A Bucket of Blood Review

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It’s time to take a look at one of the worst films that I have ever seen. It ranks up there with Sucker Punch and Amityville Horror. This film is so horrendously bad that you will be staring at your watch through most of it and the film feels like it is 3 hours. There’s not a single redeemable part of the film and it just keeps going from bad to worse. Of course, the title was a fairly obvious indicator that this film was going to be terrible, but I don’t think anyone suspected just how terrible it would be.

The main character is named Walter and he’s a psychotic mass murderer who works as a waiter for a small restaurant. One day he sees a cat and realizes that he can finally realize his ambitions and destroys it, turning it into a statue. That’s his favorite hobby after all and slowly but surely he starts to murder other people and turns them all into statues. Nobody can tell that there is a human body of rotting flesh inside of the clay though so their noses must all be stuffed from the super large amounts of smoke inside of the cafe. The shop owner knows that Walter is going around murdering everyone, but he also knows that each murder increases his profits tremendously so he turns the other way. Can he afford to do that forever or will he have to make a move?

The police also send an agent into the restaurant to stop the ongoing drug problem there. Everyone is always high in this establishment so it is tricky to find out who is actually dealing the goods. Especially when everyone has a hand in it. The detective decides that it’s just too much trouble and decides to attack Walter. Walter destroys him of course since police training is no match for a very scrawny fellow with a frying pan. The cops never find out what happened to the detective and barely seem to care as they are written out of the film completely.

Walter has a lot of friends to stick up for him as well. The shop owner’s daughter loves the paintings and encourages Walter to get more by any means necessary. There are a few drunk guys who are always yelling nonsense about acorns and reality who love Walter’s paintings as well. They think that he is a visionary and while they don’t like money, they like what you can buy with money. More beers for everyone! If only they knew the truth about Walter! Well, in the climax we get a chase scene as Walter tries to destroy the main heroine when she rejects him and places the friend zone card. Walter outruns everyone for quite a while and proves that he’s used to fleeing the scene. Eventually he destroys himself since the stress was too much for him. The drunk guy even makes a pun about this and the film ends on that chipper note.

“Is It Over!” I found myself thinking as I fled the scene as well. This film was just so preposterously bad that it was a thrill so see it all over. The film tries to be funny by having as many extreme and unrealistic characters as possible, but the end result is actually that everyone simply comes off as being unlikable instead. Also, I’ll never be fine with the idea of a mass murderer being the main character. The whole point of a main character is that he or she should be a likable protagonist. Someone that you can root for. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the main character has to be a hero, but if he is a villain like in this case, then it better be something comically mild like theft or it’s about the villain becoming a hero. A full fledged villain with no morals as the main character? That’s really not going to bode well for the film in the long run.

The film may even be more cringe worthy than Sucker Punch if you ask me although it’s tough. Sucker Punch is more depressing, but it also doesn’t have any animal violence and it has action scenes. A Bucket of Blood is just tough to watch since it’s so terrible and wince worthy, but it’s not nearly as repulsive as Sucker Punch. It’s definitely a tough fight and at least I can guarantee that I’ll never see this film again. I’d highly recommend taking a pass on it if I were you readers as well.

Overall, A Bucket of Blood is even worse than the title would suggest. All of the characters are nonsensical, unlikable, and corrupt characters. There is nobody to root for, there is animal violence, and the pacing is horrible. There is no soundtrack and the film’s effects are terrible as well. If you want to watch an old film with a lot of class, check out Superman vs The Mole Man. It fixes just about all of the problems that I had with this film and then some. It’s the kind of film where you’ll walk away with a grin instead of a groan.

Overall 0/10

The Forest Review

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Looks like it is time for another horror film. They have a fairly bad track record and I’d say that it may actually be even worse than the romance film’s rep. That being said, I’ve seen many more horror movies than romance titles so it’s not really a fair fight. This one came out in in 2016 so it’s actually fairly modern. It’s not a good film regardless, but at the very least I can say that the first half of the film is actually better than around 90% of the horror films that I’ve seen. It goes downhill from there though. I don’t really bother with the spoilers moniker unless the film is new, but this one is 2016 so I’ll say it now…there are spoilers ahead!

