Comics Review: "WORLD OF ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #136" Revives Two Obscure Features

WORLD OF ARCHIE (JUMBO COMICS) DOUBLE DIGEST #136

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC.

STORY: Ian Flynn; Daniel Kibblesmith; with Mike Pellowski; Bill Golliher; Frank Doyle; and various

PENCILS: Holly G!; Steven Butler; with Stan Goldberg; Bill Golliher; Dan DeCarlo, Jr.; and various

INKS: Jim Amash; Lily Butler; with Bob Smith; Rudy Lapick; James DeCarlo; and various

COLORS: Glenn Whitmore; with Barry Grossman and various

LETTERS: Jack Morelli; with Bill Yoshida

COVER: Dan Parent with Rosario “Tito” Peña

192pp, Color, $9.99 U.S. (March 2024); on-sale January 10, 2024

Rating: All-Ages

“One Shot Worth a Million,” “The Perfect Specimen”

World of Archie (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest is part of “The Archie Digest Library” series.  Debuting in late 2010, World of Archie Double Digest is a mini-trade paperback-like series that features stories reprinted from across the publishing history of Archie Comics.  Sometimes, however, these digests offer original stories.

World of Archie (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest #132 reintroduces three characters from the “Golden Age” of Archie Comics (when it was known as M.L.J. Magazines, Inc.).  These characters return in two new stories.

The first new story is “One Shot Worth a Million.”  It is written by Ian Flynn; drawn by Holly G! (pencils) and Jim Amash (inks); colored by Glenn Whitmore; and lettered by the great Jack Morelli.  It introduces modern versions of two characters.

The first is “Fran Frazer,” who first appeared in MLJ'S Top Notch Comics #9 (cover dated: October 1940).  She was one of those female “roving-reporters” characters, and she roamed the world as a photo journalist.  She had a miniature camera, which she disguised as various fashion accessories, and Fran used it to collect evidence against the wicked and the corrupt.  Fran was usually accompanied by the second reintroduced character, Hal Davis.  The modernized Fran Frazer is a freelance photographer and journalist for “Strife Media.”  The modernized Hal Davis is her romantic rival and is also now an African-American character.

Fran Frazer in “One Shot Worth a Million”:

Why is Archie Andrews skulking around the docks in the dead of night?  Veronica Lodge wants to know.  Well, Archie is assisting freelance photographer and journalist, Fran Frazer, in her investigation of criminal syndicate activity at the docks.  And it involves Lodge Industry, which Veronica's father, Hiram Lodge, owns.

By the way, why is Veronica skulking around the docks?  Well, she is assisting Hal Davis, Fran's (romantic) rival.  Can Archie and Veronica stop bickering in time to help Fran and Hal unmask corruption at the docks?

The second new story is “The Perfect Specimen.”  It is written by Daniel Kibblesmith; drawn by Steven Butler (pencils) and Lily Butler (inks); colored by Glenn Whitmore; and lettered by the great Jack Morelli.

The story reintroduces “Young Dr. Masters,” a physician who engages in dangerous adventures and misadventures to help patients.  The character had his own comic book, The Adventures of Young Dr. Masters, which ran for two issues (cover dated: August and November 1964).  The series was apparently an adaptation of the 1962 novel, Young Doctor Masters (Belmont Books), written by Frank Haskell.  That Frank Haskell is not to be confused with Frank A. Haskell (1828-1864), the author and Union Army officer who served during the American Civil War.  The modernized Dr. Masters is a television doctor and author.

Young Dr. Masters in “The Perfect Specimen”:

During his television show, Dr. Masters announces that he is about to embark on a six-city book tour for his upcoming book, “The Perfect Specimen! Health, Beauty, and You!”  The tour will kick off in Riverdale, where Masters hopes to find the one “local teen” who “truly embodies the spirit of health and beauty.”  That person would be the “perfect specimen” to appear on the book cover and to accompany Dr. Masters on his book tour.

Betty and Veronica each believes that she is the “perfect specimen.”  Thus, begins their latest battle of the beauties, but can these two friends and rivals survive a health and beauty war of attrition?

THE LOWDOWN:  For many years now, Archie's marketing department has been sending PDF copies of some of their titles for review.  World of Archie (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest #132 is the latest.

“One Shot Worth a Million” and the “The Perfect Specimen” exemplify how Archie Comics has perfected the six-page humor story over the last several years.  Archie Comics has always been good at humor short stories and stand-alone tales, as they've been doing it for decades.  However, these new, tight, six-page tales that pepper Archie digests and single-issue anniversary specials are concise in their delivery of a beginning, middle, and end with a substantial plot.  But there is a problem...

Often, I come across six-page stories that would be better served by being at least twice their length.  That is the case with both these stories, but especially with “One Shot Worth a Million.”  Writer Ian Flynn mixes espionage, teen humor, and comic romance with flair in this story, a hybrid with potential that demands to expanded into a longer story.  The art team of Holly G! (pencils) and Jim Amash (inks) certainly have the storytelling chops to keep the humor and comic action humming along for longer than six pages.  Alas, it was not to be.

The rest of World of Archie Double Digest #132 is a mixture of winter-themed tales and high school hijinks, which Archie fans will always welcome.  I should warn you, dear readers.  I will always recommend classic-style Archie Comics.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic-style Archie Comics will want World of Archie Double Digest.

B+

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

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Comics Review: "NOW #12" - If Cannes Gave Out a Palme d'Or for Comics

NOW: THE NEW COMICS ANTHOLOGY #12

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONISTS: Cecilia Varhed; Bhanu Pratap; Cynthia Alfonso; J. Webster Sharp; Kayla E.; Noah Van Sciver; Rahel Suesskind; Francois Vigneault; Tim Lane; Max Clotfelter; Matt Lawton & Peter Bagge

DESIGN: Jacob Covey

EDITOR: Eric Reynolds

COVER: Alex Graham

BACKCOVER: Noah Van Sciver

ISBN: 978-1-68396-695-1; paperback (February 2023)

112pp, Color, $12.99 U.S.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology is an alternative-comics anthology series launched in 2017 and edited by Eric Reynolds.  Now is published by alt-comix and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books.  Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books.  That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology #12 offers a selection of works from thirteen cartoonists and comics creators, as well as a back cover “comics strip” from one of its contributors, Noah Van Sciver.  Now #12, as usual, holds to editor Eric Reynolds' creed (from NOW #1) that this anthology showcase “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”

The contributors list also includes a Leroy favorite, the great Peter Bagge.  But let's take a look at each of Now #12's cartoonists' contributions individually:

THE LOWDOWN:  The illustration that acts as Now #12's cover art is entitled “Untitled,” and is produced by Alex Graham.  Like the cover for Now #11, it looks like something at least partially inspired by the animation seen in late British sketch comedy television series, “Monty Python's Flying Circus” (1969-74).

“Coronation Station” by Cecilia Vårhed:

While riding a commuter train – apparently during the height of the COVID pandemic – a young woman is harassed by a quintet of hipsters who are too cool to wear face masks.  After making them feel guilty, she finds herself invited to an apartment where a “spiritual experience” brings about unpleasant revelations.

Despite its surreal twists, “Coronation Station” captures the tensions of the pandemic.  The lead character is absolutely lovable, and I find that Vårhed has composed this story in a way that makes me feel connected to her lead.  This story is both a fascinating slice-of-life and slice of recent history.  I'd love to see this character again.

Big Head Pointy Nose” by Bhanu Pratap:

A boy with a beak-like nose and mouth feels out of place until... he doesn't.  This 16-page story has a picture book quality.  In fact, Pratap's lavish, rich colors convey a story that embraces both an alt-comix aesthetic and a story book sensibility.

