October Comic Book Wrap-Up

    Hello everybody!  October is already winding down and it's been a bit of a tough month for me, reading-wise.  I admit that I've been more focused on reading my books, since I allowed myself a lofty goal of ten, (which I still didn't meet due to unforeseen circumstances I'll elaborate on Thursday), so I didn't put as much effort into reading comics as I have in the past.  That being said, I managed to get four of my six picks done this month and I'm very happy with that.

(goodreads.com)

    Hellboy:  I wanted to read this obviously because of my love for the films as well as the month being solely about Halloween, so this fit in really nicely with the theme.  I was pleasantly surprised by the story and how truly dark it was, which is what I was hoping for.  It was very similar to the movie, considering the movie is loosely based on the comics, but still had it's differences.  For instance, there is absolutely no romantic interest between Red and Liz in the comics, as it had been in the films.  Also, I do wish Professor "Broom" had more of a role in the comics because I was so enthralled by his presence in the films.  I thought his short time in the beginning of the first issue pegged him as a helpless and crazy old man instead of the proud and investigative explorer scientist we know from the movies.  Also, his relationship with Red is more fatherly in the movies; although he does mention in the comics that they had more of a father-son relationship, there was no time to really develop that claim.  Overall, I gave Hellboy Vol. 1 4 out of 5 stars.

(goodreads.com)

    Hellboy and the B.P.R.D:  This was a comic I was excited about reading at the beginning of the month, so I'm glad I was able to get to it.  This comic is not related to the films at all, which was probably why I was so excited about the premise.  This comic takes place in the 1950s during the aftermath of the war.  Hellboy is a young man, (I think even possibly a teenager, since the other guys all refer to him as "kid"), who gets to go on assignment with the military members of the beginnings of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.  I loved the slight difference in art style to this one as opposed to the original comic series as well.  There is a lot of mystery and sabotage and I liked how vulnerable Red was at the beginning, trying to find out his place among the team, outliving most if not all of them in the end.  I gave this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.  I was very impressed with how good this was, I just wish there was more of it.

(goodreads.com)

    Shutter:  Honestly, I just read this one today during work, so it's still fresh in my mind.  This series seems to be about an alternative Earth future where dinosaurs and mythological creatures and talking skeletons exist in harmony with humans.  The story follows a young woman named Kate and she ends up getting dragged into a situation involving her father and her mystery siblings.  She has a side kick in the form of a talking cat clock that looks like Felix and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.  He made this comic for me because he's a glass-half-full sort of personality, plus he's a talking cat clock.  I was also intrigued by the fact that this human woman, ex-explorer, can co-exist in a world where a humanoid fox warrior can ride a triceratops shooting a machine gun.  There was also a lot of diversity in this comic, like Kate having a trans best friend and her father being red-headed and white while she is dark haired and dark skinned, (I'm not going to guess her ethnicity, but she's at least really really tan).  Regardless, the story was mostly easy to follow, except for some times when it wasn't.  Sometimes the text ran together too much for my tastes, but I was able to pick it up and continue without too much confusion.  I ended up giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars, but I am planning on picking up the second volume to continue with the series.

(goodreads.com)

    TMNT: Change is Constant:  This series I had started years ago and never got to finish, so I thought I would.  I love me some Ninja Turtles, so obviously this was a no-brainer for me.  I love them as I knew them in cartoon form from 2007, so I have always been interested in reading the original comics, (now that I have a few), and reading about them in alternative time lines and worlds.  This story line takes place in a world where Splinter and the turtles still start off as lab experiments in StockGen, Baxter Stockman headquarters, and are taken care of by April O'Neil.  Ninjas of unknown origin end up stealing the turtles, with Splinter sabotaging their efforts and knocking them all into a storm drain.  A cat ends up walking away with Raphael before transforming into a humanoid figure, leaving Splinter with only the other three.  In the present day, the brothers are searching for Raph while Raph scours the streets for food until he finds Casey Jones and they team up before running into the cat again, who was also effected by the mutagen.  This was an interesting arc because I've never thought of the turtles not being together as a family.  Since Raph has been separated, this may effect his judgement and character in later issues once he is reunited.  I'm still getting used to seeing them all in red bandannas, but I gave this 4 out of 5 stars.  I'm planning on picking up more TMNT comics in the future to check out other story lines as well.

