Rant-Review Mayhem Part 1: Boom! Studios, Amigo Comics, and IDW Publishing

It Begins
We shall start this deluge of reviews with some smaller-sized purveyors of quality comic-books. These are the non-Big-Two publishers that are not necessarily as known as Image, but definitely good-sized contenders in the field of comics (Boom! and IDW) or a relatively newer publisher with enough cool stuff I think they could possibly grow their presence (Amigo).

Review-Time!
Deep State #1
A brand-new release from BOOM! Studios, "Deep State" has the interesting hook that our protagonists are a part of an agency that many don't even know exists and which makes sure certain truths don't get out that could cause the world to collapse. In this issue we are introduced to our aforementioned main characters and learn some shocking things about how the moon landing really went down (basically, we had already been there a bunch before the landing everyone knew about). It's an issue of mostly set-up and I would have liked to learn more about the mysterious fellow known as John Harrow, but I overall enjoyed the issue, and considering how Justin Jordan is a solid writer I expect things will get fleshed-out appropriately in future ones.
3 out of 5 stars.

Thomas Alsop #6
Writer Chris Miskiewicz has been building-up quite the intriguing character in the form of the comic's titular Thomas Alsop. A realty-T.V. star who also is a magician tasked with protecting the island of Manhattan from evil forces. I was hesitant at first when the comic started incorporating 9/11, but it has done it in a way that is quite tasteful and cleverly enough has had other characters calling out Alsop for his plan to perform a ritual at the site of the towers' destruction. This issue moved at a bit quicker of a pace than previous ones, working a lot of events into its page-span and that made it feel a bit more rushed than earlier issues. Thankfully it does still continue to build-up the suspense of if Alsop is going to succeed at his goal of helping the trapped spirits of 9/11 or is going to just make an ass of himself.. Considering he has done an equal mixture of both we will see.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Roman Ritual #1

While Alsop's book may be focused on a more positive kind of exorcism, "Roman Ritual" deals with the nasty demon-influenced kind. Focused on the character of Father Brennan, the comic starts out with us seeing him in a church-imposed exile due to past actions which we only see hints of in this issue. It starts out a bit like your usual dull tale of an exorcist being called by the Catholic church for a big threat, but then the admittedly quite fascinating twist is introduced toward the end of the issue. If I may spoil that reveal, it turns out none other than the pope himself has been possessed by a demon and it may all be up to Father Brennan to attempt and cure him. El Torres wrote another comic I enjoyed, "The Westwood Witches," so I imagine that with things finally starting to get moving at the conclusion of this issue I'll actually quite enjoy the 2nd one. While at first I was bored with this comic, that stellar twist at the end helps this earn a solid...

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Beast Commandos #1
What happens when a joke is delivered so deadpan and without even the slightest wink that you almost think it could be taken at face-value? I guess you might end up with this comic. While the solicitations from Amigo declare this is meant to be a mixture of homage and parody of the over-the-top action comics of the 1990's, it is done without any hint of irony to the degree you could swear it is one of those 1990's comics. This results in a comic that looks good but has a story that is completely uninspiring. If you're going to do a take on the extreme comics of the 1990's and declare it is more than just a love-letter but also a satirical take you have to follow-up that claim with more than the usual "gags" of the hero seeming extreme and violent, or the villain having a slightly funny obsession with guns (maybe the one hint of self-awareness). As I said, at least it looks good and that makes it good enough to be considered average.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Bigger Bang #1
A new title from IDW, "The Bigger Bang" is a weird mixture of super-heroics, space opera, and humor. The overall concept is mostly just hinted at until towards the end of the comic and within some of the back-matter where we start to see it revealed how this being known as "Cosmos" has spent billions of years trying to help others throughout the Universe due to the fact that when he was created--in the only other known big bang to occur where there is already matter--he obliterated countless other lives on Earth and Mars along with causing general disruption to the Universe. It's a clever concept and one I wish were explored a bit more outside of the back-matter, as the main comic itself just sort of focuses on Cosmos travelling around space and doing good deeds in an effort to make-up for his own feelings of personal responsibility behind how his birth killed so many others.

The humor comes from an evil alien overlord named King Thulu who is both funny in his ignorance and a bit threatening. His desire to make other planets bow to him and how Cosmos makes that difficult forms the clear signs of some potential conflict, and the art-style is nice in its scratchy-style at making Thulu look a bit absurd and Cosmos appear impressive. This is a strange comic and one that I think I'll need to check out at least the next issue of to get a better feel for where it might be going.
3 out of 5 stars.

A Good Start
We've reviewed the smaller-level publishers and have gotten off to a good start of some mostly-solid comics. In just a bit we'll look at some stuff from Image comics!

A Rant-Review Avalanche Is Coming

Today shall be a certifiable avalanche of Rant-Review AKA capsule reviews. For some reason I just feel like sharing my thoughts on a bunch of comics and therefore shall do a trio of posts, each made up of five comics being reviewed, for a grand total of fifteen reviews. Why those numbers, you may ask? I dunno, it just felt right.