Untitled by Cynthia Alfonso:

This 18-page story reminds me of the animation and production design of the films, Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982) and Heavy Metal (1981).

Untitled by J. Webster Sharp:

If David Cronenberg's nightmare about a ventriloquist's dummy and Tim Burton's dream about doll-making were somehow merged, there would be trouble.  Or we'd get Sharp's visually striking eight-page short story.

“Precious Rubbish” by Kayla E.:

Kayla's nine-page story riffs off old St. John Publications romance comics and religion.  Divided into five vignettes, it plays with childhood trauma and the adult securities inherited from them.  I enjoy Kayla's comix, although they trouble my imagination.  The thing is that Kayla E.'s work exemplifies the experimental, adventurous spirit of Now.

“Mellow Mutt” by Noah Van Sciver:

Yarn-spinning, tale-tellin,' and lies shape this lovely four-page story by Noah Van Sciver, one of my favorite regular contributors to Now.  Set in the halcyon days of the original theatrical release of Jurassic Park (1993), Noah summons pieces of the ghosts of Peanuts and one of those 1980s coming-of-age Hollywood movies.  “Mellow Mutt” epitomizes the crazy imagination of children, and how they can take mass media and make of it what they will.

“Monster Finger” by Rahel Suesskind:

A booger eats a booger.  This colorful throw-back short comix is an absolute delight even if I lack the imagination to adequately describe it to you.

“The Bird is Gone” by François Vigneault:

I first came across the “passenger pigeon,” the extinct species of pigeon that was once the most abundant bird in America, via a “CBS Evening News” segment decades ago.  Vigneault's seven-page comix, “The Bird is Gone,” is a history of the demise of the passenger pigeons in gory and horrific detail.  Ostensibly a historical piece, the aesthetic of “The Bird is Gone” recalls another extinct entity, EC Comics.  Dark and detailed, the story is a damnation and condemnation of Americans' careless appetites and of our appetite for destruction.

“Li'l Stevie” by Tim Lane:

This story is not the first comix in which Lane has used the late actor, Hollywood legend, and screen icon, Steve McQueen, as his subject/muse.  This is story made me do some research, and I was shocked to discover that McQueen had a very troubled childhood (to say the least).

Lane uses the form of the early comic book and style of the “Big Little Book” to detail the horrors of Li'l Stevie's boyhood, with Li'l Stevie being a stand-in for Steve McQueen.  In drawing “Li'l Stevie,” Lane uses the visual style of cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller and his famed comic strip, Nancy.  The result is a spellbinding, heartbreaking tale.  Other than an actual audio-visual recording of McQueen's childhood (which obviously doesn't exist), I don't think anything can convey the loneliness and desperation of an abused Li'l Stevie with more blunt force and brute power than what Tim Lane does here.  This is not genius.  It's fucking genius.

Untitled by Max Clotfelter:

This one-pager, a reminiscence of a comic book fan's experiences with other comic book people, is a delight.  Is there more?  I must have more.

“The Cartoonist” by Matt Lawton and Peter Bagge:

Burt Fisher is a newspaper cartoonist who draws a single-panel comic, “The Ruckus Room,” which he inherited from his late father, who created it.  Fisher hates the strip, and he says that he has been trying to destroy it via his take on the strip.  However, his version of The Ruckus Room has proven to be quite popular with readers.  With deadlines piling up, Burt's editor, Nancy, has hired an assistant to help him.  The young man, named Glen, is about to discover just what a mess Burt Fisher is.

The Ruckus Room is a thinly-veiled version of the classic newspaper comic, The Family Circus, which was created by the late Bil Keane, who drew it until his death.  One of Bil's four sons, Jeff Keane, now writes and draws the strip.  I think “The Cartoonist” is less about The Ruckus Room and more about Burt Fisher, one of those self-absorbed GenX types who ages into a slightly sociopathic curmudgeon.  Matt Lawton and Peter Bagge seem like a perfect pairing, at least I think so and want more.  I've been reading Bagge's comix and comic books for four decades (Lord, help me), and “The Cartoonist” is the pure essence of him.

I usually pick a “best of” entry after each edition of Now that I review, but, as far as Now #12, I can't.  There are five stories here from which I could pick a favorite, but I don't won't to slight any of them by saying, “this one is the best.”  The other stories are experimental and also explore the medium of comics in interesting ways, and even the stories that perplex me also impress me.  Not only does editor Eric Reynolds have a knack for getting acclaimed veteran and star cartoonists to appear in Now, but he also has a golden eye for talent – emerging cartoonists or little seen creatives.

Now #12 – wow, I don't know if I have the words to convey just how impressed I am with this edition.  I'll take the easy way out and say that I'm blown away.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies will want to discover NOW: The New Comics Anthology.

A+

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

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Comics Review: "BATTLE CHASERS ANTHOLOGY" - Best Way to Read Original Series

BATTLE CHASERS ANTHOLOGY

IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Joe Madureira and Munier Sharrieff

PENCILS: Joe Madureira; Adam Warren

INKS: Tom McWeeney with Joe Madureira; Adam Warren

COLORS: Liquid!; Christian Lightner; Aron Lusen; Ryan Kinnaird

LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft

COVER: Joe Madureira with Grace Liu

ISBN:  978-1-5343-1522-8; paperback (September 25, 2019)

32pp, Colors, 24.99 U.S.

Rated “T/ Teen”

Battle Chasers created by Joe Madureira

Battle Chasers is an American fantasy comic book series created by artist Joe Madureira.  Launched in April 1998, the series was sporadically published for nine issues over a period of a little over three years.  Battle Chasers #1 to #4 (cover dated: April to October 1998) were published by Image Comics' studio, Wildstorm Productions, via its “Cliffhanger” imprint.  Issues #5 to 8 (cover dated: May 1999 to 2001) were published by DC Comics via Wildstorm Productions and its “Cliffhanger” imprint.  The series returned to Image Comics for Battle Chasers #9 (cover dated: September 2001).  Although there was some art produced for a Battle Chasers #10, the issue was never published.

Well, Battle Chasers #10 finally arrives June 14th, 2023 (at least 21 years late) albeit with new series artist.  So I decided to go back and reread the original run, and there is a handy way to do that.

Battle Chasers Anthology, originally published in September 2019, collects every Battle Chasers comics story.  That includes Battle Chasers #1 to 9; the eight-page story from Battle Chasers Prelude (cover dated: February 1998); the 10-page story published in Frank Frazetta Fantasy Illustrated (cover dated: Summer 1998); and the Joe Madureira-Adam Warren “Red Monika: Interlude” serial, which was originally published in Battle Chasers #6 and #9.

[This volumes also includes a 21-page sketchbook section; a 10-page pin-up and illustration gallery; and 27-page cover art gallery.]

Battle Chasers takes place in a “steampunk” nineteenth century-type fantasy world.  It focuses on five main characters.  The first is Gully, a ten-year-old girl who possesses a pair of magical gloves left behind by her father, the great warrior, Aramus, who disappeared.  Next is Garrison, a legendary swordsman and grieving widow; he has a powerful magical sword.  Knolan is a powerful 500-year-old wizard.  His companion is Calibretto, a towering “Wargolem,” who is also an outlaw and the last of his kind.

The four join forces to find Gully's father.  They must also stop four extremely powerful villains that were inadvertently released from imprisonment by the fifth main character, Red Monika, a rogue and a voluptuous bounty hunter.  Meanwhile, the legacy of Aramus, the machinations of King Vaneer of the Unified Territories, and the secrets of Knolan begin to poison everything and everyone around them.

THE LOWDOWN:  I was a huge fan of Joe Madureira a.k.a. “Joe Mad” in the 1990s.  I used to call him “the young master” because his talent, abilities, and art seemed to explode every few months into something even better and more beautiful.  I even collected multiple pages of Joe Mad's original art.

