Milltown Antique Mall finds part 2

 Yep back with more stuff I found at the Milltown Antique Mall.

Warlock 5 #10

I had heard about this black and white series from Aircel for years. Created by the infamous Barry Blair. It was one of the bigger hits of the b/w comic explosion of the mid 80s. The art is pretty nice for the era. Sadly the story isn't nothing special.

Thriller #3

This is another 80s series I have heard about and wanted to read. The Trevor Von Eeden art is great. And I thought the story was well done.With this series only lasting 12 issues I shouldn't have much trouble tracking down the remaining 11 issues.

Freex #6

When the Ultraverse started I read Sludge and Prime. Over the past 10 years I have been slowly collecting the other Ultraverse series. Freex is one that I have found many issues of. And really enjoyed it. They are a group of young adults with various powers. Feeling like outcasts they band together. This issue also has Nightman in it. 

Firearm #8

The Dan Brereton cover is what caught my eye while I was digging thru the box of comics. Firearm was one of the better received Ultraverse titles. All I really remember about Firearm was issue 0 came with a VHS tape. Which had a short Firearm movie on it. 

Overstreet Update

Before there was the Internet and monthly comic price guides all you had was the annual Overstreet price guide. A few times a year they would publish an update. Which contained the titles that the prices had changed the most on. I grabbed this just to see what prices were like in the mid 80s. Plus I love the Shatter cover. Shatter was the first comic done on a computer. And was huge at one time.

I grabbed these two WWF compilation vhs cheap. I doubt there is anything on either tape that isn't out on DVD now. But at 50 cents a tape I figured what the hell. Eve of Destruction has the matches clipped. But Most Memorable Matches of 2000 has the matches uncut. I need to hook my VCR back up to check out these tapes.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 079 Cinema Sewer volume 3

TITLE-Cinema Sewer volume 3
AUTHOR-Robin Bougie and others
FORMAT-Trade paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-$20

Thanks to DVDmaniacs I discovered Robin Bougie and his amazing zine Cinema Sewer. Published once a year CS covers cult,exploitation,horror and even classic porn films. Every few years Bougie collects the best stuff from the magazine and this material is made into a nice book.

I pre-ordered this volume straight from Robin. By pre-ordering I got a custom sketch. That Robin did on a bookplate then pasted in the front of the book. I thought long and hard about what I wanted. Knowing Robin gets asked to do all kinds of crazy and sleazy sketches. Then I remembered that David Lynch was offered the job of directing Return of the Jedi. So I told Mr Bougie "Hey what if David Lynch directed Jedi." Robin told me he had to think for a long time about what to sketch from my idea. And once he had done it he showed it to his wife. Who found the sketch unnerving.

Yep it is "the man from another place" as an Ewok.

But how is the book? Well it is great. With my favorite thing the 12 page article on Cannon films. I am pretty sure this is one of the new articles Bougie created for the book. The morning the book came in I was flipping channels and saw the movie "Undercover" was airing on one of the movie channels. It looked interesting so I set the DVR. I go check my mail and was reading the Cannon article. And Bougie mentions Undercover. Saying he has always wanted to see the film. So I jumped online and sent him and email saying I had it and would make him a dvd-r of it.

Another fun article is on the movie career of singer Vanity. I had no idea she had been in so many films. The various drawings Bougie and others did to go with the article range from laugh out loud funny to HOLY FUCK THAT IS AMAZING.

A word of warning. Since Bougie covers lots of non-child friendly cinema this isn't a book you want to leave laying around if you have kids. But if like me you enjoy oddball and sleazy cinema it is a book you should own.

Cinema Sewer volume 3 gets a 4.55 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 078 Essential X-men volume 2

TITLE-Essential X-men Volume 2
AUTHOR-Chris Claremont&John Byrne
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-$12

From when I was about 5 until I was 14 the X-men was my favorite comic. Back in 2008 I was on Ebay looking for some cheap comic trades. Found the first volume of the Essential X-men run. After reading it I remembered how much I loved the Claremont era of Uncanny X-men. So two times a year I end up ordering a volume of this series of trades. Usually getting them from Instocktrades.

