Book Review: The Shadow Hero by G. L. Yang et al.

The Shadow Hero story by Gene Luen Yang, art by Sonny Liew, and lettering by Janice Chiang

Golden-age comics are not exactly known for their political correctness, especially when they involved World War II. One long-forgotten comic was The Green Turtle, a superhero who fought against the Japanese on mainland China. Chu Hing was the creator of the comic and, rumor has it, he wanted The Green Turtle to be Chinese. Rumor also has it that the publisher refused. The actual comics don't show the Turtle's face and every time his sidekick asks about the Turtle's origin story some emergency happens and readers never find out. The series only lasted five issues and faded quickly into obscurity.

Gene Luen Yang has created the missing origin story, as a tribute to the Golden Age comics and to this first Asian-American comic-book hero. The story is fairly well-detailed, with a pulpy plot set in a fictional California port city. Hank is the son of immigrant parents who run a grocery store. His mom is kidnapped during a robbery getaway but the superhero Anchor of Justice saves the day. She now wants Hank to be a superhero, especially since her husband is a meek and mild grocery clerk. Hank starts training with one of his "uncles," a neighboring shop owner who knows some martial arts. Hank's first adventure goes poorly, forcing the family to miss their usual payment to the Tongs, the local organized crime syndicate. One thing leads to another and eventually Hank becomes The Green Turtle fighting the Tongs.

The book is really well written as a pulp adventure and as a stereotypical slice-of-life from 1940s America as experienced by immigrants. The two elements work well together, building on each other to get enjoyable twists and pay-offs. The art evokes the early comics style while having its own distinctness. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the story.

Highly recommended.

Awesome quote from the book: "Sometimes, a fight you cannot win is still worth fighting."

Book Review: My Hero Academia Vol. 2 by Kohei Horikoshi

My Hero Academia Volume 2 by Kohei Horikoshi

See my review of Volume 1 here.

Having gotten into hero high school through the fluke of inheriting the hero All Might's power, Midoriya faces plenty of challenges. The classes are not just academic. The students face plenty of practical tests of their abilities. One test pairs up students in a two-on-two competition. Naturally, Midoriya is teamed up with the cute blonde girl he can hardly talk to because he has a crush on her. They have to face off against Midoriya's sworn enemy Bakugo, who'd like nothing less than to get Midoriya knocked out of school, literally or figuratively. A later test is interrupted by villains who invade the school in hopes of taking down All Might, who has accept a teaching position, partly so he can mentor Midoriya in using the inherited ability.

The story introduces a lot of characters, mostly students. It reads like more set up than forward motion in Midoriya's plot. Even so, I am enjoying the variety of odd powers and some clever use of them.

Recommended.

Movie Review: Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy (2004) written and directed by Guillermo del Toro

At the end of World War II, the Nazis are desperate enough to fund an occultist who promises to bring a supernatural weapon that will wipe out their enemies. Unfortunately, the occultist is Gregori Rasputin (as in the mad monk who caused so much trouble for the Russian Czars and died in 1917, in this story resurrected). His plan is to release the Ogdru Jahad, ancient evil ones imprisoned in another dimension eons ago. The Ogdru Jahad will most likely wipe out the Allies and the Axis powers, which is okay with Rasputin. Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt) leads a group of American soldiers who disrupt the summoning ceremony. The only thing to make it through from the other side is a small red baby with horns and a huge stone right fist. The baby is taken in by Bruttenholm and named "Hellboy."

Jumping to modern day, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) has become a semi-mythical figure, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster, appearing in blurry photos on newspapers and daytime TV talk shows. He's a paranormal investigator for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Hellboy wishes his existence wasn't a secret. He also wishes to be with his girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), who used to be a ward of the B.P.R.D. but recently has been trying to get control over her powers (she's pyrokenetic, i.e. she can create fire magically) at a minimum-security asylum. Hellboy and Liz are drawn back together by the reappearance of Rasputin, who is trying again to release the ancient evil ones, this time using Hellboy to open a portal between earth and the prison of the Ogdru Jahad.