So I was ecstatic when his first creator-owned comic book, Battle Chasers, was announced in 1997.  I was so excited about Battle Chasers when it arrived in the spring of 1998 that I also bought one of the variant covers.  I enjoyed the series, but it was a bit hard to follow because … well, because Mad took two and a half years to deliver nine issues.  For instance, there was a 16-month delay between the publication of Battle Chasers #6 (August 1999, DC Comics) and #7 (January 2001, DC Comics).

In the end, Joe Mad abandoned the series to work in the video game industry and went on to co-found a video game company.  Eventually, he did return to Battle Chasers, and Battle Chasers Anthology was published in 2019.

It is through Battle Chasers Anthology that a reader can see how imaginative, inventive, and fun to read Battle Chasers was and is.  Having the series gathered in one book allows a reader to enjoy the series without waiting months or a year-and-half to read each chapter.  The story flows, so the overall narrative comes across as impressive and well-thought out, and except for some wonky names for people, places, and beings and some awkward dialogue, the script writing by Munier Sharrieff is really good.  Engaging plots, interesting character, and surprising cliffhangers make this an exciting and gripping read.  Battle Chasers is a wild gumbo of video games scenarios, Dungeons & Dragons, and anime and manga.  Still, it is original rather than being a pastiche, although on the surface, it might appear to be as such.

To that end, along with the end of his run on Marvel Comics' Uncanny X-Men, Battle Chasers is peak Joe Mad art.  His creature design for this series is still impressive, and there was nothing like it, at least in American comic books, back then.  Battle Chasers' character design is also quite good, simply because none of the lead characters or main supporting and guests character look remotely alike.

Like Tim Townsend did when he inked Joe Mad, Tom McWeeney uses his inks to control the wild energy and eccentricity that showed itself in Mad's comic book art after he left Battle Chasers.  In the 1990s, I thought that there were no better comic book colorists than Liquid Graphics a.k.a. Liquid!  Twenty years later, the studio's work on this comic book still looks amazing.  Even the lettering by Richard Starkings & Comicraft stands out as exceptional – even today.  I'm starting to believe that, in spite of their lateness, Battle Chasers and the other two original Cliffhanger titles were not only peak 1990s mainstream comic books but also a peak in mainstream comic books in general.

I wanted to read Battle Chasers Anthology just in case I decided to read the finally arrived Battle Chasers #10 (Image Comics).  I enjoyed this collection so much that I feel that I have to at least read this new issue.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of artist Joe Madureira and of his former comic book series, Battle Chasers, will want Battle Chasers Anthology.

A

[This volume includes an introduction by Jeph Loeb and an afterword by Joe Madureira.]

[MISC ART: Joe Madureira; Joe Madureira and Tom McWeeney with Liquid!, Joe Maduriera and Alex Garner; Joe Madureira and Vince Russell; Joe Madureira and Richard Starkings; Ed McGuiness and Liquid!; David Finch and Liquid!; Travis Charest and Richard Friend; Ed McGuiness and Jason Martin with Justin Ponsor; Travis Charest and Richard Friend with Liquid!; Joe Chiodo; Adam Warren with Liquid!; Humberto Ramos and Sandra Hope with Liquid!; J. Scott Campbell and Richard Friend with Liquid!.]

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

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Comics Review: "BETTY & VERONICA FRIENDS FOREVER: Game On #1" Goes Virtual Reality

BETTY & VERONICA FRIENDS FOREVER: GAME ON #1

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC.

STORY: Ron Robbins; Bob Bolling; Rex Lindsey; George Gladir

PENCILS: Dan Parent; Howard Bender; Bob Bolling; Rex Lindsey; Pat Kennedy

INKS: Bob Smith; Henry Scarpelli; Bob Bolling; Ken Selig

COLORS: Glenn Whitmore; Digikore Studios

LETTERS: Jack Morelli; Bill Yoshida

EDITORS: Jamie Lee Rotante, Vincent Lavallo, and Stephen Oswald

EiC: Mike Pellerito

COVER: Dan Parent with Rosario “Tito” Peña

32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2023)

Rating: All-Ages

Betty and Veronica in “Sabrina is Be Glitched”

Eternal high school student and teenage boy, Archie Andrews, and his friends made their debut in M.L.J. Magazines' Pep Comics #22 (cover dated: December 1941), and before long, Archie was the publisher's headliner character.  In 1946, the company changed its named to Archie Comic Publications, also known as “Archie Comics.” Two of Archie Comics' main characters are Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, best friends and also rivals in their love for Archie Andrews.

Archie Comics frequently publishes themed one-shot comic books featuring Betty and Veronica.  The latest, apparently the twentieth in the series, is Betty & Veronica Friends Forever: Game On #1 (#20).  It features one new story and three reprint stories.  Entitled “Sabrina is Be Glitched,” the new story is written by Ron Robbins; drawn by Dan Parent (pencils) and Bob Smith (inks); colored by Glenn Whitmore; and lettered by the great Jack Morelli.

Betty and Veronica in “Sabrina is Be Glitched”:

The story features appearances by Sabrina the Teenage Witch and by new Archie Comics characters, Amber Nightstone and Trick & Treat.  “Sabrina is Be Glitched” opens at “Riverdale Arcade.”  Inside, Archie is impressing his pals, Trevor and Sabrina, with his arcade game skills.

Using Trick & Treat and her own magic, Amber transports Archie and friends into a magical MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game).  Now, Betty and Sabrina must launch a bid to save Archie from Amber's tricks.  Veronica, Cassie, Jughead, and Kevin join the virtual reality mayhem.  But is the solution to this trap really about who trusts whom?

THE LOWDOWN:  Archie Comics often sends me PDF copies of their titles for review.  I received Betty & Veronica Friends Forever: Game On #1 about two weeks ago.  [This review has been delayed because thieves have stolen my car and have ransacked my home for my comic book and periodicals collection.]

“Sabrina is Be Glitched” is the brand new story that kicks off Betty & Veronica Friends Forever: Game On #1, which is a collection of tales of video games, digital drama, and virtual reality madness.  “Sabrina is Be Glitched” is not a great story, but it is entertaining.  The story shows that Amber Nightstone can become quite a foil for the Archie Gang.  Also, even this story reveals her potential as a star.  We'll see.

As usual, I must warn you, dear readers.  I will always recommend classic-style Archie Comics titles.  Betty & Veronica Friends Forever: Game On #1 is important because it features another early appearance of characters that can play a big role in the world of Riverdale.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic-style Archie Comics will want Betty & Veronica Friends Forever: Game On #1. 

B

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

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Comics Review: "Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel" is a Great Tribute, Great Read

KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER 50TH ANNIVERSARY SOFTCOVER

MOONSTONE BOOKS

STORY: David Avallone; Jonathan Maberry; Peter David; R.C. Matheson; Kim Newman; Tim Waggoner; Steve Niles; Rodney Barnes; Gabriel Hardman; James Aquilone; Nancy A. Collins; James Chambers

ART: Julius Ohta; Marco Finnegan; J.K. Woodward; Paul McCaffrey; Clara Meath; Szymon Kudranski; Jonathan Marks Barravecchia; Gabriel Hardman; Colton Worley; Warwick Caldwell-Johnson;

COLORS: Zac Atkinson; Szymon Kudranski; Colton Worley; Warwick Caldwell-Johnson;

LETTERS: Tom Napolitano; Tom Napolitano with DC Hopkins

EDITOR: James Aquilone

COVER: Colton Worley

MISC. ART: Jerry Ordway with Zac Atkinson; J.K. Woodward; Dan Brereton

ISBN: 978-1-946346-14-8; paperback (October 21, 2022)

188pp, Color, $24.99 U.S.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel is a 188-page comic book anthology that celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the former ABC television series, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker.”  This graphic novel is edited by James Aquilone and published by Moonstone Books.

