Review of Brooklyn's Finest

For Moving Pictures, I reviewed the crime film Brooklyn's Finest.

In “Brooklyn's Finest,” director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “The Shooter”) treads well-trodden turf as he chronicles the disparate lives of three New York City police officers over one eventful week.

Seven days from retirement, veteran beat cop Eddie Dugan (Richard Gere) unwillingly trains rookie cops. Clarence "Tango" Butler (Don Cheadle), deep undercover in one of Brooklyn's most powerful drug gangs, attempts to maintain his guise. Vice cop Salvatore "Sal" Procida (Ethan Hawke) struggles to keep his financially strapped family afloat. All three storylines eventually converge in a sequence of desperate acts.

In perhaps the least engaging of the three tales, the grey-headed Dugan typifies the pathetic, don't-rock-the-boat retiring cop depicted in countless police dramas. He fights with fellow officers, refuses to help those in need, drinks a lot, and finds solace with a prostitute (at times a twisted version of “Pretty Woman”).

Screenwriter Michael C. Martin adds nothing new to the idea of an undercover cop sympathizing with the criminals but, thanks to Cheadle, the excellent Wesley Snipes and “The Wire” veteran Michael Kenneth Williams, the tale acquires some novel virtue.

Quality acting again propels “Brooklyn's Finest” beyond its conventional roots as Hawke and the always exceptional Lili Taylor bring depth to the tormented Sal and his pregnant wife Angela.

Overcoming his own flaws and those of the screenplay, however, Fuqua creates a tension-filled, often surprising 140 minutes. Though abundant, the violence and blood-letting are used to good dramatic effect.

Check out the entire review at Moving Pictures.

The so-so depression : I review Mr. Shivers

My review of Robert Jackson Bennett’s Mr. Shivers appears in the Feb 3rd San Antonio Current.

In Robert Jackson Bennett’s lackluster debut novel, Mr. Shivers, Marcus Connelly rides the rails seeking vengeance for the murder of his daughter. Joining up with similarly driven individuals, Connelly searches Depression-era America for a killer, the mysterious title character recognizable by distinctive facial scars. To further denigrate his already cliché-ridden tale, Bennett adds a fallen preacher, hobos with hearts of gold, a carnival fortune teller, and a corrupt small town sheriff to the mix.

As you probably gathered I didn't think too highly of Mr. Bennet's effort. Though...

Not all of it is terrible. There are flashes on panache as Bennett skillfully produces several exciting action sequences. He even manages to insert a surprise or two in the otherwise largely by-the-numbers story.

Visit the San Antonio Current site to check out what else I had to say about Mr. Shivers.

A great way to start my day!

In his Henckels Steak Knives review of King Kong Is Back!, Tim Janson pays special attention to my contribution "Thirty-Three," referring to it as a "great essay."

Rick Klaw's essay "Thirty Three" delves in the colorful history of the two men who brought King Kong to the screen, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack.These two have a background that you'd think had to be written by Hollywood.Both served during WWII and both aided Poland in their fight for independence with Russia.Cooper was a pilot for the Polish Air Force and was made a squadron commander in 1920.He was shot down and captured by the Russians and held in a prison camp until he escaped along with two Polish prisoners and traversed 500 miles to freedom into Lativa.A remarkable history.

Janson concludes his review with his overall impression of King Kong Is Back!

Some of the essays are a little on the dry side but all in all its wonderfully done and a great book for any King Kong fan.

My review of Avatar

I reviewed the much-hyped Avatar for Moving Pictures.

Twelve years after crafting the Oscar-winning best picture "Titanic" and nearly two decades since "Terminator 2," director/screenwriter/producer James Cameron returns to the big screen and his science fiction roots with the much ballyhooed "Avatar." Equipped with groundbreaking 3-D and graphics technology, Cameron's nearly three-hour epic emerges as perhaps the most beautiful movie ever produced.

Complete with contrived dialogue and a telegraphed plot, the hackneyed tale derives, almost fully-formed, via the 1950s and the far more compelling fiction of Jack Vance and Robert Heinlein.

