DC: Festival of Heroes #1 Review!

It is May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and DC Comics is celebrating it with DC: Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1!  It features a regular cover by Jim Lee with a number of the Asian heroes.   The variant cover is by Artgerm and shows Cassandra Cain facing someone with a knife!  The back cover has the shadowy profile of the newest DC hero!  More on him later!  Take note that it is has a $9.99 cover price, but contains 96 pages!  This is an anthology of eleven stories plus pin-up artwork of some very talented Asian writers and artists.  The first story, “Sounds”, is written by Mariko Tamaki, she wrote the limited series, Future State: Dark Detective.  The art is by Marcus To, who provided artwork for Nightwing.  The featured character is Cassandra Cain, she is the daughter of Lady Shiva, one of the most deadliest assassins of the DCU.  She took up the role of Batgirl, but then became Orphan.  

Growing up, she was taught to kill by her father, but not to talk.  Basically, this is the same concept for Damian Wayne, except the talking part.  Cassandra tries to make sounds in front of a mirror on her apartment bed.  She is contacted by Barbara Gordon back as Oracle, the information database of the DCU and formerly Batgirl.  Cassandra flashes back to her past and then we get to moving to the rooftops of Gotham as Orphan.  The best part is her faceless, black mask.  Of course, her voice isn’t muffled like Spider-Man (realistically), but she doesn’t talk in battle.  Orphan finds a man standing guard outside of a building and easily takes him down.  Then, she moves to his colleagues in the basement.  In a splash page, Orphan strikes the gunmen!  At her computer console, Oracle informs her that Dr. Chin’s location was detected by his cellphone.  Cassandra takes down the gunmen, she is smaller, but her moves are brutal!  

Oracle speaks to Cassandra on her earpiece, but of course she doesn’t respond.  She finds Dr. Chin handcuffed in a chair.  I’m not certain what is Dr. Chin’s specific field.  Orphan frees him and would like to say something to the young Dr. Chin.  He on the other hand is very talky thinking she is Batgirl and tries to ask her out for banana boba.  I really like the chemistry between these two and hope Dr. Chin shows up later in the comics.  Cassandra returns to her apartment alone.  She decides to wear her normal clothes to head to Boba Fantasy.  Great character moments!  Next, is “Dress Code” by Minh Lê and Trung Le Nguyen.  The writer also has the young readers graphic novel, Green Lantern Legacy (2020).  It introduced the young Tai Pham who finds his grandmother’s jade ring and finds that he is a Green Lantern!  This is Nguyen’s first work for DC Comics and he previously had his graphic novel, The Magic Fish, printed in 2020.   

This opens with Green Lantern Tai Pham bashed around by the monstrous Yellow Lantern, Arkillo, on some unknown planet.  Arkillo tries to make a joke that Green Lantern is wearing a dress.  He has a GL uniform that incorporates the traditional Vietnamese áo dài, a long tunic that goes to the knees.  This causes him to flash back to a lunch with his grandmother and made the same joke by some kid with a yellow shirt and baseball cap.  She tells him that she was mocked for her clothes, but it makes her feel “proud and powerful.”  Yes!  If traditions can’t be accepted, then the intolerant have to travel more.  This is at the heart of AAPI Heritage Month.  Green Lantern Tai Pham turns the tide against Arkillo!  The ninth story, “Festival of Heroes”, brings in the themes of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.  It is by Amy Chu and Marcio Takara.  Chu has written the limited series, Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (2016).  Takara provided art for Future State: Justice League. 

The story features Katana, Tatsu Yamashiro, with her colleagues, Cyborg and Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) at the AAPI Heritage Festival in New York.  The two heroes argue over Cyborg’s curried roti and Katana slices it in half with her sword.  The festival director, Fay, shows Katana a cellphone video of the Knights of the Brotherhood.  The man with a skull masks screams that they should all “go back where they came from”, harsh, in a comic.  The heroes stand watch and while the festival has performances on stage, they see cosplayers as the various Asian heroes.  The Brotherhood appears, confronted by the heroes, the leader sends out a fiery blast.  During the fight, Katana recognizes the chaos stone, called a crystal in Batman/Superman #3 (2013) that is powering the villains.  Katana is decisive and the crowd decides to takes on the villains.  A fun story with some social commentary. 

