Graphic Novel Review: THE WALKING DEAD, VOL. 6: THIS SORROWFUL LIFE

Collecting together issues 31-36 of the comic book, THE WALKING DEAD, VOL. 6: THIS SORROWFUL LIFE picks up where Vol. 5 left off. Rick, Glenn, and Michonne have been captured by the Governor at Woodbury and are being held captive. In the previous volume, the Governor cut off Rick’s right arm and brutally tortured and raped Michonne. In this volume, Michonne is sent to the arena and “betrays” the Governor by killing her opponent and all of the zombies in the arena. Later, with the assistance of one of the guards named Martinez, Rick, Glenn, Michonne make their escape from Woodbury along with Dr. Stevens and his assistant, Alice. Michonne leaves the group to get her revenge on the Governor. Meanwhile, Rick and the rest of the escapees make the journey back to the prison only to find another surprise waiting them.

THE BEST DEFENSE picked up the storytelling of “The Walking Dead” after several slow issues. THIS SORROWFUL LIFE keeps that pace going. It’s full of action, a few twists, and some key realizations by Rick Grimes and his company. As Tyreese points out to Carl, Rick is what holds the group together. Overall, THIS SORROWFUL LIFE is a solid collection in a captivating series.

Graphic Novel Review: NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW #3: ENTER THE DRAGON MYSTERY

NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW is a graphic novel series from publisher Papercutz turns back the clock and modernizes Nancy Drew and her friends by setting them in a modern setting as elementary school students. The illustrations are drawn in a style similar to comics such as “Archie.” In this story, NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW #3: ENTER THE DRAGON MYSTERY, Nancy, Beth, and George are supposed to be able to take one of the class pets home for the weekend. When they get to class, there’s a new animal there, a bearded dragon. However, there’s nothing to indicate where the bearded dragon came from, how to take care of him, or why he’s there. Mrs. Ramirez agrees to let the girls take the animal home with them for the weekend and they promise to figure out exactly where the creature came from. I read many of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew stories as a kid. I understand why some elements of the stories might be needed to be updated, but I didn’t think it was necessary to set revamp the whole tone of the series. With that said, of the first three graphic novels published in this line of NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW, ENTER THE DRAGON MYSTERY is the best story so far. Perhaps the stories in the series will improve as the series moves on.

Graphic Novel Review: NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW #2: SECRET SAND SLEUTHS

NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW is a graphic novel series from publisher Papercutz turns back the clock and modernizes Nancy Drew and her friends by setting them in a modern setting as elementary school students. In this story, NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW #2: SECRET SAND SLEUTHS, Nancy and her classmates are on a field trip to the Modern Museum of Art. Nancy is really excited to see a Buddhist monk finish a sand picture he’s been working on for a month called a “mandala”. However, after arriving at the museum, Nancy and her friends discover that the exhibit is closed because the mandala has been damaged and no one knows how are why. So, Nancy and her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne (the Clue Crew) set out to solve the mystery. I’m not sure why Nancy Drew needed to be updated in such a post-modern way. However, the biggest thing about the story that I didn’t understand was this: why is a Buddhist monk making sand art in a Modern Museum of Art?  A regular museum I could understand or a museum dedicated to both folk and contemporary art I could understand. But I just don’t understand why he’s at a modern museum of art: there’s not much about it that seems very modern to me. Anyway, the illustrations are drawn in a style similar to comics such as "Archie." NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW #2: SECRET SAND SLEUTHS is aimed at young girls. The story isn't as interesting as the original Nancy Drew books, but it might inspire really young female readers to seek out the original series.

