Halloween is almost here along with a couple of other traditions: The TV and comic book versions of "Treehouse of Horror." I'm more familiar with the latter because we've been without cable or terrestrial-based TV for over a year [it saves us money as well as time]. This year it's The Simpsons' Treehouse destroying my ignorant copyright theory from the last review. 
 
This year's guest writers aren't very interesting, namely the duo making a parody of their 30 Days of Night franchise. I don't know anyone who even bothered seeing the movie. Thankfully, Bongo staff writer Ian Boothby prevents the comic from being a complete waste with his take on the recent J-Horror trend, complete with black-and-white manga-style artwork. 
 
For the first time ever, I cannot recommend this annual Simpson comic. I would say the cover price would be better spent toward purchasing the recently released season 11 DVD set. Maybe next year they'll find stronger guest writers. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ October 18, 2008 4:35:26 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

A Japanese version of Dennis the Menace is the simplest description to give this character. However, his antics are cruder than Dennis, Calvin or Bart Simpson [combined] while he's tamer than Eric Cartman; Shin-chan may ridicule the poor but he hasn't had anyone's parents murdered. 
 
Shin-chan is a term of endearment in Japan for Shinnosuke like Tommy is for Thomas. He resides in the outer suburbs of Tokyo with his parents Misae and Hiroshi. When he's not in kindergarten tormenting his classmates and teacher, Shin-chan drives his mother crazy with his pleas for candy, not doing his chores and expected bad behavior for a kid his age. He still has plenty left in the tank to frustrate his dad at night and on weekends. Some example stories involve setting off fireworks in the house, "helping" Mom with the laundry, hitting on college girls in front of Dad [who he gets it from] or mooning a video camera in a department store. It's some coarse stuff on par with a standard Adam Sandler gross-out film yet it's more reflective of Japanese humor; it's OK when children do these things, they're exempt from the social norms adults must follow. 
 
Like most, I was introduced to the five-year-old scourge through the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block. On TV, the animated version is amusing and provides a few chuckles. It also looks dated; I may not be a cultural expert on Japan but their fashion trends from the Nineties were recognizable to the ones in the States. The "modernization" of the jokes feel strained despite the script doctoring of Evan Dorkin and Sara Dyer [they did a great job on Space Ghost Coast 2 Coast]. Still, I took a gamble on the printed version because I figured it was closer to Yoshito Usui's original work and vision. 
 
Turns out that the comics are much funnier, if not nastier [little children are messy and blunt]. Usui keeps each story consistently to three pages with the equivalent of a punch line at the end; the aftermath of Shin-chan's actions. The printed version can also give side notes explaining the cultural references which always feel like an awkward interruption on TV, hence they're ignored or covered up with Americanisms. Parents of small children might find the humor too close to home though. A kid taking a whiz during a bath seems funny until you're the adult stuck cleaning it up. 
 
These little digests are good for killing time or bathroom reading [aka the Library as my family called it]. They've been nice conversation pieces with my Japanese co-workers when I need a joke explained [what's the taboo over sweet potatoes] or useful aids to assist friend learning the language. I mainly keep them around to be part of my loaner library to share alongside Identity Crisis 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ July 4, 2008 4:30:14 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

'Nuff said true believers! 
 
I don't think he has any plans of slowing down neither, he's become the William Shatner of comics with all the projects he has happening. 
 
Although I graduated to DC's stuff and more mature titles, Mr. Lee was a big part of my childhood, filling up hours and hours of entertainment via his characters co-created by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Bill Everett. Marvel was definitely dominant in the Seventies because I would race home from school to catch the various animated shows on Channel 44 [WSNS Chicago]. Whenever we bought a comic book, it was usually a Marvel title, including their cheesy licensed titles: Star Wars, Micronauts and Shogun Warriors. 
 