The last story is by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang.  Yang is the writer and artist of the graphic novel, American Born Chinese (2006) and also wrote the limited series, Superman Smashes The Klan.  Chang  worked on The Second Life of Doctor Mirage for Valiant Comics and Superman. Dr. Sivana is about to torture Shazam, the hero notes to Sivana that he has broken a gourd from the Yuan Dynasty, thhis may have unleashed a demon.  Sivana unleashes his laser cannon and instead Shazam pops out a tiny ear piece that turns into a staff.  This brings the Monkey Prince exploding out in a splash page!  The Monkey King, Sun Wukong, is a classic Chinese character, a shapeshifter and trickster.  There is countless movies made on him, I like The Forbidden Kingdom (2008).  His staff is the Jingu Bang that deflects gunfire from Sivana’s henchpeople.  The blasts accidentally sets off a bomb.  Monkey Prince’s shifu, Piggy, arrives to help him and the hero takes on the demon!  There is fun twists that gives the new character a DC spotlight.  DC: Festival of Heroes offers some great superhero stories and art perfect for AAPI Heritage Month!  

Five Banana Bobas out of Five! 

#FestivalofHeroes, #MarikoTamaki, #MarcusTo, #Amy Chu, #MarcioTakara, #Monkey Prince, #GeneLuenYang, #Bernard Chang.  

Star Wars: The High Republic #5 Review!

Star Wars: The High Republic has the multiple threat of a Hutt taking over Sidri Minor and Drengir invading Starlight Beacon, and this is the conclusion of the There is No Fear story!  Phil Noto has a dramatic cover with Keeve Trennis holding her fallen master Sskeer, uh-oh.  “Attack of the Hutts” has the writing by Cavan Scott and art by Ario Anindito (new artist next issue!).  The beginning on the farm planet, Sidri Minor, has Keeve a whirl with her two green lightsabers deflecting blasterfire.  She is protecting her fellow Jedi Ceret who is evacuating civilians.  The captions are Keeve’s thoughts that it didn’t have to come to a battle.  Their enemy is a Gamorrean on a Rancor!  Ceret tries to use the Force to push back the Rancor, but it stomps him!  

It flashes back to the start of the conflict, we have the Hutt, Myaraga the Benevolent (my favorite Hutt name).  He is floating on a floating platform with two Rancors.  He wants his planet, Jedi Master Avar Kriss argues against his claim, but Myaraga says he has a contract with the farmers.  Um, Jedi should recognize contracts under the High Republic, sucks, but the Hutt is in the right here.  Sskeer doesn’t want to wait for the negotiation and in a stunning two-page spread he knocks down the Hutt with his Drengir tentacles!  He is speaking in a Dark Side voice!  Myaraga gives the order and his mercenaries start blasting!  Avar contacts Starlight Beacon, but they are dealing with the Drengir!  Padawan Imri is struck by a Drengir!  

His master Vern uses a red (?) lightsaber to cut through the Drengir.  Avar checks on the battle, Keeve says Ceret is busy, caught in the jaws of the Rancor!, his twin Terec has his green lightsaber and his own to cut down the Rancor rider.  He then uses the Force to set the Rancor asleep.  Then, the twins are reunited and go into battle, with the cry, “For Light and Life!”  There is some cool scenes here and we know that the situation becomes dark.  The fight goes on with Myaraga and Sskeer and Keeve tries to get her master back.  Keeve puts together lightsaber staff and um, slices through Sskeer’s Drengir arm!  Myaraga reveals his real Hutt name, not as funny as the first one, but I hope there is more Myaraga.  Avar tries to warn him about the greater threat.  

Sskeer forms a blade from his Drengir arm and attacks Keeve.  The brutal foreman, Kalo, is trying to put together his treasures in a sack to take them on the run.  He is confronted by the villagers and Rodian father, Neeso, who lost his son to the Drengir gives a right hook to Kalo!  This doesn’t give revenge for his son, but shows that the villagers are ready to stand up for themselves.  The Rancor bursts through the wall and Kalo uses the distraction to escape.  Sskeer is dueling with Keeve with his lightsaber.  Suddenly, he returns and admits that he was losing the Force during her trial in the first issue.  He fears that the threat of Drengir will continue as long as there is a hidden seed.  

We see the Rancor catch up to Kalo.  Avar is holding off the blasters of Myaraga.  She has the distress calls of Starlight Beacon and channels them so Myaraga can hear the attack on Hutt worlds.  The Drengir are surrounding them and Avar turns over the planet to Myaraga.  He decides to team up his mercenaries with the Jedi.  Sskeer has a plan, he wants Keeve to mind touch him to convince the hungry Drengir that the “meat” of the people is corrupted.  Keeve touches Sskeer’s head and he growls in the Dark Side.  The Drengir start to retreat muttering, “Unclean.”  He may have saved the day, a brave Trandoshan, but there is a price to pay!   Star Wars: The High Republic has some powerful moments for the Jedi and races into the next arc!  

