One of the books I was extremely interested in adding to my pull list while researching one of my indie FOC videos for youtube was Maw #1.  Here's the summary from Boom! Studios.

"What happens when one woman becomes the real monster society has always made her out to be? Dragged by her sister Wendy to a feminist retreat on the remote island of Angitia, Marion Angela Weber hopes to gain some perspective and empowerment… that isn’t at the bottom of a bottle. But everything is horribly derailed after an assault on their first night there. The violent encounter awakens something in Marion she never imagined, triggering warped mutations in her body, and awakening a hunger she can’t bring herself to name. When the townsfolk react with suspicion and violence, what unforgivable act will transform Marion into the very monster they’ve made her out to be?"

The final floating question from the previews text resonated with me for quite a bit.  In coaching an activity (with a large squad of young women) they are all too often critiqued for being "bitchy" while males are "assertive." If they are critiqued for dressing "too provocative" for showing a shoulder or midriff.  They are branded as feminazis if they seen as "too progressive" in their views.  Given my experience in coaching/assisting young women through these unfair social norms, which will only age with them, I'm naturally drawn to the idea of the transition into the demons we make women out to be.  Which is why I was excited to grab a quick preview of one of Boom's new releases next week!

As we tour the island, we discover what empowerment may mean.  Is it elements of body positivity?  Embracing the goddess within?  Or giving birth to rage (from traumatic experiences these women have survived). The last part, rage birthing, I feel will be a far larger plot point given how the issue continues to unfold, and maybe offers a trail of breadcrumbs back to the first page.

I love how this is not just horror for the purpose of horror, the transformations and gore come with a point.  I am actively creating theories of how the events which impact Marion and the backstory of her's we learn may trigger some transformations or birthing of her own fear.  I am glad that I added this book to my pull, and now the goal is to grab as many of these amazing covers I've seen.  I'm intrigued to see what others feel about this book, because I am taken aback, and I am enjoying elements of the rhetorical criticism this book will present!

​Are you intrigued?  Let me know what you think in the comments down below.  And as always...thank's for stopping by, and have a good one!

One of the things that mark the greatness of holidays are the traditions.  For every major holiday in the US we either excitedly or dreadfully....gather around our families and go through the same motions we do every year.  Every family has some sort of special tradition for nearly every holiday and it's what makes them so great/terrible.

One of the things that made Thanksgiving special for my family (from 2008-beyond) would be when my brother and I would have an inebriated discussion about one of the greatest turkey day-themed movies of all time...ThanksKilling.  This epic low-budget horror/comedy focuses on the most horrifying slasher baddie of all time, a demonic turkey.  This year for Thanksgiving, I can serve up a new offering for our discussion of campy horror: Turkey Day!

I will say, that if you are a fan of Hayes' other holiday horror hits (Rottentail and Kringle) this book is a no-brainer for you! This book has 10 things which makes it an instant classic for me:

• Awkward Small Town Pageants (I'm looking at you Best Christmas Pageant Ever)
• Indignant History Teachers mad at Historical Inaccuracies (I over-identified with this character!)
• Over-over acting while conversing with actors who are over-acting!
• Aliens
• Aliens proving an odd point about colonialism
• Aliens with dope mind-control abilities
• Puns
• Blood and gore......and a lot of it
• Excellent tongue-and-cheek humor
• A Terrifying final page I want framed and hanging on my wall!

If you need a fantasy in your life to spice up your thanksgiving holiday get-together, then pre-order and pick up Turkey Day because it may give you that extra 25th spice to make your thanksgiving dinner quite nice!

It is no secret that Something is Killing the Children is a book I love.  In fact, it was the first book I ever reviewed on this very website. Every issue has been a hit to me, the new arc which focuses on Erica's origin is an excellent follow up to the Archer's Peak saga.  However, when it was first announced that House of Slaughter was going to be its own series, I got immediately excited, because I wanted more of this universe!  

While the free comic book day release was enough to satiate my appetite (it offered insight into the inner workings of the council, and the relationship between Erica and Aaron (her handler)), getting a new peak at number 1 makes me incredibly excited, and I am counting the days until the October 20th release!

You better bet I'm going to try to get as many of these covers as humanly possible, because they are all STUNNING!!!!!  

​According to Boom! Studios' press release, here's the simple summary of what the first issue is about: 

Needless to say, if you are in love with the original series, you need to pick up this one!  If you missed out on the beginning of Something is Killing the Children and you have FOMO now, then make sure you order the copies you need before FOC comes!  