He's a pretty interesting guy and even if you dislike comic books, Stan "the Man" Lee is responsible for co-creating some of the best known characters in the last 40 years. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ December 28, 2007 11:20:06 AM CST ( 0 comments )

Halloween is coming up this week which means the annual episode of “Treehouse of Horror” on The Simpsons, unfortunately delayed by the ever boring World Series [go Boston since I dislike Colorado more] on Fox. Little do most people know that the same tradition has been going on for 13 years with the comic book but it’s retitled Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror probably for copyright reasons. This Comic Annual is always a treat too since the publisher has guest writers and artists do a batch of horror-related stories with the characters drawn outside the style guidelines, if it suits the plot. 
 
This year’s guest writers are comedians and comic fans Brian Posehn and Patton Oswalt doing parodies of Jaws and They Live respectively. The two remaining stories are written by regular Bongo staffers that carry on the horror theme excellently with a Mr. Burns looking for a Fountain of Youth and Comic Book Guy’s cursed movie props. Posehn and Oswalt do excellent jobs because they know how to marry their love of geek culture with their comedic professions without being over the top. I only wish Oswalt’s story were longer since he’s also known for doing script doctoring on the side. 
 
The DVD of the Simpson movie won’t be out until December 18 and Fox has postponed the Halloween special as always. So if you need a quick Simpson fix, I sincerely endorse Bongo Comics because it has been the exclusive source of any further Futurama adventures. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ October 28, 2007 5:38:13 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

Klingon revisionism or a wounded franchise trying to cash in? This miniseries from Star Trek’s current comic publisher does have part of both cynical elements but thankfully, the strong writing outweighs what could be dismissed as Klingon spin. 
 
Set after the explosion on Praxis [Star Trek VI], Chancellor Gorkon has the radical notion of the Empire finally ending its ongoing hostilities with the Federation, making peace and asking for their assistance. The High Council is divided evenly so the deciding vote lies with Kanrah, an aging Klingon with the “hybrid” features. Everything depends upon him as he explains recent events to his granddaughter K’ahlynn. To him, the humans have proven to be worthy opponents. Klingons being defeated by them, namely through Captain Kirk, has been their own failings for underestimating the Federation allies as he prefaces the first four issues’ flashbacks of familiar episodes. Number one tells their side of “Errand of Mercy” with the destruction of the Vortha by the Enterprise and Kor’s occupation of Organia. Unhappy with the terms being imposed on them by the omnipotent Organians, the Klingons try their hand at espionage through Gralmek in issue two [“The Trouble with Tribbles”]. Due to Gralmek’s failure and Koloth’s vessel being filled with the pesky creatures, the Klingons give up on infiltration, guile and spying. They resort to initiating a proxy war in issue three by arming the villagers of Neural [“A Private Little War”]. The Federation counters by arming the hill people with equivalent weaponry and not escalating the conflict. This frustrates the Klingons for they can’t do anything further without violating the treaty and receiving the Organian’s wrath. With issue four, Kanrah introduces K’ahlynn to Morglar, one of the 40 survivors from the Voh’tahk commanded by Kang [“Day of the Dove]. Morglar explains how he felt humans were puny, cowardly and all looked alike [he was partially correct if you’re familiar with the episode] until he actually fought them mano y mano. Despite everybody being manipulated by the hateful alien energy creature, humans earned a great deal of Morglar’s respect because they fought bravely against all odds; Klingons are easily superior in hand-to-hand combat. In the conclusion with issue five, Kanrah must survive the Klingon side of the conspiracy led by General Chang to cast his vote in favor of Gorkon’s proposal. Everyone knows what happens after that. 
 
There is some retconning through cameos of Dr. Phlox and Captain Sisko with the quick explanation about why Kanrah, K’ahlynn and other famous Klingons lack the boney skulls Worf, Chang, Gowron, etc. have. It’s a trivial point but supposedly, the “augmented” Klingons dominate the government and military, so much of what’s ugly in their character is their fault. Doesn’t matter in the end, it’s a comic book and carries as much weight as the novels when it comes to continuity. It does share some of ST:NG’s annoying revisionism on past Klingon behavior. For example, when Kor had 200 Organians executed, he did this reluctantly but followed through because he was ordered to. As if Kor was some honorable soldier, not a brutal conqueror. That defense didn’t hold at the end of WWII and sadly, it’s a standard response by most invaders when their control is tenuous. 
 
