To answer that question, Marvel (comics) is taking a new direction with their movies. They will not be auctioning off licensing to the highest bidder as was done with Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and Hulk. In doing so, we were subjected Spider-Man with organic webbing, The FF looking like a 2 hour commercial for toys, and the Hulk trying to be cerebral and romantic – Ang Lee style. Also with different studios owning the movies, the fans were never going to see crossover cameos like Tony Stark made in the Incredible Hulk.

The exchange between Gen. Ross and Tony Stark alone is worth the price of the tickets. It is tongue-in-cheek and foreshadowing banter at its finest. Marvel being in charge of how the movies are made is going to mean more fan friendly movies and hopefully more cameos and crossovers.

This got me to thinking and made me think of all of the different crossovers that I, as a self-professed comic geek, would like to see. For the sake of keeping remaining within the realm of “I’d like to see it” and not in the realm of “things that are going to happen”, I’ll avoid the obvious Captain America/Iron Man/Avengers crossovers. For those that don’t know, the Captain America and Iron Man 2 movies are already set for 2010. There’s also a Thor (I say thee hell yeah!) and Avengers movie on the horizon. I’ll stick with what I would like to see and not cross into things that are in the works.

Batman and Superman
For those that read the current comic series, or have read DC comics for a while, then you know how awesome this would be. Just their differences in approach and philosophies could fill 2+ hours of screen time. Also, it would give way for all sorts of cameos from the rest of the DC Universe. Personally, I’d like to see a love triangle form with Wonder Woman, if only for the hours of entertainment that I would get from reading the pissed off fan blogs.

Spider-Man and Daredevil
I can see it now….Spider-Man and The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) are out racing across Manhattan (like all superheroes do on a boring Tuesday night). Spidey aborts when his “spider sense” tingles due to a crime being committed in Hell’s Kitchen. Enter Daredevil….and scene. The Daredevil movie really focused on the fact that DD spends his nights patrolling the streets of Hell’s Kitchen and causing all sorts of havoc within the organized crime world. That is his genre. What is often forgotten is that is also where Spider-Man started. The most recent issues of Amazing Spider-Man have really returned to that. The Spidey vs. Kingpin fight in ASM #542 is one for the ages and could easily have been in Daredevil. So a movie crossover of these two would be nothing short of perfect. This would also be a great way to introduce Luke Cage (Power Man) and Danny Rand (Iron Fist) to the movie-going audience.

The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and Iceman
I know this has a bit of a Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends feel, but think about it. A fire and ice combo. Think of all of the special effects that could go into something like that. Sure it would all have to be CGI, but it would still make for a cool movie going experience. Maybe they could go as far as to make it something of a Mr. & Mrs. Smith type movie of back and forth exchanges. I really think I might be onto something here. There would be all sorts of potential for X-Men and Fantastic Four cameos. Maybe we can get some of Michael Chiklis’ witty Thing/Ben Grimm dialogue via a cell phone or something.

Storm and Catwoman
I know that this one is just way out there, but just think about all of the money a Hollywood studio could save by casting Halle Berry for both roles. You know what? I couldn’t even begin to try to shine up this turd of an idea. This movie would suck so hard that it would probably cause any theater showing it to cave in on itself. On the brightside, the producers could always get the costume designers from Batman & Robin (the turd starring George Clooney) to make some super tight, latex, nippled-out monstrosities to show off Halle’s hot body.

Hulk and Thing
All throughout the history of Marvel Comics, the Hulk and the Thing have mixed it up. Their meetings have always been amongst my favorites. All they do is fight. They are like Tom & Jerry, only if Jerry were the same size as Tom and had similar strength. A few years back a great 4 (or 5) issue mini-series came out. Basically, the Thing and the Hulk fought each other across a barren stretch of the West. At times they would stop at local diners to eat together before getting back to fighting. The movie could center on Bruce Banner calling upon Reed Richards to see if he can assist him in finding a way to rid himself of the Hulk. Of course, something would trigger Bruce into changing to the Hulk. This would mean that the Thing would have to subdue the Hulk until he calmed down.