This volume starts off with a 2 part story where the X-men are in Canada and end up fighting Alpha Flight. And while this is a great pair of stories,there is 2 other storylines in this trade that are much better known. First off is the Dark Phoenix Saga. Where Jean Grey,now possessed by the Phoenix Force,turns evil and over the course of 10 or so issues ends up becoming such a threat the Shiar Empire steps in and wants to kill Jean to protect the universe. The old trade of this storyline was the very first comic trade I ever got. And it is great story. By this time John Byrne's art was at it's peak. And Claremont was also at his peak.

The other well known storyline pretty much ends this trade. And that is the Days of Future Past two issue long story. Thanks to the most recent X-men film this story is well known even with non-comic fans.It starts off in a dark future. Where mutant hunting robots have taken over. There is very few of the X-men left alive. And Kitty Pryde manages to send her mind back into the body of her teenage self. Hoping she can prevent the murder that caused this dark future to happen.

The other stories in the trade are good.Really from issue 100 of Uncanny X-men until about 200 there wasn't a bad story.

Essential X-men volume 2 gets a 4 outta 5.

Milltown Antique Mall finds part 1

A couple of weeks back I found out about an Antique Mall in Wesson. Which is a small college town about 20 minutes away from where I live.One of my neighbors had went recently and told me they had seen lots of comics. So early one morning I head up there.

Got to Wesson found the store and walked in. The booth to my right had a box of comics. And the sign on it said "10 for a buck"! I dove into the box.

To prevent this post from being way too long I am gonna divide it up into multiple parts.

Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters #1 second printing.

After the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic was a hit,lots of companies put out black and white marital art animal comics. And the Black Belt Hamsters was the best of the bunch. Originally produced by Eclipse comics,this series is still around. With various companies bringing them back for short runs. I love how the wraparound cover parodies the covers on the then new Frank Miller's Ronin series from DC.I haven't read this issue yet. But have read later issues in the series and it wasn't bad. I like the theme to the 4 hamsters names. With the Turtles being named after famous painters,the Hamsters are named after action movie stars. So we got Clint,Chuck,Bruce and Jackie.

Toyboy #1

When they were coming out I rarely bought anything from Continuity comics. Mostly cause their cover prices were always so much higher than DC and Marvel. I am currently trying to get a complete run of Continuity. And Toyboy was one of the series I had no issues of. I haven't read this yet. Looked thru it and it seems Neal Adams does most of the art. So even if the story is shit at least it has good art. The plot seems to be about a kid with a robosuit. Which he uses to fight crime. Yeah I know it sounds kind of stupid.

Bone Chillers VHS

From the mid 90s this Goosebumps inspired live action kids show aired on ABC Saturday mornings.I never saw it. But heard it was good. Plus it has Linda Cardellini. And I will watch anything she does. Doing some research this show is based on a series of kids books. But unlike the similar Goosebumps books,these books are all connected. With the same characters appearing in each book. Our leads in the show are Freshmen at Edgar Allen Poe High School. Each tape contains 2 episodes. And there was only 3 tapes released. So far this series isn't out on DVD. So these VHS are the only legal way to watch this show.

Harbinger #14

Back in the early 90s for about 2 years Valiant comics was the hottest comic company around. And Harbinger was their most popular series.I never read the series back then. But in 2008 I decided I wanted to own 1 copy of every comic Valiant put out. Thankfully most of them have very little value. So in 7 years I have gotten close to 80% of the way to a complete run of Valiant. Harbingers was a team of teens and young adults. Most of whom had super powers. It was Valiant's version of the X-men or the Teen Titans. I really like the cover of this issue. No clue who the lady is. But the guy in the red tunic is Magnus Robot Fighter. 

