2022 Halloween Update (or lack thereof)

I would firstly like to apologise. I haven't been in the best of moods for Halloween. I've hardly watched any movies, and I wasn't invited to any costume parties, fairs or dos. It's bad. Very bad. And scary, and not in the appropriate sense.

It's been a tremendously, unbelievably shit year, and this month especially has hit me with many hard blows personally. I've been very depressed. Nothing is going right. I want to stay positive, but I don't want to deny reality either. That's not a healthy or safe way to live, either.

How we as a species are meant to survive when we have suddenly, aggressively refused to progress... and why we can't just love, care and respect each other already - it's madness. It's all scarier than any horror film or imagined creature ever thought up by man, woman, enby, and child of all genders and ethnicities.

Still, I had enough of the witchy and orange pumpkin spirit in me on this particular day to be the only person dressed up at my work, and be the envy of everyone else as a result. I wore my pumpkin and black cat jumper, black cat earrings, purple lipstick, amethyst jewel necklace, Wednesday Addams/Lisa Simpson pin, and my little witch hat with the veil and gems in it. I forgot to take a photo to show you. Oh well. It's a shame about the lack of parties around because I love to dress up. It helps build up my confidence.

I'll leave off my Halloween (and life) update with my favourite Halloween films list, from the list I made two years ago, with new additions.

Here we go!:

23. Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988)

22. The Craft: Legacy (2020)

21. Black Christmas (2019)

20. Till Death (2021)

19. Jennifer's Body (2009)

18. Dracula's Daughter (1936)

17. Assassination Nation (2018)

16. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

15. Crimson Peak (2015)

14. Daphne & Velma (2018)

13. The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

12. Interview with the Vampire (1994)

11. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

10. Carrie (1976)

9. Mary Shelley (2017)

8. Ghostbusters (aka Ghostbusters: Answer the Call) (2016)

7. Black Swan (2010)

6. Corpse Bride (2005)

5. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

4. Return to Oz (1985)

3. Coraline (2009)

2. The Love Witch (2016)

1. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Happy Halloween 👻💀👿😱🧛💜😨🌱

Book Review - 'The Grimrose Girls' by Laura Pohl

There's hardly much for me to say about 'The Grimrose Girls', other than it adds weight to a theory of mine that in the last couple years a lot of publishing houses have been cutting back on editors and proofreaders, since again, this new book contains numerous and inexcusable typos. Or people involved in the industry are getting lazy. Either way, it goes to show how the late stage and endgame of capitalism is effecting everything - everything in our media, including literature. It is ruining--no, it is destroying everything, and we are all suffering for it.

Also, 'The Grimrose Girls' isn't a well executed and well written book overall, in my opinion. The diversity is great, that much should be lauded, but that alone can't save a weak story with squandered potential. The characterisation is inconsistent and confusing, any kind of plot structure is almost nonexistent, leading to a slow and meandering pace, characters whom it would be generous to call "minor" pop up and disappear just as quickly, plus you're somehow supposed to care about some of these names-on-one-page when they die much later on (no matter how brutally and grisly), other "characters" are superfluous and serve no real or solid purpose whatsoever, and the ending is underwhelming, with the mystery only half solved in order to set up the sequel, which is really not needed.

Stuff just happens. By and large forgettable stuff. Not a good sign for a mystery.

What a disappointing gothic mystery. But I can't say I'm surprised. YA has a bad track record when it comes to books like these.

The main Grimrose elite boarding schoolgirls themselves - Ella, Yuki, Rory and Nani - are interesting, distinct and diverse (in sexualities, body types and health issues as well as race), but they all become irritating and even infuriating to read about, around the book's second half; not helped by the aforementioned inconsistent characterisation. This is despite knowing they are teenagers with serious issues amidst a shadow of grief over the death - the murder - of a friend. Often they just do and act however the "plot" wants them to. Further on, especially when other gruesome student deaths start happening, and when overt supernatural phenomena occur, it becomes clear they don't act like believable human beings, let alone behave appropriately in any given situation.

Side characters suffer from the same problems. Nearly everyone gets their arsehole moment for the sake of conflict and angst, or to be gratuitously mean, or they're sketchy arseholes throughout for no logical reason.

I didn't like anyone more the further I kept reading. I only found them to be more difficult to like as I got closer to the end.

Also, are Frederick, Ella's love interest, and Edric, the murdered girl Ariane's ex-boyfriend, the only male students in Grimrose Académie? I now realise how similar their names are! And why is no one mentioning the boy who is murdered later in the book, alongside a girl? So it's not just girls who are targeted in tragic fairy tale fashion in the school, is it?

The attempts at humour are hit and miss; the Disney references mostly consist of misses, as does the banter between the four girls. I know three of them are grieving the loss of a best friend, and they are going through difficult times, but are they actually best friends themselves? They don't seem to like each other at all. Why are they friends? How were they friends even before the death which sets off the book's supernatural mystery "plot"? Hence part of the reason why I found them to be irritating to read about and follow.

