlelightpress.tumblr.com/
www.nikkithewitch.com
www.warningcomics.com

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


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

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Review: BLOOM COUNTY: Brandy Spanking New Day

BLOOM COUNTY: BRAND SPANKING NEW DAY
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Berkeley Breathed
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
ISBN: 978-1-68405-097-0; paperback – 9.5” x 11.5” (September 26, 2017)
144pp, B&W and color, $19.99 U.S., $25.99 CAN

Bloom County was an American newspaper comic strip which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989.  Created by Berkeley Breathed, Bloom County commented upon, examined, and satirized the events in politics, culture, and pop culture that occurred during its run on newspaper comics pages.  For his work on Bloom County, Breathed won the 1987 Pulitzer Price in editorial cartooning.  He also went on to create two Bloom County follow-up newspaper comic strips, Outland and then Opus.

In July 2015, Breathed revived Bloom County and posted new episodes on his Facebook page.  In September 2016, IDW Publishing released the first print collection of the Bloom County revival, Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope.  This week sees the release of the second collection, Bloom County: Brand Spanking New Day.  This color paperback (9.5” x 11.5”) collects strips #180 to #386 (if my count is not off).  IDW provided me with a copy of Brand Spanking New Day for review.

Milo Bloom, Michael Binkley, Opus, Bill the Cat, Steve Dallas, Cutter John, Oliver Wendell Jones, and Tom Binkley are back for a second helping of the Bloom County revival.  New characters like Abby, Sam the Lion (a child suffering from leukemia), and Sue (Sam's mother), join the familiar Bloom County characters to take on Donald Trump, biker chicks, sticky buns, penguin-killing animals, Star Wars, phoning and Segway-ing; and an ugly dog.  Plus, it's the return of Billy and the Boingers.

One wag/reviewer/critic said that the return of Bloom County was like the return of a Ronald Reagan-hair band.  The truth is that there was nothing remotely like Bloom County when it debuted in 1980 and there was still nothing like it when Breathed discontinued the strip in 1989.  A little over a quarter-century later when Breathed revived the strip there is still nothing like it.  That is saying a lot because it seemed as if quite a few popular newspaper comic strips and webcomics (web-based comic strips) that debuted in the decade or so after Bloom County's conclusion were heavily influenced by Breathed's strip.

Bloom County remains whimsical, its satire pointed, but sometimes indirect.  It has soul and imagination, and is subject to flights of fancy.  Breathed is often sublime when it would be easier to be clever, and where so many struggle to find a balance between droll and snarky, Breathed is simply philosophical about our and his characters' messy natures.

So Bloom County is not a retro tour; it is most certainly a revival.  Brand Spanking New Day is not all classic material, although some come close, and Breathed's illustrations remain things of beauty.  Unlike some revivals, Bloom Country remains stubbornly iconoclastic.  There is nothing like Bloom County, and it often confounds – its readers and and it characters.  Fans of Bloom County and of exceptional comic strips will want Bloom County: Brand Spanking New Day.

A
8.5 out of 10

https://www.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed/
https://www.berkeleybreathed.com/

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.

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Review: BLOOM COUNTY LIBRARY Volume 1: 1980-82

THE BLOOM COUNTY LIBRARY VOL. 1: 1980-82
IDW – @IDWPublishing

[A version of this review was originally posted at the ComicBookBin in 2009.]

WRITERS: Berkeley Breathed, Scott Dunbier
CARTOONIST: Berkeley Breathed
ISBN: 978-1600105319; hardcover (October 2009)
288pp, B&W and color, $39.99 U.S.

Bloom County was an American newspaper comic strip created by Berkeley Breathed.  It ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989.  Bloom County commented upon, examined, and satirized the events in politics, culture, and pop culture that occurred during its run on newspaper comics pages.  Breathed would go on to win the 1987 Pulitzer Price in editorial cartooning for his work on Bloom County, and after ending Bloom County, he would create two follow-up strips, Outland and Opus.

Readers can return to the pastoral world of that fanciful small town called Bloom County in The Bloom County Library Volume 1: 1980-82.  This is the first of a five-volume project that reprinted the entire run of Bloom County for the first time.  Breathed and series editor, Scott Dunbier, offer commentary, printed in the margins of the pages, that illuminate Bloom County’s numerous references to real-life personalities and events.