Little Monsters #4

Yep that is Fred Savage on the cover. From NOW comics,this was a 6 issue limited series. That adapted the kid's movie. NOW did lots of licensed comics. Stuff like Married with Children,Speed Racer and their most famous title Terminator. I don't remember Little Monsters being a huge hit. And really wonder who thought it was a good idea to turn it into a 6 issue series. Hell I had forgotten about the movie until The Hub network started showing it 10 times a week for what seemed like 2 years.This is a comic I grabbed just for the cover.I love comics with photo covers. Looking on ComicbookDB I see that every issue of the series had a photo cover. It is doubtful that I will get the rest of this series. But it is neat to have a comic with a giant picture of Fred Savage on the cover.

And the last item of this installment. Kickers INC #3,from Marvel's New Universe line.Kickers INC was a team of super powered football players. Who aren't allowed to play pro ball anymore since they got super powers. So now they are a team of bounty hunters. And it is just as stupid as it sounds. Back when the New Universe started I was reading all 8 titles they published. I stopped reading Kickers after the second issue. And this comic didn't improve with age. Hell it got worse.

Well that is all for now. Check back in a few days for the next installment.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 077 The Hardcore Truth

TITLE-The Hardcore Truth The Bob Holly Story
AUTHOR-Bob Holly and Ross Williams
FORMAT-Oversized Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-Free,was a gift

Yeah I can hear some of yall laughing. "Bob Holly wrote a book LOLOLOL!" I am a huge fan of Hardcore Holly,so as soon as I heard he had a book coming out I knew I had to read it. A few years back one of my Aunt's ordered it for me as my X-mas gift.

Like most wrestling biographies the book starts off with Bob's childhood and works it way forwards. And while reading about Bob's youth was fun,what I was really wanting to hear was about his life once he got into pro wrestling. I happened to be at what had to be one of Bob's first few matches. And thanks to him at the time working as a welder on the Gulf Coast,I got to meet him. He was working with the same company my father worked with. That summer at a company picnic I got to meet the person my father referred to as "Dat bastard Robert". I am sure Bob got tired of answering all my questions that day. But he was nice and talked to me for hours that day.

I figured going into book,since Bob was in the WWE for 15+ years and him not wanting to go back all the best stories would come from that time period. Trust me there is some great stories from then. But my favorite actually comes from before he started wrestling. Bob was raising his young child and wanted a way to make some extra money. So he started entering "tough man" contests held in various bars along the Alabama coastal area. He kept winning.Which made a few people mad. So one night he shows up and finds out they had brought in a bear for him to fight. Yep Hardcore Holly fought a bear in some redneck bar outside Mobile Alabama.

Now onto the WWF/WWE years. I love how much details Bob gives about "Wrestler's Court". I had heard a few stories about wrestlers court before. But never in the amount of detail that Bob goes into. Wrestler's Court for those that haven't heard of it,is the wrestlers in WWE's way of self policing the roster. The Undertaker is the judge,JBL is one of the lawyers and the other lawyer changes each time. This is how the wrestlers resolve differences. With the loser usually having to buy the winner beer.

Bob also goes into great detail on why he left the WWE. Seems Ken Anderson ,currently in TNA,had told Bob to go into his bag and get a pain pill. Then Anderson turns around and ratted Bob out to the office. After this Bob was sure once his contract was over WWE wasn't going to renew it. So once it was ended he left and as of this writing hasn't attempted to go back.

One thing that stands out about this book compared to other wrestler bios is that since Bob is pretty much retired he doesn't bite his tongue. Which means he dishes lots of dirt on various WWE wrestlers.

Like with my review of The Gunslinger it is hard for me to be objective about this book. Hardcore Holly is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. Minor only complaint about this book is I wish it was longer.

The Hardcore Truth gets a 4.93 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 076 Rabid Eye the Dream Art of Rick Veitch

TITLE-Rabid Eye the Dream Art of Rick Veitch
AUTHOR-Rick Veitch
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-Free was a gift

I first discovered Rick Veitch when he was handling the pencils on Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run. After that I lost track of him until Brat Pack came out. I loved it so any time I saw his name in the Capitol City catalog I would get my comic shop to order it for me.