No stranger to special effects, Cameron created new advancements in that arena with several of his previous films, including both "Terminators," "The Abyss" and "Titanic." The 3-D and visual effects of "Avatar" far exceed anything previously seen. The extensive trailers fail to properly showcase the extent of the dazzling imagery, and offer only a glimpse of why this feature needs to be seen in the theater. Even with the lengthy running time, due primarily to the visuals, the movie doesn't feel overly long.

Unlike most directors, Cameron, for the most part, uses the 3-D subtly. Realistic sweat dripping of faces enhances the tension. By giving depth, a large ship interior becomes massive. The projection screens used on the ships are fully integrated and interact seamlessly with the crew. Lighter-than-air creatures have depth and mass. All these little touches breathe life into the very alien world of "Avatar."

Stop by Moving Pictures to check out what else I had to say about Avatar.

My review of Pirate Radio

I reviewed Pirate Radio for Moving Pictures.

Even after rock-'n'-roll achieved a popular zeitgeist in the mid-Sixties, the state-run BBC radio refused to broadcast it in the UK. To circumvent government control of the airwaves, ships hosting pirate radio stations aired the troublesome genre. Millions of Brits tuned in to the illicit entertainment broadcast 'round the clock. Written and directed by Richard Curtis ("Love Actually," "Bridget Jones's Diary," "The Black Adder"), "Pirate Radio," originally released in England as "The Boat That Rocks," relates the humorous, often outlandish tribulations of a fictional offshore station, Radio Rock, and the government's attempt to shut it down.

The loose plot serves as a framework for the soul of the picture: the music. Curtis successfully invokes the buoyancy and fun of Richard Lester's classic musicals "Hard Day's Night" and "Help!" by incorporating more than sixty mostly era-appropriate songs.

Armed with an amazing soundtrack and an impressive collection of players, "Pirate Radio" will put a swing in your step and smile on your lips.

Read the rest of my review at Moving Pictures.

And Here's Mine: A Review of "The Fourth Kind"

My review of The Fourth Kind is up at Revolution SF, and it isn't pretty.

The aliens are here, and they're abducting unwary individuals in Nome, Alaska. So asserts director Olatunde Osunsanmi's The Fourth Kind, which attempts to take the concept of alien visitation and abduction into the mockumentary territory inhabited by The Blair Witch Project (the first horror movie to stake claim), Cloverfield and the recent Paranormal Activity.

But it has two specific differences: (1) unlike the aforementioned films, The Fourth Kind purports to be based on actual events, backed up by documentary evidence used during the movie itself; and (2) unlike the aforementioned films, it has nothing to recommend it beyond its premise or its dubious assertions.

Read the rest of the trainwreck here.


(Milla Jovovich, looking shocked at my review of her performance.)

My review of The Fourth Kind

My review of The Fourth Kind is now up at Moving Pictures.

In the 1970s, films and TV shows focusing on paranormal phenomena littered popular media. The majority of this sensationalistic fare - tales of Bigfoot, demons, witchcraft and aliens - depended on shock and supposition, offering little of informative substance. With "The Fourth Kind," Olatunde Osunsanmi returns to the schlock of that era.

The film would be bad enough by itself, but there were also rumors of "The Fourth Kind" being a "Blair Witch." Several online sources report no evidence of a Dr. Abigail Tyler licensed to practice in Alaska and no recorded (or even rumored) alien abductions in Nome earlier this decade. The film's claim that it is based on actual events crumbles under even mild scrutiny.

True or not, the movie leaves you wondering, "What's the point?" As a non-fiction chronicle, it fails to further elucidate the subject. If fiction, the story descends to the level of B-grade science fiction with good film stock and decent acting. None of it really matters since, ultimately, "The Fourth Kind" disappoints on all levels, resulting in a forgettable film of the type that will play on Sy Fy for years to come.

The rest of the review can be read at Moving Pictures.

My review of Finch

My review of Jeff VanderMeer's latest novel Finch appeared in today's San Antonio Current.

The first two volumes of The Ambergris Cycle, City of Saints & Madmen and Shriek: An Afterword, introduced a fascinating story sequence centered on the city-state Ambergris and its unusual inhabitants and happenings. Typifying the uniqueness of VanderMeer’s world, fungoid creatures of unknown origin, dubbed the gray caps, occupy the city’s extensive underworld catacombs and drive many of the stories. Finch, the third and climactic volume, returns to VanderMeer’s singular creation some 100 years after the events recounted in Shriek.