Bloom County was born out of The Academia Waltz, the comic strip Breathed produced for the University of Texas’ student newspaper, The Daily Texan.  In The Academia Waltz (13 episodes of which are included in this book), Breathed’s irreverent attitude about American life comes through in episodes about the politics of dating and of interpersonal relationships in general.  By the time Bloom County debuted on December 8th, 1980, Breathed was ready to take on what was then the current state of America.

However, Breathed was not merely poking fun at the usual suspects in politics (corrupt politicians), family relationships (old-fashioned, chauvinistic husbands), and business (fast food restaurants).  In Bloom County, Breathed was a slayer of all sacred cows, and in order to do this the best, Breathed apparently understood that what Americans were doing and how they were living at the time was also rooted in the past.  Breathed’s work recognized the dynamic of the past, present, and future.  In individual episodes and in story arcs, he found humor in current events, but told them in a way that was timeless.  In a narrow sense, he gave us comedy, but in a broader sense, he made observations and told truths that reached beyond the moment.  An example of this is Breathed’s depiction of the real-life Moral Majority.

The character, Otis Oracle, was the leader of Bloom County’s local branch of the Moral Majority.  The Moral Majority was founded in 1979 by arch-segregationist and Teletubby hater, the late Jerry Faldwell, who was an evangelical Christian pastor and televangelist.  Like Faldwell’s group, Otis Oracle’s ideas and notions about what America should be were rooted in the belief that the United States had lost its “moral compass” (probably in the 1960s).

Oracle, whom Breathed made an older man (perhaps, late middle ages) whose life was clearly shaped in a time long since past.  In various episodes, Oracles battles were against the Moral Majority’s demons of the 1980s: rock music, sexual freedom, women’s liberation (especially wives who wouldn’t submit to their husbands’ authority).  However, Oracle was more than just a one note joke about conservative and religious values.  Rather than being a mere punch line, he was just another hapless guy, confused by change.  We recognize Oracle’s basic struggles – to make sense of a world that no longer made sense and to have a measure of control in an out of control world – because they are timeless universal struggles.

In these first two years of the strip presented in The Bloom County Library Volume 1: 1980-82 are the seeds of what would make Bloom County arguably the definitive comic strip of the 1980s.  Readers unfamiliar with Bloom County and those born after the strip’s run should not assume that Bloom County is dated.  An American cartoonist examining and poking America is a time-honored tradition.  Bloom County worked so well and was so popular because readers back then recognized their nation and their people in this strip.  As this collection reveals, readers will still recognize their county, and they’re still going to be laughing.

A
9 out of 10

https://www.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed/
https://www.berkeleybreathed.com/

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.

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Review: TOKYO GHOUL: re Volume 1

TOKYO GHOUL: RE, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Sui Ishida
TRANSLATION: Joe Yamazaki
LETTERING: Vanessa Satone
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9496-5; paperback (October 2017); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
224pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Tokyo Ghoul: re is the sequel to the manga, Tokyo Ghoul; both are the creation of writer-artist, Sui Ishida, and both were originally published in the Japanese manga magazine, Weekly Young Jump.  Both series take place in a world where there are Ghouls.  They look like humans and live among us, but Ghouls crave human flesh.  The Commission of Counter Ghouls (CCG) is the only organization in the world fighting and exterminating Ghouls and investigating Ghoul-related crimes.

Tokyo Ghoul: re, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 9) introduces the CCG's “Quinx Squad.”  This is 22-year-old Haise Sasaki's squad; he is a Rank 1 investigator.  Kuki Urie, 19, is the squad leader, and, jealous of Sasaki, he wants to do better than him.  Toru Mutsuki, a 19 young woman, is close to Sasaki.  Ginshi Shirazu, 19, is the oddball.  When they join the hunt for the wily Ghoul, known as “the Torso,” Quinx Squad does not realize that the case will reveal something shocking about one of its members.

I described reading the Tokyo Ghoul manga as like entering an actual world of mystery.  Tokyo Ghoul: re shifts into a more familiar world; you might say that it is something like a police procedural.

