Short(est) Lived Comic Series #24 - Gil Thorp (Dell Comics)

Growing up, I remember seeing the Gil Thorp comic strip in the funny pages of The Courier Journal and Louisville Times (don't really remember which it was in - the Journal was our morning paper, the Times was our afternoon paper).  I never paid it much attention, since it was about sports, and as anyone who knows me knows, sports is the absolute LAST thing in the world I care about or would ever want to read about!  When we moved to Florida, I never gave that strip another thought - until over this past summer, while at a local comic convention, I came across a rather inexpensive copy of a Dell Comic that was in unbelievably great condition of ... yup, you guessed it ... Gil Thorp!

Gil Thorp is a newspaper strip that was created and originally written and drawn by Jack Berrill.  Online sources reveal that Berrill worked on the strip from the date of its creation back in 1958 until he died in 1996 (nearly 40 years - I'd say that's a pretty good chunk of time for a writer/artist to work on a daily strip!).  After Berrill died, Jerry Jenkins took over the writing, which surprised me, as I recognize his name from the Left Behind series of books.  Apparently, Jenkins only stayed with the strip until 2004, when Detroit News columnist Neal Rubin took over the writing chores.  Rubin stuck around for 18 years on the strip, and this year, graphic novel writer Henry Barajas became the new writer on the strip.  From what I can find online, it appears there were a number of artists who drew the strip once Berrill was no longer able - William Sattler, Frank Bolle, Ray Burns, Frank McLaughlin, and the current artist, Rod Whigham.  Having never read the strip, I can't say whether the writing and art remained consistent through the changes over the years, but considering the fact the strip is still being published, I guess it must have something going for it.

So, when I came across this comic at the convention, I did a quick online search and discovered that Dell only published one issue of the Gil Thorp comic, even though the indicia on the inside first page indicates it is "No. 1" and states the comic is "Published quarterly..."  Don't know if any other issues were planned, or if it was always intended to be just a one-off. Since it was only a one-issue comic, and it was not at all expensive, I thought to myself, "Why not?"  The cover is a beautifully painted scene of Gil Thorp watching two high school baseball players as one sldes into the plate, and the other tries to catch the ball.  The tagline on the cover reads "With the new baseball season, a serious problem arises for Coach Thorp!"  Obviously, Thorp is going to face some king of drama/dilemma in coaching the baseball team, which creates the conflict for the story.

Sadly, back in those days, the comic companies (particularly smaller companies like Dell, Gold Key, etc.) did not give credit to any of the creators within the comic.  As such, I have no way of knowing for sure who wrote the story and who provided the pencils, inks, colors, lettering, etc.  I will say, though, the art is very clean-cut, and the artist manages to give distinct appearances to each of the characters so they are easily discernible from one another.  The  backgrounds are not very detailed, except on a few occasions when we see some books on a bookshelf (p. 8) or stone details on a sidewalk and the side of a house (p. 12).  Otherwise, the backgrounds are kept simple, which actually works, as it keeps the focus of the story on the characters, while at the same time giving the feel of a comic strip (which, more often than not, are not very detailed).  One website I found (Gil Thorp) lists the artist as Eddie Robbins, with the caveat that Robbins was trying to imitate the style of Thorp creator, Jack Berrill.  Whether this is true or not, I have no idea.

The story itself has Thorp being asked to take over as coach for Milford High's baseball team after the previous coach suddenly resigns.  Thorp finds himself faced with resentment from the high school boys, all of whom loved their prior coach, and he especially finds trouble when it comes to one particular boy, Bob Burwell, who is determined to play short stop and his father will do anything to ensure that happens - even if that means trying to get Thorp fired!  The story focuses on Thorp trying to get the boys to work together as a team, rather than trying to impress scouts with their individual talents, and Burwell causes many a problem along the way.  Of course, a small level of romance is thrown into the mix, as Burwell's sister finds herself attracted to Coach Thorp, and she is placed in the middle between her brother and father wanting Thorp out of the picture and Thorp trying to teach Bob Burwell the importance of teamwork and taking responsibility for one's own actions.

I can't deny that the story was not exactly thrilling - unlike superhero or crime comics, there are no big fights, no dangerous shoot-outs, and no unexpected surprises.  About the closest thing you get is when two thugs try to convince Burwell to throw a game so that they can win some big money - but he does not hesitate to tell his father and Thorp, who set up a trap to catch the men.  The comic is basically alla about Thorp trying to teach the boys a lesson that will help them later in life, and it ends with a moral being instilled, and both Burwell men coming to realize the error of their ways.  The story is what you would expect from a tale published in 1963 - very clean cut, right always wins, and nothing untoward or scandalous that might offend anyone (although, viewing it from today's standards, I'm sure people would take offense to the fact that the comic has only white characters - there are no minority characters whatsoever).

 

I guess I should be grateful that there was only one issue, as I honestly don't think I'd be interested in reading another sports story about Coach Gil Thorp.  Sports fans may enjoy the comic, but, no, this one was not for me.

