URUSEI YATSURA ("Those Obnoxious Aliens") - I've known of the existence of the manga (published by Viz) since it started in the U.S. in 1989, but never really followed it. There was a long gap between the first 8 floppy comic-sized issues of LUM Urusei Yatsura and The Return of Lum (which became the new title) in 1994, at which point the series continued on, collected in 9 TPBs (from 1994-2000). Those TPBs condensed material from only the first 11 (of 34 total) Japanese volumes, skipping some stories. Viz is about to start re-publishing the manga in a newer, more complete English translation beginning in February 2019, which is what prompted me to do a little internet research on this series.

Unknown to me, the entire anime series adapted from the manga (195 episodes plus 6 movies and 12 TV specials and OVAs, originally released from 1981 through 1991 in Japan) had been released earlier on DVD in North America by AnimEgo (a company now since defunct). 150 of those TV episodes, movies or OVAs (in Japanese with English subtitles, exactly as released on DVD by AnimEgo) have been uploaded by someone to YouTube >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T82cfApNUDk&index=1&list=PLft-ctSdHsae8iJGm0pJDXNRpVQwTu2Ja

It's a fun series. It concerns a lecherous high school student named Ataru Moroboshi who is randomly selected as Earth's champion by the invading aliens known as Oni (which means a demon or devil in Japanese). Ataru isn't interested in being anyone's champion, but changes his mind when he sees that his opponent is the attractive alien princess Lum -- a horned, green-haired teenage cutie wearing a yellow-and-black-striped bikini and boots. (All the Oni seem to wear some sort of yellow-and-black-striped clothes.) To win for Earth, all Ataru needs to do is succeed in a kind of game of tag, by grabbing Lum's horns within the 10 days of the contest. She can fly though, and immediately and easily eludes him for almost the entire 10-day period. Ataru finally cheats by firing a rubber suction-cup arrow at Lum's bikini top, yanking it away. When she reacts in shock by covering her top with her arms, Ataru pounces upon her and grabs her by her horns. Ataru is relieved because now that Earth is spared from the alien Oni invasion, he'll be a hero and can marry his high school sweetheart Shinobu. Blurting out his happiness, "Now I can get married!", he's heard by Lum and she takes it to be a proposal of marriage to her, and immediately falls in love with Ataru. Now she won't be dissuaded from her pursuit of her "Darling", as she calls him, while Ataru is now in hot water with Shinobu whenever Lum is around (which is always, as she eventually comes to live with him, and enrolls as a student in his school, as well). She also has with her an annoying, mischievous toddler cousin named Ten, and a jealous ex-boyfriend named Rei in hot pursuit -- a guy so handsome that all the girls that see him (including Ataru's mom!) immediately fall for him, even though his manners are atrocious and he turns into some sort of giant tiger-like monster whenever he gets mad.

The series seems to feature a never-ending stream of delightfully-weird happenings to keep things lively. It's Archie-like in the sense that Ataru is kind of a hapless shlub with a roving eye for the ladies (but otherwise not a bad guy), caught in the middle of two girls fighting over him (or getting mad AT him), so it's romantic triangle time.

Quote from: rusty on November 11, 2018, 10:31:46 PM
Since I have over 300 Image comics to catch up on, I'm breaking it up a bit.   B-F to start

Wow, that is a lot of titles (considering it's just B through F), Rusty. Do you have (in your head, or can you approximate by some rough figuring) how many different titles (in progress, ongoing or limited series) you're reading at any given time, including all publishers? I mean the things that actually do get published on some sort of semi-regular schedule, not those things that are once-in-a-blue-moon (like for example, the various comic strip reprint series from IDW's Library of American Comics, which are probably no more often than annual at best).

What I really wanted to ask though, is did you not get Ian Boothby and Gisèle Lagacé's new Image series EXORSISTERS? (Begins with an E, right?) If not, you should really check that one out. Twin sisters (but not really) Cate and Kate Harrow are supernatural investigators and as close as can be (spoilers again, not really twins), but totally different in personality. Like Betty and Veronica, or more apropos, like Patty and Cathy Lane in The Patty Duke Show. Fun-filled supernatural situation comedy ensues. I like Gisèle's other stuff with Dave Lumsdon -- Ménage à 3, Eerie Cuties and Magick Chicks (in increasing order of how much I like them) but I feel like Exorsisters has the potential to be even funnier, and it's already off to a great start. I really hope it's an ongoing series from Image and not just a limited series.



