Showing posts with label Indie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indie. Show all posts

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Comics Review: "GEEK-GIRL #12" Breaks Out the Break-In

GEEK-GIRL, VOL. 2 #12
MARKOSIA ENTERPRISES, LTD.

STORY: Sam Johnson
ART: Carlos Granda
COLORS: Chunlin Zhao
LETTERS: Paul McLaren
COVERS: Carlos Granda with Chunlin Zhao; Flinn Douglas with Carlos Granda
24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2023)

Rated T+ / 12+ only

Geek-Girl created by Sam Johnson

“Identity Crisis” Part 2: “Skin and Bones, Waifs and Strays”

Created by Sam Johnson, Geek-Girl is a comic book character that debuted in the 2016 Geek-Girl miniseries,  She returned in a second miniseries, 2018's Geek-Girl Vol. 2, which subsequently became an ongoing series.  Geek-Girl Vol. 2 is written by Sam Johnson; drawn by Carlos Granda; colored by Chunlin Zhao; and lettered by Paul McLaren.

Geek-Girl focuses on Ruby Kaye of Acorn Ridge, Maine, a sexy and popular college coed who inadvertently becomes a superhero.  Ruby dons a pair of super-tech eye glasses that give her super-powers.  Ruby's BFF, Summer James, then talks her into trying to be a superhero, even providing her with a moniker.  Now, Ruby is Maine's newest superhero, “Geek-Girl.”

Geek-Girl Vol. 2 #12 (“Skin and Bones, Waifs and Strays”) opens at “Snakeskin's Bar.”  Chromex and Dog Woman, friends of the captured costume, Pig Head, have approached Digger Mensch and Terry the Super-Porter.  One of them, Chromex, makes Digger a lucrative offer for the whereabouts of Pig Head – a big payday.  Meanwhile, Pig Head is getting to know Rosebud and Joe Cyborg.

Ruby returns to headquarters, struggling to understand what happened to her, but her conversation with The Minger is interrupted when the League of Larcenists invades the headquarters.  Should Ruby help with the response to this assault or go after the person who has stolen her identity and a lot more.

THE LOWDOWN:  Geek-Girl creator-writer Sam Johnson regularly sends me PDF review copies of the latest issues of Geek-Girl, and has been doing so for several years.  I enjoy reading about Geek-Girl and her (mis)adventures.  I like this comic book enough to believe that encouraging you to give this series a try, dear readers, is one way I can contribute something good to the comic book industry.

Geek-Girl #12 carries over threads from Geek-Girl #11 and the recent release, Fake Geek-Girl #1.  Writer Sam Johnson packs most issues with a lot of characters, which can sometime put a drag on the pace of the narrative, as it does here, but only a little.  Sam is an imaginative writer and his stories, in a deceptively quiet way, are riveting.  He captures the spirit of Silver and Bronze Age superhero team comic books like Marvel Avengers and DC Comics' Justice League.  The difference is that Sam captures the eccentricities of both the superheroes and their civilian identities, where as the earlier comic books focus on the weirdness of the superheroes.

Artist Carlos Granda is quite good at capturing facial expressions and the quirkiness and oddness in the way people act in relationship to emotions and speech.  Granda's graphical storytelling and compositions capture both the unique nature of Sam Johnson's world and the classic comic book sensibilities of Geek-Girl.  All of this really shows under Chunlin Zhao's excellent colors and Paul McLaren's lettering.

Geek-Girl #12 is like the series as a whole, endlessly charming and constantly beguiling.  I always want to read this series, and issue #12 makes me hungry for more.  I don't know if Johnson wants to make Geek-Girl a monthly comic book, but, dear readers, I wish for that.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of lovable superheroes will find an all-around winner in Geek-Girl.

A

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


Geek-Girl #12 can be ordered via Indy Planet at https://www.indyplanet.com/geek-girl-12.

You can get more information about Geek-Girl here or at https://samjohnsoncomics.wixsite.com/geekgirlcomics.

Information about the Kickstarter for Geek-Girl issues #13 and 14 is available here or at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geekgirlcomics/geek-girl-identity-crisis.


https://twitter.com/daSamJohnson
https://twitter.com/Markosia
https://twitter.com/Markosia_News
https://markosia.com/


The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like this, MOVIES PAGE, and BUY something(s).


Saturday, February 17, 2024

Comics Review: "FAKE GEEK-GIRL #1" - How to Spot a Fake or Be One

FAKE GEEK-GIRL #1
MARKOSIA ENTERPRISES, LTD.

STORY: Sam Johnson
ART: Carlos Granda
COLORS: Chunlin Zhao
LETTERS: Paul McLaren
COVER: Carlos Granda with Chunlin Zhao
VARIANT COVER: Narcelio Sousa with Chunlin Zhao
24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2024)

Rated T+ / 12+ only

Geek-Girl created by Sam Johnson

“Identity Crisis”: “Geek-Girl, Interrupted”

Created by Sam Johnson, Geek-Girl is a comic book character that debuted in the 2016 Geek-Girl miniseries,  She returned in a second miniseries, 2018's Geek-Girl Vol. 2, which subsequently became an ongoing series.  Geek-Girl Vol. 2 is written by Sam Johnson; drawn by Carlos Granda; colored by Chunlin Zhao; and lettered by Paul McLaren.

Geek-Girl focuses on Ruby Kaye of Acorn Ridge, Maine, a sexy and popular college coed who inadvertently becomes a superhero.  Ruby dons a pair of super-tech eye glasses that give her super-powers, and she becomes Maine's newest superhero, “Geek-Girl.”  Now, the super-villain, Identity Thief, has tapped into Geek-Girl's mind and taken on her physical form in order to become “Fake Geek-Girl.”

Fake Geek-Girl #1 (“Geek-Girl, Interrupted”) opens as Ruby's best-frenemy, Karin Carpenter, arrives at “Rock” nightclub with her latest boy-toy, Alex.  Before long, she is greeting acquaintances Jools, Estelle, and Howard.  Her most important conversation, however, is with Danny about Ruby.  So which is the real Geek-Girl?  Which is the Fake Geek-Girl?

THE LOWDOWN:  Geek-Girl creator-writer Sam Johnson regularly sends me PDF review copies of the latest issues of Geek-Girl, and has been doing so for several years.  A recent arrival is Fake Geek-Girl #1.

Fake Geek-Girl #1 takes place between Geek-Girl #11 and Geek-Girl #12.  It is both a standalone comic book, and it is also part of Geek-Girl #11 Deluxe.  Fake Geek-Girl #1 is necessary for regular Geek-Girl fans because the “Previously:” segment on the inside front cover gives a detailed synopsis about the state of the narrative and how Fake Geek-Girl came to be.

This issue is produced by the regular creative team, so it fits quite well.  Honestly, “Geek-Girl, Interrupted” isn't as strong a chapter as the ones in the main series, but it quite enjoyable.  Also, I find that one needs to read everything Geek-Girl, dear readers.  The first reason is because it is necessary, and the second reason is because Geek-Girl comics are super-duper good.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the lovable Geek-Girl will want to read Fake Geek-Girl.

B+

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


Geek-Girl #11 Deluxe is a great jump-on point for the Geek-Girl series: containing all the content from Geek-Girl #11 (“Identity Crisis”: Part 1) and Fake Geek-Girl #1-Shot (also available as its own comic).  You can buy it here or at https://samjohnsoncomics.wixsite.com/geekgirlcomics/geek-girl-11-deluxe

Kickstarter for Geek-Girl issues #13 and #14 are part of a crowdfunding campaign here or at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geekgirlcomics/geek-girl-identity-crisis

Buy Geek-Girl comic books here or at https://www.indyplanet.com/?s=geek-girl


https://twitter.com/daSamJohnson
https://twitter.com/Markosia
https://twitter.com/Markosia_News
https://markosia.com/


The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).