Anyways, the reviews will be split-up by groupings of publishers, and this initial post will link to those three separate posts after they go up. The posts will be:

At 10:00 AM:
Rant-Review Mayhem Part 1: BOOM! Studios, Amigo Comics, and IDW Publishing

At 2:00 PM:
Rant-Review Mayhem Part 2: Image Comics

At 6:00 PM:
Rant-Review Mayhem Part 3: Marvel and DC

I hope you enjoy my multitude of reviews and if you don't I'll refund your money. Wait, I do this site for free? Then who keeps sending me those check? Oh no, I owe the government a whole lot of money for that time-travel prototype that didn't work out...

Spotlight on Three of the Comics Published by "Birdcage Bottom Books"

Why A "Spotlight"?
I've been looking more and more into independent comics, as I've discussed on this blog. One publisher whose output I found to be especially interesting was Birdcage Bottom Books. I've picked-up some of their stuff at one of my local comic shops and after talking with the publisher, J.T. Yost, was able to view some more titles . Having looked at so much of their material that I both purchased and received for the purpose of review I figured I could do a spotlight of sorts on three of their books, discussing what I liked along with what wasn't enjoyed by me. At the end of this you can check them out at their website and look at what I reviewed along with their other products--or you don't have to; I mean, it's your life, do what you want. Where were we? Oh yes, reviewing some of BBB's stuff.

Stuff From Birdcage Bottom Books

Tales of Good Ol' Snoop Doggy Dogg

I love that cover with its allusion to "Peanuts".

A mini-comic written and illustrated by BBB's publisher, J.T. Yost, this booklet consists of Yost sharing some strange dreams he has had about adventures with Snoop in addition to telling an autobiographical tale of how he came to discover Snoop's music. As a fan of the Dogg myself, I found this comic enjoyable and could relate to Yost's experiences. The early sections focusing on Yost's dreams are perfectly alright, but I actually found myself more interested in when he starts telling us about how he came to learn of Snoop Dogg. This is probably because while the earlier stories are fun, we see more of a vulnerable side to Yost in the autobiographical tale where he shares how he was another nerdy kid who suddenly found himself enraptured with the fascinating beats and rhymes of Snoop's music. Perhaps the fact almost all of us can relate to those uncomfortable moments of being a teenager are why that last story especially spoke to me. Without the last tale the comic would be a solid 3 stars, but thanks to that solid last part this gets...
4 out of 5 stars.

Loud Comix #3

An anthology series with the concept being the stories are authored by members of rock bands and other music enthusiasts, this issue came out in earlier 2014. The first story features a tale by Alan King--who admits to having been in some bands you probably haven't heard of--and how he ended up making a mess in his pants at a Motorhead concert. It is pretty funny and gross--two things I always enjoy.

After that is a short comic called, "Roxie and Molly," about  two prostitutes discussing finding a new pimp. It is wholly unremarkable and a little depressing in that the main gag is that the pimp they want to go to has poor upper-body strength and therefore can't hit them hard--I did not like it. Next-up is a story by Eric Perfect about the days when he used to do a lot of cocaine and had to deal with the paranoia that came with it. It's a perfectly fine story if not particularly remarkable or interesting outside of the usual, "Boy, drugs sure do make you paranoid, don't they?" theme. Next up is a one-pager featuring Roxie and Molly talking with a blind man where the punch-line this time is that they smell so rancid down-there that he thinks they are carrying a tub a fish. Yeah, not very funny and if there are jokes about lady-business that have been run into the ground that's definitely one of them.

Meh, that joke is pretty played-out.

We then get a pretty humorous tale by Joel Rivers in which he discusses the absurd lengths he went to back during his high-school years in the hopes of getting a girl he lusted after to flash him her breasts. Basically, he and his friends had to pretend they were satanists and it all ended up being for naught anyways. It's quite funny. Afterwards is another Roxie and Molly comic that again doesn't really go anywhere or say anything funny. Lastly, we  get the start of a comic featuring a man known as "Captain Catastrophy" written by Christian Males and it isn't bad, but is really just the set-up to how the Captain and a man he is traveling with inadvertently are going to make a bunch of bloodthirsty bikers angry. It is a bit annoying it ends right when things start to get interesting.

Overall this third issue of "Loud Comix" suffers from how it has two solid stories (the first one about Motorhead and Joel Rivers yarn about pretending to be a satanist), but otherwise is pretty mediocre-to-poor depending on if its the duller stories, the final one ending right before things get exciting, or the horribly unfunny Roxie and Molly. There is a new issue out and it may be better, but for this one the mixture of quality evens out to make a comic that is a bit below-average with a rating of...
2 out of 5 stars.

Cringe: An Anthology of Embarrassment

I've reviewed two titles that could be called mini-comics, but Birdcage Bottom Books does put out good-sized trades too. One of their latest is an anthology wherein people share tales of embarrassment and humiliation. We as individuals seem to hate our own moments of misery but relish reading about others' pains for some reason--the German's call it schadenfreude--and  that is probably one reason I greatly enjoyed, nay, loved this book.

