Paul Benjamin (1) (1970–)

I'm one of those comics/graphic novel fans who missed the manga boat. Call me an old fogey if you will (of course, I'll hit you with my cane if you do, you young whippersnapper), but I just hadn't found something appealing enough to break down my initial reluctance.

Until now.

Pantheon High was a delight: fast-moving and funny. It's got a great premise: mythological gods have a habit of procreating with mortals. Something has to be done with the progeny, and in these modern times, that show more something is Pantheon High in Los Angeles (of course), where the teenage godlings of the Norse, Greek, Japanese, and Epyptian pantheon are prepared for their lives as demi-gods.

If you thought that high school would have been easier if only you were a demi-god, you've got another think coming. The same cliques and bullies that darkened your high school exist here, although here the bullies are the kids of the "bad" gods like Set.

This gang of bad seeds hatches a plot to steal the powers of all their fellow students and ascend directly to godhood. Four kids from different cliques, bookish Grace (daughter of Tyr, wields a mean sword), happy-go-lucky Yukio (son of Benten, unpredictable luck, good & bad)), Griffin (son of Hades, has a death wish) and Aziza (daughter of Ra, snobbish Mean Girl), have to work together to save the school.

The story and the art are packed with mythological references (which Benjamin explicates in an amusing afterword) and it's both an informative and entertaining read. show less

These Muppet books are harder to judge; if the Muppets are just playing the parts in a story, can they be said to be out of character? I think, in this case, they can be, at least some of them. Maybe it's just because I'm a Sam the Eagle fan, but I didn't think he would have been the antagonist for this story and the artwork (especially in the first issue) had Kermit all wrong, making him seem like a snarky jerk. There's some fun stuff in here no doubt, but it doesn't quite work for me.

Completely awful. At a high school for demigods, four students plot to steal their classmates' powers - killing them in the process - and becoming gods in their own right. Four other students fight the baddies, mainly 'cause they don't really like the first four.

Blatant objectification and cliches run rampant. All the girls wear short skirts and/or low cut tops, and I'm pretty sure not a page goes by that doesn't include at least one shot up a skirt (complete with panty-shot) or down some show more high-schooler's cleavage. (and yes, I know those types of drawings are a "thing" in certain genres of manga. I am nonetheless disgusted by it.)

Absolutely awful. show less

Dr. Bruce Banner tries to keep his cool, but when his friends or the world need help he gets angry and becomes the big mean green Hulk. Banner’s friends Rick and his pet monkey help the Hulk any way they can even though they have no real superpower. Trouble always seems to follow the doctor and it is usually some terrible evil trying to take over the earth.

This is volume 2 in Hulk adventures. I have not read the first volume and I feel like there might be some important info that I am show more missing but not a lot. I enjoyed the comic relief friend, Rick, and monkey.

I was a little confused when the silver surfer showed up as a good guy because I really thought he was a villain. I have not read a lot of Hulk comics before but I have seen the movies and tv shows with the character. Rick and monkey have not been in the movies as far as I know so that might be part of the storyline in volume 1 that I missed.

These mini-adventure books are great for kids starting to read and for those who may not be ready for novels. Graphic novels like these are short and sweet. I will be reading more of them as they come my way. show less