Thursday, January 18, 2024

Comics Review: "KONI WAVES" Crests on Cool Characters and Inventive Elements

KONI WAVES
HAUNTED PIZZA LLC/ARCANA STUDIOS

STORY: Mark Poulton
SCRIPT: Mandy Summers
ART: Renzo Rodriguez
COLORS: Dexter Weeks
LETTERS: Dexter Weeks
COVER: Renzo Rodriguez with Ink Spots
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Irene Strychalski; Chris Graves
ISBN: 979-8-987-45314-8; paperback (November 2023)
56pp, Color, $25.00 U.S.

Koni Waves created by Mark Poulton, Stephen Sistilli, and Dexter Weeks

Koni Waves is an independent supernatural horror comic book that was published as a series of miniseries and one-shots from 2006 to 2010 by Arcana Studio.  Created by Mark Poulton, Stephen Sistilli, and Dexter Weeks, Koni Waves focused on Koni Kanawai, a female detective in Honolulu, Hawaii, who specialized in supernatural cases.

Koni Kanawai returns in a new original graphic novel, entitled Koni Waves, that was crowdfunded on Indiegogo last year and was published late last year (2023). The new graphic novel is written by Mark Poulton (story) and Mandy Summers (script); drawn by Renzo Rodriguez; and colored and lettered by Dexter Weeks.  In this new story, Koni becomes involved in a complicated murder case that involves supernatural scheme and conspiracy.

Koni Waves opens with Koni Kanawai rescuing her pal, Pete, from the vampires(!) of Black Bear Cove, but that adventure is easy compared to what is coming.  Koni's father, James Kanawai, a detective with the HPD, wants Koni to try to get back on the force.  Koni, who was suspended apparently after running afoul of Internal Affairs, is willing to give that a try.

Later, at her favorite watering hole, Koni learns that District Attorney Choi believes that he has convicted the wrong man, Danny Snyder, of the murder of Felicity Andrews, an exotic dancer and former associate of Koni's.  Taking on the case, Koni contacts Krystal, another dancer and former associate of Felicity's.  After snooping around, Koni comes to believe that a local power broker, Prince Hopohopo, is connected to the Felicity Andrews case.  However, Koni will discover that this case involves Hawaii's darkest secrets and its edgiest supernatural and spiritual past.

THE LOWDOWN:  A few years ago, I came across the Twitter feed of a Mexican comic book artist named Renzo Rodriguez.  From the first of examples of his art I saw, I thought he was very talented, but because I had never heard of him previously, I assumed Renzo was a new talent.  I would later learn that Renzo was a veteran talent who had been drawing professionally for a long time, including for Zenescope Entertainment.

Last year, I learned that Renzo would be the artist for a crowdfunded project, entitled Koni Waves, so I quickly contributed.  I did not know that Koni Waves was a comics property with a history, so I did not know what to expect.  Now, having read and received this original graphic novel, I am glad that I contributed to the campaign.

Renzo is obviously influenced by legendary comic book artist Art Adams.  Some artists who were influenced by Adams (such as J. Scott Campbell and Rob Liefeld) picked up on Adams' stylish flourishes.  However, what Renzo seems to have taken from Adams is the ability to compose complex, multi-panel pages that allows a story to be told in detail without going into overdrive with decompression.  Most of Renzo's pages have at least seven panels of varying size, and Renzo composes detailed backgrounds and environments in a way that compares to the work of set decorators for film and television.  Renzo makes the world of Koni Waves feel lived-in, like a real place.

All those panels on each page allows scripter Mandy Summers to flesh out Mark Poulton's character-rich story in a way that conveys motivation and personality, plot and mythology, and action and drama.  Summers makes Koni Waves read like an actual graphic novel in a way that so-called graphic novels (trade paperbacks) three times its size do not.

Dexter Weeks' precise, rich colors capture the curves, shapes, and contours of Renzo's figure drawing.  Those colors make every character seem alive and, in the case of some, seem quite sexy, and they also make the art pop on the page.  In addition, Weeks' lettering finds plenty of space for Summers' dialogue, so that nothing is crowded out.

I like Koni Waves, and I'd like to see more of Koni and her closest allies and most dangerous adversaries.  This comic book scratches the surface of Koni Waves' supernatural skin, but the freaks want to come out.  So I say let them out with more Koni Waves.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of supernatural and occult detective comics will want Koni Waves.

A

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


https://www.hauntedpizzallc.com/
https://twitter.com/hauntedpizzallc
https://twitter.com/KoniWaves
https://twitter.com/renzo_rocomic
https://twitter.com/WartTheWizard
https://www.instagram.com/hauntedpizzallc/
https://www.youtube.com/c/PrimetimePoulton


The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Friday, October 6, 2023

Comics Review: "ECTYRON VS. DES MOINES" is a Delightful and Edgy Original Graphic Novel

ECTYRON VS. DES MOINES
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/Warning Comics

STORY/ART: Carter Allen
DIALOGUE: John Ira Thomas
LETTERS: John Ira Thomas
COVER: Tyler Sowles
BACK COVER: Will Grant
MISC ART: Jeremy Smith
ISBN: 2370001579941; paperback (July 2023)
68pp, Color, $10.00 U.S.

Comic book writer-artist and graphic novelist, Carter Allen, has been publishing a series of comic books and graphic novels featuring a “kaiju” character known as “Ectyron! The Radioactive Chicken!”  Candle Light Press and Allen's Warning Comics have previously published several Ectyron comic books:  Ectyron Against Lagaxtu (2017), Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss (2018), and Ectyron: The Invasion from the Red Star Nebula (2019), as well as the Ectyron Omnibus Vol. 1 (2022).

Ectyron is back on the attack in the recently released original graphic novel, Ectyron vs. Des Moines.  It is written, drawn, colored, and lettered by Allen, with dialogue written by John Ira Thomas.

All three Ectyron comics employ particular elements of various Japanese science fiction sub-genres.  “Kaiju” is a term used to describe a genre of Japanese films that feature giant monsters, and the term is also used to describe the giant monsters themselves.  [Godzilla is an example of a kaiju.]  In this case, Ectyron is a giant-sized chicken.  This series also includes elements of “tokusatsu,” also known as “mecha” or giant robot superheroes.  [“Power Rangers” are an example of “tokusatsu.”]

Ectyron vs. Des Moines opens in Des Moines, Iowa.  The state's most populous city and its state capital is about to experience a most unnatural natural phenomenon.  The other-dimensional conqueror, Angerine, arrives, and his weapon of choice is a box that can multiple into other boxes called “Monks.”  The Monks are connected like a titanic Medusa, and even Ectyron struggles against them.  Can the new musician-superhero, Madam Madamn, help stem the tide of Des Moines' destruction?  Or is it over before it started?

THE LOWDOWN:  I have been receiving review copies of Carter Allen's comic books and graphic novels for almost two decades.  We are also collaborating on an upcoming graphic novel, but I am happy to see that he is still creating new Ectyron comics.