Of course I don’t see any of these movies ever happening, but a boy can dream…right? I have to have something to get me through until the Dark Knight opens in a little over 2 weeks. After that, it’s going to be a long dry spell until the next good comic book movies premiere. You can thank last year’s writers strike for that. If Tom Hanks and George Clooney don’t pull it together and the actors strike, then it could be even longer. If you’re looking for a silver lining….Marvel and DC only make you wait a month for new issues and they spread them out so that you can read all sorts of comics every week. Oh and Iron Man will be on DVD before you know it.

The same goes for print media. I can’t remember the last time I bought a newspaper for anything other than the Sunday sale ads. I just read it online. Now when I was a kid….I couldn’t wait to read the newspaper comics, or funnies (as my grandmother calls them). And of course, you can read these online now, too. In my search for archived versions of Marmaduke and Family Circus, I have stumbled upon a variety of webcomics. Most of them are published 2-3 times a week. Some of them are good. Some of them are total crap. All of them give me the same “Sunday morning” feeling. By that I mean, some are classics, like Garfield and Peanuts; while some make no sense, like Apartment 3G.

I have decided to spread the gospel of some of my favorite webcomics for all of you Feasties out there. This will be the first of a series of postings with my recommendations for webcomics. Let’s just call it THE BEST OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN….SO FAR.

The bronze medal goes to MULTIPLEX  by Gordon McAlpin. This webcomic follows the exploits of the employees of a cineplex and throws in the author’s views towards movies that (at the time of original release) are in the theaters. I like this webcomic for a variety of reasons. The biggest one is because I used to work at a movie theater when I was in high school, so I can relate with most of the characters. Also, the characters have the distinct division between the ones that are only working there until they get a better job, graduate from school, or are there during summer vacation and the characters that will still be working there 10 years down the road. McAlpin even has the foresight to write characters out of the comic permanently or for appropriate amounts of time. The supporting and recurring cast add to the enjoyment of this soap opera-ish webcomic. BONUS: There is some deep-seeded sexual tension that lingers throughout the entire run.

The red ribbon (for 2nd place) goes to WONDERMARK  by David Malki. Honestly, this webcomic deserves to be my 1a selection. It is really well written and the concept is nothing short of genius. Each comic generally stands on its own. There are recurrences of some characters, but it is not necessary to have prior knowledge of any backstories in order to enjoy each comic. I can only imagine that David Malki was the illegitimate son of Gary Larson (The Far Side) and a Victorian era printing press. Just read the comics, you’ll see what I mean. There is a certain beauty in obscure humor with a vein of irreverence. I strongly recommend setting up a new folder in your bookmarks for you to bookmark your favorites. There will be a lot of them.

Finally, (regal trumpets sounding) the best of the best of what I have seen so far. I’m talking about a little webcomic known as QUESTIONABLE CONTENT, by Jeph Jacques. As far as webcomic soap operas go, this is the best. All of the characters are twenty something and incredibly relatable. Martyn and Faye are the primary focus, but the comic delves into the lives of multiple characters. My personal favorite is Hannalore. She is hilarious. Jacques isn't coy about his musical tastes either.

The entire run of QC makes sure to impose the author's musical tastes in the same fashion that a chainsaw lets a tree know it likes to chop it down. Unlike MULTIPLEX, QC laughs at it's obvious sexual tension between the characters. I will admit, I was somewhat surprised with who Dora ended up getting with. I wont lie, I was literally like, "Whaaaaat?!?!" I highly recommend starting at the beginning and working your way through all 1,100+ issues/episodes (I don't know what you're supposed to call them). Considering that Jacques puts out 5 issues a week, it's hard not to get hooked.

Obviously, I have not “read” every webcomic out there, but I have read enough to be able to determine which ones I like compared to which ones I do not. I strongly encourage any of the Feasties to give me any recommendations for ones that are worthy of inclusion in a future webcomics posting. 

Since I’ve never read any of the classic comics, I can’t speak to the authenticity of Iron Man as an adaptation.  For that, you’ll have to ask Dr. Danger, a.k.a. Nicholas Johnson, resident Culture Feast comic blogger.  However, I can tell you, from a Regular Jane’s perspective as a movie lover, that Iron Man was an entertaining 2 hours.

