I've Been Continuing To Read Manga And Have Reviews

Yet Even More!
I previously discussed how I was dipping my toe into the, "Manga," pool more, and then I talked about when I continued to read some more books. I've been reading yet even more Manga-books lately thanks to my local libraries and good deals at book-stores, so I thought  I would discuss what I've picked-up!

My Latest Manga Reads

Goodnight Punpun Volume 3
Punpun grows older with every volume, and seems to be less and less a precocious little kid than a bit of a self-obsessed jerk. I don't know if Inio Asano has intended for Punpun to seem that way, but he kind of does. As seemingly sweet characters reveal their metaphorical fangs, folk get hurt, relationships get cheated on, and throughout it all there is still some bits of great humor that help keep things from feeling too dark--plus as always Punpun and his family are weirdly illustrated as minimalist blobs while everything else on the page is hyper-detailed in its drawing or incorporation of photography. The first volume of this series has a melancholic vibe but also was fun and absurdist. There still is some of that in these later books, but even the quirkiest characters have been revealed to have a decent amount of depth, with mean characters shown to maybe not be all bad, and seemingly perfect folk making it apparent they have a number of flaws all their own. This is one of the stranger and best comics I've read, and as with my reviews of the previous books I encourage you to check this out.
5 out of 5 stars.

Citrus Volumes 2-5

I quite liked the first volume of Citrus, a weird little slice-of-life Yuri-themed tale about two step-sisters with an extremely complicated and somewhat taboo relationship. Written and illustrated by Saburouta, my library had the other five volumes that have come in out English so I requested they be put on hold. I gave them all a read and now here we are! As for volumes #2-#5, I enjoyed them a great deal too but started to notice the plot will at times advance certain aspects at quite the glacial pace.

The whole point of this manga is centered on the relationship between two step-sisters and their will-they-or-won't-they relationship (as presented to younger-adult readers), but it finally takes to the end of the 4th volume/start of the 5th volume for the characters to agree they are actually dating and for the plot to show some glimmers of life outside of pages and pages of repressed longing and, "I don't know how to handle these feelings,"-type chapters. It results in books #3 and #4 feeling like they drag a bit, with the attempt to spice things up by introducing new characters in each who complicate things coming off more as filler than exciting plot developments. As I mentioned though, the fifth volume finally seems to have some momentum as an interesting development occurs with a student-government election and actual stakes (the risk of being expelled) as opposed to just the earlier books never-ending, "I like you--no I don't--yes I do--no I don't." I'm thinking when the sixth book comes out it will keep the invigorated pace of the latest volume, at least I hope it does.
Volume 2: 4 out of 5 stars.
Volumes 3 and 4: 3 out of 5 stars.

Volume 5: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

High School of the Dead Vol. 1 & 2
I read this, but honestly have trouble recalling much about it. I recently read the writer passed away, which is sad, but that's about all I remember off the top of my head. I mean, I didn't hate it, but clearly not much stuck with me. Essentially a zombie outbreak occurs and the first volume follows some high school students in Japan as they struggle to deal with it. Volume 2 gets a bit more interesting as we see how other folk are handling the outbreak, because frankly the high schoolers themselves are a little dull and some bathing-related nudity in the 2nd volume makes it clear the book realizes readers need something to keep their attention. The art is passable and at times shows a nice flourish during scenes of zombie-fighting action, but little stood-out to me--as I said, I'm having trouble recalling much of note in this manga. I don't regret reading it, but if I had paid for the books (as I did with some of the manga I've reviewed) as opposed to getting them from my local library I might be a little perturbed. I'd rate these a boring-yet-not-terrible...
2 out of 5 stars (for both volumes).

Safe-for-work smileys!

Aqua Bless and Peachy Triangle
I read and quite enjoyed the sexually charged, "Vanilla Essence," which was basically illustrated pornography/"boderline h/hentai", but really sex-positive and peppy pornography. I reached out to the publisher behind the book, Project H (please note that website is not safe for work at all), who were happy to provide some other titles for review I thought looked interesting--specifically, "Aqua Bless," and, "Peachy Triangle." "Aqua Bless," is from the creator of, "Vanilla Essence," Yamatogawa, and has some fun and sexy tales, with the first one being especially striking in how it tells the story of a young woman who has psychic abilities she can't control that involve her feeling the sexual pleasure of everyone around her--despite physically being a virgin herself. If I may spoil the twist at the end of the story, it seems her gift may actually be shared with others through the act of having sex, almost like some kind of sexually-transmitted-psychic-power--it is good and silly fun. Another humorous yarn is where a twin poses as her sister to get a young man to admit his feelings for her--but as always seem to happen in situations where twins pose as one another things go pretty awry. It's a really funny (and sexy) book for sure.

