Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff

SUPERTURKEYS

Superman stands for all things American, and Thanksgiving is no exception. Superman loves eating turkey. Remember that one issue when a Kryptonian turkey returns from Krypton and ole' Supes destroys Metropolis trying to chop its neck off with an axe-head made of Green-K, and then Jimmy Olsen turns into a mermaid? It was awesome. The next issue had Bizarro superturkey arrive in Metropolis, cackling a hideous "Elbog, Elbog" and trying to eat pilgrims.

Batman, on the other hand, HATES turkey. There was a great Elseworlds story where Benjamin Franklin became Batman... or Turkeyman, rather. Scene One involved Benjamin "Bruce" Franklin-Wayne arguing that the turkey should be our national bird, being versatile, plentiful and indigenous. After this debate England, guns down his parents in an alley. "The British are a superstitious, cowardly lot," says Ben, "though those that fear bats and liberty deserve neither," and donning a turkey costume, beat the red-coats in the streets of Philadelphia with Turkey-rangs, electric kites and a special horse-drawn carriage shaped like a turkey. I think Mark Waid wrote it.

BLACK FRIDAY

This week we all become sharks in the shopping frenzy as the bleeding corpse of the holiday season floats ever closer. What to buy, what to buy? Drugs and illegal fire-arms make the perfect gift for the young and the old, as they are certainly the catalyst of many a new experience. Forbidden Planet does not sell these items, not even if you wink at the counter and ask to see the *wink-wink* "Back-issues," *wink-wink.*

Gift guides, however, are stupid. Suffice it to say Forbidden Planet is stocked to the snots with DVDs, t-shirts, graphic novels, comic, manga and gift certificates. Why shop anyplace else for gifts this season? Dad would LOVE some Hellboy Heroclix, and Mom is just stupid for Crisis on Infinite Earths. Why not get little sis a scale model replica of Hawkeye's bow and cowl, plus wouldn't Grandma be the talk of the nursing home in her Battlestar Galactica "Frak Me!" T-shirt? Yes. Yes she would.

FUNNY BUSINESS

The Goon: Chinatown - Eric Powell (w/a), Dark Horse. The Goon is a tough-as-nails, battle-scarred mobster who is the only thing standing between the poor schlubs he shakes down for protection money and screaming bog-lurks, giant land squids, zombies, and the occasional bowling midget. He drinks, he fights, and he carries with him deep scars. Chinatown, the Goon's first full-length original graphic novel has been eagerly anticipated by Goon fans. Chinatown promises to be a prequel of sorts, detailing secrets from the Goon's dark and mysterious past... but don't think it'll be too serious. The last time the Goon took trips down memory lane still involved slap-stick, football thugs, and his bearded circus aunt..

Multi-award winning cartoonist Eric Powell got great exposure this year working with writer Richard Donner on the "Bizarro World" storyline in Action Comics. The Chinatown graphic novel marks the beginning of what Dark Horse is calling "The Year of the Goon." Yup, 2008 will bring in new Goon merchandise and the return of the Goon comic going monthly. Indulge the disgusting misanthrope within: Read the Goon!

You should also pick up Street Fighter Volume 4: Bonus Stage (Various creators from Udon Comics). If you have ever liked Street Fighter II you will dig this. Creators like Adam Warren and Ultimates 3's Joe Madureira bring quick, fun stand alone stories of globe spanning beat-downs just in time for Thanksgiving.

DANG. Out of room. I shouldn't have spent so much time making up malarkey about Ben Franklin and his turkey vigilance. Nah, that stuff was gold. Pulitzer, thy name is "MINE!"

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkie Dev: Grampy Bramperson

Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff

Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neal's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier finally comes out this week. This banishes all other comic book releases to the long box of unworthy trash... yes, even YOU B.P.R.D. Killing Ground #4. When a new League book hits the shelves there ARE no other comic books that week. A new League is a victory for the Earth... but a sad challenge for those of us who have to write about comics.

CEREAL KILLERS

Since we can't talk about comic books we can talk about, uhm... BREAKFAST CEREAL! Did you know at the height of their fame, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had their own breakfast cereal? And why not? If they're going to give a cereal to C-3P0 then the turtles can have one, too. You DID know C-3P0 had a cereal, right? It was a delicious Honeycomb knock-off with the original name "C-3P0's." Catchy. Relegating such an uninspiring character from a sensational property to "Cereal Box Hero" status is like if they made a Watergate-based cereal and called it "Agnew's."

Turtles cereal was corn Chex with colored marshmallow shapes of their signature weapons. There was a pink Sai for Raph, a blue sword for Leo and a yellow jump-suit marshmallow for April. The corn Chex was SUPPOSED to be a net, but it was Corn Chex.

If the Turtles hadn't had a movie then this comic book property probably never would have made it to the breakfast aisle. Hopefully next summer we'll have The Watchmen breakfast cereal with naked blue Dr. Manhattan marshmallows and sugar coated smiley faces that turn blood red in milk.

BACK IN BLACK

I can't write about anything else: L.E.G.: The Black Dossier finally comes out this week! I can't stop thinking about it! I write these things on Monday so that means I have an unbearable two days to wait. I'm a League junkie and could tell you anything you want to know. You could, too if you only bought Jess Nevins' companion books, Heroes and Monsters and A Blazing World, available NOW from Forbidden Planet. You'll learn all about the source material as well as character cameos and hidden facts, for example: Did you know there's a Twin Peaks reference in the second volume, or the hows-and-whys on Dracula ever appearing?