While the story does have large, mythic overtones, it hardly takes itself too seriously. Hellboy is a lot more blue-collar than ivory-tower, making a nice contrast to the mysterious and oppressive reality he deals with. He speaks plainly and sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him. He loves Liz but is unsure of the best way to show it, leading to comic results. He's a lot more human than the horns (which he grinds down) make him seem. The comedy and drama are well-balanced and natural.

The movie has a very deliberate color palette and a specific kind of set design and make-up The movie clearly has director del Toro's fingerprints all over it. He has an artistic vision that is easy to see. He also reuses themes and visuals, refining them or recrafting them in subsequent movies. This movie benefits from previous works (the clockworks and color schemes are more refined than in Cronos) and anticipates later works (Hellboy's partner Abe Sapien is a fish-man much like the creature in The Shape of Water). Some of the CGI looks dated but overall does a good job. The film is visually well-crafted.

Recommended for Hellboy fans and del Toro fans.

N.B. I watched the original theatrical version, not the director's cut, which I just discovered as apparently the only available version at Amazon.

TV Review: Jessica Jones Season One (2015)

Jessica Jones Season One (2015)

This second offering from Marvel and Netflix offers viewers Jessica Jones, a down-and-out private investigator who also has superpowers. She is very low-key about her powers, only using them in rare and necessary circumstances. She wants to keep off the radar of police and media, mostly because she is full of guilt over past indiscretions. Her main indiscretion happened when she was under the control of Kilgrave (David Tennant in a fine performance), someone who also has superpowers. His power is mind control. If he tells someone to do something, they do it. She was in his thrall for a long time, doing his evil bidding until he was allegedly killed. Turns out he wasn't killed. He shows up again to make her life a living hell. He starts manipulating people around her to get to her. She has very few friends (mostly neighbors and one or two random acquaintances) but she has plenty of guilt, which Kilgrave exploits to the max.

The show is a psychological thriller with superheroes thrown in. In addition to Jessica Jones, Marvel's Luke Cage shows up. At first, I thought his was a cameo appearance to spark interest in his series coming in 2016. He did turn out to be a more significant character for the story which was a nice and satisfying surprise. Viewers don't see much of Kilgrave in the first few episodes (much like Wilson Fisk in Daredevil) which seemed like a waste of the great David Tennant. He is more prominent later in the series, another nice and satisfying surprise (again, much like Wilson Fisk in Daredevil).

The show does a good job having the noir styling of a thriller. Jessica is a hard drinking and very flawed hero, almost to the point of not being a hero at all. Often, she only does the right thing at the very last moment and because she sees no other options available to her. I found this a bit unappealing and almost quit the series half way through. At that point, she finally admits the big thing she did while under Kilgrave's control. Her confession was almost completely forced by circumstances, which in my opinion made her barely a decent human being, certainly not a hero. I stuck it out to see if she would hero up, and was mostly satisfied with the results. Noir isn't an upbeat genre so a viewer's expectations need to match.

The show also tries to be very edgy, with mixed results. The sexual content was about a third of the time just exploitation, making it not edgy but in fact exploitation. Violence is also occasionally graphic, but not needlessly so as the sex. Kilgrave's psychological manipulations are interesting though often harrowing (my wife couldn't watch because of children in jeopardy). Jessica is, by design, a flawed character. She's almost too flawed for my taste (the reason I almost quit watching). She had enough appeal to carry me through the series and I'd watch a second series with her as a central character.

This show isn't as great as Daredevil was but is worth watching. As I write, it is only available through Netflix streaming service.

Game Review: Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers Vs X-Men

Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers Vs X-Men by Eric M. Lang and Michael Elliott

A common trope in comics is to have superheroes fight each other. Whether through an honest misunderstanding or villainous mind-control, whenever two or more heroes come together, there's a good chance they duke it out among themselves before they take out the real bad guy at the end of the book or movie. Marvel Dice Masters lets two players form up teams to fight each other in classic comic fashion.

The game starts with each player choosing among the various heroes and villains. Each character card lists the cost in energy to purchase the character's die, any special abilities, and any team affiliation (Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Villains). The starter set comes with eight characters who each have three cards and two dice. Players have to choose which card they will use for a chosen character, typically based on the power that character offers (for example, Captain America can either recruit new sidekicks or knock out opponent's sidekicks).

