Review- MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL (Yen Press/ Hachette, First Printing, 2013; Hardcover)

Writer: Ransom Riggs

Artist: Cassandra Jean

Yen Press offers these standalone original graphic novels which are targeted at school age kids. They primarily sell them through bookstores and Scholastic book fairs and book orders. You don't see too many of them in comic shops, nor do you hear much about them in comic book circles. This strikes me as odd, as the ones that I have read are polished and enjoyable.

Jacob Portman grew up listening to his grandpa's fantastic, surreal tales of his youth on a tiny island off of the coast of Wales during the second World War. As he grew older Jacob believed his grandfather less and humored him more, until something happens and Jacob finds out that his grandfather's tales and seemingly fake pictures of his friends from when he was growing up are very real indeed. I won't be going into much more detail because I dislike reviews that are filled with spoilers and come off like 9^th grade book reports. I like to think that this blog is written at the level of at least a tenth grade book report.

This concept is a retread of The X-Men and a smattering of other properties, blended together so well that it would take me a while to sit down and pinpoint what was borrowed from where. That is beside the point though, because as a read this is some solid stuff. The hook is strong, the art is Manga-influenced yet Western-minded comic audience accessible, and the writing is what my 9 year old son calls “easy reader” style. You can fly through this book yet still be satisfied that this was a complete story.

I discovered that there is a movie based on this book coming out in a few months. Tim Burton is directing it, and I find that to be curious because the imagery isn't dark or Gothic. I saw the trailer and most of the events shown in it do not occur in this book. As always, I recommend that folks read the source material first. I checked this out from my local library. Maybe your library has it too.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is smaller than an average graphic novel and larger than a Manga digest sized book.

Paper stock: Thick coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Perfect bound, although the book block is glued to a flexible piece of cardboard that mimics a block with sewn binding with room in the casing to flex.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: This is a library copy, and the dustjacket has a Brodart sleeve and is fastened to the hardback 

Review- Free Comic Book Day Offerings Part Four

Free Comic Book Day Offerings Part Four

Fantastic Four #600 (Marvel, cover date January, 2012)

I love it when stores give away dead stock to bolster their Free Comic Book Day selection. I never bothered reading Hickman's run on this title, as I simply have too many irons in the fire when it comes to comic books. I can neither afford to buy, nor do I have the time to read, everything that is being published today.

I thought that this was excellent, a solid and entertaining read that I unfortunately missed as it came out. I am a sucker for Annihilus and the Supreme Intelligence, and while killing and resurrecting superheroes like the Human Torch is lame it was handled very well here.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

Superman Unchained #1 (DC, cover date August, 2013)

Another FCBD dead stock giveaway. Scott Snyder is a decent writer but I was never much of a Jim Lee fan. I found the foldout poster to be super annoying, since it was glued to a piece of cardstock and you had to remove it in order to read a part of the story, as both sides of the poster were a part of the story. Interesting gimmick but I ended up bending the page trying to remove it. The story is readable but I won't be going any further with it. Besides, it doesn't matter anymore, since this was The New 52 and we are now living in a post-New 52 society. Continuity has never been the Distinguished Competition's strongest point, and this most recent reboot, while attempting to streamline and set things right, will undoubtedly also go off of the rails.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (Yen/ Hachette, 2013)

More deadstock dumped off on FCBD, this one is from the 2013 Halloween ComicFest, which is like a junior Free Comic Book Day. The hook of this is enough to make me want to read more. I put in a hold for the book at my local library and look forward to reading it.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

This is the only true cover image on the Internet. I searched everywhere and even comicbookdb and the publisher's website has an incorrect image, so I scanned this myself. 

Spectrum #0 (Automatic Publishing, cover date 2016)

I had never heard of Automatic Publishing prior to this comic book. They offer a slick if familiar feeling title about alien invasions and sparkly princess types. There is a generational divide in comics right now that is different than any one that came before. The artwork in this comic will appeal to the younger generation of comic fans. This is readable but is ultimately not my cup of tea.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Bongo Comics Free-For-All! 2016 (Bongo, cover sate 2016)

I was a huge fan of The Simpsons going all the way back to when they were on The Tracy Ullman Show. In the prehistoric days of VCRs I used to record each week's episode and watch it with my friends repeatedly, up until the fall of 1995 when the Who Shot Mr. Burns episode signaled a steep decline in quality. I have tried watching it since then but the series has never grabbed me like it once did. I did enjoy the movie and the ride at Universal Studios though.

This comic book is a fantastic read. The art is polished and drawn to model, looking like stills from the animated series. The main story is a joyful stab at the gluten crowd, with a pair of robbers known as Glutenus Maximus and his sidekick Gluten Tag. They employ all manner of baked goods to commit crimes with. It's silly but it works and made me chuckle, ditto the back-up features. I may have to give these comics a second look at some point if they are all of this high of quality.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.75 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day: Howard Lovecraft And The Frozen Kingdom (Arcana, no cover date or copyright, 2016)

Arcana generally does interesting stuff, and this follows suit. This is an attempt to make H.P. Lovecraft and Chthulu family fare, and I give it kudos for the subversive factor alone. It's basically a sneak preview of the forthcoming adaptation of the graphic novel and reads well enough. The other story featured here is The Unknowns, which Stan Lee has attached his name to. I wonder what his actual involvement in the creation of this is, as it is lame.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.5 out of 5.