“Kolchak: The Night Stalker” was a television series that blended horror, fantasy, and science fiction.  It aired on ABC during the 1974–1975 season for a total of 20 episodes.  The series was preceded by two ABC television movies, The Night Stalker (1972) and The Night Strangler (1973).

The TV series and two movies followed wire service reporter named Carl Kolchak, who was played by the late actor Darren McGavin (1922-2006).  Kolchak worked for the Chicago branch of the Independent News Service (INS), a small news wire service.  He often investigated mysterious crimes and events and they were usually caused by forces, creatures, monsters, entities, etc. that were of supernatural, science fiction, and/or fantastic origins.  Carl Kolchak was created by the late writer, Jeff Rice (1944-2015).

2022 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the debut of “The Night Stalker” TV movie (specifically January 18, 1972).  To commemorate that anniversary, editor and publisher, James Aquilone, launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for an anthology graphic novel telling all-new comics stories that would span Carl Kolchak's entire career as a reporter of the supernatural and as TV’s greatest monster-hunting reporter.

The result was a hugely successful campaign and the eventual release of Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel.  This special 188-page graphic novel is comprised of 12 all-new stories that chronicle the adventures of the intrepid Carl Kolchak from the 1930s to the early 2000s.

The stories are written by a stellar line-up of novelists, television writers, and comic book scribes.  The list includes David Avallone, Rodney Barnes, James Chambers, Nancy A. Collins, Peter David, Jonathan Maberry, and Steve Niles, to name a few.  The artists include Jonathan Marks Barravecchia, Szymon Kudranski, Paul McCaffrey, Julius Ohta, J.K. Woodard, and Colton Worley, to name a few.

THE LOWDOWN:  There is more than one edition of Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel, including one that will contain a series of prose stories featuring Carl Kolchak.  My review will be of the 188-page “Cover A” paperback edition that contains the 12 stories and a short illustration gallery of variant cover art.

First, allow me to gush, dear readers.  If Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel is not the best horror comics anthology of the 21st century that I have read, it is definitely in the top three.  I can't think of a better one that I've encountered over the last twenty-plus years.

It is bracketed by a fine opening story and a pitch-perfect closing story.  The opening tale, writer David Avallone and artist Julius Ohta's “The Funny Place,” introduces a young Carl Kolchak who is coming into his own.  Avallone does not make the mistake of doing what the film, Solo: A Star Wars Story,” did and show us the origins of every single habit for which television viewers and fans would come to know Kolchak.  I'd like to see Avallone and Ohta produce a YA graphic novel expansion of their take on young Carl Kolchak.  I know it likely won't happen, but a fanboy can dream...

The closing story, writer James Chambers and artist Paul McCaffrey's “The Last Byline,” is masterstroke as a concluding story in an anthology.  It recalls Kolchak's debut, The Night Stalker; is a summation of his work and motivation; and is a fitting end … with his boots on.

In between, the writers and artists introduce new spins on the adventures of Carl Kolchak, such as Nancy A. Collins' and Warwick Caldwell-Johnson's “The Sin Feeder” and Jonathan Maberry and Marco Finnegan's “The White Lady.”  Writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jonathan Marks Barravecchia summon the spirit of original “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” episode, “The Zombie,” with the superb “Voodoo Child.”  It is a timely rumination on the pervasive poverty of black and brown inner city neighborhoods and also police violence, with a seeding of George A. Romero's “Dead” films.

I actually cannot pick a personal favorite story from Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel because they are all so damn good.  “The Nest” by Tim Waggoner and Clara Meath may be the sweetest.  I unequivocally endorse Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel.  I think the version that I am reviewing costs $32 to purchase from James Aquilone's Monstrous Books website.  I am sure, dear readers, that some of you have spent much more on reading material that is not nearly as good as this book.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Carl Kolchak and of “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” will very much want Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel.

[This volume includes introductions by R.C. Matheson and James Rice.]

A+

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

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Comics Review: "SAVAGE TALES: Winter Special One-Shot" Has Four Hot Stories

SAVAGE TALES: WINTER SPECIAL ONE-SHOT

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Scott Bryan Wilson; David Avallone

ART: Max Fuchs; Eman Casallos; Mariano Benitez Chapo; Hamish Munro-Cook

COLORS: Gab Contreras; Adriano Augusto; Adrian Woolnough; Jorge Sutil

LETTERS: Taylor Esposito

COVER: Arthur Suydam

32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (December 2022)

Rated Teen+

Savage Tales is the title of an anthology comic book series that has been used by both Dynamite Entertainment and Marvel Comics (twice).  Dynamite recently brought its version back as a series of one-shot comic books.

Savage Tales Winter Special One-Shot contains four short comics stories.  There is a Draculina story, “Juicing with the Devil,” which is written by Scott Bryan Wilson; drawn by Max Fuchs; and colored by Gab Contreras.  Next up is a John Carter & Dejah Thoris story, “A Honeymoon on Mars,” which is written by David Avallone; drawn by Emas Casallos; and colored by Adriano Augusto.  Third is Vampirella story, “Crypt Junkies,” which is written by Wilson; drawn by Mariano Benitez Chapo; and colored by Adrian Woolnough.  Last is a Captain Gullivar Jones story, “His War Chapter II,” which is written by Avallone; drawn by Hamish Munro-Cook; and colored by Jorge Sutil.

All four stories are lettered by Taylor Esposito.  I am reviewing each story separately.

THE LOWDOWN:  Since July 2021, the marketing department at Dynamite Entertainment has been providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Savage Tales Winter Special One-Shot, which is the second time I have read a Dynamite Savage Tales comic book.

Draculina in “Juicing with the Devil” by Scott Bryan Wilson, Max Fuchs, and Gab Contreras:

Story:  A skinny young man is transformed from weakling to muscular strongman – by a demon.  The cost for this is that the transformed human must join his demon benefactor in a wrestling match against Draculina...

My thoughts:  This is a delightful story, very well drawn and colored.  The writer perfectly captures both the desperation and subsequent self-delusion of a guy who finally gets everything he thought he wanted and more.

John Carter & Dejah Thoris in “A Honeymoon on Mars,” by David Avallone, Emas Casallos, and Adriano Augusto:

Story:  An aerial outing sends John and Dejah on a rescue mission, but the result is the revelation of John Carter's savage past – one that is longer than he expected.

My thoughts:  This story is beautifully drawn by Emas Casallos and colored by Adriano Augusto in a way that remind me of stories from issues of old Heavy Metal and Epic Magazine.  Writer David Avallone deftly reconciles or perhaps, redeems John Carter of some of his past military affiliations, with emphasis on one in particular.

Vampirella in “Crypt Junkies” by Wilson, Mariano Benitez Chapo, and Adrian Woolnough:

Story:  Trash TV junkie, Vampirella, has a chance to appear on her favorite reality television series, “Crypt Junkies.”  The show basically breaks into sealed graves, tombs, crypts, etc. in order to “see the wonders inside.”  But maybe no one should be opening the "Grave of Omuo."

My thoughts:  This is another very well drawn story, and it really conveys the power and tragedy of writer Scott Bryan Wilson's clever tale.  I'd call “Crypt Junkies” one of the few original comic book stories that genuinely mixes the styles of Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft.

Captain Gullivar Jones in “His War Chapter II” by Avallone, Hamish Munro-Cook, and Jorge Sutil:

Story:  The story opens in France, September 1918.  The Earth man, Gullivar Jones, who once adventured on Mars, is now returned to Earth and trapped in the muck and mire of World War I.  He can wish himself away from this and return to Mars, but now, how is life on Mars?