This is collecting the first few issues of Roaring Rick's Rarebit Fiends. Which was Veitch's dream comic. He would take his dreams and make them into the comic. With each dream lasting for a page or two tops. Now this makes for an interesting read. In that as with dreams lots of stuff doesn't make sense. But to me that is a major part of the appeal. There is also lots of cameos from various other comic creators that Veitch is friends with.

The art is great. I consider Veitch one of the most under-rated artist in modern comics. And I love that it is black and white,just like it was in the comics. And Veitch does everything,pencils,inks and lettering.

My only complaint is in the original issues Veitch would include dream comics from other people. And the letters page was always a fun read. Neither of these are included in this collection.

I had pretty much forgotten about this series then in 2013 at Coast Con I found an issue in a comic dealers long boxes. And then last year my Aunt Midget asked me to make a wishlist on Amazon of stuff I would like. I saw they had this trade extremely cheap,something like $2 and shipping. So last X-mas I got it. And while it is an ex-library book at least the stickers were easy to take off.

Rabid Eye the Dream Art of Rick Veitch gets a 4.88 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 075 The Far Side Gallery 4

TITLE-The Far Side Gallery 4
AUTHOR-Gary Larson
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-25 cents

When I got the previously reviewed Far Side collection I also got this one.

And like I said before it is hard to review a collection of comic strips. But there is a few things about this collection that make it better than previous one. First the cover not only is diecut,the old lady's glasses,the lenses are cut out. And what you see in them is actually on the inside of the book. Plus her earrings are sparkly.

So you get what I must assume is a years worth of the Far Side strip. Including the Sunday strips. Which in this collection are reprinted in color. One thing I noticed is I doubt these are printed in order. Cause there will be 3 or 4 color strips in a row.

Really there is nothing much else to say about this collection. I enjoyed it. And am very happy to have it.

The Far Side Gallery 4 gets a 4.99 outta 5.

3 Toys from the Junkbox 06/20/2015

PLASTIC MAN from the BRAVE AND THE BOLD toyline

One of the reasons I loved the Brave and the Bold cartoon was it brought Plastic Man back into the general public's mind. I grew up watching the old Ruby Spears Plastic Man cartoon. I got lucky and found this one on clearance. He comes with a giant hand you can attach to his right arm.Sadly his articulation isn't that great. With only the neck,shoulders,elbows and hips being jointed. The paintjob is great. And the sculpting looks great.

PUNK ROCK DONATELLO from the PLAYMATES TMNT line

One of the action figures I have owned for the longest time. This one I found at a thrift store in 96. And for years he hung from my rearview mirror in my car. Then sometimes in the early 2000s Playmates re-released it. I found one at Biglots. Bought it to get all the accessories. But that figure and the accessories got lost in a move.

LEGO BOBA FETT CLOCK

Yeah I know technically this isn't a toy.It is a clock made like a Lego figure. When these first came out I wanted one. But wasn't going to pay $30 for it.Then thankfully Walmart marked it down to $5. And I grabbed it. It is fully articulated like a normal Lego man. And the alarm is nice and loud.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 074 Project Superpowers Chapter 2 volume 1

TITLE-Project Superpowers Chapter 2 volume 1
AUTHOR-Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-$3

This series picks up pretty much where Chapter 1 ended. The heroes have taken over DC and NYC. But we see that all the sidekicks are now back. Hiding in some Eastern European country. And are of the mind that the returned heroes have been brainwashed.

So we got that plotline going on. Plus Captain Future has returned. Going around killing people. But it isn't until he shows up and majorly injured Samson that the heroes realize there is something majorly changed about their old friend Captain Future.

Once again the art is good. The writing is well done. And I love how many new heroes are crammed into these 7 issues.

Project Superpowers Chapter 2 volume 1 gets a 3.62 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 073 Boomers 101

TITLE-Boomers 101
AUTHOR-No clue one isn't listed
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-Free

I always have trouble buying Mother's Day gifts for my mother. If she wants something she goes out and buys it. So this year I told her to find something she wanted so I could get it for her.She had seen this book in a catalog. Where they wanted $15 for it. I searched on Abebooks found it for a much cheaper price and got it for her.

