Lucas Blogs About Books

Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? So, what's this book's dea—wait, is it really called Dracula, motherf**ker! ? It is called Dracula, motherf**cker! . See, this is why titles shouldn't end with punctuation marks. Whatevs. The deal with Dracula, motherf**ker!  is that it's a comic book written by Alex de Campi and drawn by Erica Henderson, who you may recognize as the original artist from The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl  and the co-creator of Assassin Nation . I'm not familiar with de Campi's work; but in addition to writing comics she's also a music video director. In any case, Dracula, motherf**ker!  (yes, I am always going to type out the full title every time I mention it), is not — as you might expect from the title and cover — a 70's exploitation style sequel to Bram Stoker's novel (in fact, it can't even be in continuity with the novel). Instead it's an exploration of the characters of Dracula's wives — who receive shor...

OH! MY! GOD! The eyes of TJ Eckleburg represented Galactus this whole time! That's right, it's another one of those Hypothetical Reader-less blog posts. Let's just jump in:  Vol. 12 – To All the Squirrels I've Loved Before  collects the four final issues of Ryan North and Derek Charm's The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl  (colors by Rico Renzi, covers by Erica Henderson). I'm not gonna make any bones about it, this has been my favorite comic book of the last few years and I'm sad that I won't get to read any more of it. But let's talk about this collection before we get any farther. Doreen Green (aka the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) is looking for her friend Brian Drayne (secretly the reformed supervillain turned superhero Brain Drain — look he's a brain and eyes that are kept alive in a jar sitting on top of a robot body. Turns out that nobody's seen him for a few days, however, Doreen has been receiving a series of texts that appear to be p...

Oh, Assassin Nation sounds like "assassination," I get it. So, what's this book's deal? Well, the deal with Assassin Nation: Number One with a Bullet  is that it's a comic book written by Kyle Starks and drawn by Erica Henderson. You may recall that Henderson was the original artist who worked with Ryan North on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl   . As for Kyle Starks, this is the first time I've read his work. Anyway, the comic opens with the attempted assassination of Boss Rankin, formerly the world's top-rated hitman, currently the head of the city's second-largest crime syndicate. In response, Rankin invites the current top twenty hired killers to his penthouse to offer them the chance to be his new protection detail. Unsurprisingly, several of them have been hired to kill him at this very gathering, leading to a shoot-out. Over the course of the five issues collected in this paperback we see Starks and Henderson explore such topics as gang w...

Too bad I don't have a van to airbrush this on. So, what's this book's dea — again? C'mon, Hypothetical Reader, this is the penultimate volume of my favorite comic book. Can we drop the "Hypothetical Reader hates Squirrel Girl" routine. I am only as you write me. Oh, right. Anyway, it's The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 11 – Call Your Squirrelfriend  written by Ryan North, drawn by Derek Charm, and colored by Rico Renzi. Wanna talk about it? Fine. So, this volume starts off with a single issue story where Kang the Conqueror (a time-traveller who uses time travel and his 41st century technology to defeat his enemies) confronting Old Lady Squirrel Girl in a dystopian future. See, he's lured her into a building that he rigged to collapse on her forty years ago; only it doesn't collapse because the present day Squirrel Girl noticed the problem and fixed it in an earlier timeline. However, when Kang confronts her he's pertu...

Squirrels in SPAAAAAACE!!!!!! So, what's this book's de—oh, fer cryin' out loud—another comic book? I know, right? Whatcha gonna do? I guess there's no accounting for taste, let's get this over with. So, the deal with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 8 — My Best Friend's Squirrel  is that it collects Erica Henderson's final story-arcs as the artist on The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl . For some people, this may be a good thing, but I'm going to miss her cartoon-y style with its (I know it's a cliche for my comics reviews by now, but) expressive and dynamic faces and poses. The good news is that she's still been doing the cover art for subsequent issues. What a relief. Well, you're lucky that I'm discussing something I like, Hypothetical Reader, because I'm not going to let your snappish attitude ruin my good mood. Anyway, this volume finds Nancy Whitehead and Tippy-toe, the best human and squirrel friends of Doreen Green ...

So, what's this book's deal? Well, Hypothetical Reader, the deal with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 7 - I've Been Waiting for a Squirrel Like You  is that it's the seventh (eighth if you count the graphic novel The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe ) entry in Ryan North and Erica Henderson's  Eisner-award-winning  series about a super hero who eats nuts and kicks butts! Volume 7 finds computer science students Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl's alter-ego) and Nancy Whitehead (Squirrel Girl's roommate and best human friend) entering a programming contest that ultimately results in them winning a free trip to Marvel's Savage Lands where dinosaurs roam a tropical forest hidden in Antartica. Oh, and it includes an issue done up as a Zine with mini comics written and drawn by various Squirrel Girl characters featuring several guest artists. I hesitate to ask this, but aren't you kind of outside of the target audience for this...