 

RATING:  6 wicked bouncers toward third out of 10 for at least giving the strip a try as a full-length comic.

Gothic for Girls: MISTY and British Comics

I ordered this book through Previews some time ago, but I have not had the time to sit down and read it.  I'm much more of a fiction than non-fiction fan when it comes to reading, so I let this book sit for a while before finally deciding it was time to dig in.  Ever since I first started reading (comics AND books), I have loved certain things the most:  mystery ... horror ... supernatural ... female protagonists ... Gothic.  Until I saw the ad for this book in Previews, I had never heard of Misty before.  I was aware that Britain had been famous for publishing their weekly comics, some of which were aimed at girls (I have quite a number of the Schoolgirls Weekly newspapers, which feature a young detective named Valerie Drew, as well as a few copies of The School Friend and Girls' Crystal), but I was unaware that they had published some newspapers for girls that were ... well, for lack of a better word, darker.  Needless to say, I ordered the book to find out more about this Misty series, and let me tell you - after reading this book, I definitely want to track down all 101issues!

 

Now, let me preface this by saying that I have loved Gothic for as long as I can remember.  I grew up watching reruns of Dark Shadows (the only true Gothic soap opera),  reading comics such as The Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love by DC Comics, and reading mysteries about hidden staircases, old attics, whispering statues, haunted showboats, and invisible intruders.  I fell in love with and have always sought out stories that are Gothic in nature.  So, it should not be any surprise that I was immediately drawn to and curious about a book that looking into this very topic, even if it was focused more for girls than boys.

Gothic for Girls: Misty and British Comics is an in-depth look at the weekly series for girls.  Author Julia Round clearly has a love for the comic, and it was heart-warming to read the story-behind-the-story that prompted this book (she remembered picking up an issue at a rummage sale, and one of the stories made such an impression on her, that she never forgot about it through the years!).  In some ways, it reminded me of my love for a TV show back in 1980 called Cliffhangers!, which ended before the last episode aired, so I never got to see how the stories ended - until more than 30 years later, when I came across a private DVD dealer who had recorded the entire show, including that final episode!  (And, interestingly enough, one of the three anthology tales on Cliffhangers! was the modern day re-telling of the story of Dracula, a Gothic character in his own right!)  After the introduction (told in comic form, which makes it even more endearing!), Round begins to methodically and carefully look at all aspects of the Misty series - from its creation to its creators, from its writing to its art, from its impact to its importance in the lives of so many young girls (and boys!) during its nearly two-year run.  Round builds up her theory regarding the comic and how it truly epitomizes a whole genre of Gothic for girls that is overlooked, and often minimized or outright ridiculed by researchers and critics alike.  And after reading this book, I have a whole new outlook when it comes to Gothic!

Round provides readers with a number of examples from the Misty comics to show just how the stories therein help define Gothic for Girls.  She looks at how the young female protagonist of these tales is usually isolated or trapped in some way ... how the stories take place in worlds that juxtapose normal reality with magic and supernatural.  She shows how "[t]he narrative is driven by simultaneous fear and attraction, generally in the form of terror, and often relating to incarceration, transformation (physical or mental), and doubt" (p 263).  She even discusses how, when more familiar Gothic archetypes are used within a story, it is normally in a subverted way (i.e., making the vampire or witch sympathetic, or even the victim of the tale).  There's no way I can say it the way she does, as Round, I think, aptly describes Gothic for Girls when she says it "constructs and acknowledges girlhood as an uncanny experience, interrogating expectations and reimagining its fears" (p. 263).

With each chapter, from the first to the last, Round builds on her definition.  It truly amazed me to realize how the actual art on the page was actually Gothic in nature - the lack of border lines, the merging of panels, the use of one panel to create a border for the next, the import of placement of panels, the careful use of shadows and color - how these various techniques help create the mystery and "otherness" that defines what most know as "Gothic."  And how the writers managed to set stories in contemporary settings with average young girls, and yet create tension and terror through what appear to be normal objects (such as mirrors, books, spiders, boxes, plants, etc.) that turn out to be something completely unexpected.  Round opened my eyes to the fact that we don't need dark castles, brooding strangers in the shadows, secret rooms, and cold, misty nights to create "Gothic" - rather, as she proves through her study of the stories in Misty, all you need is the mystery, the unseen, the grotesque, and the indescribable "otherness" to create a tale of Gothic suspense.  

