Knights of the Dinner Table Illustrated #30

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Knights of the Dinner Table Illustrated
Issue: #30
Date: January 2004
Publisher: Kenzer and Company
Writer: Mark Plemmons, Brendan Fraim, Brian Fraim
Artist: Brendon Fraim, Brian Fraim
Editor: Brian Jelke, Eric Englehard
Cover: Brendon Fraim, Brian Fraim

So, this is my first time reading this series. Knights of the Dinner Table is a funny gag strip about a group of middle-aged tabletop roleplaying gamers. The "Illustrated" version is the in-character version of the story, starring the player-characters, El Ravager, Knuckles, Thorina, and Teflon Billy.

A love-spell has turned El Ravager against his companions, and they fight a desparate stalling action to try to find a way to bring him back to his senses, which the villainous Lord Skrall looks on (and takes a moment or two to explain his evil plans).

This story did a good job of starting with a fairly complex setup, and coordinating the moving pieces to make it accessible, even to a reader jumping in at issue #30.

There is a sprinkling of fourth-wall-breaking humor (these are roleplaying characters, after all), a couple of genuinely emotional moments, and in between there is plenty of good, fast-paced sword-and-sorcery action.

Fun story. I have the next issue and I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Rating: 7.5/10

Dawn's Dictionary Drama #1

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Dawn's Dictionary Drama
Issue: Part 1: From "Improvement" to "Cleansing"
Date: 2009
Writer: John Bintz
Artist: John Bintz

Comedy minicomic with the gimmick that random words are generated and then must be fit into the script, art, or sound effects. Originally published as a webcomic. The story has a sitcom vibe, involving a plan to win the town's Celebration of Manliness competition. Dawn's pick to win is not all that manly, but she is hoping the he won't be facing very tough competition. And the gift certificate they stand to win will help to kickstart Dawn's planned t-shirt business.

But when tightrope-walking practice is added to the training regimen, the scheme looks like it is starting to unravel.

It took a bit to figure out who everyone was, but once it got going there were some amusing gags, and the occasional bit of charming geekiness. I didn't feel like the random words had much impact on the overall reading of the story, but I'm sure it makes the writing process amusing.

Rating: 5.5/10

The Blokes of Ball Point

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: The Blokes of Ball Point
Publisher: Fridge-Mag
Writer: Suzanne Baumann
Artist: Suzanne Baumann

Tiny micro-mini that is part of a series that also features the Birds (reviewed here) and the Belles (reviewed here) of the mythical town of Ball Point.

No story here, just a collection of interesting charaacters with names like Spaghetto, the Grim Beekeeper, and Vasquez Scenario.

There is a lot of character to these characters, and I always enjoy Suzanne Baumann's whimsical and fun collections of any size.

Rating: 7/10

Tall Tails: Thieves' Quest #5

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Tall Tails: Thieves' Quest
Issue: 5
Date: November, 2001
Publisher: Dreamweaver Press
Writer: Jose Calderon
Artist: Daphne Lage

I reviewed #1 here, #2 here, #3 here and #4 here.

Following an encounter with a force of raiders, the cousins Ravenwood and Cromwell manage to escort the runaway Prince Christian to Garrison Hadge, the stronghold of Earl Hadge, the King's cousin.

Silvermain and Gabriel are dispatched to arrange passage on a ship, but they manage to find only trouble in the waterfront district.

This issue had a tighter focus than the previous one, and managed to get in some good little moments of character development, in spite of it being something of a transitional installment in the long-term story.

The ending scene was a nice cliffhanger, and the story continues to be spiced with some complex ongoing political intrigue.

Rating: 6/10

Amulet Book Seven: Firelight

The latest in this series that the Kiddo has been borrowing from a friend at school.

Title: Amulet Book Seven: Firelight
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2016
Writer: Kazu Kibuishi
Artist: Kazu Kibuishi
Editor: Cassandra Pelham

Emily and Trellis receive some unexpected help as they attempt to recover Trellis' lost memories at the mysterious Algos Island.

But when their journey into memory takes an unexpected turn, it is Emily's darkest moments that must be confronted.

This installment featured some real nastiness on the part of the villain and some serious peril for the heroes. It packed a lot of emotional punch, while still managing to reveal quite a bit of worldbuilding and backstory. The story moves more solidly into science fiction territory in this volume, but the transition is handled smoothly and the world retains the sense of wonder that makes it so appealing.

The ending was pretty jarring and enough to leave the reader seriously wondering about how the heroes are going to come back from this, while still leaving on just a little bit of hope.

Rating: 9/10

Ultimate Spider-Man #52

I got this two summers ago at NJ Gamer Con.

Title: Ultimate Spider-Man
Issue: 52
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: March  2004
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Mark Bagley
Inker: Art Thibert
Colorist: J.D. Smith
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Nick Lowe, Mackenzie Cadenhead, C.B. Cebulski, Ralph Macchio

This story features a realtively young/inexperienced Peter Parker who has just gotten to know the Black Cat. He agrees to meet her for a rooftop rendezvous, admitting it's against his better judgement, but they are quickly interrupted by the Kingpin's newest assassin, Elektra (also young and inexperienced in this version).

The title of the story is "Catfight", and the resulting match with attempted interference and narration by Peter Parker, is about as male-gaze-y as the title suggests that it is going to be. The whole thing feels like there isn't much at stake, and indeed, little of consequence is accomplished story-wise when it's all done. There are a lot of panels of fighting, but none of them are all that interesting, and in the end, Peter, is left in the same self-esteem crisis that he started the issue in.

There is a bit of plot advancement and character development in the cutaway scenes to Kingpin, but still nothing of great consequence.

This felt like a WWE house-show match where nobody is working to their full potential, and everything has to remain unchanged because it's not being televised.

Rating: 3.5/10