Last Friday, I stumbled onto the new novel by J.J. Walsh, the Chowderhead crusades, and decided to check out the prologue.  You can check out that review here. After writing my review, I immediately spent the weekend listening to the entirety of the audiobook, some chapters were so intense, I had to listen to them three or four times because I wanted to make sure I nailed every little detail (in the same way I'd read a page or two over and over to make sure I had a full visualization of all of the events).  Before I dive into the specifics of the book, just let me say: If you fancy yourself a comic book fan in any regard, you definitely want to pick up this book.

I'll break this review down into three overall pieces:

1. A longer breakdown of the story.
2. Why comics are the perfect vehicle for a story like this.
3. Why this shouldn't just be considered a re-hash of Ready Player One

As noted in my prologue, the premise of the tale is simple.  At SDCC in 2036 Cateklysm Catholicon arrives and challenges humanity to complete his conundrum by 2055.  The one who completes the challenge first will receive a piece of technology to change the course of the world, referred to as “unimaginably advanced technology” or UAT.  The story then fast-forwards to 2054 where we meet our protagonist, Clayton Claybourne, who is an orphan working on a mining vessel which is transporting to/from Mars.

We learn that Clayton is an orphan who's parents were murdered in front of him when he was nine.  Upon becoming orphaned, he was turned over to the state which then turns him over to Norman Corp as part of the labor loan project, which is a form of indentured servitude.  Amidst the backbreaking labor and guard torture Clayton faces, we do learn of his love for comics (the scriptures) and of his friends who have stunning origin stories of their own.  

As conditions on the ship worsen, and our heroic trio decide to free themselves to solve the Conundrum, a chain of events change them emotionally, mentally, and physically forever.  While the Conundrum is the starting focal point of our heroes' journey, the reason why they decide to travel the breadth of the galaxy is quite intriguing (and I don't want to spoil any of it).

During Cateklysm's announcement, he makes the argument that we need to learn from the wisdom of comic books. Instead of just odd pieces of fiction relegated into the annuls of nerddom, these are texts which should be revered as the greatest mythology of our time.  If we want to find a way to survive...to find a way to right the wrongs perpetrated by our species we should look to the sacred texts of comics.

This was something I absolutely loved (for the same way I loved Ready Player One).  There are all sorts of references made throughout the book, from the most simplistic nod to Superman/Batman/X-Men references even the most casual fan should get...to some deep cuts in independent works from Valiant and Image.  

The references made all were used in the perfect time in the story to teach us an ethical lesson, in the way religious texts are frequently invoked.  It also helped add some depth to my reading list of specific issues, arcs, or series that I definitely need to get to reading!

One of the points of pride of this book is printed on the front cover.  The Portland Book Review calls the Chowderhead Crusades: 

This is a comparison which both puts the book in amazing company on the Mount Rushmore of pop-culture literature.  My fear for some, is reading this book may make them dismiss the text as a Ready Player One knockoff.  

I really do believe the Chowderhead Crusades stands on its own two legs.  While the opening cluster of chapters (Issue 1) do feel very similar in set-up, Issues 2-4 depart from the storytelling model used by Cline and as anticipated, Walsh's book stands on its own two legs.  The meaning of the conundrum evolves to a wholly different symbolic role than the hunt for the egg held in RPO.  I feel the characters are written with a higher degree of authenticity in this book (than some of the cliche tropes used in RPO).  Finally...when you get to Issue four...I DID NOT SEE ANY OF THIS COMING.  The level of twists and turns used by Walsh to bring us to the Conundrum's conclusion take the reader down a heart pounding path you won't be able to put down. 

The moment I post this review to the blog, I'm going to start reading the book in its physical form, instead of listening to Oswalt's interpretation of the characters etc.  Although, I will say he is the PERFECT vehicle to bring Walsh's story to life.

If you are looking for a great adventure tale, comic book fan or no, you don't want to sleep on J.J. Walsh's The Chowderhead Crusades.  You should pick up the physical or audio book (or both!) and see what steps are taken to potentially save a doomed vision of humanity's future.

If you all have missed my coverage of Vlad Dracul on my youtube channel, this is one of the books I've become the most excited about in the last two months.  But it is straight fire and far different than any other approach to Vlad I've seen in any other book (like it doesn't focus on the whole VAMPIRE) piece.

In an announcement from Scout's President James Haick:
"We are excited to announce that BOTH Vlad Dracul #1 and #2 will be going back to print and available in late September. Both are NOW available for preorder. Use order codes JUL208673 for issue one and JUL208674 for issue two when requesting this great series at your local comic shop!"

I'm thoroughly excited for not just the folks over at Scout, but specifically Matteo Strukul and Andrea Mutti who have created a sheer masterpiece!

You should also check out the Scout Comics subscription box, it is an amazing deal!