Book Review: THE BIRTH OF CANIS

I was never a huge fan of "Get Fuzzy." However, now that my local newspaper no longer publishes the strip, I have to admit that I really do miss reading it on a daily basis. THE BIRTH OF CANIS is a collection of "Get Fuzzy" strips that ran in newspapers from July 6, 2009-May 23, 2010. Before even opening the book, I was really impressed with the cover of THE BIRTH OF CANIS which is a parody of the famous "Birth of Venus" painting by Botticelli. There aren't too many longer running storylines in this collection, though there are a few, including Bucky's plan to put he and Satchel on a tv reality show (an idea that is turned down, but is later picked up by the next door neighbor Fungo Squiggly as the series WORST NEIGHBORS for the Ferret Television Network) and Bucky's implementation of the Ferret Threat Level warning system. In some collections previous to THE BIRTH OF CANIS, the focus on Bucky and Satchel with Rob as the straight man was lost and the strip started to seem to revolve around the ever larger cast of unusual animals that Bucky and Satchel know. That's not the case in THE BIRTH OF CANIS. The focus has returned to the core trio. With that said, Fungo makes a few appearances as does Mac Manc McManx. Also, for a few strips Satchel brings home a stray dog he finds, Ibid Q. Muttly. Overall, a decent collection of "Get Fuzzy" strips, that, although isn't as funny as some other previous collections, such as MASTERS OF THE NONSENSEVERSE: A GET FUZZY COLLECTION, is more in-tune with the original humor of "Get Fuzzy" that made it such a hit.

Graphic Novel Review: TIPPY AND THE NIGHT PARADE

Part of the TOON Books series of graphic novels written for children, TIPPY AND THE NIGHT PARADE revolves around a girl named Tippy. Tippy wakes up in the morning to find her room a complete mess and filled with a menagerie of different animals. Her mother asks her what happened, but all Tippy can remember is falling asleep. Together they chase away the animals and clean the room. The next night Tippy’s mother tells her to go to sleep and no more mess. Tippy doesn’t know it, but she’s a sleepwalker and her journey that night brings her into contact with all kinds of creatures. The illustrations are simple and easy for children to recognize. As the story progresses readers can play a game with children and see if they recognize the animals that meet and follow Tippy. When Tippy is awake the color scheme is red. Meanwhile, when Tippy is asleep everything takes on a bluish hue. Overall, TIPPY AND THE NIGHT PARADE is a simple story that young children might enjoy having read to them.

Graphic Novel Review: LUNA PARK

Written and illustrated in the style of a crime noir novel, LUNA PARK revolves around a man named Alik Strelnikov. Alik is a Russian who fought in the war against Chechnya. Now, he’s an enforcer for a small time thug in Coney Island. Alik has a girlfriend that he lives with, but they are rarely together. When Alik sleeps, he has nightmares about the war that often merge into nightmares about living a different life in a different place and time: the Eastern front during WWI or the city of Kiev in the 900s, for example. In an attempt to escape the pain, Alik shoots up heroin, drinks hard liquor, and listens to old Russian records. When Alik learns that his boss is about to be eliminated by a much larger criminal, he sets out to make a plan that will set everything right.

LUNA PARK isn’t a typical novel. It doesn’t follow a usual narrative structure of any sort. There are a lot of things that happen in the book that can be interpreted as visualizations of Alik’s drug-induced dreams or as illusions from his fractured psyche or perhaps they actually are events that happened to Alik. Making things even more confusing is that towards the last third of the book, things seem to take a turn towards the supernatural. The story has a shocking ending. However, the story never really builds to such a conclusion and instead spurts and sputters along the way. This unevenness taints the power of the final pages and leaves the majority of the novel feeling like a cold, damp mess.

Although the story is haphazard, the artwork of the novel is not. I found the illustrations (colored in various hues of red, greys, and blues) to be more powerful and meaningful than the actual “story” of LUNA PARK.

Overall, I found LUNA PARK to be an atypical, although confusing graphic novel. It’s a book more concerned with themes than story, but does have some brilliant illustrations.