Allen uses watercolors to produce his art and storytelling in Ectyron vs. Des Moines, and that gives the story a tone that is decidedly different from previous entries in the Ectyron series – at least to me.  The story seems more consequential.  The previous stories were playful monster comic books that recalled Japanese kaiju fiction, Marvel Comics' monster comics for the 1950s and 60s, and Marvel's early superhero comics like Fantastic Four.

Ectyron vs. Des Moines is very much in the pulpy, sci-fi, Japanese roots of its predecessors, but I find it more thoughtful about what comes after the thunder and lightning of monster fights.  The battles are more difficult for the heroes, and saving-the-day comes with high costs and damage that cannot be reversed.  The villains are excellent, and the kooky Monks are inventive, imaginative, and quite lovely.  John Ira Thomas, a frequent collaborator of Allen's, offers pitch perfect dialogue, as he always does.

Yes, I want more of the Monks and more Ectyron.  Still, I cannot help but ponder how Ectyron vs. Des Moines ponders the nature of evil, the burdens of heroism, and the devastation of death and destruction.  It is as if Allen rebooted Ectyron with a new nature.

But the fun is not gone, and I think readers will welcome the new character find, Madam Madamn, as I do.  I think all Carter Allen's fans will want to grab a hold of Ectyron vs. Des Moines.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of kaiju and of Carter Allen's kaiju comic books will want Ectyron vs. Des Moines.

A+

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


Readers can purchase Ectyron vs. Des Moines using the Square checkout service here.


http://www.warningcomics.com/
http://candlelightpress.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/attila71
https://twitter.com/candlelightpres
https://www.facebook.com/Warning-Comics-194471080646766/
https://www.deviantart.com/vectorattila


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

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Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Comics Review: "GEEK-GIRL #11" Shows That the Series Keeps Getting Better

GEEK-GIRL, VOL. 2 #11
MARKOSIA ENTERPRISES, LTD.

STORY: Sam Johnson
ART: Carlos Granda
COLORS: Chunlin Zhao
LETTERS: Paul McLaren
24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2023)

Rated T+ / 12+ only

Geek-Girl created by Sam Johnson

“Identity Crisis” Part 1: “I Want to Be You.”

Created by Sam Johnson, Geek-Girl is a comic book character that debuted in the 2016 Geek-Girl miniseries,  She returned in a second miniseries, 2018's Geek-Girl Vol. 2, which subsequently became an ongoing series.  Geek-Girl Vol. 2 is written by Sam Johnson; drawn by Carlos Granda; colored by Chunlin Zhao; and lettered by Paul McLaren.

Geek-Girl focuses on Ruby Kaye of Acorn Ridge, Maine, a sexy and popular college coed who inadvertently becomes a superhero.  Ruby dons a pair of super-tech eye glasses that give her super-powers.  Ruby's BFF, Summer James, then talks her into trying to be a superhero, even providing her with a moniker.  Now, Ruby is Maine's newest superhero, “Geek-Girl.”

Geek-Girl Vol. 2 #11 (“I Want to Be You.”) opens with Geek-Girl and The Minger headed to a local mall where “Pit Bull,” also known as “Maine's premier super-hero,” is getting his butt kicked.  Geek-Girl does not realize that the beat-down is being delivered by a new villain, “Identity Thief,” and she wants Geek-Girl's powers.  As they engage in a chase, Geek-Girl discovers that something very strange is happening to her – and it may mean her life.

Meanwhile, Summer is still trying to get super-powers of her own.  And what is Digger Mensch up to?

THE LOWDOWN:  Geek-Girl creator-writer Sam Johnson regularly sends me PDF review copies of the latest issues of Geek-Girl, and has been doing so for several years.  I enjoy reading about Geek-Girl and her (mis)adventures.  I like this comic book enough to believe that encouraging you to give this series a try, dear readers, is one way I can contribute something good to the comic book industry.

As I have said before, Sam is an imaginative writer and his stories, in a deceptively quiet way, are riveting.  In the mighty Marvel Comics tradition, Sam is good at creating characters that are as interesting as civilians as they are as superheroes and super-villains.  I would say that Ruby Kaye and Geek-Girl are closer to a Marvel characters such as Peter Parker/Spider-Man than she is to a Wonder Woman/Diana Prince.

Artist Carlos Granda is a more polished artist with each issue.  He brings out the nuances in Sam's character writing and captures the overall humorous tone and bent of Geek-Girl.  His clear and emotive storytelling, which really shows under Chunlin Zhao's excellent colors, welcomes the readers into this series.  Paul McLaren's lettering is sharper than ever and makes Sam's story pop.

Geek-Girl #11 epitomizes this series' charm and humanity, which are so strong that they could make shojo manga sparkles pop out around this comic book.  It's also time to kick start Geek-Girl #12 and the Fake Geek-Girl #1-Shot at “Kickstarter,” so see below for more information.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of lovable superheroes will find an all-around winner in Geek-Girl.

A

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


Geek-Girl #11 is order via Indy Planet at https://www.indyplanet.com/geek-girl-11 or Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Geek-Girl-Vol-11-Sam-Johnson-ebook/dp/B0C6B8MTRN/ or for the deluxe issue, go to Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geekgirlcomics/geek-girl-jump-on-issue-deluxe-plus-new-and-previous-issues


https://twitter.com/daSamJohnson
https://twitter.com/Markosia
https://twitter.com/Markosia_News
https://markosia.com/


The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).


Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Comics Review: "GEEK-GIRL #10" is Looking for Teammates and Super-Powers

GEEK-GIRL, VOL. 2 #10
MARKOSIA ENTERPRISES, LTD.

STORY: Sam Johnson
ART: Carlos Granda
COLORS: Chunlin Zhao
LETTERS: Paul McLaren
COVER: Fernando Melek with Chunlin Zhao; Carlos Villas
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Narcelio Sousa with Chunlin Zhao
24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2023)

Rated T+ / 12+ only

Geek-Girl created by Sam Johnson

“Identity Crisis Prelude”

Created by Sam Johnson, Geek-Girl is a comic book character that debuted in the 2016 Geek-Girl miniseries,  She returned in a second miniseries, 2018's Geek-Girl Vol. 2, which became an ongoing series.  Geek-Girl Vol. 2 is written by Sam Johnson; drawn by Carlos Granda; colored by Chunlin Zhao; and lettered by Paul McLaren.

Geek-Girl focuses on Ruby Kaye of Acorn Ridge, Maine, a sexy and popular college coed who inadvertently becomes a superhero.  Ruby dons a pair of super-tech pair of eye glasses that gives her super-powers.  Ruby's BFF, Summer James, then talks her into trying to be a superhero, even providing her with a moniker.  Now, Ruby is Maine's newest superhero, “Geek-Girl.”

Geek-Girl Vol. 2 #10 (“Identity Crisis Prelude”) opens in the wake of the battle with Mean Girl, which saw The Whupper seriously injured.  Meanwhile, Geek-Girl is still fronting a “super-team,” but the team has already lost a member.  Now, Ruby is enjoying some girlfriend-drinking time with “The Minger.”  But team training is supposed to start tomorrow, and the team is slightly in disarray.

Meanwhile, Pit Bull gets himself involved in an unexpected battle.  Will he end up needing help?

THE LOWDOWN:  Geek-Girl creator-writer Sam Johnson sends me PDF review copies of the latest issues of Geek-Girl, and has been doing so for several years.  I enjoy reading about Geek-Girl and her (mis)adventures.  I like this comic book enough to believe that encouraging you to give this series a try, dear readers, is something I must do.

