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

**This is a historic week for The Cat's Meow. Faithful readers, I present to you…my first-ever ADVANCE REVIEW!!**

TEXAS STRANGERS #1: “Training Day, part 1” (All Ages)

Antony Johnston & Dan Evans III (w); Mario Boon (p/i/l); Traci Hui (c); cover by Boon

Publisher: Image

Format: monthly series

Concept: Six Shooters and Sorcery! Gunslingers and Goblins! Old Magic meets the New World as teenage twins Wyatt and Madara begin a perilous quest to reclaim their heritage and dispose of a deadly artifact in a weird Wild West - a world full of monsters, mayhem and the mysterious lawmen called Texas Strangers!

Review: Howdy, pardners! Gather ‘round the campfire and listen as Antony Johnston ‘n' posse tell the tall tale of teenage twins Wyatt and Madara! See, they got this here weird knife they're tryin' ta get rid of. Unfortunately, they run into them no-good varmints, Lobo Blancos! Lucky fer them they got help in the form of a couple'a gin-u-wine Texas Rangers, though fer some reason, all the townfolk call ‘em “strangers.” Go figger. (Naw, really, read the issue ‘n' figger it out yerselves, amigos!) Mr. Johnston & Mr. Evans' story is a rip-snortin' good time, and Mr. Boon & Miss Traci's pictures shore are purty! So mosey on down to yer local comic book general store and rustle up a copy!

Look out fer: The meanest varmint of ‘em all, Black Bart, downs some whiskey. Now you young'uns are too young fer that type'a thing. ‘Sides, the whiskey in this town ain't worth drinkin' anyhow!

**Texas Strangers due out March 28th**

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FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #10: “Full Throttle, Part 2: Cold Case” (Teen/Young Adult)

Marc Guggenheim (w); Paco Diaz (p); Art Thibert (i); Lee Loughridge (c); Pat Brousseau (l); cover by Ethan Van Sciver

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: Follow the adventures of Bart Allen as he assumes the identity of the Flash.

In this issue: Good cop, bad cop! Acing the L.A. Police Academy exam, Bart Allen carries on his grandfather's police legacy at super-speed. But the darker side of the law's just shown up in the City of Angels : Zoom! (from dccomics.com)

Review: This series is for fans of CSI as well as the Flash. Bart's Police Academy class has been given a genuine cold case that's been open for five years. As always, the thrill of reading this title comes not just from the high-speed action scenes, but also from letting the reader get inside Bart's head. A great example of this is when Bart goes to the scene of the crime and tries to think of possible ways it could have happened; each thought he has is graphically depicted as well. Some familiar villains show up as Flash searches for his man; when he finally finds him, Zoom and another unexpected guest show up as well, making for one nice cliffhanger of an ending.

Look out for: The body of the victim of the aforementioned cold case has no head, and there's a bit of blood and a laser gun shot as Bart imagines what might have happened.

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MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #11: “High Serpent Society” (All Ages)

Jeff Parker (w); Juan Santacruz (p); Raul Fernandez (i); Adriano Lucas (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Cameron Stewart & 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: Are you an ambitious self-starter? Can you sneak genetically altered snakes with mind-control venom into friend's clothes? Do you think you have the power to take on a super-team like The Avengers? Then you might have what it takes to be one of the SONS OF THE SERPENT (offer not limited to males)! (from marvel.com)

Review: Being highly motivated and well-organized is all well and good, but not when your goal is to form your own society by brainwashing people with mind-control venom! Fortunately, the Avengers are highly motivated and well-organized as well, especially when two of their own are under the venom's influence! There are some hilarious one-liners scattered throughout, and even what I perceived as a Snakes On a Plane joke.

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RUNAWAYS SAGA (Teen/Young Adult)

Molly Hayes (with help from C.B. Cebulski & Mindy Owens), based on stories by Brian K. Vaughan (w); Adrian Alphona, Takeshi Miyazawa, Mike Norton, Humberto Ramos & Carlos Cuevas (p/i); Christina Strain (c); cover by Ramos, Cuevas & Strain

Publisher: Marvel

Format: one-shot

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: Recapping the entire series to date, the Runaways' saga will be told by their youngest member, Molly Hayes. From their betrayal by their parents to the death of her friends, Molly will walk us through the trying times of our troubled teens. Through her eyes, we'll see the heroes of the Marvel Universe and get her impressions on Captain America , Cloak and Dagger, and the New Avengers. No stone will be left unturned as this precocious pre-teen speaks her mind. Molly's tale will be bookended by an original story by C.B. Cebulski and Humberto Ramos. This 48-page special will also include an extras section featuring never-before-seen sketches and artwork. (from marvel.com)

Review: As Vaughan and Alphona end their run and Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan begin theirs, we pause for this recap. If you are already a fan of the title, you should pick this up because the entire saga thus far is retold from the point of view of Molly, probably the best-written character in the book. Reading her thoughts on the events, team members, Captain America and Wolverine is just great! If you are a newcomer or haven't read the title, then this is a perfect jumping-on point if ever there was one.

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TRADES/DIGESTS:

FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE (Teen/Young Adult) collects the first six issues of the series.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

GARGOYLES Vol. 2 #3

TEEN TITANS GO! #41

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #107

USAGI YOJIMBO Vol. 3 #101

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

3/24/07