TITLE: Locke & Key Volume 5: Clockworks
PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing
RELEASE DATE: July 24, 2012
ISBN:  9781613772270
WRITER:  Joe Hill
ARTIST: Gabriel Rodriguez




IDW Publishing and NetGalley have kindly let me review the upcoming Lock & Key Volume 5 graphic novel which consist of six issues. Only the first issue, Chapter One - The Locksmith's Son, was available for me to review, which is set in the year 1775 at Lovecraft, Massachusetts Bay. Sixteen year-old Ben Locke and his younger sister Miranda watch helplessly as their parents are hanged by the redcoats. Ben promises to settle his father's debts which leads them 120 feet below ground, where they meet Colonel Adam Crais and what is left of his minutemen. The Colonel and his army had dug up a strange door, and when it was opened, it unleashed bloody thirsty demons. Ben Locke is a son of a locksmith and he is determined to create a lock strong enough to hold the door shut forever.

What an exciting topic and thank you for inviting me…I am addicted to both coffee and writing so I should fit right in.

To say that creating real characters is the most important thing in a story would be an understatement. Books are about people and we need them to be real, even if they are not. Your characters drive the story and in the end, are the people who will make readers love your book.

What do I mean by that? Sara Maple is the lead in my newest novel "Maple Express." She became a real person in my mind long before I put her on the page. I started by giving her a complete backstory. I wrote up a list of her family, her likes, and dislikes, where she lived, her grades in school and so on. I left nothing to chance. By the time I wrote her into my story, Sara had become a young girl that both appealed to me and repulsed me. She loves her friends but treats them terrible when she doesn't get her own way. She can be sweet when she wants to be but acts like a spoiled brat and is a bully at times. Yet, she shows her compassion by working at the Alzheimer clinic as a volunteer. In the end, she has a mother and father, a best friend, and a boy she has a crush on, just like every other girl. As well, Sara suffers with the same insecurities we all face in life.

In Alan Watts 90 Day Novel Alan discusses how important it is to sit down and write extensively about your character. Your character needs a full life. This is necessary to bring your character into the real world because readers are good at identifying a fake character.

"No one would do that," or "no one would act like that," is a sure sign something went wrong during your character development. I once wrote a semi-biographical novel about things that actually happened to me while I was growing up. A publisher reviewed my book and sent a nice letter to me explaining that the writing was fine but that no real character would do that. My wife and I had a great chuckle over that. I agree my younger years were a little bizarre but the things I wrote about did actually happen.

Since today is Friday the 13th, I thought I would honor one of my favorite horror movies from the 80s titled Friday the 13th part 3. Released in 1982 when I was one-year-old, the movie picks up a day after the Camp Crystal Lake killings from the second film. Chris Higgins, along with her pals Shelly, Debbie, Andy, Vera, Chuck and Chili, returns to her family cabin, called Higgins Haven, the first time since she was attacked by a disfigured man two years earlier. Already at the cabin is Chris's boyfriend, Rick (who is way to old for her).

Shelly (the goofball of the group) and Vera run into a group of bikers briefly. The bikers follow them to the cabin, where the bikers attempted to burn down the barn, but Jason is hiding there and he gets rid of them. While Chris and Rick go out for a drive, one by one Jason slaughters her friends Then he slips on the hockey mask for the first time.

 Had it all been just a dream? If the Frog had been forbidden to predict the future of the royal family, he had to obey. The King could have had him hanged otherwise. Alessa was more and more convinced that her conversation with the Talking Frog had only taken place inside her head. 

I recently won a giveaway that including several cartoon DVDS and as soon as I ripped open the box I saw the cool cover of The Best of Archie's Weird Mysteries, which is a homage to the 50's and 60's B-movie posters. I recall watching the Archie Show when I was kid, but I was unaware of this incarnation. After doing an online search, I learned that the series lasted only one season, 1999-2000, with 40 episodes.

1. Attack of the Killer Spuds
2. Me! Me! Me!
3. Driven to Distraction
4. Attack of the 50-foot Veronica
5. Invisible Archie
6. The Haunting of Riverdale
7. Cure of the Mummy
8. Fleas Release Me
9. Mega-Mall of Horrors
10. The Jughead Incident

The Kids of Dandelion Township
BY: Nicole Borgenicht
ILLUSTRATED BY: Lisa M. Griffin
PUBLISHED BY: CreateSpace
ISBN: 978-1466466401
RELEASED: 2012
Pages: 52


In the small Dandelion Township, children become friends with everyone, no matter what their religion/culture or ethic background is. The town is like no other, there is a magical forest and a strange zoo run by ex-circus trainers, where the animals are also magical. In this tale, we the readers are introduced to a group of kids, Mary, Tammy, Sherri, Sandy, Carlos, Dylan, and Tyler as they explore the amazing wonders and hidden magic of the Dandelion Township.

    I would have loved to live in Dandelion Township and explore the hidden corners of the mysterious woods. I wish that reality would be likes this with kids becoming friends with everyone, despite their flaws, color of skin, and backgrounds. The author has done a marvelously job writing a fun story that children would want to read, and at the same time giving them a wonderful understanding of what friendship really is. I recommend the book to all readers of all ages.

 
Publisher: IDW Publishing (2011)
ASIN: B005WL815I
Writer: Chris Roberson
Pencils: Jeffery Moy
Inker: Philip Moy
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, JR.
Letters: Robbie Robbins
Editor: Chris Ryall

    A group of super-heroes, consisting of Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Shadow Lass, Chameleon Boy, Brainiac 5, and Lightning Lad, are traveling back to Earth in a time bubble, but are suddenly caught in a vortex that takes them out of their time. Meanwhile, the crew of the Enterprise is returning to Earth because Captain Kirk is giving a commencement speech at the Starfleet Academy graduation. Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Lt. Urha, Ensign Chekov, Lt. Commander McCoy, and Lt. Sulu beam down to Earth for their shore leave, but they are in for quite a surprise. This isn’t their Earth. They’re in alternate reality where Earth is controlled by the Imperial Planets. The Imperial army automatically realize that there are intruders on Earth and begin to attack. The crew of the Enterprise and the super-heroes must defend themselves against the army.