Five Lightsabers out of Five!  

#StarWarsTheHighRepublic, #AttackoftheHutts, #MyaragaTheMerciless, #Rancor, #Neeso  

Wonder Woman #772 Review!

Wonder Woman #772 reveals a mystery, but we are still following Diana’s journey through Asgard!  “Afterworlds Part 3” continues with Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan as writers with Travis Moore as artist.  We pick up with the plan of her squirrel guide, squirrel!, Ratatosk, Diana has hid in the eggshell of the giant eagle and swallowed by the giant serpent Nidhogg!  She breaks free of the eggshell and Nidhogg is surprised.  Diana is now in the stomach cavity of Nidhogg, there is the armor of a devoured warrior and the sickening, green bile the beast.  Nidhogg sends gas into his stomach to kill Diana.  She sinks down.  Then, we get the shadowy figure who has been giving her advice, this person even gives her the key she was searching for in Nidhogg. 

Diana revives and then begins cutting into Nidhogg!  The giant snake starts choking and expels the bile, the most disgusting panel in comics?, Diana’s hand covered in the green liquid.  She reaches up with the key.  Diana, smiling, runs off with the key.  She says to Ratatosk that she needs to clean up, well, yeah!  Diana says to the squirrel that someone was there in Nidhogg.  They reach a cliff and see the Vikings fighting their eternal battle.  Siegfried appears and tries to warn Diana.  The spirit of Siegfried dissolves, but Diana is still committed to her mission.  At the Vigrid battlefied, we have Thor with his hammer leading his warriors in a cheer.  He is interrupted by his father, Odin, who tries to explain the Dwarf made weapons are cursed.  Diana moves through the warriors to reach Thor and Odin notes that she is Wonder Woman.      

There is an unfortunate boulder that ends any further conversation.  Wonder Woman joins the fight with Thor.  A great team-up!  When do we see Gal Gadot and Chris Hemsworth?  Wonder Woman is starting to bring her powers and flies over the battle.  She tells Thor to draw out the Valkyries so she can enter their fortress.  Still, they have to face the sea god, Njord.  He is a blue-skinned leader with a shepherd’s staff formed into a fish hook. He is an a giant crab!  As Thor and Wonder Woman join the battle, the sight reminds Diana of “Arthur.”  She severs one of the crab’s legs, needs butter, and confronts Njord who batters aside her sword.  Then, she is gripped by the crab’s claw.  Diana pleads to the shadowy figure to return.  She revives and sees the figure revealed!  It is Deadman!  He was formerly her teammate in Justice League Dark.  The character first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 (1967).  I didn’t sense his distinctive voice in the shadowy afterworld.  

Diana explains to Deadman that she feels drawn to Olympus, but wants to complete her mission on Asgard.  Siegfried again joins them and says Diana cannot stop Ragnarok.  They see three stars in the sky, Valkyries?  She is upset at his sacrifice, but continues on and meets back with Ratatosk.  Another dark figure offers answers to Diana in the mist.  It is Diana as a dark spirit with yellow eyes and a massive axe.  This is Diana if she stays in Asgard, but she makes me think of Nega-Scott in Scott Pilgrim.  Also, the shadow self met by Sparrowhawk in Wizard of Earthsea.  The god-queen of Asgard brings up her army of the dead that she killed on Asgard, the Draugr!  There is a secret to this dark warrior and Diana must travel with Ratatosk to reach a hooded boatman to reach Fortress Valkyrie!  Also, we have “The Deep End” by Jordie Bellaire and Paulina Ganucheau.  Young Diana exploring the waters under Themyscira!  Wonder Woman #772 keeps up the compelling story and features some great art by Travis Moore and Paulina Ganucheau.   

Four Lassos of Truth out of Five! 

#WonderWoman772, #Afterworlds, #Nidhogg, #Ratatosk, #Thor, #Odin, #FortressValkyrie

Bad Batch, “Replacements”, Review!

