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.