THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 2 - Week 31 _ _________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, April 06 , 2008

This week, it gives me great pleasure to present to you a wonderful and very unique book. 

THE GREMLINS (All Ages)

Written by Roald Dahl; illustrated by the Walt Disney Studios

Publisher: Dark Horse

Format: hardcover

Review: It's the Battle of Britain, and a pilot named Gus is in the midst of battle, when all of a sudden, he sees a little man boring holes in the plane's wing! Thus begins the offbeat, enormously charming story of The Gremlins. If you thought the word “gremlins” originated with a certain 1980's movie that featured creatures named Gizmo and Stripe, you're in for a pleasant surprise. This is a rare treat indeed; a story that will appeal to Dahl fans, Disney fans, military buffs, and kids and adults of all ages, yet does not talk down to anyone. Dahl was a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force (the story's credited as “a Royal Air Force Story by Flight Lieutenant Roald Dahl”), and his experience shows in his vivid descriptions of the planes, dogfights and life on a military base. His characterization of the Gremlins is such that you can't help but love them even as their actions have potentially life-threatening consequences for the pilots. The story also touches on the importance of communication and teamwork; when Gus and Gremlin Gus discuss the real issue that the gremlins have with humans, the two teams can work together for the benefit of all.

The story is beautifully brought to life, thanks largely to Bill Justice's drawings and Al Dempster's paintings. That's the other thing that makes this book so special; not only was this Dahl's first published work (he would go on to write such classics as CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH), but it's also a rare piece of Disney history. Leonard Maltin's excellent foreward explains how the story came to Walt Disney's attention, his interaction with Dahl and, after the book was published, his sadly futile attempts to turn it into an animated film. Dark Horse has produced a handsome, digitally restored book—reprinted for the first time since its original 1943 publication—that allows us a look, in Maltin's terms, at “the one tangible product of an idea that never came to fruition.” Highly recommended!

And speaking of gremlins…
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RETURN OF THE GREMLINS #1

Mike Richardson (w); Dean Yeagle (p); Nelson Rhodes (backgrounds); Dan Jackson (c); Michael David Thomas (l)

Publisher: Dark Horse

Format: three-issue miniseries

Concept: The Gremlins return, based on the characters created by Roald Dahl.

In this issue: Our story opens on Gus, a man visiting England from the States. His grandfather's house is part of his inheritance, and he plans to sell it as soon as he can. Even though the locals think the house is haunted--something Gus immediately dismisses--a slick man named Mr. Snide promptly appears with his "associates" and makes an offer. But when Gus declines to sign over the house right then and there, Snide reveals that his arrangement with the mayor will seal the deal soon enough!

Left to explore the place, Gus experiences a series of very odd events. How did his folded clothes end up in knots? Who on earth would drill a hole in a coffee cup? Certainly not ghosts, but for a former fighter pilot's abandoned old home, it sure is clean . . .

When the house's tiny residents decide to take extreme measures, Gus will meet the gremlins up close and personal-just like his grandfather, who first discovered them sixty years ago! (from darkhorse.com)

Review: Taking a cue from the original story, Richardson & Yeagle begin by recapping the Gremlins' happy forest life before the humans destroyed it, and how Gus the RAF pilot agreed to find them a new home if they would stop causing trouble. Fast forward sixty years later, and Gus's grandson (named…Gus) wants to sell it. But there something strange in the way that the house looks completely clean after all this time. Richardson & Yeagle pay loving tribute to Dahl and classic Disney, then channel them to produce this wonderful story. Better yet, Disney's own classic comic version of Dahl's story follows. It's a nice read and a great companion to the book.
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JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #44: “My Dad's a Hero” (All Ages)

Ken Pontac (w); John Delaney (p); Ty Templeton (i); Heroic Age (c); Randy Gentile (l)

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: Follow the adventures of the Justice League, based on the hit cartoon.

In this issue : Untold tales of the Justice League! Mirror Master's son knows his dad's a real hero, while the League knows Mirror Master is a real villain. You won't believe who's right! (from dccomics.com)

Review: In this issue, Pontac gives us a look at Mirror Master from two points of view: that of the Justice League and that of Mirror Master's son Colin, who's giving a “my dad's a hero” speech in front of his class at school. Pontac beautifully shows how these two points of view both parallel and differ from each other by using fragments of Colin's speech as a narrative while Delaney shows us what's going on with Mirror Master at home and “on the job.” He is presented as a complex and very human character, especially when we find out why he wants the exact amount of $2,675, 000. Even Flash, Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl recognize this. It's great to see Delaney on a DCAU (DC Animated Unvierse) book again, and he does a splendid job. The most powerful scene is one in which a tear-filled Colin watches his dad react to a comment made by Hawkgirl on TV; in one panel, Denaley perfectly captures the sadness of a child who wants to believe his dad's a hero, yet knows that all is not well. So in a way, both Colin and the League are right about Mirror Master. There's no denying, though, that this issue is a clear winner.
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MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #38: “There's No Bee In Team” (All Ages)

Chris Kipiniak (w); David Nakayama (p); Gary Martin (i); Guru eFX (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Skottie Young

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: Bitten by an irradiated spider, which granted him incredible abilities, Peter Parker learned the all-important lesson, that with great power there must also come great responsibility. And so he became the amazing Spider-Man!

In this issue: Bzz. (ow.)
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. (Ow!)
BBBBBBBBZBZZZZZBZZZBZZZZZBZZZZ (OW! OW! OW! OW!)
A baddy built of bees is bugging our boy! Can our swell sweaty Spidey swat the swindler swiftly? (from marvel.com)

Review: Fighting a villain is bad enough, but fighting a villain made of roughly six million flying, busy, buzzing, stinging bees may be too much! Swarm, as the villainous entity is known, hides out in an old ice cream factory, preparing something big…and Flash Thompson and pals may become part of it! The story is pleasant enough, with a nice final scene between Peter and Dan, but it's the artwork that really works; in the hands of Nakayama, Martin and Guru eFX, Spidey looks beautiful, especially in the opening splash page and later in the close-up of Peter putting on the mask.
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COLLECTIONS

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #10 collects MA AVENGERS #10 and MA IRON MAN #2.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS: MUTANT MAYHEM TPB collects X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2007) #1-5 and the X:MEN: FIRST CLASS SPECIAL.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #10

TINY TITANS #3

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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