The Havoc Marauder is moving through hyperspace, inside, Hunter gives Omega a ration bar.  She is the Smurfette of the clones!  This was first seen when Luke is snacking as he is going through his X-Wing’s supplies in Empire Strikes Back.  Wrecker drops down and consumes his ration bar in a single bite.  Omega offers her ration bar, but Hunter reminds him that she’s a kid and doesn’t have her own quarters.  Hunter also says they have to ration out supplies.  We see the lights flicker and Hunter brings this up with Echo.  He says that the ship has had problems since Saleucami.  Meanwhile, co-pilot Tech, is working on a scanner for their control chips.  The ship suddenly slams around and reverts back to normal space!  The wounded Havoc Marauder heads to a moon for what Wrecker says is Omega’s first crash landing!  There is a smoking part of the ship’s engine.  Wrecker panics, very funny, but Tech manages to bring down the ship.

Tech notes that the capacitor was damaged in the fight last episode.  There is a spare, Omega topples a case, but Hunter says it’s Crosshair’s weapon case.  Tech says his action may be due to the chip.  There is a storm at Kamino, in the medical wing, Crosshair revives.  He sends away AZ-03.  Crosshair is being observed by Nala Se and Admiral Tarkin.  This is when Vice Admiral Rampant, seen in hologram last episode, enters.  He is there is start Tarkin’s Project War Mantle with recruits arriving on Kamino for training with Crosshair as their commander!  I also didn't pick up that War Mantle was a Rogue One (2016) reference.  Rampant walks with all of them to a bay with four elite soldiers.  Nala Se says that more clones could be produced based on Jango Fett of course.  I also didn't catch that Tarkin cutting costs of producing the clones (since there is no war) is to fund the Death Star projects.  Back on the planet, wearing a breath mask, Tech replaces the capacitor. This reminds me of the asteroid scene with the Falcon also in ESB.  Also there is Echo, who senses something out in the dark, he points his glowrod there.  

Tech is working on the capacitor while Echo goes to check on a possible beastie. The desolate, rocky terrain somehow also gives me Alien (1979) vibes. Tech has finished and called over to Echo.  He points the glowrod at claw marks on the ship!  The creature snatches away the capacitor on the open panel and runs away!  Omega is checking on how to use the breath mask.  Wrecker complains about hitting his head in the crash.  I did not pick up that Wrecker struck his head and may have caused problems with the control chip!  Echo and Tech arrive and say that something is causing damage.  The lights go out and everyone hears sounds of something on the top of the ship. The creature roars at Omega in the pilot seat and she sees that it has the capacitor.  Tech checks that it may be Ordo Moon Dragon that “feeds on raw energy”, kinda like the mynocks?  Hunter says he will find the part and Omega volunteers to go along as “part of the squad.”  It looks like a monster episode!   

Kamino, the medical bay, medical droids are examining the new squad, ES-01 (Emilio Garcia-Sanchez) is annoyed by the droid.  Garcia-Sanchez is in the romantic comedy series Love in the Time of Corona.  ES-04 (Daheli Hall) wants a fight even though the war is ended. Hall was in last year's horror movie, Bad Hair.  They are watched on hologram by Tarkin, Rampart, and Lama Su who says they won’t reach the level of fighting as the clones.  Rampart only cares about their loyalty.  Tarkin needs a test and wants them to go to Onderon to take on Saw Guerrera whom we also saw the first episode.  His refugees were spared by the Bad Batch at the end of “Aftermath.” Lama Su walks away from them.  The episode’s title seems to refer to the stormtroopers replacing the clones.  Also, that Omega is replacing Crosshair on the Bad Batch.  Is this squad the beginnings of the 501st or as others said the death troopers in Rogue One?  Hunter is tracking the Ordo Moon Dragon. Omega brings up Crosshair, Hunter says he feels disappointed that one of their own was left behind, she is hopeful to somehow “get him back.”  If Omega was sent by Nala Se with the Bad Batch, it may be to do that very thing and keep those clones viable? 

A shuttle is heading to Onderon, inside, ES-01 questions Crosshair’s leadership.  Typical stormtrooper behavior.  At the refugee camp, one soldier notes that Saw Guerrera wants them to move out.  Another notes that sensors have been triggered!  They all take out blaster rifles.  Crosshair takes out one soldier!  This leads to a firefight with the new stormtroopers.  On the moon, Hunter sees the capacitor, but has Omega wait while he checks it out.  He starts to reach out for it, hears snarling, and then sees the Moon Dragon’s claws reach out to the cone-like rock like the claws of Alien’s face-hugger! It leaps at Hunter and manages to knock off his breath mask.  He chokes and then falls, but Omega manages to put his breath mask on.  She tries to contact Wrecker and Tech and sees the Moon Dragon slip into the rock with the capacitor.  It’s time for Omega to save the day!  She is very clever in dealing with the Moon Dragon.  Crosshair is brutal cutting down the soldiers and comes into conflict with ES-01 when he threatens civilians!  One of the squad members uses a flame unit like in Force Awakens.  Will the end of the clones be like the end of the Jedi?  The “Replacements” is very dark, but we do have a little hope with Omega.     