MORE MOORE

As a funny comics guy I recommend Alan Moore's Top 10 and Tomorrow Stories, home to the hilarious dead-pan child uber-brain Jack B. Quick. Jack is a 10-year-old genius growing up in rural farm country where he experiments with the darkest sciences, much to the suicidal chagrin of his parents. He once tied buttered toast to the feet of a cat and threw it at the ground. The toast and cat, unable to land butter side down or onto its feet, spun uncontrollably creating the world's first perpetual motion machine. Good stuff.

Another hilarious Alan Moore bit comes from Batman Black and White, Vol. 1, a great trade paperback showcasing top b/w artists, such as Jim Lee's first Batman work and inspired outings from top Batman writers like Paul Dini. Anywho, there's a great Alan Moore/Simon Bisley team-up where Batman and the Joker play out a comic book from behind the scenes, palling around off-panel, reading their lines together, working on fight choreography and complaining that the extras eat all the good food at the commissary before they, the stars, get there.

THE REAL DEAL: Forget comics, Alan Moore is one of the best writers in fiction today period. If you've never read the League you should get on that. I feel bad for good books like 100 Bullets, New Avengers, and the DC collection of Sgt. Rockthat all ship this week. You books may as well be gnats at the battle of Normandy. There is ONE comic book this week, and I can't wait to read it. Black Dossier: MAKE MINE MOORE!

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff: WGA STRIKE Edition!

DOES the Writer's Guild of America's strike affect comic books? MAYBE. That is why us professional and semi-professional comic book entertainment-type writers are taking no chances. I have heard that Chris Claremont plans on recycling the same corny dialogue and plots until AND AFTER the strike is over, while Warren Ellis plans on doing a Transmetropolitan mini-series off of the remaining works of Hunter Thompson he hasn't stolen yet. Besides, if the strike DOESN'T affect comics (And I think it doesn't.) the strike is a good thing: Comic pros like Jeph Loeb who write for TV can focus more on comics, and comic pros like Brian Michael Bendis who habitually WATCH TV can focus more on comics!

I, for one, am swearing off ALL writing just to be safe. That hasn't stopped me from speaking out loud a great deal lately, especially since I've hired a court-trained stenographer to "Hang Out" with me... and if she happens to write down everything I say and I happen to pay her for it, where is the harm in that? [Stenographer's Note: There isn't any.]

Thank you, Mitzy. Where was I? Oh YEAH!

FUNNY BOOKS AHOY

Howard the Duck #2 - Ty Templeton (w), Juan Bobillo (a), Marvel. Howard the Duck is probably the funniest comic book about bestiality Marvel has ever printed, and relaunch has been a blast. Howard's human girlfriend, Beverly, is getting exploited/a leg up in her acting career as Howard is about to become an internet celebrity. Geez, looks like Mitzy and me are not the ONLY ones taking precautions in the wake of the WGA strike: This week sees two Steve Gerber Marvel books recycled: Howard the Duck and Omega the Unknown being helmed by novelist Jonathan Lethem and artist Farel Dalrymple. Pay attention WGA, and all you other writers with integrity: Never stand up for your rights because you can be replaced, years later, by younger and cuter writers without such moral hang-ups.

I keed, I keed.

Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash - James Kuhoric (w), Jason Craig (a), DC and Dynamite. I can't copy and paste "CANNOT WAIT" enough to express my joy at this book's arrival. I'll be torn whether to buy the Eric Powell variant cover or the J. Scott Campbell cover... guess I'll get both! Based on the Pretty Darned Good (P.D.G.) Freddy vs. Jason and the Evil Dead movies, this monster mash-up will be bloody good fun for all. You have watched all the movies this comic book is based on, haven't you? Well, another P.D.G. thing about the strike is you'll have more time to watch monster flicks.

May I recommend Friday the 13th Part 4, The Final Chapter (HA, what a title,) and Nightmare on Elm Street III: The Dream Warriors? If you haven't watched em' then "Shame on you!" Freddy and Jason go to all that trouble killing promiscuous teens, so the least you can do is watch.

Way more funny books are out this week: Groo: Hell on Earth by Mark Evanier (w) and Sergio Aragones (a), trades of The Boys and Runaways, a reprint of an old R. Crumb classic Mystic Funnies #2 and kid-friendly books like Archie Digest and Scott Pilgrim and Marv Wolfman's Duck Tales. Read em' and weep... with laughter.

STRIKE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND

In conclusion, the writer's strike is not to be feared. Current comics and older reprints shall get you through the TV drought, and let's face it... the writing is so bad on most modern movies, who's going miss them? I just hope the stenographers' union stays strong, otherwise I can't return next week with another Forbidden Planet-plugging edition of Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff! [Stenographer's Note: That and my pay check.]

No, or your pay check. Thank you, Mitzy.

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff: GET MARRIED EDITION!

OMG. You have got to try this: Go find a nice girl or boy you think is attractive and you can spend a great deal of time with... Okay, ready? Now buy that person a ring, propose marriage and THEN get married! DUDE, it is totally cool. Friends tell you how nice you are, and you get to dance to fun music and folks get you gifts.

The only bad part about getting married is going on your honeymoon. Sure you get to drink daiquiris by the pool in the Bahamas, snorkel, and eat conch fritters; but you will not see one comic book the entire time. You may pass an old comic book store on the way back to the airport. It may have a sad, Caribbean sun-faded poster of Wolverine in the window taunting you with past comic book glory. Yeah, you can come back home afterwards and buy your weekly comics at Forbidden Planet... but it just won't be the same, and Marvel Previews will have sold out. *Sigh*

CON ARTIST

Last week's Weekly Planet announced Wayne Barlowe as Forbidden Planet's special guest at the Big Apple Comic-Con National Show on November 17th. Hooray for America! What follows are a few scant "do's and don'ts" for first time comic convention-going fans:

1: Respect all, ESPECIALLY creators: There is your favorite writer/artist... they're RIGHT THERE in front of you! WOW! Do go say "Hi", do tell them how much you like their work citing specific examples but DO NOT crowd them. Some artists will draw commissioned sketches at cons, some will draw for free. DO NOT assume they will do either. Ask them whether they do con sketches and if so whether they charge or not. I know Sergio Aragones is going to be there... boy I'll never live down asking him to draw me a free pirate sketch.