My thoughts:  Gullivar Jones is the science fiction military man created by Edwin Lester Arnold.  Jones made one literary appearance in the 1905 novel, Lieut, Gullivar Jones: His Vacation.  Now, writer David Avallone is giving him new life in the medium of comics.  I think what Avallone is doing is creating a sequel to a character that was short-lived, or he is, at least, giving new life to an abandoned character.  In two chapters, he and Munro-Cook have breathed new life into Captain Gullivar Jones in a way that is true to old-timey science fiction and is also an intriguing reboot.  What makes me anticipate more of this is that the possibilities are endless … or at least Avallone and Munro-Cook think so.

Wow.  This issue is full of excellent stories, all well lettered by award-winning letterer, Taylor Esposito.  If I have to reluctantly pick a favorite comics story from Savage Tales Winter Special One-Shot, I will have to make a difficult choice.  I think I will go with “Crypt Junkies,” if only for the fact that it feels like it has potential to be a media franchise, but my eye is also on Gullivar Jones.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of anthology comic books will want to read Savage Tales: Winter Special One-Shot.

A+

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

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Comics Review: "CREEPSHOW #1" is the "Shingo" Show

CREEPSHOW #1 (OF 5)
IMAGE COMICS/Skybound

STORY: Chris Burnham; Paul Dini & Stephen Langford
ART: Chris Burnham; John McCrea
COLORS: Adriano Lucas; Mike Spicer
LETTERS: Pat Brosseau
EDITORS: Alex Antone and Jon Moisan
COVER: Chris Burnham with Adriano Lucas
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Declan Shalvey; Vance Kelly; Robert Hack; Bryan Silverbax; Ivan Tao; Felix Morales; Tone Rodriguez; Joseph Schmalke; Rob Csiki; Skan Srisuwan; John Giang; David Mack; Miguel Zapata; Chinh Potter; Tyler Kirkham; Tony Max; Steven Russel Black; Ciro Nieli; Casey Parsons
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (September 2022)

Rated “M/ Mature”

Creepshow is a new horror comic book anthology series from Image Comics.  It is a TV-tie in to the horror anthology television series, “Creepshow,” that currently streams on “Shudder” and later airs on the cable TV network, “AMC.”  Of course, both the comic book and TV series are descendants of the 1982 horror and comedy film, Creepshow, which was directed by the late George A. Romero and written by Stephen King.  Each issue of Creepshow the comic book will feature different creative teams with uniquely horrifying (and sometimes horrible) standalone stories.

Creephow #1 contains two stories.  The first is “Take One,” which is written and drawn by Chris Burnham and colored by Adriano Lucas.  The second story is “Shingo,” which is written by Paul Dini and Stephen Langford; drawn by John McCrea; and colored by Mike Spicer.  Both stories are lettered by the great Pat Brosseau.  Creepshow's horro host, “The Creep,” narrates the story.

THE LOWDOWN:  I'm going to summarize and review each story separately:

“Take One” by Burnham, Lucas, and Brosseau:
It's Halloween night.  Scaredy-cat Phil is wearing a poorly made mummy costume, and he is trick-or-treating with his asshole friends, Nate and Erik.  They come upon the house of the late Mr. Xander, who apparently died the way he treated his neighbors.  Well, although his house is dark, there is a bowl of full-size candy bars on the porch.  “Take One” says the sign in the bowl, so what will happen if Phil, Nate, and Erik help themselves to more?

I love Halloween stories – prose and comics.  That said, “Take One” is an embarrassment.  The punishment does not fit the crime, and the level of violence is neither comic horror nor scary horror.  I have enjoyed some of Burnham's work (Nameless, Secret Wars: E is for Extinction) in the past, but “Take One” is lame horror trying to pass for clever.

On the other hand, I have to admit that Burnham's art and Lucas' colors are nicely atmospheric.  Too bad it's wasted on a wack-ass story.

“Shingo” by Dini & Langford, McCrea, Spicer, and Brosseau:
As the story opens, Sandy Clark is angry, determined, and desperate to find a party entertainer for her daughter, Fiona's birthday party.  It looks as if Fiona's dad, Tom Clark, has also come up short.  Enter Shingo; he (or it) is the party entertainer with the appetite to make any party unforgettable.

After the fumble of “Take One,” I didn't expect much from “Shingo.”  I know that many consider Paul Dini a “legend” for his work on the 1990s animated TV series, “Batman” a.k.a. “Batman: The Animated Series.”  However, I find his comic book work to be hit or miss or miss or mediocre.  I don't know how the collaboration between Dini and Langford worked, but “Shingo” is brilliant.

It is everything that comic horror or horror comedy should be.  It's crazy, wacky, satirical, farcical, droll, and witty and also have an batty monster.  The title boogey is “Shingo,” who is like a gleefully mean-spirited blend of PBS's “Barney,” the purple dinosaur from PBS' long-running “Barney & Friends” TV series, and a mangy “Teletubby” (from the British PBS import TV series, “The Teletubbies”).  The ending and the final-girl-heroes are the double cherries on top.

Artist John McCrea, a master of blending the comic, the violent, and the horrifying, makes this story sing.  Other artists could make this story work, but not as well as McCrea, who also gets some perfect coloring from Mike Spicer.

“Shingo” saves Creepshow #1, and my grade for this issue reflects “Shingo” and not so much “Take One.”  I think “Shingo” has the potential to be a good horror movie in the vein of director Michael Dougherty's 2015 film, Krampus.  And I would be remiss if I didn't say that Pat Brosseau's lettering throughout this issue is outstanding.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic horror comic book anthologies will want to read Creepshow.

[This comic book includes an afterword by Greg Nicotero, the executive producer of Shudder's “Creepshow.”]

A-

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


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Comics Review: "NOW #11" - Now, That's What I Call Comics

NOW: THE NEW COMICS ANTHOLOGY #11
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONISTS: Theo Ellsworth; Jesse Simpson; Justin Gradin; Tim Lane; Baptiste Virot; Stacy Gougoulis; Natalia Novia & Ariel Lopez V.; Kayla E. Chris Wright; Steven Weissman; Josh Simmons
DESIGN: Jacob Covey
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Daria Tessler
BACKCOVER: Nick Thorburn
ISBN: 978-1-68396-520-6; paperback (March 2022)
128pp, Color, $12.99 U.S.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology is an alternative-comics anthology series launched in 2017 and edited by Eric Reynolds.  NOW is published by alt-comix and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books.  Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books.  That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology #11 offers a selection of fourteen cartoonists and comics creators, as well as a back cover “comics strip” from Nick Thorburn.  NOW #11 holds to editor Eric Reynolds' creed (from NOW #1) that NOW showcases “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”

The contributors list also includes a Leroy favorite, Steven Weissman.  But let's take a look at each of NOW #11's cartoonists' contributions:

THE LOWDOWN:  The illustration that acts as NOW #11's cover art is entitled “Untitled,” and is produced by Daria Tessler.  It looks like something at least partially inspired by the animation in “Monty Python's Flying Circus.”

“Untitled” by Theo Ellsworth:
The NOW regular offers a one-page comic with an impressive display of curvy lines.

“Snub” by Jesse Simpson:
What's with the eyes on the two lead characters, seriously?  I want to say that it has something to do with either emotions or personality.  So after being snubbed (maybe) by fellow party-goer, “Kevin,” two friends talk it out and reveal that it does bother them, although they are also saying it does not.  I like that Simpson creates what seems like a natural conversation.  The characters are talking as much to themselves as to each other.  I want more of this.

