All posts by La Cracha Handy

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About La Cracha Handy

My name is La Cracha Handy. I started blogging 7 years ago. I am currently building my brand as an independent author-publisher of nonfiction books on relationships and parenting. My first book, Leaving the Hidden Path: Motivational Guidance for Women with Young Children Considering Divorce, will be released in the spring of 2022. I am also a pop culture geek. I read and collect comic books, play Pokemon Go, and build model rockets. I love Star Trek: The Next Generation and Doctor Who. My name is prounced "Lacrisha."

More Storytelling and Less Politics Please

My Rants and Tantrums, , , , ,

The comic book industry has a massive reader base. From the “big two” to the smaller indie publishers, there’s a comic to suit every age. Superheroes, horror, romance, crime, fantasy, teenage, young children. You name it, they produce them. However, I feel the past year has been nothing more than a political arena to me.

It’s not about telling a story anymore. It’s about WHO is going to be in the story. Diversity in comics. You have some yelling, “There’s not enough minorities in comics.” Others are screaming, “There needs to be gays in comics.”

I got back into reading comics shortly before DC Comics released The New 52 titles. A few of those titles were minority-led. Static Shock, Mr. Terrific, Blue Beetle and Voodoo to name a few. Then we saw Marvel Comics Miles Morales, or black Spider-Man. I thought, “Good, more minorities are taking leading roles in comics.” For a moment I even thought everyone would be happy and forget about the politics. That didn’t happen. There’s always someone who has to oppose the situation. Not many people were happy about the changes being made to their “favorite” character. “Why kill Peter Parker and replace him with someone black?” I didn’t feel like getting caught up in that web, and not just because I’m terrified of spiders. So I kept my mouth shut (well I did run it a little bit. Okay okay I ran it like a faucet) and patiently waited to see what would happen next.

I really don’t know what happened next, or if anything happened at all with the above situations. I do know that nearly all the minority-led DC titles were canceled. Miles Morales? I don’t know. That’s wasn’t a title I was reading so it didn’t matter to me at all.

All is well right? WRONG. More politics. Now there are people kicking and screaming, “There needs to be gays in comics.” Gays in comics. Okay. What does that have to do with comics? Call me gay bashing if you want, I don’t care. I’m just telling it like it is. Some of the comics I’ve read are so overrated it’s sickening. There’s the X-Men story where there’s a gay couple. I haven’t (and don’t plan to) read it. I recall seeing an issue where the cover page is the wedding. It looked as if the entire Marvel Universe was there. Everyone looked happy and okay with it. I even saw Wolverine standing near the front. I was like, “What the f— is this sh-t? Harlequin Romance?”

Then there’s Young Avengers. Issue one was released last week. I REALLY don’t feel like talking about it. So I’ll have to refer you to my review of it. I almost ripped that book in half.

Why am I so mad? I’m not mad about the lack of minorities in comics. Or the lack of gays in comics. I’m mad because this political arena has gotten out of hand. It’s overrated. These comics are getting published with a lack of good storytelling. They throw a black character in this one, and a gay in that one. Then everyone (well almost everyone because I’m not a part of it) is okay with it. Remember that Marvel cover I mentioned above? About everyone being all happy at that wedding? Well that’s how it is in reality right now.

I’ve read so many reviews, blogs and comments from people giving high praises to this political bull. I have to question the validity of some of those reviews. I won’t name any in particular. I’m just saying that I wonder if these people are giving false praises, trying to please the LGBT community. Trying to win follows, likes, mentions or awards. Do they not realize that throwing homosexuals in a story just to say they’re in there is taking away from the story?

So what was all my ranting about in this post? It’s about the comic industry losing focus. It’s not about having a lack of minorities in comics, or a lack of gays in comics. It’s about a lack of focus in comics. Don’t mess up a good story trying to please everyone because I haven’t met or read about anyone yet that has been able to please everyone. It doesn’t matter what color the character is, just make and keep him/her strong in the story. It’s okay to have gays in comics but if it’s a superhero comic, then let there be some butt kicking. You know, superheroes vs. super villains. Like how comics used to be. How comics are supposed to be.

KABOOM! IT’S ADVENTURE TIME

BOOM Studios, , , , , , , , ,

advtimeAdventure Time.  Crazy and silly, yet funny.  When I learned it was going to be a comic book, my first thought was, “Awww man.  The kids are going to be fighting over who gets to read it first.”  When I bought the first issue, it wasn’t just the kids that wanted to read it.  My husband and I wanted to read it as well.  That’s because Adventure Time is loved by all ages.

Finn and Jake, Bubblegum Princess, Marceline, Lumpy Space Princess, Beemo and the Ice King were all strange and funny as always.  I’ll briefly review the first story arc which consists of issues 1-4.