This is an alphabetical list of stuff that have meaning for people of the Baby Boomer generation. Now I am not part of that generation,being born in the mid 70s I guess I am gen-X,but growing up with two parts that are from the very beginning of the boomers I knew lots of the stuff in the book fairly well.

Each item gets a page with a picture then a short paragraph. I do wish there was more details about various items. But the book is a decent guide to the movies,books,tv shows and various fads of the boomer generation.

A few things stand out about the book. First there is no price listed anywhere on the book. Secondly it was published by AARP. Which makes sense since the boomer generation are all of AARP age range.

Boomers 101 gets a 2.55 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 072 The Far Side Gallery 3

TITLE-The Far Side Gallery 3
AUTHOR-Gary Larson
FORMAT-Oversized Trade paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-10 cents

I have loved the Farside Comic strip since I first discovered it when I was about 10.I had pretty much stopped reading the comic strips in the paper. Then Far Side got me back into them. And for many years one of my X-mas presents would be one of those Far Side day by day calenders.

A few weeks back was at the library looking at the books for sale and found this along with 2 others for cheap. Grabbed them,figuring it would be a long time until I got around to reading them.

Then last night I was wanting to read. Tried the 4 books I am in the middle of reading,and none of them could sustain my interest. So grabbed the first Far Side book. And less than 30 minutes later had finished it.

There is no way to really review this collection. My only complaint is that the Sunday strips are not reprinted in color. But that is a minor issue.

The Far Side Gallery 3 gets a 4.98 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 071 The Walking Dead Fall of the Governor part 2

TITLE-The Walking Dead The Fall of the Governor part 2
AUTHOR-Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga
FORMAT-Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-$5.35

I love The Walking Dead. It is one of the few comics I keep up with anymore. And the only TV show I make sure to not miss each episode. So when I found the first of the Walking Dead novels I grabbed it and read it in 3 days.              

This novel tells the Governor and Woodbury's side to the conflict that happened at the prison. Now one thing these novels are based on the comics not the TV show. And while it is interesting to get the other side of the story,the book drags badly. I have been reading this novel since early this year.I would read it for a few nights then get bored with it and switch to another novel.

Finally about 100 pages from the end it gets good. And I can't wait on the next novel. Which will be set in Woodbury after the Governor is dead. I can't wait to see what happens. Since this is something that so far hasn't been covered in the comic.

Fall of the Governor part 2 gets a 2.11 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 070 Fireworks

TITLE-Fireworks
AUTHOR-James A. Moore
FORMAT-Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-$1

Grabbed this mostly cause I needed another book to get a deal. And it was from Leisure horror. But really it isn't a horror novel.

In a small town they are about to celebrate 4th of July. When a UFO crashes into a nearby lake. Then all hell breaks loose. The military comes in and takes over. And our heroes are just trying to get out of the town alive.

This really feels like an episode of X-files. You got all the tropes. The small town cop that wants to do right by his people. The harden soldier that is just following orders. You know the ropes here.

Even with it being a bit predictable it turned out to be a decent read. And now I am wanting to read more from Mr Moore.

Fireworks gets a 2.94 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 069 Night in the lonesome October

TITLE-Night in the lonesome October
AUTHOR-Richard Laymon
FORMAT-Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-75 cents

Thanks to my local used bookstore and a great used bookstore on the coast,I have acquired a decent sized collection of Laymon books from Leisure Horror.After discovering Laymon I was grabbing any of his books I found for cheap.

Ed is at college,and gets a Dear John letter from his girl. Of course he gets depressed. To cheer himself up he takes a late night walk to a donut shop not far from the college. On the way he sees an attractive woman breaking into a house. He lets his curiosity get the better of him and goes to see what she is doing. This sets off one of the strangest novels I have read in modern horror.

Once Ed sees this young lady once he starts going out every night hoping to see her. And he runs into all kinds of crazy shit. Like cannibalistic homeless men that live under a bridge. Seems night time in the small town he lives in is very very different from the 1950's everything is great daytime hours.