Sam is an imaginative writer and his stories, in a deceptively quiet way, are riveting.  I am always disappointed when I reach the end of an issue.  I wish he could publish more frequently, because issue #10 has a great cliffhanger.  He can make the reader feel comfortable with his characters, but he is always introducing a new element.  I find myself always wondering about what Ruby Kaye is going to do next.  Everything is new to her, and we get to experience that newness.  So what is she going to do about that training session?

Artist Carlos Granda is a more polished artist with each issue.  His clear and emotive storytelling, which really shows under Chunlin Zhao's excellent colors, is inviting to readers.  Paul McLaren's lettering is sharper than ever and makes Sam's story pop.

I thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommend Geek-Girl #10.  I am also recommending the three trade paperbacks that currently collect most of the series.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of lovable superheroes will find an all-around winner in Geek-Girl.

A

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


Geek-Girl #10 is Out Now and available in Regular, Digital and Variant editions. Readers can buy a digital edition at comiXology or at https://www.amazon.com/Geek-Girl-Vol-10-Sam-Johnson-ebook/dp/B0BWSJ4P9C or a print edition at Indy Planet or at https://www.indyplanet.com/geek-girl-10.

https://twitter.com/daSamJohnson
https://twitter.com/Markosia
https://twitter.com/Markosia_News
https://markosia.com/


The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).


Thursday, February 2, 2023

Comics Review: "BLACULA: Return of the King" Revives, Saves, and Improves a Classic

BLACULA: RETURN OF THE KING
ZOMBIE LOVE STUDIOS

STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander with Scott Hampton
COLORS: Jason Shawn Alexander
LETTERS: Marshall Dillon
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander
ISBN: 978-1-958509-00-5; paperback (January 31, 2023)
128pp, Colors, 19.99 U.S., $26.50 CAN

Rated “T+ / Teen Plus” or “16 years and up”

Blacula: Return of the King is a full-color, original graphic novel (comic book) that is based on Blacula, a 1972 vampire horror and Black exploitation film.  Published by Zombie Love Studios, Blacula: Return of the King is written by Rodney Barnes; drawn and colored by Jason Shawn Alexander (with some contributions from artist Scott Hampton); and lettered by Marshall Dillon.  Barnes and Alexander are the creators of the dark fantasy and vampire horror comic book, Killadelphia (Image Comics).

Blacula the film starred renowned African-American actor, William Marshall.  He played the film's title role, an 18th-century African prince named Mamuwalde.  In the year 1780, after a dispute, Count Dracula punishes Mamuwalde by turning him into a vampire and cursing him with the name “Blacula.”  Dracula seals Mamuwalde in a coffin that he hides deep in a crypt in his castle in Transylvania.  Blacula reemerges in the United States in 1972 where he pursues a human woman in what turns out to be a doomed romance.

Blacula: Return of the King opens in modern Los AngelesTina Thomas, a young African-American reporter, writes for “Dark Knights,” a blog that “chronicles all things unnatural, uneasy, and undead in the greater Los Angeles area.”  For the past six months, people have been disappearing, and the word on the street and rumors from the shadows insist that the legendary vampire that haunted Los Angeles in the early 1970s has returned to kill.  That's right; Blacula's back.

During her reporting, Tina meets Kross, a young Black man whose family has been plagued by the curse of Blacula since his first appearance.  Kross leads a group of children, a band of “Lost Boys,” if you will, and all have also been hurt by the plague of undead that follows Blacula's blood lust.  Kross and his boys are determined to hunt and to kill Blacula, and before long, Tina finds herself joining them.

Blacula is also on a mission – his own kind of hunt.  He is searching for the one who forever changed his life centuries ago and cursed him with the mocking name, “Blacula.”  His enemy's name is Count Dracula, and that's right.  Dracula's back, too.

THE LOWDOWN:  I want and need to convince you, dear readers, to read Blacula: Return of the King.  It may be the most inventive and artistically ambitious graphic novel about a vampire since Jon J. Muth's Dracula: A Symphony in Moonlight and Nightmares, which was originally published by Marvel Comics in 1986.

The art and coloring by Jason Shawn Alexander is at times regal and elegant, as if hinting at what Prince Mamuwalde once was.  At other times, it is a blustery and frantic, desperate and stormy, and impressionistic and insane.  It is in these moments that the storytelling reminds reader of the backdrop to the horrific melodrama.  The victims of both Blacula and Dracula, as well as their undead acolytes, are the lower classes, the poor, and those living on the edge of an already frayed society.

That is why what writer Rodney Barnes offers is a true sequel to the 1972 film.  Blacula the movie was a very “Black” film, and Blacula: Return of the King is a very Black comic book.  Blacula, Tina Thomas, and Kross and his lost boys are all living the legacy of slavery and bondage, which is suffering and degradation.  In a way, the characters are living the best that they can, but they are cursed by history, both national and personal.  Blacula may be a monster, but he kills for food, a fate forced on him.  It is like fate of the young African-Americans characters here, who live in a gloomy world of abandoned and ignored neighborhoods.

Barnes and Alexander have made in Blacula: Return of the King a vampire story that is an amazing layered work – literal, metaphorical, and allegorical horror.  It is a sequel that honors the original and advances the story forward in way that is faithful in spirit and in potential.  And as a horror comic book, it is a damn fun read.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Blacula, of Dracula, and of great vampire fiction will want to read Blacula: Return of the King.

[This issue contains an introduction, “Blacula and Me” by Rodney Barnes.  It also includes “Prince Mamuwalde Lives!: Resurrecting Blacula,” written by Stephen R. Bissette and edited by John Jennings.]

A+

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


https://twitter.com/zombieloveLLC
https://twitter.com/TheRodneyBarnes
https://twitter.com/jasonshawnalex
https://twitter.com/MarshallDillon
http://rodneybarnes.com/
https://rodneybarnes.substack.com/


The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Friday, September 9, 2022

Comics Review: "GOOD ON BOTH SIDES" is Good Cover to Cover

GOOD ON BOTH SIDES – A (TH)INK ANTHOLOGY #5
KEITH KNIGHT PRESS/Microcosm Publishing

CARTOONIST: Keith Knight
ISBN: 978-0-9788053-5-7; paperback; 6" x 7.5" x 0.4" (June 2022)
128pp, Color, $20.00 U.S.

Good on Both Sides is a new collection of the socio-political, single-panel comic strip, (th)ink.  Debuting in 2000 on the now defunct website, Africana.com, (th)ink is the creation of Keith Knight, a cartoonist, comics creator, and musician.  Knight is also the creator and an executive producer on the recent Hulu series, “Woke.”  (th)ink currently appears in several outlets, including the Nib, Daily KOS, Antigravity, and The Funny Times.

Good on Both Sides, the fifth (th)ink paperback collection, takes its title by paraphrasing Donald Trump's moral equivalency after the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.  It covers (th)ink episodes published during the early years of Donald Trump's masquerade as the 45th President of the United States.  Knight captures the absurdity of the time under an absurd leader and chronicles and depicts everything that made non-white supremacists cringe.

THE LOWDOWN:  In a sense political cartoonists are a dime a dozen.  The truth is that I have a hard time finding many that are really bad at their chosen professions.  What makes Keith Knight different?

I first became acquainted with Knight's work in late 2006 when I received a copy of Are We Feeling Safer Yet? (2007), the second (th)ink collection.  Sadly, I lost touch with him and had not thought of him until I heard about his Hulu TV series, “Woke,” last year.  I recently reconnected with him to request a copy-for-review of Good on Both Sides.  On the back cover of this book is a quote from Dawn Tol, part of which reads, “Keith Knight has never been more overtly Black.”