There is a good assortment of talent, from folk I know of pretty well (Noah Van Sciver, Jeffery Brown) to other individuals I have not heard of before but found myself quite impressed by (Lizz Lunney's contribution, "Levels of Embarrassment," was hilarious in its listing of degrees of shame a person can feel and has me wanting to seek out other works by her). The stories have a wide-range from incidents of slight discomfort (a man who already has a girlfriend trying to massage the author's shoulders in a darkroom) to being mad at another person (a fellow grade-schooler mad that people liked the author's artwork ruined all of his crayons and lied about it), to just looking like a huge, embarrassed fool (thoroughly insulting a rude woman at a bar who turns out to be the girlfriend of the author's good chum he was waiting for). Each segment has some aspect that makes you cringe as the title says, and that results in some quality storytelling.

This occurs after a page-long series of insults.

"Cringe" is a bunch of fun and while many anthologies can fall victim to having some amazing stories and some poor ones, there honestly was not one yarn in this anthology that I disliked! Considering how everything in this book was at least good, and a lot was amazing I can without hesitation award this book...
5 out of 5 stars.

Closing Musings
From these reviews you can see that just because something comes from an independent publisher that doesn't automatically guarantee it is as awesome as one could hope ("Loud Comix" #3 disappointed), but oftentimes the creative freedom that comes with being a small publisher can result in some wacky and creative work (the "Snoop Doggy Dogg" comic) or something that is just a sheer joy to read ("Cringe" was wonderful). I've always found more I liked than disliked with Birdcage Bottom Books, and  that is why I wanted to review some of their stuff, both good and, "meh." I encourage you to check out the website for the publisher at birdcagebottombooks.com and maybe get the items I recommended or try something else out that tickles your fancy.

Interesting Things From Around the Web

So Much to See, So Much to Learn
There is always something interesting going on in the world, and these links go to those, "somethings," that I found fascinating enough to share.

Links For You, Yes You!

We often don't think about the stuntmen and stuntwomen who play an important part in the movies we enjoy. As long as everything goes well with a scene we shouldn't even realize there was someone else doing the dangerous driving stunt or high-dive off a building. That makes this article about the struggles faced by black stuntmen a fascinating read, as the question of who would do stunts for black actors was something I hadn't considered. The fact that in the past it often would be white men wearing blackface is pretty offensive considering how many black actors struggled to get work.

"Assassin's Creed: Unity" seems to have a launched that could politely be called messy, but we aren't being polite, we're being honest, so let's call it what is it:  A royal clusterfuck. Perhaps the first warning sign that things weren't all right with the game could be see in how it had a review embargo (meaning official reviews couldn't be posted until a certain date and time) that went until 12:00 PM EST, on the day of the games release. I've heard of embargoes that went until the day a game came out but even those only lasted until midnight. With that kind of embargo it kind of looked like Ubisoft was hoping to get people to buy the game or pick-up their pre-order before negative reviews could have swayed them otherwise. Well, it turns out that was likely the case as "Unity" has been getting middling reviews and there has been much talk of how much of a glitchy mess it is. It is such an embarassment for Ubisoft their stock dropped a preciptious 9% post-launch of "Unity" and Forbes called them, "The new EA," and not in a complimentary way.

While we are on the subject of video-games I thought I would share this interesting article on how the first "Modern Warfare" game (which was also the fourth "Call of Duty" title made in the franchise's history) and parts of its sequel were arguably quite good and at times surprisingly introspective about warfare, not falling as much into the jingoistic claptrap that later "Call of Duty"-related games did--I mean seriously, you get Oliver North to promote "Black Ops 2"? The man is arguably war criminal!

"Born in the USA" actually has lyrics that are darkly cynical and bitter about the United States. Countless politicians have seemed to miss out on this and used it as a cheery campaign-trail jingle. Therefore, this article asks if politicians are too dumb to understand what the song is actually about, or just don't care as it sounds catchy.

That cat and duck are best friends? I find that awesome!

Lastly, I always tell people I hate cats despite owning two, as the ones that live with my lady and myself are different from most. That said, I still find this website, with the adorable name of, "lovemeow.com" that I discovered with heartwarming stories and pictures of cats to be highly enjoyable.

COPRA by Michel Fiffe AKA One Of the Best Comic-Series Currently Being Made

I Love It...

The cover to the first trade paperback.

I love Michel Fiffe's "COPRA". Now, I should admit that I have only read the first six issues as collected in the trade paperback I bought at my local shop under the name, "COPRA: Round One," and the series is now up to its 18th issue, but Fiffe is already planning to release a second trade that takes us up to issue 12 by January so I anticipate I can get caught up pretty quickly between that and buying some of the single issues he sells via his Etsy store. Yes, he sells his self-published comics via Etsy, making him somewhat known in the indie-comics field as "The Etsy guy" as this fascinating interview he did with The Comics Journal discussed, among other interesting subjects.

Fiffe is starting to do some, "Mainstream," work such as writing an Ultimate-Universe comic for Marvel (that sadly is already cancelled, but that has more to do with Marvel horribly mismanaging the Ultimate Universe lately as opposed to placing any fault with Fiffe). Before Fiffe became more known however he did some various comic-work with independent collectives and put out a one-man anthology known as "Zegas". "COPRA" is his work that has taken him from being a quality independent comic-maker that few people know of to a quality independent comic-maker whose work has become a certifiable hit--and upon reading "CORPA" it is easy to see why.

So, What Is It About?

