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

KRYPTO THE SUPERDOG #1 (of 6) (All Ages)

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

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: Follow the exciting adventures of the Last Pup of Krypton as he arrives on Earth, meets his host family and friend Kevin, and fights crime with his stalwart companions!

Review: Superman has had his fair share of comics. Even Lois Lane and pal Jimmy Olsen had their own titles back in the day. So it's only fitting that Superman's dog be given his own title as well. Like the cartoon it's based on, the comic is divided into two stories. First we have “Here Comes Krypto,” the story of Krypto's origin, based on the episode “Krypto's Scrypto.” Next is “The Dark Hound Returns,” in which we are introduced to Streaky the Supercat, Ace the Bathound (Batman's dog), who help Krypto stop Bud and Lou (the Joker's hyenas) from unleashing their master's evil plan.

Look out for: Nothing offensive here, folks. It's all good, clean fun.

--------------------------------------------

THE PERHAPANAUTS: FIRST BLOOD (Teen/Young Adult)

Todd Dezago (w); Craig Rousseau (p/i); Rico Renzi (c); Dezago & Rousseau (l); cover by Rousseau & Renzi

Format: trade paperback
Concept: There are place in this world where the fabric of reality has worn thin, where strange and terrible creatures have crossed over to lurk in the shadows and the night. There is an organization dedicated to finding these creatures and sending them back from whence they came, sealing the rift behind them, and maintaining the integrity of those borders. The organization is called BEDLAM. Its agents are…THE PERHAPANAUTS!

In this book: The members of Blue Team—a psychic, a mystery man, a ghost, Bigfoot and a chupacabra—battle creatures such as a chimaera and an aswang. This trade collects the four-issue miniseries as well as two backup stories, character bios and pin-up art from other artists.

Review: How many other comics feature an intelligent Bigfoot and a talking chupacabra whose weapon of choice is a “mess-you-up gun?” That alone makes the book worth reading. But if you require further incentive, there is the dynamic teamwork of Dezago, Rousseau and Renzi. Even in the most bizarre situations, Dezago writes in such a down-to-earth tone that you can't help but enjoy yourself while getting to know the characters. As for the art, it's as if Rousseau got down to basics. It's like he draws just what's needed to get the image across, yet manages to put a lot of soul into the characters. Renzi's colors make the images come alive, and the result is a book with a wonderfully unique visual style. If you like GHOSTBUSTERS or THE X-FILES, you will love this. If not, well, why not give it a look anyway?

Look out for: minor use of language and one sight gag involving the letters A S S, and there is some blood.

Visit the official Perhapanauts website at www.perhapanauts.com.

This trade is available to order at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.

  --------------------------------------------

RUNAWAYS VOL. 2 #20, “Dead Means Dead,” chapter 2 (Teen/Young Adult)

Brian K. Vaughan (w); Mike Norton (p); Craig Yeung (i); Christina Strain (c); Randy Gentile (l); cover by Jo Chen

Publisher: Marvel
Format: ongoing monthly series

Concept: At some point in their lives, all kids think they have the most evil parents in the world, but Nico Minoru and her friends really did. Discovering that they were the children of a group of super-villains known as The Pride, they stole weapons and resources from these criminals before running away from home and eventually defeating their parents. But that was just the beginning. Together, the teenage runaways now hope to atone for their parents' crimes by taking on the new threats trying to fill The Pride's void.

In this issue: While the Runaways confront a hideous monster created by a magical artifact that once belonged to Nico's late parents, fellow member Chase recruits a former member of the disbanded Pride for his secret campaign.

Review: When the current lineup of this group of teenage heroes includes the daughter of dark wizards, the son of mad scientists, the daughter of evil mutants, the son of a killer robot, the daughter of alien invaders, the child of shape-shifting Skrull warlords and a genetically-engineered telepathic dinosaur—and these are the GOOD guys—you just know you're in for a wild ride. Vaughan , however, adds another layer. While the book is about teenage heroics, it also deals, in a subtle yet effective manner, with gender, sexuality, romance, the complex lives of teenagers, and the trust (or lack of) between teens and parental/authority figures.

Look out for: minor use of language

The first volume of RUNAWAYS has been collected in a very nice hardcover edition, as well as several digest-size editions. They're available at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

Included in next week's column:

USAGI YOJIMBO #97
TEEN TITANS GO! #35
INVINCIBLE #35
LIONS, TIGERS & BEARS VOL. 2 #3
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #100

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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