“Wounded Candy” by Justin Gradin:
Grover, a garbage man employed by a waste disposal company called, “Talkin' Trash,” and a creature, something I call a “sidewalk spirit,” have an adventure with a celebrity Halloween mask, lots of garbage, and vomited gum.  “Wounded Candy” is the kind of edgy, surreal fantasy that alternative cartoonists produce.  Why draw a Doctor Strange comic book for Marvel that pretends to be “way out there” when you can go “off the beaten path” in many phantasmagoric directions via alt-comics?  [If you say page rate...]  Once again, I say “Encore! Encore!”

“The Junkman” by Tim Lane:
I know Tim Lane's work from Glenn Head's amazing anthology, Hotwire Comics, specifically Hotwire Comics #2.  Lane drew the cover and contributed three stories, “Outing,” “In My Dream,” and “The Aries Crow.”

“The Junkman” takes place in a junkyard.  It features a young man with an instant camera and an older man sitting in the remains of an automobile, a 1955 Chevy Belair.  The young fellow likes to take pictures of junk, and the older dude likes to ponder what could have been.  Lane's art is sort of a combination of Charles Burns and of EC Comics' Al Feldstein and Jack Kamen.  Lane's art looks like it belongs in a 1950s comic book, which makes it the perfect method and medium for a story that laments choosing practicality over risk.

As lovely as the art is, with all its textures and draftsmanship, “The Junkman” is driven by the high-quality of the dialogue and how it evolves this moment in time between two different men.  They are really talking past each other for a time, and then Lane reveals that in their differences, there are connections and familiarity.  “The Junkman” is a tremendous work of comics storytelling.

“Interior Design,” “The Visit,” “Allo?” and “The Great Escape” by Baptiste Virot:
This suite of four stories, which totals seven pages, are surreal exercises concerning the difficulty of escaping one's current situation.  Virot's “clear line” style and flat colors reveal the skills of someone investing in print making.  I wish periodical comic books could support work like this, but alas...

“Mandorla” by Stacy Gougoulis:
I was just talking to a friend about the idiotic things stupid people do for a selfie.  Starting with a failed selfie, “Mandorla” is about the perception of time, possible lives, and especially about how life goes on … after us.  As the story goes down the rabbit hole of time, I found myself drawn into it.  Gougoulis' storytelling is so powerful, I barely escaped.

“Mission: E5” by Natalia Novia & Ariel Lopez V.:
Woodcut art, acid, Jack Kirby, and the last six decades of science fiction films come together in “Mission: E5.”  At the end of the story, we are informed that “Mission: E5” was inspired by the 1917 story, “A la Deriva” (“Adrift”), from author Horacio Quiroga, the influential Uruguayan short story writer (among other things).  I also felt drawn in by this story, and once again, I barely escaped the time-bending surrealism.

“Precious Rubbish” by Kayla E.:
This comic book is another case of adaptation, in this case a combination of old publications, including comic books, and text messages between the cartoonist and her elderly mother.  “Precious Rubbish” is an ordeal to read, but not because it is a terrible work.  It is as if Kayla E. is exorcising some personal demons … that I recognize.  So, this is another excellent entry.

“Monet Coil” by Chris Wright:
This story pits French surrealist Claude Monet and American expatriate and prolific portrait painter, John Singer Sargent, in a battle over a woman.  Monet believes that every moment is a rebirth, but Sargent just wants Monet to stay away from the woman.  Monet and Sargent were apparently real-life homies, but I have not found anything about them fighting over a woman.  However, I enjoyed this philosophical tale, which reminds me of the work of the late great cartoonist, Richard Sala.

“Now” by Steven Weissman:
This story about two women who place a baby in the mouth of a weird breed of cat called a “Qat” unsettles me.  But I'm a fan of Weissman, so I like it.

“Shortcut” by Josh Simmons:
I am still chuckling at this tale of two dopers who come to an ignoble end after taking a shortcut while smoking their weed.  Encore!  Encore!

“Some Guy's Food” by Theo Ellsworth:
This is an effective one-page comic.  I have feeling that someone might exploit this for a YA dystopian prose or graphic novel before the talented Theo Ellsworth does.  Seriously, these are nine panels full of raw comics and graphical storytelling power.

“Untitled” by Nick Thorburn:
This is another weird animal tale, but it is less creepy that Weissman's tale.

NOW #11 may be the best entry in the series since NOW #1, and that is saying a lot.  Not too long ago, I declared NOW #10 to be a series high point.  What The New Yorker is to American single-panel cartoons, NOW is to alternative and art comics.  If I have to pick a best of NOW #11 – and I don't – I'll choose Tim Lane's “The Junkman,” but tomorrow, I could change my mind.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies will want to discover NOW: The New Comics Anthology.

A+

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


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Comics Review: "SAVAGE TALES #1 ONE-SHOT" is Full of the Good Stuff

SAVAGE TALES #1 ONE-SHOT
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Scott Bryan Wilson; David Avallone
ART: Mariano Benitez Chapo; Will Rios; Al Barrionuevo; Hamish Munro-Cook
COLORS: Adrian Woolnough; Dinei Ribero; Jordi Escuin Llorach
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito
COVER: Arthur Suydam
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Liam Sharp; Rafael Kayanan; Arthur Suydam
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (June 2022)

Rated Teen+

Savage Tales is the title of an anthology comic book series that has been used by both Dynamite Entertainment and Marvel Comics (twice).  Dynamite recently brought its version back as a one-shot comic book.

Savage Tales #1 One-Shot contains four short stories.  The first is a Vampirella tale entitled, “Horrible People Doing Horrible Things To Horrible People,” and is written by Scott Brian Wilson; drawn by Mariano Benitez Chapo; and colored by Adrian Woolnough.  Next, is an Allan Quatermain tale, “Missionaries of Madness,” written by David Avallone; drawn by Will Rio; and colored by Dinei Ribero.  The third is a Red Sonja story, “The Executioner's Sword,” written by Scott Brian Wilson; drawn by Al Barrionuevo; and colored by Jordi Escuin Llorach.

The final entry is a Captain Gullivar Jones story, “His War,” written by David Avallone; drawn by Hamish Munro-Cook; and colored by Dinei Ribero.  All four stories are lettered by Taylor Esposito.  I'll review each story separately.

THE LOWDOWN:  Since July 2021, the marketing department at Dynamite Entertainment has been providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Savage Tales #1 One-Shot, which is the first time I have read a Dynamite Savage Tales comic book.

“Horrible People Doing Horrible Things To Horrible People” by Scott Brian Wilson, Mariano Benitez Chapo, Adrian Woolnough, and Taylor Esposito:

Enjoying a drink in a bar, Vampirella meets an interesting fellow drinker who has interesting things to say about horrible people doing horrible thinks to other horrible people.  At least, he thinks its interesting.  Now, Vampirella is about to hand out a lesson in morality.

I Reads You says:  I don't really remember any Vampirella tales from back in the Warren Publications days.  Maybe, I need to buy some back issues.  Anyway, this excellent tale by Scott Brian Wilson apparently recalls the good old days of Vampirella.  The comeuppance Vampirella delivers does remind me of the fate of characters in the few original Warren comics short stories that I have read.  Wilson offers enough brutality to make a reader feel pity for a man who likely does not deserve any, which I think makes this tale a winner. Mariano Benitez Chapo's smooth art gives the story a sense of impact; he makes the punishment mean something.

“Allan Quatermain and the Missionaries of Madness” by David Avallone, Will Rio, Dinei Ribero, and Taylor Esposito:

It is Durban, Africa, year 1883.  The legendary big game hunter, Allan Quatermain, has come across a massacred village, and he knows who the culprits are.  They call themselves “Servants of the Great Old Ones,” but they don't know that they are Quatermain's latest big game.  Will his search for these “murderous missionaries, however, lead Quatermain to his own doom?