There is a reason why this book was the only Marvel title I picked up (until I can snag my X-stuff from my main spot) is it's INSANE!

As Peter and the good Doctor fight to escape from the Nightmare, a couple of dope things happen! The funniest to me is the explanation of a retcon, and then the art splash panels that come after it, and the pantheon of dope Marvel characters from across history.

This book's art is exceptional, and I may love it a little bit more than I did Silver Surfer Black (which might be my favorite...) I think this arc is done, but at the end it says Symbiote Spider-Man will return, so is it part of Alien Reality, do we get the third arc with the same setup but a new villain? 

What should you do? I love this title, it and its predecessor are the only readable Spider-Man title at the moment, it is so much fun, and the art is crazy fun!

I'm late to the party on this one.  I didn't read the original series (I'm going to change that!) and I didn't pick up #1 until #2 came out today.  But I'm glad I did.

I'll warn you that this is an entirely speculative review until I pick up series 1 on digital (until I can find floppies). But we are seeing the aftermath of some burned buildings, some kick ass action, an epically talented female combatant, and most of all some retribution.

I'm going to let this sink in before I go read the first series.  Do I think you need to read series 1 to get into this? No.  Do I think it will be some icing on the cake to help understand what the woman is attempting to flee from? Yes!

I think ya'll should pick it up....#ToddReedWasRight

I enjoyed this little one shot...it's not as much as focusing on Magneto...but what he is willing to do for Emma Frost.  She wants an island to make her own.

ALL THAT MATTERS IS WE GET A NAMOR APPEARANCE!!!! Namor owns the island Magneto is wanting to purchase for Emma, so he goes on a trench-venture and they have to fight a Kraken.  At the end of the trench-venture Magneto picks up something that I don't want to spoil, but we also don't fully know its significance yet! But based on what he has to go through to get it, it must be pretty important!

What should you do? Ya'll know I'm gonna gobble up every X title, especially as we get closer and closer to X of Swords.  I'm gonna study all of these and prepare a large youtube to-do to educate the peoples as we get ready for their first event post HoX/PoX.

I did not enjoy #2 all that much, but book three bounced back!  It was fun to see his random conversations with Superman and Hawkman about what to do given his predicament.

We also start to get flashbacks to a gladiatorial act of combat which may be our first glimpse into what he's being accused of? It also serves as some additional backstory on Strange and his wife!

What should you do? I'm still enjoying the slow burn of this book in the same way I enjoyed Mister Miracle (even though I didn't have to wait and binged it in the trade!).  If you haven't hopped on yet, you should because they're selling out pretty quickly!

She's back in black and is on a bit of a rampage in this issue!  We discover that Jessica vomited up green goo at the end of #1 because she was intentionally poisoned so she could be experimented on to help discover another cure for a cancer.  When she is injected with a partial cure, it makes her stronger and more aggressive (she makes a PMS joke) and she goes to raid a lab to find the last portion of her father's cure.  

What she finds, and the end result seems pretty significant, and I'm excited for #3.

What should you do? I like Jessica Drew, and while this isn't your typical Spider-Woman story, I like the different direction it's taking for now because its partially re-examining the origin of her powers and it's pretty sweet!

And so it ends!  For a series that was all over the place for 10 of the 12 issues, 11 did a nice job beginning to wrap things up and the final issue brings a lot of peace!

Julian Olsen is on the run to prevent being arrested for hiring an assassin to kill Jimmy. The Daily Planet is on the verge of shutting down due to lack of financing. The Olsen tracking computer is still detecting a downtown presence of an Olsen (who's not Julian...).  Is Jimmy able to swoop in and save the day?  Or, will he bungle his way through the day in a true Jimmy Olsen fashion?

What should you do? I have loved this series from start to finish and it gives me more reasons to love what Fraction and Lieber (and the others who have hopped on the title) do, and want to see them team up on another character they can have a great deal of fun with together!

In the aftermath of the massive explosion which ended book 1, how did everyone fare?  While the Lantern could not contain the blast, he was able to shield the citizens from the blast.  We also get a taste of Superman from Injustice when he decides to rule the citizens of the comet.  What makes this issue truly interesting is the fable Diana uses to show the true issues that the JL is having as they continue to fail at ruling.

What should you do? This is 2/3 of Spurrier's run on the title, and I still think you should pick up because it's a breath of fresh air if you've struggled with Vindetti's run.

This book gives me everything I need in a number 1: 
a. A clash of the titans.
b. Snake Eyes
c. A covert GI Joe mission
d. A GI Joe mission where Snake Eyes slashes the crap out of people.
e. The raising of some sort of mythical being that if I say anymore spoils the end of the book!

What should you do? If you are a fan of the Joes, and you like Snake eyes, this is definitely a book for you as it will explore the origin of the silent killer!