THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week
November 13, 2006

THE BATMAN STRIKES! #27: “Once a Thief…” (All Ages)

Scott Beatty (w); Christopher Jones (p); Terry Beatty (i); Heroic Age (c); Mike Sellers (l); cover by Jones and Terry Beatty

Publisher: DC
Format: ongoing monthly series
Concept: Follow the adventures of Bruce Wayne in his early years as Batman. Based on the current animated series.

In this issue: When is a Catwoman not a thief? When she's been hired by a bank to test their security, that's when. But when Bruce Wayne finds out about the bank's shady dealings, only Batman save Catwoman from a trap that even she can't escape! (from dccomics.com)

Review: Not much to say about this issue. Bruce can't understand why his charity accounts are in the red when his company is in the black. I did like how Scott Beatty allowed Alfred to help out by having him discover that Bruce is being robbed and where the money's going.

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FRANKLIN RICHARDS, SON OF A GENIUS: HAPPY FRANKSGIVING! (All Ages)

Chris Eliopoulos & Marc Sumerak (story); Marc Sumerak (w); Chris Eliopoulos (p/i/l); Brad Anderson (c); cover by Eliopoulos

Publisher: Marvel

Format: one-shot
Concept: Follow the hilarious misadventures of young Franklin Richards (son of Reed and Sue Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four) and his wise-cracking robot companion, H.E.R.B.I.E!

In this issue: He's been nominated for an Eisner and three Harvey awards! He's turned invisible, bounced across the country and fought giant squids! He's tried every last nanobyte of H.E.R.B.I.E.'s patience! And now's your chance to once again join everyone's favorite lab brat, Franklin Richards, on five more exciting adventures! See what all the buzz is about... you'll be THANKFUL you did!(from Marvel.com)

Review: Marc Sumerak has a real gift for writing wonderful all-ages material (see my POWER PACK review in last week's column), and he and Eliopoulos have produced some terrific stories here. H.E.R.B.I.E., who made his debut as a replacement for the Human Torch in the 1978 FANTASTIC FOUR cartoon, is hilarious as the wise-cracking robot programmed to watch over Franklin—a program which, unfortunately, cannot be overridden. With Franklin 's active imagination and his father's inventions at his disposal, you can bet that H.E.R.B.I.E has his work cut out for him. Stories include “Hamster Havoc,” “Telepathy Terror,” “Speed Demon,” “Ocean-Ape Escape” and “Turkey Trouble,” in which Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E enter another dimension where they encounter an alternate FF—as turkeys!! Oh, and the cover with H.E.R.B.I.E donning a Pilgrim hat and those turkeys wearing goggles…now THAT'S funny!

To be included in next week's column:

KRYPTO THE SUPERDOG #3

INVINCIBLE #36

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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