Four Vibro Blades out of Five! 

#StarWarsBadBatch, #OrdoMoonDragon, #Rampart, #EmilioGarciaSanchez, #DaheliHall 

Happy Birthday George Lucas!

Happy Birthday George Lucas!  You might know his landmark student film, Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967) and turned into a full film, THX 1138 (1971).  He also defined teen films with American Graffiti (1973) insisting on a soundtrack of songs by the original artists that is the standard today.  He created his own world using his Akira Kurosawa, John Ford, sci fi movie serials, and Alex Raymond influences to form something new with Star Wars (1977).  Then, there was Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and finally Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983).  There were two tv movies with stories by George Lucas; The Ewok Adventure (1984), also called the Caravan of Courage, and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985).  Lucas contributed the story for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), collaborating with his friend, Steven Spielberg, to craft a modern cliffhanger serial classic.  There was also Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and later Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).  

His first collaboration with Disney was Star Tours which first opened in 1987.  Lucas was the writer for the fantasy film Willow (1988).  Later, he worked again with Disney for Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye which opened at Disneyland in 1995.  Lucas created the television show The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-1993).  Lucas returned to Star Wars with the prequels starting with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). He continued the prequels with Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) and the conclusion was in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005).  Lucas also was executive producer on Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2014) animated series.  He returned to write the story for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).  Lucas accomplished the film he wanted to make for some time executive producing Red Tails (2012).  On October 2012, Lucasfilm was sold to Disney.  Lucas is focusing his energies on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.  It is set to open soon. Happy Birthday George Lucas!

#GeorgeLucas, #THX1138, #AmericanGraffiti, #StarWars, #RaidersoftheLostArk, #TheYoungIndianaJonesChronicles, #StarWarsTheCloneWars, #RedTails #LucasMuseumofNarrativeArt 

Strolling Through The (Theme) Park One Day: Knott’s Bear-y Tales!

Knott’s Bear-y Tales:Return to the Fair was open today!  I went through Ghost Town and saw the queue that had plastic panels, there are distancing markers everywhere, even half way up steps.  You go up two sets of stairs, there is the Berry Factory sign on the wall, across the way is the water tower above the entrance.  There is a room for the overflow queue, it is a factory with posters, in the windows you can see that Crafty Coyote!  The queue winds down across from the Charles M. Schultz Theater and then back around.  You get the 3D glasses and then wait, there are two loading lines, and then get into the ride vehicle.  It’s like a large bench with four guns, the front locks onto the rear section where you sit, and the guns are holstered in circular pockets.  Note: that I don’t think that they are de-sanitized every time so bring hand sanitizer.  The guns are large jars of Knott’s Berry Jam, and have draw strings.  So you pull them back throughout the ride!, I was tired.  

                                             Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair, photo by the author. 

The ride vehicles moves forward, like Toy Story Mania, the vehicles are connected.  You are welcomed by Elder Bear-y, very funny.  You see posters of some of the bears on the ride, note: none of them are robot bears like the original, but the shooting is so fun I didn’t care, scratch that bring back the robot bears!  I think there was boysenberry smell, I was told it was there, but honestly I couldn’t sense it with my mask!  It turns to a large screen, like a festival at a factory with pies being made.  Suddenly the lights go out and Crafty Coyote starts taking the pies!  Lil’ coyotes, pups, start lifting the boysenberry pies over their heads and they start walking to the left.  The trick is to hit the pies, Bonus!, not just the coyotes.  Also, try to hit the ones in the back, I was trying to orient myself so didn’t notice everything.  Unload on those coyotes on the next screen!  There is a whistle song, it reminds me of the Disney Robin Hood (1973) cartoon, it moves to a night scene, the pups are running on a bridge.  

