THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 3 - Week 31 ____________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, April 07, 2009

ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #14 (Teen/Young Adult)

Robert Kirkman (w); Jason Howard (p/i); Fco & Ivan Plascencia (c); Rus Wooton (l); cover by Howard

Publisher: Image

Format: monthly series

Concept: When Gary Hampton is mauled and left for dead, his life takes a drastic turn. Gary is cursed — when the moon is full he transforms into a beast of the night — a werewolf! But this curse will not be used for evil — witness the birth of the world's most unlikely new superhero — The Astounding Wolf-Man!

In this issue: Incarcerated! Is this the end for Gary Hampton, The Astounding Wolf-Man? No, dear readers -- this is only the beginning! (from imagecomics.com)

Review: Not only is Gary incarcerated, but he's incarcerated along with Triple Threat! And believe me when I say that prison life does not get off to a good start. Getting out would involve helping a criminal, which he doesn't want to do. Chloe, on the other hand, REALLY wants her father dead. Zechariah continues to be an interesting character; though I don't like him, his refusal to give Chloe what she wants warrants a little respect. I like it when Gary can't rely on Wolf-Man to get out of a situation, as is the case here; but Wolf-Man's single appearance guarantees an exciting next issue.

Look out for: blood, some language, and one panel of nudity

BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #4 (All Ages)

Mike Kunkel (words, pics, heart); Steve Wands (l); cover by Kunkel

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: Welcome to the brand-new, all-fun adventures of Billy Batson as the World's Mightiest Mortal — Captain Marvel, from acclaimed writer/artist Mike Kunkel (Herobear)!

In this issue: This is it: the exciting conclusion to the face-off between Captain Marvel and Black Adam! With Black Adam back to full power and four of the seven Evils still at his side, Billy and Mary need to team up to figure a way to defeat him. All this, plus a trip to the Rock of Eternity! (from dccomics.com)

Review: Billy has been given the power to turn into Captain Marvel and face the bullies of the world, but he's really met his match in Black Adam and the Seven Deadly Evils of Man. While the story is about Billy and Mary trying to find a way to defeat Adam, there's a more important message: selfishness, in its own way, can destroy you. Kunkel pulls out all the stops to deliver another ENORMOUSLY entertaining issue. Bonus points for the images of a 50-foot sea serpent with ascorbic saliva eating a bully, then spitting it out.

CARS: THE ROOKIE #1 (All Ages)

Alan J. Porter (w); Albert Carreres (p/i); Emily Kanalz (c); Deron Bennett (l); covers by Allen Gladfelter

Publisher: BOOM! Kids

Format: four-issue miniseries

Concept: Lightning McQueen and the cast of Disney/Pixar's CARS return in this miniseries.

In this issue: Cars fans, start your engines! Before the big Dinoco 400 race, rookie sensation Lightning McQueen is interviewed by Darrel Cartrip. Full of braggadocio, McQueen reveals his scrappy origins as “Bulldozer” McQueen--a local short track racer who dreams of the big time...and recklessly plows his way through the competition to get there! (from boom-studios.net)

Review: CARS races into the world of comics, then shifts into reverse and allows us to get some backstory on McQueen. Of course, since McQueen is narrating, his story doesn't always match up with what's really going on. We learn of his dream to become a Piston Cup racer, and how Mack proposes to help him achieve that dream. Porter and Carreres have nailed the characters' personalities; McQueen is every bit the cocky speed demon he was at the beginning of the film, and Mack is the kind friend who puts up with him. Carreres' artwork, beautifully aided by Kanalz's colors, is vibrant and wonderful to look at. I'd say the series is off to a running start.

DR. DOOM AND THE MASTERS OF EVIL #3 (All Ages)

Paul Tobin (w); Patrick Scherberger & Esdras Cristobal (p); Terry Pallot (i); Chris Sotomayor (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Kerschl & Anderson

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: Doctor Doom assembles of team of villains.