2: DON'T buy the first thing you see: there are tons of vendors all with different price schemes. If you see that rare comic book you've been looking for forever: Atari Forces #1 for example, DO NOT buy it outright. Note the price and price shop across the con. You'll be thanking yourself/kicking yourself if you find it cheaper later on.

3: DO attend panels: Conventions are a fun bazaar of toys, books and costumed crazies; but the heart of the con is in the panels. Find out what the pros have to say on a variety of topics. Learn about upcoming trends, products and talents.

4: Keep costumes comfy: I've seen some pretty snazzy Transformers costumes at cons but the folks trapped inside cannot move, cannot shop or attend panels. Do not get trapped by your own brilliant costume design. Two of the biggest con hits are a guy that dresses like an Elvis Stormtrooper and an Unemployed Skeletor. I have seen these two gentlemen on numerous occasions and they are always surrounded by well-wishers, adoring fans and, surprisingly, women wanting pictures. HECK YEAH you can take folks pictures, just ask first and remember rule #1.

5: Bring water/patience: Cons can be crowded, hot affairs. Take your time, pace yourself, and don't lose patience with other con-goers. All of us can get a bit jumpy about our favorite hobbies/creators, but judge not lest yea be judged yourself. It's always smart to bring a bottle of water for refreshment.

6: DO NOT say "Candyman" five times into a mirror: If older kids tell you "It's cool" it is NOT. A murderous, hook handed African-American painter from the 1800's will jump out and swarm you with bees. You've been warned.

There. That is every single thing you need to know about comic book conventions. If you follow all the advice in this column carefully, you will be happily married and attending comic book conventions in no time... or at least in November. I didn't really get around to recommending products this week, so might I mention Forbidden Planet DOES offer Gift Certificates? They make great presents for Halloween, or even... oh, say, friendly columnists who just got married?

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkie Dev: Grampy Bramperson

Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff

MORE Exclusives

Forbidden Planet has signed an exclusive deal with Orville Redenbacher brand microwave popcorn. We don't have coupons like we do for our arrangement with Nightmare: Ghost Stories, but we must insist you only eat Redenbacher Popcorn on the premises. Failure will be met with physical force: ALL HAIL THE REDENBACHER!

SITE SEEING

ComicArtFans.com - Comic fans with high speed internet should hit up comicartfans.com, A searchable treasure trove of original artwork, scanned by their fans and owners. Type in an artists' name and instantly convention sketches, original commissions and pre-inked pencils spring up on the screen. The site also features spotlights on active and drool-worthy eBay auctions... right now there are a few Mignola originals as well as an entire Adam Hughes sketchbook up for grabs at insane prices.

I ALSO hope you all check http://www.fpnyc.com, the Forbidden Planet New York web site! Every week the site is updated with the upcoming books, figures, manga and DVD products arriving that week but also all the contents of the Weekly Planet, news, announcements and more!

OCTO-OMNIBUS

The mid 80's saw what is now known as "The Black and White Boom," part of an exciting and still controversial period of comics leading up to the great "Market/Speculation Glut" of the late 80's which almost destroyed the industry. Started by now classic black and white comics like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and crazy ole' Dave Sim's Cerberus, the B/B-Boom had many animal imitators. My favorite is Mark Martin's Gnatrat... more on that in another column.

My second favorite was Reggie Depasqualle's "Ultra-Pus: Eight Arms of the Law!" Ultra-Pus was a regular sea-dwelling octopus who was flown to the magical land of EZ in a water spout. EZ is much like OZ, except substitute munchkins, witches and flying monkeys with octopi, octo-witches and flying monkopusses. The Wizard of EZ gives our hero magical powers which Ultra-Pus uses to return to Earth and fight human criminals, feeling himself more akin to humans then sea creatures. He also had a clever secret identity as "just some octopus that hangs out at a science museum."

"Ultra-Pus: Eight Arms of the Law!" ended after 24 issues when its creator, Reggie Depasqualle, was forced into an insane asylum by his brother. Polar Bear Press announced at last weekend's Poughkeepsie Comic-Con they intend to collect and publish Ultra-Pus in its entirely in a black and white anthology tome this December, making some of this material available for the first time in 20 years! Forbidden Planet is currently filing the paperwork to have Depasqualle released as an out-patient for a special in-store signing. Watch this space for more info!

NOW AVAILABLE

This week's hot humor hits include Umbrella Academy #2, Simpson's Comics #135 and Marvel Zombies II #1. Though late to the game, Marvel Zombies is an interesting bridge between the once popular humor genre and the now status-quo, though over exposed, zombie genre. I'd recommend anyone who likes funny super-hero stuff to pick up Brian Michael Bendis's Mighty Avengers #5. I know Bendis isn't for all, but I think he's a hoot!

END TIMES

This week I have planted a fake news story in amongst the humor news. Post a comment here on what YOU think was the fake story. Wouldn't it be great if you won a lifetime supply of Orville Redenbacher popcorn? Well you won't. You won't win anything. Actually, most of the items this week are made up. Did I mention I'm a ninja?