The Lich has escaped and returned to seek revenge on everyone.  He has a magic bag that when opened, everything is swallowed into it.  His plan was to get everyone into the bag and throw it to the sun.  Once inside, the characters all land in different parts of the world inside the bag.  Finn and Jake landed in the same spot because they landed as a team.  They were in the Jakesuit.  The Ice King landed nearby.  Bubblegum Princess and Marceline landed on an island.  The entire Land of Ooo was swallowed.

The Desert Princess is a character I found to be very funny.  Although she’s made out of desserts, she claims to be the Desert Princess because of all the things she can do and make with sand.  She also had a crush on Finn.  The Ice King was looking for a wife and proposed to the Desert Princess.  Lumpy Space Princess was hilarious.  She was talking on the phone the entire time she was being swallowed into Lich’s bag.

Everyone worked together as a team to defeat Lich.  Finn, Jake and Marceline used battle burns against Lich.  Battle burns is a way of using words to fight instead of getting physical.  Finn and Jake learned to battle burn at the beginning of the story from Beemo.

The story is very well written.  The art (Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb) is great.  There are comments from the writer, Ryan North, at the bottom of some of the pages.  They’re either references or just plain old funny remarks.  There’s also a mini comic at the end of the issues that are funny as well.

VERDICT (drum roll please)

Adventure Time is a must read comic.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #2 REVIEW

Marvel Comics, , , , , ,

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This issue begins with Spider-Man getting a public thank you from the college dean and Mayor J. Jonah Jameson.  He and Mary Jane goes out a few times but he got nothing more than a peck on the cheek at the end of each date.  As for patrolling the city, Peter Parker (you know he’s really Otto Octavius right) constructed spider-bots and placed them along his usual routes.  He keeps track of them with the patrol app he created.

MJ’s nightclub was raided (the first spider-bot alert) by vultures but she was saved by Spider-Man.  There was a tense moment between the two of them, but Spidey realized it was time to to let her go.

The story ended with Mary Jane telling Carlie about what happened between she and Spider-Man, then Carlie had a flashback of Doc Ock telling her that he was Spider-Man (ASM #700).

Superior Spider-Man #2 is well written, thanks to Dan Slott.  This issue couldn’t have been better.  Every page is a page turner, and I don’t say that often.  The pacing is perfect.  I like how Peter Parker is still around, although in spirit.  He follows Doc Ock and tries to dictate his every move.  Too bad Doc Ock can’t hear him.  I laughed so lough and hard while reading this issue.

Ryan Stegman did a superb job on the artwork.  I especially like the cover page and the splash page of Spidey and MJ, with Peter Parker in the background!

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THE VERDICT (drum roll please)

If you haven’t already started reading Superior Spider-Man then I highly recommend that you start.  I feel it’s the best Marvel Now! title I’ve read so far.

DEADPOOL KILLUSTRATED #1 REVIEW

Marvel Comics, , ,

dpkillustrate

Anti-hero.  Mentally unstable.  Witty.  Violent.  That’s Deadpool for you and It’s no holds barred in Deadpool Killustrated.  I’m a faithful Deadpool reader so I was immediately drawn to this miniseries.

Realizing that he’s a fictional character, Deadpool travels through fictional worlds of classic literature to destroy everyone in it.  His goal is to get closer to its’ creators and kill them, to eliminate the existence of superheroes and supervillains.

There’s quite a bit of dialogue at the beginning, and can be confusing to readers who may not, for example, have read Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe (looking around, whistling).  However, it’s a good set-up for the story.

dpkillmarvunivAfter reading Deadpool Killustrated the first time, I have to admit I was somewhat lost at the beginning.  I needed to know what the heck was going on.  So I did a little research and read about Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe.  I can honestly say I now have a deeper understanding of Deadpool’s motive for his quest to bring down the fictional worlds ( I plan to read the universe miniseries very soon).  I then re-read Killustrated.

I’ve been a reader of Deadpool for a few months and the Merc with a Mouth I’m used to wasn’t fully engaged.  The  humor and fights with his schizophrenic inner voice wasn’t there as much.  Deadpool was himself, but in more of a relaxed nature.  He’s a psychopath but he has critical thinking skills.  Thoughts of a “normal” person.  It’s obvious that he’s well focused.

The Moby Dick twist is a good one.  Deadpool did what Captain Ahab couldn’t do; kill Moby Dick.  Coming out of Moby’s bloody blowhole was gross, but what did you expect?  It’s Deadpool!  I did my usual, “Ugh” while laughing.  Along the way he somehow stuck a knife in Pinocchio’s head.  He realized something wasn’t right because Pinocchio doesn’t belong in the story.  That’s when the vision came, another Moby Dick twist.  Deadpool then proceeded to kill the ship’s crew, starting with Ishmael.

I have to give Cullen Bunn props on this one.  The story is well written and the pacing is perfect.  The art (Matteo Lolli) is excellent, especially the cover page (Mike Mundo).