There were a few moments in the beginning that I found a little dull, or maybe it was just that I went to a late showing and was a little tired.  As with most movies in this genre, a lot of my favorite parts came during the assembly/training process.  Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, the genius, multi-gazillionaire, mastermind CEO behind Stark Industries, has some very entertaining banter with his electronic gizmos and gadgets.  He even has a friendly rapport with Jarvis, the witty artificial intelligence which powers his computer systems, voiced by the extremely talented Paul Bettany, from A Knight’s Tale, A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code.  

The special effects are pretty amazing.  It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a summer blockbuster type film full of these sorts of special effects, so I sat in awe with drool hanging from my chin – for several reasons *wink wink*.  I’m a novice in geek speak, so I’m sure there’s an actual name for the 3-D computer thingy that he uses to literally touch and discard bits of the suit that he doesn’t like or doesn’t need, but knowing the name or not does not decrease the awesomeness of watching those scenes.  And by far, one of my favorite parts is watching the Iron Man suit materialize around Stark. Too cool!

Jeff Bridges is convincingly horrible as the bad guy, Obadiah Stane.  He started Stark Industries with Tony’s dad way back when.  I actually leaned over to my friend with whom I went to see it and said, “I really hate him.”  He was just so mean and utterly dislikable.  

Gwyneth Paltrow plays Stark’s loyal assistant, Pepper Potts.  There’s chemistry between them from the very beginning, but Stark’s a playboy who specializes in one-night stands with difficult reporters, and Potts is the sort of woman with whom he could make a future.  So, obviously, they’re not together.  

At first, I couldn’t really envision this to be the sort of role that Paltrow would go for, but she proves her acting prowess by being completely believable and bringing credibility to the role; however, I was a little irritated with the damsel in distress type squealing at the end.

A word to the wise: stick around for the credits.  My friend and I didn’t, and we missed out on an epilogue, which means we’ll have to go see it again.  Oh, shucks.

            While many writers and artists were given the thumbs up to take Peter Parker in all new directions, the editors failed to keep it within reason. Many of the readers, me included, loved it when Todd McFarlane introduced Venom into the Spider-man continuum. And nobody can act like they didn’t love the black suit, regardless of if it was the alien symbiote or the copy that Peter dons on occasion (i.e. the Back in Black  storyline). I think we can all agree that the clones and the symbiote sagas were a bit too much.

However, through all of the various writers, artists, clones, aliens, costumes, civil wars, acts of vengeance, and various incarnations of the Avengers…..since the Amazing Spider-man Annual #21 (1987) Peter Parker has been married to Mary Jane Watson-Parker. That’s 21 years. Granted, in the world of comics, that’s only like 4 months, it’s still a lifetime. To put this in perspective, if you were born on the day that MJ and Peter were married, you’d just now be able to “legally” go out and get a beer. BLACKJACK YEARS! As some of you all know, I didn’t start reading comic books until 1989 and my first comic was ASM #318. By that point, Peter and Mary Jane weren’t even newlyweds. They were, at least in the eyes of a kid from a broken home, the coolest married couple ever. I have a natural attraction to redheads and I am pretty sure that it’s all based on McFarland’s version of MJ. 21 YEARS! And by the final panel of ASM issue #545 it was over. Not so much “over” as “never having happened”. In the course of a 4 issue arc (One More Day) the 2nd greatest couple in comics (Lois Lane and Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El is 1st by a landslide) was erased from existence.

If you haven’t already, I strongly recommend picking up the graphic novel or the individual issues (ASM #544-545, Sensational Spider-Man #41, and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24). This story will remind you of why you like to be in love, why not all break-ups are bad things, and show you that not all comic books have to have a tragic death to break your heart. Not that you needed another reason to pick up this story, but it is the end of a beautiful run for J. Michael Straczynski.

Straczynski has been writing the Amazing Spider-Man since issue Vol. 2 #30 (Vol. 1 #471, they started playing with the numbering back in 1999 and switched it back permanently a few issues before #500). That is 75 issues, not including other Spidey titles. Throughout his run, JMS didn’t do anything that totally disturbed the Spideyverse. What he did do was bring it all back to “reality”. All of the Spider-man titles spent the better part of the 1990’s exploring the fantasy of the franchise and were in need of serious grounding. JMS was only 6 issues into his run when the events of Sept. 11, 2001 happened. He and John Romita, Jr. produced one of the most touching tributes to our everyday heroes in Issue #36 (#477).

