Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The sad tale of the Gurumonkeys!
What the hell is a Gurumonkey?
Where the hell have I been for the last month?
All those questions (Well, except for the last one) are finally ready to be answered!
It all started right here...
www.gurumonkeys.com
This was to be an all-around entertainment site focusing on comics, video, games, and what have you. I was to be the main writer/editor, and my friend Allen Freeman was to do the web design and upkeep on the site.
Some of you might know Allen as the Editor of long running small press anthology Slam Bang. Allen and I have, in the past, worked on comic book projects. I even wrote an issue of his title Morgana X back in the '90's. Don't bother looking it up, it was definitely a "WTF?"
Now after what happened with Morgana X (This was no fault of Allen's), and other projects I have attempted to launch, I quite simply cannot bring myself to write comic book scripts anymore. I have a severe block and no real desire to do anything about it.
Every so often Allen and I get back in touch and eventually Allen starts talking projects. So I begged off the new Morgana X (Which is a good thing, as new writer Christopher Moshier is doing great things with the character. Order his novel here), as well as some other stuff. But I like Allen and wanted to do something fun. But what?
Now I don't know if any of you noticed but a lot of websites are pretty damn crappy anymore. They are either ran by raving fanboys, or greedy fucks who will completely sell their integrity for a buck or thousand. *Cough* anititcoolnews *Cough* newsarama *Cough*
For those of you who don't know me, I am quite opinionated. Some might say to a fault. So I thought (partially inspired by The Savage Critic.) Why not do a brutally honest review site, but not just for comics but for anything we could lay our fool hands on? Hell, we couldn't do any worse than most.
I threw the idea at Allen and he seemed to love it! We brainstormed on the name, but couldn't settle on one, so we just went to a domain search engine and came up with gurumonkeys. This was July.
In August, Allen lost a member of his family, so i backed off for a month to give him time. In September we began again, I started hitting publishers for stuff to review. Allen showed me a rough of the site. Everything was sailing right? Wrong! Allen kept disappearing off and on. He claimed he was interested, i bought the domain name, and that still didn't get him moving.
October came and went, we went into November, books were in, people were upset about the lack of reviews. Then after weeks of silence, Allen e-mails me out of the blue and claims I stole the reviews I wrote. No explanation just raving. I e-mailed him back , very upset, to no response. i called him, he kept dogging me. I finally got him to pick up the phone and he hung up on me! It would seem Allen flaked or changed his mind I don't know. Many more calls and e-mails were fired off to no response.
So I made a deal with the devil (much like Spider-Man and Mephisto) I got a site I used to write for (See: raving fanboys) to post the reviews. I left the site under less than good circumstances that were partially my fault honestly. I felt awful, but I felt like I owed these people that trusted me. SO the reviews were posted. All was "good".
After having fun on the Savage Critic I, as a joke, started this blog. And what about Allen? I finally heard from him again. I got a nice joke forwarded to me. A joke. When i contacted Allen, via e-mail, he claimed he never got any calls or e-mails. Even though he acknowledged me and hung up on me that one time. Sheesh! But what can you do? Well, how about I take this blog seriously?
The scale is as follows; "Woah!" is good to great, "Huh?" is fair to I don't understand, and "WTF?" is What the fuck did I just read? Why did I waste time and money on this?
So if anyone out there in the world is reading this stuff, leave a comment and let me know you're out there.
Oh, and for the record, the reviews posted were from gurumonkeys. I wote over 2 dozen. These were the comic book ones. That is why the format was different.
Allen Freeman has been sent a link to this so he can respond equally.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Best of the Harveyville Fun Times
The Best of the Harveyville Fun Times
By Mark Arnold and Various
Review by Dennis Feeback
The Scoop: A sampling of the best material from the long-running "Harveyville Fun Times!" fanzine featuring articles about various Harvey Comics characters such as Casper, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff and Sad Sack.
The Package: What we have is a nice thick BIG book. The front and back covers are nice especially the back cover by Ernie Colon. Like the fanzines it reprints the typeface is literally all over the place, but this was a conscious decision by the editor to faithfully reprint the ‘zines in their original form.
Also of note, this was book was printed by Lulu.com and I must say they do fine work.
Final Thoughts: After reviewing the Harvey Comics Classics volumes from Dark Horse, I was definitely in a Harvey frame of mind. I happened upon Mark’s site, http://thft.home.att.net/ , and was overwhelmed with all the info on Harvey Comics. Mark was kind enough to send me a copy of this fine book.
And I am so glad he did.
