THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week
November 5, 2006

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #21: “Fashion Victims!” (All Ages)

Fred Van Lente (w); Michael O'Hare (p); Cory Hamscher (i); Guru eFX (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Scherberger, Paris and Guru eFX

Publisher: Marvel
Format: ongoing 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: Who is the mysterious TINKERER, and why is he flooding the city with technologically-enhanced villains? To unplug this threat, Spider-Man needs an upgrade of his own, starting with a new “smart stealth” BLACK COSTUME!

Review: Ah, the black costume. For those not familiar with Spidey's history, the black costume was introduced in the “Secret Wars” story, when his costume was shredded during a battle on a far away world. He thought he obtained it from a costume-making machine. Back on Earth, however, he discovered that it was actually a symbiote, a living entity. He eventually forced it off, and it later bonded with Eddie Brock, giving birth to Venom. In these pages, however, it's a “smart stealth cloth” invented by The Tinkerer. The technologically-enhanced villains in question turn out to be Rocket Racer, Stilt-Man and Leap-frog, so you can imagine between them and Spidey, hilarious hijinks ensue. The dialogue really comes fast and funny! The “very sophisticated and specialized crime-fighting technique” used to stop Stilt-Man and the reason why the trio keep apologizing to Spidey as they beat him up are both worth reading to find out.

( Administrator's note: you can read my interview this issues cover artist HERE )

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #27: “Climb the Mountain” (All Ages)

Adam Beechen (w); Carlo Barberi (p); Bob Petrecca (i); Heroic Age (c); Mike Sellers (l); cover by Ty Templeton

Publisher: DC
Format: ongoing monthly series
Concept: Follow the adventures of the Justice League, based on the hit cartoon.

In this issue: The Parasite is on a rampage in Metropolis! With Superman out of town on Justice League business, can Black Lightning, Steel and the rest of the Leaguers hold their own?

Review: In this issue, Firestorm asks a question: “If you woke up tomorrow and couldn't be a superhero ever again, what would you do with the rest of your life, and would you be cool with it?” The question is meant for the JL, but Beechen invites the reader to ponder the same thing. (I, for example, am a musician, and I play in church every week. Music is what I do best. But if I found that I couldn't make music ever again one day, what would I do? Would I be able to minister to people as effectively? Would I be worth anything?) Black Lightning thinks he has it all figured out, but he is put to the test when Parasite shows up. Meanwhile, alter ego Mr. Pierce tries to encourage a student whose grades are slipping. The two messages in this story are clear: 1) Each of us has skills other than what we do best, and 2) the pursuit of a better life involves hard work. Or, to quote a song from THE SOUND OF MUSIC: “Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow ‘till you find your dream.”

SPIDER-MAN AND POWER PACK #1 (of 4): “Everything Old Is Young Again: The New Kid, part 1” (All-Ages)

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

Publisher: Marvel
Format: miniseries
Concept: Power Pack teams up with Spider-Man in this fun-filled adventure.

In this issue: Zero-G! Lightspeed! Mass Master! Energizer! Together, they are Marvel's youngest super heroes -- POWER PACK! When the Power family returns to New York for another exciting adventure, it isn't long before our super siblings find themselves fighting side-by-side with everyone's favorite wall-crawler -- the Amazing Spider-Man! But even with Spidey's help, can they possibly hope to take down both the Sandman and the Vulture?!

Review: Sumerak's POWER PACK stories are always delightful to read, and this one is turning out to be no exception. (POWER PACK, by the way, is made up of four young siblings who were granted extraordinary abilities during an alien encounter.) The family has just moved to New York , but not everyone's happy about it. They battle Sandman and upstage Spidey in the process, which doesn't exactly earn them his gratitude. But when Spidey has an accident while battling the Vulture, Power Pack are the only ones he can turn to for help.

For more of Sumerak's POWER PACK goodness, check out the following digest-sized trades:

POWER PACK: PACK ATTACK!

AVENGERS AND POWER PACK ASSEMBLE!

X-MEN AND POWER PACK: THE POWER OF X

PLEASE NOTE: Both MA SPIDER-MAN and SPIDER-MAN AND POWER PACK include the backup story “A New Light.” It's part of a crossover between Marvel and the CBS soap opera GUIDING LIGHT, which includes the GL episode “She's a Marvel.” If you missed that episode, you can watch it in its entirety at http://www.cbs.com/daytime/ . As of this writing, I have not seen the episode, but the story is a lot of fun.

To be included in next week's column:

BATMAN STRIKES #27

FRANKLIN RICHARDS: HAPPY FRANKSGIVING

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

(Administrator's note #2: John, no more SOUND OF MUSIC references for the rest of the year. You have been warned . Also, that Franklin Richards comic is a month late – ba dump bump – we Canadians are rolling on the floor laughing right now…….maybe not, but you get the idea).

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