Revised Overall Ratings of My Second Ten Sets Of Comics

1. Doctor Who: Free Comic Book Day 2018-100%
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #6-100%
3. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #5-100%
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #4-100%
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #3-100%
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #1-99%
7. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #2-99%
8. DC Comics Presents: Shazam! #2-98%
9. Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys-97%
10. Howard the Duck Vol. 1 #1-97%
11. Deadpool Kills Deadpool-97%
12. DC Comics Presents: Shazam! #1-95%
13. Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness-95%
14. Wonder Woman: Rebirth (2016) #1-95%
15. The Tick: Free Comic Book Day 2018-95%
16. Free Comic Book Day 2018: James Bond 007-VARGR-95%
17. Free Comic Book Day 2018 Invader Zim: Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy-95%
18. The Legend of Wonder Woman (2015-2016) #1-92%
19. Free Comic Book Day: The Legend of Korra & Nintendo ARMS 2018-90%
20. Ant-Man (2015) Vol. 1 #1: Second-Chance Man Part 1-90%
21. Batman/The Flash: The Button-88%
22. The Adventures of Superman Vol. 1 #500-88%
23. The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1-88%
24. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5-87%
25. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6-87%
26. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4-87%
27. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1-87%
28. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1-87%
29. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2-85%
30. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1-84%
31. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One-84%
32. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3-82%
33. Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #1-80%
34. The Astonishing Ant-Man (2015-2016) #1-77%
35. Star Wars: Rogue One Adaptation #1-70%
36. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8-65%

DC Comics Presents: Shazam! #2

The second, and last, of the digital promotional collections tied to the Shazam! movie, DC Comics Presents: Shazam! #2 contains the last four issues of The Power of Shazam! series before it was cancelled. Issues 44 to 47 focus on Billy Batson and his siblings in the hospital after barely surviving a car accident, all the while a pair of villains plot to go after them. Due to Shazam, the wizard, now being a New God and a previous fight with Chain Lightning limiting their powers, the kids now need to use a Mother Box to aid them in their fight. This leads to Uncle Dudley and Tawky Tawny, friends of the Marvels, to try and seek help from the future but wind up finding Black Adam instead. Despite the Marvels and the Justice League still believing he's guilty of his past crimes, Adam wants to reform and help Batson and his family. With Shazam returning and Billy's powers at full strength but unhinged due to his anger towards Adam, the three must face off against the Three Faces of Evil before it can escape to Earth. These last four issues tell a very well told and engaging story that makes you wish that the series wasn't cancelled. While there may be a lot of information that has happened in other comics, Jerry Ordway's writing does a great job at explaining much. The story is well paced and filled with many surprises, including making Black Adam sympathetic and his redemption believable. Ordway's artwork, as well as his and Dick Giordano's coloring, is a lot more fresh and detailed than the ones done for issues 38-41. The art is more in keeping with at the time modern looks, though still having small touches to the Golden Age of Comics. Many of the fight scenes, whether between Captain Marvel and Superman or the team up between Marvel, Shazam, and Adam against the Three Faces, are amazing to look at. Of course, there are times when the art isn't always that perfect especially when there are closeups to certain characters that make them seem off. Whether or not the writers, and other staff, knew that these last four issues would be the end of the series, DC Comics Presents: Shazam! #2 gives us four very well told and epic stories with amazing artwork. Over all: 100%
Top list so far for 2nd set of comics:
1. Doctor Who: Free Comic Book Day 2018
2. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #6
3. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #5
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #4
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #3
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #1
7. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Crisis in a Half Shell #2
8. DC Comics Presents: Shazam! #2
9. Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys
10. Howard the Duck Vol. 1 #1
11. Deadpool Kills Deadpool
12. DC Comics Presents: Shazam! #1
13. Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness
14. Wonder Woman: Rebirth (2016) #1
15. The Tick: Free Comic Book Day 2018
16. Free Comic Book Day 2018: James Bond 007-VARGR
17. Free Comic Book Day 2018 Invader Zim: Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy
18. The Legend of Wonder Woman (2015-2016) #1
19. Free Comic Book Day: The Legend of Korra & Nintendo ARMS 2018
20. Ant-Man (2015) Vol. 1 #1: Second-Chance Man Part 1
21. Batman/The Flash: The Button
22. The Adventures of Superman Vol. 1 #500
23. The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1
24. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5
25. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6
26. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4
27. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1
28. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1
29. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2
30. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1
31. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One
32. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3
33. Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #1
34. The Astonishing Ant-Man (2015-2016) #1
35. Star Wars: Rogue One Adaptation #1
36. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8