Sara was trying to enjoy an ordinary day when her twin sense started tingling. She finds out that her twin sister has vanished inside of the Suicide Forest. Her husband tells her not to be dramatic, but she knows that her sister is currently still alive since her twin sense lets her know if she is alive or not. Sara must hurry since nobody can survive in the forest for long. After all, there are many demons lurking among the trees and they will pounce on anyone with a little sadness in their hearts. Sara knows the stakes so she heads to Japan and enters the forest…but not before getting a drink! She enjoys a good beer and meets a guy named Aiden. He claims to be a reporter and doesn’t mind having her tag along as he goes through the forest the next day. The catch is that he will be recording what she says as they go through. It’s a price that Sara is willing to pay. (For a little while) With the backup at the ready, Sara steps into the forest.

The film is short, but still takes its time getting to the ghosts and jump scares. The first 40 minutes or more is just Sara walking around Japan and learning about the forest from supporting characters. She goes to sketchy morgues and talks to suspicious teenagers along the way. It may not be the most engaging group of scenes, but there are none of the usual negatives from a horror movie like animal violence or violent sob stories involving the main character or a house. Unfortunately, things start to go seriously downhill once Sara finally gets into the forest. Sure enough, all of the usual horror tropes quickly start to appear.

For starters, the simple car crash quickly turns into a domestic accident. There’s no shock value here since this twist has been used to death and just reminds you that this film has no originality in the slightest. I wish that the car crash could have stuck. Then Sara also begins to let the demons overwhelm her towards the middle of the film and ends up murdering an innocent person and herself as well. When Sara was trying to cut someone’s hand off of her, she actually ended up cutting her arm instead. Either her eyes were not working properly or the spirits subtlely moved reality around with an illusion to make her arm look farther away than it actually was. It’s still a stretch of the imagination though and I’m not sure that I buy it. The spirits were also nice and overpowered since they could create illusions on the phone as well which made things tricky.

I don’t think Sara necessarily made the wrong choice all of the time, but she definitely did in the first place. If you meet someone in a bar who immediately tries to hit on you…you probably shouldn’t take this sketchy character to the middle of a dark forest to be alone for a full night. I definitely wouldn’t trust anyone like that and then she starts to doubt him a whole lot. That’s fine, but then try to run til you see a path and get out of the forest. Sara isn’t concentrating all that well and ends up falling in a ditch. Good thing that the villains in this film are so slow right?

As per horror film rules, there is a quick twist towards the end. It makes sense and you’ll feel bad for the nice supporting character, but he probably should have ran in the car with the police when he had the chance. I don’t think he’ll be able to win against a full fledged demon so it’s game over for him. Seriously, it wouldn’t be a horror film without an end twist and I’d say that it is practically a requirement at this point. There are a few other “jump” scares during the film like an old man laughing through a mirror and an old lady who tries to choke Sara. I don’t see anyone jumping during these moments unless you’re just sensitive to noise so the sound automatically makes you move a bit.

Still, many of the dicey situations could have been avoided in the film if Sara had any common sense. When she was camping in the middle of the night, she was supposed to not move from that spot. Instead she runs into the forest where the demons start to feed her their misinformation. Yes, keep on believing the sketchy characters who show up out of nowhere and are constantly grinning. They can’t possibly be lying to your face right? Even demons have standards of what they can and can’t do….no, that’s probably just a rumor. Also, it doesn’t help that Sara can’t really fight for beans so she can talk tough to Alain, but then what? Alain got a rough situation for this film, but that’s probably why you shouldn’t get too close to someone in a bar when both of you are super drunk. Sara letting herself get drunk on the very first day of investigating probably isn’t a very good idea either.

One plot angle that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense is the fact that Jess is actually still alive after a few days. Unless she has absolutely no sadness in her and just went into the forest for the lolz, then the demons should have grabbed her by now. Being absolutely alone…for days in a forest where everyone wants to eat you is a bit of a stretch. You can say that the demons kept her alive so Sara could show up, but then why didn’t they quickly finish her off at that point? They had plenty of time to take them all down so that no survivors would make it through. They are slow though since they couldn’t catch someone who had a broken arm and a badly injured leg so maybe they were still talking along the path.

