THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 2 - Week 20 ___________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, January 21, 2008

THE FLASH #236: “The Wild Wests Finale: Separation / The Fast Life Conclusion: Linda” (Teen/Young Adult)

Mark Waid & John Rogers (w); Freddie E. Williams II & Doug Braithwaite (p/i); Tanya and Richard Horie & Alex Sinclair (c); Travis Lanham & Pat Brousseau (l); cover by Williams

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: Wally West returns as the Scarlet Speedster.

In this issue : The stunning conclusions of feature story arc "The Wild Wests" - with art by fan-favorite Freddie Williams II (ROBIN) - and the backup tale "Fast Life"! The newest Flash family faces a last stand in Keystone - but in this spectacular climax, we find they've been here before, once upon a time on the world that sheltered them! (from dccomics.com)

Review: The battle reaches its climax here, and this time the WHOLE family is in on it. The last scene is beautifully written by Waid, in which they realize that they're all in this together, and Williams ends the arc with a beautiful panel of Iris and Jai. What makes the ending bittersweet, though, is the scene before it, in which Flash finally figures out how the aliens got here and realizes what he must do to save Keystone…even if it means leaving Savoth behind permanently. Speaking of Savoth, Linda appeals to their High Ruling Council. What begins as a plea to help save the twins' lives, however, becomes a study in what makes a hero and why the Flashes are so beloved. These are two great conclusions to two great arcs.

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IRON MAN & POWER PACK #3: “Iron Many, part 1: Armored and Dangerous” (All Ages)

Marc Sumerak (w); Marcelo Dichiara (p/i); Gurihiru (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Gurihiru

Publisher: Marvel

Format: four-issue miniseries

Concept: Ol' Shellhead and the Pack team up in this series.

In this issue: Someone is using stolen Stark Industries technology to take control of Marvel's most high-tech heroes and villains. Sounds like the perfect time for Power Pack to attend an exhibit of old Iron Man armor! Nothing could possibly go wrong there... right? Part 1 of 2. Plus…MINI MARVELS! (from marvel.com)

Review: I won't give away the name of the villain in the story; suffice to say, he's a familiar face, and you might say his particular talent has been given an upgrade. Meanwhile Tony Stark has given some of his old suits to a museum for part of a super hero display. All goes well…until something happens. Dichiara and Gurihiru provide some fantastic artwork; not only is it VERY cool to see all the various Iron Man suits at the same time, it's also cool to see the kids cut loose in the battle. Look for various references to other heroes, as well as Jim Rhodes's encounter with his War Machine armor.
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LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31 st CENTURY #10: “House Arrest” (All Ages)

Matthew K. Manning (w); Alex Serra (p); Jeff Albrecht (i); Heroic Age (c); Sal Cipriano (l)

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: Follow the adventures of the Legion, based on their hit cartoon.

In this issue: The Fatal Five break into the Legion's headquarters, and only Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad are there to stop them!

Review: While the other members are enjoying a concert, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad are left to defend their headquarters against the Fatal Five. By taking control of their systems and blocking Saturn Girl's telepathy, they think those two are easy targets. They thought wrong. We see how resourcefulness can go a long way. And the chemistry between Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad is wonderful. They certainly do make a cute couple!

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MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #20: “A Mountain From an Anthill” (All Ages)

Marc Sumerak (w); Ig Guara (p); Norman Lee (i); Ulises Arreola (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Leonard Kirk

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 arrival of ANT-MAN! Hank Pym has gone missing from his lab at Van Dyne Industries, and it's up to his most famous experiment—the gorgeous Giant-Girl—to track him down. But when Giant-Girl finds herself stuck in the middle of a very bizarre love triangle, it's time for the world's tiniest super hero to make his diminutive debut! Will he be able to prove that size doesn't really matter? (from marvel.com)

Review: Given the history that Ant-Man and Janet (Giant-Girl) share, it's easy to see why she has feelings for him. What she doesn't know is that the assistant, Josten, loves her—and HATES Ant-Man. Sumerak does the ‘love triangle' bit one better by giving us a love triangle between three people who could grow big enough to destroy a city if they wanted. He also, through Ant-Man and Spider-Man, allows the reader to go inside an ant colony, home to some nicely-drawn ants. As usual, Spidey's one-liners are great, especially when he comments on his own bug powers, or how the name “Pym” sorta rolls off the tongue.

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MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #35: “The Sidekick” (All Ages)

Fred Van Lente (w); Cory Hamscher (p); Terry Pallot (i); Guru eFX (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Francis Tsai

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 : Venom is back ...but says he wants to bury the hatchet with Spider-Man. No, not in his head. In fact, in order to show Spidey how much he's reformed, he wants to become the web-spinner's official sidekick. But one night "on patrol" with a homicidal maniac as a partner has Spidey wanting to hang up the web-shooters himself! (from marvel.com)

Review: When I found out that Venom would be featured in this issue, I was thrilled. With those big eyes, big muscles, sharp teeth and that tongue , he's one of my favorite Marvel characters, and Hamscher does a great job with him. He also has all of Spidey's memories, which makes it no problem to get Spidey to do what he wants…which, in this case, is the opportunity to be Spider-Man's sidekick. Van Lente sets things up, then reminds us that Spidey knows what Venom's capable of as well. How Alice in Wonderland ties into all this is something I'll let you figure out for yourselves, faithful readers.

Oh, and don't call Spidey “S.M.”.
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COLLECTIONS

FANTASTIC FOUR & POWER PACK: FAVORITE SON digest collects FF&PP #1-4.

MARVEL ADVENTURES TWO-IN-ONE #7 collects MA FANTASTIC FOUR #29 and MA SPIDER-MAN #33.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN #9

MICE TEMPLAR #3

TEEN TITANS GO! #51

USAGI YOJIMBO vol. 3 #109

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS vol. 2 #8

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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