Onward

Onward, Pixar's latest, is set in a fantasy world wherein magical creatures are the norm and magic used to be done by the most skilled until electricity and technology was discovered and mastered leading to the mystical slowly forgotten. Some time later, similar to own period, the film centers on two elf brothers, shy Ian and adventurous Barley, who learn that their late father left them a wizard's staff and a rare gem so that he could be brought back for a single day to get to know them. Attempting to cast the spell, Ian's unfamiliarity with magic causes only the bottom half of their father to be brought back. Only having twenty four hours to complete the spell and the gem breaking, Barley uses his knowledge of ancient magic and adventures to get the two on a quest to finally get to see their father as they have to deal with a Manticore, a motorcycle pixie gang, and an ancient curse. While it's your very typical road comedy with a fantasy twist, it nonetheless does it with relatable backstory and an ending that hits you inside. Tom Holland as Ian and Chris Pratt as Barley are not only perfectly cast but also have such a powerful chemistry together. A lot of the animation, especially the cinematography, not only highlights the awe of Pixar's work, but also has certain shots and moments that evoke past large fantasy films like Harry Potter and The Hobbit. Even if the writing has a lot of basic fantasy and road trip comedy tropes, they are done in unique ways that perfectly blend the two and leads to powerful and heartbreaking moments. One unexpected result of having only the bottom half of a person walk around is not only the amusing and genius use of slapstick, but also how heartwarming it is whenever Ian and Barley feel like they will fail. What's a great detail to Onward is how Ian needs to learn magic, but the use of it takes not only time but a lot of practice and you get to see the many times he fails at it. Of course, there are a lot of things that don't work such as many of the jokes, certain magical creatures doing things in a more modern sense despite not really making sense, and certain characters not very well developed. Compared to most other Pixar films, while Onward is fun and emotional its not as big as say the Toy Story films or Coco. But nonetheless it doesn't take away from just how entertaining and memorable of a film that Onward is. Over all: 90%
2020 top list so far:
1. The Invisible Man 2020
2. The Gentlemen
3. Birds of Prey
4. Onward
5. Bad Boys for Life
6. The Call of the Wild 2020
7. Sonic the Hedgehog

Playdate with Destiny

Only the second Simpsons short film to be done since 2012, Playdate with Destiny was shown right before Onward. Much like The Longest Daycare, Playdate focuses on Maggie and is mostly silent as she falls in love with another toddler when taken to a new park. After that, she hopes to see him again but must overcome Homer's need to go to another park that has a food truck. The short focuses on visual storytelling while providing really beautiful and whimsical romantic music. While it's not as memorable as Daycare or the 2007 film, Playdate with Destiny is still a well made and beautiful short. Its great use of animation, visual gags, and romantic fantasy sequences make it both a great addition to the franchise and give us something new and unique. Playdate with Destiny is an amazing short that manages to tell such a magnificent story in such a small amount of time compared to a regular episode of the show.