The artwork is decent [I can’t draw] yet it is in the exaggerated style of comic books namely with muscles and female breasts; I don’t think there’s any armor capable of preventing K’ahlynn from having back trouble, even if her uniform uses Wonder Woman physics. I do like how the old-style Klingons are drawn pretty faithfully to what they resembled in the 60s, especially the women. Personally, I think the Klingon women were cooler looking when they had hair and hip boots, those sisters from ST:NG always seemed more like comic relief than a dire threat. Main artist David Messina will frustrate many Trekkies as he can’t draw the likenesses of Jon Colicos [Kor], Michael Ansara [Kang], or Bill Campbell [Koloth] let alone Shatner and Nimoy consistently. Not like there’s a lack of reference. Finally, it would’ve been nice if there was some allusion to two other episodes involving the Klingons, “Friday’s Child” and “Elaan of Troyius.” The former would’ve been great since the nameless Klingon was a major element of the story. 
 
Overall, I’m glad I scored this miniseries from my local store [Rogues Gallery] and I look forward to loaning them out to friends who are Star Trek fans of any degree. It was a satisfying as some of the better novels by John Ford, Peter David and James Blish. Now to wait and see what the overrated J. J. Abrams does with Star Trek XI. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ October 8, 2007 3:57:13 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

When I was a kid, I thought he was the coolest because he co-created the Fantastic Four, Captain America and the Avengers. He fell out of favor with me in the 80s and early 90s since his style appeared clunky, dated and his creations such as OMAC, the Forever People and Kamandi seemed silly. Besides, the big artists of the day would triumph over this dinosaur [HA!]. These days I have a greater appreciation for his contributions to comics and although I am not crazy for his style, it did convert to animation pretty well with the recent Superman and Justice League series. 
 
I know there's an award named after Wil Eisner and Russ Manning. Maybe my friends Rad and Steve know about something named after the King. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ August 28, 2007 5:30:46 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

It's Grace Kwon's 18th birthday and life couldn't be better. She was just accepted to Stanford and she landed the lead in the Spring play. Grace is on top of the world until she encounters herself at age six, 29 and 70. There's no technical or logical explanation on how it happened nor does it matter because the sudden news of the Spring play's cancellation becomes the larger problem and the older versions amplify her doubts, anxieties and fears. Having to explain her other selves to her friends, hiding them from her parents and resisting the urge to ask them questions about her future doesn't help. Are they an omen of what will be or what may be? Are they present to assist her in overcoming personal demons or are they create the messes she will encounter eventually? 
 
Good as Lily is in the same vein as one of my personal favorites David Chelsea in Love because it's another demonstration of how comic books can take a similar premise such as the one in 13 Going on 30 and do it a thousand times better than Hollywood. Especially when it comes to creating character depth, motivation and general credibility in the story's execution. On the downside, there are times when the illustrator uses the overused manga technique of exaggerating facial features or physical gestures which I'm sick of. To me, skilled illustrators can show emotions more effectively with very few lines on the same core "shape." This is done all the time in animation. But back to its strengths. Lily doesn't dwell on the majority of the characters being Korean as a story element or crutch. Grace and her friends behave like all American teenagers do, their ethnicity is an extraneous detail and probably due to the author being Korean. The story stays focused on the protagonist juggling school, friends, saving the play, a mean-spirited rival who has tormented her since kindergarten, interacting with her parents and a supressing a crush on the drama teacher all while trying to figure out why her other selves are around. Lesser teenagers would be devastated by this workload. I know I would've been in a strait jacket by the first weekend. This may not be a really heavy comic from DC's Vertigo line but this is a nice, quick and pleasant story to read which I plan to loan out to my friends. If you don't live near me, I recommend you borrow it from someone or buy your own copy. I think it could come in handy and will interest the same younger kids addicted to DeGrassi or will raise the High School Musical fans' IQ by 10 points. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ August 27, 2007 11:06:56 AM CDT ( 0 comments )

This mini-series appeared in comic book stores over two years ago but I waited until the trade paperback came out since back issues get expensive and DC Comics released it as a hardback collection too. I also got around to reviewing it now since I’ve loaned it to several other people with positive results, thus I would like to spread the word. 
 