The best compliment I can give 'The Grimrose Girls' is that it is a better version of 'The Sisters Grimm' by Menna van Praag. At least the four teenage girl leads who're based off of fairy tale female leads know each other and talk to each other, and there's no sickening heteronormativity everywhere. Almost no one is straight. The love interest of one of the girls is a trans girl*. What proud rep!

In conclusion: 'The Grimrose Girls' needed miles better editing and tightening before being published and sold in bookshops. More plot, less overarching situation; more clues earlier on, less revelatory clues that are contrivedly crammed in in the last fifty pages; and give the side characters more of a presence and something to do. Give them purpose other than emotional support, and make them good emotional support, who talk like actual human beings, at the very least! As for other characters who appear in and are mentioned in precisely one or two chapters, include them in further pages, or scrap them entirely.

Lastly: give a reason why certain overprotective parents wouldn't take their child out of Grimrose Académie after the news of the multiple horrific student deaths!

Final Score: 2/5

*Though said girl, Nani, is meant to represent Beauty of 'Beauty and the Beast', which makes the only trans character in the book, Svenja, intentionally or not, the Beast, which is problematic. In fact there is some problematic rep in the diversity (the absent Black father who abandons Nani, the cold, distant, somewhat heartless aro-ace Yuki, etc), so I can't say now that it's "great", no matter how much rep is included and spread throughout. How they are portrayed is just as important. At least Nani is a fat, bespectacled, half-Black/half-Hawaiin lesbian Beauty, and Svenja, who is connected to 'The Ugly Duckling' and 'Swan Lake', isn't angsty and is generally a cheeky, happy-go-lucky sort.

EDIT: How could I forget about another instance which proves the book's bad editing and bad writing all around - "Yuki snapped" (following her dialogue) is written eight times, maybe nine. She does snap at her friends an awful lot, doesn't she? Not that her unwarrantably mean and catty friends are any better.

Book Review - 'Nick and Charlie' by Alice Oseman

More Nick and Charlie is never a bad thing, and this sweet, touching, yet harrowing and sad and real 'Heartstopper' novella takes place at the cusp of their adulthood - well, Nick's adulthood, as it's close to the end of the school year and he's going to leave for university.

Charlie doesn't know how things will turn out for them now. True to form, he's anxious about how they will manage a long distance relationship after two years of constantly being together. Constantly sleeping over at each other's houses even on school nights. Constantly loving to spend time together, no matter how "boring" or "mundane" or "ordinary" it is. Rising worries and apprehension, and a lack of communication, are not helping the situation.

Teenage couples are not supposed to be this intense, so full of genuine love and nonstop affection, right?

First loves rarely, if ever, last forever, after all.

But for Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring, the ultimate couple of the new generation, there might indeed be such a thing as soulmates.

'Nick and Charlie' isn't getting five solid gold stars, as is the case for my 'Heartstopper' comics ratings, mainly because I am not fond of, and generally have no patience for, teenage relationship melodrama and misunderstandings, even if I like the couple in question, and no matter how much I like them. At least this is a short novella, skirting at 160 pages, and is easily readable and digestible.

Tao is here, and he and Elle are talked about - in fact they become a plot point - but Elle herself isn't present in the book, which is disappointing. She's one of my favourite characters, and I don't appreciate her being shafted in Nick and Charlie's "final" story.

Come to think of it, where are Tara and Darcy? Harry receives a part, but they don't?!

However, there are things to like and love in 'Nick and Charlie' that aren't just about the precious title characters. Tori is in it, and is awesome and surprising as usual. Her support for her brother is beyond commendable. Aled Last has a big role; he's a sweet little angel cupcake. The author's illustrations, occasionally included throughout, are the best, most wonderful things ever. They help elevate Nick and Charlie's status as the OTP of the century. And Nick's dogs!

What more is there to say? Obviously read it if you're already a fan of 'Heartstopper', and Alice Oseman's works across the universal board. They're special. They're lovely. They're true to life, and uplifting and hopeful.

Final Score: 4/5

Book Review - 'This Winter' by Alice Oseman

Hey, why not read a tiny little story about someone's worst Christmas Day right now?

I work in retail. Christmas stuff has been fucking everywhere since September. So reading about a miserable holiday this winter (heh) is somewhat cathartic.

Taking place in the world of 'Heartstopper' - hence why I ultimately decided to buy it - 'This Winter' is a novella that is pretty depressing for the most part; anger-inducing in some, and nice and lovely in others. It's barely one hundred pages long - even less if you don't count the always wonderful Oseman illustrations - and is divided into three parts, each from the perspectives of the three Spring siblings: Tori, Charlie and Oliver respectively, during a particularly difficult Christmas, after a particularly difficult year.

Seven-year-old Oliver's section is the final one and is only seven pages, yet his simple wisdom is something adults should adhere to and remember. The innocent little boy just wants to play Mario Kart with his big brother and sister amidst the season of presents and family.

But Charlie and Tori...oh boy.

But at least Charlie will always have Nick. Nick Nelson, despite his own ridiculously large family gathering, is there for him this Christmas, thank goodness.

