Lucas Blogs About Books

Uh-oh, better keep this book away from Green Lantern! So, what's this book's deal? Well, hypothetical reader, Superman Smashes the Klan  is a collaboration between Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru (the work name of the Japanese artist team Chifuyu Sasaki and Naoko Kawano) who previously worked together on several volumes of comics about the continuing adventures of Aang et al. in the world of  Avatar: The Last Airbender . Though, as you might have guessed from the title, this comic book is about Superman. The Man of Steel Superman? The Man of Tomorrow Superman? Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound Superman? The very same. And specifically that version of the character. See, it's loosely based on a storyline from The Adventures of Superman  radio serial from the forties, where Superman takes on the Clan of the Fiery Cross. As you may be aware, the Ku Klux Klan experienced a resurgence following the release...

Took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that the fire in the back was the Human Torch. So, what's this book's deal? Remember when I blogged about  Doctor Doom ? How could I forget? It was two weeks ago. Good, so I didn't really like Doctor Doom (the comic book, not the character, I enjoy Doctor Doom as a character), but I thought that maybe I was being unfair and that maybe if I had more context for what was going on, I might gain more appreciation. So I picked up Fantastic Four Volume 1: Fourever . And did you gain a greater appreciation for Doctor Doom ? No, this first volume of Dan Slott's recent Fantastic Four doesn't really have much Doctor Doom content, though it does have a little side story that explains who that Victorious person was. Anyway, this is the story of how the Fantastic Four got back together. Wait, when did they split up? Oh, in some big crossover event that I didn't read. I don't like big crossover events. An...

At least the cover is badass! So, what's this book's deal? Well, it's a comic book written by Christopher Cantwell ( a writer and filmmaker  who has the misfortune of sharing a name with  a racist shithead ) and drawn by Salvador Larroca, with coloring by Guru-eFX. It's about Victor Von Doom, the arch-nemesis of the Fantastic Four. If you aren't familiar with him, he's basically an evil version of Iron Man crossed with Doctor Strange who's also the dictator of the fictional Slavic state of Latveria. So . . . a grounded, relatable protagonist for a change. Well, it's not for a lack of trying on Cantwell's part. In Doctor Doom, Volume 1: Pottersville , Doom is isolated (as usual) in Latveria, stewing over the positive media attention garnered by Reed Richards and Tony Stark's latest cooperative scientific endeavor: a green energy project that involves creating an artificial black hole on the moon. Wait—what? Don't worry, i...

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...

Why aren't all comic books this giant? So, what's thi—good lord, that is a gigantic comic book! It is. What's its deal? Silver Surfer Black  is a five-issue miniseries written by Donny Cates, drawn by Tradd Moore, and colored by Dave Stewart. It apparently follows up on a Guardians of the Galaxy story where the Surfer and the Guardians get sucked into a black hole. After the Surfer saves the Guardians, he finds himself pulled deeper into the singularity where he finds a planet ruled by a guy named Knull, who apparently is the creator of the symbiotes like Venom and Carnage, but who I'd never heard of before. Anyway, it chronicles the Silver Surfer's battle against Knull. Oh, and there's one more complication, the more the Surfer uses his power cosmic, the more his body turns from Silver to a pearlescent black. Okay. Is it any good? It's pretty good, yeah. Although, I do have one gripe. That gripe being? There are a lot of st...

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...

You maniacs! So What's this book's deal? Well, Life is Too Short, Squirrel  is the tenth volume in Ryan North and Derek Charm's The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl  monthly superhero comic book. We open with the funeral of Squirrel Girl! That's a dramatic shift in the status quo! Well, it would be if this weren't a superhero comic. Oh, right, so she's alive? Well, a woman with a fish head and in indomitable spirit shows up to the funeral calling herself Bass Lass, and insisting that she be allowed to see video evidence of Squirrel Girl's demise. So, then Count Olaf isn't the only character on this blog who wears transparent disguises? No. Anyway, after the funeral, Squirrel Girl and her best friend Nancy visit her old pal Tony Stark (fun fact, the first Squirrel Girl comic was about her rescuing Iron Man from Doctor Doom), to try and figure out just who (or what) was in the coffin at Squirrel Girl's funeral. Eventually, it's revealed t...

For once, that glare is present in the artwork itself and not due to the lighting in my room. Mister Miracle is a book about #fourthworldproblems (sorry, couldn't resist). So, before we really get into it, I'll give you a little background on just who Mister Miracle is (the comic book also starts off by doing this). The cataclysm that destroyed the Old Gods left behind two new planets: New Genesis, a paradise ruled by the wise and benevolent Highfather, and Apokolips, a dystopian hellscape under the iron fist of Darkseid. A hundred year war between these worlds was ended when Highfather and Darkseid exchanged their infant sons. Highfather named Darkseid's son Orion and raised him as his own, but Darkseid abandoned Highfather's son into the X-Pit under the cruel tutelage of Granny Goodness. Due to his constant escape attempts, Highfather's son was given the mocking moniker of Scott Free. Eventually, Orion would learn of a prophecy that Darkseid would be killed...

More Squirrel Girl? More Squirrel Girl! All right, let's get this over with. You know, if you stopped treating these comic reviews as a chore they'd stop being one. You're not this obnoxiously chipper IRL, are you? Definitely not, but that upbeat attitude is what I love about this comic, as I have previously mentioned. But let's jump right in. Volume 9: Squirrels Fall Like Dominoes , more so than any previous volume of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl , exemplifies the ethos of it's indefatigably optimistic hero. This volume finds Doreen Green (the aforementioned Squirrel Girl) worried about her new friend Sergei Kravinoff (better known as Kraven the Hunter). So along with her friends Nancy Whitehead (Doreen's roommate), Tomas Lara-Perez (Chipmunk Hunk), Ken Shiga (Koi Boi), Brian Drayne (Brain Drain), and Mary (Tomas's girlfriend), she invites him to go to an escape room. Little do they know that Jomo, the proprietor, is actually Mojo II — an obsc...

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 ...

Nice comic books, NEEERRRDDD! My feverish pursuit of MOAR content brought forth this feature: Simplified Series. Here's the pitch: quick synopses (I'll try and keep them spoiler-free, but, you know, most of these are past the statute of limitations on spoilers) of the entries in a series followed by the reasons you should or shouldn't read it. This week: Silver Surfer (Volumes 7 and 8) written by Dan Slott, drawn by Michael Allred, colors by Laura Allred Background Info: The Silver Surfer was created by Jack Kirby in Fantastic Four #48. He was the herald of Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, who ultimately turned against his master and helped the Fantastic Four drive him away. For his betrayal, Galactus dismissed the Surfer but placed a barrier around the Earth trapping his former servant on Earth. Since then he's been the star of several limited series from Marvel, each one making up a "volume," the most recent is the only one I've actually read, and t...

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...

Pages big enough to hide my face but still light enough to hold comfortably in one hand? I need to review more comics on this blog. So, what's this book's deal? That's it? After The Inquisitor's Tale  and Ocarina of Time , I expected more pushback on this one. Wait, so now it's a big deal when I don't give you crap about your reading choices? I'm sorry, Hypothetical Reader, I shouldn't have assumed. Thank you. So what is  this book's deal? Well, BUG! The Adventures of Forager  is a six-part miniseries written by Lee Allred with pencils and inks by Michael Allred (Lee's brother) and colors by Laura Allred (Micheal's wife). It's the story of Forager (also known as the Bug) who wakes up to find himself in a haunted house with a talking teddy Bear and a silent little girl. Together, they travel between improbable reality shards, assisting various heroes while trying to stop another reality-hopping villain from collecti...