"Peachy Triangle," is--as the title hints--about a love triangle. Written and illustrated by Renya Sabashi, it centers on a young man named Kazuki who is interested in a classmate named Ako, but she's more into another girl named Chikage. They enter in a poly-relationship of sorts but a variety of factors come-up that result in some dramatic (and raunchy) situations. There are some other shorter stories besides the main one but they were a little less remarkable. "Peachy Triangle," was overall a fine book and interesting, but it lacked as much of the humor that, "Aqua Bless," had that made it so enjoyable. Both books were great though and if you like your manga highly sexually-charged, Project H doesn't disappoint.
Aqua Bless: 5 out of 5 stars.
Peachy Triangle: 4 out of 5 stars.

Inuyashiki Volumes 2-5

The first book wasn't too bad, but also lacked much, "Wow," factor. I was able to get my hands on books 2-5 thanks to the City Library however, and read through all the volumes I got in an epic multiple-hour reading session one weekend. Having read more of the story I would say it definitely gets more interesting, and whereas I found, "Gantz," starting to lose me with its 3rd book after five of these I'm still quite intrigued by this title. Writer and artist Hiroya Oku has been giving us an interesting take on super-hero styled stories, but without the usual capes and such. This instead is more grounded, focusing on a world where our hero (Inuyashiki Ichiro) has his body destroyed and rebuilt by aliens, and in an effort to still feel human goes around helping others. What is interesting, is that in the second book we focus on a young schoolboy named Shishigami  Hiro who also was affected by that alien crash, but he goes in the opposite direction. Hiro starts murdering people with his powers for little reason other than it makes him feel alive, and then when asked by a friend agrees to try helping people instead, but at this point it is too late and everyone wants to hunt him down--including Ichiro.

It is fascinating and terrifying how Hiro is essentially a sociopath who can as easily murder people as heal them with nary a second thought. After all, if these two people were given powers and did such drastically different things, just imagine what could happen if more people were given this, "Gift." The books follow Ichiro as he helps people and Hiro as he does the opposite, with a big final-battle not yet occurring in any of these books, but clearly on its way to taking place in the near future. Some solidly entertaining reading for sure.
4 out of 5 stars.

Akira Volume 1
Ah, we might as well close this review segment on an OG of manga (and anime). Until recently (as these reviews have discussed) I wasn't especially into manga, and the only anime-properties I enjoyed were, "Gundam Wing," and without a doubt, "Akira." A fascinating piece of entertainment that some consider the most important animation property of all time, before the movie sent shock-waves through the world there was of course the manga. As for rating the manga? I mean, its got great artwork, an exciting story, and is otherwise a really great time. I don't think at this point when something is this ingrained in the cultural zeitgeist that it would matter what I'd rate it in terms of stars, but I can easily say it is...
5 out of 5 stars.

A Variety of Interesting Books
Some of what I read was really good, other books were admittedly a bit lacking. I continue to greatly enjoy manga and its variety of genres, however. Should any of my readers have a manga they would recommend please feel free to comment on this post or email me. I am so lacking in knowledge when it comes to manga as compared to Western-comics so I always appreciate tips on what to check-out next.

Television Tuesday: Why I Quit Watching Fallon and Now Religiously Watch Colbert

I was a fan of, "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," when it first came out. It was fun, lighthearted, and silly--a good way to close out the workday. Then our nation went utterly insane and Donald Trump gained political ground before being elected President against all logic. Due to his softball questioning of Trump at the time and otherwise acting all chummy with a monster, Fallon now has basically no respect and is suffering a lot in the T.V. ratings. There has been some sympathy for Jimmy Fallon with people saying he's a, "Nice guy," and that makes him somehow a sympathetic character. The thing is, as this piece at Nylon argues, the, "Nice guy," sometimes is his own kind of dangerous narcissist.

Personally, I got sick of how Fallon seemed more interested in telling fluffy jokes and being friends with all his guests than asking pressing questions of his guests or at least having a monologue with some bite. It didn't bug me too much at first, but then, well, Trump. I used to be at a point where I would sometimes watch Fallon and occasionally Colbert, but over the past number of months I've found myself never watching Fallon and viewing Colbert intently and without fail. I'm not alone in this either as while Fallon's rating are sinking, Colbert's are soaring.