Let’s put it this way….Marvel let the “teenagers” run wild for too long and when it came time to clean up the mess, they called in “Daddy” to fix it. JMS oozes a pheromone that should be bottled and sold under the name of “Classic”. He currently is in the midst of the relaunch of The Mighty Thor (one of my absolute favorites) and in seven issues, he has done more to make me want to buy this comic than had been done in the last 15+ years. Don’t worry. I’ll give you a big write-up on all things Thor in the very near future.

On the other hand, ASM has taken a new turn. Now swinging to action 3 times a month under the Brand New Day heading, it’s like an all-new comic book. Without Mary Jane, Peter Parker is able to take new twists and turns in both his private life as well as the life of your friendly neighborhood Spider-man. The books now remind me of why I first picked up my first issue. They haven’t quite reverted back to the old style where every story starts and finishes within the same issue, but they have that fast paced high intensity feel. While this doesn’t quite work in a title like Daredevil, it definitely works here. That is the beauty of franchise titles, most people know the history of the character so well that they don’t need to have the plots developed and redeveloped every other issue.

The one thing about the craziness of the 1990’s Spider-man titles was that it was always fun. Brand New Day is a throwback to those days, but is still keeping JMS’s realistic perception of the world of Spider-man alive. And in a day and age where comics are getting grittier and more hardcore, it’s nice to be able to pick up a comic and just have fun.

I'm sure your immediate question has switched from, "What movie is that?" to "What comic is that?" I am talking about Wanted, a comic that burst on the scene back in 2004 as a part of Millarworld. This comic was published by Top Cow comics, but it is all Mark Millar's creation. This was my first introduction to Mark Millar's awesome ability to craft stories and characters. Granted, this 6-issue series feels like a grittier, more mature DC or Marvel title. Whether you choose to get wrapped up in trying to figure out which Marvel or DC character that each different character in Wanted resembles, or you focus on the storyline, you'll find yourself wanting to reread this title a few times. Lucky for you all that missed it the first time around, you can actually go out and buy the trade paperback and read it all in one sitting. I, on the other hand, had to wait months to finish this series.  

Are you thinking, "But what's it about?", yet? I was getting to that. Here's the basic premise: Wesley Gibson, who suspiciously looks a lot like rapper Eminem, finds out that his father, that he thought had abandoned him as a child, is the world's greatest assassin and is a member of the Fraternity (of Super Villians). Think the LEAGUE OF SUPER VILLIANS (from SUPERFRIENDS) if they actually did the horrible things that super villians do. After Wesley's father is killed, he is confronted by the Fox, his father's protege and occasional lover, who introduces him to the world of evil without consequences. Wesley embraces his father's legacy and apparent genetically transferred abilities and wackiness ensues. It isn't until issue #4 that the series gets into the fun comic book stuff that the first three issues unwittingly promises, but it's a fun ride throughout.  

I'm recommending this comic for 1 huge reason. As the old adage goes, if you like the movie, you'll love the book. I am not sure if I am looking forward to the movie this summer, it's set to release on June 27, 2008 (be sure to look for Ash's movie review shortly after that). I'm just not sure if Hollywood is ready to put out a true adaptation of this comic book. On top of that, I just don't see Morgan Freeman and (future saint) Angelina Jolie signing on to do a movie that glamorizes murder, rape, and other abhorrible crimes. I have seen the trailers and WANTED looks like it will be a fun, action-filled ride, but I am willing to bet that I will come out of the theater extremely disappointed. 

As a wise (cartoon) man (Homer Simpson) once said, "I like my beer cold, my tv loud, and my homosexuals flaming", I like my comic book movies to be so close to the book that my only argument is that wasn't enough time to cram more into them. I really don't like watching a 2 minute trailer and thinking "Where's this, this, that, and that??" To me, that just sucks. And when it comes to the movie adaptation of the amazing comic book Wanted, all I could have wanted is an NC-17 Director's cut that brings a little tear to my eye when it ends.

Batman, a.k.a. The Caped Crusader, the Dark Knight, and the World’s Greatest Detective, is the alter ego of Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents at the age of 8. He became the sole heir to the massive Wayne Family fortune. Young Bruce was raised by the family’s butler Alfred. Wayne dedicated his life to developing his body, mind, and skills to bring himself to the peak of human limits. Donning a grey costume with a black cape and cowl, Bruce Wayne took to the streets of Gotham City to seek vengeance and revenge on the criminal element of the city that was responsible for his parents’ deaths. Batman has no “superpowers” and must rely on his strength, skills, and gadgets to accomplish his crime-fighting objectives. By day, Bruce Wayne is a billionaire playboy and the CEO of Wayne Industries.

