COREY’S COMIC CORNER - EDITION 12 - “Gold Goblin #1”, “Kid Slapshot vs Major Extreme #1”, “I Hate Fairyland #1” and “Orc Island #3”
/COREY’S COMIC CORNER : EDITION 12
We’re back at it folks! It’s time for your weekly edition of Corey’s Comic Corner, etc. We’re coming to you live from the seat at the desk where all this greatness that pops out of my head is born. It was a mellow weekend here in ROC while neighboring towns/cities saw as much as 77 inches of snow and counting. I don’t know about the rest of you but I wasn’t ready for that! My family and I mostly hung around the house outside of a few errands and a little shopping to prepare for Thanksgiving. We did finally watch Spirited on Friday night which I had highlighted as my recommendation of the week in my last blog. It was ok. It felt like a musical that wanted to be more of a movie and should have been. The songs were solid and there were a few laughs but nothing really memorable about the movie/musical that sticks out. Ryan Reynolds and Will Farrell were fine in the lead roles but it seemed like they were held back or not given enough creative freedom to make this movie work. I think it could have been a really good PG 13 movie and the whole “The Christmas Carol” theme was used in an original way but it just never elevated to anything more than mediocre. Nonetheless, people are always looking for new Christmas offerings this time of year and it’s still worth sitting down with the family and having a watch. Grab some cocoa, a warm fuzzy blanket and the family and it’s already a win win. Most of us don’t find enough of these moments to slow down, relax and unwind with the family so taking these chances whenever possible is highly recommended! Before we get to some reviews I would be remiss not to mention The Walking Dead on AMC wrapped up this weekend with its 177th and final episode after 11 seasons. Talk about an explosion in zombie popularity pop culture wide! The comic has seen video games, board games, collectibles, animated shorts, multiple spin-off series, feature films, etc. It seemed to take over the world overnight. I still remember sitting down around Halloween in October of 2010 to watch the first episode and I couldn’t believe how faithful to the comic it was. It was gory, tense, dramatic and everything you could have hoped for stemming from one of Image Comics longest running comics. It’s changed a lot over those 12 years as a show and obviously a whole slew of characters have come and gone but I think it was time for it to end. Overall, the finale evokes some positive feelings and memories of the series as a whole and the last 12 years in general!
COMIC REVIEWS
This week I had a chance to review “Gold Goblin #1”, “Kid Slapshot vs Major Extreme #1”, “I Hate Fairyland #1” and “Orc Island #3”.
I Hate Fairyland #1
Published by Image
Written by Skottie Young
Pencils by Brett Bean
Rated M for Mature
Available now!
After a successful run dating back to 2015 Gert is back and she’s no longer the foul mouthed, short fused, can’t be wrong child we remember from the original series. Well, she’s no longer a child at least! All the other stuff appears to have stuck around as she’s hired to go back to Fairyland and take care of the wrongdoing. It turns out Gert wasn’t the nastiest thing to happen to Fairyland after all. Who would have thought?
What can I say. I was a big fan of this comic when Skottie launched it back in 2015. It was lighthearted and fun but also gory and bold at the same time so you can imagine I was excited to learn it was coming back for more. Skottie hasn’t missed a beat between the older series and this new one. Gert, while now being an adult, hasn’t really changed. She’s vulgar and defiant as always and she just can’t help getting herself into trouble. It’s during a job search that she’s all but worn out she learns there is still one job out there that she’s a complete match for. A trip back to Fairyland. The most dreaded and hated place she can imagine. This story doesn’t appear to evolve much from the last series thus far and that’s ok. All we really expect and want from this book is some casual humor, gore and hijinx and it offers that in spades. The colors and blood spurts right off the page. The writing is simple and humorous. It’s not meant to be taken seriously. Gert is certainly not any less grumpy either. It’s one of those comics I always thought would make a good animated series for tv and while that hasn’t happened yet I wouldn’t be surprised at all. In the meanwhile I'll continue to follow Gert and all the craziness she provides. Definitely worth a read if you’re just looking for something fun, kinda dark and batshit crazy!
Orc Island #3
Published by Bad Idea
Written by Joshua Dysart
Pencils by Alberto Ponticelli
Rated M for Mature
Available only via pre-order.
We’re back with the third installment and penultimate chapter of Orc Island. Things have been turned upside down for our band of treasure hunters and it looks like they may have bit off, or in this case cut off, more than they can chew. They are trying to make their way off the island with their prize Orc skulls but it would seem fate has other plans.
Wow! This book continues to move at a feverish pace. Basically anything bad that could happen to our band of characters happens in this issue and it’s starting to look like they won’t get off the Island at all. The Necromancer has been worthless and seemingly is saving his magic for himself. Even the other two characters mention “If only they had the money, a battle mage would have been a much better option”. It’s too late now as the Orcs have caught up with them on their way to dispose of the slain bodies of their people. The slain bodies left in the wake of our travelers. There is a ton of action in this issue and the gore and nastiness is ramped up to 11! There are panels with our travelers being hung, sliced open, sliced apart, tongues ripped out and that’s not even the worst of it. It’s looking pretty grim at this point as this issue wraps up but you really don’t feel bad for them. They are basically thieves and murders afterall and that’s the story or theme that resonates within this issue. As it ends they will be judged both spiritually and ritualistically and I don’t want to spoil it but there lies yet another twist in the final pages. I personally can’t wait to see how this wraps up this coming week. It’s tough to pull off a story like this over four issues but if they stick the landing this will be one of my favorite Bad Idea books thus far!