While Round focuses her attention and study on developing the idea of Gothic for Girls, and how Misty plays a part in that, I would take it a step further to say that while the tales of mystery, terror, suspense, and horror within the pages of the comic all feature female protagonists and seem to deal with "female" concerns (which Round equates to the "mystery" felt by girls during puberty, when their bodies, emotions, and minds are all changing and growing), the same ideals can be applied to "male" concerns as well.  Yes, men certainly go through much different changes than women during puberty, but there are some similar things confronted by both - that sense of awkwardness, the not knowing what is to come, the uncertainty of life itself, the fear of being left behind or isolated from one's friends and family, the sudden changes in relationships with everyone around you - men feel these things just as much as women do, and all of these fears and concerns play into the "otherness" discussed by Round as being a part of the Gothic trope.  And even Round talks about the fact that Misty was not just read by girls - there were boys and men who read the comics as well (most of whom read it in secret and did not talk about it, while a few proudly stood forth and admitted their love for the comic).

I can honestly say that after reading this book, going forward, I will not be able to read anything without looking for ways in which the stories embody the Gothic, and whether, in the case of girls' series books especially, they fit within Round's definition of Gothic for Girls.  And I also have to ask this question as well - is Gothic for Girls reserved only for girls, to be understood only by girls, or can a boy read, understand, and even identify with these same fears and concerns?  Perhaps that should be an avenue of research Round should pursue next!

Now, I'm off to start my hunt for 101 issues of Misty comics!

RATING:  9 unhappy endings out of 10 for providing an entirely new outlook on a genre I already loved and providing more than enough reasons to search out the entire run of Misty!

Friday Barnes, Bitter Enemies

Well, we've reached book seven, and the never-ending troubles and mysteries that surround Friday Barnes continue, with surprises around every corner.  As you may recall (or maybe you don't, and that's why there's a "Previously in Friday Barnes..." prologue at the beginning of each book), when we last left our intrepid young sleuth, she and her friends returned to Highcrest Academy after spending a rather eventful summer vacation at camp (where they, of course, solved another mystery, this time involving an illegal mink-farming operation).  But their relief at returning to school was short-lived when they met Friday's brother and sister, Orion and Quasar.  Who were there to take Friday back home with them.  "Home" being in Switzerland, where the entire family (except Friday) were currently working and thriving in their respective scientific fields - and where Friday Barnes is about to attend a brand new school!

Author R.A. Spratt provides readers with an opportunity to see how the bonds Friday has formed with her friends, and even her enemies, at Highcrest Academy have grown over the course of the books as the new school year begins without Friday there.  Bitter Enemies opens with a rather depressed Ian and an even sadder Melanie, both of whom are unsure just what the new year is going to bring without Friday Barnes.  Even the school's Headmaster misses the young trouble-magnet, although he could certainly never admit that to anyone.  But, since this Friday's series of books, we can't exactly have a book without Friday in it - so, surprise, surprise! (or not really much of a surprise, considering how you want to look at it), Friday Barnes shows up unexpectedly, ready to start the new semester and return to her normal life at Highcrest.  The only problem is, her spot at the school has already been given away to a new student - Harrison Abotomey!  And even though the Headmaster informs her that she unenrolled and is no longer a student there, that doesn't stop Friday Barnes from moving back into the dorm with Melanie and resuming her studies  - - and crime-solving adventures!

Now, usually within each Friday Barnes book, Friday has solved a number of small (minor) mysteries along the way to solving the "big" over-arching mystery for that particular book; however, this time around, Friday's focus seems to be on uncovering who has it out for the headmasters of Highcrest Academy!   The school is preparing to dedicate a new fountain in the middle of the swamp (yeah, yeah, you have to read it to understand that one), when an accident results in one of the school's headmasters mysteriously disappearing!  Then another headmaster becomes violently ill.  Then the current one nearly has a heart attack.  Friday can see clearly that someone is determined to get even with the headmasters - but the questions are:  who and why?  And if that weren't enough to figure out, Friday also has to deal with Harrison Abotomey, who seems to be following her and Melanie everywhere they go.  Melanie is convinced Harrison is in love with Friday (why else would he be so angry with Ian all the time?  he sees Ian as competition!), but Friday does not have time to deal with a potential suitor when she's trying to save the lives of the headmasters before any more disappear.

Spratt keeps the humor that has made this series so much fun, with Friday's Sheldon-like thinking and Melanie's ever-so-lazy and clueless personality.  She also keeps that tension between Friday and Ian, with the ongoing "will they" or "won't they" tug-of-war between them.  Spratt manages to throw some great surprises and twists along the way when it comes to the mystery, which is yet another reason why reading these books is so enjoyable.  And, in case you were wondering, yes, she keeps the traditional book-ending cliffhanger - this time, Friday finds herself finally rewarded for her intelligence, analytical thinking, and well-above standard IQ - but it leaves Friday with a very important question that the reader will want to know as well - where will Friday go from here?

The final page encourages readers "To find out what happens next, read the final book in the series...Never Fear."  And the eighth book was the final book in the series - until I discovered on Amazon that book eight was, in fact, NOT the final book in the series, as there are available for purchase book nine (No Escape), book ten (Undercover), and book eleven (Last Chance).  And for that, I am eternally grateful, because Friday Barnes is just too good of a character to retire, and I hope to see her adventures continue for many years to come!