Finch’s weeklong investigation unveils a seedy underworld littered with revolutionaries, hustlers, femme fatales, and characters from his own questionable past. Cataloging this novel’s strata, twists, and feints will occupy fans and critics for years. All aspects of the story interact with elements of the prior Ambergris adventures, though Finch stands entirely on its own merits; the three books of the cycle can be enjoyed in any order.

As with all of VanderMeer’s works, this layered tale ultimately satisfies as it barrels to a momentous conclusion. If Finch is indeed the final Ambergris story, and I have my doubts that it is, VanderMeer left his creation with an extraordinary novel — one of the finest of his young career — and completed a cycle that encapsulates the very best of the New Weird.

Check out my Baker's Dozen interview with Jeff Vandermeer and the remainder of this review.

My review of Where the Wild Things Are

My review of Spike Jonze's adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are is now available at Moving Pictures.

Spike Jonze's live-action big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are," plays as a memory of my childhood. Much like the story's young protagonist Max, I weathered the pains of an absentee father with my mother and sister. Similar to Max, I sported an unruly, often uncontrollable temper, had few friends and frequented worlds of my own creation. Director Jonze and co-screenwriter Dave Eggers capture that all-too-common existence masterfully while expertly expanding Sendak's unique tale and visuals.

Max establishes a special bond with Carol, a lonely, unstable monster expertly and sensitively played by James Gandolfini. The pair tour the magical land with illogical, beautiful landscapes (forests that quickly become deserts that suddenly become coastline), several extraordinary creatures (including a random, giant, wandering dog), and incredible, physics-defying architectural creations. The scenes between Max and Carol provide some of the sweetest, most revelatory moments of the film as well as some of the scariest. They instigate lots of mayhem, howling and laughter while Max attempts to lead this unruly band of misfits. Max's own words perfectly sum up many of these scenes: "Let the wild rumpus start!"

Jonze relates "Where the Wild Things Are" completely from Max's point of view. To an adult, this perspective may make it seem that several story elements are oddly placed. But the shifting physical and emotional landscapes create an unusual structure that authentically portrays kid-logic.

Check it all out at Moving Pictures.

My review of Whip-It

I actually got the oppurtunity to review the non-genre film Whip-It for Moving Pictures.

"Whip It," based on the young adult novel "Derby Girl" by former Rollergirl Shauna Cross, chronicles the growing pains of 17-year-old Bliss. The wannabe punk dyes her hair blue and dreams of escaping the small-town world of Bodine, Texas. On a trip to Austin, Bliss encounters her first rollergirls and, unbeknownst to her parents, tries out for the team - and actually makes it. While with the team, she falls for Oliver, a bassist in a band (this is Austin, after all). As is common with coming-of-age comedies, chaos ensues.

For her directorial debut, Drew Barrymore cast "Juno" star Ellen Page as the precocious Bliss. At first, Page's diminutive size works against the casting, but Barrymore's excellent direction of the dynamic roller derby scenes successfully employs the actor's petite frame. Barrymore's skill behind the camera bolsters all aspects of the film.

While the film's title actually refers to a roller derby maneuver (a smaller girl uses one of her teammates as a sling shot, literally whipping her ahead of the competition), the wisdom of shelving the novel's title of "Derby Girl" is curious. Whip-its are illegal delivery devices for nitrous oxide. The title can also be construed as a sexual innuendo. Not to mention the very popular Devo song.

Check out my entire review.

My review of the latest Graham Joyce novel

In the most recent San Antonio Current, I reviewed Graham Joyce's latest novel How to Make Friends With Demons.

William Heaney, head of the the UK’s National Organisation for Youth Advocacy, leads a troubled life. His wife left him for a celebrity pastry chef, his teenage son hates him, and his oldest daughter has moved back in with him — and brought along her boyfriend. Heaney can also see demons. In his latest novel, How to Make Friends With Demons, Graham Joyce brings these entities to vivid life for his readers, too.

*snip*

According to Heaney, common demons include the “messy intellectuality” manifested in compulsive footnoting, the “collecting demon,” and demons that feed on various emotional ailments. Alcohol is not one of them, but rather “a series of volatile hydroxyl compounds that are made from hydrocarbons by distillation. The fact that it is highly addictive or that it can drive men or women to extreme and destructive behavior does not make it a demon.” Heaney, incidentally, spends large portions of the novel in pubs, often inebriated.

