THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good On the Shelf This Week 

KRYPTO THE SUPERDOG #4: “The Purr-fect Crime”/“Zip, Zoom, Zow Kevin!” (All Ages)

Jesse Leon McCann (w); Min S. Ku (p); Jeff Albrecht (i); Dave Tanguay (c/l); cover by Scott Jeralds

Publisher: DC

Format: six-issue miniseries

Concept: Flying in from his hit TV cartoon, Krypto the Superdog arrives with a fun-filled six-issue miniseries!

In this issue: What is the secret of Isis and the Orange Kryptonite? It's going to take the help of Ace the Bathound and the Dog Star Patrol to find out! (from dccomics.com)

Review: Okay, I've heard of green and red Kryptonite, but ORANGE Kryptonite? Just how many different kinds of Kryptonite are there? Anyway, in “The Purr-fect Crime,” Catwoman's “feline femme fatale” Isis and Snooky Wookums discover an orange Kryptonite gem. I won't spoil it by revealing the effects it has on whoever touches it, but since it takes Krypto, Ace, Streaky AND the Dog Star Patrol to stop them, it's got some pretty strong effects. There's a great scene with Ace and Streaky that includes what has to be the first reference to a Jim Croce song I've ever seen in an all-ages comic. (For those who don't know—or don't remember—Jim Croce was a popular singer in the 70's.) In “Zip, Zoom, Zow Kevin,” Kevin goes from having an extremely boring day to being able to move as fast as The Flash, who guest-stars here. As great as the animals are, it's nice to see Kevin get a piece of the action as well.

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MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #8: “Loki Laughs Last” (All Ages)

Tony Bedard (w); Shannon Gallant (p); Norman Lee (i); Adriano Lucas (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Chen, Florea & Guru eFX

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 Wrecker. The U-Foes. The Juggernaut. What do these villains have in common? They all hate the mighty Avengers. Can our heroes survive the onslaught when they join forces? (from marvel.com)

Review: These villains have something else in common: Loki, the god of mischief. It appears he's rather jealous of the Avengers because they're idolized yet he's forgotten, and he just can't understand why men and women with super powers would help ordinary people that they don't even know. So he figures he'll get a group of supervillains to fight this group of superheroes. Bedard does a great job with the dialogue, particularly the final exchange between Loki and Captain America . What makes it so good is that instead of a slugfest, it's a one-on-one confrontation between two men with abilities beyond those of normal humans, whose thinking differs significantly. There are several great lessons touched on: the power of jealously to corrupt anyone's thoughts, the fact that you don't need god-like powers to do good, and how it's what you do with the powers and resources you have that makes the difference.

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ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #103: “Clone Saga, part 7” (Teen/Young Adult)

Brian Michael Bendis (w); Mark Bagley (p); Drew Hennessy (i); Studio F (c); Cory Petit (l); cover by Bagley and Richard Isanove

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: The bite of a genetically-altered spider grants high school student Peter Parker incredible, arachnid-like powers.

In this issue: The record is broken for the longest continual run by a creative team in Marvel history! Bendis and Bagley—take a bow! And in this landmark issue learn the terrifying secret of who is behind the worst thing to ever happen to a beleaguered Peter Parker. The revelations just don't stop coming. (from marvel.com)

Review: With this 103 rd issue, Bendis and Bagley have broken the record for most consecutive issues of a Marvel comic. Considering the fact that the previous record holders were none other than Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (for the first 102 issues of FANTASTIC FOUR), that puts them in some darn good company. 103 issues and not a fill-in anywhere…that's quite impressive these days, when creative teams seem to change all the time. Anyway, there are a LOT of revelations in this issue, including the clones, Peter's father and Otto Octavius. Bendis and Bagley keep the tension mounting, and you feel for Peter every step of the way as he tries to suppress his increasing rage and desire to kill Octavius. This one is a real page-turner.

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To be reviewed in next week's column:

PERHAPANAUTS: SECOND CHANCES #3

TEEN TITANS GO! #38

USAGI YOJIMBO #99

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Any questions or comments, contact me at comicsintheclassroom @ gmail.com