RATING:  10 identical dummy offices out of 10 for outrageously fun mysteries with a genius-level sleuth with no interpersonal skills whatsoever!

Modesty Blaise, Cartoon Adventures - Book 2 of 2: The Black Pearl and The Vikings

Time to take a trip back into the world of spies, criminals, and mysteries with Modesty Blaise!  It's been three years since I read the first of these two books, so I figured it was about time.  I rather enjoyed the first collection of these Modesty Blaise comic strips, so I went into this book with the high hopes of enjoying these tales as well - and I was not disappointed.  Peter O'Donnell proves his worth as not only an excellent writer, but an outstanding artist as well with these two (well, actually three - we'll get to that in a moment) stories collected for this second book.

The Black Pearl and The Vikings contains more than just those two stories - it opens up with a 7-page origin tale titled simply, "The Beginning," which gives readers a chance to see just who Modesty Blaise really is and where she came from.  And fair warning - there is a scene of nudity in the final panel of page three, where Modesty earns her name (rather ironically) from the old man she has been helping.  The story reveals that Modesty was a refugee child who did what was necessary to survive - and after helping an old man and traveling with him for some time, she gains a wealth of knowledge that helps her as an adult.  She ultimately meets Willie Garvin in Saigon and the two become an unstoppable team - but eventually she retires, and her enterprise known as The Network is split up among the men working for her.  It was rather refreshing to read a 7-page origin tale that gives the reader everything they need to know about Modesty and her origin without unnecessary exposition and filler material to pad it out.

And thus, we move on to the first story in this book, title "The Black Pearl."  In this story, an ancient holy man in north Bengal calls upon the aid of Modesty Blaise (who owes him for saving her life some years ago) to help recover the mysterious "Black Pearl," which is said to possess the ability to know the next High Lama.  The Buddhists must recover the ability to select their next High Lama before the men who are taking over the land misuse the "pearl" to name their own hand-picked leader.  It is clear from the get-go that the "Black Pearl" is anything but a pearl, but I was definitely not expecting what Modesty, Willie, and Mark (a former operative of Modesty's Network) found!  It turned out to be a rather fun surprise, and it allows O'Donnell to create some rather creative moments in the story as the three escape from the terrorists who have been occupying the land.  It's also interesting how O'Donnell flawlessly weaves some soap opera elements into the tale, including Mark's tale of lost love, a surprising cliff-side save, and the daring plan to escape with the "Black Pearl."  All-in-all, a really great story.

The second story is "The Vikings," which, of course, is not about real vikings (since they are long-since gone), but rather, a group of fearless thieves who traverse the waters on a boat and execute robberies of the wealthy citizens along the coast while wearing viking helmets and masks to hide their identities.  On once such robbery, however, a father recognizes his son's limp and tattoo among the thieves - so he calls on Modesty and her team to help save his son.  O'Donnell really plays up the soap opera elements in this one - the father is none-too-happy with his son's life choices, including the woman he married (who he deems "beneath" their station), the son's lingering feelings for Modesty, the leader of the Vikings' lust for revenge when Modesty bests him at his own game, the near-fatal shooting that becomes a race against time to save Modesty's life, and the son's ultimate redemption and father's ultimate change-of-heart.  Yet, despite all of these melodramatic moments, there is still plenty of action for Modesty and Willie to share along the way!

I hadn't realized it as much when I read the first collection of strips, but this one seemed to be more prominent, is the obvious fact that these were collected from comic strips.  In the two main stories, the first panel has an empty block space on the upper left corner, which must have been where the "Modesty Blaise" logo went for the daily strip, and the next two panels are full panels, and so it goes through the whole book, with the strips pretty much remaining constant at three panels per "day," with the first panel missing the block up there, and the following two panels full scenes.  And there are a couple of instances where the word balloons in one panel flowed over to the next panel - and whoever put the book together, kept the word balloon complete for the panel in which the character is speaking, but in the next panel, they left in the small portion of the balloon that carried over.  However, it was not distracting enough to take me out of the story - between the engaging story and the absolutely beautiful artwork, I don't think a bomb exploding right next to me could have taken me out of the stories while I was reading them!

I haven't been able to find any other Modesty Blaise "novels" in this format, so I'm assuming these were the only two done.  And that's a shame, as looking online, I found that the strip ran from 1963 through 2002, so there are definitely tons of stories that I have yet to read!

RATING:  10 Himalayan bears out of 10 for adventure, danger, romance, action, mystery, and so much more in fast-paced, superbly written and drawn strips!

