Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for December 11, 2019

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

OCT191776    AGENTS OF PACT TP VOL 01 FLEURS DE CONFLIT (RES)    $12.99
SEP191497    ARCHIE 1955 #3 (OF 5) CVR A CALDWELL    $3.99
SEP191498    ARCHIE 1955 #3 (OF 5) CVR B ORDWAY    $3.99
SEP191499    ARCHIE 1955 #3 (OF 5) CVR C RENAUD    $3.99
OCT191607    ARCHIES CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR #1    $2.99
OCT191924    BABY SITTERS LITTLE SISTER GN VOL 01 KARENS WITCH    $10.99
OCT191925    BABY SITTERS LITTLE SISTER HC GN VOL 01 KARENS WITCH    $22.99
SEP191853    BATTLE FOR BRITAIN FROM PAGES OF COMBAT GLANZMAN CVR (RES)    $9.99
SEP191854    BATTLE FOR BRITAIN FROM PAGES OF COMBAT MCCREA CVR (RES)    $19.99
OCT191970    BATTLECATS TP VOL 02 FALLEN LEGACY    $17.99
OCT191609    BETTY & VERONICA JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #279    $7.99
SEP192045    BINWINS MINIONS GN VOL 01 (RES)    $19.99
OCT192188    BLOODSHOT (2019) TP VOL 01    $9.99
OCT192382    BOARDING SCHOOL JULIET GN VOL 09    $10.99
SEP191855    BREATHERS #1 CVR A MADSON    $7.99
SEP191856    BREATHERS #1 CVR B LEMIRE & KINDT    $9.99
SEP192356    CAPTAIN HARLOCK DIMENSIONAL VOYAGE GN VOL 10 (OF 10)    $12.99
OCT191966    CATALYST PRIME SEVEN DAYS #3 (OF 7) (RES)    $3.99
OCT191967    CATALYST PRIME SEVEN DAYS #3 (OF 7) SEJIC VAR (RES)    $3.99
AUG192169    DARK AGE #4    $3.95
OCT191595    DEAD LEGENDS TP VOL 01    $16.99
OCT192178    DOCTOR MIRAGE #5 (OF 5) CVR A KANO    $3.99
OCT192179    DOCTOR MIRAGE #5 (OF 5) CVR B WIJNGAARD    $3.99
OCT192180    DOCTOR MIRAGE #5 (OF 5) CVR C ANEKE    $3.99
OCT198013    DOCTOR MIRAGE #5 (OF 5) CVR D PRE-ORDER BUNDLE ED    $3.99
SEP191484    DOG EATERS #3 (OF 6)    $3.99
JUN198128    DOG MAN GN VOL 08 FETCH    $12.99
OCT191509    DRAGONFLY & DRAGONFLYMAN #2 (OF 5) (MR)    $3.99
OCT192386    EDENS ZERO GN VOL 05    $10.99
SEP191421    FEAST OR FAMINE TP    $9.95
OCT192048    FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDYS GN VOL 01 SILVER EYES    $12.99
OCT192049    FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDYS HC GN VOL 01 SILVER EYES    $24.99
SEP191341    FIVE YEARS #6    $3.99
OCT191459    FIVE YEARS TP VOL 01 FIRE IN THE SKY    $15.99
OCT191777    FREELANCE TP VOL 01 ANGEL OF THE ABYSS (RES)    $12.99
AUG192092    GERONIMO STILTON HC BOX SET VOL 16-18    $29.99
OCT192425    GOLDEN SHEEP GN VOL 02    $12.95
AUG191513    GOON #7 CVR A POWELL    $3.99
AUG191514    GOON #7 ROB JONES CARDSTOCK VAR CVR    $5.99
OCT192388    GRANBLUE FANTASY GN VOL 02    $12.99
OCT192193    HEIST HOW TO STEAL A PLANET #2    $3.99
OCT191762    HELLINA #0 PLATINUM FOIL VAR    $7.99
OCT191770    HELLINA SEDUCTION #1 PLATINUM FOIL VAR    $7.99
OCT191769    HELLINA SEDUCTION #1/2 PLATINUM FOIL VAR    $7.99
OCT191768    HELLINA SEDUCTION PREVIEW PLATINUM FOIL VAR    $7.99
OCT191940    IGNITED #5 (MR)    $3.99
AUG192143    INVADER ZIM #48 CVR A C    $3.99
AUG192144    INVADER ZIM #48 CVR B BONES    $3.99
OCT192390    KISS ME AT STROKE OF MIDNIGHT GN VOL 10    $12.99
MAY191786    KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #269    $5.99
OCT192122    LIFE IS STRANGE #11 CVR A LEONARDI (MR)    $3.99
OCT192123    LIFE IS STRANGE #11 CVR B GAME ART (MR)    $3.99