Purchase cost, energy type, and affiliation in upper left, power in middle, die faces on bottom!

After assembling individual teams, four action cards are selected (two by each player). These cards have three dice each and either player can buy these dice on the player's turn. The actions usually have offensive or defensive bonuses.

Similar to Cap, but no specific energy required to buy the die

Each player starts with eight "sidekick" dice and a dice bag. The first player draws four dice from his or her bag and rolls them. The player may reroll any of the dice. Then the player can spend energy rolled to buy dice (characters or actions), field characters (cost from zero to three), or pay for global actions (see Take Cover in picture above). Characters can only be fielded if their particular die was rolled with one of the character faces showing (not one of the energy faces) and the player can afford the Fielding Cost (upper left corner on the die). Used energy and actions go to a used pile.

Some of the dice

Fielded characters have the option of attacking or being held in reserve for use on a later turn, either to gang up with more characters or to block the opponent's characters when they attack on the opponent's turn.

If a character attacks and isn't blocked, that character's attack value is deducted from the opponent's life (players agree on a starting number (usually 15 to 20): if the life number gets to zero, you lose!) and the character die goes into the used pile.

If the character is blocked, the character's attack value (upper right corner on the die) is compared to the blocker's defense value (lower right corner on the die) and if the attack value is equal or greater, the blocker is knocked out and the blocker die goes to the prep area. At the same time, the blocker's attack value is compared to the character's defense value and if the attack value is equal or greater, the character is knocked out and its die goes to the prep area. So the two opposing characters could knock each other out or one could knock out the other. The trick here is that the blocking player may use more than one character to block an attacker, in which case the blockers' attack values are added together, making it easier to knock out the attacker. The attacker decides how to divide his attack value among the blocking characters. The math isn't too tricky, it just makes for interesting decisions with fielded characters.

Beast character dice faces (from one of the Beast cards)

Hulk character dice faces

Professor X character dice faces

Spider-man character dice faces

Any character die who is not knocked out goes back to the field area. The knocked out dice go into a prep area which means on the next turn, those KOed dice are added to the four dice drawn from the bag (thus allowing a player to roll lots of dice). When a player needs to draw from the bag and the it's empty, all the dice in the used pile go in the bag. So another interesting strategy is managing which characters stay in the field and which cycle through the dice bag.

My son and I enjoy the game a lot because of the flexibility and the thematic feel. When we started playing, we used just two actions and had three characters each, making it easier to keep track of abilities and what was going on. As we get better, we add more characters and actions to have interesting combinations. The game plays in about twenty minutes, letting us squeeze in games before dinner or in other times when a longer game would be impossible. The only downsides are (1) the box it comes is not so great for storing the game and (2) using a player mat to keep track of which dice are where is extremely helpful. The rule book has a basic mat in the middle page that could be photocopied or home-designed mats are available on Board Game Geek (or the company sells big mats for $15 to $20 depending on the version purchased).

An early game for us with a printed play mat

I bought the original starter set, Avengers Vs X-Men since it has the characters I and my son are most familiar with--Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, etc. The set only comes with two X-Men (Storm and Beast), which is a little disappointing for fielding an X-Men team against the Avengers. Another set was released, called the Uncanny X-Men, which features lots of popular X-Men like Cyclops, Iceman, Professor X, and Wolverine. A third set is coming out as I write called Avengers: Age of Ultron, which features the characters from the movie. Knowing that now, I probably would have bought Uncanny X-Men and then get the Age of Ultron set to avoid having duplicate Avengers. Having the extra dice for a character is handy (most cards let players field four dice per named character), but having a greater diversity of characters is even better in my opinion. All the sets work together, though certain characters have slight color or symbol changes on their dice.