The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl - the Third Extraordinary Adventure of the Athena Club

And another one bites the dust, as the saying goes (sigh).  I absolutely HATE beginning one of these posts that way, but unfortunately, it's a fact.  When I picked up the first Extraordinary Adventure of the Athena Club novel, I had high hopes.  An intriguing new series about the daughters of Dr. Jeckyll, Mr. Hide, Frankenstein, Dr. Rappaccini, Dr. Moreau, Van Helsing, and more - solving mysteries that could very well affect not only their 19th century England, but the entire world!  And the writing - wow!  I was utterly loving the style of Theodora Goss, and her interjecting of the characters' voices as they "talk" with Catherine as she "writes" each novel.  It was fun, it was adventurous, and it was filled with mystery, action, danger, suspense, romance, and just about everything else you would want in a great read.  And the second book not only held up against the first, but surpassed it.  So, when it finally came time to read this third book, you can imagine my utter disappointment when I read the tag at the top of the front cover:

"Ends on a high note." 

Seriously?  I quickly turned it over and saw the description, which started with "Mary Jeckyll and the Athena Club race to save Alice - and foil a plot to unseat the Queen - in the electrifying conclusion to the trilogy..."  Well, that pretty much clinched the fact that this was yet another three-book series, and the characters I have grown to love and enjoy will no longer grace any more pages of story after this.  I was so disappointed, I almost put the book down and did not want to read it, as once it was read, there would be no going back.  But I had to know.  The last book ended with poor Alice (the Athena Club's kitchen maid, who the women had just discovered could be someone else entirely!) being kidnapped by a woman claiming to be her mother, and so it only stands to reason this book would pick up on that.  

The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl opens with the origin of Ayesha - those who read the previous book may remember that she is currently the head of the Alchemical Society.  Of course, six pages into that origin, and the members of the Athena Club interrupt poor Catherine as she is trying to write the story and question why she would bore readers with the story of Ayesha, when the book was supposed to be about them, not the Egyptian princess!  And that right there is one of the things I so love about this series - the characters themselves constantly break into the story to add commentary or question Catherine's "telling" of the story, or just to promote the previous books (of course, that is mostly Catherine doing that, since, after all, she is the "author" of these stories!).  So, Catherine gives in and reverts to the Athena Club, where Mary, Diana, and Justine are returning home from Budapest.  Meanwhile, Catherine and Beatrice has remained behind, staying with Count Dracula, to fulfill their obligation to the traveling side-show.  Soon enough, though, the young women are reunited and begin their search for the missing Alice - AND Sherlock Holmes, who has also missing - AS WELL AS poor Dr. Watson, who hasn't been seen or heard from in over a week!  The Athena Club certainly has its hands full - guess it's a good thing their membership keeps expanding.

Meanwhile, Alice discovers that her mother has kidnapped her for a very specific purpose - it seems she is in league with Moriarty, who is forming a new society intent on taking over first England, and then the world.  But when Margaret Trelawny shows up, things start to change.  Alice, who they continually refer to as "Lydia" (which appears to be her given name), is suddenly given freedom throughout the house where they have been holding her captive, and she is made privy to the plans of what is to take place (even though she doesn't understand all of it - something about performing a ceremony that requires a sacrifice in order to bring back an Egyptian goddess).  Alice is smart though, having learned a thing or two while a servant in the Athena Club's house (especially from Mary Jeckyll, who Alice thinks is very smart, and she's always asking herself, "What would Mary do in this situation?"), and so she stays silent, pretends to go along with the plans, and soon discovers that the sacrifice for the ceremony is actually Sherlock Holmes!

Although the story is 430 pages in length, there is never a lull in the action.  From the train ride home to the search through London to the combing of opium dens in the worst part of town to being captured by Moriarty to the horrifying ceremony in the museum (during which a number of people die!) to a dangerous adventure in Cornwall to the very act of saving the Queen of England and facing down the wrath of an all-powerful goddess come back to life - it's literally non-stop for the Athena Club!  But their brains, their wit, their quick-thinking, and their never-give-up attitude leads Mary, Diana, Justine, Catherine, Beatrice, and Lucinda on a life-threatening, exciting adventure that definitely wraps this series up with a big bang!  And along for the ride are Sherlock and Watson, as well as those little scamps, the Baker Street Irregulars, Mycroft Holmes, and a few other familiar faces.  

Theodora Goss certainly has proven herself a wonderful writer with these three books, and it's truly a shame that we won't be getting any more adventures of the Athena Club.  Amazing stories, creatively wonderful characters, and so much potential for a million more tales of mysteries of the unknown - but alas, they shall forever remain a mystery, since this, as they say, is THE END.

RATING:  10 bags of lemon and pear drops, humbugs, licorice, and other assorted candies out of 10 for sharing with the world these monstrous tales of not-so-monstrous, unconventional women who prove that even the most unlikely of heroes can save the world!