VERDICT (drum roll please)

I find the story to be well written.  Bunn Cullen did a great job at setting up the story and introducing us to the ideaverse.  After reading it a second time, I felt that too many jokes from Deadpool and the constant bickering with himself would pull away from the story.  Cullen set-up shop then went straight to story twisting.

The art is awesome, especially the cover page.  Lolli and Mundo did a great job.  A good comic is a combination of well written dialogue and great art.  Deadpool Killustrated has both.  I plan to continue reading the miniseries and recommend new readers to read it as well.

GRIMM FAIRY TALES – AWESOMELY WICKED

Zenescope Entertainment, , , ,

grimvol2

Zenescope Entertainment’s Grimm Fairy Tales adds horror and suspense to our beloved classic fairy tales.  Each issue has two parts.  The first part is the framework of the story.  Sela Mathers has a special ability that she uses to teach life lessons to those who need it. Those that ignore the lessons suffer consequences.

The second part of the story is ALWAYS a twisted version of a classic fairy tale, and the fairy tales are usually violent.  The tales are warning the readers to change their ways or suffer.

I’ve read the first three volumes, a total of 18 stories.  Here is my review of issue #7, Snow White.

grimm7

The story begins with a young girl, Stephanie, who has been ill for a few months.  Her step-mother, Terry, appears to be the perfect stepmother.  She even tells Stephanie to call her “mom.”  When Stephanie asked Terry if she thought she’d return to cheerleading, Terry revealed that she was a cheerleader captain just as Stephanie had been before she became ill.  She also told Stephanie she missed being the center of attention, young and full of life.

Terry goes back to preparing lunch for Stephanie, which included poisoning her food.  Sela shows up at the doorstep and hands Terry the book of fairy tales, suggesting she read Snow White.  So Terry reads the twisted fairy tale.

We all know the story of Snow White so I’ll skip to the twisted part.  The dwarves feed on human flesh that has dark souls.  They couldn’t eat Snow White because of her innocence.  While the dwarves were out, the queen appeared at the doorstep and gave Snow White a basket of fruit laced with poison.  She ate one of the apples and fell to the floor.  The dwarves returned to find a dead Snow White.

Back home, the queen looked into her mirror and asked who was the most beautiful in all the land.  Suddenly all seven dwarves appeared and ate her alive.

Terry didn’t think twice about the story after she finished reading it.  She heard a noise in the basement and went to investigate.  In the basement was a mirror.  She looked into the mirror and the seven dwarves appeared and ate her alive, like the queen.  The story ended with Terry in a straight jacket at an asylum.

Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco does an excellent job at writing the stories.  Anthony Spay does a superb job with the artwork.  The characters are well detailed, especially  their facial expressions.

All the issues have provocative covers.  But there’s nothing provocative or explicit about the stories on the inside.

VERDICT (drum roll please)

Grimm Fairy Tales is a remarkable piece of work.  The stories told, and the lessons they provide, are worth the read.  Artwork is great.  If you’re a horror fan, then you’ll definitely love these classic tales with its’ horrifying twists.  I’m sticking with this horror comic, and I plan to read until I’m caught up with the current issue.

YOUNG AVENGERS #1 REVIEW

Marvel Comics,

youngadv1

I bought this title for my tween son, but I was curious to read it as well.  This honest review is coming from not just a comic geek, but a concerned parent as well.

I was not hooked at all by this story.  The pacing is off and I couldn’t help but to feel lost.  The story begins with Kate Bishop waking up not remembering the name of the guy she spent the night with (Noh-Varr).  The scene then turns into the “music video” the writer (Kieron Gillen) and artist (Jamie McKelvie) talked about in interviews.

One minute you see Loki goofing off in a diner, the next minute he’s zapped onto a rooftop where he’s roughed up by the beautiful Miss America Chavez.  At this point, her intentions are unknown but the timing of this scene is off.

What concerned and frustrated me about this issue was the hurried emphasis on teenage romance.  At one point I thought I was reading Judy Blume.  I expected to see teenagers in action, kicking butt.  Instead I got a teenage gay couple, crying and opening up about their feelings for one another.  Hulkling did a dramatic breakdown in front of Wiccan, followed by a passionate kiss.  The thing that concerns me the most is the condoning of this behavior by Wiccan’s parents.  Not only do they allow Hulkling and Wiccan to live together, they became irate when Hulkling’s mother confronted them with her feelings about their relationship.

Do I like anything about Young Avengers #1?  Yes I do.

LIKES

  • artwork (excellent job Jamie McKelvie and Mike Norton)
  • Miss America Chavez and her awesome costume
  • The little chat Hulkling’s mom had with Wiccan’s parents, and the action she took against them at the end.

Dislikes

  • weak pacing
  • weak dialogue
  • no hook or page turner
  • inappropriate and the condoning of sexual behavior among teenagers

VERDICT (drum roll please)

The artwork is phenomonal.  However unless the pacing and dialogue picks up, I don’t see this as being a successful Marvel NOW! title.