Stephen Colbert is not afraid to, "Go there," even if it has caused controversy when he uses especially shocking language (which gets bleeped, but we know what he is saying). I appreciate he is willing to do so, call-out our joke of a President, and otherwise be funny while making important points. Fallon can keep trying to be a, "Nice guy," but I will be tuning-in to Colbert.

What is the Xbox One X and Who is it For? Is Anyone Excited?

Forgive me for my ignorance as I am getting older and increasingly out of touch with, "The kids," today as I've discussed before in relation to the Nintendo Switch and popular music, but that said, can someone explain to me what exactly the Xbox One X is (or who it is for)? It was announced at E3 this year and it confuses me horribly. Are we looking at something similar to the Playstation 4 Pro that will play all upcoming games but make them just a bit better-looking or is this a brand-new console that the Xbox One won't be able to play the games of? Okay, I checked and this is more like a PS4 Pro. It will have those 4k graphics I keep hearing about and will be able to play really old Xbox games too, it seems, but again, who is this for? Even the website IGN, which fawns over everything video-game companies do, seems unsure who will want this.

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the price, which is a hefty charge of $499 before tax, or as Polygon says, "Be prepared to pay for that power," with, "The power," referring to how this thing has a ton of computing ability, making it the, "Most powerful--and expensive--console in the world," as The Guardian puts it, which when compared to top-of-the-line gaming computers still makes it relatively weak, if we are being honest.

This is a monstrosity for sure...

Also, while we are being honest, does anyone actually want this? Yes, there are the people out there who always want to be on the cutting-edge and have the, "Best," console with the prettiest graphics and fastest speed, but is this geared more towards folk who want to upgrade their old Xbox Ones or people who don't have an Xbox One yet? Oh, and if someone doesn't have an Xbox One yet what are the odds they want one enough to shell out half a grand as opposed to just getting the weaker and cheaper version? Is this for folk who were dying to play their original Xbox games on a newer console because for some reason the original Xbox doesn't suit them anymore? As I keep asking, who is this for?

This isn't a new console in the sense it is a generational step forward that you have to buy to play the games, it is a weird half-step that seems to muddy the waters of console generations just as the PS4 Pro did. In case you can't tell, I 'm lacking much interest in this thing.

Everyone's Pissed at Howard Chaykin and Image for, "Divided States of America," But Should They Be?

Howard Chaykin recently had the first issue of his, "Divided States of Hysteria," released from Image Comics. I quite liked it but it seems to have pissed many people off, with it being declared transphobic, racist, or otherwise horrific. As I have shown many times on my blog and in everyday life I am someone who is extremely politically conscious, against hate, and otherwise a fighter for respect and rights. so when it comes to people mad at this comic...I just don't get it. There is a scene in this comic with transphobic characters, yes, but does that make the comic transphobic? There are also scenes with racism, hatred, and all of that, but I am 99% sure Chaykin is not having this reflect his own views, it is for his story. He says in the essay in the back of the book itself, this is a twisted view of an America torn apart by hateful people doing terrible things. It is a fun-house mirror reflection of what our nation is becoming and meant to be taken as hyperbolic and absurd.

Now, I am a cisgender, heterosexual, white man, so as much as I strive to be cognizant of the challenges and hatred faced by people who are minority individuals, gay, trans, or anything besides the so-called, "Majority," I can't truly understand what it is like to be someone who is within that demographic. Perhaps if I were transgender I would have immensely different feelings about this comic. That said, this whole book is full of bombastic excess and shocking imagery, because that is the point. This isn't Chaykin pulling a Frank Miller and giving us an earnest-yet-terrible, "Holy Terror," he is fully aware how terrible and cliché many of the people in this book are because, as I said, this is an exaggerated, "What-if," as opposed to reality.

The craziest thing about all this is that it will probably increase interest in the book and make any copies still on shelves relatively scarce as many folk are going to want to pick this up and, "See what all the fuss is about," so thanks to this controversy Image will potentially have yet another hit on their hands. Funny how that works, ain't it?

Thoughts on the Passing of Adam West

Adam West just recently passed away this week and while many folk have already shared their thoughts I took some time to mull-over what I wanted to say. You see, Adam West was liked by pretty much everyone but the role he is arguably most famous for playing--the 1960's-era Batman--was extremely polarizing. It is funny to think a man many loved took part in a role that to this day a large number of people hate for how it made Batman, "Campy."