The Boxcar Children: Creatures of Legend

I grew up reading The Boxcar Children, right along with Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, Happy Hollisters, and so many others.  As I got older, I got away from them, as their mysteries were definitely aimed at younger readers, with stories shorter than those of Nancy Drew or the Bobbseys, and the mysteries were much simpler.  When the animated film, The Boxcar Children, was released, along with the sequel, Surprise Island, I found myself curious about The Boxcar Children and what they were like today.  I picked up the 5-part "series within a series" subtitled as The Boxcar Children's "Great Adventure," and found that I rather enjoyed the stories.  Sure, they were still simple, but they were quick, fun reads.  While I have only picked up a few of the actual regular series' titles, when they offered up yet another mini-series of sorts, titled "Creatures of Legend," I decided to pick them up.  Since they are such quick and easy reads, I figured it would be better to simply review all four in one posting, rather than devote individual posts to each of the books.

The Secret of Bigfoot Valley is the first in the series, and it features the children trying to determine whether - you guessed it! - "bigfoot" is real or not.  When Grandfather takes Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny to Camp Quest to begin their summer, they never expect to find another mystery to solve.  Grandfather's old friend, Dr. Iris Perez, is a paleontologist, and she is there to teach the children at the camp how to search for old fossils.  But one of the campers is determined to prove that bigfoot is real and has been seen in those very woods!  When the children find large footprints outside their tents ... when they hear unexplained noises coming from the woods ... when their food mysteriously disappears ... when there are scratch marks across their tent  - they have to wonder if bigfoot is real or if someone is playing an elaborate prank!  Could it be the camp counselor who is complaining about everything?  Or is it the boy determined to prove bigfoot is real?  Or is it the delivery man who can't seem to keep a proper schedule and is anxious about something?  Or ... what if it's not a prank at all?   

Mystery of the Hidden Elves finds the Alden children traveling with Dr. Perez to Iceland, where they are going to look into the legend involving the elves who are said to be hidden among the rocks within some of the more remote towns.  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are all excited about exploring the countryside of Iceland (where Benny is surprised to see how "green" Iceland is - Benny is right when he comments: "So Greenland is icier, and Iceland is greener?  That's confusing." [p. 2]).  There's a superstition in those parts that anyone who removes one of the elves' rocks will be cursed by the elves and face unfortunate consequences - so when unexpected events start to occur, Violet begins to worry that they are cursed.  A trip to an abandoned town and a strong storm result in another accident that necessitates a daring rescue in an abandoned building- where it's ultimately revealed that someone took a stone upon their arrival in Iceland!  So, if they put the stone back where it belongs, will all the accidents stop happening?

Mermaids of the Deep Blue Sea takes the four Boxcar Children to a small town in Puerto Rico, where they hear stories about the mermaids that have allegedly been sighted around the nearby islands.  Dr. Perez introduces the children to her aunt, Professor Marcela Reyes, who has a mystery of her own to be solved.  Antonio Amador, an ecologist who lives alone on a nearby island, has not been seen for weeks, and Professor Reyes is worried.  The children agree to help in the search, but the professor's assistant, Gina, seems very annoyed that the children are involved.  Reluctantly, she joins them on the trip to the island, where Jessie and Henry begin to suspect that she may be involved with something not exactly on the up-and-up.  The children not only find themselves looking into the legend of the lusca, but also whether mermaids are, indeed, real, and just what it is that Antiono Amador is hiding that he wants to keep everyone away from his island!  Is the lusca more than just a legend, or is it merely a fable?

Myth of the Rain Forest Monster is the fourth and final book in the mini-series, and sees the Alden children traveling to Brazil and the Amazon rain forest for the last leg of their journey with Dr. Perez.  This time, they are there to learn about "megafauna," supposed giant animals that lived within the forest long ago.  They are meeting the famous author, Nigel Livingstone, who is said to be an expert on the creature.  But when they arrive in the jungle, everything seems off - and Dr. Livingstone is not at all who they were expecting!  The young expert does not have the knowledge he is said to have, and he seems more focused on recording blog posts that make it appear he is on the track of the creature than he is on finding any scientific evidence that the creature exists.  Once again, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are on the case, and they ultimately uncover the truth about what is going on in the Amazon rain forest before anyone gets seriously injured.  Along the way, they also discover some evidence that the megafauna may not be the myth that everyone thinks it is!

Each book is only a little over 115 pages in length, making them quick, easy reads.  The stories are fun and the mysteries are fairly simple (the culprits are pretty easy to spot early on).  The writer (I'm going to assume one ghostwriter wrote all four stories) keeps the characterization consistent - Henry is the responsible one, Jessie is the caretaker, Violet is the worry-wart, and Benny is the rambunctious one - and the continuity between the books makes for enjoyable reading, as the stories read as one continuous journey.  

 

Now, I do have to wonder what Grandfather in the real world would allow his four granchildren, all under the age of 15, to go traipsing around the world in search of legendary creatures.  Yes, yes, I know this is a fictional series for children, and so there has to be some suspension of disbelief, but allowing these four children to take numerous flights to various parts of the world all on their own (not really sure why they did not travel with Dr. Perez for each leg of the journey...) is a bit of a stretch.  But, I guess after solving hundreds of mysteries over the years and facing down plenty of wrong-doers, the Aldens' grandfather must feel that these children can pretty much handle themselves in any situation.