This is such a wonderful resource for Harvey characters and history. As this is a reprint volumes of various issues of marks ‘zine, there is a lot of material between these covers, and all of it is informative and entertaining. I learned all kinds of facts I never know about the company that shaped my childhood. There are issue guides, character profiles, company history, and MUCH more. If you sre any kind of Harvey fan, you NEED this book. My HIGHEST possible recommendation.
Final Rating: A+, Invaluable if you’re a Harvey fan. Interesting if you’re just interested in comics history. Impressive.
Harbinger:The Beginning HC
Harbinger-The Beginning
By Jim Shooter, David Lapham, and Bob Hall
Review by Dennis Feeback
The Scoop: This 192-page deluxe hardcover edition collects the full Harbinger origin story from Harbinger issues 0-7 digitally recolored and remastered, and also features an all-new "Origin of Harada" story written by comics legend JIM SHOOTER and illustrated by BOB HALL (Shadowman). This "Origin of Harada" story includes its own original cover and features the first appearance of a new character in the Valiant Universe! Valiant's goal is to make this deluxe hardcover edition something special for Valiant fans and a great introduction to the Harbinger saga for new Valiant fans. The book retails for $24.95.
The Package: The book has a really nice dust jacket featuring artwork of the main character and the main villain. Back cover has a description of the contents. The books cover is black with the Harbinger logo embossed on the front with the new Valiant logo on the back.
The book its self is pretty nice, it contains Harbinger #’s 0-7 completely recolored with the newest technology. This is the part I was most worried about before seeing the book, as I thought the colors on the original books were just fine and really unique for the time. However, I had nothing to worry about. It is recolored with more detail added; it is VERY faithful to what came before.
Now what didn’t I like? Not much. The only problem I had with the book at all was some of the pages were awfully rough. It felt like they didn’t have good materials to scan from. Issue 5 seemed to be the worst example of this. For a book that’s only about 15 years old, this just seems like the book was rushed. But really, this is just me nit picking.
Final Thoughts: I don’t think there was a bigger Valiant fan back in the 90’s than me. I loved and lived this stuff. I even went crazy and bought all the variants and gold covers. I was all about Valiant until Jim Shooter was canned.
Harbinger was one of my faves at the time, so it was nice to revisit the book again. It would be really nice to see more of these collections but due to the legal wrangling between two factions of Valiant this may never happen. This collection contains story lines that pretty much kick off the entire valiant cross continuity, so hopefully this can be followed up on.
As for the new 8 pager? Well, it was pretty good. In some ways it was like Big Jim Shooter never left. It certainly felt like a classic Valiant story. Jim slipped right back into writing Harada. But will this new character ever be seen again? Will Big Jim return for new Valiant comics? The answers to all these questions are unknown.
Final Rating: B. One letter grade was removed for the poorly scanned pages from the later issues.
Harvey Classic Comics vol. 2: Richie Rich
Harvey Comics Classics Vol. 2: Richie Rich
By Various, Edited by Leslie Cabarga, Introduction by Jerry Beck
Review by Dennis Feeback
The Scoop: Move over Uncle Scrooge! The richest character in comic book history is about to get his due. Harvey Comics' original creation Richie Rich, the Poor Little Rich Boy, represented the fantasies of every comic book-loving kid growing up in the 1960s and 70s. Now, Dark Horse is delighted to present the ultimate tribute to the boy who has everything-and we mean everything! This mega compilation of the essential Richie collects his earliest and most substantial stories for the first time ever. Created by Sid Jacbson and Warren Kremer as a back-up feature in Little Dot comics in 1953, Richie Rich went on to become Harvey's biggest moneymaker, appearing in over fifty different spinoff titles over the next forty years. In addition to the magnificent comic art of Warren Kremer, Richie was also drawn by animation great Steve Muffatti and comics legend Ernie Colon.
Contains over one hundred of the very best of The Poor Little Rich Boy, from the beginning of the series in 1953 through the classic years of the mid-1960s. Editor/designer Leslie Cabarga has reproduced the classic comics from crisp black-and-white printer's proofs and original artwork from the old Harvey archives, along with sixty-four pages of color meticulously restored from the original comic book pages. The book also includes a comprehensive introduction by Jerry Beck.
The Package: This book at first glance seems a lot like the Marvel essential and DC Showcase books. However, this is a MUCH nicer package. It all starts with a nice nostalgic cover. When you pick the book up, you realize how heavy it is. This is due to the fantastic paper stock, it’s thick and has a nice gloss to it. The nice paper really makes the black and white line work pop! The color sections, while nice, seem out of place with how beautiful the rest of the book is. Still, it was a nice touch.