Charlie will fully learn and realise he has Tori, too. Always had, always will.

'This Winter' really is a simple novella that can be finished in less than an hour, and could easily have been a chapter in the 'Heartstopper' comic. It didn't need to be sold as a separate book, and it isn't the most joyous, endearing, dynamic and fixed structurally-driven of holiday reads. It's honest, and a little incomplete, but that's life, isn't it? It's part of the 'Heartstopper' universe, and it shows there is hope in the future for these kids. Lessons are learnt. So that makes its existence valid.

Charlie's self-pity and lamenting that everything is his fault (it isn't) is grating at this point. Not that he doesn't occasionally acknowledge that unfortunately a lot of people are just shit to him and he's not to blame for their words and actions, and he is fifteen and has been struggling with his mental health issues, but still. It can get irritating.

You matter, Charlie! You deserve to exist, and as you are! Nick knows it, Tori knows it. You are accepted. You are loved. There are people who want to help you and want to try to understand you. I want to hug this kid.

Tori is her deadpan, sardonic, snarky, morose, depressed self, who remains there for Charlie, and sticks up for him, and puts herself out there for him. She's great. You don't need to change either, girl!

I relate to Tori and Charlie: my brother and I are also the only quiet and withdrawn ones in a family full of loud and cheerful chatterboxes! How does that work genetically?!

There's no such thing as the perfect family, no matter how many of them try to pretend otherwise. Humans are human, individuals are individuals, and people and situations will not always turn out like how you wanted. In fact, nice times out of ten, they don't. Not genuinely.

Sometimes just being there for someone, hugging them, is the best you can do for them, in times of distress. And not just at Christmas.

I'm there for Charlie and Nick. And for Charlie and Tori.

'This Winter' also counts as a 'Solitaire' novella, and the paperback version I have ends with the first chapter of 'Solitaire'. Good, as its beginning is the best part of it, in my opinion. You can never have too much Tori Spring, either.

(Additionally, one of the presents she receives is a Wednesday Addams laptop case. As well as Nick and Charlie being together, there are some legit adorable and sweet moments in the novella; that is one of them. Plus Oliver just being Oliver.)

Sad and true, yet uplifting thanks to flawed people's children's positive efforts and actions. Relatable reading, and not only because winter might be my favourite season after all (when there should be Christmas and other holiday things around).

Final Score: 3/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'The Heartstopper Yearbook' by Alice Oseman

It's always good to have more 'Heartstopper' in the world. So sweet, wholesome and romantic, and now in colour!

Character bios, minicomics, sketches, themes, alternate universe ideas, drawing tips, and other behind the scenes goodness, and Alice Oseman is here to guide us through it all! To look at how far 'Heartstopper' has come, and it's not finished yet! It is a successful phenomenon.

Nick and Charlie, Tara and Darcy, Elle and Tao, Mr Farouk and Mr Ajayi, and Tori, Aled(!), Michael, and other characters are presented in this yearbook.

I only wish Miss Singh was in it and had her own bio, too. She's awesome. She's married to a woman - let her have her spotlight!

And oh, those doggies, Nellie and Henry! And did I mention Tori? The best sister ever? The best antisocial moody teen ever? Aled is beyond adorable, as well. Heck, every main character here is: Charlie, Nick, Elle, Darcy, Tara - I want to hug and gush about them all! I want to adopt them!

Thank you, Alice Oseman, once again, for your creations.

Final Score: 4.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Doughnuts and Doom' by Balazs Lorinczi

I'm a simple woman. I see a book with the word "doughnuts" in the title and I'm gonna get it. That 'Doughnuts and Doom' is also about witches and is an LBGTQ love story helps its case.

One young woman, Margot Grapes, is a struggling learner witch with a snake familiar and an online potion making and selling business, and the other, Elena Rogers, works at Midnight Froth Doughnuts and is a struggling rock band musician. One has a broom, the other a guitar. One has magic, the other doesn't, and they're both having a bad day. They meet, and chaos and curses, and healing, love and support, start.

It's the start of an organic and crusty warm relationship, that is anything but doomed, and is as sweet as a pink frosted doughnut.

'Doughnuts and Doom' is a short and simple comic where both the witchy and the queer elements are understated. Witches and magic are a normal everyday fact of life in this contemporary world similar to our own - if a bit rare since apparently Margot is the only witch the other characters have ever really encountered. It's a slice of life comedy more than anything. It even makes references to 'Kiki's Delivery Service', with Margot flying around on her broomstick as her mode of transport and of making deliveries for her potion webshop business. The characters feel like real people, with flaws and problems, but they have positive, caring and empathetic sides, too.

The art is all shades of blue, and black, with the occasional pink to signify when magic and curses are present. And to signify musical romantic stars and sparks. I wonder why Margot looks like a Muppet, though. Or a Potato Head. The only other witch in the comic, the examiner Katie Banks - who is also the closest the book has to an antagonist - doesn't have a nose that looks detachable. Maybe Margot actually originally came from Sesame Street.

