Corey's Comic Corner Week #11! Review of "Orc Island #2", "Fantastic Four #1", "SPECS #1" and "Ninja Fuk #1."”

Image Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9114286/

Rock and roll fellow followers! We’re back with another wild and zany week of Corey’s Comic Corner! Fresh off the heels of another Buffalo Bills loss I come to you to both clear my head and put this day behind me. Luckily there is still a large portion of Sunday to enjoy and the weekend was otherwise a lot of fun. My family and I managed to get out and see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on opening night and it was a packed house. I looked for tickets later than usual as I wasn’t sure we would fit it in but pretty much all showings at Regal and AMC with reserved seating were full. Finally managed to score some seats at Regal Eastview. Tip of the day for our readers in the Rochester area. When in doubt, always check Regal Eastview. For some reason they never seem to completely sell out as fast as most other theaters. I always seem to have good luck there at the last minute. I’ve been thinking a lot about the movie the past couple days. For starters it was a great tribute to Chadwick Boseman. They managed to deliver a funeral of sorts and an homage to his character in various ways. I don’t want to be a spoiler this early in its release but it’s a good send off for T’Challa. The soundtrack also stuck out in my mind as it was perfectly orchestrated to meet the needs of the heft and plot throughout the movie.There were a couple emotional and intense scenes where the music started and you’d get that prickly, goosebump type of feeling on your arms. That’s always a good thing. The introduction of Namor worked out better than I anticipated and I think they did a good job both handling his origin as well as introducing Riri Williams AKA Ironheart. The movie is a little long running at around 2 hours and 40 minutes. It doesn’t really feel slow though. The extra time is mostly used to handle the T’Challa tributes and build up some backstory for Namor which is needed for the plot to work the way it does. The special effects are solid as you would expect as was the fight choreography. There were a couple minor plot holes and a few moments where I thought the characters made interesting choices but sometimes you have to just throw caution to the wind to advance the plot. It’s a movie after all. I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as the first film but it works and it’s a fitting end to phase 4 of the MCU. There is also one mid credit scene that is kinda cool. Make sure you stick around for that! 

“This weekend I had a chance to read Orc Island #2, Fantastic Four #1, SPECS #1 and Ninja Funk #1.”

Orc Island #2

Published by Bad Idea

Written by Joshua Dysart

Pencils by Alberto Ponticelli

Rated M for Mature

Available now!

The second issue of this newest offering from Bad idea finds our gang of misfit treasure hunters breaching the Mist Wall and setting their eyes towards the riches and mysteries of Orc Island. The island now in their view is right there waiting for them. If they make it that far! 

Wow! What a fun issue! Action packed, full of humor and wonderfully played out through its pacing, art and writing. 

Our main characters, Cerrin Son Sion the halfling, Andune the sorceror and Urghria the human leader continue to make their way towards the Island. As the issue opens they are almost immediately met with flying creatures carrying some type of Orc rider. From here until almost the end of the issue it’s balls to the wall mayhem and action. The three fend off the air-riders and almost right away a sea battle ensues and an eventual turn that sees two of our three characters gain their own Orc skull. Mission completed. Or is it? The story then turns to our halfling, the youngest of the three. He is the last to drop an Orc and the remainder of the issue focuses on his attempt to do so. The main takeaway of the issue though is a little side-story between our halfling Cerrin and a female Orc elder and Nekrowitch. Cerrin aims to kill this Orc as she appears weak and feeble. An easy kill for our halfling. Before he takes her head, she leaves him with some pretty damning threats and basically tells him his life is pointless and he will die alone. Nonetheless, he takes her head and in doing so has taken possession of her prized Orc Skull. Enough value it would seem to make him wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. However, there is a little twist at the end of the issue I won’t divulge. Let’s just say taking their newly acquired skulls and getting off the island isn’t looking as easy as they may think. All is not as it seems. I can’t wait for the penultimate issue and I just hope there is enough time to neatly wrap this story up with just two weekly issues remaining. Has anyone else read this issue? I’d love to hear your thoughts! 

Fantastic Four #1

Published by Marvel

Written by Ryan North

Pencils by Iban Coello

Rated T for Teen

Available now

A new Fantastic Four series launches! This one aims to focus on smaller team centric stories and the characters themselves as they face the world both as Superheroes and everyday citizens. 

An interesting start for a book named Fantastic Four. The issue basically revolves around The Thing and his wife Alicia taking a little vacation and ending up in a town where the same day keeps repeating itself. Groundhog Day anyone?? They end up doing a lot of investigating and eventually figure out this keeps happening because a person in the town who has broken up with his girl keeps wishing he could just “start all over again”. They end up working together to eventually convince the man that sometimes it’s better to just move forward and in doing so he may find things actually worked out for the best. In agreement with these two strangers he decides to look to the future and stop living in the past. Thus the day officially ends and a new day dawns. The remaining panels show how the man moves forward in his life through dating, marriage, children, grandchildren and eventually death. A life lived to the fullest and one he may have never had without the assistance of The Thing and Alicia who have now continued their vacation and started thinking about their own life choices and paths. A really warm and deep story out of the gate! It’s personal and emotionally hefty but there are bits of humor and action as well. It’s one that makes you think and wraps up with a bit of a twist. It almost has a Twilight Zone feel to it. Well worth a read! I was hesitant at first but really loved this opening issue by the end and I can’t wait to see where the next issue goes. If they do more stuff like this I think it will be a very unique and bold chapter of Fantastic Four! Check it out!

