THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 3 - Week 29 ____________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, March 23, 2009

MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #34: “Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos!” (All Ages)

Paul Tobin (w); Matteo Lolli (p); Christian Vecchia (i); Sotocolor (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Roger Cruz & Val Staples

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: THE SAND AND FURY: It's 1942 and Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos are on leave in London . No, wait, it's 2009 and the Avengers are shooing away a pterodactyl from the Tower of London . But, hold on, what's a pterodactyl doing in London anyway? Geez, never mind, because now it looks like it's about 4000 BC, and Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos are teaming up with the Avengers in order to take down a madman with a rather personal take on time. (from marvel.com)

Review: The Tower of London is a popular tourist attraction, but there's a different kind of attraction that isn't exactly tourist-friendly! In this time-hopping tale, we get mammoths in 2009 and the Avengers traveling through various points in time before meeting the Howling Commandos in ancient Egypt . Tigra has a great part in this entertaining story, complete with a running joke regarding her inability to control cats.

SUPER FRIENDS #13: “The Greatest Show On Earth” (All Ages)

Sholly Fisch (w); Dario Brizuela (p/i); Heroic Age (c); Travis Lanham (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 : The Super Friends go for some circus fun under the big top! But if Abra Kadabra has his way, he'll turn their day into a wash-out! (from dccomics.com)

Review: I thought everyone loved the circus—there's one going on in the city where I live as I type this, in fact—but no one seems to like Colonel Lane 's Mammoth Circus. Their plan to use the Super Friends to draw an audience works out better than they had planned, and all have a great time…until Abra Kadabra shows up and nearly ruins everything. Fisch uses the series' main theme—the ability to be a super friend even if you don't have super powers—quite effectively here by including people labeled as “circus freaks.” It's all about using the talents you do have to help others and make them feel better. Fisch's stories and the reliably great artwork from Brizuela and Heroic Age bring a smile to this reviewer's face every time.

TINY TITANS #14 (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 : Welcome to the first official meeting of Pet Club on Paradise Island ! But with the strict "no boys allowed" rule, what will Robin and the fellas do to join in? And mayhem ensues when Cyborg attempts to build a vacuum cleaner. (from dccomics.com)

Review: The Titans move their Pet Club meeting from Wayne Manor (last issue) to Paradise Island , which is great for the girls…but not so great for the guys, since they can't touch the ground there. Lots of questions are addressed in this issue, including the following: What exactly is Lagoon Boy? Can mammals be girls? Can the Titans stop Cyborg's vacuum cleaner? But there's no questioning Baltazar's art; it's delightful, especially the Paradise Island Pet Club pin-up. Also included is an informative Big Top Brain-Teaser, which allows you to learn some circus slang, and two Secret Identity Dress-up sets.

INVINCIBLE #60 (Teen/Young Adult)

Robert Kirkman (w); Ryan Ottley (p); Cliff Rathburn (i); Fco Plascencia (c); Rus Wooton (l); cover by Ottley & Plascencia

Publisher: Image

Format: monthly series

Concept: Follow the adventures of young superhero Mark Grayson.

In this issue : THE CROSSOVER EVENT OF THE DECADE!
Invincible is drawn into a company-wide crossover event done in ONE oversized issue! SPAWN! SAVAGE DRAGON! YOUNGBLOOD! SHADOWHAWK! CYBERFORCE! PITT! ULTRA! and many, many more all here for one issue – don't miss it! (from imagecomics.com)

Review: One thing can be said of Kirkman, Ottley and the rest of the INVINCIBLE crew: they always find a way to outdo themselves. In that regard, they raised the bar sky-high with this issue. It is, in Kirkman's own words, “a summer event in one issue.” The good news is that in addition to the regular cast, we get to see Ottley, Rathburn and Plascencia work their magic on every Image hero you can think of. The cover is one of the best covers I've seen in a LONG time, Image or otherwise. The not-so-good news is that there's so much crammed into 30 pages that the guest stars only get a couple of panels each, at best. Fair warning: there is a LOT of bloody violence; even by INVINCIBLE standards, there are some panels I had a hard time looking at. One thing's for darn sure: the status quo has most definitely been altered.

Look out for: like I said, LOTS of blood and some quite disturbing panels.

COLLECTIONS

MARVEL ADVENTURES TWO-IN-ONE #21 collects MA HULK #11 and MA SPIDER-MAN #47.

SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE: SOPHOMORE JINX collects SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE SEASON 2 #1-5.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

BATMAN: BRAVE AND THE BOLD #3

JOHNNY MONSTER #2 (of 3)

MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #46

PHANTOM: THE GHOST WHO WALKS vol. 2 #1

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #198

SONIC UNIVERSE #1

USAGI YOJIMBO #119

WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #13

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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