OCT192124    LIFE IS STRANGE #11 CVR C TSHIRT (MR)    $3.99
AUG191643    LOLA XOXO VOL 3 #4 CVR A    $3.99
AUG191644    LOLA XOXO VOL 3 #4 CVR B MARIA    $3.99
OCT191501    MARY SHELLEY MONSTER HUNTER TP VOL 01    $14.99
SEP192046    METRO GN (MR)    $25.00
SEP192367    MISS KOBAYASHIS DRAGON MAID KANNA DAILY LIFE GN VOL 06    $12.99
OCT192392    MISSIONS OF LOVE GN VOL 19    $10.99
SEP192290    MONSTER & BEAST GN VOL 02    $15.00
OCT198066    MUELLER REPORT GN    $20.00
FEB191545    NOBODY IS IN CONTROL #3 (OF 4) (MR)    $3.99
AUG191530    OGGY & THE COCKROACHES #1 CVR A RANKINE    $3.99
AUG191531    OGGY & THE COCKROACHES #1 CVR B GREENAWALT    $4.99
AUG191532    OGGY & THE COCKROACHES #1 CVR C LTD ED ANIMATION CEL    $9.99
SEP192372    OUR DREAMS AT DUSK SHIMANAMI TASOGARE GN VOL 04 (MR)    $12.99
SEP192293    OVERLORD A LA CARTE GN VOL 02    $13.00
OCT192051    POKEMON GRAPHIC COLL HC GN VOL 01 BATTLE WITH ULTRA BEAST (C    $22.99
OCT192052    POKEMON GRAPHIC COLL HC GN VOL 02 GRAND TRIAL SHOWDOWN    $22.99
OCT192189    QUEEN OF BAD DREAMS TP VOL 01    $17.99
OCT192167    RAI (2019) #2 CVR A NGU    $3.99
OCT192168    RAI (2019) #2 CVR B JOHNSON    $3.99
OCT192169    RAI (2019) #2 CVR C POLLINA    $3.99
OCT198015    RAI (2019) #2 CVR D PRE-ORDER BUNDLE ED    $3.99
OCT192121    RIVERS OF LONDON FEY & THE FURIOUS #2 (MR)    $3.99
OCT192128    ROBOTECH REMIX #3 CVR A DAMASO    $3.99
OCT192129    ROBOTECH REMIX #3 CVR B KARREON    $3.99
OCT192130    ROBOTECH REMIX #3 CVR C RENZI    $3.99
OCT192214    ROBYN HOOD VIGILANTE #2 CVR A VITORINO    $3.99
OCT192215    ROBYN HOOD VIGILANTE #2 CVR B GOH    $3.99
OCT192216    ROBYN HOOD VIGILANTE #2 CVR C DOONEY    $3.99
OCT192217    ROBYN HOOD VIGILANTE #2 CVR D COCCOLO    $3.99
OCT191973    RV9 #2 (OF 5)    $3.99
OCT191539    SCARY CHRISTMAS #1 CVR A WOLFER (MR)    $3.99
OCT191540    SCARY CHRISTMAS #1 CVR B NUDE LTD (MR)    $9.99
SEP191485    SCRATCHER #3 (OF 4)    $3.99
SEP191424    SCRIMSHAW TP TEARS OF SONORAN SEA    $9.95
SEP192106    SERA & ROYAL STARS #5    $3.99
OCT191499    SHOPLIFTERS WILL BE LIQUIDATED #3    $3.99
SEP192377    SPECIES DOMAIN GN VOL 07    $12.99
JUL191372    STRANGERS IN PARADISE OMNIBUS LTD HC SGN BOOKPLATE ED    $179.99
JUL191373    STRANGERS IN PARADISE OMNIBUS SC ED NEW PTG    $109.99
AUG191604    STRONG BOX BIG BAD BOOK OF BOON #5 (OF 8)    $3.99
SEP192048    TENKO KING GN VOL 02 HEART OF THE MOUNTAIN    $19.99
OCT192194    TEST TP VOL 01 (MR)    $17.99
OCT191566    THREE STOOGES MERRY STOOGEMAS HAND DRAWN SKETCH CVR    $29.99
OCT191767    THRESHOLD #50 PLATINUM FOIL VAR    $7.99
OCT191766    THRESHOLD MYTHIC SIRENS PLATINUM FOIL VAR    $7.99
OCT191763    TIM VIGILS WEBWITCH #1 PLATINUM FOIL VAR    $7.99
AUG191954    TONGUES #3 (MR)    $15.00
SEP192298    TRINITY SEVEN 7 MAGICIANS GN VOL 18 (MR)    $13.00
OCT192198    WASTED SPACE #12 (MR)    $3.99
SEP198616    WEATHERING WITH YOU LIGHT NOVEL HC    $20.00
OCT192064    WRETCHES #2    $3.99
OCT191500    YOU ARE OBSOLETE #4    $3.99
SEP192292    YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY WRONG EXPECTED GN VOL 12    $13.00
OCT192397    YURI IS MY JOB GN VOL 05 (MR)    $12.99
AUG191571    ZORRO LEGENDARY ADVS #1-4 READERS SET    $13.99
AUG191569    ZORRO RISE OF THE OLD GODS #3 CVR A CALZADA    $3.99
AUG191570    ZORRO RISE OF THE OLD GODS #3 CVR B LTD ED PULP    $9.99

