Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Reviews- LEONARD STARR'S MARY PERKINS ON STAGE VOL. 2 and MAGIC WIND VOL. 4: THE BEAST




 LEONARD STARR'S MARY PERKINS ON STAGE VOL. 2 (Classic Comics Press, 2007; Softcover)

Collects the Mary Perkins On Stage strips originally published on January 12, 1958- April 19, 1959
Writer and Artist: Leonard Starr

This is where more and more of my comic buying dollar is going to these days: the classic comic strip. Characterization is king, with story being the center of attention. Starr makes every single character believable and makes you care what happens to them whether you like them or not. Starr's beautiful artwork is heavy on the photo realism while not relying on Photoshop. In other words, pure craftmanship. If gimmicks and crossovers bore you then come and join me over here. You may like what you find.
Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone
Linework/ restoration: Excellent, with many strips taken from proof sheets.
Paper stock: Uncoated stock.
Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.
Cardstock cover notes: Slightly glossy coating.



MAGIC WIND VOL. 4: THE BEAST (Epicenter, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Magic Wind #4 (cover date October, 1997)
Writer: Gianfranco Manfredi
Artist: Pasquale Frisenda
Colorist: Laura Piazza

Italian comics are a new thing for us Americans, as the English language translations have just started creeping over here during the past couple of years. They are a more violent, more mature outing than our spandex-clad superhero comics. Epicenter has been licensing the newly colored versions from the European market for the English speaking world with fresh translations...albeit with several typos along the way. Good stuff regardless.
Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone
Paper stock: Glossy coated stock.
Binding: Sewn binding.
Cardstock cover notes: Matte coating which had a scuff or two by the time that I was done with it, and I handle my books gingerly. 

3 comments:

  1. Glad you're back! Now I don't have to continue to try to convince myself that a JFFT-less world is a world worth living in...

    It's funny how thinking you're done with something can lead to a renewed interest in doing it all over again....especially when illiterate corporate writers are involved. I'm kind of at that point with my blog right now. I read something recently that I thought was absolutely dreadful, and I was foolish enough to go back and look at some reviews; I was horrified to find not a single negative comment about it anywhere. The very existence of crap like that is why people from "outside the system" need to make their voices heard too.

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  2. Glad you revised your decision. The concept of the reviews is enough and I am more interested in the opion than what extras each comic has or how many stitches there are in a sewn book. This side has been bookmarked already:)

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