    Well, that's all I was able to read this month for comics.  I'll try to be more invested in my comic book reading next month as I work on continuing series that I've already started.  Check back next Tuesday when I lay out my TBR list for the month of November!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Halloween Movies That Aren't Scary!

    If you're anything like me, you aren't really a huge fan of Halloween.  October is one of my favorite months, but Halloween always makes me a little anxious.  Almost all of my friends love Halloween, (as most of the rest of the world would agree), so it's difficult for me to participate in the Halloween festivities when it most often includes a scary movie marathon.  I can't do scary, so, as a result, I get scared easily; I HATE the dark, I don't do haunted houses or corn mazes and I cringe at the sight of porcelain dolls.  I just don't enjoy being scared, and that's OK!  Not everyone enjoys those gory, suspenseful messes, so I thought I'd come up with a list of acceptable alternative movies to watch if you're not into that scary business.  Now that Halloween is almost upon us, the Halloween-themed movies will be starting.  Most of the ones on my list will even be on ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween, if you're interested, (check your local listings).  I will list my top five favorites first, (in no particular order), followed by five honorable mentions.

(www.imdb.com)

    Beetlejuice:  This is still one of my favorite movies to watch during Halloween.  I didn't always like it, but I've grown to appreciate it over the years.  This movie allowed me to fall in love with Winona Ryder.  If you still haven't seen it, (the movie came out in 1988), the movie is about a married couple, Adam and Barbara, who die in a tragic car accident.  Their house goes in the market after years of vacancy and is purchased by an art dealer and her family, including young Lydia Deetz.  Adam and Barbara are still coming to terms with their predicament, but loathe the new owners of their home, so they make a deal with the devil to get them out of there.  This movie is horrific, as any Tim Burton movie should be.  The characters are great and dynamic, the story is morbid, tragic and funny at the same time, and the acting by Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice is fantastic.  I highly recommend if you're a fan of Tim Burton and his other works, mainly Edward Scissorhands.

(www.imdb.com)

    Casper: The ORIGINAL Casper, from 1995, is another one of my all-time favorite Halloween movies.  If you've seen any other Casper movie, this one beats them all.  Kat Harvey follows her father, who is a "paranormal psychologist," to Maine to explore a haunted mansion, all the while on a quest to track down Kat's dead mother.  Kat is determined to stay put this time around and befriends a "friendly" ghost named Casper.  Her father ends up running into Casper's nasty uncles and hilarity ensues.  The ghosts want them out, but Kat's dad isn't leaving without answers.  This movie is hauntingly beautiful and a great coming-of-age story.  The ending gets me every time with ALL THE FEELS, so if you haven't yet, go watch it.

(www.imdb.com)

    Hocus Pocus:  I can't make a list of Halloween movies without including this one.  It's a cult classic and everyone loves it, regardless of what kind of Halloween experience you prefer.  Three witches are resurrected on Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts to finish a ritual started centuries ago.  Two teenagers and an adorably brave little cat/human named Binx embark on an epic journey to save their town.  Easily one of Sarah Jessica Parker's best performances and who can forget Sean Murray as Thackery?!?  UGH, I need this movie in my life right now.

(www.imdb.com)

    Hellboy:  I know this isn't technically a Halloween film, but I still love a little Guillermo del Toro to round out my Halloween playlist.  Since most of his stuff is terrifying, quite frankly, I thoroughly enjoy this non-creepy(ish) take on a demon reborn.  Hellboy follows a paranormal research team that was founded close to the beginning of World War II, in which this team stumbled upon a Nazi camp during a ritualistic opening of a door to Hell by Rasputin.  Although they managed to defeat the Nazis and close the door to the other side, a small demonic humanoid being came through and was adopted by the team and codenamed "Hellboy," because of his red skin and horns. Flash forward to today and he's working with the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defence, (BPRD), to stop an influx of paranormal events from taking over the city of New York.  This movie has tons of action and sarcasm, so if you're into that, this movie is for you.  I really prefer this one to the second one because it's a little darker and has an element of mystery around it, plus a lot more humor, which I love.  Hellboy is also a comic book that I've been reading this month and it is similar, yet different to the movie, so if you're into reading your films, have at it.

(harrypotter.wikia.com)

    Harry Potter:  I can't make this list and not include a little Harry Potter!  Obviously with it's heavy focus on magic and the supernatural, this is a perfect series for Halloween, (or any event actually).  Clearly I'm not suggesting a Harry Potter marathon next weekend, (unless you really want to), but I would definitely recommend The Sorcerer's Stone, due to it's Halloween-specific scenes as well as The Prisoner of Azkaban, just for a little dose of magical creatures and creepy scenery.  Those two are the most suited for Halloween, in my opinion, (which is almost always right when it comes to Harry Potter).  So go have yourselves a HP marathon!

    Now we're getting into the honorable mentions.  These movies are perfect for Halloween, however they aren't my absolute favorites, (even though some of them are classics).  Definitely make time for these before next weekend!

(www.imdb.com)

    The Nightmare Before Christmas:  Unlike the rest of the world, I'm actually not a huge fan of this movie.  It used to scare me as a child, so I never took a liking to it like everyone else did.  I watched it again last year and I thought better of it this second time around, so I'm adding it to my list.  It's obviously a cult classic and made for Halloween, (and Christmas), viewing.  The fact that this movie bleeds directly into Christmas territory still irks me, but to each his own.  Tim Burton's crazy like that I guess.

(ed.wikipedia.org)

    It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!:  I love the Peanuts, so I'm going to include this lesser-known work of theirs on this list.  Everyone I know shits on The Great Pumpkin, but I LOVE IT!  While Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang celebrate Halloween, Linus sits out in a pumpkin patch to await the arrival of The Great Pumpkin, of which he is the sole believer.  It's so cute and perfect for kids and I'm so glad they're still airing it on television.  The Peanuts are like family tradition and everyone has their own personal favorite that they watch every year.  Even if it's not yours, make the effort to watch this one.

(www.imdb.com)

    Batman Returns:  As I've figured out, any Tim Burton film is perfect for Halloween.  Case and point, the second Batman movie.  Although the original Batman was also a Tim Burton film, I found that the second one, featuring the Penguin, (courtesy of Danny Devito), was a lot darker and more Halloween-esq.  This one also has Catwoman, played by Michelle Pfeiffer.  Lots of black leather.

(www.imdb.com)

    The Crow:  I'm not a huge fan of this movie, but my husband loves it.  Set on Halloween, this movie is about a couple who are murdered the night before their wedding.  On the anniversary of their death, Eric Draven is resurrected to exact vengeance for his beloved.  This movie is extremely creepy and dark, has an inner-city setting and interesting visual effects.  There are some decent fighting scenes as well and a lot of killing, so prepare yourself for some gore if you're planning on watching this one.

(www.imdb.com)

    Ghostbusters:  This last one was an obvious choice.  I tend to lean more towards funny Halloween movies and this one is no exception.  If you've never heard of Ghostbusters, you don't deserve to know.  Three unemployed parapsychology professors start ridding their neighborhood of poltergeists and hilarity ensues.  This is another cult classic with an all-star cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis.  It's currently going through a reboot, so check it out if you're interested.

    Well, there you go!  There's my list of Halloween movies to watch if you don't like scary movies.  Are there movies I missed?  Which ones are your go-to favorites for Halloween?  Let me know in the comments below.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.