Alright... I'm not a ninja. [ED. NOTE: Forbidden Planet has signed no such exclusive deals, and does not endorse one tasty popcorn treat over any other. And please don't eat in the store. Thanks. Also -- sorry ladies, but Unkie Dev is getting married this week, and is no longer on the market. Rah, rah, congrats and lord help that poor woman!]

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkiedev's Amazing Stuff

Last week's column was about the great abundance of variety in modern comic book shops. Nuts to that! This week, apart from Archie, Jughead and Captain Carrot there are no new "humor" comics being published. Some think this is because "humor doesn't sell," and some think it's because the audience for this material has dried up in the super-hero centered market. Still others think it's because of Frankenstein, but I suspect they may be mistaken.

I couldn't give three twigs WHY this is the case. I have a column to write on funny stuff to buy at New York's greatest and most diverse comic book shop, Forbidden Planet, and if the big three fail then others must pick up the slack:

One Step Beyond

Metalocalypse, Season 1 - by Dethklok and Adult Swim. Metal fans already know how indispensible the Adult Swim cartoon "Metalocalypse" is. This grotesque shred-fest is full of gore and more! A five man heavy metal band is bigger than the Beatles, bigger than democracy or religion in fact, with screaming fans happy to die/murder for them. The band, Dethklok, may not be very bright but have managed to stranglehold the world's economy. The show is the blackest of black comedies about how Dethklok thrashes and trashes an enthralled Earth on the way to the eponymous, inevitable "Metalocalypse."

The excessive blood and gore can be an on over-the-top turn off, but the characters are surprisingly likeable. Another plus: "Metalocalypse" focuses on character and story for its humor, not relying on the tiring abstract "jokes" and awkward pacing that ruins most of the other Adult Swim programs.

PVP - Scott Kurtz, Image Comics. Still going strong, Scott Kurtz is a beloved online comics creator who's runaway hit web-strip "PVP" spills into the paper-and-staple world from Image Comics. PVP is the charming, yet rambling story of geeks publishing a magazine, their affairs and interactions with giant blue trolls. Its success is often due to the subject material: early adopters of online comics with the IT crowd eager to read jokes and plots tailored to their tech/geek sensibilities.

Modern Image Comics is an umbrella publishing house that gives proven independent creators a safe haven for self-publishing. Kurtz is the cartoonist's dreams personified: A thriving independent comics empire fueled by fans and profiting from merchandised characters. Image and Kurtz probably do a fine turn putting the online PVP characters out in print, bridging online and analog geekdom and finding new fans for both.

Hollywood Zombies Trading Cards - Various, Topps. YEE-HAW! Great art and gross out concept make this a Halloween HIT! Have you bought a pack of these? As Tony the Tiger would say: "They're GREAT!" Hollywood Zombies trading cards are fully painted cards of your favourite celebs as flesh eating ghouls with fake interviews, jokes and glow-in-the-dark cards, too. FAB, right? These are every bit as fun as you remember "Wacky Packages" or "Garbage Pail Kids" to be. Did you know those are still being minted, too? Both are on their 6th season since their revival. Trading cards still remain one of the last places for cheap laffs and cool artwork. Release your inner ten year old and pick up any of Topps' line of cards. They're all silly, they're all fun and they're all available at the Forbidden Planet cash register.

Brigadoon

Let's review: Comic book publishers do not put out more humor based products because they feel they either A) don't sell, B) don't have a market or C) something about Frankenstein. Meanwhile online creators, television viewers and producers are doing swell making with the high quality ha-ha's for all the little cash infused girls and boys. Heck, even trading cards, an older and arguable more out-dated medium then our venerable comic books is still in the humor game. Someone is doing business in funny. Why aren't comic books?

Maybe the funny comic books will come back into vogue. Maybe they have just left us like the lost city of Brigadoon and will return, secretly and placidly, in 100 years. All I know is if Marvel, DC and the other big publishers don't want my money I'm glad there are other fine companies, like Forbidden Planet, that do!

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkie Dev: The Creeps 005, Grampy Bramperson

Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff

We are a week into the fall and it is time to harvest the bumper crop of humor available this week from America's greatest medium: COMIC BOOKS! What did you think I was going to say, shadow puppets?

Howard the Duck #1 - Ty Templeton (W) and Juan Bobillo (A), Marvel. Howard the Duck fans vary by generations. Above 35 you'll find fans who loved his groundbreaking Marvel comic in which Howard was THE anthropomorphic voice of counter culture. Above 25's might remember the fun yet flawed "Howard the Duck" movie which George Lucas produced and shuffled under the rug. Younger readers might only know Howard from rumors, guest appearances and hearsay. The Duck's publishing adventures are another matter, an incredible story of creator's rights... that we won't be telling here. Go read it on Wikipedia, ya' illiterate ape-spawn!

Ty Templeton has the weighty task of trying to pump new life into Marvel's maligned mallard. Previews of the book look GREAT, with Howard's biting sarcasm and down-trodden nature apparent. Juan Bobillo's art is well paired to Templeton's pen. Whatever their generation, fans have been wanting more Howard. The wait is over! Forbidden Planet also has the Essential Howard the Duck still in stock.

EMPOWERED Volume 2 - Adam Warren (W/A), Dark Horse. A case for Empowered: Gentlemen, this tome of American-manga is infused, nay, fortified with ribald titillation and illustrations of the soft, feminine form in flagrante. Light-hearted stories of a yielding super heroine ingénue forms the soil to which humorous cheesecake trees may flourish. Our damsel's distress is nothing compared to the distress of her costume as she occupies herself wistfully covering her "shame" and cooing up to lady ninjas. A perfect tome for today's bachelor or sailor.

