Spongebob Freestyle Funnies 2014

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics by way of Free Comic Book Day 2014.

Title: Spongebob Freestyle Funnies 2014
Publisher: United Plankton Pictures
Date: February, 2014
Writer: Graham Annable, Sam Henderson, Maris Wicks, Gregg Schigiel, Corey Barba, James Kochalka
Artist: Jacob Chabot, Sam Henderson, Maris Wicks, Gregg Schigiel, Corey Barba, James Kochalka
Colorist: Rick Neilsen, Mike Lapinski
Letterer: Comicraft
Cover: Graham Annable, Jacob Chabot, Rick Neilsen

This is the Free Comic Book Day offering for Spongebob Squarepants from 2014. It includes three main stories, plus some one-page gag strips, and activity page, and even an educational feature about marine life.

The first full story involves Squidward activating the "Relocate" feature on his house in an attempt to get away from annoying neighbors Spongebob and Patrick. Unfortunately, their houses also come equipped with the same feature. This was funny, and definitely in the flavor of the show, and it never wore out its welcome.

The other two main stories are aimed more at the geeky crowd.

There is a cute parody of Silver-Age (and 1960s TV) Batman/Batgirl featuring Mermaid Man and his sidekick Barnacle Boy as they battle Octopus Doctor, with some help from the mysterious Mermaid Girl. This did a nice job of mirroring Batgirl's debut, and featured some amusing action bits.

Finally, Underswimming Comics was a parody of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, which was one of those things that I'm surprised no one thought to parody before this. It didn't completely hit the mark, but it was still good for a few laughs, and the overall flavor of it worked really well.

I liked all of the shorter features in this book as well, which is a pretty good achievement when so many elements have to come together to make a book like this. This was fun all around with plenty of appeal for younger readers as well as serious comic fans.

Rating: 7/10

Batgirl #40

The last of a three-issue run of Batgirl that I bought last summer at Double Midnight Comics in Manchester NH. My review of the previous issue is here.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 40
Date: May, 2015
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
Colorist: Maris Wicks
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz
Cover: Cameron Stewart

Defeating Batgirl, murdering citizens of Gotham, and unleashing weapons of mass destruction? Turns out, there's an app for that.

Barbara confronts an out-of-control AI that's imprinted with her own brain patterns, and it's decided that Gotham isn't big enough for the two of them. It's also planning on stopping crime that has yet to happen through some strategic mass murder.

This was a solid conclusion, perhaps a bit too neatly wrapped up, but still loads of fun. Barbara employs some classic Star Trek tactics against her digital likeness, and gets a hand from Canary to deal with a fleet of ill-intentioned drones.

Good fun that wraps up a bunch of loose ends, and nicely transitions into a new chapter of Batgirl's story.

Rating: 7/10

Batgirl #39

I have a small run of three Batgirl issues that I picked up last summer at Double Midnight Comics in Manchester NH (they happened to have some signed issues in stock!). I reviewed the first of them (#38) here.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 39
Date: April, 2015
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
Colorist: Maris Wicks
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz
Cover: Cameron Stewart

Batgirl discovers that a social media mob can escalate quickly, in this case turning into a good old-fashioned literal mob with torches and pitchforks (well, clubs and rolling pins anyway).

And as the world seems to be turning against her, Barbara begins to suspect that there is more going on with her internet presence than meets the eye. She's going to need help, and she's alienated the one friend best equipped to help her.

This was loaded with plot twists, some good action, a few high-five moments, and the continued really strong and diverse supporting cast. There turned out to be a lot more going on than I picked up on in the previous issue, and it all worked really well.

Looking forward to #40!

Rating: 7.5/10

Batgirl #38

I'd been hearing a lot about the new-look Batgirl, and Double Midnight Comics & Games in Manchester NH happened to have a couple of signed issues in stock.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 38
Date: March, 2015
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
Colorist: Maris Wicks
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz
Cover: Cameron Stewart

Batgirl has become a neighborhood social media celebrity, and Barbara Gordon is enjoying her moment in the spotlight, even if it's put her friendship with Dinah in jeopardy. And then there's her budding relationship with a young cop who has no use for Batgirl's brand of vigilante justice.

When she goes after a street-racing reality TV star, the lines begin to blur between her brand of social media attention-seeking and his, and social media has a way of being very fickle.

As mentioned, this was my first chance to read the new version of Batgirl. Like a lot of people, I like the new costume, and I enjoyed the down-to-earth low-key style of story.

Boyfriend Liam is a bit longwinded in what is a pretty standard run-through of the pro-law anti-vigilante argument, but there are also some hints that there is more to Liam than meets the eye.

The action was good, and I liked the new supporting cast. Lots of minor characters with good potential.

I'm glad I picked up three issues of this, so I'll get to follow the story a bit.

Rating: 6.5/10