[SPOILER: A lot of the covers seem to have this split-image or mirror-reflection motif, and that's a clue about the true nature of the Exorsisters.]

DAGWOOD SPLITS THE ATOM! (1949)
  Story, art and cover by Joe Musial. King Features Syndicate comic strip characters star in an educational story about nuclear physics (expanded from a 1948 article that appeared in Popular Science magazine).

Mandrake the Magician takes the scientific position, explaining to Dagwood and Blondie the basics of atomic power. Numerous other characters appear as well, including Jiggs and Maggie from Bringing Up Father, the Katzenjammer Kids, Henry, Snuffy Smith, and Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Wimpy. The upper 3/5ths of each page consists of a single comic panel with word balloons, while the bottom 2/5ths of each page contains text elaborating on the idea presented in detail. Page 28 consists of a multiple-choice quiz (18 questions) to test what you've learned by reading (correct answers provided inside back cover).
Back in 2012, the genesis of the special comic, which was published by Harvey Comics and distributed to schools for free, and was also included as an item in A.C. Gilbert Co.'s No. U-238 Atomic Energy Lab Kit in 1950, was explained by the anonymous "Archivist" at the KFS website (http://comicskingdom.com):

Quote
The how and why of atom-splitting was explained many times in many ways, but mostly, a lot of people were confused or unsure about just how that energy was created or what were the prospects for usage. General Leslie Groves, who had lead the Manhattan Project during the War, and now in retirement, was a respected expert on all things atomic. He first developed an idea for presenting the atomic story for laypeople with cartoons, and approached Joe Musial with this concept.

Joe Musial was an all-around utility player for the syndicate. He could write stories, do ghost work on any number of strips and comic books in different styles, even outside the Hearst realm.

As the head of "King Features Educational Division," he first created an exhibit for the atomic show at the New York Golden Jubilee exhibition in 1948, explaining the workings of atomic power with King Features' cartoon stars. This led to the comic book version.



General Groves wrote a preface in the finished book, and other contributors included Hearst columnist, Bob Considine, as well as several physicists and a quote from Bernard Baruch.

The most popular strip stars during that era were the Bumsteads, so naturally they would be the leads in the book. The "story" inside was that Blondie and Dagwood, accompanied by the rest of the King characters, attend a public lecture given by Mandrake on just what atoms are made of, how they get pulled apart, and what causes them to detonate.  The Bumsteads  are magically transported to atomic size so they can inspect the various neutrons, protons and electrons doing their stuff up close while a scientific explanation narrates the pages below the cartoons. Though Chic Young's photo is inserted in the opening of the book, doubtless no one else but Musial drew the illustrations.

The story begins, "THIS BOOK TELLS what an atom is, how it can be split and what happens when it is split. Here, therefore, is a comic book that is different from any you have ever seen." You might think that a comic book such as this produced in 1949 would be viewed in hindsight as hokey, naive and oversimplifing a complex topic, but nothing could be further from the truth. Still as relevant today as it was nearly 70 years ago.

The irony is not lost on me that Sears was at one time, over a century ago, most favorably positioned as THE alternative to brick & mortar retail stores.

The Sears Roebuck & Co. Catalog was indeed the "Amazon.com" of its time, from 1897 to 1993.

DETECTIVE COMICS: THE COMPLETE COVERS MINI-HC VOL 01 - Reprints the covers of the first 300 issues of Detective Comics, one per page. Not quite what I was expecting when I ordered it... I think I thought it would be about the size of a Big Little Book (typically about 3.5" x 4.5" and 1.5" thick, 432 pages, although the page count may vary). This turned out to be only about the size of a deck of playing cards or a pack of cigarettes (2.5" x 3.5"), which didn't exactly make reading the cover text (which is close to the only text in this book) easy on the eyes, when you consider that the actual cover images are even smaller than the page size. And the cover price is $11.99! Abbeville Press published a similar series of 'Tiny Folio' books documenting the cover history of DC icons (2 volumes each of Batman in Detective Comics, and Superman in Action Comics, 300 covers per volume) back in 1993-94, and those books were approximately 4" x 4.5" and 320 pages (although they were softcovers). These are still available on Amazon, so I'd recommend anyone interested to purchase those instead.