That is what makes Knight different from other political cartoonists.  He is Black.  Yes, there are other African-American political cartoonists (Walt Carr, David G. Brown), but for now, we are talking about Keith Knight, who is from a particular tradition.  That tradition involves Coloreds, Negroes, Afro-Americans, African-American, etc. who do not bite their tongues, metaphorically or otherwise, for the sake of propriety and for the feelings of good White folk and cautious, fretting Black folk.

I had forgotten just how screwed up the first half of Trump's occupation was … because the second half turned into … well,you know.  Knight's commentary via political cartoons is both incisive and relentless.  I won't say that he is “unapologetic” because apologizing is irrelevant in the context of what Knight does.  It isn't just Trump that is wrong with this country; it is also the rotten culture and society.  Honestly, much of that rot comes from White racism, supremacy, and privilege:  those that perpetuate it; those that enjoy the advantages while letting someone else do the dirty work; and those who benefit and give nominal lip service in criticizing it.

In Good on Both Sides, nothing and no one is spared.  Warts and all, Klan robes and hoods:  Knight reveals the stains without a thought for decorum.  Political commentary, words, pictures, or cartoons need that, especially when so many commentators want us to “turn down the temperature.”  Knight is the triple truth, Ruth.

Good on Both Sides isn't all about Trump.  As I said, there were plenty of awful people during that time who deserve Knight's punches.  Knight also offers several nice memorials and tributes to such luminaries as W.E.B. Du Bois, Dick Gregory, and Josephine Baker, to name a few.  I am not crazy about everything in Good on Both Sides, but it's close.  I could have read another hundred pages just to see what Knight has to say about the time period this collection covers.

Keith Knight's political cartoons are timely, and many are timeless.  The timeless ones will always have bite, but the timely will cut like a knife for years to come.  And Good on Both Sides is just plain funny.  I laughed a lot, and I practically always need that from political cartoons.  I encourage you, dear readers, to get a copy of Good on Both Sides.  Maybe if enough of you read it, someone will get the notion to shortlist Mr. Knight for a Pulitzer Prize.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of great political cartoons and of Keith Knight's work will want to read Good on Both Sides.

A

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


You can buy copies of Good on Both Sides at indie book stores or at the following online shops: here or https://keithknight.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-good-on-both-sides-the-new-th-ink-collection and here or https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/1446.


Find Keith Knight on the Internet:
https://keithknightart.com/
https://kchronicles.com/
https://twitter.com/KeefKnight
https://www.patreon.com/keefknight
https://www.instagram.com/iamkeithknight/?hl=en
https://keithknight.bigcartel.com/
https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/1446
https://www.facebook.com/keithknightcartoonist/
https://www.gocomics.com/thekchronicles


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

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


Friday, July 22, 2022

Comics Review: "ECTYRON OMNIBUS VOL. 1" is a Five Piece Spicy Graphic Novel

ECTYRON OMNIBUS VOL. 1
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/Warning Comics

STORY: Carter Allen; Austin Allen Hamblin; Leroy Douresseaux
SCRIPT: John Ira Thomas; Austin Allen Hamblin; Leroy Douresseaux
ART: Carter Allen
LETTERS: John Ira Thomas
COVER: Carter Allen
BACK COVER: Carter Allen
MISC ART: Will Grant; Christopher Martinez
ISBN: 978-0-9895371-8-6; paperback (June 21, 2022)
136pp, Color, $24.95 U.S.

Comic book writer-artist and graphic novelist, Carter Allen, has been publishing a series of comic books and graphic novels featuring a “kaiju” character known as “Ectyron! The Radioactive Chicken!”  Candle Light Press and Allen's Warning Comics published three Ectyron comic books:  Ectyron Against Lagaxtu (2017), Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss (2018), and Ectyron: The Invasion from the Red Star Nebula (2019).

Now, CLP and Warning Comics have collected together for the first time the first three Ectyron comic books in the graphic novel and trade paperback collection, Ectyron Omnibus Vol. 1.  This book also includes the numerous full color as illustrations that Allen has committed for this series.

Ectyron Omnibus Vol. 1 also includes bonus material.  There is a new Ectyron short story, entitled “General Clucker vs. Ectyron” written by Austin Allen Hamblin and drawn by Carter Allen.  Then, Carter and I (yes, me, Leroy Douresseaux) introduce Carter's newest kaiju, “Karapace” and our wacky superhero team, “The Big Spirits.”  This five-page preview is entitled, “Karapace: Prelude to Big Spirits” and is drawn by Carter and written by me.

All three Ectyron comics employ particular elements of various Japanese science fiction sub-genres.  “Kaiju” is a term used to describe a genre of Japanese films that feature giant monsters, and the term is also used to describe the giant monsters themselves.  [Godzilla is an example of a kaiju.]  In this case, Ectyron is a giant-sized chicken.  There is also an example of “tokusatsu” the “mecha” or giant robot superheroes.  [“Power Rangers” are an example of “tokusatsu.”]

Here is a recap of the first three Ectyron books:

Ectyron Against Lagaxtu (2017):  Here, comes the super-cyborg warrior hero, AtoM.I.K.E.  He is always on the lookout for the kind of giant monster that hides beneath the Earth before finally surfacing to wreak havoc.  Lagaxtu is one of those monsters, a “kaiju,” a beast like Japan's Godzilla.  AtoM.I.K.E. (a “tokusatsu” like character) can kick some monster butt, but he will need help from another behemoth beast, one that can sense evil.  Here, comes Ectyron!

Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss (2018):  From the Great Basin Desert, Jake and the kaiju fighters of “Sustenatione Stabilitas Base” take on the giant-goose kaiju, “Nemehiss.”  Victory is not assured, however, unless they can get help from... Ectyron!

Ectyron: The Invasion from the Red Star Nebula (2019): The kaiju fighters of Sustenatione Stabilitas Base join the kaiju fighting mecha, “AtoM.I.K.E.”  They take on a mecha version of Ectyron, vicious alien invaders from the Red Star Nebula, and “Men in Black” agents.  But where is the real Ectyron?

Bonus stories:

General Clucker vs. Ectyron (2022):  Karl Clucker is the heir to the legacy of the “General Clucker's Chicken” fried chicken restaurant franchise.  Unfortunately for Clucker, however, people seem to be eating less chicken out of respect for Ectyron.  Embittered, Clucker decides to make himself just the kind of man or kaiju that can take on Ectyron … with unexpected results.

Karapace: Prelude to Big Spirits (2022):  Aboard a fishing boat, a sleeping psychic receives a warning about the natural world's ultimate kaiju of vengeance and balance.  But can the young woman gather enough help to stop Karapace?!

THE LOWDOWN:  Ectyron: The Invasion from the Red Star Nebula is, thus far, my favorite Ectyron publication.  It easily surpasses the first two releases, Ectyron: Rise of Nemehiss (the second) and Ectyron Against Lagaxtu (the first), which were quite good themselves.

A cartoonist and graphic designer, Carter Allen, fills his comic books with Godzilla-sized creations, which includes monsters, beasts, machines, and contraptions.  However, there also improbable heroes of all shapes, colors, genders, and sizes.  In black and white and in full color, Ectyron comics are pure comic book fun rendered in texture pencil illustrations, pencil and ink; software, and marker.  Allen recreates the wild, the weird, and the wonderful of traditional American superhero, science fiction, horror, monster, and action-adventure comic books – with the infusion of Japanese sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero, of course.