Overall, The Forest isn’t a great horror movie and it’s not a good one either. I’d call it a sub par film in the end. From the score you can still see that it beats a whole lot of other horror films, but that’s what happens when you can successfully stay away from animal violence and for the most part the film wasn’t even all that grotesque. The demons purposefully look ugly of course, but they’re not over the top like usual. The domestic plot twist was horrid, but at least its screen time was fairly small. If you like horror films then you probably won’t like this film and if you don’t like horror films then you won’t like it either so it will be very hard for this title to appeal to any crowd. Maybe The Woods, or The Mountains can have a better time of it someday.

Overall 4/10

FCBD 2016 Vailant Review

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All right, it’s time for another anthology collection from Valiant. They like to take short chunks out of several comics instead of picking one or two which means that each adventure only gets 3-4 pages at best. Naturally this also increases the chance that you’ll run into a bad story so it is a risky strategy. The first story is about a guy who was banished to Earth and now he wants revenge on his father for doing this. Earth is pretty warped now in its false Utopia state so he wants out of there pronto. This story could theoretically have potential, but who am I kidding, it’ll probably be quite bad and ultra violent by the end.

The next story is horrendous as it starts with a rat being eaten and I couldn’t be bothered to care about the Star Trek ripoff planet afterwards. Seriously, starting a comic out with an animal being eaten is poor form. The next comic is about two guys yelling “It’s Miller Time” (Practically anyway) as they down some drinks. Unfortunately, 60+ years later one of those guys fell inside his super large backpack so the other one jumps in to fight some demons and to find his friend. This could be tricky! This story could be decent, it’s certainly a unique adventure I suppose.

Next up was about a super heroine who likes helping people, but she also wants to keep up with her human job instead of just living as a hero 24/7. It’s her choice I suppose. Unfortunately, she can’t save everyone and gets down about it, but for once the town and the cops are on her side so the situation isn’t all that bad. This could be a happy superhero adventure, but this is Valiant so I doubt that it will stay happy for long. The final comic is about Bloodshot (I think that’s his name) who is in the forest at this time. He is running, but ends up running into a clone of himself who immediately has a censored line since his potty mouth can’t be stopped. That’s the clone’s only line by the way so it is an….interesting way to be introduced. I liked the dog, but I’m worried about how things will ultimately end for him. There better be a happy ending here!!

At the very least the art was fairly good for most of these stories. Beyond that, there really isn’t a whole lot to say about them. Most of these stories don’t have a whole lot of potential and none of them had any action scenes. I miss the big crossover story that they had last year. Ah well, better luck next time guys!

Overall 3/10

FCBD 2016 The Legend of Korra Review

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It’s time to tackle the next free comic. I never got into the Avatar show and naturally that applies to the sequel as well, but that just means that I can look at it from the “General Audience” perspective. The story actually isn’t bad. It’s about Korra as a kid and how she meets a Polar Bear cub. We get to see them grow up and bond and this finally shows us how the two characters met since they are main characters in the cartoon. It’s a decent little story. There really isn’t a lot to it though as it is really just their chance meeting, but there’s nothing bad about it either. It’s a fun enough story in the end. The art is decent as well. The problem is that it has to share with two other stories which are significantly worse.

The second story is from the How to Train Your Dragon series. It is an anthology as various characters talk about the past. The main problem with this is the fact that the story is already going to be short since it is sharing with Korra and Plants vs Zombies. So, the “anthology” doesn’t have time for any of its stories. It doesn’t help that the characters all have extremely boring designs and none of them seem even remotely likable. It ends with the heroes charging towards the villains and it should have been epic, but it was rather boring instead. The art was also fairly bad as all of the backgrounds were dark and dreary. It’s a cave, but caves can still be drawn to be interesting typically.

