Thursday, December 14, 2017

DC Universe Rebirth: Suicide Squad Vol 3 Review



DC Universe Rebirth: Suicide Squad - Burning Down The House

        Amanda Waller is having the worst day ever. She has been relieved of her duties as the Head of Task Force X (Rick Flag, Katana, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Enchantress, Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang, Hack) by none other than the President of the United States, himself...And one of her deadliest recruits, Rustam, former leader of the deadly Jihad, has returned from the dead to destroy Waller and everything she holds dear. Driven by devotion to his ideals of freedom, Rustam strikes at Waller and the heart of corruption in several of the world's governments by forming The Burning World, a group of high-powered super-villains that he breaks out of their prisons and convinces to share his vision of a liberated world. Belle Reve, Blackgate...One by one, Waller's strongholds crumble, her intel is stolen, and her avenues of escape are cut off. As Rustam closes in for the kill, Waller and the Suicide Squad strike back, only to find themselves probably outmatched, and quite possibly betrayed by a double agent in the team! Waller always knew that forcing super-powered villains to work for her was like playing Russian Roulette...But this time, Rustam just might be the bullet that ends all her machinations - annihilating her, and Task Force X forever.

   Standalone/Back-up Story: "War Crimes" - When a corrupt former Secretary of Defense is kidnapped by Strikeforce Europa, a crack team of European super-powered operatives bent on making him stand trial for various war crimes, Amanda Waller sends Task Force X to recover the crooked S.O.B. before the United States acts with force - an act which would create an international incident that may turn America's allies against her, and kick off a war!


    Rob Williams pens "Burning Down the House," an action-packed, fast-paced Suicide Squad adventure that is full of classic Task Force X betrayal, intrigue, murder, and mayhem. For the most part, this book is pretty great - it's got a villain in Rustam that may, or may not be really villainous (that's always great), and a protagonist in Amanda Waller who may or may not be good, but who is definitely a different, more virtuous kind of monster. I love how Williams juxtaposed these two characters, highlighting their many similarities, and the places where the similarities sharply end. There are also some great plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat wondering who was going to end up dead on this mission, who was the traitor and why he or she would ever dare betray Amanda Waller and her merry gang of psychopaths. Sure, Enchantress was way funnier than Harley Quinn. And, sure, the resolution was simplistic and very Batman-y, but the stunted payoff didn't change the fact that the journey was totally worthwhile. Eddy Barrows lays down some great, atmospheric pencils for Williams' story, and John Romita, Jr. does competent work in his blocky, overly-nuanced style. "Burning Down the House" is a solid Task Force X tale, but by no means a new classic.

RATING: 8 out of 10.

   In "War Crimes," the great John Ostrander returns in top form to Task Force X, giving us a much nuttier, much funnier Harley Quinn backed up by a brilliant Rick Flag, a volatile Diablo, a crafty Captain Boomerang, and a reserved, but highly effective, Deadshot. Oh, and Mad Dog, who is basically the red-shirt of the group. While this story is hard-hitting, and high-octane, Ostrander still finds time to insert some great one-liners that are sure to make you at least crack a smile in the midst of all the mayhem. Ostrander focuses on the mechanics of the team, and has a blast with this story. I did too. It was all action, all fun. Maybe they should let Ostrander take the reins again. Who knows? Maybe even give him a shot at penning a Suicide Squad film? I would love to see that. Gus Vazquez's pencils are uncomplicated, straight-forward, and a bit cartoon-y at times which works out perfectly as the story swings from violent to slapstick and back again. Love it!

RATING: 10 out of 10.



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Tuesday, December 12, 2017


GILGANDRA'S BACK ISSUES 2.0

G'day all who visits this nice little corner of Texas. Well in my case N.S.W. 😎
Here are some new back issues i have just received, Enjoy!

Wolverine #55, NM. July 2007. Nice variant of Crime Suspenstories #22.


Wolverine #1/2, VF+. 1997. From Wizard Mag. #75. It's the only wizard 1/2 book i own.


Wolverine #42, VF+. July 1991. Another sweet 2nd print to add to my collection.


The Deep #1, VF+. 1977. One great book for it's age, Adaptation of the movie. 



Spider-Man and Power Pack, NM. 1984. (Give-a-way) NEA Logo.
Again, These books are becoming harder to find as time goes on. Has an "Empire Comics" stamp on the back cover (Rochester, N.Y.)


