Review of "Chaos War," by Greg Pak et. al.

Review of

Chaos War, by Greg Pak et. al. ISBN 9780785151319

Five out of five stars

 Given that the two characters on the front cover are Hercules and Thor, it is fitting that a great deal of Greek and Norse mythology is expressed in the story. Specifically, the lineage of the various Greek gods, including that of Heracles in Greek. The son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, that is a fact that is important in this story. The other heroes believed Hercules to be dead, but he comes back with more power than before and with a dire warning. The Chaos King is coming, and he is so powerful that only a consortium of the most powerful superheroes has a chance against him. Given that the goal of the Chaos King is the destruction of reality itself, the stakes cannot be higher.

 The battle is joined with many gods involved, yet the outcome of the battle is dependent on the actions and skills of a rather nondescript young male human that shows no outward indication of having superpowers. The story is a good one with a lot of intense action very well depicted by the artwork. One humorous aspect is the textual sound effects, a point raised in an interview with the creative team that developed the story.

Review of "Young Doctors in Love," DVD version

Review of

Young Doctors in Love, DVD version

Four out of five stars

 To a first approximation, this movie attempts to do to doctor movies what “Airplane” did to airline disaster movies. It is a spoof of many of the standard elements used to create tension in movies with a medical plot and like in “Airplane” many, if not most of the jokes are predictable groaners. Some of the more original jokes are carried out too long. For example, one of the doctors is a little person and they answer the phone. Too short to put the landline headpiece back on the holder, there are several ineffectual tries before he is successful.

 If you have the right sense of humor, you will find this movie funny. However, if you apply too much intellectual rigor and predict the jokes in advance, not hard to do in many cases, then you will find it a bit tedious.

Review of "The Walking Dead Volume 29: Lines We Cross," by Robert Kirkman et. al.

Review of

The Walking Dead Volume 29: Lines We Cross, by Robert Kirkman et. al. ISBN 9781534304970

Four out of five stars

 The battle with the massive herd of the undead is over, with “victory” for the Rick Grimes group. However, that was achieved at great cost and now it is time to repair the damage as best they can. Rick sends out a very long-range scouting mission and they encounter a very colorful character in both personality and dress. There is a continuing tension between Negan, Rick and some of the other members of Rick’s group.

 Twenty-nine volumes into the story and it is now taking on many of the characteristics of a soap opera. There seems to be a never-ending stream of the undead as well as a continuing sequence of drama and tension between the living. All have been through a great deal and lost loved ones, they should be reaching the point where they have concluded that what they have is not a zero-sum game and that cooperation is the only way to rebuild a stable civilization. If all remaining “humans” were to drop their self-serving personas and work together for the common good, then the metastatic cancer known as the undead will be pushed aside and eliminated. That obvious reality seems lost on some of those fortunate enough to still be alive, and that is starting to wear on this reader.