In this issue : We already brought on the bad guys; now it's time to bring on the Blastaar! When Doom and his Masters of Evil head into space on a quest for the power cosmic, they encounter Blastaar, the Living Bomb-Burst, and his own plans for ultimate power, and it sure doesn't take long before they each find that space itself isn't big enough for the two of them! Will Doom be able to live up to his name, or will his dreams for conquest literally blow up around him?

Review: “He's a complicated man, and nobody understands him but his snake woman.” That's from page 3 of this issue. But as the story makes clear, even Princess Python doesn't understand him completely, nor does she understand what her role is in the scheme of things. But Doom thinks she's worth something, and one thing I like about this issue is that because of her, we get to see an almost sensitive side to Doom. Another thing I like is that no one attempts to kiss up or make friends; everyone knows where everyone stands. And the action? LOTS of it.

FLASH: REBIRTH #1: “Lightning Strikes Twice” (Teen/Young Adult)

Geoff Johns (w); Ethan Van Sciver (p/i); Alex Sinclair (c); Rob Leigh (l); covers by Van Sciver, Sinclair & Moose Baumann

Publisher: DC

Format: five-issue miniseries

Concept: From Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, the visionaries responsible for the blockbuster GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH and THE SINESTRO CORPS WAR, comes the start of an explosive and jaw-dropping epic that will reintroduce to the modern age the hero who single-handedly birthed the Silver Age of comics! DC history will be made, and the Flash legacy will be redefined!

In this issue : Following the events of FINAL CRISIS, Barry has beaten death and returned to a fast-paced world that a man out of time wouldn't recognize. Or is it a world that is only just now catching up? All the running he's done before was just a warmup for the high-speed race that he and every other Flash must now run, because even though one speedster might have beaten death, another has just turned up dead! (from dccomics.com)

Review: Barry Allen has returned, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. For one thing, it seems to me that people have been brought back from the dead so many times in comics that death really doesn't mean much, which I think is a shame. Another thing is that I started reading the book during Johns and Scott Kolins' run, so Wally West has always been the Flash I connected with most. But while Barry has returned, another speedster is now dead, so things will be interesting. I do like that Johns gives the other Flashes a chance to express their feelings, good or bad, about Barry's return. And while Van Sciver's art isn't the best I've seen in these pages, it isn't bad by any means.

X-MEN FIRST CLASS FINALS #3: “Higher Learning”) (Teen/Young Adult)

Jeff Parker (w); Amilcar Pinna (p); Roger Cruz (finishes); Val Staples (c); Nate Piekos (l); cover by Cruz & Staples

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: The next step in human evolution has arrived—Homo Superior. Mankind isn't sure whether this represents hope for the future…or the end of the human race. In a private school in upstate New York, one brilliant mutant is teaching a group of five such gifted students what they'll need to survive in this new world. These are the untold stories of Professor Xavier's first class of X-Men!

In this issue : How metal is a giant ghostly Magneto presence trying to crush the X-Men? VERY METAL. And have no fear of the weirdness stopping there, because now the black and gold-suited X-Men have just arrived to add to the confusion our graduating class find themselves in! And the brilliant Hank McCoy will foolishly end a sentence in a preposition like we're doing here! (from marvel.com)

Review: A shell of Magneto, the latest classic villain to return, is giving the X-Men a fight. But how and why are these villains returning? Those answers will be revealed as other questions are raised. Parker's dialogue is simply fantastic, ranging from hilarious (the team's remarks as they're fighting) to serious (thinking about post-graduation plans). Parker and Colleen Coover's backup story, “X-Date part 3,” is equally well-done. Who knew that Man-Thing would provide the means for Scott and Jean to have a wonderful date?

To be reviewed in next week's column:

AGENTS OF ATLAS vol. 2 #3

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #50

SUPERGIRL: COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE 8 th GRADE #5

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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