Tokyo Ghoul: re Volume 1 focuses on the CCG.  The Ghoul investigators do not interest me as much as the Ghouls themselves do.  I find the early chapters of this opening graphic novel to be dry, even a bit dull.  By the second half of this volume, the narrative gets a big bump when Sui Ishida puts his characters on the Ghoul hunt.  Honestly, Tokyo Ghoul: re will be at its best the more Ghouls are on the pages being Ghoul-ish.  I do not think the investigators will be as interesting... unless there are some shocking developments...

A-
7.5 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.

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

Yaoi Manga Review: JACKASS! Volume 1

JACKASS!, VOL. 1
SUBLIME MANGA – @SuBLimeManga

MANGAKA: Scarlet Beriko
TRANSLATION: Christine Dashiell
LETTERS: James Dashiell
EDITOR: Hope Donovan
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9644-0; paperback (October 2017); Rated “M” for “Mature”
242pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Jackass! is a yaoi manga from manga creator, Scarlett Beriko.  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys' love (or BL) manga, which depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads.  Yaoi manga usually features explicit depictions of sex between those male leads.  Jackass! is a romantic comedy about the love and lust that ensues when someone accidentally puts on a pair of pantyhose.

Jackass!, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 6) introduces Keisuke, an ordinary high school student living with his older sister, Akiko.  Keisuke has a best friend named Shinoda Masayuki, who is handsome and carefree, and who is also from a wealthy family.  In fact, Masayuki is so stunningly handsome that he can (and often does) have any girl he wants.

The trouble starts one day when Keisuke accidentally wears a pair of Akiko’s pantyhose to gym class.  Suddenly the hot friend Masayuki is rubbing his hands on Keisuke’s pantyhose-clad legs!  Has Keisuke unwittingly unleashed a secret fetish that will change their relationship forever?  Masayuki certainly thinks so.

[This volume includes the bonus story, “The Shino-Hara Household” and an “Afterword” in manga form.]

Wow.  I have read quite a bit of yaoi manga, and I have come across numerous unusual scenarios.  Pantyhose as the impetus that turns friendship into romance:  no, that is new.

Jackass! Volume 1 is truly a romantic comedy, however.  Creator Scarlet Beriko seems determined to offer humorous sexual situations, and she does not rely only on sexual innuendo.  In addition to the Keisuke-Masayuki relationship, Jackass! presents other promising romantic relationships and entanglements, including one between a teacher and a student!

Don't think that Beriko denies her readers depictions of sex.  The main story ends with a bang:  condoms, mutual masturbation, fondling, and more.  On the back cover, one of the characters is wearing a t-shirt with a slogan – the kind of slogan that promises a yaoi manga of wild fun.

A
8 out of 10

For up-to-date news and release information, please visit the SuBLime website at SubBLimeManga.com, or follow SuBLime on Twitter at @SuBLimeManga, Facebook at facebook.com/SuBLimeManga, Tumblr at http://sublimemanga.tumblr.com/, and Instagram at @sublimemanga/.

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.

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DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 18, 2017