A case against Empowered: Ladies, this book is near SMUT, dirty humor and bondage art sure to corrupt the young. Dark Horse publishes this filth as a mature title but it is as immature as a babe-at-breast. The story centers on a (what else) blonde bimbo who's costume falls off as she battles crime. She lives and congregates with thugs and demons. Can we let this pernicious, though funny and well-illustrated, garbage pollute the minds of our husbands, boyfriends or children?! Irredeemably puerile.

Unkiedev's Verdict: Strewth! 'Tis a good'un. Ask the Forbidden Planet staff if they have any Volume 1 left, maybe hidden in their sock drawer.

Owly: The Way Home... - Andy Runton, Top Shelf Productions. I haven't read Owly, but I hear good things... I bring it up because of the contrast of Owly and Empowered. Empowered is a flat out geek fueled jiggle-fest for immature male teens to thirty year olds... i.e. the bulk of the comic buying populous. Owly is an adorable all ages story aimed towards kids with no dialogue, about an owl and his pal Wormy the worm learning life lessons in a forest. These two books could not be more different.

The demand for Owly material is constantly growing as more tykes discover its gentle simplicity. Now think about the contrast of the two titles. Think of the variety of materials you can get at a comic book shop like Forbidden Planet.

The variety of today's comic book market is only supported by a wealth of interested readers. The readers of tomorrow are the kids of today. Maybe you have a little brother or sister, a niece or a nephew or kids of your own. As an aspiring comic book creator myself, as a fan of comic book diversity and just as a piece of advice: start the younger people in your life reading comics... by that, I mean cute books about cartoon owls like Owly and NOT EMPOWERED. Oh no, no, no, no, no. I REPEAT: DO NOT GIVE CHILDREN EMPOWERED.

Wow. Also this week: Action Comics #856 has Superman fighting Bizarro from "The Goon's" Eric Powell, and Dark Horse has Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey The Inches Incident trade-paperback collecting the recent Sock Monkey Mini! A good week for funny, really.
Your homework till next time: Go carve a pumpkin into the great American novel. Till then Unkiedev's sez: Off with you, go play in traffic!

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkie Dev: The Creeps 004

UnkieDev's Amazing Stuff

So funny, it's SCARY! So scary it's FUNNY! Welcome to UnkieDev's humor reviews spooktacular, presenting the latest and greatest creepy comics makin' with the monsters, mayhem and mirth.

Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #13 - Bongo Comics, Various. I have more fun reading these Simpson's horror/humor annuals then I do watching the specials! The Treehouse of Horror titles are a great opportunity for Bongo to bring top talent from inside and outside the industry to tell their twisted and macabre tales of Springfield's crazy creeps. This year we have such writers as Reno 911's Thomas Lennon and two of the Comedians of Comedy, Paton Oswald and Brian Posehn joining up with cartoonists extraordinaire Hilary Barta, Terry Austin and more.

Where the Simpsons show fails. this title always brings the goods. How? After 22 years the show can be stale. Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror is a creative free-for-all, with each new creator bringing crazy styles of art, jokes and story diversity hot from the oven. There doesn't seem to be a great deal of restriction, and you can imagine Bongo getting giddy over irreverent stabs at the beloved characters in a way Fox could never stand.

This book is always one of the highlights to the Halloween season and it drops this week from Bongo Comics. The $4.99 price tag gets you a big 64 pages of haunted ha-ha! If you didn't pick up the past offerings Forbidden Planet has Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror trades: "Fun Filled Fright-Fest" with Paul Dini, Mike Allred and more as well as "Spine Tingling Spooktacular" to satisfy your horror hankerings.

Showcase Presents: House of Mystery Volumes 1 and 2 - DC, Various. Unclassifiable yet frightening fun from comic legends set in the haunted house to end all haunted houses. DC's "House of Mystery" bounced from humor, horror and sci-fi genres like a mime falling down stairs. While an anthology title its characters and settings work their way into mainstream DC and Vertigo continuities. HOM is "can't be beat" creeps and treats!

Comic book greats such as Alex Toth and Bernie Wrightson rub elbows with Silver Age newcomer Sergio Aragones a.k.a. "That Mad Magazine guy." Sergio cut his teeth at DC drawing grisly stories, links, and hilarious pin-ups as funny as they are grisly. This book is can be another fine example of "funny off-purpose," with a handful of the stories being gassers due to their bizarre anti-humor. At $16.99 for 500 pages you'd have to be a Halloweiner to avoid "The House of Mystery." Comic connoisseurs should track down Sergio's return to the title in 1998's "Welcome Back to the House of Mystery," one of the flat out best horror/humor books ever. "Welcome Back" reprints 10 of the best HOM stories with new chapter links by Sergio and his pal Neil Gaiman... yes, THAT Neil Gaiman!

Scary Godmother - Jill Thompson, Various Publishers. Encompassing four beautifully illustrated children's books and three comic book trade paperbacks, Jill Thompson's Scary Godmother is the undoubted queen of comic book Halloween handing out charming characters and stories for all ages tricks and treats.

A young girl discovers she can travel to "The Fright Side," a haunted though friendly town of monsters, vampires and ghouls, by getting up on the wrong side of her bed. There she meets the Scary Godmother, Halloween's red-haired magical matron whose job is to bring Halloween to our world year after year.

Yeah, those ARE the same plots to Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas" AND "Beetlejuice" cartoons but Thompson can be forgiven for cribbing. Younger audiences may prefer Thompson's colourful characters and endless enthusiasm to Burton's flat tones. For younger readers this is a Halloween must have!

THE END...?!