Jonah Hex #83, VF+. April 1984. This issue along with the few that followed where the start of lower prints, Series ended on #92. Great cover.



Monday, December 11, 2017

R.L. Stine's Man-Thing TPB Review



R.L. Stine's Man-Thing TPB -


      Years ago, in a lonely swamp, scientist, Ted Sallis, was betrayed while protecting his dangerous serum -  a serum that could turn men into unstoppable killers! Forced to take his own serum to keep it out of the hands of thieves, Sallis, about to die at the bottom of a murky lake in the swamp, transformed into a mindless, immortal beast with the power to make all beings burn in his grasp if they knew fear. Now, having regained his brilliant mind and the power of speech, Sallis is finding it nearly impossible to fit in in a fast-paced, superficial world. But that's the LEAST of his worries - his old self, the mindless beast, wants to dominate him again...And deep in his ancient, swamp-home, mysterious forces have joined, forces powerful enough to abduct the Oldfather, the guardian of the swamplands and protector of the gateway to the Nexus of Realities. Man-Thing hurtles himself into the Nexus to save Oldfather, but is he mighty enough to face powers strong enough to defeat Oldfather, and in an endless maze of realities, can he ever find his way home? 

    From the author of everyone's childhood fave, Goosebumps, comes a new take on an old Marvel character, Man-Thing! R.L. Stine makes his first foray into comics by re-imagining Man-Thing, and turning him into the tragic, active protagonist that we always knew that he could be. Stine returns the power of thought and intent to the mindless monster that we all love, and sends him on a mission, not only to save the swamp but to save our entire reality. So, how does Stine do on his first outing? Pretty good, I think. He manages to make Man-Thing/Ted Sallis likable, relatable, tragic, and a whole lot of zany, and sometimes, corny, fun. You can tell Stine is a comics fan from way back; this Man-Thing arc has an evident Silver Age hokiness to it, mixed with light horror, and loads of one-liners that are sure to make you chuckle, smile...or grimace at the sheer corniness of it all. Stine is in this for the fun - sure, you'll explore Man-Thing's tragic origin and plight; however, Stine didn't write this book for heavy thinkers. It's a total flight of fancy with silly humor, lots of action, and tame elements of horror.  Stine backs this arc up, with a few of his own unconnected stories - short gems from his collection which are a bit heavier on the horror and dark humor, stories in the classic EC style of storytelling. And man, are those GREAT!! Gérman Peralta lays down some lovely, quirky pencils that are perfect for a story that is just as quirky. I suspect that this comic will be a disappointment for some fans of Man-Thing that have come to expect a heavier tone for the character's stories, but for R.L. Stine, this comic book was like a love letter to everything he adored about comics growing up. Sure it has its problems, but I really dig it. 

RATING: 8 out of 10. 


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Thursday, November 30, 2017

JUSTICE LEAGUE: DAWN OF APOKOLIPS

  Check out this cool fan-made film:

         Justice League: Dawn of Apokolips!!

           

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Fu Jitsu #1 Review



Fu Jitsu #1 from AfterShock - 

      Fu Jitsu is a boy who loves burgers. But he's also a boy who is well over one-hundred years old, and a super-genius who has mastered every martial art on the planet, including cellular kung-fu, the art of rapid healing. Now, he's seeking to push himself beyond the limits of his mind, body, and spirit in his quest to do two all-important things: master sub-atomic kung-ku...And forget the girl who broke his heart. Fu, recently returned from a years-long, enhanced state of meditation, will need all of his skills to combat a deadly threat to the planet that has been brewing for well over seventy years; long ago, a madman discovered the power of mystical weapons, and has sought them for decades, finally deciding to forge the perfect one in order to dominate the world. This dark task has taken him decades, and the only person that can stand in his way is the legendary boy hero, Fu Jitsu. As the madman plans his preemptive strike, will Fu Jitsu be caught unawares, perishing after his years-long isolation, or will the would-be conqueror awake the most dangerous sleeping dragon the world has ever known?