Really it is hard to describe this book. I reads like Laymon just wrote down whatever popped up in his head. Normally when an author does that it doesn't work. This time it does. Just do not go into the book expecting most things to be explained. And do not expect a happy ending. But it is Richard Laymon so you should know to not expect a happy ending.

Night in lonesome October gets a 3.87 outta 5.

Wacky Pack Erasers

As a kid I wasn't into baseball cards like most of my friends. I didn't get into collecting those until I was about 12. But I feel in love with 2 non-sport card series. First there was Garbage Pail Kids. I loved those stickers so much. And had at least 300 when I was younger. The other series was Wacky Packs. At a out of the way Mom and Pop corner store I found an old box of Wacky Packs. I bought as many packs as I could afford. But once all the packs in that box where gone I didn't see anymore Wacky Packs.

Fast forward to 2003.Topps had brought back Garbage Pail Kids. And I was buying the so called Bonus Boxes at Target each payday. And one of them included a few promo cards for the upcoming revival of Wacky Packs. Sadly I never saw the packs of Wacky Packs.

Fast forward again,this time to 2013. I was in Dollar Tree,about to check out when I saw a box of what I assumed was packs of trading cards. I noticed the familiar Topps logo then saw WACKY PACKS!! I looked closer and these were not stickers,they were novelty erasers. I grabbed 10 packs. And once I was in my car opened them up. Each pack had 3 erasers. 3 stickers of the erasers you got in the pack. Plus a tiny guide letting you know the rarity of each eraser.

3 days later I went back to Dollar Tree planning on buying more of them,and they were gone. Oh well. Then last week I was on Dollar Tree,grabbing batteries and seeing what books they had in. When I saw a box of Wacky Pack erasers. These are from a new series. I grabbed the 4 packs they had. And ended up with 10 erasers plus 2 extras. So here are the ones I got.

Yep instead of Pringles this is Prickles. And they are Thorny flavored.

Caveman Wich with sloppy dino sauce.

                                                          Dead Bull no energy drink

 Geek Giant dorky pea-wees. I do wish this had a parody of Lil Sprout on it.

 Sneez-its,A good example of the gross out humor common on Wacky Packs.

                     Zit Kat,a beef coated wafer for Cats. I figured they would go the gross out route here.

Jelly Bully,I really love the art on this one. 

Frosted Snakes,after having a run in with a king snake the other night I agree with Tony the tiger.

Boreo cookies,LOL I have always found Oreos a boring cookie. So this parody works for me.

And I saved the best for last. Just for Wolfman Shampoo-In Scare Color.Had someone tell me they were buying some of this for me. "Cause you are hairy like a wolf and got some grey showing."

So how is the quality? Well I haven't tried erasing anything with them yet. You would have to rip the labels off to do that. The labels are fairly heavy stock coated paper. I have no idea what these Wacky Pack Erasers normally cost. But $1 for 3 erasers and 3 stickers is a good deal to me. I got about 15 more that when I find them I will do a feature on them.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 068 1984

TITLE-1984
AUTHOR-George Orwell
FORMAT-Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Nope
PRICE-$1

I will assume that most of yall reading this know what this book is about. So not going to bother with a half ass plot synopsis.

I first became aware of this classic when I was 8. One of my older cousins was in a local production of 1984. We went to see him,and the next day while at the library I checked out the book. Over the course of the next week I read the book. And really enjoyed it.

So years later I had started AP English,which was basically a literature class. And the first book we got assigned was 1984. Ever 3 weeks we got assigned a book. Along with the book the teacher gave you a packet of questions. With a page full of questions for each chapter. Quickly someone in the class discovered the questions were copied word for word out of Cliff's Notes. Wait do Cliff's Notes still exist? Anyway once word got out about how the teacher had stolen the questions out of Cliff's Notes every one ended up buying Cliff's Notes and not bothering to read the book. Since I had already read it before and really liked it I went ahead and re-read the book.

The teacher also had taken the time to not only get a copy of the film adaptation from 1984,but also edited out all the nudity and foul language. Yeah cause you don't want a group of 15 year olds seeing or hearing that vulgar stuff :P We watched it in class and because huge chunks of the film were missing every one else had no clue what was happening.

