THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 3 - Week 10 _ _________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, November 11 , 2008

SKRULLS VS. POWER PACK #4: “Puzzle Planet” (All Ages)

Fred Van Lente (w); Cory Hamscher & Jacopo Camagni (p); Hamscher & Norman Lee (i); Gurihiru (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Gurihiru

Publisher: Marvel

Format: four-issue miniseries

Concept: Power Pack faces the shape-shifting Skrulls!

In this issue : Power Pack is after it! Franklin Richards, H.E.R.B.I.E., and Smartship Friday are after it! The Skrull agents impersonating the Power kids are after it! Intergalactic bounty hunters Ambercombie and Finch are after it! And no one wants it worse than the fierce Skrull Warpriest Kho'ja, who possesses all the Pack's powers! What is it? Well, we're not going to tell you. This is just a solicitation. But it's the prize that lies at the heart of the PUZZLE PLANET! (from marvel.com)

Review: Power Pack, Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E. have finally found the Puzzle Planet. And it seems that everyone wants a piece of this puzzle; its secret is what split the people of Patchworld, and it could have a major impact on the Power kids! Van Lente throws us for one heck of a loop as what Kho'ja thinks is the secret really isn't it at all, and Franklin shows that perhaps his dad has started to rub off on him. It's a nice ending that makes you think and certainly leaves the door open for other stories.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #193: “Other Side, part 1: How the Other Half Lives/Sonic Unleashed!” (All Ages)

Ian Flynn (w); Tracy Yardley! (p); Jim Amash (i); Josh Ray (c); Teresa Davidson (l); cover by Yardley! & Jason Jensen

Publisher: Archie

Format: monthly series

Concept: Follow the adventures of Sonic and pals, based on the hit video game.

In this issue: Good comes face-to-face with evil - and it's just like looking in a mirror as Sonic and the Freedom Fighters square off against their evil doppelgangers from another world! With King Scourge (the evil anti-Sonic from another dimension) and the Suppression Squad controlling Freedom HQ, Sonic and Amy are sent across time and space to Moebius - the Anti-Mobius, that is! They run into some familiar faces in this topsy-turvy world, but who is friend and who is foe? (from grahamcrackers.com)

Review: Ah, Moebius…the place where nothing is what it seems, and where evil is good and vice versa. Sonic and Amy are headed there to try and stop Scourge's invasion. Along the way, they meet Dr. Kintobor (Robotnik's good version) and Buns Rabbot. Meanwhile, one of the Suppression Squad wants to negotiate. Flynn does a nice job of blurring the line between good and bad, but the best moment comes at the end, when Sonic and Amy meet a character who can only be described as PSYCHOTIC…and thanks to Yardley and company, looks every bit as crazy as she talks. There's even more very cool art in the backup story, which ties into the SONIC UNLEASHED video game and allows us the privilege of seeing Sonic turn into…oh, you just have to read it.

SONIC X #38: “Big Trouble In Little Station Square , part 1” (All Ages)

Ian Flynn (w); Steven Butler (p); Terry Austin (i); Jason Jensen (c); Phil Felix (l); cover by Pat “Spaz” Spaziante

Publisher: Archie

Format: monthly series

Concept: During a battle between Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr. Eggman, an explosion hurled Sonic, his friends, and Dr. Eggman across dimensions until they found themselves on planet Earth. Dr. Eggman is determined to establish his Eggman Empire, beginning with Earth…and Sonic is determined to stop him.

In this issue: S.O.N.I.C.X. - the secret Sonic-hating organization - is at it again! They have a special serum that will turn Sonic into the monster they think he "really is." The problem now is: how do you catch the fastest thing alive? It's a high-speed chase through the city with a special guest appearance by the Chaotix - and an ending so big you won't believe it! (from grahamcrackers.com)

Review: The hilariously inept S.O.N.I.C.X. is back. Each of their attempts to capture Sonic has failed, but Dr. Narasu prefers to learn from those mistakes. His plan will involve getting close to Sonic, which Hector the driver is only too happy to do. The whole chase is a hoot, especially Narasu's reactions to Hector's driving. My favorite moment involves Vector. It's always nice to see him, and boy, does he ever make his presence known! Butler 's final page is simply terrific, and has me eagerly anticipating the next issue.