Daredevil, a.k.a. The Man Without Fear, is the alter ego of Matt(hew) Murdock. Matt Murdock was born a regular healthy kid in the New York City neighborhood Hell’s Kitchen. An accident involving toxic materials left young Matt Murdock blind, but his other four senses (touch, smell, taste, and hearing) grew to super-powered levels. He hid his heightened senses from his father, a boxer, turned mob enforcer, turned boxer again. Shortly after his accident, Matt’s father was killed for not throwing a fight. Matt promised his father that he’d get out of Hell’s Kitchen and make something of himself. After his father’s death, Murdock began training and learning to use his senses to their fullest from a blind sensei. At the same time, he worked his way through law school. Upon graduation, Matt Murdock partnered up with his classmate, Foggy Nelson to open a law firm in Hell’s Kitchen.

He wears a red costume with a horned mask and relies on his heightened senses and a gadgety billy club to patrol Hell’s Kitchen.
Both Batman and Daredevil serve a similar purpose in their cities. They are both vigilantes that spend the bulk of their time (presumably) patrolling the streets and prevent small time criminals from doing their thing. Both of them use their detective skills to make fairly solid deductions. And my personal favorite, neither of them is above dishing out a solid beating or mildly (tongue firmly in cheek) torturing someone to get the answers or information that they want. Occasionally, both of these heroes end up facing villains whose powers far exceed theirs and it is in those moments that we are given a glimpse into just how smart and improvisational they can be. It is for that very reason that neither of them function at their best when they are teamed up with one or more other heroes.

I know that some of you are screaming, “What about ROBIN?!?!?!”, and you probably have good reason. But keep in mind that the Robin of today is more of an extension of Batman. According to the widely accepted mythos of Batman and Robin, when not out fighting crime, they basically spend their life training and preparing for situations. For them, fighting criminals is like a football team running a play. So….excluding Robin, Batman isn’t as effective when fighting alongside others. Both Batman and Daredevil team up with various heroes from time to time. Usually, it’s to sell more comics, but occasionally it is to really deliver an A*%kicking that sends their message with a big huge exclamation point at the end.

Obviously, the debate rages on concerning which of these two would win in a fight between them. Usually, that argument is set within certain parameters, such as “Who would win in a fight between Batman and Daredevil if they were both naked and underwater…”, that are not likely to happen within the Marvel or DC universes. I think the better argument would be “How would Batman handle himself if he were in Daredevil’s situation” and vice versa.

Currently, both Daredevil and Batman are in the middle of very interesting story lines.

Daredevil is locked in a battle of wits with an old nemesis, Mr. Fear (who operates a lot like The Scarecrow, from the Batman titles, does. Coincidence??) who has proven that he can get to Daredevil through his wife. This is a great story that tells us what lengths Daredevil is willing to go to save his wife from the consequences of Mr. Fear’s actions. This current story arc began with issue #100 and concludes in issue #105, but this is really a continuation of everything that has been happening since issue #94. Keep in mind that DAREDEVIL is a title that is more for those that like crime mysteries that feature superheroes rather than superhero stories that have mysteries within them.

Batman on the other hand is in the middle of a short story arc that is sure to change the Batman universe immensely. Having seemingly been killed, Batman awakens to find himself being confronted in a torture chair by one of the Batman replacements. This current arc began with issue #672 and runs straight into the “Batman R.I.P” story arc that begins with issue #676. BATMAN is the Batman title for those of us that don’t always have to see the hero win. It is also the title where most of the mythos changing stories happen. Almost all of the other titles fall into line after the dust settles in this cornerstone title.

As with all comics, you have to take yourself out of the “How can they be here in one title and there in another” mindset and just enjoy the stories for what they are. Both titles have great creative teams working on them right now that really understand the characters strengths, weaknesses, and legends.

