Overviewed by: Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher www.jazmaonline.com

Comments: This is a beautiful hardbound book for your collection! Courtney discusses how he came up with the concept of Decoy while in the seventh grade and created a race of aliens called the Metas, that have their homeworld on Nacrum.

The Foreword is a very interesting read. In the beginning of the story, a guy named Bobby Luck makes like Spider-Man and swings over the city scape using the flexibility powers of Decoy. He explains to the reader that we will see what his relationship with a little green alien named Decoy is all about. We are taken to the planet Nacrum, 300 years ago. Then the scene shift brings us to the present time, and an alien race called the Kranch tell their story and plight. A very interesting story on how they split into 4 tribes, each and every tribe mastering one thing or another. Objects from the sky were observed and studied and placed where other Kranch could see. Knowing that there is another intelligence out there somewhere watching them from the shadows. Fascinating meeting takes place during an artificial storm that the Metas created, in which the frightened Kranch encounter the far more superior Meta. The Meta ruled by a purple Meta (purple Metas are a rarity) taught the Kranch things of government, ruling houses, living in harmony with the Meta, etc. The Meta must now live with the Kranch, because their homeworld was destroyed. As life goes on with the Meta and Kranch, a strange disease attacks the green Meta, they change to red and their personalities become that of hatred. The red Metas attack and kill any Kranch and other Metas that happen upon them, there is turmoil and chaos. The red disease amongst the Meta is overwhelming. Eventually Metas will kill all purple Metas at birth and chaos ensues. The hope is that another purple will rise one day. The Kranch want this.

In Chapter One, called Soft Spot, the reader is introduced to Bobby Luck, a gumshoe, a sleuth, yes a private investigator. Like any good private dick story, Bobby has a beautiful female client that enters his shadowy office, Mike Hammer would be proud. Bobby and his private investigator pal Decoy (the green alien) set off on the case. Decoy displays a elongated stretched punch in this story, that would make Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four proud. Bit by bit, the reader learns about the extraordinary powers this little alien has. This detective story is very intriguing and there is a mystery around every corner. In the next story Single Inebriated Operating Plan, we have gigantic "Transformer" type of robots that say..."comrades, we are the conscious and collective vanguard of the international proletariat solidarity movement, we come to liberate you from the tyranny of kee-pitalist greed and oppression, welcome to the glorious worker's paradise of Dolphin City, which has been renamed Industrial Communal Complex 1872-0005-A9!" The communist 'hammer and sickle' is their emblem. When all this chaos ensues, Bobby and Decoy investigate and see where these giant robots lead the people to. Wow! Bobby is able to use Decoy as a weapon. Decoy can morph into a battle ax and so on.

With this book, there are a multitude of stories by various writers and artists and the artwork in each story is mesmerizing. Each artist puts their all into this production with outstanding results. In one story, I was quite impressed with the artwork/penciling of Mitchell Breitweiser. His artwork is a lot like Alex Ross and there is this incredible scene in which Bobby Luck saves a damsel in distress and with large green angel wings provided by Decoy flies off with her. The story "A Day in the Life" is about Bobby Luck's growing up years, how he was picked on and so on. It explains how he was transformed through 'alien possession". The bonding between Bobby and Decoy is amazing, there is some comedy in this bonding, such as when Bobby is sitting on the commode and Decoy creates a gas mask for himself.

At the end of this incredible book are sketches from various artists, an added treat.

Decoy was predicted to be a massive hit by one of our greatest prophets Nostradamus. This is a quatrain that I recently discovered that seems to pertain to the comic book Decoy:

"Readers will flock and cry out Meta! A green one will take center stage, There will be LUCK in the outcome, And a decoy will be exposed for all to see, Greatness will be hailed by the masses!"