Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 2, 2019

MARVEL COMICS

AUG190914    ABSOLUTE CARNAGE IMMORTAL HULK #1 AC    $4.99
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JUL198667    VALKYRIE JANE FOSTER #2 2ND PTG CAFU VAR    $3.99

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for October 2, 2019

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

AUG191955    ALIEN BONES HC GN    $24.99
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MAGAZINES
JUL191809    COMIC SHOP NEWS [90CT BUNDLE] #1685    $PI
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BOOKS
AUG190242    ACROSS THE VOID HC NOVEL    $27.00
JUL191992    BORN TO DRAW COMICS STORY CHARLES SCHULZ HC    $18.99
JUL192040    BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER YA NOVEL CURSED COVEN    $13.99
AUG191449    COMMUTE ILLUSTRATED MEMOIR OF FEMALE SHAME HC (MR)    $24.99
JUL192182    CURSED ILLUS HC YA NOVEL    $24.99
JUL191790    DC COMICS BATMAN 100 GREATEST MOMENTS HC    $24.99
JUL191791    DC COMICS SUPER VILLAINS 100 GREATEST MOMENTS REVISED HC    $24.99
JUL191837    DC COMICS YEAR BY YEAR VISUAL CHRONICLE NEW SLIPCASE ED    $50.00
JAN198795    DOCTOR WHO OFFICIAL ANNUAL 2020 HC    $10.99
JUL192157    DOG MAN GUIDE TO CREATING COMICS IN 3-D    $10.99
MAY198008    DONALD BUILDS THE WALL HC    $19.99
AUG191989    FIREFLY BIG DAMN COOKBOOK HC    $34.95
AUG192154    H P LOVECRAFT UNCANNY TALES COSMIC HORROR UNSPEAKABLE TERROR    $22.95
JUL192201    HAIL TO THE CHIN FURTHER CONFESSIONS OF A B MOVIE ACTOR SC (    $17.99
JUL192181    HI IM NORMAN STORY AMERICAN ILLUSTRATOR NORMAN ROCKWELL    $17.99
JUL192058    HOT WHEELS FROM 0 TO 50 AT 1 64 SCALE FLEXIBOUND    $24.99
JUL191838    MARVEL BOOK EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE HC    $25.00
JUL192124    MARVEL FLYING SUPER HEROES BOARD BOOK    $8.99
AUG192432    MY HERO ACADEMIA SCHOOL BRIEFS NOVEL SC VOL 03    $10.99
AUG190241    OBSOLETES HC NOVEL    $26.00
JUL191542    SCIENCE OF RICK & MORTY UNOFF GUIDE EARTHS STUPIDEST SHOW (C    $17.00
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JUL192127    STAR WARS 10-BUTTON SOUNDS DROIDS    $12.99
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AUG191446    STEVEN UNIVERSE THE TALE OF STEVEN HC    $14.99
AUG192297    SUPERMAN IN MYTH AND FOLKLORE SC    $30.00
JUL191540    TO DANCE BALLERINAS GN    $11.99
JUL191541    TO DANCE BALLERINAS HC GN    $19.99
JUL192466    TORTURE PRINCESS FREMD TORTURCHEN NOVEL SC VOL 02    $14.00
AUG192298    VISIBLE CITIES GLOBAL COMICS URBAN IMAGES & SPATIAL FORM SC    $30.00
JUL192184    WALKING DEAD NOVEL HC TYPHOON    $28.00

Book Review: MY HERO ACADEMIA: School Briefs Volume 2

MY HERO ACADEMIA: SCHOOL BRIEFS, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Anri Yoshi
ORIGINAL STORY: Kohei Horikoshi
TRANSLATION: Caleb Cook
COVER: Kohei Horikoshi with Shawn Carrico
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8271-9; paperback (July 2, 2019)
238pp, B&W, $10.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

Created by Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia is a shonen manga.  It is set on an Earth where 80% of the human population has manifested superpowers called “Quirks.”  If someone wants to be a superhero, he or she enrolls in the Hero Academy.  What would a person do, however, if he were one of the 20% born Quirkless?  Middle school student Izuku Midoriya has no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes.  Then, Midoriya meets the greatest hero of them all, All Might, who gives him a chance to change his destiny…

My Hero Academia: School Briefs is a new series of light novels (Japan's version of a “young adult” or “YA” novel) set in the world of My Hero Academia.  The novels are written by Anri Yoshi, based on a stories by Kohei Horikoshi.  The first novel in the series debuted in Japan in 2016, and the series currently stands at four volumes (as of this writing).