"COPRA" draws inspiration from "Suicide Squad"

I've told you how I love "COPRA" but I have not yet actually told you what the comic is about, have I? Basically, it is a bit like DC Comic's Suicide Squad in that it is about a government group made up of questionable characters. If you aren't very familiar with any comics featuring "Suicide Squad" then don't worry because I have barely any knowledge of it either, besides having read some of the New 52 version that this doesn't draw from as much as apparently when the comic was done by John Ostrander in the 1980's. So yes, this comic has a spiritual debt to that DC title (Fiffe was such a lover of it he even made his own unofficial fan-comicbefore doing "COPRA") but it is of course in its own universe of Fiffe's making. Fiffe writes, illustrates, and does the coloring for this comic, so it is all purely his own vision and no one else, so even if there is the inspiration of "Suicide Squad" in this title it is very much its own beast.

There is the initial concept that COPRA is a black-ops type entity that runs secret missions for the government, and it is run by an individual known as "Sonia Stone", but where does Fiffe go with this? Well, in the first issue he blows it all up--literally. We start with COPRA on what was supposed to be a simple mission acquiring a strange alien artifact, but then half the squad we are introduced to are murdered by a former COPRA agent known as Vitas, who then proceeds to blow up a town and have the blame placed squarely on COPRA, and that all literally happens within just the confines of the first issue!

I feel bad for the town that blows up.

From that point forward the comic follows an interesting trend of showing the remnants of COPRA splitting up in order to work at figuring out why they were betrayed, and recruit former members whom are still among the living--in addition to showing us some evil plotting by a being known simply as "Dy Dy". This all leads to a stellar fourth issue where with everyone gathered the comic kicks into an over-drive of action that doesn't let up through an amazing fifth issue where the team travels to Tokyo in an effort to find the traitorous Vitas and then has an incredibly-illustrated battle with Vitas and his cronies in an absolutely stellar sixth issue that pays off on all the build-up of recruitment and tracking the Vitas down.

The story is strong and as you can see from my description moves along quite fast. It has a good mixture of humor and also contains some quite dark and sad content--but never feels overly grim' n' gritty to a point you want to sob. The only issue I have would be that at times the sheer cavalcade of characters being introduced can seem overwhelming to the point I was incredibly grateful Fiffe assigns a sort of name-tag and descriptor to every character that appears in the sixth issue where almost everyone meets up and has the aforementioned brawl. I think Fiffe is fully aware that he has given us a lot of characters because I have read that as of the 13th issue he has been doing quick stories that focus on an individual character and allow us to understand better what, "Makes them tick," so to speak.

Look At That Art, Seriously, Just Look At How Great It Is!

Amazing, just amazing.

As I said, the story is strong, but the artwork is what makes me find this comic to be simply amazing. Fiffe has an understanding of the comic-page that I haven't seen in comic-makers much older than he is (Fiffe is relatively young having only been born in 1979). Fiffe illustrates scenes of action in a way that show an understanding of human movement and fluidity in a way that is both at once graceful in how seamlessly the scenes happen and vicious in how violent the moments of action can be. His scenes of fisticuffs or gunfire are drawn in a way that it looks less like violence and more like a ballet of brutality.

Fiffe also uses the fact that comics take place on a two-dimensional printed page in a myriad of creative ways, such as in a scene where one member of COPRA throws an inter-dimensional monster back to where it came from and another being flies out of the portal, with half the page being taken-up by the other dimension and the other half on our planet, with the comic cleverly using a black-line of a panel-border as a way to display the "break" between realities. I haven't seen such creative use of the page in comic-making since J.H. Williams III's work on "Batwoman"--which as with most comics I love came to a tragic end due to editorial meddling. "COPRA" doesn't face the risk of such overseers ruining the magic however, because it all flows from Fiffe's mind onto the page gorgeously.

Gary has a surprisingly normal name for someone who isn't normal-looking at all.

Besides the command of the page itself and a skillful portrayal of action, Fiffe creates characters that are fascinating too, with some looking relatively normal and others being intimidatingly abstract (for instance, a villain named Gary who seems to not have a head so much a series of shapes where his noggin should be). Another interesting thing that gives COPRA its unique look is that Fiffe doesn't seem to ink his pages too much. Often there will be the penciling and color, with a minimal touch of inking to help make certain aspects really, "Pop."

This light use of inking results in a comic with a much lighter-look except for those rare moments when a character that is in fact heavily inked stands out from the page starkly and in the process looks even more impressive (The fact that the main villain Vitas is almost purely black-and-white in appearance makes him all the more scary in how he stands-out so much from everyone else on the page and almost looks like he belongs in a different comic). It all makes for just a wondrous read.

In Case You Couldn't Tell By Now, I'm A Fan

Vitas, the antagonist whom makes such a great comic possible.
Thanks for being so evil, I suppose!