     Jai Nitz pens this sci-fi, martial arts actioner, with a tongue-in-cheek twist!! Fu Jitsu hits all the right notes with an instantly likable, unique (but familiar), fun, burger-munching protagonist steeped in sci-fi/fantasy and over-the-top martial arts mysticism. Nitz's writing sparkles as he introduces the reader to both the protagonist and antagonist of his story in wonderful form, with just enough backstory to capture our imagination but not enough to give away the origins of the characters, leaving the juicy bits to be revealed at a later date. And I definitely want to know more about these cool characters, and this world that Nitz is bringing into existence. But Nitz isn't in this alone. Wesley St. Claire co-created Fu Jitsu along with Jai Nitz, and they're both pulling double duty; while Nitz is penning the story, St. Claire is rocking the pencils - and the pencils are gorgeous. St. Claire can do it all - from martial arts mayhem to explosions and wild action sequences to heavy, ominous villainry - St. Claire's pencils communicate the story perfectly to the reader while managing to be a lot of fun for the eyes. Shades of Karate Kid (not the movie, the comic character), Shaolin Cowboy, and Remo Williams have combined to give birth to an awesomely cool, new superhero in a wild first issue with just the right mix of action, comedy, historical fiction, and sci-fi/fantasy fun! I absolutely LOVE Fu Jitsu #1!!

RATING: 10 out of 10 for what looks like it will be 100% pure all-ages enjoyment!!

Writer's note: Please excuse my absence - a string of family illnesses and other life-related issues necessitated my hiatus. 

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Wednesday, November 22, 2017

TEX's BACK-ISSUE QUEST Episode 62 (The Punisher)


Hello, fellow Questers!!

    I'm back again to bring the pain, as we talk about one of Marvel's ultimate pain-bringers...The Punisher!!

   2016 was the year that the Punisher made his small screen debut! And it was pretty great! He took on Daredevil in the much-awaited season 2 of Netflix's series of the same name. A few days ago, on November 17, 2017, The Punisher opened a can of whoop-a$$ on Netflix, with the debut of his very own series! 




   Bernthal is reportedly using "Born" and "Punisher MAX" as inspiration for his portrayal on the Punisher. This is good news for fans of the Punisher, as Garth Ennis headed up both series, a writer who, arguably, penned the best Punisher stories ever.

   To mark this exciting occasion, I thought I'd roll out some of The Punisher keys from my collection, for your eyes to see. Sound good? Sweet. Let's pop smoke:


It's Captain America #241, published in 1980. This features the first meeting between Captain America and the Punisher...And boy do they get the fisticuffs done! Frank Miller is on the cover and Frank Springer is on the interiors. 

   Mike Barr really tried to starkly contrast Captain America's and The Punisher's ideologies in this issue. Cap tells The Punisher that he's "never willingly taken a life," even though Cap's a WWII war-hero who was part of the bloodiest war the world has ever seen. Captain America and The Punisher are representations of their respective eras and in how many Americans viewed the wars they fought. WWII is the stuff of legends, while the legacy of Vietnam is much darker in the collective American mind. Still, there is respect, and honor between these two war-fighters, and even though their approach to justice differs, they still find a way to work together to heroicly take down the threat of the mob!



    This is Marvel Preview Presents #2, published in 1975. In this B&W, non-Comics-Code compliant magazine, The Punisher tries to stop the murder of a politician that will be giving a speech on Wall Street; also, we get the very first telling of the Punisher's origin story showing the horrific murder of his family. While out for a day in the park, the Castle Family stumbles across a mob hit, and are mercilessly gunned down. On that day, the man known as Frank Castle dies, and the one-man Army of vengeance known as The Punisher is born.

Here are a couple of pages for you:








Gerry Conway writes and Tony DeZuniga rocks those pencils!


FUN FACT 1: The Punisher didn't exactly catch fire when he was created. He appeared in only 2 solo B&W stories and was basically a guest character in other books until he got his own series in 1986.

FUN FACT 2: This magazine also features the 1st app of Dominic Fortune (which Howard Chaykin created based on a character named Scorpion that he created for the now-defunct ATLAS SEABOARD)! It's true. I can't make this stuff up.

Next up:



Here we have The Amazing Spider-Man #135 - the second-ever full appearance of the Punisher (he had a cameo in #134), and the origin of the Tarantula! Isn't that cover just all kinds of swell?


And of course, I have the most important of them all:




It's Amazing Spider-Man #129, published in 1974, featuring the very 1st appearance of the Punisher and the first appearance of Miles Warren as the Jackal!! This swell cover was done by the hands of greats John Romita and Gil Kane!!