In “General Clucker vs. Ectyron,” Allen's illustrative and coloring style and techniques take a turn, which is a way that he keeps his comic books fresh.  He has also found a kindred spirit in writer Austin Allen Hamblin, as this short captures the spirit of the original Ectyron comics.  Allen's dynamic art, with it energetic array of angles, and Hamblin's mix of B-movie and monster comics elements come together to create a colorful tale of pugnacious characters that deserves an encore.

As for Carter Allen and Leroy's collabo, “Karapace: Prelude to Big Spirits,” it is a sweet sample of our comic book masala, made of ingredients from old comics and cartoons.  There is more to come.

Meanwhile, Ectyron Omnibus Vol. 1 is the best way to experience Carter Allen's way-out-there inventions of imagination.  His Ectyron comic books, like many of his works, are a sequence of unexpected events.  Allen is great solo, but Ectyron Omnibus Vol. 1 provides a look at his quirky group of collaborators.  Some of them joined him on the original Ectyron comic books and showed their originality.  And that is what Ectyron is about – originality in the spirit of originals.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of kaiju and of Carter Allen will want Ectyron Omnibus Vol. 1.

A

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


Buy Ectyron Omnibus Vol. 1:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ectyron-Omnibus-Carter-Allen/dp/0989537188/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=FPC4RCGP5FQL&keywords=ectyron+omnibus&qid=1657192587&sprefix=%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ectyron-omnibus-carter-allen/1141688819;jsessionid=4050D43796BC5832D603E92F478ED155.prodny_store02-atgap09?ean=9780989537186

Powells: https://www.powells.com/book/ectyron-omnibus-9780989537186


http://www.warningcomics.com/
http://candlelightpress.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/attila71
https://twitter.com/candlelightpres
https://www.facebook.com/Warning-Comics-194471080646766/
https://www.deviantart.com/vectorattila


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

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Thursday, July 7, 2022

Review: "What We Do in the Shadows" Does It Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 of 2022 (No. 1853) by Leroy Douresseaux

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Running time:  86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody violent content, some sexual material and language
WRITERS/DIRECTORS:  Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
PRODUCERS:  Emanuel Michael, Taika Waititi, and Chelsea Winstanley
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Richard Bluck and D.J. Stipsen
EDITORS:  Tom Eagles, Yana Gorskaya, and Jonathan Woodford-Robinson
COMPOSER:  Plan 9

COMEDY/FANTASY

Starring:  Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jonny Brugh, Stu Rutherford, Ben Fransham, Jackie Van Beek, and Elena Stejko

What We Do in the Shadows is a 2014 New Zealand comic vampire film and mockumentary (mock documentary) written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.  The film focuses on three vampires who live together in a flat while trying to deal with the mundane aspects of modern life in Wellington, New Zealand.

What We Do in the Shadows introduces four vampires living as housemates in a flat in a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand.  They are 379-year-old Viago (Taika Waititi), 862-year-old Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), 183-year-old Deacon (Jonny Brugh), and 8000-year-old Petyr (Ben Fransham).  A documentary film crew follows them as they prepare for “the Unholy Masquerade,” a ball held by some of the monster secret societies of Wellington.

The vampires struggle with the ordinary aspects of modern life:  overcoming flatmate conflicts, keeping up with chores, dealing with demanding familiars (human servants), etc.  Most of all they struggle to navigate the city's nightclub scene where they hunt for human victims who will become their food.  One of their victims-to-be is Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer), the ex-boyfriend of Deacon's familiar, Jackie (Jackie Van Beek).  Nick is unexpectedly turned into a vampire, and the new bloodsucker brings complications into the older vampires' lives.  Nick even brings his human friend, Stu (Stu Rutherford), whom everyone wants to eat, but likes too much to eat, into the vampire world.

Plus, they still have to attend “the Unholy Masquerade” where they will meet “the Beast.”

The most famous example of a mockumentary and perhaps, the most beloved is director Rob Reiner's 1984 film, This is Spinal Tap.  With the exception of that film, I am usually bored of mockumentaries by the second half of such films.  I was surprised to discover that except for a few places, I found myself thoroughly engaged with What We Do in the Shadows.

I think the combination of the script and the acting really brings the film to life.  The actors seem to create fully functioning people by emphasizing the ordinary aspects of the human character and personality.  Although the film's leads are vampires, they manage to be only a little special, amazing, horrible, and fantastic.  They are interesting and lovable by being only a little above ordinary.  They are not too bright, not smart enough to be conniving, and rather short-sighted, and that all makes them endearing to me.

I also like that What We Do in the Shadows quotes from or references a number of vampire films, including the Blade film series, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, and Twilight, to name a few.  That helps to make it feel like a genuine vampire film, rather than being only a documentary and horror comedy.  I actually started watching (on and off) the FX cable television series, also titled “What We Do in the Shadows,” that is based on the film.  Truthfully, the film is such a delight, it feels like something that has a lot more to offer, so we are lucky to have a TV series.

I would not recommend What We Do in the Shadows to everyone who enjoys the mainstream work of the film's co-writer and co-director, Taika Waititi, such as his Thor films for Disney/Marvel Studios.  I will recommend it to film audiences who are always searching for something different, offbeat, and/or daring in modern independent and foreign films.  For being another in a long, long line of vampire films, What We Do in the Shadows manages to be fresh blood.

7 of 10
A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars


Thursday, July 7, 2022


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

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Friday, April 29, 2022

"Cabra Cini" Mini Series Now Live on Kickstarter

Press Release:

Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman is coming for you!

Following a number of anthology short stories and also having appeared in the pages of Geek-Girl, cult character Cabra Cini is graduating to her own Mini-Series – Live on Kickstarter now!

“We've been working on the Mini-Series for some time,” says Cabra's creator/writer Sam Johnson (Geek-Girl, The Almighties), “and with the art now complete, it's time to introduce Cabra to a wider audience… I hope you're ready for what's coming!”

No longer willing to let her boyfriend/pimp treat her like dirt, Cabra Cini got lethal payback with the help of voodoo magik - and liked it. Voodoo became her new addiction and Cabra has cleaned up her act and forged a deadly new vocation…

In her debut issue, we’re introduced to the supporting characters and antagonists in Cabra’s 4-Issue Mini-Series - including her pet werewolf El Hombre Lobo; insane Neo-Nazi White Out and his lobotomized, zombified butler Chives; and her friend-with-benefits Geoff...

Johnson fills us in on Cabra’s potential love interest; “Cabra hasn’t let anyone get close to her in a long time, after what she went through with her ex, and has kept Geoff at arm’s length. But the two have been spending more time together, and Geoff wants to take things to the next level.”

Johnson continues: “When Geoff makes his move, Cabra is using her bastardized version of voodoo magik to meditate herself into her ‘Mind-Scape’ – which she uses to psychically reach out and learn about whomever she’s been hired to deal with. Geoff wants to come in… and Cabra lets him in… but something’s off.

“Cabra routinely utilizes her magik to access a dimension known as ‘The Infinite’ – Limbo’s ‘crazy cousin, locked away in the attic’ – which, for those who trespass upon it, can serve as a dimensional gateway between where they are and wherever they want to go (a boon for finding her ‘hits’). But The Infinite and Cabra’s Mind-Scape – two completely separate dimensions - seem to be overlapping. In her Mind-Scape, Cabra should have complete control – but she seems to be losing it.”