Finally, we have Plants vs Zombies. It’s not as terrible as last year’s since it is only about 5 pages or less, but it is still very bad. The whole comic is based around the running gag that the main character smells bad since he forgot to take a shower. That’s the plot and then the characters destroy some villains along the way. You can’t go a page without that plot being brought back to the forefront yet again. It’s just quite sad and reminds me why this franchise may be one of the worst comedies that I have ever seen. It’s just truly horrible and the comic can’t survive this story mixed in with the boring middle one. I’d just stick away from this comic if I were you folks.

Overall 3/10

Street Fighter Alpha Anthology Review

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I remember seeing this game in Gamestop many years ago. I tried to buy the game, but the store told me that they couldn’t find the disc which ended the dream before it could even begin. When I won a contest I knew that this game would have to be one of my purchases. You can’t call yourself a fighting game fan if you have not played the legendary Street Fighter Alpha series. This way you get to play them all in one shot. The collection brings all of the Alpha games plus special versions of each title and even a little chibi crossover title. This is a must buy collection.

There isn’t much of a plot in the games since they came out so long ago. The characters do get openings and endings in their Arcade stories so you don’t need to worry about that. Of course, it is always a very basic plot and you have to connect the dots on your own. The wiki is good for learning about the extended versions of each story though. If you are puzzled about anything, just quickly head on over and be illuminated as to what actually happened. I definitely give the games props for actually having a story. Some games like King of Fighters don’t even try to give you an actual plot. Moreover, the plots in Alpha are actually engaging unlike titles like AquaPazza.

After playing Street Fighter V, it is very odd to play the Alpha games. The gameplay is dramatically different and it will take some getting used too. Once you get into it though, it really starts to be a blast. The gameplay is the real draw of this game so you’ll want a friend to play it with. If not, just fighting the computer for a few hours should be very nostalgic for long time Street Fighter fans. It is especially appropriate right now since the Alpha games basically serve as prequels to the Street Fighter V title.

Birdie, Rainbow Mika, and Karin are among the other characters from Street Fighter V who originated in these games. It’s certainly fun to see these classic versions of the characters and even favorite characters like Ryu and Ken certainly look a lot younger here. It is fun to see how the characters have actually aged along during the years. It gives the series a sense of realism…the good kind. Of course, I will be upset if it ever goes too far and whole characters are taken out because of the time gap like in Soul Calibur. After a certain point, the characters should definitely stop aging.

Graphically, Alpha 1 hasn’t aged all that well. The sprites look ancient and a lot older than I would have expected. By Alpha 3, the game looks a lot more polished like I had expected from the start. The attacks are all fun and the game is very bright so the stages really stand out. The soundtrack for this collection is excellent as well. You’ll be hearing a lot of iconic themes that have become famous over the years and this was before all of the big remixes so these are the themes are they were meant to be. Of course, a good remix can go a long way. Ryu’s theme in Street Fighter V is actually the best one that he has ever had.

Super Gem Fighter is the bonus game that came along with the Alpha titles. Unfortunately, I have to say that it is really not that good. The game tries to go for a party/fighting game mix that doesn’t go over well. If you want a game that is able to achieve both goals, just head on to Super Smash Bros Brawl. The gameplay just doesn’t make any sense and you’ll be struggling to do anything for quite a while. Seriously, button mashing won’t cut it this time and even when you stop to learn the controls it will still be hazy. I can safely say that I won’t be revisiting Gem Fighter anytime soon. It’s just not worth it, but no matter, the Alpha games are ultimately why you are here.

There is a lot of replay value to be found in this collection as you might expect. The multiplayer modes alone can last you an unlimited amount of time in theory. Beating the game with every character in every game should also take you a while. If you try to unlock all of the bonus games, that will help extend the replay value as well. There are even complex methods that you can use to unlock many other fighters. That may be worth a look if you’re a really big Akuma fan. I haven’t really messed around with it yet, but one of the secret games is Hyper Street Fighter Alpha which is like a crossover of the various Alpha games. You can have Alpha 1 Ryu fight Alpha 3 Ryu for example. I love the concept behind this and I would love to see something similar for Super Smash someday. Imagine having Melee Fox face off against Brawl Meta Knight or something like that. The gameplay mechanics may make this tricky, but I’m sure that it must be achievable. Surely such a thing could not be impossible right?