I myself feel the campy Batman can coexist in the public consciousness with the grim-and-gritty Batman and hold no ill will toward the role, and as I said, Adam West was a great guy too from what I've heard and the brief time I was able to speak to him at a comic convention some years ago (he was very nice).

Whether he was Batman, the mayor of Quahog on, "Family Guy," or in a variety of other roles (I remember hearing his voice when playing the video-game, "XIII," and recognizing it) West was always enjoyable to watch (or listen-to for his voice-over work). He will be missed.

Reminder: Saint Louis Comic-Con is Next Week!

I just wanted to remind everyone that the Saint Louis Comic-Con is next week and I am very excited for it. Last year I had a fantastic time and this year looks to be even bigger and packed with more excitement and guests! It is especially cool that Chris Claremont will be there, as much credit is owed to him for his extensive time writing the, "X-Men," and giving us a ton of great stories. Plenty of other awesome guests and vendors will be present as well, parking is free, and tickets are extremely fairly priced. You can purchase tickets here and I look forward to seeing everyone at the show!

Rant-Reviews: Comics I Recently Enjoyed

Shall We Begin?
I have no particular theme this time other than these are all comics I read recently and enjoyed. Sometimes my doing a simple concept is the best one, I feel.

Review-Time!
Saga #43
After the heartbreaking conclusion of issue #42 where a world ends and the remaining pages of the comic are literally just pure black nothingness, we arrive at the start of a new arc featuring an issue that can be purchased for just a 25 cents. That's right, a single quarter can get you this amazing book that has continuously brought me immense joy and sorrow. I imagine that quarter-price is also meant to encourage new readers as we get a significant chunk of reviewing what's happened previously within the series during this issue, but plenty of immense interest to us current readers happens too, so I'm still very pleased.

Essentially everyone has gotten themselves into yet another mess, with a devastating miscarriage resulting in a surprising amount of humor (laughter in tragedy, as they say) as the members of two warring races who fell in love--Alana and Marko--have to figure out what to do considering the unborn 2nd-child they were going to have would raise a lot of questions if either of them went to their home-planets. Also, there are monsters made out of literal shit, so yeah, "Saga," continues to be one of the best books on the stands and at a price this good to start reading it, you don't really have an excuse for missing-out on this series.
5 out of 5 stars.

Infamous Iron Man #8
Brian Michael Bendis, you can be as enjoyable a writer as an infuriating one. Whether turning in amazing work on books such as, "Daredevil," and, "Alias," or the recent kinda-continuation of Alias, "Jessica Jones," you can tell some great solo-character tales (and mess-up sometimes too), but you honestly struggle at times with team books, either turning-in decent stuff like, "New Avengers," or absolute garbage such as...your other Avengers stuff. Also, you can't write events. In other words, you can be amazing or really suck, and, "Infamous Iron Man," has actually been...really good?

I picked-up this book as I still hold fond memories of when Bendis and illustrator Alex Maleev worked on the aforementioned, "Daredevil," so seeing he was doing the artwork made me pick-up this book that spins-out of the atrocious, "Civil War II," where Tony Stark apparently was beaten into a coma by Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel for...reasons? Anyways, it follows Dr. Doom who has a repaired face thanks to, "Secret Wars," and now wants to be a hero. The book has been enjoyable in its studying of both good guys and bad guys who just can't believe that of all people Victor Von Doom is trying to be heroic. It seems like he might actually be trying though, and its been a fun read (with awesome art) as he tries. So, of course we need to muddy things further with an evil version of Reed Richards from the now-dead Ultimate Universe. That aside, this issue was more good stuff of Dr. Doom (and an appearance by fellow Ironman-suit-utilizer Riri Williams). Now we just have to hope this book continues to be good and doesn't fall apart or get sucked into some event (I have really been hating the Marvel events lately).
4 out of 5 stars.

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #104
I continue to read and enjoy, "Tarot," thanks to its delightful writing, and artwork brought to us by the talented Jim Balent and Holly Golightly. Ever since the big wedding issue a variety of challenges have come Tarot's way, as well as her sister, Raven Hex. That makes this issue where everyone goes to a big Pagan High-Ritual known as, "Beltane," more of a relaxed pause in the series as opposed to some of the more action-packed or plot-filled issues. It still is good fun however, and develops some ongoing stories, such as how the happy-go-lucky character of Jon/Skeleton Man may have actually kept a lot of darkness from his past hidden.