ELVIRA: MISTRESS OF DARK #3 (of ?)- Written by David Avallone and drawn by Dave Acosta (the same team that produced previous Dynamite series Twilight Zone: The Shadow, and Doc Savage: Ring of Fire, both of which were excellent, if much less funny), and it captures the humor of Elvira quite well. Very 'meta' and 4th-wall breaking-y. The plot, such as it is, concerns Elvira lost in time, meeting up with such horror icons as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe, and (in this issue) Bram Stoker -- all the while being pursued through time by Vlad the Impaler. How this came to be is revealed in this issue and involves another famous icon of gothic fiction.

MAGICA DE SPELL GIANT HALLOWEEN HEX #2 - Like last year's Halloween Special, this one features Magica's family, and is a sequel to last year's. Nothing in particular to do with Halloween per se, but a good Magica De Spell story.

UNCLE SCROOGE: MY FIRST MILLIONS #2 (OF 4) - I don't know if it's me, but this feels sort of out of place, continuity-wise. That might seem odd to talk about continuity in a Disney comic, but Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, following up on a lot of bits and pieces of continuity introduced by Carl Barks in earlier Scrooge stories, fairly well defines Scrooge's early years (while still leaving plenty of open spots for further stories). This just doesn't feel like it fits with that at all. The story in this issue, which covers how Scrooge made his second million, has to do with him building the world's first transcontinental railroad . It's established in the story that this took place in times when the telegraph had been invented, but not telephones or radio. In the real world, the transcontinental railroad happened in 1869. Along the way, Scrooge invents the Super Bowl Championship game (which didn't happen in the real world until 1967). IIRC, in Don Rosa's earlier 'Life and Times' story (elaborating on things first established by Barks), Scrooge made his first million during the Klondike Gold Rush (which in the real world took place between 1896 and 1899). The stories in this series are okay in and of themselves, but I'm a little disappointed that they don't seem to square with the previously-established history of Scrooge McDuck.

STAR WARS ADVENTURES: DESTROYER DOWN #1 (of 3) - The IDW Star Wars Adventures series is kind of frustrating me. On the one hand, it's nominally more accessible than, say, Marvel's Star Wars comics, with stories that don't just go on forever (although admittedly, that's exactly what some people want in a Star Wars comic). For me, though, the main attraction (or potential attraction) is not just stories set in the Star Wars universe and featuring Star Wars characters, it's stories drawn by Derek Charm featuring Star Wars characters. I'll admit I'm probably unusual here, in that I've been a growing fan of Charm's work since first encountering it on IDW's earlier Starfleet Academy (which I would have fervently wished to become an ongoing series). The frustration happens for me because I cannot get a single longer Star Wars Adventures story arc drawn entirely by Derek Charm, which is what it's going to take to commit me to this IDW franchise of miniseries. To the average buyer, it doesn't matter: "Oh, it's a Star Wars comic book. I LIKE Star Wars; I like comics; therefore I'll buy it." For me, it's... "Well, there are tons of Star Wars comics; I like Star Wars, but not enough to buy ALL of them, especially when I'm already getting tons of other comics." So what makes one Star Wars comic book different from another? For me, it's a creator whose work I really like, working in that universe. But at best, it seems I can only get from 1/3 to 1/2 of each issue's allotted story pages drawn by Derek Charm. This issue is no different, with the first half (Destroyer Down, Episode 1) drawn by Derek Charm, and the last half (The Ghost Ship, Part 1) drawn Jon Sommariva. That's not to say that the artwork of Jon Sommariva is bad; it's not. The latter story, 'Ghost Ship' functions as kind of a prequel to the former, 'Destroyer Down'. No idea how this will look in a collected edition, but continuity-wise, it should probably be ordered as Ghost Ship, Parts 1-3, followed by Destroyer Down, Parts 1-3. No idea why IDW chooses to tell the story in serialized form the way they are. Both stories are written by Scott Beatty (who I've always liked as a writer), and really, when you get down to it, the main feature and backup story are really a single story. Can't I just get to read one longer, self-contained story arc drawn by Derek Charm? Please, IDW, I'm begging you!

OUTER DARKNESS #1 - A promising start to this new science-fiction/horror hybrid series that has a Starfleet-like setup of 'continuing mission', combined with the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft. I've previously enjoyed the work of writer John Layman on Mars Attacks (IDW) and DC's Detective Comics, so I figure I'll give this series a one-arc trial at least. Too soon to say for sure, but it looks like it could be interesting, and the art style is unique and bold. Here's hoping.

