Review of "Graduate #004," comic by Jon Hughes and Celia Calle

 Review of

Graduate #004, comic by Jon Hughes and Celia Calle

Four out of five stars

Appeals to most skinny teen girls

 This comic opens with a caption where a very thin girl is lying down struggling to get into her jeans. In the next caption she is padding her bustline with tissues. From there she puts on platform shoes and stands up exposing a lot of skin between her navel and the top of her jeans. After a proclamation that she is Invincible Girl, she looks in the mirror and then backs the whole thing off, changing to normal teen clothes.

 Her name is Natalie and while she clearly has some kind of superpowers, she is a very reluctant hero. When walking down the street, she is approached by a boy that is a kindred spirit possessing powers. Natalie gives him the major brush off. She goes into a supermarket and when she realizes that it is about to be robbed at gunpoint, she goes to the attendant and asks to use the restroom. Her goal is to change into her superhero costume, but the attendant disallows her request. She ends up telling the gunman and the male clerk to turn their backs while she strip changes.

 All of this is amusing to an older male, but I doubt that girls beyond the skinny girl body type will find it funny. Natalie is very much a skinny teen girl with issues about belonging, she just happens to have powers that are largely undefined in this issue. I do have to admit that the modest approach in turning from normal to powerful is a plot device that I had never seen before.

Review of "Attack Force Z," DVD version

 Review of

Attack Force Z, DVD version

Four out of five stars

Fiction based on history

 When the Japanese invaded the area of the Western Pacific in 1941-42, their occupation was a harsh one. The people native to the areas were brutally treated and often killed for minor transgressions. Due to the wide area occupied by the Japanese and the difficulty of mounting large scale amphibious operations, the Allied forces formed a set of small commando teams that would engage in quick strikes against high value targets.

  This overall unit was called Z Special Unit and was primarily made up from Australian and New Zealand volunteers. During the war, small teams from this unit engaged in some very successful raids, particularly against Japanese shipping docked at Singapore harbor. The rate of survivability of the members of a mission was very low, it was not unreasonable to consider them suicide missions.

 This movie features a team of five members of the Z Special Unit going ashore from a submarine in order to find what may be survivors of the crash of an Allied airplane. Only the commander knows all of what they are there for and there is a significant Japanese presence on the land. After some fighting and with assistance from the non-Japanese locals, the team discovers that there were survivors of the crash and the viewer learns why they are considered so valuable.

 While there are some incredulous moments in the action, it is generally realistic. By this, the end results are a questionable outcome with deaths among the members of the Z Special Unit. The Japanese are depicted as being brutal in pursuit of their goals. There are no super soldier moments, they are all depicted as no more than well trained soldiers. It is a good movie and while a work of fiction, it could and likely did happen.

Review of "Prophet #1," by Rob Liefeld & Dan Panosian

 Review of

Prophet #1, by Rob Liefeld & Dan Panosian

Five out of five stars

The context of a hero and his companion is established

 As the first issue of a comic dedicated to a new super(soldier/hero), this comic must establish enough background so that the reader can understand the basic premises. It opens with Johnny having a dream where he is battling a small army of metal robots. He slices and dices them very well until he is stunned by what he encounters. At this point, his partner Kirby wakes him up so that they can proceed on their mission. At this point they are in a plane en route to engaging in a two-man assault on a snowy mountain research facility.

 In a manner similar to the diminutive Steve Rogers being transformed into the powerful Captain America, Johnny was transformed by a Dr. Wells into a large and powerful being. This was done in Germany during the period around the Second World War and the goal of the research was to make a super soldier powerful enough to turn the tide of the war. Kirby, who bears a striking resemblance to Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., was a lab assistant to Dr. Wells and befriended Johnny. Once the required background is established, Johnny and Kirby parachute into the mountain research facility and immediately experience the ending cliffhanger.

 The first few pages have several quotations from the Christian Bible, hinting at some link between the title and the Bible. A prophet tends to sway and convince minds by emotions and preaching, there is nothing in that area concerning this powerful being. At least so far. The background has been set to generate interest in the reader concerning subsequent issues.

Review of "A History of Whittington and His Cat," edited by Michael Kipps

 Review of

A History of Whittington and His Cat, edited by Michael Kipps

Five out of five stars

This short story is a retelling of one of the most charming folk stories of eighteenth century England. In physical structure, it resembles the cheap reading material that was sold by itinerant peddlers of the time. For a few pennies, a customer could buy a small book that contained a simple story.

 Dick Whittington was a small orphan boy that seemed destined for a short life of misery. Fortunately, a man on a wagon allowed him to walk alongside the wagon in his trip to town. Once there, Dick was poorly treated until a merchant took pity on him and allowed him into his home and told his servants to feed him.

 While Dick’s situation had improved, he was still mistreated by the cook, beaten for the slightest transgressions. In a manner common to the fairy tales, fortune smiled greatly on him and suddenly he is a wealthy man. As a consequence of that wealth, he is elevated to the status of a gentleman, marries the girl of his dreams and rises to a position of political power.