*snip*

Leaping forward and backward through time, Joyce expertly weaves a cohesive novel that essentially chronicles a mid-life crisis. The book successfully explores a range of emotional states with a heady combination of horror, humor, and wonder, while maintaining its center on the kindhearted, confused, and at times delusional narrator Heaney.

I previously blogged about How to Make Friends With Demons back in July.


Read the entire review.

Dames, Dolls & Gun Molls: The Art of Robert A. Maguire

My review of Dames, Dolls & Gun Molls: The Art of Robert A. Maguire appears in the online version of the San Antonio Current.

The thin 112-page volume, dominated by lush, full-color reproductions, opens with a fond remembrance of her father by Lynn Maguire and a brief introduction to the artist’s early life.

At times, Silke engages in sloppy research. He writes “Gold Medal came out with the first original paperback, Hill Girl by Charles Williams, published in 1951.” While there is no consensus about exactly when the first paperback original came out, numerous books first appeared in paperback during the 1940s, including several crime novels.

The book is a visual delight, but beyond the artwork, it’s a pricey failure. The lack of bibliographic notations for the images (publication dates and publisher), biographical data, and citations make the Dames, Dolls & Gun Molls: The Art of Robert A. Maguire of little interest to the casual fan or scholar. But it sure is pretty.

Check out the entire review at the San Antonio Current.

My Watchmen review

My review of the highly-anticipated, much ballyhooed Zach Snyder film adaptation of the classic Watchmen is now up at RevolutionSF.

In 1986's Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, rather than accepting the limitations of the graphic format, embodied and broadened the art form. By revitalizing and reinventing the superhero genre, the duo influenced an entire generation of writers, artists, and filmmakers. The acclaimed superhero tale garnered a Hugo Award, the only comic book to ever earn the prestigious science fiction prize, and the only graphic novel ranked on Time's 100 Greatest Novels.

Under the guidance of Zack Snyder, the director of the bombastic 300, Moore and Gibbon's groundbreaking vision makes its big screen appearance. Snyder crafts a film that rather than “revitalizing and reinventing” the genre, exemplifies the some of the worst in comic book adaptation.

Chris Roberson's End of the Century

My review of Chris Roberson's End of the Century appears in today's San Antonio Current.

Chris Roberson wisely dedicated his 14th novel to Michael Moorcock, Alan Moore, and Kim Newman, three authors who pioneered the difficult to execute non-linear, historical, time-travel adventure. Following in their perennially successful footsteps, Roberson’s End of the Century recounts three unique interrelated tales from three distinct time periods.

A World Fantasy Award finalist and winner of the Sidewise Award for Best Alternate History Short Form, Roberson ultimately delivers a superior multi-linear novel worthy of the authors to whom he dedicated End of the Century.

My review of Bradley Denton's Laughin' Boy

My review of Bradley Denton's Laughin' Boy appears in the latest San Antonio Current.

Throughout his riveting satirical novel, Denton successfully incorporates text equivalents of several early 21st-century mass communication modes, including video clips, newsgroup posts, sound bites, internet group chat, talk shows, and web pages alongside the more traditional-looking therapy transcripts and linear prose episodes. He wisely centers the story on the tragic tale of Laughin’ Boy, forcing us to take a hard look at contemporary media and its ability to derail society from the important to the trivial.

Quantum of Solace at HMSS

The folks at Her Majesty's Secret Servant have just posted my review of Quantum of Solace.

...Quantum of Solace is frustrating. In looking backwards and forwards it cuts Bond, both physically and psychologically, in ways we’re not used to. This is hardly surprising when one considers that the movie is continuing to explore ground covered by its predecessor...Deep though these cuts might be, however, they are too often quickly bandaged by unnecessary action sequences. Worse still, the bandages aren’t as binding as they should be; they threaten to unravel the entire picture, leaving it to die from blood loss.

My review of Quantum of Solace

My take on the latest Bond film:

Craig returns for his second go, sans Campbell, as the world's most famous spy in Quantum of Solace, a direct sequel to the previous movie. Sadly, like his predecessors, Craig failed to shake the sophomore doldrums.