Magic, music, singing, lovely lyrics, social media, soul lifts and life affirmations, and doughnuts. And a friendly snake. And a slow burning love between seeming polar opposites, each with big dreams.

'Doughnuts and Doom' is a comfort and confidence booster, to be sure. Like a cathartic coffee or tea in a café, served with the sweetest pastry goods on the side.

Final Score: 4/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Shazam Family Giant: Make Mine Mary Marvel' by Mini Komix

What can I say? Turns out I have a soft spot for the superhero classics that go back to the 40s and 50s. I bought this weird and obscure little thing from Amazon mainly because of Mary Marvel, and I wanted to know more about her.

'Shazam Family Giant: Make Mine Mary Marvel' collects Mary Bromfield/Batson's origin issue, and both her individual and her Shazam/Marvel family team-up (consisting of Billy Batson/Captain Marvel and Freddy Freeman/Captain Marvel Jr.) issues. These are more funnies and magazine companions to go with other products than anything else. This is from a time before DC even owned these characters.

The stories are such silly but fun little visual ditties, as is to be expected from that period of time. Every kind of wackiness, goofiness, "just roll with it"-ness, and murdering of science is present. "Holy Moley!" is said a lot, too.

I like the ones where: Mary Marvel uncovers a witch hunt and conspiracy in a superstitious part of a town; the Marvel family literally save galaxies from a million year war with each other; Mary saves her kidnapped friend Freckles Dudley, who isn't so helpless after all (Freckles is a recurring female friend character); Mary in a sweet, sleighing Christmas special; Mary stops a robot-inventing supervillainess from stealing a diadem and becoming the princess of earth; the family trio travels to the past, present and future to save geniuses; and Mary stops an unseasonal blizzard and a mad scientist, when she'd been out at a tropical beach with her (adoptive, presumably) mother.

It's impressive how much of a strong, capable and competent superheroine Mary Marvel is, whether independently or in her team of brothers. She is the lightning bolt girl, with super strength, speed, flight and invulnerability, from the goddesses Selena, Hippolyta, Ariadne, Zephyrus, Aurora and Minerva (oh, I get it now). Always proving sexist assumptions wrong, she is called the mightiest girl in the world, possibly the universe. And this is from the 40s-50s.

Unfortunately, for every step forward in positive gender representation, there still remains the racist depictions. In the million year galactic war story, the aliens from one of the galaxies that the family sees strongly resemble Chinese male stereotypes, and in some issues I'm sure there are villains who are antisemitic caricatures as well.

Mary Marvel is getting her own solo comic book, 'The New Champion of Shazam!', and I'll definitely be reading it when it comes out as a full volume in 2023. I'm always on the lookout and staying tuned to stories about superhero girls and women!

Final Score: 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Sweetie Vol. 1' by Sean Dillon (Writer/Artist), Steven Petrivelli (Cowriter)

'Sweetie Vol. 1' is a very unusual superhero comic. Not just because its young heroine got her "powers" from simply copying moves and styles she's seen on TV and in comics her whole life, but because it isn't just about beating the bad guys. In fact, the evil mastermind plot takes a backseat as the issues progress - which can be a detriment to the comic's story and pacing, admittedly - and at the forefront is the shy and withdrawn heroine, Maggie, or "Sweetie", in her coming-of-age story about social interaction, making friends and finding peers who share her nerdy interests, or don't, but who are there for her anyway, and vice versa.

Genre savvy, jaded and insecure, she fears for people's lives, and people themselves. But in trying new, maybe less dangerous hobbies and pass times, this amazing-but-reckless-and-in-her-head-and-in-over-her-head hero finds she isn't so lonely, helpless and hopeless after all.

The root cause for why Maggie is the way she is goes back to her family life, with her loving, worrier father, and her fully supportive but now dead mother (of course there's a dead mother here, why wouldn't there be? Teen grief and depression have to come from somewhere, right? At least there are vague inklings of a mystery surrounding Dead Mom™ that may be explored further in a possible sequel). There are hints in the comic that Maggie is neurodivergent and on the autism spectrum, and crowds and interacting with people are her kryptonite.

'Sweetie' is a chaotic yet sweet and spectacularly nerdy comic. It's all over the place, but there is heart present on every page. It took a while for me to get used to the off-putting, exaggerated and slightly abstract cartoony artwork, but it's colourful, bold, expressive and emotional enough. There are references to mecha anime, 'Dungeons & Dragons', 'Yugioh!', 'Naruto', 'Steven Universe', the MCU, and Maggie's dad wears a Green Lantern shirt at one point. One of her bedroom posters is of Sailor Moon! Other anime and superhero media are included, I'm sure, but I can't think of them right now.

Above everything else, I think 'Sweetie Vol. 1' is about embracing your fanboy/fangirl/fan-enby side and having fun with it, and friendship - revolving around a small, introverted comics-and-TV-loving Black girl with big Medusa-like hair who both wants and doesn't want to be a real life superhero; she wants to because heroes are her passion and the corrupt, crime-ridden world needs them, and she doesn't want to because of the danger it puts herself and others in (seriously, for a supposed kids' superhero comic, 'Sweetie' doesn't shy away from the realities of violence, and it sugarcoats nothing when it comes to the threat of violence and death. It can be pretty dark). She doesn't want to worry her dad. Her broken family is still in mourning over her mother's death.