Balent continues to illustrate mystical creatures, scenes of fighting, and the female form beautifully, and colorist and letterer Holly Golightly expertly ties everything together as per usual. I can't brag and say I've read, "Tarot," from the start, but I have been reading it for a good deal of time now and always find it to be a highly enjoyable time. Over the years these characters have really grown on me and I look forward to hopefully many more years with them.
5 out of 5 stars.

'Namwolf #2
When I first saw the solicit for this series, I was basically sold on the idea of a Werewolf in Vietnam. I figured as long as this comic gave me that I would be happy. The first issue supplied that and then in this issue we get to watch our werewolf fight a weird green bat-monster too, so yes, I'm pleased! Fabian Rangel Jr. (who also was a part of the, "Tarantula," graphic novel I loved and recently reviewed) writes and Logan Faerber masterfully illustrates this tale of a young man going to Vietnam and discovering a monster lives inside him, eager to get out.

The whole concept (a werewolf in Vietnam) is itself silly, so the book thankfully doesn't play things completely serious, but it also manages to avoid seeming utterly silly. It is like those old 1980's action flicks with a dash of horror that were just self-aware enough to avoid seeming dumb (which the creators have said is in fact the intention). I wish we would get a little more characterization of everyone besides the titular 'Namwolf as outside of learning their names in the previous issue the rest of the platoon has been pretty undefined and just kind of, there. That slight aside, the second issue of "'Namwolf," is a fun read and one I look forward to reading the next issue of!
4 out of 5 stars.

The Divided States of Hysteria #1
Howard Chaykin is an interesting person in the field of comics. He's been making them for decades and almost everyone loves his, "Early," stuff but the material he puts out now later in his career gets him regarded as either a genius or utterly insane. I personally feel he maybe is a bit of both. As he says in an essay in the back of this first issue, when this comic was first announced and being made he and everyone else thought Hillary Clinton would be President and this book imaging a world full of terrorism, racism, homophobia, and people acting violent towards each other would be more of a tale saying, "Here's the worst-case scenario that could have happened," as opposed to being more of a reflection of current events with just a little bit of hyperbole (in ""The Divided States of Hysteria," there have already been more terror attacks on the nation and our President was assassinated in a failed coup of sorts, so thing aren't yet quite this awful).

Chaykin is both the writer and illustrator here, giving us some bloody violence and sex while presenting a narrative of a nation creeping close a tipping-point of utter chaos now that the myths everyone believed of American exceptionalism have clearly been destroyed and everyone seems to hate each other...God, it really is like a fun-house mirror of today, ain't it? At the issues' conclusion it is clear yet another terrorist attack has begun on America and things will only get worse. It is a brutally bleak comic considering how right now terrorist attacks are actively happening in other parts of the world and our whole country is holding its breath in hopes we aren't attacked and our horrifically incompetent President (seriously, fuck Trump) has to try and be effective. It is depressing to think a comic that was supposed to seem over-the-top now reads as uncomfortably plausible, but I would say no matter how horrific, "The Divided States of Hysteria," seems, it is a wholly necessary hard look in the mirror of the path our nation is on and desperately needs to get off of. Yeah, Chaykin is definitely both a bit of a genius and crazy.
5 out of 5 stars.

All Quality Reads
I like when I can just kick-back on the couch (or a smaller-but-comfy chair, whatever works), relax, and read a good comic. I'm happy these books helped me achieve that goal.

I Just Noticed One Big Homoerotic Element in, "Predator," AKA Are Mac and Blain Gay?

I've talked before about how despite it seemingly like nearly everyone hates it, I adore, "Predator 2," and think it is even better than the first movie, having watched it repeatedly and more often than the alien's debut-flick. That said, "Predator," is still a damn good movie and I thought I might as well revisit it as I hadn't seen it in so long that I could barely remember anything outside of some catchphrases and the awesome fight between Arnold Schwarzenegger (known in the movie as, "Dutch,") and the Predator at the conclusion. Therefore, imagine my surprise this weekend upon viewing it when I noticed one really obvious homoerotic element in the movie that I don't think is me reading too much into the film so much as my previously not reading into it enough.

Now then, plenty of people have constructed elaborate theories about how, "Predator," is a big metaphor for being gay, etc. etc. but I'd argue that really requires you to do a lot of mental gymnastics and search for symbolism where none is possibly meant. No, the homoerotic element that I feel is completely apparent and barely hidden is Mac and Blain. Mac is played by Bill Duke and Blain is of course portrayed by former wrestler and past-Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura. Throughout the movie they seem to have a very close relationship and enjoy talking and hanging-out with one another, but nothing seems overly romantic or sexual. However, when Blain is killed by the Predator Mac clearly is struck by this, screaming and crying. The biggest hint in my opinion that there is more to them however is when Dutch/Arnold says how Blain was a good soldier and Mac says how, "He was...uh...my friend."