In the midst of careening cars on the streets of Siena, Italy, Quantum picks up soon after the conclusion of Royale as Bond begins his quest to avenge Vesper's death. Following the opening credits, director Marc Forester attempts to recapture the excitement of the previous film's frenetic, parkour chase, but fails miserably. This sequence typifies a flaw throughout. By using too many closeups and jerky camera angles, the scenes become murky and indecipherable.

More

Quark: The Complete Series

My review of Quark: The Complete Series is now available at SF Site.

The relationship between the emotional Quark and the logical Vegaton supplied much of the narrative backbone. The literal and often insightful Ficus, brilliantly portrayed by the late Richard Kelton, had some of the most memorable quotes and the best scenes of the series. A superior example occurs in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ficus," a re-imagining of the classic Trek "Mirror, Mirror." When the crew comments that the alternate Ficus was no different than their own science officer, Ficus observes "There are no good or evil plants; there are only plants." In "Goodbye, Polumbus," a satire of Star Trek's "Shore Leave" and a title spoof of the 1969 Richard Benjamin-helmed film Goodbye, Columbus, Ficus engages in what is best described as "orgasmic mathematics."

The series achieved its pinnacle with the two-part "All the Emperor's Quasi-Norms." This heady mix of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Flash Gordon introduced Zorgon the Malevolent, and his daughter Princess Libido (the sexy Joan Van Ark at her vampy finest). The Libido-Ficus sex-pollination scenes -- the pair laying next to each other, head to foot, with legs in the air uttering "Beebeebeebeebeebee" -- afford several interesting and humorous moments. The magnificent Ross Martin (Artemis Gordon from The Wild Wild West) successfully apes Ming the Merciless as he seeks out the mysterious It.

(Remainder of review)

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist review

My review of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist now appears on Moving Pictures.

Sollet and Screenwriter Lorene Scafaria consciously and very deliberately unveil this sweet, remarkably feminist yet egalitarian romantic tale, hitting the right notes at all the proper times into a film that plays light years beyond its peers. Reminiscent of John Cusak in The Sure Thing (1985) and Julia Roberts in Mystic Pizza (1988), Cera and Dennings dominate the screen, promising even better things ahead for this duo

More...

Watch Trailer for NICK AND NORAH’S INFINTE PLAYLIST
by SonyPictures

Shameless Plug

In the current Austin Chronicle, I reviewed Thomas Ott's The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8.

The creator of numerous short graphical stories, collected in Cinema Panopticum, Greetings From Hellville, and Dead End, Ott relates here a powerful, Twilight Zone-styled tale of a series of numbers that grants desires to those who decipher the pattern.

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Lewis Shiner's Black and White

Last year, I interviewed Lewis Shiner about his Fiction Liberation Front. Now, I've reviewed his latest novel, Black & White, for The Austin Chronicle.

On the surface, Black & White demonstrates the struggles of historical and contemporary racism, but at its core, the story revolves around a son coming to terms with the sins of his father. The always-talented Shiner has produced some of his finest work to date here. Beyond a brief, discursive foray into Ruth's story, he has created a near-perfect novel – steeped in important political and societal issues, neatly wrapped in the trimmings of a mystery story. With Black & White, Lewis Shiner ascends to a literary realm previously reserved for the likes of Michael Chabon and Jonathan Lethem.
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A Dark Forces Double Team

Peggy Hailey and I double teamed for the RevolutionSF coverage of Terry Moore's latest series Echo.

I interviewed Terry about life after the very popular Strangers in Paradise (which ended last year), his new series Echo, and science fiction.

What new themes has the science fiction setting allowed you to explore that you were unable to tackle in your previous works? Do you approach the writing of an sf concept different than a super hero or slice of life story?

The imagination is liberated, yet spawned from the practical laws of physics and life. I think it's advanced stuff to try and pull off, because you have to be good at the other genres to incorporate them into your sci fi story in order to establish setting and sense of place.

You could specialize in slice-of-life and be lousy at everything else, but you can't write good sci fi without being good at other genres as well.

Continued...

Peggy had the task of reviewing the first two issues of the new series.

A lot of this comic is vintage Moore: a female protagonist with some personal issues gets caught up in a much larger story and has to deal with the fallout. But it’s new, too.