I Reads You says:  Of course, Allan Quatermain is author H. Rider Haggard's (1856-1925) fictional big game hunter.  Writer David Avallone's idea of bringing Quatermain into the realm of H.P. Lovecraft's domain is actually a good one, and I hope to see more.  Will Rio's art and storytelling make “Missionaries of Madness” seem more like a Western than an African-set tale.  This is also a welcomed bit of newness.

“The Executioner's Sword” by Scott Brian Wilson, Al Barrionuevo, Jordi Escuin Llorach, and Taylor Esposito:

Upon passing through a village, Red Sonja discovers that the local executioner has a very special sword which he uses to kill the condemned.  But which, the executioner or his weapon, is cursed with an insatiable hunger?

I Reads You says:  It is easy to create a good Red Sonja comics short story because the character is so special and has existed for so long that these stories practically write themselves.  It is not easy to create a great Red Sonja comics short story; I know this because I have read enough to know.  On writer Scott Brian Wilson's part, “The Executioner's Sword” is great story and an excellent piece of story craftsmanship in forging a morality tale in which the “She-Devil with a Sword” seems merciful and just rather than vengeful – which she often is.

Al Barrioneuvo's moody art conveys the sense of malaise and doom that hangs over the village in which the story is set.  Barrioneuvo pulls off a rarity.  He creates a Red Sonja who is different in spirit from every other Sonja, and that is something, indeed.

“His War” by David Avallone, Hamish Munro-Cook, Dinei Ribero, and Taylor Esposito:

Once upon a time, Captain Gullivar Jones was swashbuckling his way across Mars.  Now, he is back on Earth and in the pit of the Great War (World War I).  Is this return to Earth Gullivar's new beginning, and is it something he really wants?

I Reads You says:  Captain Gullivar Jones is the science fiction military man created by Edwin Lester Arnold (1857-1935).  By bringing Jones back to Earth to fight humanity's war, writer David Avallone creates the idea that his lead character needs healing and redemption.  Beyond that, I can't say much.  “His War” is more like a taste of a larger work, and this taste makes me think that the story could work as a graphic novel, prose novel, or even as an intriguing screenplay.  Hamish Munro-Cook's art and graphical storytelling thoroughly sells the idea of man now grounded from his former fantastic realities.

If I have to reluctantly pick a favorite comics story in Savage Tales #1 One-Shot, it is a difficult choice.  I think I will go with “The Executioner's Sword,” which is the most genuinely emotional and, dare I say it, human story of this publication.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of anthology comic books will want to read Savage Tales #1 One-Shot.

[This comic book includes “Dynamite Dispatch” July 2022, which features an interview with writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson about his new James Bond comic book series.]

A

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


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Review: "THE FRENCH DISPATCH" is Ultimate Wes Anderson

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 of 2022 (No. 1826) by Leroy Douresseaux

The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun (2021)
Running time:  107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPA – R for graphic nudity, some sexual references and language
DIRECTOR:  Wes Anderson
WRITERS:  Wes Anderson; from a story by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Hugo Guinness
PRODUCERS:  Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, and Steven Rales
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robert Yeoman (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Andrew Weisblum
COMPOSER:  Alexandre Desplat

COMEDY/DRAMA/ANTHOLOGY with elements of fantasy

Starring:  Jeffrey Wright, Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Lea Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Liev Schreiber, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Winston Ait Hellal, and Owen Wilson and Anjelica Huston

The French Dispatch (full title: The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun) is a 2021 comedy-drama and anthology film from writer-director Wes Anderson.  The film focuses on the French foreign bureau of a Kansas newspaper and the features magazine it produces.

The French Dispatch introduces Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray).  When he was a college freshman, he convinces his father, the owner of the newspaper, the “Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun,” to fund his transatlantic trip.  Junior would in turn produce a series of travelogue columns, which would be published for local readers in the Evening Sun's magazine supplement “Sunday Picnic.”  Arthur, Jr. sets up shop in the (fictional) French town of Ennui-sur-Blasé.  Over the next decade, young Arthur assembles a team of the best expatriate journalists of the time.  In 1925, he transforms the Sunday Picnic into the weekly magazine, “The French Dispatch” (something like The New Yorker).

In 1975, fifty years after he left Kansas, Arthur Howitzer, Jr. dies suddenly of a heart attack.  Although it has half a million subscribers in 50 countries, as per his will, The French Dispatch will immediately cease publication following the release of a farewell issue that will feature Arthur's obituary and four articles by magazine's best writers:

In “The Cycling Reporter,” Herbsaint Sazerac (Owen Wilson) gives a sight-seeing tour.  It is “a day in Ennui over the course of 250 years” and demonstrates how much and yet how little has changed in Ennui over time.

In “The Concrete Masterpiece,” J.K.L. Berensen (Tilda Swinton) delivers a lecture at an art gallery.  She details the career of Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio del Toro), a mentally disturbed artist serving a sentence in the Ennui Prison-Asylum for murder and the two most important people in his lives.  The first is Simone (Lea Seydoux), a prison officer who becomes Moses' lover and his muse.  Moses paints a portrait of Simone, and that second important person, Julien Cadazio, an art dealer also serving a sentence for tax evasion, is immediately taken by the painting.  After buying the painting, Cadazio uses it to turn Moses into an international sensation.  However, Moses struggles with inspiration, and his relationship with Simone becomes complicated.

In “Revisions to a Manifesto,” Lucinda Krementz (Frances McDormand) reports on a student protest breaking out in the streets of Ennui, one that soon boils over into the “Chessboard Revolution.”  Krementz fails to maintain “journalistic neutrality” when she falls in love with Zeffirelli (Timothée Chalamet), a college boy who is the self-styled leader of the revolt.  She secretly helps him write his manifesto, but Juliette (Lyna Khoudri), a fellow revolutionary who has some feelings for Zeffirelli, is unimpressed with his manifesto – thus, creating a love triangle.

In “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner,” Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) is the guest of a television talk show host (Liev Schreiber).  Wright recounts the story of his attending a private dinner with The Commissaire (Mathieu Amalric) of the Ennui police force.  The meal is prepared by the legendary police officer and chef, Lt. Nescaffier (Stephen Park).  Nescaffier is the creator of a kind of “haute cuisine” specifically designed to be eaten by police officers while they are working.  The dinner is disrupted when the Commissaire's inquisitive and bright son, Gigi (Winston Ait Hellal), is kidnapped and held for ransom by a large gang of criminals, led by a failed musician known as “The Chauffeur” (Edward Norton).

They mourn his death.  Now, the staff of The French Dispatch must put together a final issue with these four stories that Arthur Howitzer Jr. touched in some way?

The French Dispatch has been described as a film that is “a love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional twentieth century French city.”  The film presents four of the magazine's stories of the city.  Director Wes Anderson has apparently stated that this film is inspired by his love of the venerable weekly magazine, The New Yorker, and that some of the film's characters and events are based on real-life equivalents from that magazine.  During The French Dispatch's closing credits, there is a dedication to several writers and editors, many of whom wrote for The New Yorker.

To that end, The French Dispatch is a movie that celebrates magazine writers, illustrators, and editors and the stories they tell.  This film is a love letter to stories of local color and of locales written for magazines.  The film demands patience and attention on the part of the audience.  The French Dispatch is a hybrid.  It is an anthology of four main stories and of a few small chapters, although everything connects in the end.  The audience has to follow each of the main stories, paying attention from beginning to the end.  That is where the pay off comes.

In fact, each of the main stories seems like one thing in the beginning, but fully develops over the course of the narrative in something different.  At the end of each, I realized that the story was about wonderful characters living lives both ordinary and extraordinary.  In the extraordinary, Anderson gives us a reason to love what is so ordinary and human about them.