MAGAZINES
OCT191795    COMIC SHOP NEWS [90CT BUNDLE] #1695    $PI
OCT191800    COMIC SHOP NEWS WINTER 2019 PREVIEW 90CT BUNDLE    $PI
OCT191887    FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #291 PHANTOM OF OPERA VAR CVR (C    $16.99
AUG192277    HOBBY JAPAN NOVEMBER 2019    $20.00
OCT192158    LEGO 5 BOOK BUNDLE    $29.95
AUG198848    LOCUS #707    $8.99
JUL192264    MEGAMI OCTOBER 2019    $20.00
OCT191808    MONSTER BASH MAGAZINE #38    $8.99
JUL192265    NEWTYPE OCTOBER 2019    $20.00

BOOKS
OCT192318    ACCEL WORLD LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 20    $14.00
JUN191913    BILL SIENKIEWICZ REVOLUTION LTD S&N ED    $350.00
OCT198151    BOY WHO LOVED BATMAN NEW REVISED ED    $24.00
OCT192321    CERTAIN MAGICAL INDEX LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 21    $15.00
OCT192047    CHILLING ADV OF SABRINA NOVEL SC VOL 02 DAUGHTER OF CHAOS (C    $9.99
OCT192323    DEVIL IS PART TIMER LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 15    $14.00
OCT192327    KONOSUBA LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 10    $14.00
OCT192050    LEGO HARRY POTTER MAGICAL SEARCH & FIND ADV W MINI FIGURE (C    $9.99
SEP192047    NOSFERATU HC (MR)    $30.00
SEP192381    RESTAURANT TO ANOTHER WORLD LIGHT NOVEL VOL 03    $13.99
OCT192053    RIVERDALE HE LOVES ME SHE LOVES ME NOT HC    $10.99
OCT192042    STAR TREK BODY BY STARFLEET FITNESS GUIDE HC    $16.00
SEP192382    TORADORA LIGHT NOVEL VOL 08    $13.99
AUG192283    WORLD`S FINEST BUNDLE    $39.95

Review: DEADPOOL #1 (2018)

DEADPOOL No. 1 / No. 301 (2018)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Skottie Young
ART: Nic Klein; Scott Hepburn
COLORS: Nic Klein; Ian Herring
LETTERS: Jeff Eckleberry
EDITOR: Jake Thomas
COVER: Nic Klein
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Skottie Young with Jean-Francois Beaulieu; Skottie Young; Mike Deodato, Jr. with Rain Beredo; Rob Liefeld with Federico Blee; Rob Liefeld with Jesus Aburtov; Jerome Opena with Jason Keith
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2018)

“Parental Advisory”

Deadpool created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza

“Back in Business”

Deadpool is a Marvel Comics anti-hero character.  He was created by artist-writer Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza and first appeared in The New Mutants #98 (cover dated: February 1991).  Deadpool is Wade Winston Wilson, a disfigured and deeply mentally disturbed assassin-for-hire and mercenary with a superhuman physical prowess and an accelerated healing factor.  The character is depicted as joking constantly, being sarcastic, and having a tendency to engage in the literary device of “breaking the fourth wall” and speaking to readers.