Book Review: RAT'S WARS

In my opinion “Pearls Before Swine” is one of the best comic strips currently running in newspapers. As is often the case, much of the humor in this collection of "Pearls Before Swine" strips, RAT’S WARS, comes in the form of witty one-liners, witty puns, and extensive verbal gags. The book features strips that ran from December 5, 2011 to September 3, 2012. Pastis' pleasure in using Sunday strips for elaborate puns continues. Some of the storylines I really enjoyed in this collection include: the Crocs continued attempt at getting over Zebra’s wall; Rat joining the Occupy movement by occupying Sesame Street; Rat getting sent to Siberia with the rest of Stephan’s missing luggage and Rat’s revenge afterwards;  Larry the Croc getting caught in a compromising photo with his Zebra neighbor; Rat being hired to revise Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood; the break-out of the East Coast-West Coast Cartoonist War; Larry’s son becomes friends with Freddy the Frog; and Guard Duck’s “adoption” of Dinky Duckling. Characters from the comics “Blondie”, “Mutts”, “Beatle Bailey”, “Cathy”, and “Family Circus” all make appearances at some point. I’m not completely sure, but the cover RAT’S WARS  (which is a parody of Star Wars) seems partially inspired by the Sunday strip on August 6, 2012 where Stephan is reading letters from “fans” and one of them says: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, do something with Star Wars  where everyone blows up. STAR WARS ROCKS!!!!!!! Also, the introduction of the book Stephan describes part of his experiences visiting troops in Afghanistan for the USO with other cartoonists. Overall, RAT’S WARS is another fine collection of "Pearls Before Swine" comic strips.

Graphic Novel Review: SMASH: TRIAL BY FIRE

Usually when a superhero in a comic book or graphic novel receives powers they are either born with those powers or they get them when they are at least a teenager. Very seldom do they ever receive powers when they are a child; the only character I can think of who received his powers as a boy is Billy Batson as Captain Marvel. However, SMASH: TRIAL BY FIRE is all about a boy who is granted superhero powers and how he deals with life after receiving those powers.

Andrew Ryan is a boy who is constantly bullied at school. His older brother, Tommy, loves him, but he’s a teenager who seems more interested in his friends instead of his family. One of Andrew’s big joys is the real life superhero Defender. Andrew watches the Defender show every day and even dresses up like him for Halloween. One day, after hearing a news report of Defender in action, Andrew attempts to track his hero down. There’s an explosion that apparently kills Defender, but the explosion blast delivers Defenders powers to Andrew. At first Andrew doesn’t know what to do. After all, he’s just a fifth grade kid. He decides he will try to do what Defender did and he dons his homemade Halloween costume and sets out to stop evil. He’s not used to the powers and keeps smashing into things and becomes dubbed Smash by the local media. At first he doesn’t like the name, but soon comes to embrace it. Meanwhile, Defender’s arch nemesis, Magus, sets out to spring a trap on Smash to suck out his powers to have for his own.

SMASH: TRIAL BY FIRE is a highly entertaining book. The illustrations are really high quality that are reminiscent of old school Marvel comic books. The story is engaging and entertaining. It’s enjoyable to watch Andrew develop from a small, picked-upon fifth grade boy into a child superhero that everyone in the city roots for. A boy superhero presents some interesting challenges that typical superheroes don’t have to deal with. For instance, a child can’t exactly just skip school whenever he “has to.” I really enjoyed watching how Andrew dealt with these situations.

Overall, SMASH: TRIAL BY FIRE is a highly entertaining book. I can’t wait to read the further adventures of Smash in future volumes.

It's So Pretty (Not!)!

When snow falls, I almost always hear someone say, "It's so pretty!" What's so pretty about it? It just turns everything white. Why is everything turned white so pretty? There's not color there, just plain white. Personally, I like the colors of spring, summer, and even the foliage of fall to the grey and blandness of winter.