KICK-ASS #9 - I'm just kind of losing interest in this one, and in its companion title HIT-GIRL. They're getting too far away from the original premise, which was the idea of the RLSH (Real-Life SuperHero) subculture. The execution is still fairly good, but this new Kick-Ass is a different character entirely wearing the same costume (and no other connection to Dave Liszewski, the original Kick-Ass).

JUGHEAD #184 (Sept 1970)
LIFE WITH ARCHIE #101 (Sept 1970)
ARCHIE #219 (July 1972)
ARCHIE'S JOKES [ARCHIE GIANT SERIES] #198 (Aug 1972)

Quote from: rusty on November 08, 2018, 10:11:03 AM
I'm caught up on Dynamite now.

I don't know what to say about Dynamite. I wish they'd give as much attention to the stories and interior artwork as they do to the covers. I buy a fair number of their titles, just based on my liking the characters, but sometimes it seems like I'm just getting them for the covers.

There are some examples of good stuff, where they're at the top of their game (The Shadow: The Death of Margo Lane, Doc Savage: Ring of Fire, Will Eisner's The Spirit: The Corpse Makers, Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Greatest Adventure, Sherlock Holmes, Vampirella: Roses For the Dead, Dawn/Vampirella, and Vampirella (2014, Volume 2, the one written by Nancy Collins). And the recent Sheena was better than expected and the new Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is pretty good so far (my expectations were kind of low at this point, so it's a pleasant surprise). Unfortunately, they just seem to be too few and far between, considering all the titles they put out.

And then there are far too many instances where they're really a letdown: Green Hornet '66 Meets Will Eisner's Spirit (not even the real Spirit), the Gold Key stuff, Bettie Page, that most recent wave of reboots of The Shadow, Green Hornet, Vampirella, and Dejah Thoris, and (turning out to be a big disappointment for me) the long-awaited return of Project Superpowers. Mighty Mouse didn't quite click for me -- I think it was because, while it seemed like a fun spin on the character, the artwork just didn't cut it. They needed someone who could draw the story in a way that would have made it funnier to read. I say that as a guy who absolutely loves what Sholly Fisch is doing every month writing Scooby-Doo Team-Up. Anyway, it always feels like (barring well-known talent) most Dynamite series are going to be a real crap shoot when you pick them up. And then a lot of them are just middling-fair, like Red Sonja/Tarzan (but then I'm not really a Gail Simone fan).

They also publish a bunch of licensed properties that I don't read (Battlestar Galactica, Charlie's Angels, Dresden Files, James Bond, John Wick, Nancy Drew, Red Sonja) that I can't comment on. I'd kind of like to read James Bond, but since they're not doing the movie Bond, I'll wait until they actually adapt one of Fleming's books, or at least do an original story set in continuity in that time period. I can see why they update 007 for movie audiences (which makes it a different character), but to me the real Bond is set during the height of the Cold War, and he's a character of that time.

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 #2 (of 4)
SAVAGE DRAGON #239
STELLAR #5
ICE CREAM MAN #8
RICK & MORTY #43
THE UNSTOPPABLE WASP (2018) #1
MARVEL ZOMBIE #1 (one-shot)
THE SENTRY #5 (of 5)
THE TERRIFICS #9
TERRIFICS ANNUAL #1
HEROES IN CRISIS #2 (of 9)
DETECTIVE COMICS #991
BATMAN SECRET FILES 2018 #1
SCOOBY-DOO! TEAM-UP #42 (Gorilla Warfare!)
THE GREEN LANTERN #1
INFINITY WARS #5 (of 6)
TRUE BELIEVERS: WHAT IF THE SILVER SURFER POSSESSED THE INFINITY GAUNTLET? #1
MARVEL HEARTBREAKERS #1 (2010/one-shot)

NUIGULUMAR Z
Gothic Lolita Battle Bear

Quote"Gothic lolita fashion enthusiast Yumeko Ayukawa, nicknamed Dameko, possesses the ability to merge with her talking pink teddy bear Buusuke to form Nuigulumar, a sexy leather-clad superheroine. Using her furry nunchucks, she must battle evil villain Takeshi, his psychic subordinate Kill Billy and a horde of 109 zombies, the highest number of the undead ever seen in a Japanese film.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/4xe_PkEiVO4

Not yet available in an English-subtitled version, but desperately to be hoped for. The film stars Rina Takeda, a Japanese actress, singer and black belt in Ryukyu Shōrin-ryū Karate. Wow, were ever so many popular Japanese tropes crammed into a single film? Magical girl. Goth/loli. Martial arts. Tokusatsu hero. Zombies. And something for the furry fans.