Avenger Vs X-Men dice on left, Uncanny X-Men dice on right (Storm and Iron Man are the characters)

The way to get extra characters is to buy booster packs, which include two different dice with two matching cards. For example, a pack could have an Ant-Man die with card and a Magneto die with card. Some cards are rarer than others, giving a fun lottery feeling when opening a new pack. We've opened a bunch of Uncanny X-Men packs and have been able to expand our set of X-Men and villains enough to field thematic teams. Packs are only 99 cents, which is a bargain compared to other collectible games. Buying specific characters means shopping second-hand on eBay or online stores. We haven't found other players to trade with but we hope to!

A typical booster pack

Other starter sets are available for Dungeons and Dragons, Yu-Gi-Oh, and DC Justice League, and they are all compatible with each other. We don't plan to mix in DC superheroes or DnD characters though that may appeal to some. The Dice Masters system has a lot of flexibility and can appeal to many different tastes. Highly recommended!

N's New Supervillain Identity

N, at nine months, is getting many more motor skills. He can grab things and move them around. He can't quite place them where they belong (yet) so he has started doing something else. If it's a solid object, he'll put it in his mouth--typical infant behavior. But if it's paper, he will try to crunch it up. He is completely ruthless about this and respects neither the government nor God. I can say this since he is just as happy to crush the pages of a library book as those of a church hymnal.

Church bulletins are fair game too!

He even rumpled up the very Mother's Day card he picked out!

Since he can't sign it, he has to leave his mark somehow

We have started calling his new supervillain identity "The Crumpler." He tears into newspapers. He crinkles up board game rule books. Anything he can reach, he will crumple.

Being a supervillain (or even a regular villain) means having a distinctive look. L has helped by giving him some bad hair to go with his bad boy behavior.
 

Combing it crazy

A satisfied customer

CHARACTER STATS:

Height: 30 in.
Weight: 18 lbs., 6 oz.
Powers: Crumples paper and paper products, also drools on and chews all things
Weakness/Kryptonite: Lamination

Movie Review: Man of Steel (2013)

Man of Steel (2013) directed by Zack Snyder

Part of my on-going catch-up with last summer's films (i.e. Pacific Rim, World War Z, Much Ado About Nothing,  and Evil Dead).

I watched this movie with medium to low expectations. Critics weren't too impressed with it; only one person I know raved about it. It sure looked like another clunky Superman film. Many complained about the modern revision of Superman.

We've seen these characters before, but they are all given some different twists. Clark Kent/Superman is interesting in that there is no big contrast between the two. Clark spends the first half of the movie in hiding and not knowing about his Kryptonian origins. He's a drifter with no life of his own--he'll work a job until something happen that causes him to use his powers. Then he moves on so people won't know what powers he has. Even after he gets his background story and his suit, he has almost no"Clark Kent" life. The "mild mannered reporter" is set up at the end of the film, so maybe in the future they will explore that duality. For this movie, he's a bit of a lost soul who finds his place on Earth.

Lois Lane is a lot smarter than in previous movies, though she does fill in the "damsel in distress" role. Jonathan Kent is less noble than in previous stories--he tells Clark it might be okay to let people die rather than reveal his secret (right after Clark saves a bus full of his fellow school students!). You can see how this Clark winds up drifting without a true sense of purpose or identity. General Zod is less colorful and over-the-top than Superman II's Terence Stamp, though that degradation seems driven by the "Krypton as Plato's Republic" theme running through the film, which no one comments on.

Several characters talk about Krypton's fall. One component of it is the genetically-engineered population. Zod explains how he was made to be a soldier and that's what he's done all his life, so Superman can't possibly beat him in a fight. Superman's Kryptonian parents decide to have a child naturally so that he will be free to do what he wants rather than be put in a distinct class all his life. Plato's Republic has a similar scheme--children are taken from their parents and raised in one of three classes to serve the state. The movie criticizes this on the grounds of personal freedom, which is interesting if not fully satisfactory.

Another component is the exploitation of resources, including Krypton's planetary core, which provided power but becomes unstable and soon explodes. The Kryptonians had tried to colonize other planets by terraforming them but were unsuccessful. Terraforming the Earth is Zod's plan to continue the Kryptonian race, even if that means killing all the humans. Superman decides to stop it since "Krypton had its chance."