And finally:



Here is The Punisher #1, published in 1986. Written by Steven Grant, and drawn wonderfully by Mike Zeck, this series was in limbo since the early 80s when Grant and Zeck first asked to do it. Marvel wasn't sure about giving a hero that killed in cold blood his own title. What would the kids think? Eventually, Marvel published the title but didn't put much effort into promoting it, and it is no small wonder. This series is hard-boiled. You will see things in this series that Marvel hadn't even dreamed of in that era: suicide, the death of a child, and even a sex scene. Yikes!

And to round it all out, of course, I have the full set:







FUN FACT 3: Issues 1, 3, and 4 had banners above the title stating that this was a four-issue limited series; however, issues 2, and 5 clearly state that this is actually a five-issue limited series. Which was correct? 

FUN FACT 4: It was actually a five-issue limited series. Hurray for production errors. 

That's all for today. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I do posting! Comment and let me know if you enjoyed the article and if you enjoyed "The Punisher" on Netflix!


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Saturday, November 18, 2017



GILGANDRA'S BACK ISSUES 2.0

Hey all, I've been so busy, gets more difficult as one gets older.
So here are some new pick-ups i have. More on the way before Christmas. Till then, Enjoy!

Paragon Software give'a'way, VF+. January 1989. Surprised by finding this at Supernova, The seller didn't realize how potentially rare it was. Told him after i bought it 😁  




Spectacular Spider-Man #189, VF. November 1992. 2nd Print Gold Hologram. Got this at Supernova as well from the same guy. Again i said: "thanks, that's a 2nd print" What the ...It is" he said. 😎 







Raphael (One Shot), F+. 1985. 1st App: Casey Jones. 4th appearance of the turtles over-all. Picked it up at Supernova.





Regular Show 2017 Special. Variant cover.



















Friday, November 17, 2017

TEX'S Back-Issue Quest Episode #61 (The Justice League of America)





Hello fellow Questers!!!

   It's T to tha E to tha X back again on the wheels of steel, with the jams that make you slam and the grooves that make you move!! 

   Finally! Like General Douggie Mac, I have returned! It's been a long time - please forgive me. My wife took a huge promotion, which means more traveling for her, and more single parenting for me, which means lots of late nights with extra-curricular activities, on top of my own late-night teacher activities...But mama did it for me. She kept the home fires a-burning when I was off serving my country for over 11 years, so now it's my turn. I got this.

    It is TIME!!! After years of wishing, and hoping, and praying...the Justice League film has finally arrived!!! I'm beyond stoked! Beyond excited!!! I am ready to rock!! But first...It's time get our Quest on with a few Justice League gems from my collection:






   This is my copy of The Brave and the Bold vol 1, #28, printed in 1960, this is the first major Silver-Age superhero team! That's right - before the Marvel Age, before the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and the Avengers, there was the dawn of justice! This comic features the 1st app of Starro the Conqueror and that crazy teenage superhero super-fan, Snapper Carr!!

Fun Fact: This is not only the first appearance of the Justice League of America, but it is also the very 1st time that Aquaman was ever featured on a cover.


Fun Fact/Flash Fact: The first (shown) chair of the Justice League was none other than the Scarlet Speedster himself...The Flash!!!




    Here is my copy of Justice League of America, vol 1, #1!! This comic is the moment that the JLA leap into their very own long-running title (1960-1987), and it features the first appearance of one of the JLA's most formidable enemies: Despero!!

    The Justice League was originally thought up by prominent comics editor, Julius (Julie) Schwartz in the very late 1950s. He wanted a new team to be an updated version of the Golden Age super force, The Justice Society of America, which was all the rage in the 1940s until superhero popularity began to fade in the latter part of the same decade. Schwartz one again tapped the brilliant Gardner Fox, architect of the Justice Society of America, to develop the new team, along with Golden Age artist, Mike Sekowsky. The result of this tenacious trio of minds was The Justice League of America which debuted in the March 1960 issue of The Brave and the Bold, which sported an amazing cover by a group of professionals including Mike Sekowsy, and the great Murphy Anderson. The new super-team originally consisted of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Batman, and Superman, along with their far-out fan, Snapper Carr. The Justice League battled an alien threat named Starro the Conqueror! This new super-team was a runaway hit - it graced the pages of the next two issues of The Brave and the Bold, and then lept into its own new series, which was without a doubt one of the most successful titles published in the Silver Age