Is that moment Mac struggling to almost admit he and Blain were more than just friends, or is it Mac simply having difficulty even stating how that as tough-guy soldiers that having friends seems silly to some? Is it a sentence hinting at a gay love or simply a comment on masculinity in general (maybe both)? Perhaps Mac just was very close with Blain in a non-sexual manner that history has often recorded occurs between soldiers who essentially live and work together for months (even years) at a time. That said, Mac's emotions seem just a little bit more strong, a little more struck, than someone who was simply, "A friend," with another man.

One of the biggest ironies in this would be that I believe Blain's first lines involve a homophobic slur. When everyone else on the helicopter refuses his offer of chewing tobacco at start of the movie he declares how they are all, "Slack-jawed faggots," because the stuff he's got makes him into a, "Sexual Tyrannosaur," which has the nearby Mac just grin almost knowingly. Is Blain truly being casually homophobic or is he making-up for something else? Is he the person protesting loudly about, "The gays," who actually is a same gender loving man himself?

Again, I could be reading too much into this, but I keep coming back to that line, "He was...uh...my friend," and how much is said in those two moments of silence. Other people out there on the internet have wondered about this too, with the general conclusion being an unsure, "Maybe?" Regardless of if they are or aren't lovers, "Predator," is still a damn good movie loaded with lots of action, suspense, and maybe, just maybe, some unexpected subtextual romance I can't believe I previously didn't pick up on.

I Got Published in, "The Moon Zine!"

I enjoy writing (as this blog obviously illustrates) and have at times written for various internet or published entities. There is a local Zine here in Saint Louis known as, "The Moon Zine," that I discovered some months ago and have enjoyed reading. They always welcome contributions so when I saw they had a music-themed issue, I submitted a yarn I wanted to share. It was a brief essay and I am pleased to report they liked my autobiographical story enough they included it!

There are only so many issues that get released but they always have a digital version of every issue and the one that I'm in can be found at this link. I encourage you to check the issue out and enjoy my piece, and then perhaps give other issues a look via here.

"Tarantula" Review AKA One of the Weirdest Graphic Novels I've Ever Read (In a Good Way)

Some months ago I saw a solicitation in, "Previews," magazine for a graphic novel that sounded very intriguing, "Tarantula." Published by AdHouse Books and featuring the work of Alexis Ziritt, Fabian Rangel Jr. and Evelyn Rangel, I looked at the preview artwork and immediately had my interest piqued. It is about how some surreal heroes (including the titular Tarantula) come together to fight a Satanic cult backed by a corrupt local Government that aims to potentially destroy the world. The comic almost sounds like a normal heroic-yarn with supernatural elements when you hear such a description, but if you were to think this at all blasé you would be horribly wrong as this is one of the weirdest graphic novels I've ever read--in a good way! I am very glad I reached-out to the publisher to request a digital copy for the purposes of review, in other words.

The artwork within "Tarantula," is bizarre, trippy, and otherwise psychedelic. A simple conversation between characters can be fascinating thanks to how almost everyone in the book is drawn in such a strange way--be they bird-people, lizard-based, have geometric shapes for a head, or be other monstrous humanoids. Reading this tale of good versus evil feels like stepping into a druggy-haze when you start flipping through the book, with things just getting increasingly weirder as you go along with all sorts of creatures popping-up on the scene. It is a bit like watching an old 1970's exploitation-cinema movie that somehow has an unlimited budget for visuals as gorgeous as they are grotesque.

Between scenes of gunplay, brutal fistfights, interrogations at strip-clubs, and all kinds of weird demon-worship this comic oozes with a grindhouse-esque vibe that I absolutely adored. As I said, the plot ostensibly sounds simple with some heroes fighting some villains, but the story is so expertly paced and illustrated that it turns into a complex mix of drugged-out ideas that encourages readers to let their minds dip into the beautiful madness as Tarantula and her fellow heroes save the day.

"Tarantula," is being published by AdHouse Books, as I mentioned, and will be for sale as of this coming Wednesday, June 7th, 2017. I encourage you to check out its listing on the AdHouse Books website and for sure recommend getting a copy so that you too can absorb its unearthly weirdness.
5 out of 5 stars.

Note: A digital copy of, "Tarantula," was provided for the purposes of review upon my request to the publisher.