Marvel Comics recently launched a new Deadpool comic book series, because launching and relaunching comic book series and number-one issues is something for which Marvel has a proclivity.  Deadpool 2018 is written by Skottie Young.  This issue has two stories.  The first is drawn and colored by Nic Klein, and the second is drawn by Scott Hepburn and colored by Ian Herring.  Jeff Eckleberry provides lettering for both stories.

Deadpool #1 (“Back in Business”) finds our (anti) hero enjoying a sappy Oscar-bait drama, “Best Friends Buds” at the local movie theater.  What Deadpool really wants is a high-paying assassination gig, but his “assistant,” Negasonic Teenage Warhead, informs him that his current target is also enjoying “Best Friends Bud.”  Luckily more craziness is, indeed, headed Mr. Wilson's way, in the form of the kind of adversary the Avengers usually handle.

In “Good Night,” Deadpool, post-mind-wipe, wants a new new origin story.  He tries on several, most of them riffs on familiar superhero origin tales.

I have not read a Deadpool comic book in over two decades, maybe since that miniseries Joe Madureira drew.  I decided to read the first issue of this new Skottie Young-written series because I liked the first issue of the Rocket Raccoon comic book Young wrote and drew a few years ago.  I made a good choice, as I really enjoyed this new Deadpool #1.

Young has written a comic book that reads like a partial transcript of the hit 2016 Deadpool film, and Young does joke about the stylistic similarities between that film and this comic book.  That's okay.  On that rare occasion, a comic book should skew close to its film adaptation.  Nic Klein's art blends seamlessly with Young's script to create an entertaining and humorous comic book, and even Klein's coloring has a comic vibe.  That makes it complete Deadpool the 2018 comic book is spiritually similar to Deadpool the 2016 movie.

Artist Scott Helpern and artist Ian Herring offer a nice turn in riffs on famous comic book origin stories in the second story, “Good Night.”  Of course, letterer Jeff Eckleberry swoops in to assure that the comedy works.  I think that some people underestimate how important lettering is to not only creating the tone of a comic book story, but also how important letterers are to making sure that dialogue and exposition have the intended dramatic or humorous impact.

I think a few issues of this new Deadpool series have been published since the debut of this first issue.  So I need to hunt some back issues because I think I might want to follow this.  It is not a “great” work; sometimes, Young seems to try a little too hard to be funny, but this Deadpool #1 is quite enjoyable.

7 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: THE DRIFTING CLASSROOM

THE DRIFTING CLASSROOM: PERFECT EDITION, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Kazuo Umezz
TRANSLATION: Sheldon Drzka
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Molly Danzer
LETTERING: Evan Waldinger
EDITOR: Joel Enos
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0937-3; hardcover (October 2019); Rated “M” for “Mature”
752pp, B&W, $34.99 U.S., $46.99 CAN, £28.00 UK

The Drifting Classroom is a shonen manga from acclaimed manga creator, Kazuo Umezz, who is considered the most influential horror manga artist ever.  The Drifting Classroom was originally serialized in the venerable Japanese manga magazine, Weekly Shōnen Sunday, from 1972 to 1974.  VIZ Media published the 11-graphic novel series in English from 2006 to 2008.

VIZ recently began publishing a new English language edition of The Drifting Classroom in its “perfect edition” format.  According to VIZ, The Drifting Classroom: Perfect Edition features an all-new translation and new content and revised story elements gathered in a deluxe hardcover format.  If I understand correctly, the original eleven graphic novels will be collected in three hardcover omnibus books with a trim size of 5 3/4  x 8 1/8.