Even though this is a collection there is not much else to say about this title since there isn’t really a plot. In the end, the only way you won’t like this game is if you just aren’t a big Street Fighter fan. If you like how the series plays, then you’ll definitely like this game. Naturally, I recommend Alpha 3 the most. It’s the most modern so you can really get into the swing of things there. I can proudly say that I basically own every big console Street Fighter game at this point so that’s a nice milestone. It is definitely the best (non Super Smash) fighting game series and it is easy to see why it became a household name. I don’t see the Street Fighter franchise dying out anytime soon.

Overall, If you like fighting games then this should be like a dream come true for you. You’re getting 3 complete games along with extra versions and a nice little minigame that isn’t fun, but it’s still something I suppose. The price isn’t even that bad anymore. You’ll probably be able to buy it for like 15-20 at this point or maybe even less depending on where you look. I’ll admit that it is old though so I have more fun playing on the newer titles like Street Fighter V, but I’m always up for a round here. Good gameplay can never age badly. It’s also quite cool how Ryu basically hasn’t changed at all. His moves are still the same in SF V as in Alpha and it’s probably been at least a decade between these titles.

Overall 8/10

FCBD 2016 Spongebob Freestyle Funnies Review

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This comic was surprisingly bad. I expected better from Spongebob and usually his comics are fairly decent, but not this time. The comic is split into two stories. The main one is about Spongebob taking over the hamburger making at the local cafe. The problem is that he’s not fast enough to really satisfy the customers so he is forced to split his arms up and have them multiply. They finally start achieving the goal so then Spongebob eats his arms and serves the burgers. I have to say that this part was pretty gross. Why did Spongebob have to eat himself in the end? It didn’t serve much of a purpose and that was an anti climactic way to end it all. The art was also fairly terrible for this story. It may be the worst art from all of the free comic book day issues, which is a true shame. Nothing could really save the comic after this rough start.

The other half was about Mermaid Man and his sidekick in their classic Batman homage series. Mermaid Man and his partner have to stop the villains and they make some good puns along the way. Honestly, there’s not much to say here. This may be a parody, but unfortunately it isn’t a very good one. The issue isn’t funny and just comes across as generic and time consuming. The comic isn’t bad so much as it is just not very good. It’s another missed opportunity for the Spongebob comic. The art was certainly better, but it was still nothing special in the end.

It’s scary to think that titles like the Simpsons and Bob’s Burgers were funnier this year. Maybe Spongebob has lost its touch. Like Bongo, Spongebob is typically around year after year so at least it will have a chance to redeem itself for this issue. At the very least, there’s no way it can lose to this one. I’ve heard that the show has also gone downhill since the older seasons as well so maybe there is a correlation here.

Overall 3/10

FCBD 2016 Serenity Review

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Serenity/Hellboy/Aliens

Serenity/Hellboy/Aliens


Time for another FCBD issue. This one brings three stories with it and unfortunately that increases the likelyhood that one of them will be a flop. That certainly does happen as this batch isn’t particularly strong. The main story features a character telling a little kid a story. Apparently it seems like this story is basically a remake of the first arc of the series. The living embodiment of wind met a skilled heroine and a noble pirate. Together, they decided to have some fun adventures and hang out. The plot twist at the end of the short is that the story was actually real and the main character’s Mom was the heroine. The art wasn’t really my cup of tea, but there’s nothing really wrong with the story. It’s a charming little adventure I suppose even if it didn’t really stick out. It’s better than sticking out in the wrong way like the next story though.

Hellboy goes to these mysterious ruins where an old lady warns him not to mess with the spirits there. Hellboy scoffs and looks through the mirror where the spirits quickly begin to overwhelm him. Before he is eaten alive, he begs the old lady for help and she moves him away from the mirror. Rather than being apologetic or grateful he basically tells her to get away from him and sulks for a little while. His tough guy act was certainly shattered here since old/weak spirits can wreck him so easily. This comic certainly won’t make you a fan of the guy. The art is fairly consistent with the Hellboy franchise. The colors are faded and not very vibrant so it’s not quite up to DC levels of art, but it’s clear at the very least. A little underwhelming overall, but not that bad. This comic would have hurt the overall score a little more if the ending wasn’t so funny. It was unintentional, but you should get a good chuckle from it.

The final story was an Alien one. A crew has been sent out to exterminate the entire Alien race one planet at a time. They are going through the route that the original ships went through to retrace their steps and find every possible place where Aliens may be hiding. The only problem? They weren’t prepared for this and the Aliens quickly overwhelm the heroes. They seem so shocked that you’d think they had signed up for Mountain Hiking as opposed to Alien Extermination. There is also an android on the team who doesn’t seem to understand that humans don’t play by the rules and can’t pull off perfect pivots or incredible precision like a robot. As far as alien stories go this one was actually quite boring and uneventful. You won’t be eager to see where the story goes and the art was fairly generic as well. None of the stories make for a great draw so this ends up being one of the weaker free comics.

Overall 5/10

FCBD 2016 Bongo Free For All 2016 Review

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It’s time for another issue with the Simpsons. Bongo has been an annual tradition for FCBD. The stories have actually been fairly decent for the most part and this year’s issue actually had a very solid story. It is still the Simpsons so none of the characters are made to be particularly heroic or likable, but they don’t seem all that bad either. I doubt that the show would be even semi good, but it is good that they step up their game for the comic. The main story involves two new criminals who attack people using Donuts, Bread mix, and other food ingredients. This forces the townsfolk to have to come to terms with each other whether they want to or not. Luckily, Bart and the other Simpsons character are on the job with their food powers. The contrast of foods and snacks is pretty hype and they are perfectly matched up for this task since no donut is safe from these guys. The villains are put in their place and the day was saved. It was a very solid all around comic if you ask me. The art was good as well.

There were other stories inside as well. There was a short one about the Cops stopping an Ice Cream truck so they could get a few scoops. The poor guy probably realized that profits were going to be a little lower that day. There was also an issue where one of the kids decided to play a prank on the Principal and impersonated a Dentist so he could give the guy some fangs. The principal was not amused, but he didn’t realize what was happening until the school turned against him. Suddenly, everyone wanted to destroy him and by throwing objects at him, they realized that the principal had to be a vampire. Luckily, the kid calls off the prank by throwing some glitter on the Principal. This naturally makes him a good vampire and the blame shifts to a guy who seems to be a werewolf. He admits that he has fleas at any rate and quickly runs away. The ending was great with the way that the “Werewolf” ran away and his final lines. Yes, the humor was actually fairly solid this time around.

The art was consistent for these stories as well. The Simpsons is still a franchise that looks pretty sad on the whole and I definitely don’t support it, but even a bad apple can have a good bite or two in it right? The Simpsons flexed its creative muscles and actually got us a winner this time so that was most impressive. We’re getting even closer to the end of the Free Comic Book Day issues now folks. Just around 5 left, but we’ve gone through most (If not all) of the big titles so prepare yourself for stories that hopefully still manage to be good…but I have my doubts.

Overall 7/10

FCBD 2016 Bob’s Burgers Review

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It’s time for some Bob’s Burgers adventures. Ironically enough, Bob doesn’t really get to do anything this time. The main story is about one of the girls deciding to clone herself because the dancing club needed more members and she couldn’t fill in for a whole team on her own. That’s where the clones came in and it works very for her until all of the clones want to date the same person. The original has to tell them “No” so they head off to scour the world and become experts in different fields. In the end the cloning experiment was a complete success. It’s a fun little story and having clones has always been an intriguing thought. If they were perfect clones, then there would be many uses for them.

The next story is not the clickbait cover I’m afraid. (That one never happens by the way) It’s about one of the kids deciding to explore a basement so he heads on down and discovers that some guys are testing out a car down there. The kids spoiled his chance at a new record so he is a little upset. The story was pretty boring though and the kids can’t carry their own comic. I could have told you that though, it is rare for kids to be entertaining in these kind of things. The final comic is about another kid. By night he is a musician and then he becomes himself again just in time to use the bathroom. Yeah….I don’t think that’s a very engaging story either. It’s cool that he can fly I guess, but you can’t make that a whole plot without sacrificing the epic factor.