As the Count would say that's "THREE, THREE scary funny-books Ah-HA-HA!" [Cue thunder and lightning.] The Dark Horse "Books of Monsters, Hauntings, Witches and the Dead" as well as Marvel Monsters and Marvel Zombies are such good titles I've assumed you have them already... if you don't, then SHAME ON YOU!

COUNT VON COUNT: Vonderful! That makes NINE, NINE scary comics! Ah-HA-HA!
[Cue thunder and lightning}
UNKIEDEV: Count, please stop making it rain in the store. You're ruining all the books!
COUNT VON COUNT: ONE, ONE wet nerd! Ah-HA-HA!
UNKIEDEV: *Sigh* Happy Horrors everybody!

By Guest Contributor: UnkieDev

Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff

It's not every week that I get to talk about the comics from last week, but this week is exceptional. Did you know the 25th anniversary of Groo the Wanderer has come and gone? Dark Horse knew, and to celebrate they published the lovely Groo 25th Anniversary Special. Man, last week was awesome.

GROO WHO?

"Legend" is the only word to describe all things Groo. Groo himself is a wandering barbarian, a cartoony parody of the Conan-crowd. He is Groo: bringer of destruction, eater of cheese-dip and friend/owner of his faithful sidekick/dog, Rufferto. He is also dumber than deep fried rocks, has a nose like a potato and cannot step on a boat without accidentally destroying it. For 25 years he has rambled and slayed across five different publishers, 150 comic books and two original graphic novels. His creative team, Mark Evanier (writer) and Sergio Aragones (artist) are comic book legends as well, despite working on this goof-ball character year after year.

Evanier is considered THE comic book scholar, cutting his teeth working for Jack Kirby and Wally Wood. Sergio Aragones, the world famous MAD Magazine cartoonist, has more industry awards for cartooning then he knows what to do with. Aragones has a background in engineering, assuring each catapult, castle and medieval torture device depicted was drawn in perfect working order. The art is so incredibly detailed, Mark and Sergio used to hide hidden messages in each book.

LET'S GET STUPID!

Groo is a tried and true "Funny Book," mixing slapstick, bad puns and silly humor with great stories and art for consistent yucks. Groo had comic fans LOLing and ROLFing before such things existed. Loyal Groo readers know the gentle humor and all around sense of fun found in Groo is to be had in NO OTHER comic. Indeed, The Groo panel at the San Diego comic con is usually jam-packed, even for the past 3 years when there have been no Groo books being published at all!

If this all sounds like kids stuff: sorry, IT IS! South Park and the internet have changed what mainstream culture can laugh at. More recent funny books such as "The Pro," and "The Boys." i.e. "Mature" books, have virtually killed off the all-ages humor comic. Reading Groo is reading books from an often funnier, more innocent time when it was okay to laugh at a moron barbarian, his faithful hound and the thousands he accidentally slays behind him. Let the inner ten year old in you have a break from the grim and gritty. Pick up the silly, crazy and wacky world of Groo TODAY with the The Groo 25th Anniversary Special from Dark Horse, or any of the Groo reprint trades also available here at Forbidden Planet. You will never look at "Mulch" the same way again.

AND ON THAT NOTE:

Groo ain't the only all-ages funny book debuting this week. For fairy tale good times with a dash of gender politics look no further than Linda Medley's award-winning Castle Waiting from Fantagraphics. Dwarves, witches and enchanted princesses try to live together in a crowded, crumbling castle. It's a fairy tale "Real World" that never skimps on charm.

And if THAT wasn't hoy-falloy enough for you, last week also saw the release of Action Philosophers #9 from Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. Simple, clean yet expressive art helps break down the tough concepts of philosophy with fists and funny. Think of the "Big Book" or "Cartoon History of" approach to logical positivism or Marx/Engles... and if you didn't understand a single thing I just said then stick with Groo. Unkie Dev AWAY!

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff

You know you are a comic book geek when Labor Day does NOT fill you with the happy anticipation of hot dogs and swimmin' pools but with anguish and the apprehensive question: "Will this push back my weekly comic books to Thursday?"

Let's Talk Silver!

Nothing beats the Silver Age of comic books for non-stop excitement and joy! Both Marvel and DC comics are keeping a plethora of their silver age material reprinted at rock bottom prices. Does Forbidden Planet have it all in stock? Let's ask:

UNKIEDEV: Forbidden Planet, would you say you have a plethora of Silver Age Comics?
FORBIDDEN PLANET: Oh yes, El Guapo. You have a plethora.
UD: Forbidden Planet... do you even know what a plethora means?

The Silver Age is the early sixties comics revival started by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and the mighty Marvel Bullpen. For the first time the emphasis in the comics was not on the powers that the super heroes possessed, but on their personality, or their friendships and foibles.

Foibles? Wasn't that an 80's toy line of plush, suction cupped lizards?

Essential Hulk Volume 1 - Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Marvel
Not only is this Essential reading for Marvel fans, it is essential reading for all. Explosive panels of a lumbering beats jumping over mesas and smashing tanks to bitty-bits, all while Stan pours on the prolix about pain and responsibility. Fun, fun, fun. Don't look for continuity; it still hadn't been invented. In one story the Hulk's lungs are his only weakness, another issue has them as his greatest strength! This is Silver Age at its best!

Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 - Jack Kirby, DC
Kirby is raw comic book id. After leaving Marvel due to rights, tension and respect Kirby took his fantastic imagination over to DC creating a whole new universe: All the gods that ever were die in a battle, giving birth to two new planets: New Genesis, home of benevolent New Gods and Apokolips, an evil land of power hungry deviants! What follows is the over-the-top shouting, punching and drama of Kirby's unfinished masterpiece. I swear to Pete, every sentence in this book ends with an exclamation point! This is a beautiful volume of reprints, but not as cheap as the Merry Marvel essentials.