Fiffe's ability to tell a great story and provide some of the snazziest artwork I've seen for some time results in one of the best comics I've read in awhile and means it is also one of the best comic-series currently coming out on a regular basis. I would strongly encourage you to pick up the first trade if your shop carries it already or tell your comic shop to order you a copy as it recently appeared in "Previews" and is now available in a kind of wider-release. This link goes to an order-form you can hand your comic-retailer to make things really easy, and if you lack a comic shop you can always order directly from the publisher here at the website for Bergen Street Comics. You can also check Fiffe's website out here too for more information or visit his Etsy store at this link should you want to examine his works for sale. Considering how I recommend this comic so strongly that I'm giving you simple ways to order it I imagine there is no doubt in your mind that this trade paperback of the first six issues receives a score from me of...
5 out of 5 stars.

Film Friday: I Got Around to Watching That "Edge of Tomorrow" Movie

What do I call this move to start my review? I ask because even though it came out in theaters as "Edge of Tomorrow" and its credits still officially show it as that, on DVD it has been marketed as "Live, Die, Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow" for reasons that seem to be vague but relate to marketing it better. This is somewhat hilarious as the movie is of course based on a manga (which was based on a novel) which had its own different name--"All you Need Is Kill" which for my money is probably the best title. Still, the fact this was based on a comic wasn't really played-up in the advertising for the movie, instead the focus was put on how we get to see Tom Cruise in the high-concept of it being like the classic movie, "Groundhog Day," but with a sci-fi bent and aliens.

Speaking of Tom Crusie, he can bug me when not used properly. I like him in the Mission Impossible movies but he seems hard to utilize at times. "Edge of Tomorrow" actually uses this well, playing-up the idea of him being a generic handsome press-guy who helps promote the war against the aliens but in fact has no combat experience himself. It is kind of meta-fictional in it going, "Hey, I'm just the pretty face who is also a bit of a jerk, I don't actually fight!" considering how in real-life Tom Cruise often comes off as just being a pretty face who is a bit of a jerk on occasion.

Anyways, with that rant about Cruise finished, how is "Edge of Tomorrow" as a movie? Pretty good, but not as amazing as some folk have made it out to be. I saw many articles about how "Edge of Tomorrow" was one of the best movies Cruise has done in awhile and that it was a shame it didn't make as much at the box office as it should have, and I agree it is an enjoyable flick, but for everything I liked there often was something that bugged me.

The whole concept of why Cruise keeps living the day over and over--with it resetting anytime he dies is given a quick explanation at one point in the movie with any questions basically hand-waved away with a, "It's future-science, don't ask," sort of response. Then again, even if the "why" of the movie doesn't make sense at the least the actual resetting of the days brings about some interesting results. Cruise's character of course tries the usual idea of claiming he knows what is going to happen but as one of the few characters who believe him at the start point out, saying you know the future and having some minimal proof will probably just get you put in the Psych Ward by those who don't believe you, and/or getting dissected by those who do and want to figure out how you know what's going on. This results in Cruise and the battle-hardened soldier who trains him (played expertly by Emily Blunt) working to try and figure out a way to actually beat the aliens.

There are some other soldiers who help at points too, but they get so little character development it is hard to care about them besides a mean sergeant played as delightfully unhinged by Bill Paxton. The aliens also don't really get any sort of explanation for why they are invading Earth, with one scene where people actually debate it having Cruise shout out how it doesn't really matter--again, a sort-of meta response to people who would complain that the aliens lack motivation.

The day resetting is cool, but doesn't make sense and even though Cruise and Emily Blunt get good character development everyone else seems inconsequential. Then, the aliens look cool but why they are attacking our planet is never explained. Everything I like has something that bugs me too (kind of like in my pseudo-review of "Destiny").One thing I loved and which doesn't have an opposite thing to bug me however would be the special effects. They are gorgeous. Whether it is a bunch of soldiers storming a beach to fight the aliens, the appearance of the aliens themselves, or all the colorful explosions, this movie is indeed a feast for the eyes.

In conclusion, "Edge of Tomorrow" is a good film that I liked, but not something I would call utterly amazing due to various factors irritating me. It is still well worth a rental however as Cruise and Blunt both do a great acting job and the special effects are a hoot. As long as you don't think too hard about the plot you should be fine. If you go somewhere to rent or purchase it however good luck figuring out if it will be under, "E,"for the "Edge of Tomorrow" title or under, "L," for the "Live, Die, Repeat" title.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

The First 3 Issues of "Terminal Hero" and When A Little Decompression Can Be A Good Thing

The Speedy Intro

That's a cool cover.

I've been reading "Terminal Hero" as I usually enjoy the writing of Peter Milligan and almost always find Piotr Kowlalski's art to be good stuff. I've liked the comic, but find it is one of those rarer occasions when I actually wish things were more, "Decompressed," as they say.

What is Decompression?

Decompression in comics is nothing new. It basically means you take a storyline, scene, or what-have-you and stretch it out for awhile. Whereas in the old days we would see Peter Parker go from a nerdy youth to a super-hero named Spider-Man in the span of a few pages, now a comic will instead spend a good six issues building up to that sort of event. Sometimes people complain comics can feel too decompressed, with Brain Michael Bendis' "Ultimate Spider-Man" being one example of a series that at times seemed to move a bit slowly--whether with Peter Parker or Miles Morales in the lead. Then again, there are those who love "Ultimate Spider-Man" and consider it the best thing Bendis has ever written and continues to write (I think his duo of "Alias" and "Daredevil" are his best work, myself).

