Review of "There Oughta Be a Law," by Harry Shorten

Review of

There Oughta Be a Law, by Harry Shorten

Four out of five stars

 The cartoons in this collection describe the amusing and often contradictory extremes of human behavior. Each story is composed of two captions, a before and after. The before sets the context for the point and the after nails the contradictory nature of the situation. They are organized into six categories:

*) Vacation Daze

*) On the Town

*) The Sporting Life

*) Nine to Five

*) Wedded Blisters

*) Generation Gasps

 One of the most creative aspects of the cartoons is the names given to the characters. There are the McBundles, wealthy contestants on a game show and the poor Churchmouses that also compete in the show. There is also Wetwash, the Jerkimers, the Flotneys, the Jetsetz and the Schlocks. Amusing throughout, this is a book that can be opened anywhere and generate anything from an amused smirk to an outright laugh.

Review of "Johnny Appleseed," by Eva Moore

Review of

Johnny Appleseed, by Eva Moore

Five out of five stars

 Although it would seem that Johnny Appleseed was a myth, there was in fact such a person. He was very much a child of nature, wandering through the wilderness, friends with the animals, settlers and Native Americans. In his own way, Johnny Appleseed prepared the land for the arrival of the Europeans, for he was responsible for the planting of many apple trees, long before settlers arrived. As a consequence, when dwellings were built and farms laid out, there were apple trees already bearing fruit either on the farm or nearby. In the early struggles to grow and acquire enough food, the apples were a welcome and needed addition.

 I first read this book when I was in elementary school and enjoyed it once again. It is well written and does not descend beyond the facts into legend. There are people that are able to commune with wild animals and Appleseed was such a person. I strongly recommend this book as educational and entertaining reading for children at the elementary school level.

Review of "The Trigan Empire," by Don Lawrence

Review of

The Trigan Empire, by Don Lawrence ISBN 0890092540

Five out of five stars

 This epic story of the rise, decline and continued existence of the Trigan Empire is truly a novel in graphic form. The complete story is 189 pages and opens with a space ship with a dead crew crash landing on Earth. The technology is far in advance of anything on Earth and there is a set of books in an undecipherable language. After the best linguists in the world try and fail to translate the books, the consensus becomes that the content of the books will remain forever unknown.

 Fortunately, a young student named Peter Richard Haddon refuses to accept defeat and dedicates his life to understanding the alien language. Finally, when he is an old man he reaches the point where he can translate the books and they tell a fascinating tale, the story of the Trigan Empire.

 The empire was founded by Trigo, one of three brothers that are the leaders of a tribe of civilized nomadic hunters. He understands that the leader of the much more advanced nation of Loka is plotting to conquer his country of Vorg, one of the four other countries in the continent. Therefore, he knows that if his tribe and nation are to survive, they must build a great city and learn the ways of technology.

 There are great battles as the Empire faces many enemies, both within and without. Their planet is called Elekton and there are many other tribes with different ways and harsh climates. There are powerful creatures in the wild and many other dangers.

 This story is in the tradition of the John Carter of Mars stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs and the adventures of Flash Gordon on the planet Mongo. After a success and stability seems assured, another threat rises and Trigo and his allies are forced to fight once again for their Empire and what they hold dear. If you enjoy epic graphic novels featuring heroes fighting with weapons of all types from swords to directed energy weapons and monsters of all types, this is a book you will enjoy.