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.