Clearly, when it comes to decompression opinions can be mixed, with one person thinking an event comic does over eight issues what should have only taken six at the most (Secret Invasion was a slog), and others wishing the creators would take more time with a storyline, letting us fully enjoy the happenings.

Nowadays it would be a number of issues before we see Spidey in his costume.

I myself fall more on the spectrum of being someone who likes their stories to move along moderately snappy. As I've discussed when mentioning how I'm tired of  the more mainstream comics, part of the reason is that these ongoing series paradoxically don't really go anywhere. Give me a mini-series and it seems like a ton more happens over six issues than two years of another title. This of course isn't always the case (I wish "All-New X-Factor" could go on forever and weren't cancelled with issue #20) but usually is how I feel. Therefore, imagine my surprise at how I've been reading a comic and over its three issues out of the planned six found myself thinking, "Wow, this could really benefit from some decompression."

An Absurdly Fast Pace
"Terminal Hero" has done more over the course of its first three issues than some comics do in a year, and it is only halfway done. In just the debut issue alone, our protagonist, Rory Fletcher, learns he has an inoperable brain tumor, has a friend with hacker-connections gain access to a recipe for a chemical cure another scientist created that might help Rory, gives Rory this cure, finds some nasty side-effects occur when Rory ends up becoming dangerously unstable (he starts getting violent urges and seeing ghostly images of his dead sister), and then Rory ends up killing his friend at the end of the issue right before being confronted by government agents. That's a lot of stuff.

Oh, and the second issue has him running multiple missions for the agents, interacting with the only other person to take the cure (its inventor), having more hallucinations, and then faking his death. The third issue is relatively less crammed with stuff, instead focusing on Rory as he tries to pretend to be someone else, confronting a hallucination that claims to be his tumor made flesh, and being unaware that two other people have gained powers too--so yes, less, but still a great deal of story.

A rare quieter page in the first issue of "Terminal Hero".

I appreciate that "Terminal Hero" wants to give us so much content at an absurdly fast pace, but sometimes I wish it moved a little slower. Why couldn't we see more of Rory's missions? Why wasn't his tumor projecting itself as a version of him teased more over various issues and then given a big reveal later on? I wouldn't want a comic where we don't even learn Rory has a tumor until the end of the debut issue, but couldn't that first issue have spent a bit more time developing the characters instead of instantly starting us off with Rory learning about his condition?

Perhaps I just can't be satisfied. After all, so often I complain I wish comics moved at more of a brisk speed and then I get a series that seems to dash along and want to bemoan that I would prefer it were more decompressed. Still, I just imagine that if this much has happened over only the span of three issues, what  could the remaining half of the series hold? This is slated to only go those six issues, but I feel "Terminal Hero" would have been perfect given 12 or so to breathe. Then again, Peter Milligan is someone who generally does what he wants, so I wouldn't think anyone demanded he only make a six-issue mini-series, this was probably just what he wanted to do.

In the end, I still think "Terminal Hero" has been a good comic so far, and even if I wish it had been a bit more decompressed I'm not that upset at how I get so much story in just a single issue. I just guess that "Terminal Hero" illustrates that for all those times I've complained about wanting my comics to be less decompressed, they could always suffer from the opposite problem. As much as I hate the saying, I suppose, "The grass is always greener on the other side," applies here quite well.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! I'll be handing out candy, watching scary movies, and otherwise relaxing.

Television Tuesday: When Reality Shows Get too Real AKA The Rise and Fall of "Honey Boo Boo"

Once It Was All Fun and Happy...

A show no more.

Hey, remember when we could talk about that television program, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," and just laugh? We could giggle at these strange self-declared Rednecks and their odd behaviors, grinning and guffawing because in some way they were, "Real," seeing as we call it reality television. I mean, we knew full well that as with any reality T.V. program it was an exaggerated sort of existence, one where we only saw the moments that were cute, funny, or heart-touching. We knew there was probably more to this family than the cameras or occasional interview revealed,  but we liked having them presented to us through that happy-go-lucky filter of the show.

It was a faux-reality, but it was comfortable and safe, more fiction than fact, but still apparently "real" enough we could enjoy it and consider it a possibly accurate portrayal of this family's life. The thing is though, it wasn't real, and this fake bubble of joy and everything seeming perfectly, "Beautimous," was bound to pop when something happened to, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" that seems to happen to many reality shows--that is, it got too real.

...But Then The Real World Intruded

No, he really didn't.

If we want actual reality we can watch the news. There we will see all the wars going on, panic over Ebola, racial tensions in the US, and all other sorts of upsetting things. That's why we love fictional products, but sometimes we want our fiction to feel at least somewhat grounded in real-life, and that is arguably where our fondness for, "Reality Shows," came from. We can say it's real, but know it truly isn't. Still, who cares? After all, it's fun and the people on the shows are apparently "real" enough so let's enjoy it. The thing is though, it is still all fake, but with the added element that due to the people on the show being real their "fake-lives" may start coming into conflict with their real ones.