Meanwhile, white supremacist White Out – who, based on urban legend, may or may not be a ghost - is making his presence felt in Cabra’s Detroit neighborhood – offering the upper-classes an opportunity to rid the place of its ‘less desirable elements.’

Johnson continues: “When White Out’s actions impact on Cabra and Geoff, the ‘Voodoo Lady’ gets involved – and things will never be same again for she and her would-be-lover.

“Cabra has broken free of her old life, and is a badass, independent, strong woman,” continues Johnson, before concluding ominously, “With what's coming her way in the Mini-Series, she's going to need to be.”

Written by Johnson (Geek-Girl, The Almighties), illustrated by Nathan Ramirez (Cannibal Family, Red Sonja), with Bruno Letizia, Pablo Zambrano & Jorge Oliveira - Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #1 is live on Kickstarter now, and you can get to it at www.cabracini.com

Praise for Cabra Cini:

“This is something new altogether. I give it my recommendation. Strongly.” - Michael Wearden, Mike's Comic Blog.

“The pacing’s fast, the art is moving, the surprises many. I applaud Cabra Cini for breaking the limits that female characters can play in comics.” - Wayne Hall, Major Spoilers.

“Smart, effective and highly entertaining. This is from a rising talent in the comics industry.” - Steven Leitman, Reading with a Flight Ring.

“A hard hitting story with incredible artwork. I'm already a junkie and quite addicted to this character and can't wait for more. - Bill Gladman, Comic Related.


###



Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Comics Review: CABRA CINI: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #1

CABRA CINI: VOODOO JUNKIE HITWOMAN #1

STORY: Sam Johnson
ART: Nathan Ramirez; Bruno Letizia with R.D. Ricci; Pablo Zambrano; Jorge Oliveira
COLORS: Mark Dodson; Harwan Stia Yoga; Jorge Oliveira
LETTERS: Nathan Ramirez; Bruno Letizia with Micah Myers; Jacob Bascle
COVER ARTIST: Carlos Villas

Suggest for mature readers

Cabra Cini created by Sam Johnson

“White Out”


Cabra Cini is a comics character created by writer Sam Johnson.  He is best known as the writer and creator of the sexy superhero, Geek-Girl, who has starred in a comedy-fantasy miniseries and ongoing series.  Cabra Cini is a former sex worker who used “voodoo magik” to free herself of her abusive pimp/boyfriend.  Now, she is a hit woman addicted to voodoo.

Cabra Cini is about to be the star of her own four-issue miniseries, Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman.  Johnson has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund series.  He passed me an advanced PDF review copy of the first issue.

Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #1 opens with a “Prologue” written by Johnson and drawn by Bruno Letizia with R.D. Ricci.  “Prologue” asks the question, what would you do if the clumsy antics of a young werewolf interrupted your sex life.  If you're Cabra Cini, you fix him...

The main story, “White Out,” is set in Detroit and is written by Johnson and drawn by Nathan Ramirez.  There is a new killer in town.  He's dressed in white from head to toe and he likes to kill Black men; plus, he has plans for the neighborhood.  All Cabra wanted to do was prepare dinner for her man, but now she is forced to face a dangerous, enigmatic stranger.

Kiss That Grrrl” is written by Johnson and drawn by Pablo Zambrano and Jorge Oliveira.  The story finds Cabra in her “Mindscape.”  Her boyfriend, Geoff, wants to join with her … in more ways than one – if he survives the experience.

THE LOWDOWN:  I never really know what to expect when I get a cold call request for a comic book review.  I hope for the best, of course, but I have discovered a number of very interesting comic books either self-published by the creator or creators or published by a small press.  Readers can find excellent comic books in the wilds of independent publishing, as I have found Sam Johnson (although he may have found me).

I am familiar with writer Sam Johnson from his lovable superhero comic book series, Geek-Girl, in which Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman has appeared.  I have wondered if Cabra could carry her own comic book.  Of course, she could if the writer is good, and Johnson is.

What really surprised me is that the story chapters that comprise Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #1 have a genuine sense of drama and also character depth.  There is a sense of the tragic without being overly melodramatic.  The feelings that the characters have for one another come across as authentic; I can believe that Geoff really cares from Cabra Cini.  There is also a strong sense of humor and light comedy that keeps the edgier aspects of this first issue from taking over the entire comic book.

Five artists: Nathan Ramirez, Bruno Letizia, R.D. Ricci, Pablo Zambrano, and Jorge Oliveira draw portions of Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #1.  However, their diverse styles and approaches to graphical storytelling come together.  The change in artists isn't jarring because they seem to share a similar aesthetic.  In fact, having several artists helps to make Cabra Cini come across more like a multifaceted character than a mere clever name and idea.

My opinion is that Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #1 is certainly good enough to make me recommend that readers consider contributing to the crowdfunding campaign for the series, which you can do here … if you so choose.  If Geek-Girl is any indication, Sam Johnson has a world of excellent comics in store for us via Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of writer Sam Johnson's comic books will want to fund Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman.

A

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


Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie #1 is available on Kickstarter now at www.cabracini.com.

https://twitter.com/daSamJohnson
https://twitter.com/Markosia
https://twitter.com/Markosia_News
https://markosia.com/


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

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


Thursday, April 21, 2022

Review: "SYNCHRONIC" is a Fresh and Intriguing Take on Time Travel Movies

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 of 2022 (No. 1836) by Leroy Douresseaux

Synchronic (2020)
Running time:  102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for drug content and language throughout, and for some violent/bloody images
DIRECTORS:  Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
WRITER:  Justin Benson
PRODUCERS:  Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, David Lawson Jr., and Michael Mendelsohn
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Aaron Moorhead
EDITORS:  Justin Benson, Michael Felker, and Aaron Moorhead
COMPOSER:  Jimmy LaValle

SCI-FI/DRAMA

Starring:  Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Ally Ioannides, Katie Aselton, and Ramiz Monsef

Synchronic is a 2020 science fiction and drama film directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, also known as the team of Benson & Moorhead.  The film focuses on two paramedics who encounter a series of bizarre accidents and inexplicable deaths that are tied to a mysterious new designer drug, which has otherworldly side effects on its users.

Synchronic is set in New Orleans, Louisiana.  It introduces two paramedics, Steve Denube (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis Dannelly (Jamie Dornan), who are also longtime friends.  They begin to receive a series of emergency calls that turn out to be unusual or inexplicable.  In a hotel room, they find a young woman suffering from the bite of an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, which is not native to Louisiana.  At a domestic abuse call, they find a man who has apparently been stabbed with something like a sword, and they later find an old sword embedded in the wall of another room.  At these emergency calls, Steve usually finds an empty package for a new designer drug known as “Synchronic.”

After being injured on the job, Steve, a sexually active ladies' man, has a routine blood test.  It reveals that he has a brain tumor near his pineal gland, which is unusually underdeveloped and non-calcified for a man his age.

Dennis is married to Tara (Kate Aselton) and has two children, including a now 18-year-old daughter, Brianna (Ally Ioannides).  Responding to an overdose call, Steve and Dennis find a dead boy and an intoxicated girl who tells them that Brianna was at their party.  Steve and Dennis can't find her, but Steve does find an empty Synchronic package near where Brianna was supposed to be sitting.  Investigating Synchronic, Steve learns that it alters the perception of time and can even allow some people to time travel.  Now, Steve begins the journey of a lifetime in hopes of finding Brianna somewhere in time before he runs out of time.