VENOM: DARK ORIGIN #4: “The Ties That Bond” (Teen/Young Adult)

Zeb Wells (w); Angel Medina (p); Scott Hanna & Derek Fridolfs (i); Matt Milla & Ian Hannin (c); Joe Caramagna (l); cover by Medina & Hanna

Publisher: Marvel

Format: five-issue miniseries

Concept: Learn how Eddie Brock bonded with the alien symbiote and became Venom.

In this issue : Eddie Brock's dishonesty and his humiliation at the hands of Spider-Man have poisoned his soul. But it's the strange new costume that'll give him the strength to strike out! Now Eddie's about to discover just where this living alien symbiote comes from…why it possesses the powers it does…and what privileged secrets it can teach him about the man behind Spider-Man's mask! Discover the never-before-seen truth about Venom's past and the symbiote's home planet! By Zeb Wells (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and Angel Medina (SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN)! (from marvel.com)

Review: Now that the symbiote has bonded with Eddie, it wants more than his body; it wants his memories as well. It also wants to share its own memories as well. The symbiote invades Eddie's memories the same way it invaded his body: forcefully. As it exchanges memories with Eddie, we get to see a view of the symbiote's home planet as we've never seen it before. Wells and Medina also revisit the moment in which Venom reveals himself to Mary Jane, and it's a wonderfully eerie scene; the way he toys with her, both physically and mentally, is unnerving. Medina and company provide some amazing artwork of the big black guy, including the two final pages.

Look out for: When the symbiote first enters Eddie's mind, we see the scene from the first issue in which Eddie “finds” a girl's cat. Then a tentacle cuts right through a guy's midsection, letting us all know who's really in charge here.

WEAPON X FIRST CLASS #1: “Don't Look Back In Anger/The Recruit” (Teen/Young Adult)

Marc Sumerak (w); Mark Robinson/Tim Seeley (p); Robert Campanella/Seeley (i); J. Brown/Katie Desouza (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Michael Ryan

Publisher: Marvel

Format: three-issue miniseries

Concept: A mutant possessing the ability to heal rapidly, an indestructible adamantium skeleton, and razor-sharp claws, Logan is a man whose past remains shrouded in mystery. He is…WOLVERINE.

In this issue : Long before his memories were restored, the X-Man known as Wolverine spent years seeking to unlock the mysteries of his past. Some of those memories were best left forgotten. Join Charles Xavier as he journeys deep into Wolverine's mind on a quest for answers that will shed new light on one of the darkest periods of Logan's life -- his days in the Weapon X program! It's a brand-new look at the horrifying history of Marvel's most prominent mutant!
PLUS: Each issue features a 10-page back-up story featuring an important player from Wolverine's past! First up, an untold tale of Wolvie's arch-nemesis, the

Mutant madman known as Sabretooth! (from marvel.com)

Review: Wolverine's been around a while, but Sumerak goes back to the beginning here, with Xavier taking Wolverine into his own mind in an attempt to figure out who he is and where he came from. Sumerak and Robinson take us on a trip inside the mind of a man who wants answers to a lot of questions about his past. Robinson makes the story visually exciting as Wolverine literally tries to break down the barriers of his mind, only to find a bad mind fragment that won't go away and memories that aren't pretty. And in the backup story “The Recruit,” it turns out that Sabretooth has a bad memory or two of his own.

Look out for: When Wolverine finally uncovers his first bad memory about Weapon X at the end of the story, he's in a tank and hooked up to machines. The image isn't TOO graphic—there's no blood—but I don't think I'd let young children see it.

COLLECTIONS

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #17 collects MA AVENGERS #17 and MA IRON MAN #5.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31 st CENTURY #20

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #45

SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE season 2 #4

TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED: THE ARRIVAL #4

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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