THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 2 - Week 46 _ _________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, July 21 , 2008

THE FLASH #242: "Fast Money, part 5: A Day In the Life" (Teen/Young Adult)

Tom Peyer (w); Freddie E. Williams II (p/i); Tanya & Richard Horie (c); Travis Lanham (l); cover by Williams

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: Wally West returns as the Scarlet Speedster.

In this issue : The Flash takes the twins to Gorilla City on their first international mission, and the round-the-world trip becomes an adventure in itself! Plus, the upheavals at Keystone News result in a huge discovery - one that could blow the Wests' cover for good! (from dccomics.com)

Review: Iris is growing at a fast rate, but Wally has more than that on his mind; Grodd's compelling him to find Nzame and return him. We finally learn the truth behind Edwar Martinez, and it's chilling. He's a frail being who wanted badly to do good, but was used for bad purposes; you really feel for him. It says a lot about Wally's character that he allows Edwar one final chance to redeem himself. But one trip to Gorilla City , and things shift into high gear again. Peyer continues to keep readers guessing, and Williams delivers some outstanding artwork, particularly the citizens of Gorilla City .

MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #26: "Paradigm Shift" (All Ages)

Jeff Parker (w); Ig Guara (p); Sandro Ribeiro (i); Ulises Arreola (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Leonard Kirk & 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: It's the bottom of the ninth, the Avengers are down by two, two strikes down and bases loaded. The stakes for the Cosmic Pennant have never been higher. How will Galactus call this one? Okay... we admit. We have no idea what's going on in this story. Kirk drew the cover, and now Parker has to come up with something. THAT'S GOOD COMICS!!! (from marvel.com)

Review: When the Baston-Karian alien race receives a warning from the Silver Surfer, it means that Galactus is coming. So what do they do? Enlist the help of superheroes who live on Earth, the only planet Galactus ever spared, of course! While the alien race is nicely drawn by Guara, they aren't exactly the friendly sort, and there's some hilarious tension between the two groups. The Avengers decide to help anyway, and it's at this point that the plot shifts into overdrive. Where else will you find Galactus, the Surfer and the Avengers playing baseball, chess and Texas Hold 'em as well as dining at an infinite-star restaurant, all for the fate of one planet? Amid the nuttiness, Parker delivers a good message about helping people regardless of how rude they are not planning to lose before you go into battle.

THE PERHAPANAUTS #3 (Teen/Young Adult)

Todd Dezago (w); Craig Rousseau, Kelly Yates & Tad Stones (p/i); Rico Renzi, Dean Trippe, Jason Horn, & Blake Wilkie (c); covers by Rousseau & Stones

Publisher: Image

Format: monthly series

Concept: There are places 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 issue : It is the veritable Calm before the Storm as secrets continue to be revealed about ALL of your favorite BEDLAM Agents! Big and The Merrow travel to the UK to get some answers as Choopie tries to cope with the unseen responsibilities of being a King! Also, The Mothmen tip to what went on back in the Bermuda Triangle, and they are NOT pleased...! (from imagecomics.com)

Review: Not only does this issue offer three stories, but they're each brought to life by a different artistic team. That's right; three stories, three artists, four colorists.you won't get more bang for your buck in any other comic this month! (That I know of, anyway.) In "Big Secrets," Big takes a trip to a location undisclosed to everyone except Merrow to visit an old friend.and when the friend's identity is revealed, it's clear why Big has kept it a secret. In the middle of their already great artwork, Rousseau & Renzi deliver an absolutely STUNNING double-page splash of the trio swimming. Merrow just happens to have a secret of her own, which is revealed in the beautiful "The Merrow's Tale," featuring art by Yates, Trippe & Horn. Last, but by no means least, is "Choopie and the Gremlins," in which Choopie has to tell his 'subjects' to get out.until they prove that they may be useful after all. Stones, who has quite an impressive resume in animation (TV's "Darkwing Duck," the Hellboy Animated films and Turok: Son of Stone), contributes some nice artwork; his Choopie in particular is great. Throw in Stones' flip cover and a cool Perhapa-pin-up by Rob Reilly, and you get a whole lot of paranormal goodness for a mere $3.50 USD.

Look out for: When Merrow, Big and his friend go swimming, Merrow is tastefully nude, meaning that she has no clothes on, but you don't see anything you shouldn't see.

TINY TITANS #6 (All Ages)

Art Baltazar & Franco (w); art & cover by Baltazar

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: It's all your favorite Titans, in their cutest possible form!

In this issue: New pals Blue Beetle and Supergirl stop by the Titans Treehouse, only to find most of the Tiny Titans away on a field trip. Good thing a few lesser-known heroes are still at school! Plus: follow Raven and Trigon through a typically crazy morning. (from dccomics.com)

Review: The Titans have some new recruits, Blue Beetle and Supergirl. (Three recruits if you count Beetle's backpack.) As with the other Titans, Baltazar makes Beetle look REALLY cute. Meanwhile, Raven has to deal with her father, Trigon, at home. Watching him totally SHOWER her with love and affection-and her reaction to it-is just hilarious, as is the "end of the world" bit. Other characters include Power Boy, Zatara, Vulcan Jr., Hawk & Dove, Li'l Barda, Lagoon Boy, and Supergirl's pets Streaky and Bippo; extras include Blue Beetle's backpack language translation and a counting game featuring Beast Boy alpacas. And the best part? Robin paraphrases a line from the movie FIGHT CLUB.

COLLECTIONS

MARVEL ADVENTURES TWO-IN-ONE #13 collects MA HULK #4 and MA SPIDER-MAN #39.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

ALETHEIA #3

DC SUPER FRIENDS #5

INVINCIBLE #51

MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #38

MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES #1

USAGI YOJIMBO #113

WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #5

By thy side,

John "Figaro" Norris

------ Discuss this review on The Cat's Meow section of the Comics in the Classroom Forums ----- 

Note: The age ratings and opinions featured in these reviews are those of reviewer, John Norris, and may not be shared by the administrator of this web site.