Synchronic is a modestly-budgeted independent film.  It is also a high-concept science fiction film based on the fantastic concept of a street drug that can allow humans – to one extent or another – experience time travel or time displacement.  I think the budget is what keeps this film from really flying with this concept.  Don't get me wrong, dear readers.  Benson & Moorhead take their audience to some interesting places in the past, and I imagine that they could do even more with this concept if it were a television/streaming series or miniseries.  I can say that they are definitely not shy about depicting how treacherous New Orleans was for a Black man in the past and even now.

To that end, Anthony Mackie gives a performance that is bigger than this film.  In fact, no element sells Synchronic's ideas and plots better than Mackie's performance.  The script kind of relegates Jamie Dornan to the sidelines, although Dennis Dannelly is surrounded by some intriguing family melodrama.  However, it is Mackie as Steve who does the heavy lifting and convinces the audience that Synchronic the drug and its amazing effects are an actual thing.

So this is my way of saying that Synchronic should not be lost to time.  Benson & Moorhead have created a concept that could be … dare I say it... timeless.  Honestly, I only decided to watch this film after learning that this duo was directing two episodes of the Disney+/Marvel Studios six-episode series, “Moon Knight.”  Now, I'm just glad I watched it, and I recommend it to film fans and movie lovers looking for offbeat, indie sci-film films.  And I hope for more in the world of Synchronic.

7 of 10
B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Thursday, April 21, 2022


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

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Thursday, March 24, 2022

PRESS RELEASE: "Geek-Girl Vol. 3" TBP, "Team Geek," is Out Now

Created and written by Sam Johnson (The Almighties, Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman) and illustrated by C Granda (Charmed, Grimm Fairy Tales) - Geek-Girl is a series featuring attractive, popular Maine college co-ed Ruby Kaye – a girl used to getting whatever she wants – who lands a pair of power-inducing super-tech glasses.

Since gaining her powers, Geek-Girl (a moniker jokily given to Ruby by her BFF, Summer James, after Ruby’s initial difficulty handling her newfound super-strength led to some klutzy actions) has blossomed from a self-satisfying ‘It’-Girl to the heroine of her city of Acorn Ridge, Maine – taking down major-threat super-villain Lightning Storm and playing an integral part in stemming the crime wave that sprung up in the wake of the damage Lightning Storm did to Maine’s law enforcement.

In the process of this, Geek-Girl has caught the eye of a certain Mr. Johnny Carlyle – a morally questionable entrepreneur who is looking to put together a Super-Team.

Sam Johnson fills us in saying, “Johnny showed up previously in the Geek-Girl series as a super-tech weapons dealer who was suspected of selling his wares indiscriminately – which earned him a dressing down from Maine’s First Lady of Super-Heroing, Neon Girl, during the crime wave that was going on there – which she believes he may have contributed to.

“Johnny then stepped up and hooked Geek-Girl and Neon Girl up with a mysterious telekinetic called Tyler, who helped them turn things around in their fight against crime… and led Johnny to coming up with the idea of creating a super-team – headed by Geek-Girl!”

Johnson continues, “In the new Geek-Girl TPB, Team Geek-Girl, Ruby Kaye is handed the keys to her new super-hero HQ just as her would-be team-mates make their way there on a plane – but there’s an ‘incident’ during their flight, and they may not all make it!”

Without spoiling things, Johnson says that now that Geek-Girl is an ongoing series, ‘the incident’ is just the beginning of the weirdness that will be coming Ruby’s way – influenced by one of the writer’s favorite comic runs – Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol. “I love how out-there that series is, and it helped inspire a number of weird and wonderful ideas that I’ve wanted to bring to my comics - and now that GG’s ongoing, I have the right venue for them. Get ready for The Hall of Diamonds; potential arch-nemesis Mean Girl; The Infinite: Limbo’s ‘crazy cousin’ dimension; Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman - and that’s just in this first arc alone. Things are gonna get weird and Ruby’s in for a wild ride.”

Collecting Geek-Girl #5-#9 written by Johnson, illustrated by C Granda and colored by Chunlin Zhao, Geek-Girl Vol.3: Team Geek-Girl TPB is Out Now, published by Markosia, and available here or at www.geekgirlcomics.com and www.comixology.com

You can see a four-page preview of Geek-Girl Vol. 3: Team Geek here or at https://samjohnsoncomics.wixsite.com/geekgirlcomics/team-geek

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Monday, March 14, 2022

Comics Review: "GEEK-GIRL #9" Welcomes Mean Girl

GEEK-GIRL, VOL. 2 #9
MARKOSIA ENTERPRISES, LTD.

STORY: Sam Johnson
ART: Carlos Granda
COLORS: Chunlin Zhao
LETTERS: Paul McLaren
COVER ARTISTS: Carlos Granda with Chunlin Zhao; Carlos Villas
24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2022)

Rated T+ / 12+ only

Geek-Girl created by Sam Johnson

“Bad Girl/Mean Girl”


Created by Sam Johnson, Geek-Girl is a comic book character that debuted in the 2016 Geek-Girl miniseries,  She returned in a second miniseries, 2018's Geek-Girl Vol. 2, which became an ongoing series.  Geek-Girl Vol. 2 is written by Sam Johnson; drawn by Carlos Granda; colored by Chunlin Zhao; and lettered by Paul McLaren.

Geek-Girl focuses on Ruby Kaye of Acorn Ridge, Maine, a sexy and popular college coed who inadvertently becomes a superhero.  Ruby dons a pair of super-tech pair of eye glasses that gives her super-powers.  Ruby's BFF, Summer James, then talks her into trying to be a superhero, even providing her with a moniker.  Now, Ruby is Maine's newest superhero, “Geek-Girl.”

As Geek-Girl Vol. 2 #9 (“Bad Girl/Mean Girl”) opens, Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman continues her jaunt through the “Infinite,” a little tucked away corner of Limbo.  However, “The Rook,” ruler of the Infinite, has a surprise for the too-clever-for-herself Ms. Cini.

Back at Geek-Girl's new headquarters, it's time to meet the new teammates.  Also, Summer has a conversation with Geek-Girl's benefactor, Johnny Carlyle, about her own future.  But the ultimate theatrics take place later at the local shopping mall.  Enter Mean Girl!  Life will never be the same, Geek-Girl.



THE LOWDOWN:  Geek-Girl creator-writer Sam Johnson sends me PDF review copies of the latest issues of Geek-Girl, and has been doing so for several years.  I enjoy reading about Geek-Girl and also encouraging you to give this series a try, dear readers.

In a better world, Sam would have the resources to publish Geek-Girl on a more frequent basis.  It would be great if the tenth issue would be out next month, because the tenth issue is so fun.  I dare say that Mean Girl could eclipse Geek-Girl in her on comic book.  Ain't that a bitch?  Seriously, another issue will prove if Mean Girl is one of the character finds of 2022.  She is a fun bad girl who loves being bad; in fact, she might break bad.

Artist Carlos Granda compositions are becoming more polished, and his illustration technique tighter.  Chunlin Zhao's colors make the action scenes pop, and Paul McLaren's lettering is sharper than ever.  Along with Sam Johnson, they make Geek-Girl #9 an excellent jumping-on point for new readers.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of lovable superheroes will find an all-around winner in Geek-Girl.

A

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

Geek-Girl #9 is Out Now and available in Regular, Digital and Variant editions here or at https://samjohnsoncomics.wixsite.com/geekgirlcomics and here or at https://tinyurl.com/y8yfns3k.

https://twitter.com/daSamJohnson
https://twitter.com/Markosia
https://twitter.com/Markosia_News
https://markosia.com/


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

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).