That conflict of "realities" is why Hulk Hogan's show ended up getting cancelled when his son went to jail and he broke up with his wife. That's why so many couples who fell in love on, "The Bachelor/Bachelorette" didn't last. Hell, that's why so many folk on those "Real Housewives" shows seem to end up going broke, developing a drug addiction, going to prison, getting divorced or some combination of the four. This is why I wasn't surprised when the real real-world started to intrude into Alana and her family's life, but still saddened. Plus, the reality that has intruded is a scary one indeed.

It's Over Now

June AKA Mama June

"Honey Boo Boo," is cancelled; as to why it is no more, the answer is alarming. The infamous Mama June of the show broke-up with Sugar Bear a bit ago and started dating an old flame. The thing is, this old flame just got out of a ten-year prison stint for child molestation. Also, while the case he went to prison for was unrelated to our televised family, there had been allegations in the past that he had actually molested one of June's own children, eldest child Anna, now 20 years-old an a recent-mother herself. In news reports it has been illustrated that June apparently didn't believe her daughter's claims, and I imagine she still thinks her beau, a man by the name of Mark McDaniel is innocent and never touched her child or any other--that's how denial works, after all. June probably would rather think this romantic partner of hers is wrongly convicted than deal with the fact that her own daughter says he forced her to do things no child should be forced to do.

As it became more and more apparent June was in fact interacting with McDaniel and even allowing him to be around her other underage girls TLC pulled the plug on the show faster than you can say, "This could bring some bad press," and announced they were ending all activities dealing with the program, "Immediately." Now, it seems June could even lose custody of the kids as generally the State doesn't want children around a convicted sex offender, and her ex-husband Sugar Bear (and Alana's birth-father, as the other kids have different dads) could sue for full custody in the interest of their safety. It is all extremely depressing.

(Possibly) happier times.

It's upsetting for some because they enjoyed watching the show (I quit after the wedding episode/finale of Season 2), for others it is because they now see that this supposedly adorable family they loved was never as fun or happy as they thought, but instead dealing with their own serious issues just as many families do--although often not to such a disturbing and child-scarring degree. Some people felt a mixture of anger and vindication, I bet, declaring, "Well, we wanted to see how people who make bad decisions behaved, was this really that shocking?" Other folk are probably mad the show was cancelled because now their jokes about the program or family will be little more than outdated popular-culture references--"Hey, remember, 'Honey Boo Boo?' Wasn't that crazy?" I'm not really mad, sad, vindicated, or otherwise emotional about the show--I'm just concerned.

What Does the Future Hold?

What's next?

I'm concerned because the events of these past weeks have shown that no matter how cute or adorable a "real" family can be on their television show, there always are skeletons in the closet, and how this family deals with their skeletons now that they've seen the light of day is worrisome. It is concerning because the family of Honey Boo Boo had some stark skeletons indeed, and now all we can really do is ask, What will happen to this fractured family?" Seriously, what will happen with Sugar Bear, what will happen to the titular Alana/Honey Boo Boo and her siblings, is there really any way to know? Then again, now that they're no longer on T.V. will America care? Sometimes it really does seem with us it's, "Out of sight, out of mind," so I wonder if anyone will give a hoot now  that the show is cancelled, the equipment is packed up, and instead of being a famous dysfunctional family, the household is now just another unremarkable one among millions of others.

I don't know what the future holds for those who gained fame and possibly fortune from being on, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," but I do truly hope they are able to use the funds wisely and figure out what is best (and safest) for the children, especially if June really is going to continue dating this McDaniel person. Only time will tell, really.I mean, maybe now TLC can go back to actually trying to be a channel of learning! Yeah, I know that isn't gonna happen, I just thought after such a depressing article it would be good to end on a joke.

Rant-Reviews of some Newer Releases That Just Started or Concluded

New-Comic Smell
Earlier today I did some rant-reviews of comics that have been out for a bit and either just started or
ended. Now, I would like to talk about some more comics that are beginning or ending, but these ones are slightly newer releases. Shall We?

The Reviews Themselves (Again)
Wytches #1
With Scott Snyder writing a horror-story (and I always think he is at his best when getting a bit horror-styled, even on his "Batman work) and Jock turning in his amazing art, would you really expect this comic to be any less than at least impressive? In all seriousness though, this is a great piece of work, even if the true premise isn't quite clear until some back-matter in the book where Snyder shares his inspiration for the story and how it will deal with the need for people to "pledge" others in order to get wishes they have granted. This issue itself is more of a way to set-up how a family, and their daughter (named Sail) in particular will be suffering due to the Wytches, an ancient evil force that Sail's parents seem to know a bit more about then they are letting on, but future issues will probably reveal more of that.

As always, Jock's art is amazing, with its somewhat scratchy-style complimenting the creepy and at times violent presentation of the story expertly. The Wytches are a somewhat hard-to-picture force, with Jock's hints of their immense scale and power allowing us to see just enough to be intimidated, and hiding just enough to have our imaginations concoct all kinds of horrors. Between Jock's stellar art and Snyder's scary writing this is quite the good first issue, although it was a bit annoying  that to understand the true "concept" of the book I had to read the additional back-matter instead of the story itself explaining things in this debut issue. I imagine future ones will clarify the concept of "Wytches" further however, so I'm not overly concerned.
4 out of 5 stars.