( No creatures were harmed during the destruction of this comic!)
Kid Slapshot vs Major Extreme #1
Published by keenspot
Written by Troy Dongarra
Colors by Billy Parker
Rated all ages
Available now
keenspot is another fairly new publisher, much like BadIdea and Whatnot, putting out some new and fun indie comics. This particular offering is a side story from one of their other main titles called Kid Slapshot. You have this young hero. Kid Slapshot and his zombie brain in a jar, friend. Dillzy. Slapshot is the last human on the planet Pittshole and is gifted powers and abilities and sent off into space much like Superman. Unfortunately, he’s now being targeted by the very person who helped him escape Pittshole. The Cosmic Entity , Lookie Lou.
I had to read through this comic a couple times to get the jist of what in the hell is exactly going on. Clearly it’s not meant to be a serious superhero story. You get that impression by the colors and the art alone. Not that they are bad, they just don’t come off as anything that is meant to be more than silly and whimsical in nature. The dialogue and writing is much the same and you can tell this book was created for a wide audience of possible new readers. This also isn’t a bad thing but I felt at times it wasn’t sure if it wanted to be an all ages book or just rip that belief right off and just go full speed ahead. I feel like the latter would have made this much more enjoyable. The main character looks a bit Deadpooly and it’s even written somewhat in that fashion. You never really learn why Kid Slapshot was sent off the planet or why he’s even named the way he is. He does carry a hockey stick so I guess that is the reason. The main 3-4 characters all seemed kind of flat to me. I guess I just didn’t find it very interesting or funny. It’s a rather boring and flat story and I'm honestly not sure if it’s supposed to parody superhero books or mimic one by the end of the issue. Sadly, I just wasn’t feeling this comic at all but you know what they say. There is an a** for every seat! Let me know if you have read it. I’d love to get your thoughts!
Gold Goblin #1
Published by Marvel
Written by Christopher Cantwell
Pencils by Lan Medina
Rated T for Teen
Available now!
Marvel launches Gold Goblin from the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man. Being cleansed of his sins by the Sin-Eater, Norman Osborne searches for redemption and forgiveness for his past. In a new suit and now working with Peter Parker under close supervision at OSCORP. The Gold Goblin sees him dropping the villain moniker to take his turn at being a superhero vigilante. Can he leave the monster inside him behind?
I actually thought this was a great first issue written by Cantwell. He dives in and out of Norman’s psyche as we see both a man striving for change and one that’s tormented by his past. Much of the issue is flash-backs to the terribly haunting memories Osborne is unable to let go. It’s clear though that while on the outside Norman Osborne seems together he’s merely just hanging on. He’s also still hearing the voices that drove him to madness before. Right now he’s able to fulfill the dark side of his nature through vigilante justice but how long before that’s not enough? The art and colors are fantastic as well. The shadows, lighting, etc. all lend to highlight the panels and the different memories, flashbacks and disturbing voices Norman is still hearing. This definitely feels like a new and refreshing approach to Harry Osborne and I love that at least for now they have grounded it with his real life struggles with mental health. If you are a fan of Spider-Man, Green Goblin or just looking for some spec this issue is definitely worth a pick-up. It’s not a light book by any means but it delivers a great beginning to a story that I'm sure will have some twists and turns along the way.
HOLIDAY MOVIE RECOMMENDATION OF THE WEEK!
A Christmas Story Christmas!
Warner Brothers Pictures
Directed by Clay Kaytis
Rated PG
Streaming on HBOMAX
You can’t talk about Christmas movies or the holiday season without mention of the classic movie The Christmas Story. The movie that’s been lighting families TV sets since 1983 and made the words/phrases “FRAGILE” and “You’ll shoot your eye out kid!” as common as “Merry Christmas!” Well your favorite neighborhood kid Ralphie is back! Now an adult with his own family, he’s going back to his roots to celebrate Christmas the old fashioned way! I can’t wait to watch this movie with my family. If it captures a pinch of the magic from the original it will be a winner and so far reviews have been pretty positive. Definitely check it out and i’d love to hear what you think!
That’s a wrap for this week folks! Here’s to a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Eat, drink and be merry!
Don’t forget this also means Black Friday is this week along with small business Saturday. I know the crew here at POP ROC has something special lined up for Saturday so be sure to POP in and ROC it out! There will be plenty of gifts, collectibles, art, Jewelry etc. They literally have something for everyone!
Until next week….
Corey Newell
“Just a guy who loves comics”
⁃ Independent blogger, dad, dork, comic nerd and pop culture lover hailing from Spencerport, NY