This leads to Frog Forest, there is mushrooms, on the screen, and large ones as prop scenery.  The mixture of props and screens are fun.  Some of the mushrooms have eyes and look like they are swaying on the screen.  A turn brings you to another screen with the Frog Jumping Contest, remember to shoot the targets just right as the pups jump!  The pups move to the Camp of the Fortune Teller with all sorts of performers in tents including ghosts.  Watch it!, Crafty Coyote speeds away again!  On the other side you see the shadow on tents of pies juggled and carried by those pups.  You move onto the Fair, there’s a fortune teller, and then another sign as you enter Thunder Cave!  This is a dark tunnel with flashes of lightning, on the ceiling I saw spiders, webs, and bats, blast them!  Crafty Coyote leans into stacks of pies on a crashed truck!  You move into a forest with some strange, hairy things like the McFry Guys, but all hair.  Then, you fall down!   

                                                            Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair factory entrance, photo by the author. 

You reach the Country Fair past Crafty in a bathtub, there’s a beauty contest, very funny.  Then, it gets to the fresh Boysenberry Pies, but it is taken by pups!  You have to stop them before they reach a balloon and escape.  In front of it is the bear family taking a picture.  You also get your picture taken for the ride photo.  The balloon swings free!  Then, you follow it on the next screen, the pups throw pies at you and you pass boysenberry clouds.  They all fall and Crafty gets his just desserts as a police bear laughs at him!  Just blast those pies and give a few to Crafty!   The bear family waves to you, not robots!, and then you turn to screens that show you shooting and your score!  The places apparently were from the old Bear-y Tales ride, except some surreal creatures and Weird Juice, but there is more of a story with Crafty trying to steal the pies.  Bear-y Tales 1.0 did have robot bears saying goodbye to you!  The door opens to the outside loading and unloading area, be patient it takes some time for the ride vehicles to reach the finish and start.  

Comparing it to other shooting rides, Men in Black: Alien Attack (at Universal Studios Florida), Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (those two have stories, but not so fun that I went right back on the ride), Toy Story Mania and the Voyage to the Iron Reef ride that was previously at Bear-y Tales, this one is superior.  It is the fun settings and characters plus a story on why you are shooting in the first place.  I think the pups are new and there are characters of the pups that may be outside of the ride, but I didn’t see them.  There was a large pipe-like photo op at the other side of Johnny Rockets, but I didn’t see the pups and Boysen Bear there either.  The steps down, be careful the light is kinda dim on the next flight of steps, which of course leads to The Factory gift shop.  There is a kids book of the ride, Crafty Coyote stuffies, and shirts of the bear family, they were really cameos on the attraction.  Also merch of Wacky Soap Box Racers, I hope Knott’s brings it back in some form, and Sad-Eye Joe.  

                                                                                            Pan for Gold, photo by the author. 

My next task was to find some healthy food options at Knott’s besides fried items and funnel cakes.  I did find rotisserie chicken at Boardwalk BBQ.  It is probably my second favorite chicken dish at all parks, the chicken at Three Broomsticks is the best, still I wonder why rotisserie chicken isn’t sold at the take-out section.  I had a side of corn casserole and a cornbread.  Ok, here’s the kicker, the best experience you can have at any theme park.  Pan for Gold!  This is something I did many times as a kid when you could just walk into the park, no admission.  I was kinda confused since the map has it at Fiesta Village, wrong, it is to the side of the Ghost Rider entrance, right along the Ghost Rider exit line.  I passed by it many, many, many times.  There is a silo with Pan for Gold in the corner next to Ghost Rider.  It just needs better signage.  A sign over the steps.  You take the steps and then there is the slough with many friendly employees.  

Head down and there is a machine to use your game card, it is $10, cheap for real gold!  Load it up and enter the gate for the slough.  It is a long, water-filled slough.  The employees are there to help you behind plastic panels.  Your veteran gold panner dips a pan with sand, the gold is the heaviest material, so you rotate in wide circles in the water until the sand shifts out.  It takes some time to get that gold!  You are guaranteed to get five gold flakes!  I was told the real 22k gold flakes come from Yukon, Alaska.  You feel like a prospector.  If you get tired, just rest the pan on the bottom, then get to work!  Your experienced prospector uses a sieve to pour the flakes into a tiny bottle and remember when the gold is revealed, exciting!, shout, “Eureka!”  This is the best collectible of any theme park!  Celebrate Knott's Berry Farm's 100th Anniversary Celebration!  There is decorations throughout Ghost Town.  Knott’s opens to the public on May 21st, make your reservation, ride Bear-y Tales, and pan for that gold!  