Well at the end of the 3 weeks we took a test on the book. With a bonus question worth 20 points. The teacher wanted us to convert the Declaration of independence into the new English of the novel. I watched as everyone else in the class spend almost the entire period trying to convert it over. I remembered that in my copy of the novel in the afterword the writer mentioned that the Declaration of Independence would translate into two words "Thought Crime". So while everyone else wrote paragraphs ,I wrote two words and made 120 on the test.

But yeah if you haven't read this book,and I am shocked when I meet people that didn't have to read this in either high school or college,go get a copy. Hell I am pretty sure it is in the public domain,so you should be able to find an e-book copy for free.

1984 gets a 4.86 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 067 Project Superpowers volume 01

TITLE-Project Superpowers volume 1
AUTHOR-Alex Ross and Jim Krueger
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-$7.50

I remember first hearing about this mini series in early 2008. I have always liked the Golden Age public domain heroes. With Malibu's Protectors being one of my favorite series. So when I found out Alex Ross was doing a mini series at Dynamite that was reviving lots of PD Golden Age heroes I had to read it.

I managed to grab issues 0 thru 7 out of the cheap bins at the comic shop on the coast I was going to a few times a year. The owner and I ended up chatting about the Black Terror and the Golden Age Daredevil for a long time that day.

Then a few years later the Science Fiction Book Club was having a big sale. I went to see what they had on clearance and they had the trade reprinting the first mini series for cheap. I gave away my copies of the issues. Cause everything in them is reprinted in this trade.

So what is the story? Starting in WWII the Fighting Yank is going around and trapping the various heroes into Pandora's box,which is a urn actually. By doing this he is told it will cause all the evil in the world to also return to the box.

Then in modern day he realizes he was duped. So with help from the Green Lama,he breaks the urn and all the heroes return. But cause of their time in the urn they have changed.

The main thrust of the story is these now free heroes dealing with not only being betrayed by one of their own,but dealing with how different the world is now.And by the end of the mini series they have taken control of New York City.

I ended up re-reading this because finally after a few years of nothing Dynamite has a new Project Superpowers series on the stands. Written by Warren Ellis,and up to it's 3rd issue. I wanted to refresh my memory on this series before starting the new stuff.

Project Superpowers volume 1 gets a 3.99 outta 5.

3 Toys from the Junkbox 6/12/2015 edition

Doing a theme this time. It is all Superhero teams. And everything is from the same toyline. Back in the mid 2000s the Marvel Superhero Squad line of mini figures started. About the size of the Smurf PVCs every kid in the 80s owned,these have a bit of articulation. And were normally sold in packs of two. My local Walmart started putting them all on clearance back in 2008.I bought piles of them.

Fantastic Four (Mr Fantastic,Invisible Woman,Human Torch and The Thing) vs Doctor Doom

It is hard to tell in the photo,but Sue Storm's feet and lower legs are see thru. And Torch is floating on a ball of fire.The sculpting on the four heroes is great. I do wish the Thing figure was a bit taller.Dr Doom ,besides the almost smile,is impressive. The details on his armor are well done. I must own 30 Superhero Squad figures.With only two of them being villains. Dr Doom and Super Skrull,I wish I had put Super Skrull in this pic.

 The Avengers (Ant Man/Hank Pym,Wasp,Captain America/Steve Rogers,Hawkeye and Vision)

This team I didn't start off buying figures to make it. Ant Man came with another figure I needed. Pretty sure Cap and Hawkeye came in the same pack. Grabbed a Avengers boxed set that had Vision in it. That boxed set came with another Captain America. Where his shield is on his back.That version is on the dash of the Newt-mobile.I like how every figure I got in this team are all long time Avengers.