Identity Crisis is about the murder of Sue Dibny and how the event ripples throughout the DC Universe, affecting superheroes and villains alike because dirty little secrets amongst both camps are revealed. Who’s Sue Dibny? She’s Elongated Man’s wife. Elongated Man? He’s a member of the Justice League, has stretching powers like Plastic Man but he’s a skilled detective on par with Batman. It doesn’t matter that he’s an obscure character to the real world, the problem is his public identity in DC. Unlike Superman or Batman, Elongated Man’s name is public knowledge along with his deceased wife’s. Whoever killed her knew where the Dibny’s lived and how to get around the house’s Justice League-level security system. This person might even know the real names of Hawkman, Flash, Green Lantern, etc. What’s worse and more frightening to the superheroes is that the murderer may use this knowledge to hurt those close to them like Lois Lane, a common tactic used by the Joker and Darkseid. 
 
So a worldwide manhunt by every known and obscure DC superhero takes place which leads to the villain community feeling the pressure. Meanwhile, Justice League members Hawkman, Green Arrow, Atom, Black Canary and Zatanna join up with Elongated Man to pursue a lead they don’t care to divulge since this suspect is dangerous for many reasons. 
 
I’ll stop here because anything further would be spoiling the plot and outcome. 
 
Putting aside the usage of DC’s obscure characters [in the minds of the general public], Identity Crisis is a very impressive murder mystery showing how the personal lives of superheroes are changed, ruined or improved by the events following Sue Dibny’s funeral. There’s plenty for fanboys and those who are familiar with the majority of the DC characters [I was only stumped on who a few were] but again, the casual fan who only knows about superheroes shown in movies or cartoons will enjoy this. When it is resolved, it doesn’t end like a sitcom or soap opera with all the players back to where they started before Sue died. The story has definite consequences which are still playing out today, namely in the latest Justice League of America comic. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ December 9, 2006 5:41:18 PM CST ( 1 comment )

Back in February I plugged my friend Steve’s comic book. Unfortunately, the publisher went under shortly after the first issue hit the shelves. 
 
If you missed the first issue, don’t fret. Now Athena Voltaireis back and with Ape Entertainment which has a great slogan, “Two opposable thumbs up!” Catchy. Once again, the great people at Dragon’s Lair have recommended the title. When I was there yesterday to pick up my usual titles [a story for another day], I immediately called Steve to let him know DL gave their approval and his book was proudly displayed on the checkout counter. That’s prime retail real estate he’s sharing with the latest issue of Justice helmed by the famous Alex Ross [artist who paints the DC heroes] and something authored by Grant Morrison [one of the two key writers who created DC’s Vertigo line]. How awesome. Shortly after his birthday, I think Steve is on his way to bigger and better things. 
 
What’s it about again? It’s pulp adventures of a Athena Voltaire who is part Shadow, part Indiana Jones and a tad of Aeon Flux. Since she has to deal with Nazis, let’s throw in a sprinkle of Hellboy too! It still has those great endorsements from legitimate peers and an Wil Eisner nomination, The Oscars® of comics but with credibility, I don’t recall a Marisa Tomei-equivalent winning a key award. Anyway, if you’ve seen the last first issue, half the material is repeated yet the other half is new, continuing the story while setting up the second issue which will happen. 
 
I will also do this on behalf of my friend of 15 years. You buy this comic and I actually know you [likely, if you’re reading this site] but you hate it, I will refund your money or trade you something equivalent for it. 
 
