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PTF Reviews The Blue Baron 3.1

Started by PTF, February 16, 2019, 12:46:41 AM

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PTF


Boy, am I glad these Sitcomics are cheap—since I'm now out an extra hundred and eighty dollars every month. Because old people get sick and ruin everything for younger people. But hey, maybe reading and reviewing this comic will cheer me up.

When we last left our body swapped protagonists, Ernie is unprepared to run a corporation, other heroes now doubt the Blue Baron as being sane, and one of Blue Baron's strongest allies is in a coma. Carson Cedric finds Ernie's parents more and more coming down on him, feeling more and more helpless.  So how can things go worse? Let's find out as I review BLUE BARON 3.1!

The Good

The Writing: Another strong showing from Darin Henry as he's doing a great job of introducing new characters (villains and heroes alike) while also showing the reaction everyone has to Cedric Carson/Blue Baron with Ernie in his body. People working for him thinks he's lost his mind and the heroes are between thinking he's being manipulated or just a plain liability. And we got consequences to both as Ernie is costing Cedric millions, employees, and his spot on the Hero Union.

And the humor is still there with Cedric deciding to just mess with the shrink his parents send him to and the end result of the session. I like The Clique and how they interacted and bounced off quips on each other. And they all have interesting powers and are relatable. Okay, one of the Clique is named "Teacher's pet." Take a guess what her personality and powers are. Stuff like that just makes me smile.

And there is really touching scene where Ernie Baron visits Max and just feeling helpless as his friend is fighting for his life and there's nothing he can do. And there is Wanda and Roberto (YES! HE HAS A NAME) as their son seems like a totally different person and they don't know what to do.

And I like the introduction to Professor Wraith as William Wharton falls to madness as he seeks to understand evil and how it relates to heroism. I'm a sucker for characters like this. It's a nice origin.

For around nineteen pages we get a great story that covers a lot of ground while having distinct characters and dialogue and continuing to advance storylines for future issues in inventive and swift decisions.  Lord knows a few other writes could learn from this coughIDWTMNTcoff


The art. Yeah, another great job by Ron Frenz with ink by Sal Buscema. The action scenes are great and there's great motion in each panel. From Honcho and Windfall fighting villains to Bully and Class Clown playing a prank on Blue Baron. Each character's personality shines. Honcho wears a suit that consists of sponsors and a camera rig with super inflated hero poses as he fights. Bully of the clique pretty much moves how I would think a kid hero named Bully would. For the introduction to the Clique, you could take out all the word balloons and you would know each character's personality by how they slouch, sit, or tilt there head.

I love all the costume designs. Professor Wraith looks menacing. The Clique and their costumes really work with their code name. Bully's costume is my favorite (hint, think a popular video game from a few years back)

And the inking really does a great job with facial expressions. Best seen when Wharton succumbs to the evil tomes and insanity.

Lettering and coloring is also great as usual with Dillon and Whitmore. It's amazing how boring word balloons have gotten and how excited I get to see one stretch out with a "noooo" or explode with rage.

Super Sleepy. Cute lil' one page story.

The Bad

Ernie. He's probably at his worse here as he's mouthing off, rushing head long into fights, and annoying every character he comes in contact with. Again, this is just part one of the third issue, so this will probably be addressed, but I felt a fair warning for those readers who hate annoying kids. Which begs the question, why are you on an Archie Comics fan message board?

A rare Glenn Whitmore mistake. Page eighteen Blue Ernie has grabbed Bully by his jacket, but the way it's colored it looks like Blue Baron's levitating him. The lesson: no one is perfect.

Class Clown. He's not a clown. He's a mime! Clowns and mimes are totally different! Clowns are funny/scary, Mimes are just annoying.

What I learned.

Roberto is the name of Ernie's dad. ...You people have no idea how long not knowing his name has been bothering me.
  • Maybe donating evil tomes to a college was not the best idea some hero made.
  • Ernie is just killing any hope millions of people who drafted Blue Baron as their first pick have of winning Fantasy Hero.
  • That college student in the lecture hall is the worse kind of person. "How do you know what heroism is without understanding evil?" Boom—new supervillain! "Gee, if you think you can do a better job as president, why don't you run?" Boom—President Trump. "If you don't feel good, why don't you see a doctor?" Boom—cancer!
  • You knew Protégé (autocorrect one this battle of wells) was waiting for the right moment to strike after Blue Ernie insulted his costume.
  • The Hero Union has a much lighter drug policy than I had first thought before I read this issue.
  • Man it sucks being an African American in this comic, you get killed by a new villain, you get put in a coma, get possessed by some sort of mysterious entity or some jerkwad kid in your mentor's body insults your costume.
  • My dream match up is coming true! Cedric Carson vs. Spider-Girl!
  • Doctor Chandler is going to write an amazing case study one day.
  • Finally, a school of higher learning I can believe in.
 
It's a good first part. Ernie is kicked out of the Hero Union and looking for a new team (kids his age, but with one big problem), Cedric being shut out of his own life as he watches it crumble around him, and a new villain.  I'll go B+

And I'm starting a new program. Where you guys send me comics you have bought and I review them and tell you if you made the right decision. If this works out well, I'll expand it to movies, music, and food. Revolutionary concept. So be in on the ground floor.


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