 

I will say, there were several typos and grammatical errors throughout all four books, which again leads me to wonder whatever happened to editors in the book world?!  It used to be that a misspelling or misused word was far and few between in published books - now, it seems they are pretty much an every book occurrence.  But those little mishaps did not detract from the enjoyment of the reading, and I honestly think Gertrude Chandler Warner would be proud of what the publisher and authors are doing with her series these days.

RATING:  8 scarlet macaws out of 10 for providing some unique subject matter for children's mysteries and sharing some great histories on the myths behind these creatures of legend!

Short Lived Comic Series #23 - Syphons (Now Comics)

The mid-1980s saw a number of comic book publishers suddenly burst onto the scene, from small self-publishers to not-so-small independent publishers.  The new direct market was inundated with all kinds of comics from these publishers - from super heroes to noir crime to romance to science fiction to horror tales and so much more.  A comic fan could find just about anything they wanted during that heyday, so long as you had a comic store somewhere near you to find them.  While DC, Marvel, Archie, and the big mainstream publishers still sold their comics on the racks at convenience stores, these other indy publishers were marketing directly to comic book fans through comic stores and subscriptions only.   A small company, probably long forgotten by many now (no pun intended) was Now Comics.  Now was probably best known for some of its media adaptations - Fright Night, The Twilight Zone, Speed Racer, Married ... With Children, Terminator, The Green Hornet, The Real Ghostbusters, and others.  Now also published some rather unique titles, such as Eb'nn, Ralph Snart Adventures, and a short-lived series called Syphons.

 

Syphons was the only series from Now Comics that I picked up back in 1986 when it first came out.  The colorful painted covers of bright superheroes was an easy sell to a DC comic fan like me.  I was all about the superheroes (even though I had also become a fan of Ms. Tree and Somerset Holmes, two non-superhero indy titles out around that time), and so I picked it up.  And loved it.  All seven issues of it.  I waited around for issue 8 for the longest time, unaware that the series had been cancelled with the seventh issue (back then, there was no internet, and the only comic news I got was information from the employees at "The Great Escape," my local comic store in Louisville, Kentucky).

 

Flash forward some thirty-plus years (having long ago sold off most of my comic collection as I got older, went to college, and thought I had "outgrown" comics), and being back into comics again, I've had fun finding some of those older series that I grew up on.  At a comic convention not so long ago, I came across all seven issues of Syphons in the $1.00 bin, and having fond memories of the title, I picked up the whole set.  Re-reading the series was a lot of fun, and quite honestly, there was a LOT from this series that I did not remember.  I had vague memories of their origin (getting their powers from an alien craft), and I remember towards the end they were using their powers for a delivery service (a rather unique idea, at the time, for superheroes).  But I had forgotten how their benefactor, Mr. Cross, was not a very nice man and had ulterior motives for pretty much everything he did - and he had no problems using people as cannon fodder.  

For those who are curious, the Syphons are four orphaned teens who ran away from the orphanage to strike out on their own - only to encounter an alien craft that endowed them with energy powers.  Mr. Cross and his men happened to show up on the scene, and offered to help the four teens - Mark a/k/a Knighfire; Tim a/k/a Brigade; Lisa a/k/a Raze; and Trisha a/k/a Stardancer, the team leader.  Their origin is told in just three pages (unlike today's comics, where it would take 6 to 12 issues to tell an origin), and the first issue alone sets up the major story of the coming alien invasion that the Syphons will have to fight.  But there are plenty of subplots, including Mr. Cross's true plans; two local police detectives who think the deaths in the area are more than just coincidence; and the inter-personal relationships among the four teen Syphons.  

The series was created, written, and drawn by Allen Curtis, a name that, quite frankly, I am unfamiliar with.  Looking him up online, I don't see that he did much outside of the Syphons series for Now Comics (he may have written something in First Comics' Grim Jack, as well as perhaps story in Innovation Comics' The Maze Agency Annual, but I can't find any verification of that).  And that's a shame, as I really enjoyed Curtis' storytelling - particularly in the first five issues.  He developed his four main characters very well, giving each of them unique personalities and looks.  He does a great job at building his story, providing plenty of subplots and hints of things to come, while moving his main story along.  To a certain extent, he is good at "soap opera" story telling - one major story with several smaller stories building in the background.  Perhaps that is what I enjoyed about his work.

 

His art is a bit stiff in the first couple of issues, but as the series progresses, his art becomes more refined and definitely better in terms of people and backgrounds.  Sadly, though, the colorist, who provides such crisp, bright colors in those first issues, begins to darken the colors and blend them more towards the end of the series, giving the book less of a crisp feel and more of a dark, moody feel (and perhaps that was what Curtis wanted).  As for me, I did not like it all.  The final two issues, with the Syphons leaving Mr. Cross and trying to strike out on their own, while interesting in premise, was not executed well.  There were several plot threads set up - but since the series ended with issue seven, we do not get to see how they play out.  (There are two follow-up series to this, neither of which I have - so perhaps one or both of those tie up the loose ends of this series.)