VIZ Media, which publishes the My Hero Academia manga as a graphic novel series in North America, also publishes the light novel series.  VIZ recently released the second School Briefs novel in North America in early July 2019 under the title, My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 2 (subtitled Training Camp: The Inside Story).

My Hero Academia: School Briefs Volume 2– Training Camp: The Inside Story opens at the home of Izuku Midoriya.  All-Might's young protege is in a state of distress.  He is struggling with his math lessons ahead of final exams, and he has to pass.  Qualifying to attend the upcoming training camp is contingent on passing these final exams.  Midoriya isn't the only student stressed out by studies, so study groups abound.

Even if they make it to training camp, the students of U.A. High, “Class 1-A,” will have to share their training camp experiences with the students of “Class 1-B.”  If these aspiring heroes are lucky, they may have an opportunity to get to know each other and to cut loose.

Before I read the first volume of School Briefs this past May, it had been some time since I had last read a light novel.  I have had mixed results with light novels – some good, some mediocre.  Since my VIZ Media press representative started sending me copies of the My Hero Academia light novels, I have had a chance to enjoy even more of this franchise.

My Hero Academia: School Briefs Volume 2 offers a nice surprise.  I almost feel like I am spoiling it for you, dear readers, but, simply put, Vol. 2 is like a summer camp novel, in which readers get to know the students in a new setting.  Yes, this camp is about training and not about summer fun, but the setting allows for some of the youthful indiscretions that can occur at a summer camp.

Training Camp: The Inside Story gives readers the inside story on their favorite young superheroes-in-training.  Although this novel does tease about the trouble ahead, it treats readers to a look at the personalities of numerous characters from the My Hero Academia series, with the exception of Izuku Midoriya.  After all, we already know so much about him, as he is the franchise's star.

So as entries go, My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 2 is not just another entry.  It is a chance to expand readers' knowledge of the young characters that make up the world of My Hero Academia.  You, dear readers, will even get a chance to enter the home of a wealthy student (Momo Yaoyorozu) and to see a horn-dog boy (Minoru Mineta) in action.

7.5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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

Review: BUBBA HO-TEP and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers #2

BUBBA HO-TEP AND THE COSMIC BLOODSUCKERS No. 2
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Joshua Jabcuga (based on the novel by Joe R. Lansdale) – @jabcuga @joelansdale
ART: Tadd Galusha – @TaddGalusha
COLORS: Ryan Hill
LETTERS: Tom B. Long
EDITOR: Joe Hughes
COVER: Baldemar Rivas
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Baldemar Rivas; Tadd Galusha
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2018)

Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers is a current comic book miniseries adaptation of author Joe R. Lansdale's 2017 novel, Bubba and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers (Subterranean Press).  The novel is a prequel of sorts to Lansdale's 1994 alternative history and dark fantasy novella, “Bubba Ho-Tep.”

Lansdale is a prolific writer of novels and short stories and has also written numerous comic books, including three Jonah Hex miniseries for DC Comics and the graphic novel, Red Range.  SundanceTV's recent series, “Hap and Leonard,” is based on Lansdale's long-running “Hap (Collins) and Leonard (Pine)” series of novels, novellas, and short stories.

Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers the comic book is adapted by writer Joshua Jabcuga; drawn by Tadd Galusha; colored by Ryan Hill; and lettered by Tom B. Long, with covers drawn by Baldemar Rivas.  The comic book follows a fictional version of legendary rock 'n' roll singer and performer, Elvis Presley.  The King of Rock 'n' Roll works for a secret government organization, in which his manager, “The Colonel” (based on the real-world Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker), is his handler, as Presley and a team of operatives fight supernatural threats to the world

As Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers #2 opens, the blind seer, “Blind Man,” leads Elvis and company to an abandoned plantation manor.  He declares that it will be the base of operations from which The Colonel and Elvis and his four-man team will face a monstrous alien threat.  First, however, The Colonel and the Blind Man have a lot of information and mythology to share with the team.  Plus, Elvis learns that he has to pay “the price” and that the current circumstances are all his hip-swiveling and charismatic self's fault.

In my review of Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers #1, I wrote that although the first issue was only 20 pages long (in terms of actual comics), it read like a 32-page tale.  Issue #2 is also 20 pages long and it reads like one of those double-sized comic book annuals that Marvel and DC Comics used to do so well.  Reading this second issue felt like reading 40+ pages tense drama with a generous helping of riveting back story and kooky mythology.

The television series, “The X-Files,” has regular, monster-of-the-week episodes in which Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder have to unravel the mystery of some monster, creature, or human with dangerous supernatural powers.  The series also offers mythology episodes which addresses or focus on the series' overall story arc concerning government conspiracies involving UFOs and the abduction of humans by beings from other worlds.

Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers #2 is the mythology issue of this miniseries.  I have not (yet) read the novel upon which this comic book is based, but I have read some of Lansdale's other stories.  Series writer Joshua Jabcuga and artist/illustrator take the essence of Lansdale's weird “Bubba” cosmology and distill it into a single comic book.  Now, readers know who, what, where (for the most part) and can prepare themselves for the battles ahead.  I call this a “bible” of Bubba-verse, and this chapter is layered and detailed, yet with simplicity manages to prod our superstitions and fears of things that want to eat and drink us.

It is not giving Jabcuga and Galusha too much credit to say that they have taken a previously published work from another medium and transformed it into something exceptional in a different medium.  Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers #2 convinces me that this series is a dark, nasty, evolved mutant child of classic scary comic books of the past.  This includes titles published by EC Comics and Warren Publications and the Joe Orlando-edited dark fantasy comic books of the late 1960s and 1970s.

Colorist Ryan Hill attacks Tadd Galusha's illustrations and graphical storytelling with angry, red hues.  I would rather believe that Hill painted this comic from a bucket of blood and offal rather than by using a digital palette.  Hill is definitely a co-storyteller along with Lansdale, Jabcuga, and Galusha.  And finally, veteran letterer Tom B. Long fills his word balloons and caption boxes with fonts and text that crawl towards the readers to deliver the gradually building sense of mystery, suspense, and dread of this truly fun to read second issue.

I highly recommend Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Bloodsuckers #2, as I did with the first issue.  Honestly, Baldemar Rivas' cover art for this issue alone is worth the cover price.

10 out of 10

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.

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Review: FARMHAND #2

FARMHAND No. 2
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rob Guillory – @Rob_guillory
ART: Rob Guillory
COLORS: Taylor Wells
LETTERS: Kody Chamberlain
MISC. ART: Burt Durand (“Farmhand Calendar” design)
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(August 2018)

Rated “M/ Mature”

Farmhand created by Rob Guillory

Chapter 2: “The Haunted Man”

Farmhand is a new comic book series from comic book creator, Rob Guillory.  Farmhand is written and illustrated by Guillory; colored by Taylor Wells; and lettered by Kody Chamberlain (who also designed the Farmhand logo).  Farmhand focuses on Ezekiel “Zeke” Jenkins, a husband, father, and graphic designer/illustrator.  He returns to the family farm, which now focuses not on “beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes,” but on the growth of human body parts.

Farmhand #2 finds Zeke struggling with troubling dreams which delve into his past troubles, and he is having a difficult time finding work in the old hometown of Freetown.  Meanwhile, at “Jenkins Family Farmaceutical Institute” (formerly known as “Jenkins Family Farm”), Jedidiah “Jed” Elias Jenkins (Pops) is introducing another patient to the wonders of farm-grown body parts.  Behind the scientific advancements and the hometown charm are dark reunions, unexpected acts of kindness, and the menace of plants that should not be menacing.

Farmhand has a darkly humorous sensibility, like some kind of sparkly black comedy.  Zeke Jenkins is our hapless hero, who does not realize that his misgivings barely scratch the surface of the dangerous topsoil that is his new life.  I wish I could yell out to him, “It's worse than you think!”  Guillory mines the most humor from his hero being over his head even when he thinks that he is ahead of the game.

On the other side, Farmhand's secrets are a menace society, a threat that belies Taylor Well's dazzling colors.  We sing about a circle of life and preach recycling, but do we realize that change, even recycling, is destructive... or at least transforming.  That is “The Twilight Zone” element of Farmhand; one's innocence, naivete, or ignorance does not protect one from the unexpected twist of fate or the macabre reality of nature revealed in the final minutes of a Twilight Zone denouement.

In a way, Rob Gullory's Farmhand is the true sequel and true heir to director Philip Kaufman and writer W.D. Richter's creepy, 1978, version of the classic Cold War-era film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  The similarity is not so much about plants; rather, it is in the frightening reality of how the catalyst (the plants) changes one person into something completely new and different.  Snatch a copy of Farmhand; read it in bed, but beware of falling asleep near that glass on your bedside.  There is a mint leaf floating in your tea.

9 out of 10

http://RobGuillory.com

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.