There is so much great Silver Age material, and at such low prices, you can't really go wrong. Here's one more of my favorites:

Showcase Presents: The Haunted Tank Vol. 1 - Robert Kanigher (W), Russ Heath, Irv Novick and Joe Kubert (I), DC
This book is a little Golden Age-esque. It's a war comic, and as the Silver Age blazed its trail the diversified topics of the Golden Age: war, romance, western and horror fell by the wayside. Now, maybe you want to go read some new modern comics with long, drawn out stories about attractive teenagers with super powers who still sit around and mope that nobody loves them. Maybe, however, you want a REAL comic book about a Haunted Tank that shoots Nazis in the face! HAUNTED TANK, PLEASE. I could write more explanation on the characters and plots, but "Haunted Tank" sums it up pretty dang good.

Comics should be fun. I have all of literature and cinema for pathos but I have only one time and place for Hulking Green-skinned atomic Monsters, an epic battle of dorky-dressed battle gods or a Haunted Tank piloted by a man named Jeb: The Silver Age.

So this week, blow your paycheck/parent's allowance on some Silver Age treasures. This goes for you too, Hipsters: The Silver Age is Iconically-Ironic. That's it for me, Unkiedev. Have fun and help *CRUNCH* take a bite out of crime!

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkie Dev: Grampy Bramperson

Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff

Urban Legend: There used to be GOOD comic strips.
Status: TRUE!

Go look at the comic strips in a newspaper now. What happened? YOU didn't invent a time machine and go back in time to SAVE comics, that's what! Instead you just hung out in the 21st Century eating tacos or chalupas or whatever, while back in time photography took more and more print space, comics got smaller, and publishing syndicates gained a stranglehold on the artist's vision. Thanks a lot, ya' Taco-Muncher.

Are there still great comic strips? YES. Where are they? Some are still in print. Thanks to R. Crumb and other underground cartoonists; counter culture strips, freed of the greed of the Comic Syndicates, get regular play in alternative weekly newspapers such as the Village Voice, current home of:

Maakies - Tony Millionaire, Fantagraphics Books

Tony Millionaire's Maakies is funny, is entertaining, is brilliant, is... not for kids. A Crow and an Ape, mariners both, drink, fight and commit suicide over and over to the delight of all. Drawn in a vintage 1920's style, Maakies is absurdist humour for the world-weary adult in all of us. So if you are over 16 and like pen and ink renderings of schooners, bird lust, and alligator decapitations then Maakies by Tony Millionaire is available in several volumes RIGHT HERE at Forbidden Planet! If you like those things but are under 16, Millionaire draws a book for you: Sock Monkey from Dark Horse. It's Maakies-lite.

For out-of-print greats, pick up collections of Gary Larson's The Far Side, Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, George Herriman's Krazy Kat, or the BEAUTIFUL collections of Charles Schulz's Peanuts.

Some of the best comic strips are online, where you don't have to worry about print circulation or sharing your residuals with others. Some print comics artists are all scared of web comics. They're like: "Oooh, icky! The death of print media!", while many web comics view the print world as an impenetrable "Old Boy's Club." One of the best web comics to date has found success both digitally and in print:

Penny Arcade - Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, Dark Horse or penny-arcade.com

Colourful and rich, Penny Arcade did not get to be the 300lb. gorilla of web comics simply from its subject matter of video games, web memes and geek culture. Penny Arcade is a masterful comic, using the simplest comedic tools of timing and spontaneity with great flourish. Each new strip is a joy. You would think I was describing a Rembrandt painting, not Penny Arcade, where juicing robots hump oranges, where samurai wield cardboard tubes, where scat abounds, and mess up gark transpires thrice weekly. Penny Arcade is the comic strip that launched a thousand web browsers.

And some of the best comics on the Earth are MINE! Unkie Dev is a Comics Genius. Here's a funny one about Dinosaurs!

COMEDY GOLD! So whom do you suppose will draw the funny comic strips of the future? The smart money is on cyborgs, but my money is on YOU Chalupa-breath! Grab some pens and let the magic happen. 'Til next time this is your Unkie Dev saying: "I shill for Forbidden Planet, always!"

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkie Dev: The Creeps 003

Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff

'Tis time for your weekly forty oz. of funny from Unkie Dev! Last week we focused on the "Top 10 Funniest Comics of All Time," many of which are out of print. Why wait for said classics to return from the beyond? Spend your money NOW on these new INSTA-Classics ©:

Mighty Skullboy Army: Jacob Chabot, Dark Horse. All ages fun with a Robot and Monkey, the two inept lackeys of a grumpy rich-kid skeleton. The Mighty Skullboy Army feels like "Richie Rich," filtered through the Simpsons, fighting Godzilla. Charming and clean lined, Jason Chabot's characters earned their place in the funny firmament by winning Dark Horse Comic's Comic Strip search a few years back. Dark Horse has the collected volume one out now, and Forbidden Planet still has signed copies! Hotcha!

Runaway Comics: Mark Martin, Fantagraphics Books. Spelunk through Forbidden Planet's indie comic's rack for this gem! Mark Martin has been a consistent comics comedian since the Black and White boom/bust of the 80-90's with his Frank Miller parody "Gnatrat" and notable guest runs on the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Wanna' see black and white humour done right for the new millennium? Issues 1-3 of Runaway comics are available NOW!