I will say that the beautifully painted cover of issue one is very striking and definitely a great selling point - issues two, four, and six also have some nicely rendered covers as well.  Something about those odd-numbered issues, though (three, five, and seven), comes across as very bland and rushed in appearance.  Which may have played a part in declining sales that resulted in its cancellation, because let's face it - regardless of whether we are supposed to or not, everyone judges a book by its cover, especially when it comes to comic books.  If the cover is not that interesting, or looks poorly drawn, then who is going to pick it up?

I'm going to have to hunt down the other two series (the first is 4-issues and the second is 3-issues, I believe) and see how they hold up compared to this first run.

RATING:  7 overnight express delivery packages out of 10 for trying to bring a different kind of superhero team into the comics' world - perhaps it was just ahead of its time...

To the Tome of Murder - the seventh Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery

Seven books in, and this series is still as exciting and as fresh as the first book!  Author Lauren Elliott has a way with words and characters that truly draws the reader in, makes the reader care about each and every person in the story, and ultimately has the reader rooting for the villain to be caught and locked away.  Addie Greyborne and her small little world of Greyborne Harbor is like a soap opera in book form, with each book furthering the tale of the lives of Addie, Paige, Serena, Kalea, Simon, Martha, Marc, and the rest of the cast.  With each book I pick up, I can hear in my head, "Previously, at Beyond the Page Bookstore..." and I settle right in to finding out what is going to happen next!  And it certainly doesn't hurt that each book, and each murder, somehow connects to a rare and/or collectible book.

To The Tome of Murder is set in the autumn, with Thanksgiving just around the corner.  This would mean that it's been approximately three years since Addie moved to Greyborne Harbor and opened her bookstore, since Murder by the Book (book one) was set in the autumn, Prologue to Murder (book two) was set in the Spring, Murder in the First Edition (book three) was set at Christmas, Proof of Murder (book four) was set in the summer, A Page Marked for Murder (book five) was set at New Year's time, and Under the Cover of Murder (book six) was set in late Spring.  And I guess this is a good thing, because seven murders over the course of three years is probably not that horrible of a statistic for a small town, all depending on the actual size of the town.  (Am I the only one who actually keeps track of these things?  Does that make me weird?)

Anyway, this time around, the murder mystery hits very close to home for Addie, because it is her cousin's boyfriend who is murdered!   The town is all abuzz about the Civil War-era themed baking competition, and Addie can't seem to keep any books from that era in stock.  In particular, author Sarah Josepha Hale's books seem to be the hot commodity.  The woman in charge of the competition is even on the hunt, looking for a first printing of Hale's famous nursery rhyme, "Mary Had a Little Lamb."  So what in the world does any of that have to do with Kalea's boyfriend?  You know, the one she is living with - the one she had a big fight with and was planning to break up with?  The one who left everything to Kalea upon his death?  Yeah, okay, that definitely sounds like motive for murder, right?  Well, let's add in the fact that he was killed in Kalea's dress shop, located just beneath their apartment, and there are no signs of any break-in and nothing was stolen ... nothing except an old briefcase that he had just gotten from a pawn shop.

In true Elliott style, Addie sticks her nose into the middle of everything, determined to prove her cousin's innocence.  But what happens when even she begins to question Kalea's guilt?  Well, that's when Martha steps up to help ensure her FRIEND doesn't get railroaded into a prison sentence.  Yes, you heard that right.  Martha and Kalea are now friends!  And how does Martha help?  Well, her bakery being gossip central for Greyborne Harbor, she makes it known that anyone who had dealings with Kalea's boyfriend is a suspect, and the next thing you know, half the town is pointing fingers at one another, making it next to impossible for Marc to get any actual investigating done.  This, of course, leaves Addie with plenty of opportunity to do her own investigating.  And, as with all of her mysteries, a rare book is at the dead center of it all!

Now, I'm not going to spoil it, but I will say that the matter of the briefcase was pretty easy to figure out early on, as was a certain case of mistaken identity.  I debated back and forth for a while about the identity of the killer, or even who was the force behind the murder, and I give Elliott credit for keeping me guessing until pretty near the end.  The ultimate revelation actually left me feeling a bit sorry for the killer (not enough to wish them unpunished, but enough to say I can see why they did what they did - or at least, what they thought they had to do).

And as if all of this weren't enough to keep a reader's interest, Elliott gives readers some life-changing surprises for Serena, for Catherine, and for Kalea (aside from the obvious) and reminds everyone that family is more than just blood relation - family is made up of those you love and who are in your life, for better or for worse.  A definite Happy Thanksgiving for Addie and her "family."

RATING:  10 Sweet Treats Ice Cream truck locations out of 10 for showing that not only can words be deadly, but they can be enjoyable to read as well!