Meanwhile, check it out and let Steve know what you think. There’s probably a way to contact him directly or indirectly through Ape Entertainment. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ September 4, 2006 8:46:04 PM CDT ( 0 comments )

This four-issue miniseries written by Elric creator Moorcock and illustrated by Walt Simonson is a prequel to Elric of Melniboné, namely to explain how the infamous anti-hero gained his ability to speak to the dragons and summon the elemental lords. Unlike the Star Wars prequels, the dialog, character development and plots are much more sophisticated and satisfying. When I read the books 22 years ago, I never really questioned Elric’s capability to summon Grome or Straasha but years later I felt like it was a really lame deus ex machina solution whenever Moorcock was painted into a corner. I always enjoyed the books though, I just think my expectations for plausibility with Elric’s sorcery evolved to a higher standard [probably also tainted by roleplaying games’ magic rules]. 
 
In Moorcock’s defense, the original Elric stories were written at an earlier point of his career. His stories involving Elric, Hawkmoon, Corum, von Bek, etc., have matured and there’s a definite shift in the shades of gray between Chaos and Law which he even admitted at a book signing were originally just substitutes for Evil and Good respectively. The more recent stories I’ve read have Law as the transgressor against the Balance support this shift in his writing. At the same book signing, he did assure me and the audience that Arioch will always be a villain despite the positive aspects of Chaos. 
 
Previous novels [and comics] aside, Moorcock and Simonson’s great mini-series shows how Elric gained his sorcerous abilities, made the pacts with the Elemental powers, learned the language of the dragons and proved himself worthy of inheriting the throne from his father Sadric. All through a series of four trials accomplished in a sleeping/dream-like state. While he sleeps, he enters a dream about a key era of Melniboné’s past and as a result, he is indirectly responsible for the outcome. Indirectly? Elric is “reincarnated” as a participant in the past with no memory of who he is in the future but he does keep the skills he attains in the dreams [the sorcery, the languages and the pacts]. Since it’s a Moorcock story, the outcome of Elric’s actions will be tragic because he has to thwart Yyrkoon, Elric’s ambitious cousin. Yyrkoon is also participating in the dream rituals with plans to kill Elric since he will die in real life should he die in the dream. 
 
As I said earlier, Moorcock’s writing has taken on more shades of gray. Back in the earlier stories, the Melnibonéans were a cruel and decadent people. Nowadays, they are portrayed as a somber, reflective people whose ambivalence is mistaken for cruelty by the Young Kingdoms. When Elric dreams back to Melniboné’s past, we see how the Melnibonéans were actually a fair and just group of people. They tended to shun Chaos [and Law] and built a commercial empire respected and liked by the Young Kingdoms. Their deeds, trustworthiness and nobility led them to earn the trust of the Elemental and Animal Lords. The fourth book is when you will discover the events that led to the Melnibonéans allying with Chaos, namely Arioch, and carving out an empire the world feared, despised and coveted. Even Tanglebones appears in a “kinder, gentler” form as a sagely mystic advising Elric on his dream journeys, not the cruel, sadistic chief torturer who enjoyed culling information from his victims in the first novel. 
 
Now that the four issues of the comic have finally appeared, a trade paperback will probably arrive at your local bookstore’s graphic novel section. It’s a definite ‘must have’ for those who’ve read Moorcock’s past novels, fans of Simonson’s artwork or both [me]. Otherwise, anyone who isn’t in the previous camps will probably scratch his head and consider this puzzling because it assumes the reader is familiar with Elric’s backstory involving him, Cymoril, Arioch and Yyrkoon. 
 
Correction, Aug. 31: My friend Mark “Narleyhotep” Brunner brought an error to my attention. I forgot that it was Dr. Jest who was the cruel and sadistic torturer from the first novel, not Tanglebones. It turns out Tanglebones was always wise, reserve and patient since I think he was also Elric’s personal combat trainer. He may not have been Melnibonéan, but a slave from one of the Young Kingdoms. Guess I will need to re-read the books as my memory of them from 22 years ago has obvious glitches. 

Posted by: Steve Maggi

@ August 30, 2006 5:32:16 PM CDT ( 1 comment )