Sabrina #1
Another new series dealing with wytches, but in this case spelled the normal way (witches) and with the twist that this isn't just a normal scary witchcraft yarn, this is with someone who is possibly the most famous witch of all--Sabrina. With the immense success of the "Afterlife with Archie" comics that took the Archie characters and put them into something much darker and violent than usual, it was thought it made sense to do the same thing with Sabrina, although this comic takes place in its own world separate from any of the other Archie-comics.

As with "Afterlife with Archie" part of the thrill of this comic is seeing a character we are used to behaving one way and having it morphed into something quite different. Taking place in the 1960's this comic has a strong horror vibe but does work in some humor so as to keep things a tad fun. Sabrina is of course a teenage witch, but this isn't a light-and-happy witchcraft, it is dark and a bit brutal. Sabrina's cousin Ambrose (a warlock) is an interesting character too as his flippant attitude toward the rules of witchcraft is a good counter to Sabrina's desire to be well-behaved despite having her own selfish desires (such as making a boy at the high-school be attracted to her). The whole thing works quite well between the art and eerie-yet-not-too-dark tone, and I look forward to the next issue.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Standard #5
I've discussed my fondness for this comic before, and this fifth and final double-sized issue (with it even having a break in the middle as if to lead into a sixth) is a solid piece of entertainment. While not as meta as the third issue (something I loved), it brings things to a satisfying conclusion and has overall been a great tale about what happens when a Golden-Age hero ends up having to face the modern world and all its evils. Even though this is the conclusion to the story, certain sub-plots seem unresolved (who was "The Corpse"?) and I could see how this comic could come back in the future if desired by the creators. As it stands now though, this was a delightful mini-series.
4 out of 5 stars.

Punks: The Comic #1
I actually am familiar with the "Punks" comics. I somehow have a little digest containing some stories about the titular "Punks" that I remember enjoying, and am not quite certain how it came into my possession, although I am glad it did because that faint memory of enjoying the other "Punks" works I read helped me know I wanted to get this new release and enjoy it. As I was expecting weird abstract humor with a dash of the absurd I was happy when that was what I got. "Punks" is the sort of comic that makes no sense, but that actually is what makes it most enjoyable. As it takes place in a fiction with no rules, it can do whatever it wants, be that having a joke about pants that can withstand any punch to the groin (Wunderpants!) or suddenly becoming an activity-sheet like you see in restaurants on kids' menus, but of course with a much more twisted sense of humor (it may be juvenile, but the word-search having nothing but, "Poop," as an option made me grin).

One fascinating thing about "Punks" is how it isn't just the writer, Joshua Hale Fialkov, who makes it enjoyable, but in fact the art by Kody Chamberlain that, "Seals the deal," as it were. The artwork is a mish-mash of images that look pasted together almost as a sort of grade-school collage but with hints of well-done illustration. The strangeness of the imagery compliments the story well, with the surreal smiling faces of some murderous garden gnomes that appear early in the story working well to impart just how bizarre all the proceedings in the comic truly are. That said, comedy is a hard thing to do, and while this issue did give me some chuckles, it didn't crack me up as much as I would have hoped to give it a truly stellar rating. Still, for the masterful artwork and some solid gags I still think I can give this...
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Memetic #1
A new BOOM! comic, "Memetic" is a three-issue limited series that was initially promoted  through BOOM! and a bunch of its affiliated creators randomly posting a meme of a smiling sloth. Little did we as the populace know that the sloth himself would end up being a meme that destroys society--in the fiction of the comic only, thankfully. Regardless of if a meme really could destroy the world, this comic makes it seem quite possible and is amazingly good.

When I first heard about how the concept for the comic would how the sudden appearance of a "Good Times Sloth," causes society to fall apart I wasn't sure how writer James Tynion IV would make that work. Well, he makes it work exceptionally well, starting us on day 3 after the appearance of the meme and then rewinding back to the start. An immense feeling of dread built in me as I read the issue, seeing everyone around the world quickly become obsessed with this new meme (not unlike how real society can suddenly care a lot about some random fun image), and wondering when things would go wrong. Well, toward the end of the issue it becomes clear that the meme is not just a cute image, with it in fact causing grisly results 12 hours after once someone is exposed to it--with some exceptions such as one of our main characters, Aaron, being color-blind and therefore unable to be harmed by the meme.

When people start going mad the comic reminds me a bit of a zombie-story but mixed with the fast-moving insane-people of the "28 Days/Weeks" later series or "Crossed". The aspect of the comic that sets it apart from being just a re-hash of those stories however is how it uses the concept of our highly inter-connected society and riffs on the idea that such an easy way to connect with others could easily bring about our world's downfall. Also, the fact that it isn't until towards the end of the comic that all Hell breaks loose allows the comic to have a pace that isn't slow, but also knows better than to rush in to all the madness. By teasing us with a fear of what the "Good Times Sloth" may cause but not revealing it until we are already somewhat emotionally invested in the characters it makes the shock of sudden violence all that more scary. This was a really, really great comic, and I am surprised I loved this as much as I did, considering I expected something just decent. You should check this out for sure, just look out for that meme!
5 out of 5 stars.

Great Fun Was Had
There you go, a bunch of quality-stuff that is a bit newer. Go give them a read!