The movie does end with a big fight between Zod and Superman which goes on long enough for viewers to get the idea that they will never really hurt each other no matter how many buildings they plow through. And then it goes on longer. The very end of the fight is a bit contrived but at least it ends things in a sensible way. It's a common problem with superhero movies that they end with a big battle that is more numbing than exciting.

The ending of the movie also injects some much needed humor. This movie could have used a little more levity sprinkled throughout. Even so, Man of Steel surprised me with how good it was. Though it gives a more somber Superman (the bad side of the modern revision), it vastly exceeds Superman III and IV and the failed reboot Superman Returns in writing quality.

Book Review: Avengers: The Origin

Book Review: Avengers: The Origin by Joe Casey and Phil Noto

Avengers: The Origin is another reboot/update of a classic superhero comic. It came out as a five-issue series in 2010, probably in anticipation of the release of Joss Whedon's [Marvel's] The Avengers [Assemble] movie. This graphic novel also tells the story of how the Avengers first formed, but is more of a throw-back to the comic book origin than a follow-on to a bunch of superhero movies.

As in the movie, Loki is the main bad guy, though here he is merely trying to get revenge on Thor because he really doesn't like his brother. And he's been banished to The Isle of Silence by Odin. Loki still causes problems for Thor by manipulating events on Earth. He gets a fairly articulate Hulk to go on a rampage, drawing a fistful of heroes to southwest America to find and contain the Hulk. Those heroes are Thor, Ironman, Ant Man, and The Wasp.

Non-comic readers probably are scratching their heads at the mention of Ant Man and The Wasp. Ant Man does in fact communicate with ants and is able to control them (much like Aquaman with fist), but he's also a brilliant scientist and can shrink himself down to ant-size. The Wasp is his girlfriend (they get married soon after The Avengers are formed in the 1960s comics) and she has similar control over flying insects and her size. What she lacks in scientific brilliance is made up for by her willingness to jump into any exciting and dangerous situation for some action.

As in the movie, the heroes do not work together at first and they have no idea of the bigger picture. Unlike the movie, Bruce Banner is nowhere to be seen, as if the Hulk can't revert to Banner. Thor eventually battles Loki while the other heroes battle the Hulk. The conflicts get resolved neatly and the heroes are united by the end.

The story moves along at a reasonable pace though it is not too exciting. The discussion at the end among the heroes of what their group's mission will be and how they will relate to the government is interesting. The art is okay but not in any way remarkable, except that the style mimics the 1960s visuals, especially with Ironman's first, boxy gold armor and Hulk a bit like a green Frankenstein's monster. Overall, there isn't enough high stakes, great action or cleverness to make the book really shine. I found it mediocre.

SAMPLE TEXT:
Thor, as he is fighting multiple Lokis on the Isle of Silence: The swarm will not deter me, half-brother--behold my righteous fury! [he smashes a bunch of fake Lokis] Enough of your tricks! Mjolnir will have the final say--and properly smite your army of evil! [his hammer Mjolnir smites the army of evil] And so! the truth is revealed--and you have nowhere left to hide!
Loki: I only cringe from your constant blustering, Thor!

That made me laugh out loud.

Book Review: Killing Monsters

Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence by Gerard Jones. Basic Books, 2002, 261 pages, $15 US.

Brief overview of content:

Gerard Jones writes about the significance and the value of fantasy violence for children, whether they are five or twenty-five. In addition to participating in the comic book and fantasy industry, he also runs workshops at schools where students tell stories in verbal or visual formats. He discusses their works as art and as an expression of what they think and how they feel about what's important to them. He has also read extensively and interviewed many professionals and authorities in the field of children's entertainment and development. The book that emerges from all of this looks at fantasy violence from many different angles and perspectives.

