THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 2 - Week 40 _ _________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, June 09 , 2008

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #46: “The Dork, G'nort, Returns” (All Ages)

Matt Wayne (w); Carlo Barberi (p); Bob Petrecca (i); Heroic Age (c); Sal Cipriano (l); cover by Zach Howard

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

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

In this issue : Say goodbye to the League as John Stewart and the Green Lantern Corps. take on a universe-threatening mission. Who is the force behind it all? And who is the traitor within the ranks? (from dccomics.com)

Review: Oddly enough, the final issue of JLU is devoted almost exclusively to John Stewart and the Green Lantern Corps. While it would have been nice to have Superman, Batman and the others on hand to say farewell, it's not a bad issue. It's hard not to like G'nort, even though it's easy to see why Boodika gets angry with him. (His calling her “Boodi-girl,” though, is quite amusing.) Barberi does a great job as always - ending the issue, and the series, on a high note with a wonderful image of a cheerful G'nort. Still, like I said, it would have been nice to have the rest of the League here to see the series out. I'm rather sad to see this series go, as well as TEEN TITANS GO! Both series took the properties beyond the respective TV shows. Part of me wants to tell DC to just drop the “animated show” reference on the covers and carry on. Oh well…it was great while it lasted.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #40: “If I Had a Hammer…” (All Ages)

Marc Sumerak (w); David Nakayama (p); Vicente Cifuentes (i); Guru eFX (c); Joe Caramagna (l); cover by Patrick Scherberger

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: "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of -- Spider-Man?!?" When our webbed wonder unwittingly aids a devious demi-goddess, his reward is a one way ticket to Asgard. But things start going south as soon as Spidey starts going Norse! Prepare for an epic tale that the bards will sing of for centuries to come (most likely with an occasional unnecessary "thee" or "thou" thrown in for good measure)! (from marvel.com)

Review: As I write this review, I can't stop thinking about the song that bears the same title as our story. But getting a song out of one's head isn't half as difficult as trying to resist the power of a beautiful woman, especially when that woman is Amora, daughter of the Realm Eternal. To say that she has a way with men is something of an understatement. Nakayama draws a great Spider-Man and a FANTASTIC Thor, and Sumerak keeps things lively, ending the story on a hilarious high note.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #188: “Beating the House” (All Ages)

Ian Flynn (w); Matt Herms (p); Jim Amash (i); John Workman (l); Josh Ray (c); cover by Tracy 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 is ambushed and captured by the Destructix, and it's up to the Freedom Fighters to find and rescue him! The trail leads to a dingy dungeon beneath a flashy casino owned by Mammoth Mogul – but just how real a threat faces our heroes this time? The con is on in this tale of twists, turns, takes and double-takes!

Review: Sonic is sure in a bind…literally! Can Sally and the Fighters find an dsave him in time? Everyone shows up in this issue: Sonic, Sally, Amy, the Freedom Fighters, Destructix, Mogul…even a surprise appearance by a guest villain on the final page! Amy fans will like this issue, as she gets to do a lot of what she does best…pound bad guys!

COLLECTIONS

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #12 collects MA AVENGERS #12 and MA IRON MAN #4.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

BATMAN STRIKES! #46

INVINCIBLE #50

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31 st CENTURY #15

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #9

MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #12

MONSTER ZOO graphic novel

TINY TITANS #5

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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