DC COMICS

AUG170191    AQUAMAN #29    $3.99
AUG170192    AQUAMAN #29 VAR ED    $3.99
AUG170352    ASTRO CITY #48    $3.99
AUG170199    BATMAN #33    $2.99
AUG170200    BATMAN #33 VAR ED    $2.99
JUL170311    BATMAN THE DROWNED #1 (METAL)    $3.99
AUG178453    BATMAN THE RED DEATH #1 2ND PTG (METAL)    $3.99
AUG170203    BATWOMAN #8    $3.99
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AUG170287    BOMBSHELLS UNITED #4    $2.99
AUG170303    FUTURE QUEST PRESENTS #3    $3.99
AUG170304    FUTURE QUEST PRESENTS #3 VAR ED    $3.99
MAY170338    GRAYSON THE SUPERSPY OMNIBUS HC    $99.99
AUG170176    GREEN ARROW #33    $2.99
AUG170177    GREEN ARROW #33 VAR ED    $2.99
AUG170217    GREEN LANTERNS #33    $2.99
AUG170218    GREEN LANTERNS #33 VAR ED    $2.99
AUG170225    HARLEY QUINN #30    $2.99
AUG170226    HARLEY QUINN #30 VAR ED    $2.99
JUL170477    HARLEY QUINN A ROGUES GALLERY THE DLX COVER ART COLL HC    $24.99
AUG170290    INJUSTICE 2 #12    $2.99
JUL170481    JLA THE NAIL ANOTHER NAIL DLX ED HC    $39.99
AUG170231    JUSTICE LEAGUE #31    $2.99
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APR170460    JUSTICE LEAGUE MOVIE WONDER WOMAN STATUE    $150.00
AUG170316    MAD MAGAZINE #548    $5.99
AUG178454    MISTER MIRACLE #1 (OF 12) 3RD PTG (MR)    $3.99
AUG178455    MISTER MIRACLE #2 (OF 12) 2ND PTG (MR)    $3.99
AUG170241    NIGHTWING #31    $2.99
AUG170242    NIGHTWING #31 VAR ED    $2.99
JUL170492    SEBASTIAN O MYSTERY PLAY HC (MR)    $29.99
JUL170463    SUICIDE SQUAD REBIRTH DLX COLL HC BOOK 01    $34.99
AUG170255    SUPER SONS #9    $3.99
AUG170256    SUPER SONS #9 VAR ED    $3.99
AUG170253    SUPERMAN #33    $2.99
AUG170254    SUPERMAN #33 VAR ED    $2.99
AUG170315    TEEN TITANS GO #24    $2.99
AUG170261    TITANS #16    $3.99
AUG170262    TITANS #16 VAR ED    $3.99
AUG170263    TRINITY #14    $3.99
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AUG170283    WILD STORM #8    $3.99
AUG178372    WILD STORM #8 LEE VAR ED    $3.99
AUG170284    WILD STORM #8 VAR ED    $3.99
JUL170486    WILD STORM TP VOL 01    $16.99
AUG170295    WONDER WOMAN CONAN #2 (OF 6)    $3.99
AUG170296    WONDER WOMAN CONAN #2 (OF 6) VAR ED    $3.99

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 18, 2017

MARVEL COMICS

AUG170975    ALL NEW GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #12    $3.99
JUL171208    AMERICA TP VOL 01 LIFE & TIMES  OF AMERICA CHAVEZ    $17.99
JUL171209    AMERICA TP VOL 01 QUEEN A DM VAR CVR    $17.99
JUL171212    BLACK PANTHER CREW TP WE ARE THE STREETS    $17.99
AUG170964    BLACK PANTHER PRELUDE #1 (OF 2)    $3.99
AUG170826    CABLE #150 LEG    $3.99
AUG170843    CHAMPIONS #13 LEG    $3.99
AUG170926    DEADPOOL VS OLD MAN LOGAN #1 (OF 5)    $3.99
AUG170927    DEADPOOL VS OLD MAN LOGAN #1 (OF 5) LIM VAR    $3.99
AUG170972    DOCTOR STRANGE #26    $3.99
AUG170981    GENERATION X #7    $3.99
JUL171221    GUARDIANS OF GALAXY NEW GUARD TP VOL 04 GROUNDED    $19.99
JUL171235    GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY AWESOME MIX DIGEST TP    $9.99
AUG170804    INCREDIBLE HULK #709 LEG    $3.99
AUG170792    INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #593 LEG    $3.99
JUL171210    JEAN GREY TP VOL 01 NIGHTMARE FUEL    $17.99
AUG170993    JOURNEY SW LAST JEDI CAPT PHASMA #4 (OF 4)    $3.99
AUG170821    LUKE CAGE #166 LEG    $3.99
AUG170848    MIGHTY THOR #700 LEG    $5.99
AUG170903    MONSTERS UNLEASHED #7 LEG    $3.99
AUG170943    PETER PARKER SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #5    $3.99
AUG170958    SECRET WARRIORS #7    $3.99
AUG170877    SPIDER-GWEN #25 LEG    $3.99
JUL171213    SPIDER-GWEN TP VOL 04 PREDATORS    $15.99
AUG170998    STAR WARS POE DAMERON #20    $3.99
JUL171199    THOR GODS & DEVIANTS TP    $34.99
JUL171203    THOR RAGNAROKS TP    $34.99
AUG170893    VENOM #156 LEG    $3.99
AUG178148    VENOMVERSE #1 (OF 5) 2ND PTG BRADSHAW VAR    $4.99
AUG170868    X-MEN GOLD #14 LEG    $3.99