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Review: THE GOON #1

THE GOON No. 1 (2019)
ALBATROSS FUNNYBOOKS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Eric Powell – @goonguy
COLORS: Rachael Cohen and Eric Powell
EDITOR: Tracy Marsh
COVER: Eric Powell
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Kevin Nowlan
24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 13, 2019)

“A Ragged Return to Lonely Street”

The Goon is a comic book character created by comic book writer-artist, Eric Powell.  The Goon is visually similar to a “heavy” or muscular-type villain from an old-timey Hollywood film or television series.  To me, The Goon looks like a blend of Golden Age Hollywood leading man, actor Sterling Hayden, and Hollywood B-movie cult icon, Rondo Hatton.  The Goon's adventures take place in a supernatural world in which he battles ghosts, ghouls, mutants, and various other monsters, as well as assorted undead/zombie types

The Goon is currently celebrating his twentieth anniversary.  He has been the star of his own comic book series, The Goon, beginning in 1999, with most of his comic book run spent at Dark Horse Comics.  Powell recently relaunched The Goon series via his own comic book publishing company, Albatross Funnybooks (formerly Albatross Exploding Funny Books).  The new series is written, drawn, and lettered by Powell and colored by Rachael Cohen and Powell.

The Goon #1 (“A Ragged Return to Lonely Street”) finds The Goon and his pals, Franky and Rosco, returning to “the town with no name” after a time spent abroad serving with a mysterious organization (a tale for another publication).  The Goon expects the town to be changed, since he cleaned the place up of supernatural baddies before he left... but even the zombies are back.

Now, needing a place to stay, The Goon and Franky must deal with a shady character, Horace Sinckelits (“Realtor of the Damned”).  Plus, there is the issue of “Baby Galahad the East-Side Ghoul,” one of several unsavory types who have stepped in to fill the void The Goon left behind.

I am not a big fan of The Goon, but I enjoy reading it from time to time.  My eyes, however, are always hoping to take in more of Eric Powell's beautiful art and illustrations.  The Goon is truly an oddball creation.  I think of it this way:  if you took the tone and spirit of the horror comic books published by Marvel, DC Comics, and Warren Publications (to name a few) and blended them with the sensibilities of MAD Magazine; next, added a sprinkle of the more humorous episodes of Will Eisner's The Spirit; then, placed it in a Film-Noir big city setting, you would have The Goon.

The Goon also has more than one great character.  First, there is the title character, and secondly, there is the irascible Franky, whose dialogue sounds like a low-level criminal-hood type from a Hollywood gangster movie.  Powell makes Franky funny practically one-hundred percent of the time, and so, Franky makes The Goon twice as good.  Honestly, I really can't get enough of a character; I guess I'm a Franky fanboy slash homer.

Now, that I think about.  I liked The Goon #1 (2019) so much that I don't want to read it from time to time.  I want to read it every issue.

http://www.thegoon.com/albatross.html

8.5 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: HEROES IN CRISIS #1

HEROES IN CRISIS No. 1 (OF 9)
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Tom King
ART: Clay Mann
COLORS: Tomeu Morey
LETTERS: Clayton Cowles
EDITOR: Jamie S. Rich
COVER: Clay Mann with Tomeu Morey
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: J.G. Jones with Paul Mounts; Francesco Mattina; Mark Brooks; Ryan Sook
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2018)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

Part 1: “I'm Just Warming Up”

Heroes in Crisis is a recently launched nine-issue event miniseries from DC Comics.  It is written by Tom King and drawn by Clay Mann, and finds the heroes of the DC Universe facing a crisis in the one place that they can find healing.  Colorist Tomeu Morey and letterer Clayton Cowles complete the Heroes in Crisis creative team.

Heroes in Crisis #1 (“I'm Just Warming Up”) opens at a small diner in rural Gordon, Nebraska.  Here, Booster Gold and Harley Quinn will engage in a bloody fight.  Meanwhile, the Trinity:  Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are racing to Sanctuary, an ultra-secret hospital for superheroes who have been traumatized by crime-fighting and cosmic combat.  Patients are winding up dead, and Gold and Quinn could be the reason.

Classic DC Comics prestige miniseries like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen had killer first issues that had most readers coming back for more, some of them even chomping at the bits for the second issue.  Heroes in Crisis #1 is not a killer first issue, but readers will come back for more because that is the thing to do.

Sometimes, it seems as if comic book readers must read event comic books simply because they will be something different, if not better, than the status quo of the monthly and regularly published comic book series.  After all this is an event miniseries, and that is what many comic book readers do – come back for the second issue of the event.  If Heroes in Crisis does not live up to the hype fewer readers will come back for each succeeding issue, but many will see the series through to the end.

I can say that the art team of illustrator Clay Mann and colorist Tomeu Morey are delivering some absolutely beautiful art.  It's like eye candy!  This may also be Clay Mann's best work to date; at least, I think so.

I will read the second issue, but if you choose to ignore Heroes in Crisis...  Well, it won't be like missing out on Batman: The Dark Knight Returns or Watchmen.

5.5 out of 10

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 syndication rights and fees.

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