Ice Cream Man Vol. 5: Other Confections
W. Maxwell Prince, writer; Martín Morazzo, artist; Chris O'Halloran, colors
Image Comics, 2020
Four standalone stories set in the Ice Cream Man universe which are remarkably diverse, even given the frequently experimental nature of the series. "Cape Fear" opens with a superhero parody cover from Confection Comics (after the famous Action Comics Superman debut issue). Told from the perspective of "peerless reporter Parker Paige" (continuing the Superman angle with a Lois Lane analog), everything changes when she accepts superhero Ice Cream Man's invitation to come to his Isolation Palace. After recovering from the coma caused by the experience, an Epilog depicts an alternative version of the Batman's origin story. "Watch As It All Recedes" shows a dying man as his memories disappear, one by one (with gremlins as the agents). "How To Be A True-Blue Apparition" is one of the strangest Ice Cream Man stories, a diagrammatic field guide to the art of being a ghost. At first it does the diagram thing so well that it does not even seem to be a story at all. Finally, "For Kids" is another parody, this time of respected children's picture books. Even Dr. Seuss is fair game. While this collection does not advance the main story, it is a strong entry in the Ice Cream Man series.
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I just read this review as well as your review of the first collected volume. Sounds pretty good. A friend of mine proudly showed me his copy of the Dr. Seuss variant cover recently. He liked it so much (the cover) he expressed the intention to buy the previous 19 issues. (That cover really did its job in his case!) I pointed out the collected editions advertised in the issue's back pages and advised him he might want to actually read Ice Cream Man #20 first, but I have my doubts whether or not he will. I won't see him again until after the holidays, and I plan to fint out then. In the meantime, I have read about a new series written by W. Maxwell Price, HAHA, about "the sad, scary, hilarious life of those who get paid to play the fool... [the] 'funny' men and women, proving that some things are so sad you just have to laugh."
Wow, that was an effective cover in his case. Hard to predict how he will like the book itself: there's a lot more to it than parody, but if he appreciated that cover so much there's at least a chance.
Like I said, I'm not sure he will actually read it, but you know what? I might. I read your two reviews and I've been reading about it online and the owner of my LCS recommended it as well, so I'm intrigued. I'll be better able to discuss it with my friend (obviously) if I've read it myself, but the series I'd really recommend to him (if I thought he'd actually read it; maybe I'm selling him short) would be AHOY! Comics' Second Coming.