And here’s my $.02 on the Batman vs. Daredevil fight: Batman would win simply because he would deduce that Daredevil’s other senses are heightened (Daredevil’s tell is when he cocks his head to the side to focus his hearing) and eventually use that against him. I suspect it would be some sort of high-pitched sound emitting device, similar to the one in BATMAN: YEAR ONE (and BATMAN BEGINS) that he uses to summon the bats, to throw the rest of his abilities off. Batman has done this on occasion to other adversaries, including Superman, with similar results. Now, if they were both in complete darkness, naked, and underwater….all bets are off.

Now if you’re like most of my friends (and former girlfriends), you’re probably wondering what I’m talking about. I’m talking about one of the best non-franchise (Batman, Spider-Man) titles to come out in the last decade. Y: The Last Man is a comic book first, a piece of mythology second, and then it’s all wrapped up in a Shakespearean masterpiece. You will laugh on one page and choke back tears on the next. I know this from experience. The writing (Brian K. Vaughn) belongs in the pages of a NY Times bestseller. The artwork (Pia Guerra) is exactly what you want in this type of story (i.e. it doesn’t distract from the story).

The cover art (J.G Jones and Massimo Carnevale) will blow you away. Here’s the story in a nutshell: all of the males in the world instantaneously die. This includes every human, animal, and presumably insect. All are dead, except our story’s protagonist Yorick (Y) Brown and his capuchin monkey, Ampersand (&). Yorick is immediately thrust into a variety of situations that are both entertaining and incredibly thought provoking. The manner in which these situations are handled are not always the best, but within the framework of the world that Yorick lives in they are understandable.           

What would happen to the world’s infrastructure if every man instantly died? How would those that survived be able to cope and move on? What masculine traits will manifest within women once the men are gone? Would an average guy be able to get laid by all of the women that have said, “Not if you were the last man alive”?           

While the stories center around Yorick and his newfound title of “Sexiest Man Alive” (an unofficial perk), his journey has some very strong supporting characters. Agent 355 is a tough, no nonsense woman who is assigned to protect Yorick as he travels cross country to meet with Dr. Mann. Dr. Mann is a geneticist that is working to find out why all of the men died and how to “cure” it. Yorick’s ultimate goal is to be reunited with his girlfriend, Beth (who was in Australia when the “plague” hit) and she serves as both a source of motivation and guilt. While one could easily say that Yorick has every reason to go around “planting his seed” in all of the women that are throwing themselves at him, he struggles to remain valiant.

I grew up reading the stories of Greek and Roman mythology and I always enjoyed the Iliad and the Odyssey. The main theme throughout The Odyssey was Ulysses struggles to return home after the Trojan War. Yorick’s journey, very much like Ulysses’, is to return to his one love and to endure the tangents that are thrown at him.            

I praise the series writer Brian K. Vaughn and the higher-ups at DC Comics (Vertigo’s parent company) for recognizing and remembering that all great journeys must end. While this title has received a great deal of acclamation from the industry’s foremost critics and has legions of fans, the book is finished. As with any great literary (or comic book) work of art, the story lives on.            

Lucky for all of those that weren’t fortunate enough to pick up issue #1 (and every subsequent issue after that), Vertigo has released all 60 issues into ten trade paperbacks (volume 10 has yet to be released, but soon. Trust Me!). All of them are available at local comic book shops, amazon.com or at most big box bookstores. For all of you that know me, I’m a big fan of supporting the little guys. So if you’re looking for these volumes, give the guys at BIG WORLD COMICS in Carrollton a call – 972-245-0968. 

On a final note, it is not often that something special comes along and the powers that be have the bravery to avoid exploiting it. It is definitely worth commending that there is not a Y: The Last Man cartoon show that centers on Yorick’s monkey. This is one title that I am really hoping gets made into a movie. I know that there are currently talks between Vertigo (DC), New Line Cinema and director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia) and that Shia Lebeouf (he’s awesome J) has been tapped to play Yorick. With the current writer’s strike, who knows if this will ever happen? If it does, I just hope that all companies involved act with the same amount of integrity that Vertigo has throughout the 5 year run of the comic book.            

I will warn you now…..do not pick up this book for your kids. It is a mature title. The innuendo is enough to confuse a kid into needing therapy. Also, don’t pick up volume 1 unless you have a good 2-3 hours to devote to being totally enthralled in Yorick’s world.  

Nicholas Johnson,
former professional daredevil