Enjoy the preview pages below, and in the comments below let me know if you're as excited as I am for this upcoming release, and if not, let me know why!  As alway's ya'll, thanks for stopping by, and have a good one!

Hands down, my favorite class to teach is AP Comparative Government and Politics.  Why?  Because it allows students to go in-depth on countries they tend to not learn about in their traditional history courses and learn how/why decisions were made from the seat of power.  The three countries students tend to be the most interested in are: Nigeria, Iran, and Mexico.  Why?  When they learn about those countries in other courses, it's either through the veil of colonialism or through the lens of how they are wrought with "problems" in the modern era.

Mexico is especially interesting to teach about, because kids know so little about their southern neighbor, and a large degree of my Hispanic students don't get to learn about a country they or their families once called home (yes, I have a large Mexican population, I'm not painting with broad brush strokes.  Today, I'm especially excited because I can use a comic to help show that one thing which persists through Mexico's modern history from revolution to present is Hope.  Which is the message clearly conveyed in today's book.

Throughout these three issues, I believe Rella and Gallego are highly successful in creating both a positive Mexican hero in Dantes/Seis Cuerdas AND presenting the everyday-ness of the drug war as something that ought not define or limit the way we perceive Mexico, but how it can be struggled against as long as hope is allowed to persevere.

Mariachi by day and Seis Cuerdas by night, Dantes seeks to fight for Mexico and no one/thing else.  Donning a skin-tight black suit (which he swears is body armor), an epic belt buckle, and a sombrero which matches the versitility of Captain America's shield, his foe, the Romero Cartel.  However, instead of intercepting a shipment of heroin bound for the states, he uncovers a cache of kidnapped children being smuggled to Daniel, who is running his own offshoot organization aiming to not just smuggle herion, but pay a debt to Santa Muerte (whom he worships).  What transpires is the creation of a small support team following Seis Cuerdas to free more children and figure out what in the hell Daniel wants to do with them...

First, Rella creates not just the perfect origin story of hero and villain, but it is done with a nod to the cheekiness of Silver Age heroic origins (the amount of time I spent laughing at "it's a Nissan Versa" is embarrassing).  The cast of characters surrounding Dantes/Seis Cuerdas also has an "anyone can be a hero" type of feeling that you get from elements of Spider-Man or even the modern run of The United States of Captain America, and it draws you in quickly!

Second, I think the book does a great job highlighting the disruptiveness and corruption surrounding the War on Drugs, but makes it feel less impending by creating a villain with ties to religion and not a greater stake in the Drug War.  Finally, I feel like he creates a hero for Mexico which could be rich in both the pop culture tradition of Captain America but also steeped in the legacy of folks like Villa or Zapata.

Third, can we talk about how smoking hot the art is in this book?  Here are a couple of no-context panels to highlight how much of a badass Gallego is!

As much as I love the panel of Cuerdas sitting above the city playing a tune showing the simplicity of his art in a non-combat sequence, everything else is exceptional from character design to each individual color selected, to every small background detail.  After I finished reading the book, I found myself scrolling through the PDF just marveling at how talented he is, and it makes me want to pick up more of his work!!!!

Two words: Hell Yes.  Not only is the tale a unique one, but knowing what the creative team was intending to do makes this book a stunning success to me.  I hope this book gets an additional run because I would love to see what Seis Cuerdas and Narcotruth.com are capable of doing in continuing to offer inspiration to millions of Mexicans impacted by everyday forms of violence.  Simply put, this hero and potential future stories could inspire additional Mexican hero-tales let alone have an epic run in its own right.  Therefore I think you should click on one of the following buttons below and BUY THIS NOW!!!!!! 

Book four ended with one of our Eves approaching the vault, with hopes to open it...something which has not been accomplished by any Eve to this point.  I'll let you check out the gallery of preview pages below if you want a little bit of a spoiler of how it all starts, but I want to talk about how it ends (as vaguely as possible).  I really enjoy how the final issue answers several of the questions held throughout the series.  The re-centering on what Eve meant to her parents let alone the human species unravels in a delicate and pleasing manner.  Getting to discover what her father's exact plan for planetary repair is intriguing from a scientific standpoint, and the final pages just make you feel pleased!  

What I also really loved about the end of this book is the essay LaValle wrote for the final page of the book.  Do yourself a favor and read it, and evaluate why representation in the stories we all love matters.  It does, and I feel like Victor shares it in a way much more elegant than I ever could!

I can't wait to see what comes next from each member of the creative team, because this was one hell of a ride!  Thank you for letting me ride along!

Have you been a fan of Eve?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.  And as always ya'll, thanks for stopping by!  And Have a good one!