Angry Happy Hat Reviews

Note: Some of the series I discuss here concern pregnancy, death, violence, and mental health struggles. I don’t get into them as deeply as in my essays, but a lot of people have been in a rough place after the events of the past few days, so if you’re not in a good headspace for those things, stick to the sections on these series, and maybe check them out yourself if you need some comfort: A Hat…

Separate Roads – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Seven

The episode so famous, it became a meme. At least on the corners of the internet I frequent. To be honest, I didn’t remember much about it after I saw if the first time, but this time around, I was reasonably impressed. It’s a transitional episode, as are many this season, but it uses the gimmick of a tight in-universe time limit to give the episode internal structure. Five has secured a route…

The Monsters of the Week and Their Day Job – B.P.R.D. Plague of Frogs: Volume One

You have no idea how excited I am to have gotten here. I’ve tried not to show my hand too much over these past few months, but as much as I love the Hellboy series, I think I love B.P.R.D. more. I picked it up originally after I got through the Hellboy books, thinking it would just be a light little spinoff featuring characters I liked from the films. What it turned out to be was an epic…

I Still Can’t Believe This is the Pushing Daisies Guy – Hannibal (show)

A good horror show is rare to find. Films are common, but something about the transition in medium from a short to a long form makes it difficult to elicit that same rush of dread and fright. Which is a pity, because the longer nature of television shows offers a lot that is difficult to capture in an hour or two of a film; character development, complex arcs, a slow build of suspense — all of…

I Wish My Childhood Summer Camps Had This Many Dinosaurs – Lumberjanes

It’s not uncommon that I find a book or show on a recommendation list somewhere that’s meant for younger readers, but deserves attention from adults as well. Lumberjanes is one of those – a series of comics meant for middle-grade kids, with a particular point of empowering young women through surreal and often humorous fantasy escapades. Part of that uncommon but excellent genre of supernatural…

You Know I Love Dysfunctional Family Dinners – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Six

The season builds tension this episode as the Umbrella Academy siblings prepare to face their biggest challenge yet: a dinner with their father. It’s been years since most of them have seen him, and no one (other than perhaps Five and Vanya) is particularly looking forward to it, given their contentious relationship with the now-dead authority figure who has overshadowed so much of their…

Out of the Shadows – Hellboy: Complete Short Stories, Book Two

I’ll be honest, this is not my favorite Hellboy book. It’s not bad, but it’s similar to the previous short story collection, and of the two, I think this one has fewer stories that I love. Fewer. Not none. ___________________________ 3P Reviews Series: Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories, Volume Two ___________________________ Spoilers: Yes Audience Assumptions: Familiarity with my other Hellboy…

A Gay Old Time at Disneyland – Welcome to Wanderland

Look, sometimes when I’m thinking of titles, there’s one obvious low-hanging fruit, and nine times out of ten, that’s the one that calls out to me. We’re both just going to have to live with that, I’m afraid. Welcome to Wanderland is a little 150 page graphic novel about a kid who gets magically transported into the real-life version of the backstory of a theme park ride she loves. As she…

Once More Unto the Breach — Hades

I’m not much of a fan of Greek mythology. I mean, I always liked the Ancient Greece unit in middle school history class, and at one point I could name all of the major gods and their origin stories, but at some point, I started to grow out of them. What I liked wasn’t really the myths themselves – many of the originals are fairly dry – but rather I liked the retelling of them; they were…

Sandman, Take Note – Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories, Volume One

About two and a half years ago — Jesus, I’ve been at this for that long? — I was working on my Sandman reviews and I kept running into the same issue: constant short stories interrupting the flow of the main narrative. They weren’t bad short stories, necessarily, and I understand why the series did this. It’s largely how the comics were originally released — a few one-offs in between bits of a…

Weapons are Weapons – Iron Man

A few years ago, I had an idea to do reviews of all of the Marvel movies. I still have drafts of quite a few of them, but around the time I saw the first Infinity War movie, I realized something important: I’m not that into the MCU. I mean, I like it fine, the films are enjoyable and everything, but I wouldn’t consider myself an MCU fan of any sort, and I do tend to kind of roll my eyes a bit…

Leg – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Five

The band is back together, more or less. As the Umbrella Academy reunites (finally), we return to that sibling group dynamic that made the first season function. There have been a few important changes since the seven protagonists were all in the same room together. For one, the characters have been through one apocalypse already. With Vanya part of the team in earnest, even with some memory…

Well, Here We Are. We Made It. – Hellboy in Hell

I think we all knew it would end here, didn’t we? Hell’s inhabitants have lingered in the background as puppet masters throughout Hellboy’s adventures, and with how fond Mignola is of demons and monsters, I frankly would have been disappointed if we didn’t have at least one decent tour around the place. And decent tour indeed! Though I have to say, the title of this book is not… well it’s a bit…

The Path Beyond the House – Pet Sematary

I need a recalibration because I haven’t been keeping up with these reviews as much as I’d like. Whenever I need a recalibration, I go back to the thing that brings me comfort: the horror genre. I like spoopy stuff. So today, let’s explore the first Stephen King book I ever read, which will now also be the first Stephen King book I’ve ever reviewed. Like everyone and their mother, I suppose I’ve…

2020 Honestly Amazing Thing Awards

It seemed impossible, but 2020 has finally come to an end. Will this year be better than the last one? I have hope for it, but you can bet things aren’t going to suddenly get better. We’re still in lockdown. We have a vaccine — multiple vaccines, which is amazing! — but it takes time to get the vaccine distributed. People are still going to die. We’re still living in the aftermath of the last few…

ALL THE MAGICAL GAY! – The Umbrella Academy, Season Two, Episode Four

Righty-O, let’s put the “unction” back in “dysfunctional!” That wasn’t supposed to be deep, by the way, it was supposed to be nonsense, but I just looked it up, and apparently “unction” is a real word. It’s an archaic term for an oil used to cleanse and heal. How oddly thematic. Anyway, welcome back to The Umbrella Academy, Season Two. As with most of the episodes so far, there’s a lot to discuss…

Fun in Jolly Old England – Hellboy, Book Three

Hoo boy, this is going to be a long one.

I should be up front and admit that I’m not going to get around to all of it. This book is massive, and it’s dense on top of that. I’d be here all week if I tried to address every moment I felt deserved attention, because I truly love this one — it’s easily my favorite of the main Hellboy series. But we have a lot to get through after this one as well, so…