Defenders (Silver Surfer,Dr Strange,Namor and The Hulk)

Yep the original Defenders line up. The Defenders are my favorite Marvel team. And to not only be able to get all the original members,but to get a Namor in the outfit he wore in the early Defenders tales is amazing.Dr Strange was the first Superhero Squad figure I got. Huge fan of him,and he was packed with Ant Man.I am kind of pleasantly surprised and pleased that they used Namor's short lived 70s outfit.Sadly Surfer has no articulation at all. It doesn't matter I got the original Defenders. All I need now is a Valkyrie,Nighthawk and Son of Satan Superhero Squad figures to boost the membership of this team.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 066 Stolen Hearts volume 01

TITLE-Stolen Hearts volume 01
AUTHOR-Miku Sakamoto
FORMAT-Trade paperback
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-$1

I grabbed this in a lot of comics last month. Flipped thru it and saw it is a romantic/comedy aimed at teens. So kind of  put off reading it.

Our lead is the girl on the cover in the red kimono.Who ends up dating the tall guy on the cover. And of course the guy has no clue she has any interest in him. Just like she doesn't realize the same thing.Every trope of romantic comedies is here. Plus way more info than I ever needed on kimonos.

Yeah I get I am not the target audience for this. And while the story didn't appeal to me,the art is decent.

Stolen Hearts volume 01 gets a 1.96 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 065 The Marvel Encyclopedia

TITLE-Marvel Encyclopedia
AUTHOR-Various
FORMAT-Hardcover
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-X-mas Gift

Back almost a decade ago I got this along with the DC Encyclopedia for X-mas. If you remember the old Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe series,this is a mass market version of that.

From what I remember,I really haven't read much from Marvel since the late 90s,it seems to be fairly accurate.And most of the time the artwork is pretty good.The selection of heroes is well done. You get all the big names,plus a decent amount of lesser known heroes.

I think there is a newer version out now. So finding this one cheap shouldn't be hard.

The Marvel Encyclopedia gets 4.11 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 064 King of the Ring the Harley Race Story

TITLE-King of the Ring The Harley Race Story
AUTHOR-Harley Race and Gary Tritz
FORMAT-Hardcover
FIRST TIME READING-Yes
PRICE-$5

Until the mid to late 90s I had seen more of Harley's work in WWF than his NWA stuff. I knew of his legacy. But just hadn't seen lots of his classic matches.

Now after reading this fairly short book,I think it was around 300 pages,I have started tracking down as much of Mr Race's pre-WWF work.

The book follows the standard biography path that Jericho,Foley and yes even Chyna have done before this book.Starting off with Harley being a child. And moving forward.The tales of him working the carnival circuit are my favorites.

What I do wonder is how entertaining would this be for someone that knows next to nothing about Harley and what all he did in pro wrestling? Might end up trying to get my uncle to read this and see what his thoughts are.

King of the Ring The Harley Race Story gets a 4.00 outta 5.

2015 Reading Challenge Book 063 Mammoth book of Best Horror Comics

TITLE-Mammoth book of Best Horror comics
AUTHOR-Various
FORMAT-Trade Paperback
FIRST TIME READING-No
PRICE-$7.63

This collection of 50 or so horror comics is something I was always seeing at various bookstores. But I wasn't willing to spend cover price for it. Then a few years back was given an Amazon giftcard for my birthday. Was looking around and saw used copies of this were cheap.

Covering from the 1940s to current day,this collection does a good job of selecting some well done stories. Of course there is no EC stuff,nothing from Marvel or DC. And I don't remember anything from the Warren Mags.That really doesn't matter. Cause the editor Peter Normanjon did a good job selecting the best from what was available.

You get a few page essay on the various time periods. The first covering the 40s and 50s aka the pre-code days. A few of the tales in this collection I had read before. Mostly because I have bought many colletions of pre-code horror comics.The 60s and 70s section has a neat sampling of a few code approved tales. Then some fun stories from the non-Warren horror mags.The 80s,90s,modern day stuff is all indy comics. And some really really good stuff in that section.

Really since this is easy to find cheap it is worth grabbing. But there are 2 things that might cause someone to not want it. First off everything is reprinted in b/w. It looks good. But I know some people do not like b/w reprints of color comics. The other is the binding isn't the best. Unless you are careful I could see this trade one day coming apart.

Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics gets a 4.59 outta 5.