The Drifting Classroom: Perfect Edition, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 15) introduces sixth-grader Sho Takamatsu.  The story opens with a prologue, of sorts, in which Sho speaks to his mother, Emiko Takamatsu, as if he were writing her a letter or telling her a story about his life since he last saw her.  The day and evening that led up to the fateful morning when everything changed finds mother and child squabbling over petty disagreements, seeming to deliberately vex one another.

Then, one morning, Sho's school, Yamato Elementary School, is apparently struck by the tremors of an earthquake.  People near the school discover that the school has disappeared after the earthquake; at first, they think the school was destroyed in an explosion.  However, Sho, the teachers, and students of Yamato Elementary emerge from the school to discover that Yamato Elementary is now surrounded by what seems like an endless wasteland of sand.  They come to believe that in the aftermath of the massive earthquake, the school was transported to a hostile world.

But the truth is more terrifying than that.  Wherever they are, the students and teachers find themselves besieged by terrifying creatures and short on food and water.  Worst of all, madness takes over both the adults and the children, turning them towards tyranny and even murder.

The Drifting Classroom manga is a mixture of horror and science fiction.  The science fiction side of the narrative follows the adventures of a group of elementary school students trapped in what resembles a post-apocalyptic world.  The horror element focuses, at least early in the narrative, on the breakdown of order in the school as well as on the murderous turn that some of the teachers and students take.

The Drifting Classroom: Perfect Edition Volume 1 is both a terrifying and a terrifically breezy read.  I once described the pace of the story being as if Umezz put his readers on a horse that just races at breakneck speeds through a barren landscape of non-stop action and adventure... and, of course, terror.  In addition to the depiction of terror, I think that what impresses me in these first 740+ pages of the story is the imaginative and inventive ways in which Umezz depicts the breakdown of Yamato Elementary's society in the shifting factions of hoarders, tyrants, and murderers.

Sheldon Drzka on the translation and Molly Danzer on the English adaptation capture The Drifting Classroom manic ebb and flow of the children investigating, planning, escaping, and fighting for their lives.  Drzka and Danzer's work is so good that there were times that I felt that I simply could not stop reading.  Believe me when I say that reading this does not feel like an experience of trudging through 740+ pages.  Honestly, by the end of it, I wanted more.

I highly recommend the first volume of The Drifting Classroom: Perfect Edition to fans of horror manga.  It is a must-read, and, for the collector, a must-have.

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 blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: FIREFLY #1 (2018)

FIREFLY No. 1 (2018)
BOOM! Studios – @boomstudios

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Greg Pak
ARTIST: Dan McDaid
COLORS: Marcelo Costa
LETTERS: Jim Campbell
EDITOR: Jeanine Schaefer
COVER: Lee Garbett
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jock; Joe Quinones; Tula Lotay; J.G. Jones; Bill Sienkiewicz; Adam Riches; Diego Galindo
32pp, Colors, $3.99 U.S. (November 2018)

Firefly created by Joss Whedon

“Firefly” was a science fiction and Western-themed television series created by Joss Whedon.  It was originally broadcast on the Fox Television Network during the 2002-2003 television season, although Fox only televised 11 of the 14 episodes that were produced.

The series was set in the year 2157 in a star system where human immigrants from Earth settled some time in the distant past.  The primary characters are the crew of nine people traveling aboard the “Firefly-class” spaceship named “Serenity.”  The lead character is Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds, the owner and captain of the Serenity.  Like his second-in-command, Zoe Alleyne Washburne, Mal is a veteran of the human civil war known as the “Unification War,” fighting on the side of the “Independent Army.”

The other characters are Hoban “Wash” Washburne, Serenity's pilot and Zoe's husband, and Kaywinnet Lee “Kaylee” Frye, the ship's mechanic.  There are also Inara Serra, a “Companion” (a kind of sex-worker) who resides aboard one of Serenity's two shuttles; Derrial Book, a “Shepherd” (equivalent of a pastor); and the mercenary, Jayne Cobb.  The final two passengers are Dr. Simon Tam, a top trauma surgeon; and River Tam, his sister who is a child prodigy who was part of some kind of “Alliance” science experiment.

From 2005 to 2017, Dark Horse Comics produced four miniseries, two one-shots, and one original graphic novel based on the “Firefly” franchise, under the title, “Serenity,” the name of the 2006 film based on the TV series.  BOOM! Studios recently obtained the license to produce comic books based on “Firefly.”