Graphic Novel Review: LEGO NINJAGO #6: WARRIORS OF STONE

After the previous installment in the graphic novel series (LEGO NINJAGO #5: KINGDOM OF THE SNAKES), the Spinjitzu masters, Jay, Cole, Zane, Kai, and Sensei Wu are left to travel on foot without the Weapons of Spinjitzu and without their powers. In LEGO NINJAGO #6: WARRIORS OF STONE they come across a forest made entirely of stone. At first they believe it to be some artistic masterpiece. However, it becomes clear that there is some kind of enchantment at work that has turned the forest to stone and it’s up to the Masters of Spinjitzu to discover exactly what that is. I was really impressed by the quality of this graphic novel. The illustrations are really colorful and look like an animated cartoon instead of panels from a graphic novel. I was also surprised at how good the story was. I wasn’t expecting a graphic novel about Lego ninjago warriors to keep my interest so well; I thought it would be kind of a kiddie version of MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS with Legos. Instead, it was more like the original TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. I’m looking forward to reading the next volume in the series.

Graphic Novel Review: OTTO'S ORANGE DAY

The title character of OTTO’S ORANGE DAY is a young male kitten. Otto’s favorite color is orange. He likes it so much that he even makes up a song about it. One day a package arrives from his Aunt Sally Lee. Inside is a lamp. Otto begins to rub it to clean it up and out pops a Genie. The genie tells Otto he has one wish and Otto wishes that everything were orange. At first Otto loves the orange world, but then he starts to discover some of the less desirable effects. Will the world ever return to normal? If not, how will Otto cope in this totally orange land?

OTTO’S ORANGE DAY is a ToonBook and is a Level 3 Reader. It’s geared towards readers from about Kindergarten-1st grade. I enjoyed the book. I really liked how the story taught a couple of really good lessons (be careful about what you wish and be kind to others) without being preachy. Overall, OTTO’S ORANGE DAY is a great little graphic novel for young readers.

Final Weekend of Hard Road's DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

Tonight (Friday, January 31, 2014) and tomorrow night (Saturday, February 1, 2014) are the last chances for you to catch Hard Road Theatre's production of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. Showtimes begin at 7:30 p.m. Seating is limited, so it's recommended you order your tickets online (plus you save money that way).

FULL HOUSE Men on LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON

Jimmy Fallon's getting ready to take over THE TONIGHT SHOW and last night the guys from FULL HOUSE helped him overcome some of his fears.



"Graphic Novel" Review: FRANK AND HIS FRIEND: SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION, VOL. 1

Nostalgia sells in a big way. Everything that was old is new again. There’s a company, Curio and Co., that has come into existence by selling nostalgia. The company currently sells reproduced ads for a limited time soda, illustrated drawings from a 1960s animated tv show, reprinted volumes of a 1980s Italian comic book series, and a fan club collectors pin, among other items. The company is also responsible for printing FRANK AND HIS FRIEND: SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION, VOL. 1, a selected group of comic strips from the much beloved comic strip “Frank and His Friend.” However, there’s a catch: none of this stuff actually existed. It’s all been made up. All of it is cleverly created to look and feel like actual artifacts from days of yesteryear, but until the company released it, this stuff never existed.

“Frank and His Friend” is supposed to be a beloved comic strip that ran from the mid-1970s through the early 1980s. FRANK AND HIS FRIEND: SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION, VOL. 1 is the third book to feature these characters (FINDING FRANK AND HIS FRIEND was the first and that was followed by TIME FOR FRANK AND HIS FRIEND).  Frank is actually the stuffed person that the young boy in the strips carries with him. They go everywhere together and although Frank is stuffed, there are times that he seems to be alive (clearly building on the false history that “Frank and His Friend” were part of the inspiration for “Calvin and Hobbes”). The comics in the book look just like comic strips from the 1970s: the style is a perfect recreation of the period. The paper even has a feel to it of being an older book. The strips are also kind of fun to read. However, there’s not much that happens so there are no story arcs and very little characterization. The comics are just about a boy having fun and exploring the world with his favorite toy. It’s a simple book from a much simpler time, even if it never did exist.

Muppets Toyota Super Bowl Commerical

This Toyota Super Bowl commercial makes me want to buy a Toyota. A car commercial has never done that to me before.