Quote from: rusty on November 04, 2018, 08:46:24 AM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on November 04, 2018, 03:25:14 AM

Quote from: rusty on November 04, 2018, 01:05:02 AM
I liked Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor.

WHObender. 

Has there been a Doctor of color yet? Only a matter of time, lord.

Not yet, but it probably is only a matter of time.  It doesn't matter to me as long as the stories are entertaining and the actor does a good job.

At some point it seems like the Doctor should be a little kid, too.

Quote from: rusty on November 04, 2018, 01:05:02 AM
I liked Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor.

WHObender. 

Has there been a Doctor of color yet? Only a matter of time, lord.

Quote from: rusty on November 03, 2018, 06:31:24 PM

Quote from: DeCarlo Rules on November 03, 2018, 04:43:12 PM
I've come to the conclusion that it must be some sort of generational thing, since large numbers of people seem to have absolutely no problem with the idea. That goes for reading comics or e-books, as well. Then again, if a video is not being displayed in its correct aspect ratio it's immediately apparent to me (and annoying to the point where I just can't watch it), but apparently what's annoying to other people that they just can't stand is an area of their screen that isn't being used where nothing but black bars appear.

But that's coming from a guy who has no idea why anyone would want to text on a phone using a tiny keyboard when they could just call (even if it's just to leave a voicemail) or email someone. People not only seem to enjoy but actually prefer texting, though.

I've gotten used to reading ebooks on my phone, though usually it is when I am waiting somewhere and it helps pass the time.  I've started texting more since I got my iPhone a few years ago, but still prefer the phone call and actual talking.  I've adapted somewhat, though, as it had become clear that some of my friends are much easier to reach via text since they tend to respond to that more than a voicemail.  I will sometimes make use of the speech to text option with my texts where I just have to tap the microphone button and then dictate my text message, making sure to read it over for any errors.

E-books are less of a problem, I admit. If you have options to control  text wrapping, size and font, it's barely an issue except in terms of the number of swipes or toggles relative to a larger-sized screen. I've never had one with the text-to-voice feature (so I'm not sure how 'robotic' it might sound), but it seems to me the way to go is just to download the audio version from Audible.com or wherever. I must admit it's convenient to listen to a book while driving and helps you utilize the time spent.

Regarding texting with speech-to-text, that seems to be the way to go, but it does seem like it's jumping through hoops in a technological sense.

Quote from: rusty on November 03, 2018, 09:19:45 AM
watching things on my phone is not ideal.

I've come to the conclusion that it must be some sort of generational thing, since large numbers of people seem to have absolutely no problem with the idea. That goes for reading comics or e-books, as well. Then again, if a video is not being displayed in its correct aspect ratio it's immediately apparent to me (and annoying to the point where I just can't watch it), but apparently what's annoying to other people that they just can't stand is an area of their screen that isn't being used where nothing but black bars appear.

But that's coming from a guy who has no idea why anyone would want to text on a phone using a tiny keyboard when they could just call (even if it's just to leave a voicemail) or email someone. People not only seem to enjoy but actually prefer texting, though.

Quote from: rusty on November 02, 2018, 08:56:50 PM
Donald and Mickey 1-4
DuckTales 0-13
Mickey and Donald Christmas Parade 3
Uncle Scrooge 28-40 and My First Millions 1
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories 739-744
Walt Disney Showcase 1-6 - These books mostly reprint stories from Europe that have never been published in the USA (except for the DuckTales series which I think is all new).  The tone is often a bit different than the classic Ducks (and Mouse) tales, but they are usually still pretty good.  There are a lot of stories available from Europe that have never been seen here and it is nice that IDW is putting a lot of them out.

