PAPERCUTZ BRINGS DINOSAURS TO LIFE

PAPERCUTZ is a comic book / graphic novel publisher that I have a lot of respect for which has a great catalog of titles for children ranging from DISNEY FAIRIES, GERONIMO STILTON, GARFIELD and THE SMURFS for younger kids to CLASSIC ILLUSTRATED, HARDY BOYS, NANCY DREW, and TALES FROM THE CRYPT for grade school students and teens.  I have 5 year old twins who really aren't reading on their own yet, but I've enjoyed reading PAPERCUTZ titles to them which allows them to follow along with the pictures as I tell the story.  My daughter loves the Disney Fairies comics and my son The Smurfs.  Now, PaperCutz is adding a great new title to their catalog called DINOSAURS.

DINOSAURS isn't available as individual soft bound serial series comic books but rather will be sold as a series of 3 individual hardcover graphic novels with the first edition "In the Beginning ... " hitting retailers' shelves this week.  The book has a goofy paleontologist, with a name that spoofs Indiana Jones, called INDINO JONES discussing the history of dinosaurs, how things become fossilized, various geological topics, and the various time periods when these giant creatures roamed the Earth.  Rather than having stories, the graphic novel is divided into short segments or skits that each make you think of newspaper comic book strips. Looking at the artwork and reading through the text of each segment you could imagine this was a compilation of newspaper comic strips collected together for this book.  They actually have been created specifically for this book though and aren't taken from another source. The artwork reminded me of B.C. and Wizard of ID to some extent but it also has a "pop" factor from the pages of the book that provides a "wow" factor lacking from those types of comic strips.  My daughter saw me reading through the book on my computer screen and loved the graphics saying "That's a really cool comic Dad".

The stories are both entertaining and educational which I believe makes it an excellent addition to a child's bookshelf.  The artwork is bright and nicely colored in a cartoonish manner which may entice some children who may not want to read a book with realistic images because it may be to much like school work or in some cases scary for those kids who may get spooked by things.  Humor and some slap stick comedy is intertwined with the book to make the reading experience fun for the kids, and parents, reading it.  For example, in one scene while Indino Jones is looking for fossils on a beach he doesn't notice an elderly woman sunbathing as he is walking along and spouts out a statement of "old fossils on the beach".  The old woman, wearing a bikini, chases the haphazard paleontologist off the beach.

The book gives descriptions of "What is a Dinosaur" and the types of Dinosaurs ranging from popular ones such as T-REX, STEGOSAURUS, and VELOCIRAPTOR along with less well known ones such as ALLOSAURUS and DEINONYCHUS from the perspective of the dinosaurs.  Indino Jones role is somewhat similar to the paleontologist on the PBS tv show Dinosaur Train who comes in between stories featuring the dinosaurs to provide some educational information, though in this comic book he is a narrator who binds the book together plus also has a few storylines of his own and throws in some comic relief too.

 While my daughter did see a few pages of the book while I was working on this review, I decided not to read it to my kids because I thought the content was somewhat mature for preschoolers, which was a tough decision because my son LOVES dinosaurs. There are some graphic depictions of dinosaurs being killed and eaten by predators showing carcasses, exposed bones, and blood in blood.  Additionally there is some violence with dinosaurs fighting and hunting contained in the publication.  Also there was some language I didn't really want the kids exposed to including dinosaurs calling other dinos "morons" and "shrimps".  That being said I believe the content is suitable for grade school children maybe starting around second or third grades.  It may also be suitable for older middle school and high school aged students who need some extra enticements or encouragement to get into their studies.  The book does a good job of explaining "science stuff" like continental drift, extinction, fossilization in an easy to understand manner.  So the description of the book by the publisher is pretty fitting:

Think you know everything there is to know about dinosaurs? Think again! In this bronto-sizedseries, kid dinos show us what their lives were like in short, funny, teeth-gnashing bursts of prehistoric mayhem. DINOSAURS is your guided tour through the rough-and-tumble world of themightiest beasts to ever walk the earth!

All in all I believe the DINOSAUR graphic novels are an excellent addition to the PAPERCUTZ library that compliment there current lineup of titles and fits into their niche of providing quality reading materials for children and teens.  If you have a student in your life, I'd encourage you to take a look at DINOSAURS: IN THE BEGINNING.

The book is priced $10.99 and is available at local book stores, comic retailers, and online.  Volume 2 & 3 will be published in the near future.  For more information, visit:  http://www.papercutz.com/comics/dinosaurs/ 

DISCLAIMER:  I received a complimentary digital pdf copy of this book from the Publisher for this review.  The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

DC COMICS HAS DOUBLE SUCCESS WITH ITS VIDEO GAME & COMIC BOOK DYNAMIC DUO

My college years were filled with a lot of late evenings tackling my buddies in exhausting bouts of combat as we all strove to be the campus champion in Mortal Kombat.  This game had cutting edge graphics and features for the time and was a great way to release some of our scholarly anxieties and just have some youthful rambunctious fun.  I've wondered over the years why video game publishers have never made an exhilarating combat game that allows players to bash comic book super heroes and villains  against one another.  Well the waiting ended this year when the creators of Mortal Kombat took its game engine updated with today's graphics and processing technology to produce INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US.

INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US pits the DC Comics super heroes of "our universe" against their personalities from an alternate dimension on  Xbox and PlayStation consoles.  The game play is fun and full of special effects and feature moves that keeps the games interesting.  It's a brawling good time for fans of Superman, Batman and the like.  The weakness of the games is an odd ball plot and lacking script for the game's "story" but that is overcome by the sheer fun of the game's one-on-one battle sequences.

Don't fret though because DC has addressed the limitations of the game's script with an incredible new comic
book series with the same name as the video game but with its own stand alone in-depth story.   Often times these type of tie-in comics are just meant for marketing purposes and don't have a lot of effort put into them making them not worth a glance, but I have to say DC has embraced this effort and made this an extraordinary piece of work.  I was riveted to the pages while reading it and enthralled by the storyline of this comic book series.  The comic has decent artwork but it is the story that draws your interest and hooks you.  This was one of the best comic book reads I've had in a few years and highly recommend it whether or not you are interested in the video game.

While of course the story has super hero battles it also has a philosophical undertone exploring the balancing
act of giving up "freedom" to gain "security" that combined with good character plots and scripting makes this title a winner.  The comic book series revolves around how an injustice is done to Superman and how superheroes based upon that act as "gods" among mankind in response.  There really are some hard hitting sequences in this comic that go a lot darker than the "Smallville" type portrayal of the DC universe that many people associate with its super heroes.

The story starts with the Joker tricking Superman into killing his pregnant wife, Lois Lane as well as their unborn child, with his bare hands and in the process also causing a nuclear explosion that decimates his adopted home of Metropolis killings it entire population of 11 million people.  This pushes Superman to his breaking point.  He pledges to stop all violence in the world.  Instead of protecting humanity from threats so they have the freedom of self determination, the Man of Steel determines that he well  decide the rules by which mankind conducts itself and behaves.  This places Superman at odds with Batman who doesn't believe that super heroes should be acting like "gods among us" in determining how much freedom or control the people of Earth should have over their own behavior.

 The plot of INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US really places Superman who has been know for upholding "truth, justice, and the American way" into a grey area between good guy and bad guy which is highlighted in one scene where he tries to put down a citizen protest and is yelled down being told "you think you can come here and hover above us all with a scowl and some special powers and tell us what to do?"  This dynamic really makes the story an entertaining read that I couldn't put down.  So far I haven't figured out if the comic book story is taking place in an "alternate reality" like the video game and is explaining how the Superman Regime from the game began or is supposed to be taking place in the "main stream" DC universe.  While there are similarities between some things in the game script and the comic book story there are also lots of differences too. DC Comics does call the series a prequel to the video game though which has to make you think maybe this is the alternate reality setup.  I guess I'll have to just keep reading to find out.

Missed the monthly serial issues of the comic? Don't worry you can catch up with the first 5 issues all bundled together as a hardcover edition.  INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US - VOLUME 1 went on sale August 13, 2013.  Check it out!

Also if you are interested in the game console video game and/or the comic book there also is a great iPad game that I've downloaded and been playing quite a bit lately...it's become my favorite game beating out Angry Birds: Star Wars for my attention...and its FREE.  I just beat a number of challenges to add General Zod to my online cast of characters.  You can download the game from the iTunes store.

Kudos to DC Comics for making their INJUSTICE video game and comic book a great dynamic duo!

DISCLAIMER:  I was provided a complimentary digital advance readers edition pdf of INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US-VOLUME 1 from the publisher.  I was not compensated for this review and the thoughts and opinions in this post are my own.

Dark Horse Comics reboots the STAR WARS universe

 

On Wednesday, January 9 STAR WARS will be getting a new start as issue #1 of Dark Horse Comics newest serial hits retailers shelves.  Simply titled STAR WARS this new comic is set in the time period immediately following the original movie "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope." It is in many ways a reboot of the franchise as all the comic's stories will be written & illustrated as if none of the subsequent movie sequels, books, comics and other extended univese mythos was ever created.  This series will be taking a step back to 1977 and take the angle of treating stories as if they were exploring the imagination of  all the fans who loved the movie and were asking themselves what happens next-there is no Yoda, thuggy Jabba the Hut isn't a giant slug, Darth Vader hasn't said "Luke I am your Father", and thank goodness absolutely no Jar Jar Binks!

 

Dark Horse is promoting this new STAR WARS comic series as:

 

This is Star Wars as you remember it . . . and as you have never seen it before! We’re taking you back to those heady, adventure-filled days following the destruction of the Death Star—when the Empire ruled, the Rebels were on the run, and the galaxy was a dangerous place where anything might happen!

 

STAR WARS will be written by Brian Wood, who currently also works for Marvel Comics on their X-Men titles, with art by Carlos D'Anda, who has penciled and inked for DC Comics on its Batman, Deathblow & Outsiders titles, and the comic's covers will be by famed illustrator Alex Ross.

 

Here's a sneak peak at STAR WARS #1: