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Shazam!

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Watch the Movie, Read the Book!
Movie: Shazam!  Starring: Zachary Levi
Book: Shazam! (New 52) by Geoff Johns

The movie was marketed as “Big meets superheroes.”  I think that is a perfect summary of the movie.

“The movie follows Billy Batson, a troubled 14-year-old boy living in foster homes in Philadelphia. After running away for the 23rd time, Billy moves into a foster home with the Vazquez family and their 5 foster kids. One day Billy Batson gets on a subway car and he finds himself transported to a different realm. An ancient wizard gives him the power to turn into an adult superhero by uttering the word Shazam! Billy and his new foster brother, Freddy Freeman, have lots of fun learning how to use his superhero powers.” – New Line Cinema

“Shazam has been in publication at DC Comics 40+ years. The movie is based very heavily upon the 2012 New 52 era reboot of Shazam! Writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank reimagined the character’s entire world. There are also some big differences between the movie and the book. Much of the harder edge in The New 52 story is gone and instead the zany ridiculousness of the character’s Golden Age is present.” – ScreenRant.com

I decided to watch the movie because of the trailers, Zachary Levi, and good reviews from friends who had seen it. I was not disappointed. I really, really, hope they make a sequel. Shazam! was as advertised – a fun superhero movie that the whole family can enjoy. As in any superhero origin movie there was a lot of explaining, things happening in the past, characters introduced with no real depth (saving it for the sequel!), and a training montage. I LOVE montages. The one for Shazam explored his powers as a superhero and what a teenage boy would do if he could turn into an adult at will. Almost the whole family can enjoy this light fare. Although the villain is not that scary, he does kill people. In addition, the 7 deadly sins are represented in the flesh as demons. They are vicious and scary looking. Depending on the child, I would recommend this for ages 10+.

As with every superhero of DC comics, there are many Shazam books – from the old comics to present day, the children’s Billy Batson and the magic of Shazam! series, and kid’s early reader books. I only read the graphic novel the movie is based on (via hoopla because the book was checked out!) . (I prefer to read non-superhero graphic novels but really enjoy movies based off of superhero comics.)

The graphic novel was a quick read.  As stated before, there are major difference in the comic and the movie but also a lot of the same story. Differences like there are two villains in the comics but only one in the movie and the 7 deadly sins are imprisoned in people not statues. The comic cleared up some questions that movie reviewers pointed out. For example – why Billy Batson is chosen and why the villain needed Shazam’s power. Depending on the child, I would recommend the comic to ages 7+. I think the killing and 7 deadly sins are less scary visually than in the movie.

The experience on my iPad in the hoopla app was different but nice.  Last time I read a comic as an eBook it was on my 1rst generation Kindle Fire (which I miss greatly.). The viewing experience on hoopla is similar. It shows you one panel at a time or zooms into different parts of a larger panel/page of the comic like my Fire did. Although it does not show you the full page first and then the separate panel like my Fire. The hoopla app may have that capability but I did not search for it. The best parts about reading a comic as eBook is you always read the panels in the correct order, the words are bigger, and you can zoom. I am still requesting the graphic novel in hardback so I can peruse the pics in the regular way.

I hope you enjoy Shazam! in all its formats. Click to see all the Shazam!’s the library offers.

 

A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns

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A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Teens and Adults

Archie and Tristan are best friends.  Archie has a beautiful beard, the knees of a 55-year-old (despite being in his early thirties), and uses the pronouns he/him.  Tristan has been drawing comics for over a decade, will always eat an entire bag of Doritos in one setting, and uses the pronouns they/them.

With A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, Archie and Tristan deliver an easy to read guide to what can be a confusing or sensitive topic for many people.  It is funny, touching at parts, but most importantly, it explains how to go about using gender-neutral pronouns in a way that is easily understood.  They go over how to ask what pronouns a person uses as well as what to say if you accidentally refer to someone by the wrong pronoun.  (Spoiler alert: the answer to both of these situations is as easy as asking respectfully or apologizing sincerely).

It may be difficult at first, but with all things, practice is key.  Soon it won’t seem so awkward and you’ll have the added benefit of being more respectful to your fellow human beings!

To quote Archie and Tristan “nothing is as cool as being an empathetic and respectful person.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

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Golden Kamuy

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Golden Kamuy by Satoru Noda
Publication Date: June 06, 2017
Format: Graphic Novel
Who’s it for: Teens, Adults

Golden Kamuy is the exciting tale of Sachi Sugimoto, veteran of the Russo-Japanese war, who finds himself wrapped up in the hunt for a trove of hidden Ainu gold. Golden Kamuy paints an interesting picture of survivalist and Japanese society at the turn of the 19th century. Going by the moniker of “Immortal” from his war days, Sugimoto finds himself joined by a variety of allies, from the young huntress Asirpa and the cunning “Escape King”, while opposed by historical figures along the way. The map to the gold is tattooed on the skins of 24 escaped death row convicts, hunted by multiple groups tracking the treasure. Some of the prisoners are inspired by prolific American serial killers, including H.H. Holmes and Henry Lee Lucas.

Golden Kamuy has recently received an anime series, and has proven to be a surprise hit. What really drew me to it was the fantastic interplay between characters, as well as the interesting subject matter. The characters really develop interesting relationships with each other, and sometimes antagonists have surprising moments of depth which really add to their interactions with our heroes. There’s a lot of detail to the hunting aspects prevalent in Ainu culture, and teaching quite a bit about utilizing all of the parts of an animal that I didn’t know about. Golden Kamuy starts as a thrilling hunt for lost gold but quickly becomes more than that, the stories of numerous characters quickly entwining themselves and creating a number of memorable moments and personality clashes. See you in the wilds! Find it in our catalog now.

Locke and Key

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Locke and Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez
Format: Graphic Novel
Who it’s for: Adults

The Locke family are keepers of magic keys that can do amazing things. The keys are kept safe in the Locke ancestral home of Keyhouse, by a rule that only innocent children can discover their magic, and forget it once they become corruptible adults. A malevolent creature called Dodge seeks the keys for nefarious purposes and the only thing standing between Dodge and those evil machinations are the current Locke children: teenagers Tyler and Kinsey, and their younger sibling Bode.

This is just the beginning of a six volume saga that is part horror, part fantasy, and part family drama. The Locke and Key series is great for any fans of Stranger Things, It, Twin Peaks, or H.P. Lovecraft. The books do feature scenes of violence, gore, abuse, and addiction, so I would only recommend them to adults, or mature teens. The series is also available on audio, with a stellar cast of voice actors, sound effects, and a haunting score. Find Locke and Key in our catalog

The Adventure Zone

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The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, and Travis McElroy
Publication Date: July 17, 2018
Format: Graphic Novel
Who’s it for: Teens, Adults

A story of three brothers and their dad playing dungeons and dragons is a tale as old as time. If that time also included irreverent humor, wanton violence, and one overly dramatic elf. The hit podcast turned New York Time’s best seller has hit your local library shelf. If fantasy, bad jokes, magical jellyfish, and goblin slaying sound like your kind of fun, welcome to The Adventure Zone! 

Here There Be Gerblins starts off with our three heroes bungling their way into a rescue of their employer from a lair of goblins, and they only make things worse from there. Our champions will encounter perils such as giant spiders, the Zone of Truth, and even tea with a bugbear (heavens!) Magnus the fighter is brash and will charge into any situation, Merle is the cleric who never knew he could heal, and the Wizard Taako who’s more interested in looking good than saving the day. But don’t forget Griffin, our dungeon master as he makes things harder for our heroes, and maybe make a few puns along the way.

Featuring the charming art of artist Carey Pietsch bringing to life these larger than life characters. They even have a section at the end of the comic dedicated to fanart to show off all the different fan perceptions of the characters from when they were a podcast. If you’re looking for a new graphic novel series to invest in, volume 2, Murder on the Rockport Limited, is already announced for next year. So roll for initiative and prepare for goofs, it’s the Adventure Zone!

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

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Read the Book, Watch the Movie!
Book: Valerian and Laureline by Mézières, J.-C. (Jean-Claude)
Movie: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Movie Release Date:  21 July 2017
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, & Rihanna

“An adventure film from Luc Besson, the director of The Professional, The Fifth Element and Lucy, based on the French comic book series by J.C. Mézières.  It is the 28th century, Alpha is the space-traveling city inhabited by millions of species from thousands of planets. Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are special operatives that are part of the force that maintain order in this universe.  It is nonstop action as the two complete one mission after another.  One mission is special and assigned to them by the Minster of Defense himself. Enjoy the ride as they race to solve the mysterious force that is threatening the city of Alpha.”  -IMDb

I picked this up because of the cover. I like space operas and I really liked the other films Luc Besson had directed. The visuals were just as stunning as The Fifth Element but the story was not as engaging. I did enjoy it but if I could have stopped comparing it to The Fifth Element, I would have enjoyed it even more. It was a fun action movie with simple missions that go sideways so chaos ensues. The 2 main characters had that great chemistry of being in love but still annoyed with each other. There was a lil bit of mystery which, I figured out cuz I am a mystery queen. The secondary characters played by Rihanna and Clive Owens were cool. The alien races were original looking but not so out there I got distracted by their otherworldlyness. I would recommend this to people who like fun, nonstop action, adventures in space with bright imagery and a lil morality lesson with their entertainment.

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