TUCKER GRIZZWELL'S WORST WEEK EVER

Tucker Grizzwell is a fairly typical middle-school cub. He gets along well with his older sister, although when they are at school she has given him strict orders to never talk to her. His friends aren't very intelligent. The school food is horrible tasting, but they eat it anyway.  However, in TUCKER GRIZZWELL'S WORST WEEK EVER, Tucker has really bad week, well, at least for a middle school cub: he misses his school field trip because he gets barfed on by another student on the bus, the school bully wants to beat him up, and the girl he has a crush on won't even speak to him. On top of it all, Tucker's Dad is taking Tucker to "Jaws and Claws" this weekend where Tucker is supposed to learn how to live on his own in the wild like all bears should be able to. It just seems like nothing is going right, but as Tucker learns, maybe you just need a little perspective. I had never heard of "The Grizzwells" comic before, so TUCKER GRIZZWELL'S WORST WEEK EVER was my introduction to the family and their world. I really enjoyed the book and hope there are more stories in store.

SNOOPY TO THE RESCUE

Although this book is entitled, SNOOPY TO THE RESCUE it could have easily been called "Hurry, Charlie Brown" or "This Is My Year" because while Snoopy does appear in about a third of the comic, Charlie Brown, Lucy, and several of the other Peanuts characters appear in just as many. The title is taken from a short storyline where Lucy throws Schroeder's piano up into a tree, which turns out to be the nefarious kite-eating tree and they call in the rescue squad, which happens to be Snoopy. Two other longer storylines collected here include one where Snoopy goes off to find his Mom and another where Snoopy flies to the moon. The last part of the book has some information about the U.S. space program and Peanuts.  There's also a page talking about Peteluma and the World Wrist Wrestling Championship. Overall, SNOOPY TO THE RESCUE is a pretty decent "Peanuts" collection for readers and/or fans of just about any age.

Google Celebrates Mister Rogers

The Google doodle today (9/21/18) celebrates Mister Rogers. I always liked Mister Rogers when I was a kid, but most kids my age didn't like him very much. In fact, I can remember times I was made fun of (in first and second grade) when I mentioned watching Mister Rogers Neighborhood after school. He might be cool now, but trust me, Mister Rogers was definitely not cool when I was in 1st and 2nd grade (and he was on tv then).

CARTOONS FROM THE NEW YORKER 2019 WALL CALENDAR

The CARTOONS FROM THE NEW YORKER 2019 WALL CALENDAR is a wall calendar that features 12 cartoons from The New Yorker. While most of the cartoons are funny, there are still those one or two that make you scratch your head and wonder, "I don't get it." Great item for anyone who enjoys The New Yorker.

GAME OF THRONES 2019 16-MONTH EXECUTIVE ENGAGEMENT CALENDAR

The GAME OF THRONES 2019 16-MONTH EXECUTIVE ENGAGEMENT CALENDAR makes a great gift for Game of Thrones fans. The calendar has a hardback cover that features part of the map of Westeros. The pages are made from uncoated paper stock. Spread throughout the calendar are the sigils of the Houses of Stark, Lannister, Greyjoy, Targaryen, Martell, Tyrell, and Baratheon. However, even though this calendar is meant for fans of Game of Thrones, it's actually a great little executive engagement calendar for anyone.

THE DARK TOWER: FALL OF GILEAD

Although I enjoy Stephen King's writing and own many of his works, I have never read The Dark Tower series. My introduction to the series came via the prequel adaptation from Marvel under the direction of Robin Furth. I enjoyed the previous volumes in the series and FALL OF GILEAD continues where LEGACY left off. Deceived by Marten Broadcloak, Roland Deschain has shot and killed his mother. Roland is imprisoned to await judgment, but in the meantime John Farson is approaching the city of Gilead with a major army. He means to conquer it and make it his. Unbeknownst to Roland and his father Steven, Gilead has already been breached by secret servants to Farson who betray the Deschains and the city from within.

While it's not the last part of the story in this prequel, FALL OF GILEAD definitely has the feel of the story rapidly coming to an end; a tragic and horrible end. The City of Gilead has fallen by the end of the book, almost all of the gunslingers are dead, and all of the women and children of the city have been burned to a crisp. The only ones to escape are Roland and the remaining members of his ka-tet and Farson won't stop until all of them are dead.

I have heard from those that have read The Dark Tower books that this graphic novel adaptation is different from what happens in the books. In some ways, I'm glad of that because when I finally do getting around to reading the series, I will have some surprises.

FALL OF GILEAD isn't quite as strong as preceding volumes in the series. However, it does capture the never-ending sense of doom and foreboding that this story is about. The good guys don't win in The Dark Tower saga (at least so far) and, as often in real life, evil seems much more powerful. That sense of dread fills every page of FALL OF GILEAD and sets the stage for the final part of the story at the Battle of Jericho.

BE EVERYTHING AT ONCE by Dami Lee

BE EVERYTHING AT ONCE is a collection of comics by Dami Lee. Dami was born in Korea, moved to the U.S., moved back to Korea, moved back to the U.S., moved back to Korea, and moved back to the U.S.  Her comics are biographical and based off her experiences of being a person caught between two countries. With that said, you don't have to be Korean or an immigrant to enjoy the comics in BE EVERYTHING AT ONCE. The comics appeal to everyone. I enjoyed BE EVERYTHING AT ONCE and look forward to more comic collections from Dami Lee.