She might come to wholeheartedly embrace the hero she is through her new super geeky friends, however.

'Sweetie Vol. 1' - a unique, pulsating, exciting, sweet thing.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Katie the Catsitter' by Colleen A.F. Venable (Writer), Stephanie Yue (Artist), Braden Lamb (Colourist)

A cute graphic novel with a young female protagonist, and cats and superheroes and antiheroines.

It's my heaven.

What more could you want?!

'Katie the Catsitter' is about more than the determined twelve-year-old Katie keeping hundreds of super intelligent felines out of trouble for her neighbours, for a fee so she can afford to join her friends at summer camp. There's more than arts, crafts, chores, odd jobs, colour, glitter, stickers, and pubescent cutesiness and drama going on here. It's about friendship, growing up, moving on, finding new interests and hobbies, responsibility, motherhood, getting to know new people, never judging anyone at face value, looking at the bigger picture, and doing the right thing - like saving a misunderstood heroine. Who might in fact be a political prisoner. Social justice - for animal rights!

Catwoman--er, Mousetress--would be proud.

'Katie the Catsitter' is funny and enjoyable stuff. However, the pacing is off at times - kind of slow - and not everything is resolved satisfactorily, due to some subplots receiving priority over others, resulting in a rushed ending. Issues that come up, or have come up beforehand, are glossed over and gotten over very quickly. Maybe the story threads that have fallen on the wayside will be picked up again and explored more thoroughly in the sequel?

A few elements, and characters, are severely underdeveloped. In fact, in the middle of the book a plot point is established involving a superhero's seedy intel and interception, but then it is completely forgotten about. It's never brought up again.

It's still a fluffy (it has to be if it has this many cats!) and creative children's graphic novel, that also happens to contain superheroes. I adore nearly everyone in it - Katie, her neighbour the cool and stylish cat lady Madeline Lang, her other neighbour the grouchy and crotchety old Mrs. Piper, and her mother, Cheryl, who is among the loveliest, funniest, and most supportive and relatable single mums I've ever seen in fiction. She's like a best friend to Katie, which is awesome.

Recommended for an adorable, fun, silly time.

Final Score: 3.5/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Barb the Brave: The Ghost Blade' by Dan Abdo and Jason Patterson

2023 EDIT: Part of my 2023 clear-up, of books I no longer like, or am no longer interested in, or remember well as standing out, or find as special anymore, or I otherwise will not miss.

Final Score: 3.5/5





Original Review:

A fun and funny sequel to 'Barb the Brave', as expected. It's not as good as its predecessor, but this is a fun series. What a refresher for a comic to not be confusing or convoluted.

This book ends on a cliffhanger, though, and I'm not sure about the next sequel.

'Barb the Brave' (or 'Barb the Last Berzerker') - great for kids and adults.

Final Score: 4/5

Top 40 Favourite Films of All Time (2022 Redo)

Click here for my previous list, for more info. Times and tastes have changed once again. Oh well. Human nature.

My Top 40 Favourite Films of All Time:

40. Coraline (2009)

39. I am Dragon (2017)

38. The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

37. The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)

36. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

35. Hidden Figures (2016)

34. Chicago (2002)

33. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

32. The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

31. Hairspray (2007)

30. The Watermelon Woman (1996)

29. When Marnie Was There (2014)

28. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017)

27. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)

26. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

25. Bound (1996)

24. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

23. The Breadwinner (2017)

22. Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)

21. Chicken Run (2000)

20. The Truman Show (1998)

19. The Love Witch (2016)

18. Matilda (1996)

17. Brave (2012)

16. Erin Brockovich (2000)

15. Dumplin' (2018)

14. Aladdin (1992)

13. Enchanted (2007)

12. Ever After (1998)

11. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

10. Shrek 2 (2004)

9. Millennium Actress (2001)

8. Thelma & Louise (1991)

7. Princess Mononoke (1997)

6. Finding Nemo (2003)

5. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

4. Evita (1996)

3. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

2. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

1. Inside Out (2015)

Graphic Novel Review - 'Crush & Lobo' by Mariko Tamaki (Writer), Amancay Nahuelpan (Artist), Tamra Bonvillain (Colour Artist), Nick Filardi (Colour Artist), Ariana Maher (Letterer)

There are things holding 'Crush & Lobo' back from being overall good, certainly. Before reading, I knew very little about Lobo - I had certainly never read a comic that featured him - and I'd first heard of Crush from 'DC Brave and Bold! Female DC Super Heroes Take on the Universe', and she sounded really interesting to me, hence why I decided to buy this comic when I happened upon it on a comics shelf in my local pop culture and entertainment shop. What luck and chance, eh?

Also it is written by Mariko Tamaki, and I've read a lot of comics by her.