#KnottsBerryFarm, #KnottsBearyTalesReturntotheFair, #CraftyCoyote, #BoysenBear, #PanForGold.

Marjorie Finnegan Temporal Criminal #1 Review!

Marjorie Finnegan Temporal Criminal #1 is just good, time traveling, adult fun with over-the-top violence and language!  It is an eight issue limited series from Upshot.  The creators are Garth Ennis who is a draw as writer and Goran Sudzuka.  Ennis’ comic book, The Boys, a twist on superheroes is a hit on Amazon Prime.  My favorite is his mini-series, Just a Pilgrim (2001), a post apocalyptic tale featuring a survivor with a past which is a little shocking and brilliant.  This should be expected from a Ennis comic, fantastic concepts with some crossing of lines of decency, expect wild rides.  Sudzuka worked on Y: The Last Man and A Walk Through Hell with Ennis for Aftershock Comics.  The first issue has multiple covers; the regular cover by Andy Clarke has our hero, in overalls and a shotgun with her treasures and a cyborg head surrounded by angry historical people, there is also the Mike Deodato cover with the cyborg head in the background, Marjorie and the faces of other women, finally, the Frank Cho cover has Marjorie running as spears and arrows whip past her and we see clocks and a T-Rex.  

Pay attention to the mature readers label, it has adult language and violence to the extreme!  The beginning has sunset on the Sphinx and pyramids.  A ceremony is being held for Rameses.  Sudzuka has great composition skills and detail with all of the workers with headdresses bringing in treasure.   This focuses on servant girls and the one with the goofy expression is our hero.  Sudzuka’s faces remind me of Bret Blevins’ art.  The historical setting is time travel fun, but it can’t be taken seriously.  She is reacting to the sacrifice of all of them including the pharaoh’s treasure.  Marjorie tries to interrupt the priest’s speech.  The priest has the guards attack her, she is swiped by the curved blade of the khopesh, but it just takes off her wig.  Marjorie’s salty language is fun.  She takes out a shotgun and we get a splash page of her shooting Doctor Twelve as we get the titel, “Let All The Children Boogie.”  The title refers to the “Starman” David Bowie song which Marjorie later sings.   We get the credit page with the number of variant cover artists.  Then, it opens on village about to be raided by Vikings.  Their ship is about to land and one cowardly villager tells his wife carrying their child to delay the raiders.  A commander with a fur coat, Otto, has villagers load a WWII cannon and it destroys the Viking ship!  The villagers fire the cannon again.  A Viking with one leg emerges on the beach.  The cannon puts a whole in him!  The commander is confronted by a woman, Harri, with leather jacket, eyepatch, and sheriff outfit.  She tells him that he violated temporal laws.  

A commander with a fur coat, Otto, has villagers load a WWII cannon and it destroys the Viking ship!  The villagers fire the cannon again.  A Viking with one leg emerges on the beach.  The cannon puts a whole in him!  The commander is confronted by a woman, Harri, with leather jacket, eyepatch, and sheriff outfit.  She tells him that he violated temporal laws.  Back to Marjorie who is taking on the guards on a sarcophagus.  One guard’s swing manages to put off the head of a fellow soldier!  This knocks Marjorie onto a treasure chest and she likes the riches.  She keeps blasting away and dodges a khopesh revealing a device strapped to her leg, the K-2001 Re-Aligner which fixes time problems.  Marjorie slams the butt of her shotgun into a guard’s throat and then explains that Thotep the Lazy, very funny, choked on a fig.  The other deaths Marjorie explains as accidents that didn’t involve time travelers.  The priest sends hordes of soldiers after Marjorie.  She takes a locket and tries to time jump.  Spears surround her and finally she jumps in a flash of light!  I have the feeling that all of her thefts may turn out to save the treasures in time.  Viking times, Otto tries to cut a deal with the Temporal Police Department Deputy Marshal, but she doesn’t take any bribes.  