I'm getting all these IDW Disney comics (except for the new DuckTales; I only get the "classic" DuckTales) in TP collections, but I mostly get to pre-read the floppy comics by borrowing them. I've fallen a little behind and am trying to figure out what TP collections I might have missed (so far I've identified one Mickey Mouse TP  and one Uncle Scrooge TP). In addition to that, I've been getting the Carl Barks Library, Don Rosa Library, and Disney Masters hardcover collections from Fantagraphics, and now I see Dark Horse is soliciting some new "classic" Disney graphic novels (Mickey Mouse starring in Treasure Island, Uncle Scrooge starring in Moby Dick) -- I haven't seen these as of yet (they're due soon, though) so I'm not sure if the source of these is from one the various European Disney publishers, or if these are Dark Horse originals. I know Papercutz and JoeBooks Inc have done some licensed Disney comics (although those seem more directly aimed at kids than at general audiences, and tend to skew to the modern Disney properties), and I don't know what other American publishers may be doing Disney-licensed comics right now. Not sure if Papercutz may be done with licensing Disney characters now. Marvel also had a fling at doing some for a few years, but that seems to have ended now.

Quote from: rusty on November 02, 2018, 08:56:50 PM
Half Past Danger 2 #1-5 - A decent sequel in the Indiana Jones vein.  I enjoyed it and would read a third series.

I remember the first one, with elements of ERB's The Land That Time Forgot (or DC's War That Time Forgot/Dinosaur Island if you prefer) and a character who was an analog for Captain America, and enjoyed it. For some reason I didn't get this one (was it by the same artist as the first series?), but perhaps I'll pick up the trade collection somewhere later down the road.

Quote from: rusty on November 02, 2018, 08:56:50 PM
Judge Dredd Blessed Earth 1-8
Judge Dredd Under Siege 1-4 - Blessed Earth takes place 10 years after Mega City Zero and a thousand years after the original Judge Dredd books.  It wasn't my favorite Dredd series, but it was okay.  I liked Under Siege a lot more which deals with mutants trying to take over a residential block near the edge of Mega City One.

I'm a big fan of Dredd, and of the other long-runnning 2000 AD characters like Judge Anderson, Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper, RoBusters/A.B.C. Warriors, etc. I have to say that IDW totally lost me with Mega City Zero and The Blessed Earth. I can appreciate the bind they're in here, because if you do something too off-trail, like those series, you lose the feeling of the original -- it's too great a departure. On the other hand, stuff like IDW's first ongoing Dredd series and Under Siege seem almost too much like "business as usual", but with a little bit less of the 'genuine flavor' you'd get from the actual 2000 AD/Rebellion strips written & drawn by British creators -- resulting in them feeling somewhat like "Judge Dredd lite". The most successful IDW Judge Dredd offerings so far, it seems to me, have been the out-of-continuity (or continuity implant) limited series like Year One, Mega City Two, and the PSI Judge Anderson miniseries -- somewhat outside the normal continuity, but 'filling in the blanks' as it were, on lesser-known aspects of the characters' backstories. Those and the crossovers with other properties (I particularly loved the MARS ATTACKS JUDGE DREDD miniseries, and Dark Horse's more recent ALIENS vs JUDGE DREDD vs PREDATOR miniseries).

Quote from: rusty on November 02, 2018, 08:56:50 PM
Saucer State 1-6 - This series continues Vertigo's Saucer Country series from a few years ago.  The President and a few others see aliens on occasion and the question is whether the aliens are real or just the product of microwave technology.  First contact may be on the horizon.  One more series is being kickstarted soon to finish off the story.  I've enjoyed it.

UFOlogy lore is an interest of mine, and as such, I loved both the original Vertigo series and IDW's sequel of Paul Cornell's SAUCER COUNTRY. There are a lot of details of the plot where it shows Cornell really did his homework, touching on all sorts of established aspects of the lore. I really hope this story gets a conclusion.

Quote from: rusty on November 02, 2018, 08:56:50 PM
Star Trek Boldly Go 10-18
Star Trek Discovery The Light of Kahless 1-4, Succession 1-4 and Annual 1
Star Trek TNG Mirror Broken 1-5 and Through the Mirror 1-6 - Boldly Go continues the adventures of the reboot Enterprise crew.  I hope that their adventures continue in comic form since this was a good series.  Light of Kahless shows how the reunification of the Klingon Empire came about and was good.  Succession is a Mirror Universe series and I didn't find it as interesting, though it wasn't bad.  Mirror Broken shows how Picard gets the newly built Enterprise and holds on to it while Through the Mirror is a crossover between the Mirror Universe Enterprise and the regular universe Enterprise.  Both series were pretty good.