The comic itself contains a shit ton of meta humour and fourth wall breaking jokes from the get-go. These include making assumptions about the reader and insulting them, at least with a rude term, like saying, "Shut up, I know this makes no sense, I'm not good at this whole life story telling thing". Understandably, this won't be to everyone's tastes and can be off-putting. It can be cynical and self-deprecating - absolutely nothing is safe and sacred here - though whether this is funny or just obnoxious and desperate is, again, up to the individual reader's tastes. There are plot holes, structural flaws, logic lapses, even for an OTT comedy comic, and most damningly, the ending leaves something to be desired. There's a static status quo stuck to (wow there's a tongue twister) for the DC canon, and a sequel hook, that deliberately leave behind no moral, no satisfying payoff to the whole comic, making it rather pointless.

And yet...I kind of love it.

I've found I can't get 'Crush & Lobo' out of my head and my heart. Despite everything, I love this unique and chaotic creation.

To start with, the art is gorgeous and amazing, among the best I've seen in a superhero comic. The colours, the shades, the details, everything from the settings to the action looks great. Everyone looks great. Crush's design and expressions are just *chef's kiss*, and Lobo...even with the limited knowledge I have of him, I can confidently say that he must have never looked this freakishly, strikingly detailed. Including when he gets naked (yes, he gets naked in at least seven pages in the comic, though thankfully we are spared a certain little detail). Emotional and characteristic expressions are everything and everywhere. Both the humans and the various and multiple alien designs look fantastic.

The comic is so much fun. It's full of action and humour, and there is not a single dull moment; not a single dull, half-arsed panel. Like in any proper superhero comic, there are crazy, out-of-this-world concepts (there have to be, it is mostly set in space!) all over the shop. It moves on in a constant momentum and rush, but still finds time for pathos, introspection and reflection, and some character development for Crush. Mainly revolving around her relationship with her human girlfriend Katie, which is on the rocks.

Crush and Katie are polar and solar opposites, and we don't see much of them together, but there is evidently heart there. Sweetness too. You can see why Crush would need someone like the normal human Katie in her life. But Crush, the self-destructive and chaotic gothic punk with daddy issues, is not a good girlfriend. She is borderline neglectful, and toxic, and maybe the too-good-for-this-universe Katie deserves better. Maybe they do need space, for a while...

Now, onto the number one reason I bought 'Crush & Lobo' - Crush. I wanted to know more about her, and couldn't find much anywhere, including the internet, bizarrely. Crush's fourth wall annihilating narration boxes in this comic include telling readers to search more about her online to spare herself from exposition dumping out of laziness and carelessness, but no. That one's definitely not funny. There's no Wikipedia page on her, nothing. In the comic, her earth name, Xiomara Rojas, is not mentioned, and all we get to know about her, origin wise, is: she was raised by criminal human parents, she is indeed Lobo's daughter, and is among the last of her alien race the Czarnians (Lobo killed them), and she was a Teen Titan.

However, whether it is reading about her in another book, or in this book, I am newly intrigued by this newish DC antiheroine. A newish DC LBGTQ antiheroine.

Crush is cool. Verycool. She's like a teenage alien fighter punk Harley Quinn, with muscles and hundreds of travel mugs and no shits to give. She is terribly flawed, but that only makes her more interesting and believable. Her brash and blunt company won't be to everyone's liking, but as a flawed fictional female who says fuck you to the patriarchy's conditioned cultural idea of likeability in females, she is a breath of fresh air.

I'd say good for her if she doesn't want to turn out like her evil, brutish, obnoxious, murderous, irredeemable, one dimensional space thug of a father, but at the same time she wants the freeing aspect of his lifestyle. No responsibility, no accountability (for now, anyway) - an adventurer who is violent and ill-tempered and is running away from her problems and issues for the time being - it is who she chooses to be.

Above all, Crush is a teenager. Allowed to be selfish and make mistakes. Room to grow. All that jazz.

Or am I reaching, and doing mental gymnastics to try to reasonably justify my love for this stupid comic? Do I care? No, I don't think so. I don't think I should.

It's a fun and funny comic with a badass female lead, what do you want from me!

'Crush & Lobo' doesn't bother me so much. My infatuation is mostly emotional, I admit. That there shockingly isn't anything intrinsically, particularly meanspirited, cruel, nasty and toxic about it - it truly wants to have fun - has soften me to it, as well. It doesn't seem to have come from a bad place. The art, the craziness, the no-fucks-given humour, the heart, Crush herself as a new favourite DC character of mine, and even Lobo, and the seriously fucked up and complicated relationship the father and daughter have (while Crush is the protagonist, Lobo and his time with her do receive the appropriate page time; for it is titled 'Crush & Lobo').

A tiny fraction of the WTF-ness presented in the comic - Crush eats a life-sized cookie of herself, giant alien praying mantises exist, Lobo has an obsessed alien suburban housewife girlfriend, Crush's reappearing enemy is a Krang/MODOK-like barista, space lizards love her, and she ends up accepting a bounty hunter job from an evil space prison that had tortured her throughout the story, with hardly any hesitation. But she wants an extortionate fee, of course. Unlike her father, she is not a bounty hunter for the murderous hell of it; she's good at it, but she's also got mouths to feed.