BOOM!'s debut title is the comic book series, Firefly.  It is written by Greg Pak; drawn by Dan McDaid; colored by Marcelo Costa; and lettered by Jim Campbell.  Firefly the comic book 2018 will apparently delve into Mal and Zoe's past in the Unification War (also known as “War of Unification”).

Firefly #1 finds the Serenity suffering from the purchase of bad replacement parts.  Things get worse when the ship is attacked by the federals in the form of an Alliance Army dreadnaught.  Forced to land on a moon named “Bethlehem,” the crew of the Serenity must find jobs that will earn them the one thousand in platinum credits that it will take to buy the new replacement parts that will allow Serenity to return to space.  A new job is the least of their worries, however, as two of the crew members find themselves with high bounties placed on their heads.

I became a huge fan of the “Firefly” TV series after a friend gave me a box-set collection of the series as a gift.  I liked that the show was as much a Western drama as it was a space adventure.  Greg Pak writes in his afterword that he will use this comic book to explore three different sub-genres within the larger Western genre.  Firefly #1 seems to borrow the well-worn Western sub-genre that involves a wagon train of outcasts slash misfits employing “hired guns” to escort them on a perilous journey.

In this case, the “hired guns” are our heroes from the Serenity.  I'll go with this scenario because this Firefly comic book reminds me of the American Western TV series, “Wagon Train” (1957 to 1965).  I am a fan of this mostly black-and-white series, which focused on a “wagon master” and his employees.  Each episode also detailed the trials and tribulations a guest character or characters (usually portrayed by well-know film and television stars of the day).  Elements of Firefly 2018 also remind me of the 1950 John Ford Western film, Wagon Master, which apparently inspired “Wagon Train.”

I like what I have read in this new Firefly comic book, although I will admit that this story is simply a slight variation on familiar television characters and themes in addition to the elements taken from the “Firefly” TV series and the Serenity film.  Much of Dan McDaid's art for Firefly #1 is unattractive, and the characters' faces are “fugly.”  Still, the art is highly functional, from a graphical storytelling point of view, and the coloring and lettering is good.  So let's see where this goes.

[This volume includes an “Afterword” by Greg Pak and short text pieces from Joss Whedon and Dan McDaid.]

7 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: SPIDER-MAN: Life Story #2

SPIDER-MAN: LIFE STORY No. 2
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Chip Zdarsky
PENCILS: Mark Bagley
INKS: Drew Hennessy
COLORS: Frank D'Armata
LETTERS: Travis Lanham
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Chip Zdarsky
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Michael Cho
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (June 2019)

Rated  “T”

Spider-Man created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee

Spider-Man is a classic Marvel Comics superhero.  Over the years, readers followed the adventures of Spider-man and his secret identity, that of teenager and high school student, Peter Parker.

In 1962, in Amazing Fantasy #15 (cover dated: August 1962), 15-year-old Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and became the Amazing Spider-Man.  Fifty-seven years have passed in the real world since that event.  What would have happened if the same amount of time passed for Peter as well?   Spider-Man: Life Story is a new comic book miniseries that tells the story of Peter Parker and Spider-Man in real time, depicting his life from beginning to end.  Spider-Man: Life Story is written by Chip Zdarsky; drawn by Mark Bagley (pencils) and Drew Hennessy (inks); colored by Frank D'Armata; and letterer Travis Lanham.  “Life Story” is set against the events of the decades through which Spider-Man has lived.

Spider-Man: Life Story #2 opens in sometime in the mid-1970s.  Peter Parker and his wife, Gwen Stacy, visit the grave of Eugene “Flash” Thompson.  Flash, Peter's high school rival and erstwhile friend, was killed in Vietnam War/Conflict.  Peter is in a constant state of existential crisis.  He believes that he and others with great powers should be using their talents and creations to make the world a better place.  Peter still believes that he should have played a part in Vietnam.  But not everyone is feeling Peter's feelings or worldview.  And an old enemy reaches out to touch Peter.

For the last two decades, especially since the beginning of Joe Quesada's reign as Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics (in the year 2000), Marvel has been rebooting, re-imagining, and re-purposing the fictional histories of its comic books.  Maybe, that is a way to introduce classic story lines, story arcs, characters, concepts, etc. to a new readers.  One could say that this also allows older (and old) readers to experience the stories of the past retold to one extent or another.