Final Thoughts: Like the Casper book before it, this is a damn nice book. Ernie Colon was probably the first artist whose work I recognized even though I didn’t know his name at the time. Richie Rich was Harvey’s most popular character, and it’s not hard to see why. Seeing Richie deal with all the problems his wealth brings provides plenty of comedy fodder. That and the fact that Richie is a nice kid trying to help others also helps. However, this plot point becomes glaringly annoying after a while. Richie’s poor friends and girlfriend don’t want his money, thus he usually has to spend MORE money to make it look like he’s not spending money. In particular one story, “Anybody Who Goes to a Psychiatrist Ought To Have His Head Examined!”, Gloria makes Richie go to a Psychiatrist to stop spending money, thus making him spend money on the Psychiatrist! However, the exchange between the Doctor and Gloria is the highlight of the book.
Gloria: … and I want Richie to stop spending so much money on me!
Doctor: You do have a problem! I’ll try to help you over it, young lady!
See, comedy gold. While I was never attached to Richie Rich as much as other Harvey characters like Casper and Hot Stuff, this is still a fun read. True it gets repetitive REAL quick. But these are kids stories so maybe that will be ok to the “target audience”. Me? I had to break it up into several reading sessions.
And finally, my main gripe. Like the Casper book there is an error. It’s not as bad as the Casper book, but it’s probably more annoying. There is an entire page missing from one of the stories. This has happened two books in a row, and I hope Dark Horse straightens this out before Volume 3. That alone is not enough to not recommend this book, but it does seem to be a continuing problem.
Also like Harvey Classics volume 1 this book would make a great introduction to comics for any children in your life as well as nostalgia hounds. Recommended!
Final Rating: B, not as engrossing as Casper but worth a look none the less.
Harvey Calssic Comics vol. 1: Casper
Harvey Comics Classics Vol. 1: Casper the Friendly Ghost
By Various, Edited by Leslie Cabarga, Introduction by Jerry Beck
Review by Dennis Feeback
The Scoop: It's amazing how many comics fans who grew up admiring Spiderman, Batman, and Nick Fury still retain warm places in their hearts for Casper the Friendly Ghost. Now Dark Horse is delighted to participate in the revival of Casper, who remains among the most beloved of cartoon and comic book icons. Casper the Friendly Ghost made his first appearance as a star of Paramount's Famous Cartoons in 1947 and entered the comics in 1949. But after five issues, publisher St. John's gave up the title. That's when Harvey Comics stepped in, and where this book begins. Harvey breathed life into Casper, and from the very first issue, the cover designs, stories, and artwork-drawn by the same animators who worked on the cartoons-were a cut above.
Harvey Comics Classics Volume 1: Casper contains over 100 of Casper's very best stories, from the beginning of the Harvey series in 1952 through the classic years of the mid-1960s. The art is reproduced from crisp black-and-white printer's proofs and original artwork from the old Harvey archives, along with sixty four pages of color meticulously restored from the original comic books. The book includes a comprehensive introduction illustrated with historic memorabilia. This book retails for $19.99
The Package: This book at first glance seems a lot like the Marvel essential and DC Showcase books. However, this is a MUCH nicer package. It all starts with a nice nostalgic cover. When you pick the book up, you realize how heavy it is. This is due to the fantastic paper stock, it’s thick and has a nice gloss to it. The nice paper really makes the black and white line work pop! The color sections, while nice, seem out of place with how beautiful the rest of the book is. Still, it was a nice touch.
Final Thoughts: Reading this book really took me back. Even before I moved on to Marvel, Harvey comics were the first comics I read and enjoyed as a child. Casper, Hot Stuff and the crew are just as important as Daredevil, the Avengers, and Spider-Man to me as my most beloved characters. Hell, with time I think I appreciate the Harvey characters more as they haven’t been ruined over the years.
But all that aside, this book is quite simply a must have to anyone who grew up reading these wonderful books. From the awesome and enlightening introduction at the beginning to the great range of stories used. Not just Casper was represented as we got to see other beloved characters like Spooky, Wendy, and the Ghostly Trio.
With Christmas right around the corner, this book would make a fantastic gift for any young ones in your life you might want to introduce to comics!
Ok, now for the only gripe I could possibly find about this collection. It is truly unfortunate that pages were switched in a couple of places. This really hurt the flow of the 2 stories affected. Hopefully this will be addressed in future printings.
Final Rating: A, this would have been an A+ if not for the page lay out errors. HIGHLY recommended!