Julie Martin isn’t Francine or Katchoo; she comes from a different background and has different issues to deal with. And while SiP could occasionally bust out into full on spy thriller mode, it was essentially the story of Francine and Katchoo: their day-to-day story was the heart of the piece, not the theatrics around them.

Echo is a science fiction comic, and while I’m sure we’ll spend a lot of time with Julie and her daily life, I suspect that the bigger outside story will have more prominence.

Continued...

Shameless Plug

My review of the I Am Legend DVD runs in the current issue of SF Site.

The DVD release offers a chance of redemption with an "alternate theatrical version with controversial ending," so screams the cover. While not necessarily controversial (an idea that is never addressed in any of the extras), the ending does result in a better film with a far more satisfying, albeit still too happy, finale. Without giving too much away, this version more fully examines and explains the motivations of the mutants.

Continued...

Be sure to check out my RevolutionSF review of the feature film version.

Paul's Ten-Cent Plague review

Our fellow co-conspirator and partner-in-crime Paul Miles contributed to RevolutionSF an excellent review of David Hadju's The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America (far superior to my own interpretation). As always, Paul argues many excellent points in some conventional ways. I'm betting not many reviewers mentioned (fittingly enough) Soupy Sales.

In The Ten Cent Plague: The Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America, David Hajdu suggests that the Frederic Wertham-inspired Senate hearings and local anti-comics censorship laws of the fifties were a witch-hunt that destroyed comics as a mass medium. I think he gets much closer to showing the first part of his theory but whiffs on the second.

Hajdu fetchingly recreates the New York centric world of the comic book. This has certainly been done before, most recently in Gerard Jones' Men of Tomorrow, but where Hajdu excels is in an emphasis on the industry’s underbelly. For the most part, he bypasses familiar companies like DC/National and Marvel/Timely to concentrate on lesser known creators and titles such as Charles Biro's over the top Crime Does Not Pay. The book is worth reading for this alone.
Continued...

Shameless Plug

My review of David Hadju's The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America ran in today's Austin Chronicle.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, these 10-cent illustrated pulp magazines – intended primarily for children – featured stories of superheroes, teen angst, crime, romance, and horror. Many individual issues sold in the millions of copies. To the ire of many "right-thinking" adults, these tales often contained such unsavory elements as sexual innuendo, detailed crime depictions, and excessive violence. Parent groups routinely blamed comic books for "juvenile delinquency." The hysteria reached a fever pitch with the publication of Fredric Wertham's controversial vilification of comic books, Seduction of the Innocent (1954). The ensuing televised congressional hearings almost destroyed the industry, forcing hundreds of publishers out of business and nearly 1,000 people out of work.
Continued...

Justice League: The New Frontier review

My review of the much anticipated The New Frontier animated movie based on Darwyn Cooke's award-winning graphic novel is now available at RevolutionSF.

The excellent, near-perfect graphical look creates a quality to the project that far exceeds other direct-to-dvd animated movies. As evident from the viewing and the discussions between the contributors on the commentary tracks, the staff carefully deliberated every image and shot, even going as far as bringing in Darwyn Cooke to create new bridging sequences and consult on many story elements. In the 75 minute feature, nary a shot is wasted and most are beautifully crafted, especially the iconic 1950s-style credits sequence.
Continued...

I Shall Anoint You the Awesomest of the Year

My contribution to The Austin Chronicle's best books of the year feature:

Not necessarily the best but definitely the most interesting and entertaining book of the year, I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! (Fantagraphics) introduced a new generation to largely forgotten artist Fletcher Hanks' strange work. Soon after the April 1938 premiere of Superman in Action Comics No. 1, new publishers sprang up and needed content for the suddenly popular comic book. Almost anyone who could draw landed a job in the burgeoning industry. During this mad scramble, Hanks, who obviously understood little about anatomy, began publishing often-crude but always-dynamic stories in a variety of obscure publications such as Fantastic, Jungle, Fight, and Big Three Comics. The outlandish stories usually featured intergalactic protectors who meted out justice and vengeance upon the guilty like some cosmically powered Shadows. Complete with Paul Karasik's insightful, illustrated afterword, the fascinating and somewhat freakish I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! successfully rescues Hanks from the purgatory of forgotten creators and restores his rightful place among the pantheon of the bizarre.