He discusses what children really seek in fantasy superheroes and pop culture: being strong and discovering who you are. He engages in the many venerable studies that link entertainment violence with increased aggression, debunking the results with very convincing arguments. He analyzes children's interest in toy guns as a manifestation of the cross-cultural desire to have a tool to fight something greater than themselves (like a spear or bow and arrow to fight animals in some cultures or magic wands in most cultures). He examines how the role of women in fantasy has changed dramatically, from being objects of desire and/or protection to being heroes in their own right. Throughout the book he discusses the line between fantasy and reality, especially how this is blurred by the desire of modern media (both entertainment and news/information) for sensationalism (which began in the 1800s!). He provides parents with various ways to help their children in dealing with real and fantasy violence by modelling (showing how you react as a thoughtful adult), mirroring (affirming who they are and what they desire and how they use story-telling and play to process their experiences and feelings), and mentoring (helping children take control and allow them their reactions, intervening when necessary and with care). Finally, the most important thing is for parents to be involved in a conscious and conscientious way with their children, talking to them about their fears, their desires, what they did that day, everything.

Copious notes for each chapter are found at the end of the book as well as a thorough index.

Author overview:

Blurb from the back of the book: "Gerard Jones's previous books include Honey I'm Home: Sitcoms Selling the American Dream and The Comic Book Heroes. His work has appeared in Harper's, The New York Times, and other publications. He is also a former comic-book and screen writer whose credits include Batman, Spider-Man, and Pokemon, and whose own creations have been turned into video games and cartoon series. More recently he has developed the Art & Story Workshops for children and adolescents. Jones is the founder of Media Power for Children and serves on the advisory board of the Comparative Media Studies Program at M.I.T. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and son."

Recommendations:

1. Read cover to cover vs. consult as needed.

The book doesn't really deal with specific issues like, "what do I do if my child is addicted to Pokemon?" so it isn't going to provide solutions. It is fascinating throughout and I recommend going cover to cover. It is longer than most books I've read for this blog and did take me a while to get through it. The book is totally worth the investment of time.

2. Readability.

The prose is easy to read. He makes his points with arguments and examples from his research and experience with children. He definitely employs the art of storytelling to advance his thesis which makes him more engaging.

3. Helpful to a parent?

Reading this book makes a father or mother engage in a more in-depth way with issues around fantasy violence and its effects on children of all ages. As long as you come to it with an open mind, the experience will be very rewarding, even if you don't agree with the author.

4. Did we use it?

This isn't the sort of practical book for specific actions. It's more for general awareness of issues around fantasy violence, toys, and play, encouraging parents to be more open to how the children truly value them. Often, people have the knee-jerk reaction that violence is bad and my child should not be into that kind of stuff. I plan to make my wife read it so we can discuss it. Hopefully we'll be done in time to buy appropriate Christmas presents for the children!

Sample text

For a lot of young people, unfortunately, the wall between the fantasies they crave and the world they're asked to participate in has been raised too high. One of the forces that's built that wall has been our efforts to banish aggression and violence. We draw such a sharp ideological and social line between what's "good for us" and what's "junk" dealing with make-believe power and violence that some kids feel that they're in an either-or conflict. They don't have cues to show them how to build from their power fantasies and become more powerful in reality, and they feel that the world of fantasy entertainment is the only place that is safe and welcoming.

That line is reinforced within the media itself, where "educational" and "commercial" producers have drawn into two warring camps. Anna Home, OBE, the head of children's television for the BBC during its most adventurous years, has described the art of programming as "walking a tightrope between what children want to see and what adults think they should see. If one errs, it's far better to err on the side of what the children want. Unfortunately, the powers that be rarely let one do so." Attempts to integrate the two can produce good results, but they tend to founder when physical conflict enters the picture. The Fox network once tried to fill the "educational" portion of its programming with an intelligent action cartoon, Sherlock Holmes in the 21st Century. It was a smart show, produced by very conscientious creators at Dic Entertainment. Two children's media authorities, Drs. Donald Roberts and Dona Mitroff, made sure that every action scene demonstrated the superiority of brains to brawn, showed the hero turning his opponents' force back at them, and never depicted serious injury or death. But when the episodes were reviewed by the Annenberg Foundation, which advises producers and the FCC on educational content, every pratfall by a villain, every exploding evil machine, every deft judo throw, was blasted in the report as "violence." The show did reach the air, in a somewhat different form and with different people attached, but an opportunity for a major research foundation to reconsider what "violence" might be, an opportunity to bring the "official" version of what's good for kids together with what kids really like, was lost. [pp. 224-225]