The Invisible Man 2020

Originally intended to be part of Universal's Dark Universe, a cinematic universe focusing on their classic monsters such as Dracula and the Wolf Man, the failure of 2017's The Mummy led to The Invisible Man 2020 to become a standalone and telling its own story. A remake of the 1933 film and also based on the H.G. Wells novel, Leigh Whannell writes and directs this superb suspenseful horror with Jason Blum's gift of able to produce on very small budgets even if they don't look it. Elisabeth Moss stars as Cecilia Kass, a woman trapped in a violent and abusive relationship with a wealthy optics scientist, Adrian Griffin. After she manages to escape with the help of her sister, Cecilia fears that one day Adrian will find her and hurt everyone she cares about. When she is informed of his possible suicide and the inheritance Adrian left behind for her, Cecilia initially starts to live her life again. However, things start to go wrong for her again when she is haunted by an invisible force that Cecilia suspects is actually Griffin. This is a horror film that perfectly keeps you wondering and guessing at what actually is going on without constantly using cheap jump scares every few minutes. Whenever something does happen involving the use of invisibility it's used sparingly and quick, otherwise it would be hard to believe that no one believes Cecilia. Whannell masters suspense by having the camera move around and stop at certain places to make us think that something is about to happen. When something doesn't happen, it becomes more surprising and suspenseful when something does happen. It's amazing how well the effects are considering its very small budget of just seven million dollars, thus emphasizing how much and when the invisibility is used. The entire cast, and especially Moss, all deliver strong and powerful performances as the writing helps us get to know them while also making their situations believable. Adding to the writing is how intense and realistic Cecilia's situation is, especially with certain moments early on that show the emotional and psychological trauma that domestic abuse can cause. With the combination of a haunting score, brisk cinematography, and methodically paced editing you get a truly well made horror film that keeps you wondering when something will happen. If there are any complaints it would be with the invisibility suit, a nice change from the original using a drug but leads to a lot of questions. The suit is a great idea, but the way it actually looks is a bit silly as well as the fact that whoever wears it doesn't make a lot of noise and gives them super strength. It's never explained whether that's something the suit is able to do or the person who wears it does that themselves. The Invisible Man 2020 is a science fiction horror movie that tackles serious subject matter while also giving its audience a well told and terrifying story. Over all: 100%
2020 top list so far:
1. The Invisible Man 2020
2. The Gentlemen
3. Birds of Prey
4. Bad Boys for Life
5. The Call of the Wild 2020
6. Sonic the Hedgehog

The Call of the Wild 2020

Based on the 1903 novel of the same name by Jack London and previously adapted a few other times in the past, with the most famous being in 1935 with Clark Gable, The Call of the Wild 2020 takes a lot of liberties but is otherwise a well told story. The film centers on a large and pampered dog, named Buck, who is kidnapped so as to be used as part of a sled dog mail delivery in the Yukon. Buck must learn to not only obey so as to not get hit by humans but also must figure out how to work and get along with much wilder dogs. Initially getting used to this new lifestyle, advancements in technology leads Buck to new people and adventures as he tries to find where he fits in this new world. Buck, himself, is created through CGI as Terry Notary portrays the dog through motion capture. Even when the effects are obvious and certain moments could have been done with a real dog, the recreation of Buck and other animals looks well done and makes sense due to how extreme certain stunts are. While Harrison Ford gets top billing and a lot of focus in posters and trailers, he doesn't appear all that much and only becomes an important character by the third act. Even with such a small role, Ford gives an incredible performance while adding more to his character than the book had. The relationship and chemistry between Ford's John Thornton and Buck works so well that you wish this was the focus from the beginning. Chris Sanders, a director more known for animated films, does a good job in his first live action film with how well he mixes drama and adventure. The amazing cinematography by Janusz Kaminski adds to the beauty, depth, and vastness of 1890s Alaska. While fun, there are very serious moments that add a lot of weight just like in the London book, like Buck's kidnapping and the death of Thornton. But, some of those moments are ruined by either changes from the book or liberties that the film takes. Having Buck only get hit once to be obedient does take away from the seriousness of how often it happened in the novel. There's also the fight between him and Spitz, the leader of the sled dogs, that has a way less violent conclusion and the only fight between dogs as the novel had a whole scene with wild wolves fighting Buck. The attempt at making it more child friendly is appreciated but it takes away from what made the book so special. While Dan Stevens does play a character from the book, his take on Hal is way over the top and gives an unnecessary goofy villain in a very normal movie. The Call of the Wild 2020 may take certain liberties, but while it may not be faithful to the book it is a very well made and fun movie that still has some of the spirit. Over all: 81%
2020 top list so far:
1. The Gentlemen
2. Birds of Prey
3. Bad Boys for Life
4. The Call of the Wild 2020
5. Sonic the Hedgehog