 This book is basically a fairy tale in the form of a pamphlet. While it is not precisely accurate, it does contain some historical accuracies. At a time of short life expectancy, there were many orphans and there was nothing in the way of social services. Most were homeless, begging for survival and enduring regular acts of mistreatment. Dick is one that finally managed to thrive after just barely surviving.

Review of "A Short History of the World Volume II," edited by A. Z. Manfred

 Review of

A Short History of the World Volume II, edited by A. Z. Manfred

Five out of five stars

A different perspective from the contents of American history books

 The editor of this book published in 1974 was an academician of the Soviet Union, so the perspective on what has happened in the world during the covered time frame is quite different from American history books. That period starts at the Russian Civil War after World War I and ends in the late 1960’s. Some of the statements are of course nonsense, not every event was caused by capitalist aggression.

 Yet, there is a great deal of truth in much of what appears in this book. For example, the French engaged in horrific colonial wars in Algeria and Southeast Asia in a futile attempt to maintain their control. To cite one example, 1.5 million Algerians died in the hopeless attempt of the French to hold onto their colony. Approximately 150,000 Indonesians died at the hands of the Dutch military in their futile attempt to retake control of Indonesia after the end of World War II.

 The brutal and deadly policies of the European nations toward their colonial areas is generally ignored in the American history books. In that sense, this book has a refreshing honesty. The same statement can be applied to the role American corporations and the U. S. military played in Central and South America.

 Another fact generally ignored in the U. S. history books is how rapid the rise of the power of the Soviet Union was after the end of the Civil War that followed World War I. An estimated 7 to 12 million people died in that Civil War that effectively ended in 1923. Yet, only 18 years later, the Soviet state was able to stand up to and essentially defeat the armies of Germany and their European allies. Despite what the history books of the western nations claim, it was the Soviet Red Army that defeated the Axis.

 In addition to this, in 1972, when American president Richard Nixon visited China, the estimated GDP of the country was $114 billion. The estimated GDP of the Chinese economy in 2020 is $14 trillion and by some measures is the largest economy in the world. Therefore, one must be very careful in dismissing the economic productivity of these two nations. By these measures, their Marxist-Leninist principles were successful.

 As a student of history, it was easy for me to flag some errors that bordered on the absurd. Yet, there is a great deal of truth in many of the statements that are uncomfortable for those of the west to read.

Review of "Doc Savage Number 19 The Air Lord Saga"

 Review of

Doc Savage Number 19 The Air Lord Saga

Five out of five stars

Vintage Doc Savage story in modern form

 Doc Savage was in many ways the model for all comic book superheroes, no less an authority than Stan Lee has stated this. Clark Savage Jr. (Doc) and his gang of five assistants first appeared in the American pulp press in the 1930’s at the height of the Great Depression. It was a time when people needed heroes and he was also the epitome of the self-made man.

 This story is set in 1937, when Doc and his talented companions are in their prime. There has been a series of deadly plane crashes and a man has sent a message that he wants to meet with Doc to give him information about the crashes. The meeting is in the street and a group of men arrive and kill the informant in a very brutal way.

 Fortunately, there is a clue that Doc is able to decode, and they all board their powerful car with Doc standing on the running board. They are able to thwart a plot to destroy a plane and learn of an even greater plot that involves the German dirigible “Hindenburg.” After jumping from a plane, Doc lands on the “Hindenburg” and attempts to defuse a bomb.

 Although the time context is the late 1930’s, the dialog is very much that of the late twentieth century. The Air Lord is a worthy adversary of Doc and his gang, and this episode ends with a historic cliffhanger. Monk and Ham are at odds, so everything is normal in this semi-classical adventure of a classical and trailblazing American hero.  

Review of "The New Teen Titans Annual, No. 3"

 Review of

The New Teen Titans Annual, No. 3

Four out of five stars

An over-the-top diva for a villain

 The opposition in this story is a villainess named Godiva and she is beautiful, ruthless and deadly. She has everything she does filmed, and she is capable of controlling a limited number of minds. She will also hire out to the highest bidder and will not hesitate to double-cross her client(s). She has been hired to destroy a spy satellite, but she captures it instead and plans on holding an auction to sell it off.

 Her opposition is the Teen Titans, and it takes all of them to take her and her group of henchpeople down. Although Godiva can take over minds, she is limited in capability and can control only a couple at a time. Therefore, her primary tactic is to control two of the Titans and have them fight the other titans.

 There is another main character called Danny, he is an adolescent, and his parents are major spies. He also has major telekinetic powers, able to withstand the power of the American Space Shuttle when it is being launched. When his parents are captured by Godiva’s forces, Danny forces an alliance with the Teen Titans in order to defeat Godiva and free his parents.

 The ending is ambiguous, while Godiva is thwarted in her immediate nefarious plans, she is not completely defeated. She is a ruthless adversary, in a significant departure from earlier comics, she is a villainess that will not hesitate to kill, even her employees that fit into her definition of misbehaving. Yet, she is powerful and a worthy adversary for a group of superheroes.