Another tongue-in-cheek gag and fourth wall destroyer - Goodreads. Seriously. There is a site called Goodreading in this comic's universe. It's funny and clever in many ways.

My review has become as messy and messed up as the comic itself. Oh well, in the vein of Crush and her attitude, who cares?

'Crush & Lobo', my recent guilty pleasure.

A three star book I still really like and is a keeper? Now there's something unique for me.

Final Score: 3/5

Graphic Novel Review - 'Harley Quinn Black + White + Red' by Various

I'm excited to get into this. I'll just review each issue in this new 'Harley Quinn' collection - go!:

1. 'Harleen: Red' - A sequel one-shot to Stjepan Šejić's masterpiece, 'Harleen'. The only thing I'll slightly spoil is that Poison Ivy is Harleen's saviour. Šejić's OTP ship has come true...kind of. Ivy being Harley's salvation without it being too explicit that they're a romantic pair is a theme in a lot of the issues in this omnibus. It's a little frustrating - WTH, DC? - but hey, they're together, and what's more, they're awesome together.

2. 'Fashion Victim' - Harley enters a catwalk runway against Catwoman to one-up her on social media. It's as silly as it sounds. Who knew being a Gotham crime queen was so prestigious and glamourous? The story also kind of pays homage to 'Cruella', if that was intentional. Additionally, Harley talks to her stuffed beaver, and she and Catwoman make a good team and friendship at the end. Killer Frost cameos. "Indeed. Real life is nothing compared to online validation."

3. 'Get Yer Story Straight' - Three crooks in a bar recount each of their versions of the story of how they stole Harley's Joker gas bucket from her. Of course in the end she outsmarts them and takes it back. It's fun and goofy stuff.

4. 'Who Diss?' - Harley enters a rap battle and is surprisingly good at it, thanks to her psychology background in spotting her opponent's weaknesses to get them served. I'm no rap expert, so I don't know how good any of these lyrics actually are. Ivy is in this and she is wonderful. Scarface is in the rap battle, too. This is another story where Harley and Ivy are an ambiguously sapphic duo.

5. 'The Life and Death of Harley Quinn' - Not sure about it. It has the ugliest and messiest art of the collection. It's short, and ends with a bang. I guess the randomness and madness of it all is intentional. And does Harley ship herself with Plastic Man? WTF? Starro the Conqueror guest stars in one panel.

6. 'Black, White Knight, & Red' - A sequel one-shot to 'Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn'. It's all right. It's funny, touching, and it highlights the best of Harley in that series. A short and sweet Valentine's Day special.

7. 'Give Me A Break' - A comedic Harley and Ivy comic that looks like it came out of the funny papers. Except it is more violent. Ivy is the serious and pissed off straight man (woman?), and Harley is the silly, airheaded screwup and foil of the duo. Hilarity ensues.

8. 'The End of the Line' - Heh, love this one. Big-haired and big-shoulder padded Harley gets trapped in a subway train in New York, wanting to arrive at Coney Island. There are subway pirates (yes, you read that right), and a group of them are called the Manspreaders. I absolutely love it. Every joke and pun land and work spectacularly. The whole comic, filled with 70s and 80s movie references, is comedy gold. Very clever and uproarious.

9. 'Indianna Quinn' - An archaeological quest for the fountain of youth, staring Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Pursuing them are Batman - and Batgirl! Another favourite of mine. I've already said this a bunch of times, but it bears repeating: the two ladies work so well together, don't they? That ending...no way it could be interpreted as ambiguous. An awesome action adventure (alliteration!).

10. 'Sunshine Getaway' - The worst in the omnibus, with the worst art and story. Yes, screw it, its art is worse than in 'The Life and Death of Harley Quinn'. Harley is on holiday (in Florida?) and an ex of hers dognaps her hyenas. She tortures and fights her way to getting them back. It's very meh. Who cares. Moving on.

11. 'Hypothetically Speaking' - Now THIS is more like it. My absolute favourite of the collection. I won't dare give anything away, but trust me, it is worthy of an Eisner Award. It resembles the best episodes of 'Batman: The Animated Series'. It showcases Harley at her cleverest. She is amazing, and she doesn't actually have to do anything - physically - to prove it. Oh, I can't resist giving away one thing: Batwoman is in it. 'Hypothetically Speaking' - a Harley Quinn masterpiece, and that is not hypothetical.

12. 'Harley Quinn & the Annihilators' - Never been a fan of Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner's run and take on Harley, so this didn't do much for me. The humour is pretty terrible, lame, juvenile and try-too-hard, and really, who cares about this Harley's group of friends? They're not memorable, and again, they're lame. I think the only thing I found to be genuinely funny here is this line, said by what's-his-face in a pizza coma: "Oh, why couldn't we have found a subway car full of knife-wielding mass murderers...I could be blissfully dead right now."

