THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 2 - Week 16 ___________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, December 16, 2007
INVINCIBLE #47 (Teen/Young Adult)
Robert Kirkman (w); Ryan Ottley (p/i); Bill Crabtree (c); Rus Wooton (l); cover by Ottley & Val Staples
Publisher: Image
Format: monthly series
Concept: Follow the adventures of young superhero Mark Grayson.
In this issue: Tether Tyrant and Magmaniac RETURN! After months on the run, these two dastardly villains have decided to make their move. Unfortunately for our hero, he's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Invincible is in for the fight of his life - and this is just a bump in the road on the way to the status-quo-altering events of the big issue 50 in a few short months! (from grahamcrackers.com)
Review: Tether and Magmaniac have tried going straight, but the straight life just doesn't suit them. They'd rather do things like rob an armored car…so they do! As expected, Invincible shows up to stop them. But the real thrill here is seeing Oliver get a piece of the action as well. Ottley does a great job with his facial expressions as he goes from curious to angry to excited. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the scene in which William tries on his friend Invincible's (Mark) costume. The looks on both William and Mark's faces are priceless.
Look out for: some blood in the beginning
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THE BATMAN STRIKES! #40: “The Burning Question” (All Ages)
Matthew K. Manning (w); Adam Archer (p/i); Heroic Age (c); John J. Hill (l); cover by Christopher Jones & Terry Beatty
Publisher: DC
Format: monthly series
Concept: Follow the adventures of Bruce Wayne in his early years as Batman.
In this issue: The Riddler's on the rampage, trying to prove himself as the cleverest person in all of Gotham City ! Can Batman outwit the Master of Riddles before Gotham burns? (from dccomics.com)
Review: Manning delivers another winning story. What separates this from other Riddler stories is that this time it's personal and not business as usual for him. Part of the fun, in fact, is trying to figure out if he's really committing any crimes at all, or if he's trying to tell Batman something. Look for an Oscar Wilde reference. Also look at Archer's great side-by-side panels of Batman and Robin each in action.
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CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK #3: “The Surreal Life” (All Ages*)
Bill Morrison (w); Scott Shaw! & Phil Winslade (p); Al Gordon & Scott Koblish (i); Tom Luth, Drew Moore & Dave Tanguay (c); Ken Lopez (l); cover by Shaw, Morrison & Luth
Publisher: DC
Format: three-issue miniseries
Concept: Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew are back for an all-new adventure!
In this issue: The 3-issue miniseries concludes! The Zoo Crew's world has been made completely untenable — a colossal disaster! Can Boa's Ark save the population? Plus, the villain behind the villains: Starro the Conqueror! (from dccomics.com)
Review: What's a group to do when they've been rendered (mostly) powerless, and the President still asks for their help? Contact the JLA, of course! (That's Justa Lotta Animals.) Will they get here in time? Will Starro defeat them? And just what is Boa's Ark , anyway? Morrison and Shaw invite a few guest artists along for this final voyage, and the result is a visually interesting book with an ending that you will NOT see coming, guaranteed.
*Look out for: I have labeled this as an “all-ages” book, but parents might want to look out for the Arrowettes, who appear at the end. They may appear a bit too scantily clad for some.
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IRON MAN & POWER PACK #2: “The Big Race!” (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 : The race is on – in more ways than one! Julie Power is running for class president against the meanest girl in school…but before all the votes are in, she'll find herself running to catch one of Marvel's fastest villains, the Speed Demon! Can Iron Man help lead Power Pack to the finish line first? Maybe if the weather stays good... Wait? What's that about a Blizzard?!? (from marvel.com)
Review: What's nice about this issue is that several characters learn something. Julie has to face something that all superheroes have to face sooner or later: having to help someone you really don't like. She learns that being a superhero means helping EVERYONE, like it or not. Irena likes to cause trouble for others, but she's about to learn what it's like to be on the receiving end of trouble. And Blizzard and Speed Demon thought they could get rich quick by kidnapping the daughter of a powerful businessman. Iron Man and Power Pack are about to teach them that crime doesn't pay. But the one thing EVERYONE learns is that life isn't always fair.
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MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #6: “Law & Order: Atlantis” (All Ages)
Paul Benjamin (w); Mario Gully (p); Scott Koblish (i); A. Street (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Santacruz, Fernandez & Sotomayor
Publisher: Marvel
Format: monthly series
Concept: Caught in a blast of gamma-radiation, brilliant scientist Bruce Banner now finds himself living as a fugitive, cursed to transform in times of stress into the living engine of destruction known as the HULK.
In this issue : Bruce Banner faces law and order Atlantis-style when his latest attempt to cure himself creates a plague of Hulked-out marine life. Namor, the Sub-Mariner, is out to make Bruce pay for endangering his fabled undersea kingdom, but dragging the Hulk in front of a judge is a sure-fire guarantee of disorder in the court. (from marvel.com)
Review: Rick Jones…lawyer? Strange but true! And against Namor, he's really got his work cut out for him. Namor is ready just to sentence Bruce and get it over with, but is Bruce really to blame? He was, after all, just trying to cure himself. Rick has some terrific lines (and references to “Keenan,” “Kel” and “Spongebob”). And while Namor—wonderfully drawn by Gully—seems arrogant and full of himself, his desire to protect his kingdom is understandable and honorable.
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THE ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN #4 (Teen/Young Adult*)
Robert Kirkman (w); Jason Howard (p/i/c); Rus Wooton (l); cover by Howard
Publisher: Image
Format: bi-monthly series
Concept: When Gary Hampton is mauled and left for dead, his life takes a drastic turn. Gary is cursed — when the moon is full he transforms into a beast of the night — a werewolf! But this curse will not be used for evil — witness the birth or the world's most unlikely new superhero — The Astounding Wolf-Man!
In this issue : Things go from bad to worse for Gary Hampton, the Astounding Wolf-Man. His job is on the line, his wife is ready to leave him, his daughter hates him, and he's in the middle of the worst fight of his short career as a superhero. Could things be over before they even truly begin? (from imagecomics.com)
Review: The family gets new living quarters, Chloe is finally let in on the secret…and Wolf-Man is in for a fight! Kirkman continues to do a great job of keeping Zechariah a mystery. It is finally revealed what he did that would make Jacobson and the other wolves want to kill him, but was it really his fault? Can he still be trusted? The reader is left to keep guessing. But there is no denying the fact that Howard's art is, well, ‘bloody' well-done. And I do mean bloody .
*Look out for: decapitation and blood
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COLLECTIONS
MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR vol. 7: THE SILVER SURFER collects MA FANTASTIC FOUR #25-28.
POWER PACK vol. 1 collects POWER PACK #1-4, AVENGERS AND POWER PACK ASSEMBLE #1-4 and X-MEN AND POWER PACK #1-4.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN: VENOM PREMIERE collects ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #33-39.
To be reviewed in next week's column:
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31 st CENTURY #9
MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #19
MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #31
By thy side,
John “Figaro” Norris
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