Bob’s Burgers was tasteful at least and the humor never got iffy, but the last two stories certainly hold it back a little. I want to see more of Bob since he is probably the highlight of the show. It is his burgers that make the whole show after all right? I could go for a Cheeseburger right about now, but I had one recently so I’ll survive. The art was decently good for the three issues though so that’s good. This issue’s basically middle of the road so pick it up…or don’t, this comic doesn’t owe you a thing!

Overall 5/10

FCBD 2016 Doctor Who Review

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I have to say that the Doctor Who series doesn’t seem to have a lot of stakes. Every comic that I’ve read with him has typically resulted in a blowout as Doctor Who completely outclasses all of the villains. None of them even make him break a sweat. This must not be the case in the show right? You can only carry on the “Doctor is the greatest” gimmick for so long before it starts to get repetitive right? I mean, it is a lot of fun to see him wreck everyone and it makes sense since he is so experienced and smart, but I’d like to see someone give him a close fight someday. That doesn’t happen here, but as a result The Doctor continues to be a great lead. I have liked just about all of his forms to date as they are all typically overconfident or just very eager to fight.

There are four stories here. The first one has the cynical old version of the Doctor at the ready and he is mad that the humans have messed around with his toys once again. He manages to take down the enemy robot rather easily while bashing everyone the whole time. I’m glad that his new “assistant” quickly confirmed that she wouldn’t be his assistant before he even asked. That’s definitely a pretty new response to this whole predicament. This Doctor is also one of my favorite incarnations of the character. It’s good to see him so jaded. We got a nice action scene and the art was solid which helped make this the best story in the collection.

The second story had weak art and probably my least favorite Doctor of the group so it wasn’t nearly as good. One guy on the crew is having a tough time coping with his wife’s permanent frozen status so he keeps on threatening the other characters and The Doctor mentions that he reminds him of himself. You have to choose an impossible goal or you’ll be swallowed by grief. An interesting theory, but the whole thing is basically just The Doctor talking while the other guy takes a stroll. In the end, the guy realizes that his mission was too easy and pretends that he did not accomplish it. I think that the issue was trying way too hard to be deep so it ended up backfiring. The traveling guy just felt hollow and his act of “I’ll destroy you all someday…kappa” will probably get old really quick.

Next up was the most annoying Doctor. This time he has two passengers aboard the ship and one of them is actually very experienced so she is used to all of the shenanigans. The other isn’t though and she wants to know why a ghost is running around the Tardis. The Doctor scoffs at this since ghosts can’t be real and the assistant verifies his story. That’s when they run into a Tornado Ghost made from The Doctor’s tech mistakes. The art wasn’t great and the new assistant was the main character which wasn’t that good since it was an excuse for a lot of panicking the entire time. This Doctor wasn’t very sympathetic to her plight and the whole thing ended up being his fault in the end. Not his greatest moment. The art’s a little sketchy here, but passable I suppose.

In the final story, we had The Doctor and two rangers(?) walking around when they meet up with a high tech alien with a mask that lets him do just about anything. He rewrites planets just for fun. This alien’s big mistake was trying to peek inside The Doctor’s mind though which quickly shatters him. The Doctor reminds everyone that his mind is basically invincible so it is not in their best interest to try and test him. I’ll admit that I couldn’t figure out who The Doctor was for a while though since the two guys acted very similarly. It was a good story and I’m glad that The Doctor got some more hype once again. The art was fairly good as well.

This was definitely one of those collections where the quality varied. The first and last story were good, but 2 and 3 were really lacking. This cost Doctor Who its seven star grade and demoted it to a cautious 6. The franchise is still a lot of fun to read, but it seems like your enjoyment will heavily depend on which Doctor is taking center stage at the time. There are so many of them after all, but luckily most of them are likable.

Overall 6/10