This is brilliant character writing on Anderson's part.  His gift is to make not only the lead and supporting characters fascinating, but he also makes even the characters who say little and the extras seem worth knowing – even when the narrative passes them by.  To that end, I think Roebuck Wright is the character that ties all the characters and stories together.  He is the narrator/writer of “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner,” the final story.  Both his first meeting and final conversation with Bill Murray's Arthur coalesces the film's theme of expatriate writers, and he begins Arthur's obituary, which also brings together the film's shifts in time.  It would have been nice to see Wright receive a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his work here, but The French Dispatch did not receive any Oscar nominations.

The film's production values:  art direction and production design, costumes, and cinematography all meet the wonderfully inventive and incredibly imaginative standards that audiences have come to expect from Wes Anderson's films.  The French Dispatch looks like no film I have ever seen.  Even Alexandre Desplat's score sounds like something entirely new in film music.  I described Anderson's 2014 film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, as Wes Anderson art for Wes Anderson's art sake.  The French Dispatch is Wes Anderson high art.

9 of 10
A+

Thursday, March 17, 2022


NOTES:
2022 BAFTA Awards:  3 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Milena Canonero); “Original Score” (Alexandre Desplat), and “Best Production Design” (Adam Stockhausen and Rena DeAngelo)

2022 Black Reel Awards:  1 nomination: “Outstanding Supporting Actor” (Jeffrey Wright)

2021 Cannes Film Festival:  1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (Wes Anderson)

2022 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Alexandre Desplat)


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Comics Review: ThoughtScape Comics #1

THOUGHTSCAPE COMICS #1
MATT MAIR LOWERY

[UPDATE: ThoughtScape Comics 2024 Kickstarter campaign is now live.]

STORY: Matt Mair Lowery
ART: Dave Law; Tyrell Cannon; Lisa Naffziger; Karl Slominski
COLORS: Dave Law; Tyrell Cannon; Lisa Naffziger; Karl Slominski
LETTERS: Dave Law; Tyrell Cannon; Lisa Naffziger; Karl Slominski
DESIGN: John Larson
COVER: Jenna Cha
44pp, Color, $8.00 U.S. (digital), $15.00 U.S. (print)

ThoughtScape Comics is new science fiction anthology comic book series from writer Matt Mair Lowery.  Lowery is the writer and co-creator with artist Cassie Anderson of Lifeformed, a YA science fiction graphic novel series published by Dark Horse Comics.

Lowery has stated that each issue of ThoughtScape Comics will contain 44+ pages of content, featuring stories written by Lowery and drawn by up-and-coming comic book artists.  Some of the stories will be self-contained and others will be part of a serial.  Multimedia artist, John Larsen, will provide the graphic design and packaging for each issue.

ThoughtScape Comics #1 contains four stories.  Lowery is joined by artists Dave Law, Tyrell Cannon, Lisa Naffziger, and Karl Slominski.  Two stories are apparently serials, and the other two are standalone stories.

ThoughtScape Comics is set in a world in which humanity's first multi-planet conglomerate, LifeTech, discovered the “ThoughtScape” in the late 21st century.  The ThoughtScape is a fifth dimension where every thought that has ever been thought exists.  Using technology of its own innovation, LifeTech began isolating and monitoring these thoughts (via “ThoughtScape Listening Posts").

Later, LifeTech began capturing and recording these thoughts through Thought & Information Service Collection Officers (TISCOs).  Eventually technological advancements allowed that the entire “ThoughtLives” of both living individuals and of the long-dead could be virtually reconstructed and played back through a variety of media formats.  The stories of ThoughtScape Comics will focus on the designs and intentions of LifeTech; the nature of ThoughtScape; and how people and beings connect, react, and exist with both.

THE LOWDOWN:  For the review of ThoughtScape Comics #1, I will offer comments on each of the four stories individually.

The first story is “Thoughtscape 2319: Parish, The Thought . Part 1,” the first part of a serial.  It is written by Lowery and drawn by Dave Law.  The story takes place at the edges of the galactic frontier in the year 2319.  Week 32.4, Thought & Information Service Collection Officer (TISCO) Odessa Query patrols her beat, currently the Hen 3-593 Di Chamaelontis System – 700 light years from Earth.

Her TISCO ship collects thoughts from ThoughtScape Listening Post Di.Cha.036, while she entertains her ship's neurocorder, Feyla.  Query prepares to move on to her next assigned Listening Post when she is diverted to an ongoing disaster.

Because of its cliffhanger ending, I am excited to read more of this story, especially because Lowery teases something awesome and awful coming to scare us, dear readers.  Dave Law's drawing style is perfect for science fiction comic books, and the design of the characters and the technology are convincing.  I also like Law's impressive title page drawing (for which I wouldn't mind having the original art).

The second story is “A Spy Without A face,” illustrated by Tyrell Cannon.  The story pits a mysterious “spy without a face” against a pack of assassins who have broken into a mysterious LifeTech facility.  Both sides get more than they bargained for in this black and white tale.

Cannon's graphical storytelling is high-speed and hyper-kinetic with the graphic design sensibilities of science fiction anime and manga.  Lowery's story allows Cannon to draw an explosive tale that is visceral and thrilling.  I'd like to see another Lowery-Cannon creation, and this story also made me seek out more information about Tyrell Cannon.

[Art by Tyrell Cannon for the story, "A Spy Without A face."]

The third story is “Adorable Orphans,” written by Lowery and drawn and colored by Lisa Naffziger.  Sally, an elementary school-age girl, loves her “Grammie,” her grandmother.  Her parents seem to despise the old woman, and they are particular about the things to which Grammie exposes Sally.

One day, Sally gets a package from Grammie.  Inside is the season’s hottest toy trend, one of LifeTech’s “Adorable Orphan android dolls” (also called a “DollDroid”).  The girl DollDroid's name is Betty, and she is a great friend for Sally, but everyone else better watch out.

“Adorable Orphans” is by far the best story in ThoughtScape Comics #1.  It is straight-forward, but Lowery is sly and sneaky in the way he surprises the readers in unexpected ways.  For instance, Sally's parents are both snobby and vulgar.  What's going on with Grammie?  And there is certainly more to Sally than what appears on the surface.

Lisa Naffziger's compositions and coloring are more alt-comics than children's comics, although I can understand why some people would see her work as the latter.  Lowery and Naffziger have created in “Adorable Orphans” a concept that could live on its own outside the world of ThoughtScape Comics.  If I were in Hollywood film and television production, I'd swoop in and buy the media rights for “Adorable Orphans” away from the rest of this package.

The fourth and final story is “Ex Post Facto: A Dash Varrick Misadventure . Part 1.”  A press release from Lowery describes the story in the following way:

XXXX#$%@&*!(AGAIN)))...Murder and music at the fringes of the revolution! he’s just a drop in the Co- maXYxXc o p y X > P A S T E Y # % Z o n e , - - h e ’ s - - y o u & M E m e M E . h e ’ s d - d - d a s h D A S H .tooLATEagaFILEretrieveERRORERR.accessing…

The art by Karl Slominski has elements that remind me of David Mack, especially, and of Bill Sienkiewiz, a little.  Otherwise, I have no idea what's going on with this story.

Overall, I like ThoughtScape Comics #1.  It presents such an expansive science fiction concept with a universe of possibilities as big as anything offered by the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises.  I hope a lot of comic book readers get behind the project and financially support it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of science fiction anthology comic books (such as 2000 AD) will want to try ThoughtScape Comics.

A-

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


https://twitter.com/mattmlpdx
https://www.mmlcomics.com/thoughtscape-comics
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattmlpdx/thoughtscape-comics-1
https://twitter.com/TCannonComics
https://twitter.com/lisanaffziger
https://twitter.com/KarlSlominski
https://www.instagram.com/itsdavelaw/
https://twitter.com/kale_satan
https://johnlarsen.net/


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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