13. 'Red Ink' - Harley becomes a member (the only active female member) of the Legion of Doom. It almost entirely takes place in the Hall of Doom, where nothing actually happens. But it's pretty funny, especially with its supervillain banter, shading and roasting. Bane has his surprising moments, and character development with Harley. Snowflame is mentioned. Nuff said. Favourite funny line coming up: Harley: Probably explains why I'm in such a crazy hurry!, Baker: You are? 'Cause when you started talking, I was clean shaven.

14. 'Fixer-Upper' - A somber, more introspective Harley tale. It revolves around her abusive and literally destructive relationship with the Joker. It's a good, sad character growth piece. Its art and style are similar to 'Batman: The Animated Series', containing heavy 'Harleen' and 'Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn' layers to it. But did Harley seriously refer to Ivy as her "gal pal"?! I hope that changes in the future, after this version of Harls breaks up with Joker.

15. 'Happy Thanksquinning' - Now we come to the Christmas and New Year Harley Quinn stories. In 'Happy Thanksquinning', there is a riot at Arkham at Thanksgiving, featuring Lock-Up, Bane, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Killer Croc. Harley escapes, and the comedic holiday special takes a surprisingly sad turn. I really felt sorry for Harley, as she tries to find loved ones - or just anyone, or anything - to celebrate Thanksgiving with. Her jubilant and partying spirit is crushed. What does she have to be thankful for? Spoiler - of course it's Ivy she ends up celebrating with. Our favourite Gotham clown crime queen steals her a couple's gift and returns to Arkham for her. Harley explicitly says that she loves Ivy - and she kisses her on the cheek. She is her real family now. They are each other's family. Contains a good little, much needed shade against Columbus, to boot. The closing line? "Besides, I can always break out again on Black Friday!"

16. ''Twas the Night Before Quinn-Mas' - Oh great, a spinoff of Palmiotti and Conner's Harley Quinn, with funky and ugly artwork. But some of the jokes are legitimately funny, while others are still lame and juvenile. It's basically about Harley playing Santa Claus, and that's all you need to know. I also realised from reading this issue that one of Harley's friends, Red Tool (or just Tool, because laugh dammit laugh! We're desperate!), is like DC's ripoff - er, parody - of Deadpool. A parody of a parody? That doesn't work. A friendly homage? Maybe. Nonetheless, WTH?

17. 'The Morning After' - Harley wants to make Boxing Day just as special as Christmas Day, and Ivy has to suffer through her hijinks with her. There are nuns, orphans, mobsters, and a criminal rent-a-Santa. It's another very funny one, although the rent-a-Santa's real name being Norm Titsworth is...yeah. Harley and Ivy are the ambiguously sapphic duo once again, even when the comic begins with a narration box saying, "But once Harley and Ivy were through mistletoe kissin'..." (were they kissing each other or other people?), and it ends with them walking out together, arms on each other's shoulders, and the clown antiheroine calls her redheaded horticultural gal pal, "Sweetie". Wait, why does a cartoony talking horse sing us out as the comic finishes? That has never appeared before.

18. 'Eight Nights of Harlequin' - A confusing one, especially at the end. Harley is confident and murderous - truly like a female Joker in red and black, and with fair hair in pigtails - as she explains the story behind Hanukkah (or Chanukah) and its meaning, while both in and out of prison. She's half Jewish. Is this officially part of Harley Quinn's character? Is it canon? I can't remember if I've ever seen this explored in any media about her. 'Eight Nights of Harlequin' seems tonally confused, to go with its other confusing elements, in terms of story, character and dialogue. It's all at once dark, humorous, shocking, sad, touching...to fit with a psychotic Harley Quinn? Eh...

19. 'Harleen's Half Dozen (Plus One)' - Ahh! Yes! Brilliant issue to end the omnibus on. Paul Dini and the 'Batman: The Animated Series' crew are back! This new story features, and highlights, Roulette, Cheetah, Baby Doll, March Harriet, Jenna (?), and Roxy Rocket, as well as Harley, Catwoman and Ivy. How long has it been since we've seen most of the formerly mentioned girls!?This is so much fun! It's like Looney Tunes. There's a prize-fight venue ring, a robbery of lots of cash, flamethrowing, zapping, laser-sawing, drinking, Harley affecting a silly Southern belle accent, and just all-around cartoony mayhem and destruction and things blowing up - with an all-female cast! Ivy kisses Harley here, and holds her hand and affectionately calls her "Peanut". These bad girls kick off the new year in Vegas. 'Harleen's Half Dozen (Plus One)' - another love of my life!


So there you have it. The collection of comics is called 'Harley Quinn Black + White + Red' for a reason - the colouring of each comic consists of mainly these colours. It's a unique yet suitable stylistic and creative choice when telling stories about the Clown Princess of Crime. There are exceptions, however, such as the grey in 'Indiana Quinn' and the pink for Harley and Ivy's hair in 'Who Diss?'.

Overall, a great modern comic issues/tales assemblage for any Harley Quinn fan.

Final Score: 4/5