SPECS #1

Published by Boom!

Written by David M. Booher

Pencils by Chris Shehan

Rated M for Mature

Available now! 

Specs is a new horror themed book from the creative mind behind Canto. What happens when two teens mail-order a pair of X-ray glasses that grant you wishes? Initially, lots of fun! Then they decide to wish away the bully at school and quickly realize they have unlocked some much darker magic than they ever anticipated. Now they have much bigger issues to deal with! 

Specs is off to a great start. It has this whole Black Mirror/Twilight Zone feel to it but otherwise set in a small town in Ohio during the 80’s. There’s even a panel with one of the teens playing Nintendo! The cover gives you that whole They Live vibe but thus far, while super cool, doesn’t appear to be more than an homage to that movie. The colors are dark and moody. Tight pencils and details. The writer does a quick setup of the dynamic between our two teen characters and the layout of the setting. He then moves quickly into the arrival of these mail order x-ray glasses and all the innocent and fairly harmless ways the boys use them to their advantage. Changing grades, hitting game winning home-runs, etc. Of course, looking at the cover of this comic we knew it wasn’t going to have a happy ending from the start. The teens end up in a situation where one of them is grabbed and held at knife point by a bully. The other teen decides to wish the bully would “leave his friend alone!” Suddenly the final panels reveal the bully has completely disappeared into thin air. The boys are left standing there wondering just what kind of trouble they have gotten themselves into. End of first issue. Clearly there will be repercussions from all this moving forward. Maybe the glasses are evil? Maybe they are cursed? We will find out in the next issue. I loved it though. It’s short, concise and wraps up everything neatly for the next issue which is what every first issue should do. I can’t wait to read the next issue! I’m sure there are a lot more twists ahead!

Ninja Funk #1

Published by Whatnot

Written by Steve Schuitt

Pencils by Alex Riegal

Rated M for Mature

Available now! 

The second book out of Whatnot’s new publishing company has hit stores and it’s unlike pretty much anything you have ever read before. Cosmic Warrior DJ’s who can bend frequency are out on a mission to balance the broken rhythm of the universe. With characters including a warrior cat Wolfgang, a robot with a TV for a head called JPG McFly and their fearless human leader Lazer Wolf, it’s clear we should expect the weird with this group of misfits! 

Wow! What a wild and zany book! It’s got a lot of color and attitude. It reminds me a little of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure with a splash of Saga. I’m not exactly sure what is happening in the first issue as it’s a little all over the place but there is plenty of action and humor to be had over the course of the issue. These characters are friends all on the same mission but it doesn’t seem like any of them have their head screwed on tight. They are up against another group of musical extremist’s called B.A.D. Music! haha! It’s going to take a monumental effort to restore and balance the Rhythm of the universe with this team. Oddly enough, they seem to have almost accomplished their goal by the end of the issue through a little teamwork and a lot of name calling. That is, until Lazer wolf appears to redline and blows up the concert they are performing at. Uh-oh! We’ll have to see where this ending takes us next with issue #2. The coolest thing about this comic is actually a few timely placed QR codes that you scan and will pull up music to listen to during a certain scene or important moment. I thought this was kinda unique and different. It works perfectly with this musically themed book! Definitely check it out if you are looking for something new and a little different from all the mainstream stuff out there. Whatnot has a few more new offerings on the way soon and we will be sure to review those as well!

Image Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10999120/

Lastly, with the holidays quickly approaching, I wanted to start sharing some of the new movies, series, etc. There are still some exciting offerings coming through the end of the year. My recommendation for this week is Spirited on Apple+ which is dropping by the end of the week. It’s a live musical/comedy starring Will Farrell and Ryan Reynolds. It looks to share some elements and themes of The Christmas Carol and I'm sure it is likely to offer a few laughs and help get everyone into the holiday spirit! I hope to catch it with my family this coming weekend as well. Check it out! Let me know what you think! 

That’s it for this week folks! Be sure to catch up with us next Wednesday for more reviews, recommendations and deep thoughts from the mind of Corey. Also, be sure to stop by POP ROC and check out some new books, toys, collectibles, etc. Lots of gift ideas you can browse while you enjoy a coffee or a yummy treat. We’ll see ya soon! Keep on keeping on…..

Corey Newell

“Just a guy who loves comics”

⁃ Independent blogger, dad, dork, comic nerd and pop culture lover hailing from Spencerport, NY