BlogsOut Episode 2.75

So yesterday Jared did an episode of the podcast solo yesterday

So here is my solo episode. Enjoy


Episode 2.75: Chris Makes Fun of Jared and Wrestles a Panther

20th Century Ghosts

I am currently reading a collection of short stories from acclaimed artist, Joe Hill, entitled 20th Century Ghosts. I am about half way through and I felt as though I could accurately explain how great this collection is and how any book lover should check it out.

First off, if you don't know who Joe Hill is, then you have been living under a rock. Not only is he the author of one of the best comic series (Locke and Key), but he is also the son of one of the greatest authors to ever live, Mr. Steven King.

For any comic fans out there who may have recently read "The Cape" from IDW comics, which was recently reviewed by none other than yours truly, the original story is featured in this book and is just as great as the comic, if not better.

The Cape

The Cape is the second book that has been released by veteran writer Joe Hill, and up and coming writer Jason Ciaramella. The story of the Cape is originally a short story by Hill that is featured in his collection of short stories “20^th Century Ghosts”. The last story that these two writers worked on was a one-shot entitled “Kodiak. If you have not check it out, do yourself a favor and do so, it is nothing less amazing, and The Cape is no different.

The Cape follows the story of a man named Eric, who like any little kid spent most of his days outside playing games with his brother, pretending to be heroes, but in Eric’s case he also sported a cape. Eric learns that his cape is not just an ordinary piece of clothes, but it has magical properties that would be stripped away from him before he got a change to get acquainted.

I have been a fan of Hill since the first time I read “Locke and Key”, and the work of Ciaramella was great in “Kodiak” so I was not worried about the writing going into this book, so all I was left with to critique was the art. When I first started reading the issue, I thought that the work looked familiar and at first I thought it was the work of artist Sean Murphy, but after looking at the inside cover of I saw that it was the art of Zach Howard. Howard has a style that has a rough feel to it, but also has a sense of perfection as well.

The issue ends with an event that I did not expect, I won’t ruin the ending like some other reviews have, but the ending is out of this world and will make any reader wish that more issues would be released following this storyline and character. Lucky for you, there will be three more issues that follows Eric and continues off of the spectacular ending of the first issue.

If you are looking for a new mini-series to read, or if you are just looking for something new to check out, check out The Cape, you will not be disappointed at all.

10 out of 10

Kodiak One-Shot

When I first purchased Kodiak, I was overwhelmingly excited for two reasons. First off, it was by author Joe Hill and his work on Locke and Key is some of the best work I have ever laid my eyes on. Secondly, the story is about a bear, and bears are awesome.

Going into the book I knew that story was about man vs. beast and how man survives against one of the deadliest creatures on earth. But after reading the first page I knew that the book was about more than that.

Locke and Key: Keys to the Kingdom #1

Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom is the newest installment to the Locke & Key series from Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. Since I have never read an issue from the Locke and Key series before, but I had always heard that it was great, so I was happy to check it out.

The first thing that I think needs to be mentioned about this book is the art of Gabriel Rodriquez. First and foremost, the page layouts he uses are the most unique and interesting page layouts I have ever experienced. Rodriquez uses the middle of the page for his primary art consisting of four equal size squares, while the area around it is used for more graphic and detailed art, it’s astounding to say the least. On top of an awesome page layout Rodriquez’s art has this reminiscent feeling of Charles Shultz (Charlie Brown), even though his art is fairly detailed. I really enjoyed the intricate, yet simple feel to it.

The story by Joe Hill had a perfect contrast to it, showing how the soul of a person can effect their whole being, perfectly balancing a destructive to innocent ratio, which was able to feed both side of my person who looks for a solid story with solid emotion, as well as a good amount of violence as well. Another key aspect of Hill’s writing that I enjoyed was the dialogue he used, it was on par if not better than Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers), who I consider to be one of the best dialogue writers in the business.

As for the issue itself, the first issue of Keys to the Kingdom is a touching story of childhood, as well as a story of jealousy and rage, a very interesting combo if you ask me. Bode discovers the animal key while in the park one day, and uses it to begin a very touching adventure of fun, love, and death. The story kept me on the edge of my chair the entire time and I was sad to see the issue end.

One of the best parts of this issue was the fact that even though I was a first time reader I was able to pick up on the nature of the characters and the storyline of the series, which is a definite plus. In addition, the story itself was self-contained and even if the reader chose not to read the next issue, there was conflict resolution at the end of the issue. Overall this issue was near perfect, which is why I am giving it a:

10 out of 10