I enjoyed the first two J.J. Abrams Star Trek films, but I have to admit I gave up on the ST "Kelvin universe" after the third Star Trek film (not directed by Abrams);  I hated it so much that I walked out of the theater about 1/2 hour into it. So I never did continue with the monthly IDW comic after it was renumbered as ST Boldly Go #1. Nevertheless I did read the trade collection of "I.D.I.C." (Boldly Go #13-18) and enjoyed it somewhat, if a little less than the original IDW ongoing ST series. I haven't caught up on the latest TNG mirror-universe crossovers yet, but I expect to get them in trade collections as well (they do seem to read better that way). I'm holding off on ST Discovery for a while. I haven't decided how I feel about the rebooted Klingons (and apparently they are claiming it IS part of the ST 'Prime universe' timeline, set about 10 years after the events of Enterprise), but I won't subscribe to a new Paramount channel on the hopes of a single show. I've talked to a few people (all avowed Trek fans) who feel the same way.

Quote from: rusty on November 02, 2018, 08:56:50 PM
Star Wars Adventures FCBD 2017 2018 1-14 Annual 1 Tales from Vader's Castle 1
Star Wars Forces of Destiny (five one shots) - The Star Wars Adventures books feature two stories per issue from throughout the Star Wars timeline.  The characters change from issue to issue except for the occasional two parter.  They tend to be lighter in nature, but are fun.  The Forces of Destiny books focus on some of the female Star Wars characters (Ahsoka, Padme, Hera, Leia, Rey, Rose, Paige) and are pretty decent stories.

I've sampled a few of the new IDW 'young reader'-aimed Star Wars series, but haven't been a regular reader. I did note the semi-regular participation of Derek Charm as an artist on these kid-friendly SW stories, and would love to have a trade collection of just those stories, but it doesn't seem like he's associated with any particular subset of characters or storyline within this franchise. Are these based on an animated SW spinoff currently running on Cartoon Network? I'm a little curious why Marvel isn't handling this series themselves, unless they've outright admitted they're out of their depth when it comes to targeting the young reader demographic. I guess if it would fall under IDW's general license to adapt Cartoon Network product, that would explain it. I have to admit that the whole Star Wars franchise has gotten away from me in recent years. I haven't paid as close attention to it since the CN series Clone Wars ended and the first film of the new sequel cycle, so there are newer characters who've been introduced since that time that I'm unfamiliar with.

Quote from: archiecomicscollector on November 01, 2018, 10:11:49 PM
And I love that both series incorporate a few Easter eggs or references for fans. For example, Sabrina carries a vintage Archie Comics thermos in Episode 1 and a poster of Archie's Madhouse can be seen in Harvey's bedroom in Episode 5 or 6 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Oh, so the story is set during the 1960s like in the comic book? 

FROM HELL: MASTER EDITION #1 (of 10)
SCOOBY-DOO! TEAM-UP #43 (with The Doom Patrol)
EXORSISTERS #1 - This may be my favorite of Gisele's creator-owned series yet. Cate & Kate Harrow are the Patty & Cathy of supernatural investigators (sort of, but not quite... to explain further would be spoiler-y). BUY IT! READ IT! You won't be sorry!
EMPOWERED & SISTAH SPOOKY'S HIGH SCHOOL HELL #6 (of 6)
BLACK HAMMER: AGE OF DOOM #6
BETTY & VERONICA: FRIENDS FOREVER - STORYBOOK TALES #1 (#3 in a series of #1s)
VAMPIRONICA #4
VAMPIRELLA: ROSES FOR THE DEAD #2 (of 4)
VAMPIRELLA/DEJAH THORIS #2 (of 4)
VAMPIRELLA HALLOWEEN SPECIAL (one-shot)
BETTIE PAGE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL (one-shot)
ARMY OF DARKNESS HALLOWEEN SPECIAL (one-shot)
  -- The above were the not-so-special examples of DE's 2018 Halloween one-shots. What I want to know is where's the one I was REALLY looking forward to as something special, the ELVIRA HALLOWEEN SPECIAL by Dan Parent and Fernando Ruiz? Fernando had an 8-page backup story in the Bettie Page special, but it wasn't anything to compare with his work on DKD (probably would have been funnier if he wrote it himself, or Dan P did).
MARS ATTACKS #1 (Dynamite 2018) - I was expecting more of a direct continuation of the series as it existed as published by IDW, but this was something different. More alt/indy, and more interesting, I thought.
THREE STOOGES: MONSTERS & MAYHEM #1 (#11 in a series of #1s)
ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN '66 #4 (of 6) - Happy/sad. Happy for what it is, but sad when I think we're only two issues away from the end of what is probably the last Batman '66 series, as well as the last long-form (issue-length stories, as well as the last longer story arc) of classic Archie. Of course there are still the five-page digest stories, but it just isn't the same.
PLANET OF THE APES: THE TIME OF MAN #1 (one-shot)

manga:
   SLUM WOLF by Tadao Tsuge - "Alternative" Japanese comix, mostly stories from the 1970s.