I don't see Spider-Man: Life Story as a swipe of the fictional history and mythology of Spider-Man.  Instead Chip Zdarsky is representing the conflicts and melodramas that The Amazing Spider-Man and other Spider-Man publications depicted as the life experiences of a character who is aging in “real time.”  These are no longer just the adventures and misadventures and trial and tribulations of a young man and his superhero alter-ego who has been (mostly) no older than his mid-20s for the better part of six decades and is often eternally on the edge of graduating high school.

I am loathe to discuss the Spider-Man moments that Zdarsky represents, but I can say that by the end of Spider-Man: Life Story #2, Peter is 30 or 31.  He no longer has the eternal optimism of youth that will allow him to overlook a clone of himself.  He isn't a teenager or a college student or mid-20s professional who can brush off Spider-Man's darkest moments when it is time for him to play civilian the day after.

Spider-Man: Life Story does not quite take the real world approach to superheroes the way Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen did.  Spider-Man: Life Story #2, however, does take the approach to time and tide – the outward flow of time – that Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross' Marvels does.  No matter how many fantastic things are occurring, the players in this story age.  And life takes its toll.

What Zdarsky and artist Mark Bagley are offering is a chance to see one of the greatest superheroes forced to face his trials as a maturing man and not as an eternal boy or boyish man.  Spider-Man: Life Story #2 tells me that this series is for real.

9 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 reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: JOOK JOINT #1

JOOK JOINT No. 1 (OF 5)
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Tee Franklin
ART: Alitha E. Martinez
COLORS: Shari Chankhamma
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Brenda Wright
COVER: Alitha E. Martinez with Shari Chankhamma.
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mike Hawthorne with Jordie Bellaire
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2018)

Rated M/Mature

Jook Joint is a new comic book series from writer Tee Franklin (Bingo Love) and artist Alitha E. Martinez (Black Panther: World of Wakanda).  The series focuses on a voodoo priestess who is the proprietor of a strange music and social club that resides somewhere outside New Orleans.

Jook Joint #1 opens in the 1950s.  Everyone knows that the hottest spot in all of New Orleans is the Jook Joint, where the jazz is always popping and people keep on a-bobbing.  The women who work in the club are to die for... and men literally die if they don't follow the Jook Joint's only rule:  “Keep your hands to yourself.”  Of course, some men don't believe that rules apply to them, and that is when the Jook Joint's owner, Mahalia, and her coven get to enjoy themselves delivering punishment.

Joint Joint #1 is a timely publication in these times when women are pushing forward and coming out of the dark to tell the truth about the abuse, degradation, and violence that they have faced and continue to face at the hands of (mostly) men.  In an afterword at the end of this first issue, writer Tee Franklin talks about how Jook Joint emerged from her recovery and healing from the years of hurt and pain she experienced in numerous abusive relationships.  Text pieces in Jook Joint #1 offer three phone numbers and two website addresses where abused women and men can seek help after they experience domestic and sexual violence or if they are considering suicide.

Jook Joint #1 does not offer a story so much as it presents an introduction to the world of Mahalia and her Jook Joint.  It is an introduction that glorifies in revenge against and punishment of men who plot domestic and sexual violence against women and of men whose sense of entitlement will lead them to commit wanton acts of sexual violence.  I think the second issue of Jook Joint is where the story will really begin.

Artist Alitha E. Martinez, who was brilliant in Black Panther: World of Wakanda, offers powerful illustrations and graphics in service of this taste of honeyed revenge.  Colorist Shari Chankhamma's old-school, earthy hues recall classic horror comic book coloring, like that found in the Joe Orlando-edited DC Comics titles.

I'm not sure how to describe Taylor Esposito's lettering.  It is like a musical accompaniment, conveying the threats of abusive men while capturing the sly sultriness of the warnings given to those men.  Then, Esposito's lettering blasts out the avante-garde sounds of bloody punishment.

When I was a kid, a “jook joint” was a trashy club owned or frequented by Black folks, where a jukebox filled the club with music that was intermittently interrupted by gunfire.  Jook Joint the comic book ain't trashy, but there will be blood.

9 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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