   The Justice League left an indelible mark on comics; however, comics weren't the only media pathway that The Justice League conquered. With the help of renowned animation company, Hanna-Barbera, The Justice League made the leap to television in 1973 as the action-packed, hour-long animates series, "The Super Friends." It only lasted for one season, but returned in 1977, conquering the hearts, minds, and imaginations of kids everywhere, and running until 1986 in several different iterations with a total of 109 episodes:


The first series of "The Super Friends" (1973-1974)



The final series, "The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians"


   FUN FACT: I loved this show.

   FUN FACT: Hanna-Barbera thought that the name, "The Justice League" might not work out too well in the anti-Vietnam War climate that was stirring up national strife. "The Super Friends" fit perfectly for a kids show based on comics - with toned-down violence for younger audiences. Funny thing is...Sometimes they actually called themselves "The Justice League." 

   FUN FACT: There were several members of the Super Friends who had never appeared in comics - these members are thought to be heavy-handed, but well-intentioned, attempts at a more racially diverse team (Apache Chief, Samurai, Black Vulcan and El Dorado):


    Yep, there is no doubt that the Justice League conquered TV with it's amazingly well-done animated show; however, unfortunately, we can't forget the major misstep that Warner Bros. took with this unaired, unforgettable (and some would say, unforgivable) 1997 TV movie/TV Show pilot, The Justice League of America. Here's a clip:



   And then there were those equally horrid late 70s specials:


FUN FACT: Oh, let's be honest. I call them horrid, but to my little kid eyes, those 70s DC and Marvel shows, specials and movies were GREAT!! And so were reruns of the 60s cartoons!

   From comics to cartoons, to TV specials, to TV movies, to big screen hits...All this leads us up to right now: the most important time in comics film history to DC fans for sure...The debut of the "Justice League" starring Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa and Ray Fisher!!! The culmination of nearly 60 years of great stories populated by great, iconic characters! And I, for one, just can't wait to see it tomorrow!!



   That's it for today friends!! Drop me your thoughts and comments on the article and the new Justice League film!!

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Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Yoga Hosers #1



Yoga Hosers: A Sundance Super Special from Dynamite -

     The two Colleens are a fixture at Winnipeg, Manitoba's Terry Fox Preparatory School. They're closer than sisters - it's been that way ever since Colleen C., kicked little Corey in the 'nads for insulting Collen M. back on their very first day of school as kids. Collen Collette is a tough-as-nails, no-nonsense, go-getter, and Collen McKenzie is all sugar, spice, sweetness, and light; but, together they make quite a team. They are just two teen french-fry-loving, yoga freaks getting it done in school by day, and working for cash in Colleen C.'s dad's convenience store by night, with a little rockin' band on the side, and a slightly psychopathic yoga instructor who believes in world domination through the power of yoga exceptionalism.  What are two put-upon, bored, yoga super-teens to do in wacky Winnipeg, eh? Fight crime. Oh. And Nazis.

    Kevin Smith is back at it again in this prequel (and blatant advertisement) for his comedy flick, "Yoga Hosers" starring his daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, and Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of his good friend, Johnny. As a prequel, Yoga Hosers works. It gives the reader a great introduction to the protagonists and gives us a pretty solid glimpse into their world in Winnipeg. The book is filled with so much of Kevin Smith's classic style of silliness that, if you are a fan (and I am), you'll probably end up really wanting to see the zany film...which has been widely panned. Even so, I'd still like to see if it offers up any of the yucks that the comic did for me. The story is light and airy, with lots of Smith's looney dialogue and hammy wordplay. The story presents itself as all-ages friendly, but there is a bit of Smith's typical crass humor and a sprinkling of foul four-letter words, but nothing too wild. Jeff Quigley's pencils are straightforward and no frills, but he's got an eye for slapstick and silliness that made the book fun to look at. Is this comic going to change the world? No. Does it have an earth-shattering message? Or just a deeper meaning? Nope. It's just a familiar Kevin Smith slice o' life tale with the foolishness cranked up pretty high. I enjoyed this comic - but I'm sure it's not for everyone, and I do not expect any further Yoga Hosers comics to be published, but I might keep buying them if they were, at least for a little while. It's a hard call on this one, so let's do this:

RATING (as a Kevin Smith fan based on classic Smith craziness): 8 out of 10.