The Venture Brothers: Seasons 1 and 2 DVDs from Adult Swim. The Venture Brothers is the best show Adult Swim produces: ostensibly a "Johnny Quest" parody, this cartoon is a pop-culture, multi-layered onion slinging warm mud at 60's comics, 70's TV and the 80'alternative art and music scene. Extremely smart, bitingly funny, you will not believe the excitement and depth surrounding a failed bitter scientist, his moron sons, burly bodyguard and their arch villain: A guy in a butterfly costume. Features writing from Ben Edlund, "Angel" TV writer and creator of the Tick!

Ah, reviews are over, time for an interview. NY State Film Regulation 67 REQUIRES the city wide operation of small fortune tellers and mystics to encourage Hollywood to use New York as the location for its romantic comedies, providing wacky yet mystical plot points while building New York's celluloid bankability.

I stopped into a spirit medium's boutique last week where I had the opportunity to interview the late, great Jack "the King" Kirby, X-Men and Fantastic Four co-creator, who passed in 1994. Through spiritual conduit Madam Zororelda we had a great talk. It went like this:

UNKIEDEV: Can he hear me?
ZORORELDA: Yes, he can hear you.
UNKIEDEV: How are you Mr. Kirby? Do you have a moment to talk?
ZORORELDA/JACK KIRBY: Unglub-gool-glob (unintelligible) ...The Twelve shall rise! Cough cough!
UD: Mr. Kirby, let's start with your controversial relationship with Marvel and legendary co-creator Stan Lee. Is there --
Z/JK: Dimi, why you do this to me, Dimi?
UD: Uh, What? Must be a bad connection. Let's try this again: Mr. Kirby, DC is publishing your amazing New Gods storyline with different creators. How does that make you feel?
Z/JK: Can you spare a quarter for an old Altar Boy, Father?
UD: Sir? Jack?
Z/JK: I'll swallow your soul! I'll swallow your soul!
(Note: It was at this point that Madam Zororelda rose off the floor with a levitating lurch, hissing and rotating, as the windows and doors locked themselves tight.)
UD: Waitaminute, you aren't Jack Kirby at all!
Z/JK: NoooOOOooo! We are LEGION!
UNKIEDEV: The Legion of Super Heroes?
Z/JK: HA-HA-HA!! Dead by Dawn! Dead by DAWN!!
UD: Oh-no. Oh No no no...!

By Guest Contributor: Unkie Dev

Unkiedev's Amazing Stuff

Ever since Mouse first hit Cat with Brick, comics have been funny. If milk-through-nose level laughs and guffaws are what you crave, you cannot go wrong with any of the titles on:

Unkiedev's Top 10 Funniest Comics
You Can Read, Though Not Necessarily Buy:

1. Sam and Max: Surfing the Highway (OUT OF PRINT) - Steve Purcell, cartoonist (and now Pixar artist) Steve Purcell's Sam and Max is the funniest of funnies, inspiring a TV show and several video games. Watch Sam the dog and Max the rabbit(?), a.k.a. the "Freelance Police," as they run over criminals, smuggle Mexican frogs and pants aliens in Egypt. This high wire act of art and larffs is out of print, with copies worth hundreds on eBay. Don't worry, Purcell assures fan they'll be back in print soon.


2. The Tick, Volume 1. #1-12 - Ben Edlund. NEC


3. Milk and Cheese - Evan Dorkin is a respected "Go-To" funny guy, but it all started with this amazing indie blood-bath: A carton of Milk and a wedge of Cheese "go bad" and attack anyone and anything that gets in their way. It's "Family Guy" stripped of plot or characters. Just jokes, bricks, jokes, eye-gouging and gory dairy glory.


4. The Magic Whistle - Sam Henderson. Fart and dog-nard jokes for a range of intelligences, Magic Whistle walks a Zen like line 'twix trash and treasure. 3rd Grade art + 6th Grade humor = Comedy Gold under the pen of Sam Henderson, famous for his comedy writing with DC, Nickelodeon, and "Sponge Bob Square pants." Fans of funny: DO NOT MISS.


5. Cromartie High - Eiji Nonaka, ADV Manga.


6. SQUEE - "Invader Zim" creator Jhonen Vasquez's single handedly created the Goth comics boom with the black comedy of "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac." While JTHM may be the bigger hit, SQUEE, his follow up book, is funnier. Not Goth? Fear Not: You don't have to wear mascara to have your mascara run from laughing.


7. Tank Girl - Alan Martin and GORILLAZ artist Jamie Hewlett's cult Australian riot-grrrl is cute and violent. Laugh as she sleeps and shoots her way through many a kangaroo with her eponymous tank. The new series from IDW and Ashley Wood will have fans screaming "YES, She really IS BACK!" WARNING: Though juvenile, this is a "Mature Comic." Warren Ellis fans should buy this NOW.


8. What The..?! - Like Bizarro only Marvel, What The..?! was a raucous Marvel monthly from the late 80's with top creators lampooning Marvel's biggest sellers. Never reprinted. Hunt down the first few issues, as the fake ads alone make it worth the search. Last year's revival book, "Wha... Huh?" was a tickling treat as well!


9. Bizarro World - Various, DC


10. Marvel Monsters - Eric Powell, Keith Giffen and other comedy pros bring you giant monsters making with the laughter and disaster, plus many of Jack Kirby's unintentionally hilarious monster comics from the 50-60's. Fans of this series NEED to pick up "Doris Danger's 'Where Urban Creatures creep and Stomp!'" available now.

Of course that's only the tip of the Zoidberg. Laughs abound, but only 10 can be the top 10. Next week I'll showcase a forgotten funny from the golden age. Till then: buy funny books and floss, floss, FLOSS!

By Guest Contributor: Unkiedev

UnkieDev: The Creeps 002