   STREET FIGHTER II VOL I-III (of 3) by Masaome Kanzaki - Not bad, but you could tell it was an older manga by the limited number of SF characters.

   PLUS-SIZED ELF VOL 01 by Synecdoche - No idea why I picked this up (must have been the cover), but it was fun. I'll read more volumes unless it becomes boring.

   NURSE HITOMI'S MONSTER INFIRMARY VOL 08 by Shake-O - Haven't really gotten into the last couple of volumes as much as the earlier ones. I wish the stories would go back to focusing on Nurse Hitomi more. Also, the student cast is large and varied, and it's hard to remember everything about all the characters, so there should be a little two-page "cast" intro for each volume, at least reminding us what was already known about the characters spotlighted in this volume. The other thing was the whole volume took place on a class camping trip outside the school, and was a sort-of parody of horror/slasher movies (not really my thing, but whatever). One amusing bit had a recognizably-drawn Danny Trejo (from Machete, and a bunch of other Robert Rodriguez movies) in a guest-starring role.

   MOB PSYCHO 100 TP VOL 01 by ONE - Not what one would expect from the title, but very similar in premise to The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., although told in a style that has common points with ONE's One-Punch Man.

   PRISON SCHOOL TP VOL 03 (of 10) by Akira Hiramoto - Never fails to make me chuckle out loud. There are aspects of this that remind me of Gisele's Menage A 3, as far as the sex comedy goes. The plot, however, is as intricately constructed as that of Death Note, but with all sorts of references to R-rated women-in-prison exploitation flicks (with role reversal) and even war movies like The Great Escape or Stalag 17. Obviously there's a level where the entire situation is just too over-the-top to be believable, but on the other hand, like the fantasy aspects of Death Note, if you accept those premises as given, within its own context there's a level of realism to at least some of the characters. We don't get much in the way of insight into the motivations or thoughts of the (all-girl) Shadow Student Council (Underground Student Council in the anime), but then again, the story isn't from their POV, it's from the POV of the five male "prison inmates" of the school. The Shadow Student Council are the antagonists, so you don't get a balanced perspective on things from both sexes. Oddly enough, at the heart of this is a love story (and maybe more than one).

   FRANKENSTEIN: JUNJI ITO'S STORY COLLECTION HC - It's a fairly straightforward adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel right up to the point where Frankenstein strikes a bargain with his creation to make a mate for him. Then things take an unexpected diversion from the novel, with Henry Clerval discovering Frankenstein's secret and aiding him in his creation of The Bride. When Victor is unable to obtain a useable female head in good condition, the monster provides one himself -- the guillotined head of Justine Moritz, unjustly convicted of the murder of young William Frankenstein (apparently in Switzerland at this time, it's possible to convict a murder suspect on mere circumstantial evidence, a weakness of Shelley's novel). In the novel, Justine was hanged, not guillotined, after being convicted, and Frankenstein in fact destroys the body of the monster's mate before ever bringing her to life. Here, as in Universal's The Bride of Frankenstein, there is a much more elaborate scene (with an argument from Henry Clerval that it's Frankenstein's duty to restore Justine to life -- even though earlier in the story it's made clear that Frankenstein is somehow creating the brain of the creature himself, not merely restoring a dead brain to working condition). The end result is the same, with the monster feeling himself betrayed by Frankenstein and vowing his vengeance when (as in Universal's film) he's rejected by his bride-to-be and she tries to kill him. Still, the difference from the book here is that Frankenstein acts in good faith to fulfill his end of the agreement... but he can't be held responsible when the mate he creates rejects the original monster (somehow the monster doesn't see it that way, even though he's in most respects reasonable). The adaptation takes up about half the book, with the balance a collection of modern horror stories focusing on junior high school student Oshikiri.