RATING (non-biased): 6 out of 10. If you're not a fan of Smith's work, nor his humor, this book will absolutely not be worth the $3.99 you'd pay for it.

If you're so inclined, here's a trailer for the film (it made me laugh):



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Sunday, August 27, 2017

Zojaqan #1 and Hi-Fi Fight Club #1 Reviews



Zojaqan #1 from Vault Comics -

    Shannon Kind knows pain and grief. Raised by a loving, but demanding immigrant father, Shannon had high hopes and wide expectations as she ran the race of life. It all culminated in Luther's birth. He was her son, he was her greatest joy but became the source of her greatest pain when his life was unjustly taken. Now, Shannon finds herself suddenly plunged into a new, wonderful, treacherous world, a planet unlike any she has ever known. She'll have to draw on all of her skills, intelligence and pain to survive and thrive in a place where she's both predator and prey. Why is she there, and why does she find herself thrust time after time further into the planet's developing future? What can she teach the evolving life there...And what will they teach her? 

    From Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing comes the epic, Alice-In-Wonderland-type sci-fi tale, Zojaqan. Kelly and Lanzing have created a compelling and riveting protagonist in Shannon Kind - her vibrant inner thought-life is related to the reader through both the captions and art as she tries to survive on a beautiful, but sometimes hostile planet, and as she is thrust from the planet's prehistoric past farther and farther into its future. It's a masterful work of storytelling in which the backstory of the protagonist and the developing story run parallel, with the reader starting a bit confused in the first few pages, discovering both the new planet with the protagonist, and discovering the protagonist too, at the same time. Everything unfolds beautifully, which gave me a slight feeling of confusion, while at the same time gripping me just enough to sink deeper and deeper into the journey with the protagonist. Nathan Gooden lays down some of the most flowing, expressive and sensual pencils I have seen in recent years, topped off by Vittorio Astone's offbeat palette of colors that make Zojaqan impossible to put down. I have a feeling that Zojaqan is going to give us an amazing ride.

RATING: 10 out of 10.




Hi-Fi Fight Club #1 from BOOM! Studios' BOOM! Box imprint -

     Chris is a teen-age tomboy who is the newest employee at the absolute coolest record store in town, Vinyl Mayhem. What makes Vinyl Mayhem so cool? It's the awesome people who work there, people that Chris idolizes for their several unique personality traits - from her boss, Irene, who is just the coolest adult alive, to Kennedy, the walking encyclopedia of music, to Dolores, the resident disinterested Goth girl, to Maggie, a walking ray of sunshine and Chris' secret crush. Although Chris is made to feel welcome, she often still feels like the outsider in a group of people who have known each other for so long. She just wants to fit in...She just wants to be invited to the secret meetings in the stock room at night, like the rest of the girls. However, when Rosie Riot, lead singer of a beloved band goes missing, Irene, Dolores, Kennedy and Maggie spring into action, revealing to Chris a secret that will thrust her into a dangerous new adventure that's sure to include lots of cool music and a whole lot of butt-kicking! Welcome to Vinyl Mayhem where you'll find the best music for your ears, and the hardest fists for your face.

   Penned by Carly Usden, Hi-Fi Fight Club looks to be an "All-Ages" cutesy mash-up of two of the 90's most-beloved films, "Fight Club" and "Empire Records." And it works. Chris is a lovable protagonist - all heart and hormones - who just wants to fit in and be one of the cool kids. Luckily, the cool kids are all pretty neat people who stand up for themselves, and for those who don't know how. Each supporting character comes alive on the page with their own big, quirky personality which makes this book a joy to read. Nina Vakueva's high-energy, high-drama, anime-inspired, cartoony pencils pour on the sweetness and light in High-Fi Fight Club, making Usden's story even more of a blast. Man, do I ever miss the 90s sometimes. Rock on, Carly Usden. Rock on.

RATING: 9 out of 10.

 And I'll leave you with a little Renée Zellwegger - before Jerry Maguire, before Bridget Jones, she rocked out and made me fall head-over-heels for her in...Empire Records! Enjoy!!!




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