THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 3 - Week 16 _ _________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, December 22 , 2008

MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #31: “Good Things Come To Those Who BAIT!” (All Ages)

Paul Tobin (w); Ig Guara (p); Sandro Ribeiro (i); Sotocolor (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Espin & Quintana

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: Super-soldier from World War II. Weather Goddess. Super-strong alter ego of scientist Bruce Banner. Spider-powered web-slinger. Giant-sized crimefighter. Brilliant armored inventor. Feral mutant brawler. Together, they are the world's mightiest heroes, battling foes that no single super hero could withstand!

In this issue : With the Avengers vacationing on the sunny California beaches, Tigra hopes to finally conquer her fear of water, but things go sour when Iron Man challenges Luke Cage to a deep sea fishing contest and the two of them, ahem, bend the rules a bit. Iron Man sends a sonar pulse to stir up the really big fish, unfortunately rousing not only a monster from the deep, but also one seriously angry Prince of Atlantis...Namor, the Sub-Mariner! Lucky the Avengers brought the Hulk along! It's the slugfest to end all slugfests, and it does nothing to help Tigra's fear of water! (from marvel.com)

Review: Tigra is, like, 56% cat. Cats hate water. So a California beach is not her idea of a nice vacation. As it turns out, no one is having a nice vacation, thanks to Iron Man's efforts to win a fishing contest. Making the Sub-Mariner angry is bad enough, but awakening a giant creature is even worse! This is certainly an entertaining issue, and the coloring by Sotocolor works nicely with Guara's pencils.

SUPER FRIENDS vol. 2 #10: “Season of Light” (All Ages)

Sholly Fisch (w); Dario Brizuela (p/i); Heroic Age (c); Sal Cipriano (l); cover by J. Bone

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: Introducing SUPER FRIENDS — a brand-new series for younger readers to meet the heroes of the DC Universe, based on the hot toy line from Mattel! Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash and Aquaman are here to save the day — and be your friends, too!

In this issue: It's the holiday season, and the Super Friends are ready to get festive! But they learn no matter what holiday they want to celebrate, Dr. Light will be there to steal the celebration lights! (from dccomics.com)

Review: It's always great to see Brizuela's art, and Bone's cover is probably the only place you will see Batman and Aquaman singing Christmas carols. But what better way to celebrate the holidays than having the Super Friends at a holiday party? Unfortunately, Dr. Light is about to put a damper on things—literally—by stealing all of the light. Quite simply, this is one issue everyone should read. Period. Fisch brings Chanuka, Kwanzaa and Christmas together by having three children who celebrate them tell how light plays an important part in each. More important is what the light represents, and that's the best thing about the issue: it talks about faith openly and frankly without being preachy. As a Christian, I am pleased to see Jesus' name mentioned in a reverent way, and not used as a curse word. But regardless or your age or beliefs, the message could not be more timely. No matter how much darkness surrounds us, faith can overcome it.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #194: “Other Side, part 2: Cross World Conflict!/Sleepless In New Megaopolis” (All Ages)

Ian Flynn (w); Tracy Yardley!/Jon Gray (p); Jim Amash (i); Josh Ray (c); Teresa Davidson (l); cover by Yardley! & Jason Jensen

Publisher: Archie

Format: monthly series

Concept: Follow the adventures of Sonic and pals, based on the hit video game.

In this issue: Sonic's plan to find help on the mirror world of Moebius backfired and now he's fighting for his life! Back home, the Suppression Squad has had enough - but are two teams enough to stop King Scourge? All this, plus you won't believe who makes his big debut this month! Surprises abound in this issue. (from grahamcrackers.com)

Review: Sonic and Amy are stuck with the psychotic Rosy, the Suppression Squad reveals their true feelings about their leader, and Scourge gets stuck with Sonic, Amy, and…you guessed it…Rosy. As if that weren't enough for one issue, Flynn and Yardley throw in another character making their debut. Whew! Flynn's pacing ensures that you won't get bored, and based on the facial expressions, I'm willing to bet that Yardley is having a great time drawing Rosy. In the backup story, Snively is not pleased with the way things are going and decides to connect with someone online…but who?

TINY TITANS #8 (All Ages)

Art Baltazar & Franco (w); art & cover by Baltazar

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: It's all your favorite Titans, in their cutest possible form!

In this issue : Follow the adventures of Sidekick Elementary's newest foreign exchange student, Red Star! Meanwhile, Beast Boy hatches his latest plan to catch the attention of Terra. And we officially go to the birds in this issue as Hawk and Dove swoop down for a visit, and the Penguin waddles in for some fun. (from dccomics.com)

Review: It may be December, but love is very much in the air for Beast Boy. His attempts to woo Terra are hilariously futile (especially his version of “Roses Are Red”). And Robin *still* has problems with people not getting his name right! One thing that I never noticed before is the “comments” that Baltazar and Franco leave at the end of each story, such as “chillin',” “ouch,” “popcorn,” and others. They're a nice touch. Also included is a Tiny Titans puzzler and bonus pin-up featuring Alfred and the penguins.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #11

BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #3

FLASH vol. 2 #247

INVINCIBLE #57

MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES #6

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #129

USAGI YOJIMBO vol. 3 #116

WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #10

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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