A villager threatens Harri with a hammer saying that Otto is the sky god.  Harri uses an automatic pistol that uh, puts holes in the villager, and his historical fate is uh, nasty.  Otto tries to run and uh, Harri blasts him in the private part, ouch!  The cyborg head, Tim, has a miffed expression as Marjorie enters singing in her bathrobe.  Her apartment is a mess, but does have a David Bowie Ziggy Stardust poster.  Tim is responsible for Marjorie’s time jumps.  She explains that she was responsible for Tim’s decapitation and hoped to get a replacement body, but hasn’t gotten around to it.  Tim mentions that it is difficult to get their base hidden and stabilized in the time stream.  The tower-like base held with a chain has swans with boxing glove heads(!) fly past it.  Marjorie chomps on some cold pizza as Tim laments his missing body.  Then, we get security footage of Marjorie dancing around as two people are watching the footage.  Her dance is so exuberant that Marjorie loses her towel.  We find the peeping camera watchers are Marjorie’s ex-husband and his son.  An alarm sounds and Marjorie races out to the tower steps carrying around Tim by his head cables.  The intruder surprises her.  Marjorie Finnegan Temporal Criminal is perfect for readers who like some adult comedy, violence, and a tough woman who carries around a shotgun!  

Four K-2001 Re-Aligners out of Five! 

#MarjorieFinneganTemporalCriminal, #GarthEnnis #GoranSudzuka, #Harri, #Tim   

Sensational Wonder Woman #3 Review!

Sensational Wonder Woman #3 is a clever twist on selfie culture with a persistent woman contrasted with the heroism of Wonder Woman!  Sensational Wonder Woman is a digital first anthology series that started in January with the first print issue published in March.  It ran fourteen issues with different creative teams.  It was the third issue that intrigued by writer and artist, Colleen Doran. She created her own series, A Distant Soil, provided artwork for Sandman, and had previously worked on Wonder Woman #750 (2020).  The cover is a standout having Wonder Woman in super pose lifting up massive rubble above an elderly couple as a selfie is taken by her fan who smiles as we see her holding up the phone in the foreground with firefighters looking on.  A clever selfie cover.  The stylish variant cover is by Marguerite Sauvage.  Doran writes and draws “Man’s World Momager”!  It opens with a smiling Wonder Woman carrying a swimmer from three hungry sharks!  

She explains that the megaladons are her escort, usually guarding Themysicra, and we get the camera, mostly in the panels with her hands,  taking a pic of the situation.  To the side is a very Bettie Page looking beach goer.  The camera takes a closeup of Wonder Woman as the camera phone person thins over possible merch tie-ins.  Another closeup, this time of Wonder Woman’s costume and more ideas for clothing lines.  The woman calls out that she’s been trying to get a meeting, but Wonder Woman is alerted about an apartment building collapse.  She flies off and the camera woman thinks up boot ideas with just a shot of her footwear.  The camera woman accidentally gets her shoes, Louboutins, on the camera.  Her assistant carrying bag and dog ends up in the shot now and she says to get a cab.  

The camera turns to a cab driver, off duty, but the ad woman waves a stack of bills at him.  Of course this disregard for people and concern with image is absolutely against Wonder Woman’s beliefs.  Still, the driver don’t move since there is the road is blocked.  She sends her assitant to take her dog, Nibby, back to her home.  The woman goes on foot unconcerned about peole and emergency workers, but still comes up with ideas for Amazonian outfits.  Then, we get the image of Wonder Woman holding up a broken wall from civilians like the cover.  The ad woman continues with ideas incluing a wonder spa, just not caring about the people.  Others in the crowd make remarks about Wonder Woman.  A police officer helps with the crowds and the woman can only remark on his looks.  The publicist, now we see in red coat and black clothes races out to talk to Wonder Woman.  The wall starts to collapse on her!  

Wonder Woman sweeps her away in time and there is no thanks, just her insistence on talking with Diana.  She takes out a Wonder Woman action figure.  Then, the publicist brings up Wonder Woman’s brand.  The kids behind the barricades want to talk to Wonder Woman.  The woman brings up publicity and snaps off the action figure’s leg to wave it at a kid.  Wonder Woman now wants the publicist to leave.  She instead uses a lighter to set a Wonder Woman pajamas on fire!  It’s stomped out by a firefighter as the woman has the police officer run up.  She reveals her name, a call back to her appearance as a character in the George Perez run with Wonder Woman #7 (1987).  The second story, “The Museum Gala” is by Alyssa Wong and Eleonora Carlini. It has Diana and Bruce Wayne attending the gala when it is interrupted by Mister Freeze.  The story and art are fun.  Sensational Wonder Woman #3 features a fun story that shows a touch of selfie culture, and a strong contrast with Wonder Woman helping people and the publicist who doesn’t care about them!    

Four Lassos of Truth out of Five! 

#SensationalWonderWoman, #MansWorldMomager, #ColleenDoran, #TheMuseumGala, #AlyssaWong, #EleonoraCarlini.