THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 3 - Week 5 _ _________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, October 06 , 2008

THE BATMAN STRIKES! #50: “Night of the Demon” (All Ages)

James Peaty (w); Christopher Jones (p); Terry Beatty (i); Heroic Age (c); Swands (l); cover by Jones & Beatty

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

Concept: Follow the adventures of Bruce Wayne in his early years as Batman.

In this issue : The Demon comes to Gotham in this final issue! On Halloween night, Batman and Robin will be forced to team up with an unpredictable force, the Demon Etrigan! (from dccomics.com)

Review: Sadly, another great DC all-ages series comes to an end. While I don't think it's the strongest issue to end on, it is still entertaining. You'd think that Robin, of all people, would understand Halloween. That's OK, though…the Demon Etrigan will show him a thing or two! Etrigan looks great, and his rhymes are amusing. Still, it's a shame to see the series come to an end. There were great stories and artwork in these pages, and I hope it won't be too long before we see Jones on another book.

THE FAMILY DYNAMIC #2: “A Circus Mind That's Running Round” (All Ages)

J. Torres (w); Tim Levins (p); Dan Davis (i); Dave McCaig (c); Sal Cipriano (l); cover by Sean “Cheeks” Galloway

Publisher: DC

Format: three-issue miniseries

Concept: J. Torres and Tim Levins introduce a new superhero family.

In this issue: The Family Dynamic meets the dynamic duo known as Blackbird and Little Wing! But are they friends or foes? Or could they even be... family? One thing is for certain, there's no time for such questions with Tragedy Ann, the drama queen of crime, and her loony lackey Tom Foolery threatening to blow up Storm City ! (from dccomics.com)

Review: Talk about family ties…two members of the Dynamic clan learn that they may have more in common with Blackbird and Little Wing than they imagined, and the way Mak “spills the beans” to Luca and Gio. Levins again shows his skill at giving characters wonderful expressions. Look for the panel of Luca at his locker and see if you can guess the real names of the rock bands.

VENOM: DARK ORIGIN #3 (Teen/Young Adult)

Zeb Wells (w); Angel Medina (p); Scott Hanna (i); Matt Milla (c); Joe Caramagna (l);

Publisher: Marvel

Format: five-issue miniseres

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

In this issue: “Amid the chaos, there comes a costume--!” On an alien world, at the behest of an all-powerful megalomaniac, armies of heroes and villains face off in one of the greatest conflicts in Marvel history…and Spider-Man is there! As failed journalist Eddie Brock sinks deeper into the poisonous depths of his soul, the hero who ruined his life comes back from the Secret Wars with a living, breathing alien symbiote. Writer Zeb Wells (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and artist Angel Medina (SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN) chronicle the twin corruptions doomed to bring together a wreck of a man and a jealous monster to form one of Spider-Man's deadliest foes! (from marvel.com)

Review: Eddie Brock is at the lowest point of his life, having lost his woman and his job thanks (he says) to Spider-Man. At this point, Brock is just a shell of a man, with hatred the only thing he feels. He's so far gone that he just wants to end his life—but not before he justifies his actions before God. And then it finally happens. Up to this point, Medina has skillfully used strange expressions and distorted angles to hint at the disturbance beneath the surface. But once the symbiote goes for Brock, Medina cuts loose. It doesn't just cover Brock; it consumes every part of his body and mind, which Medina illustrates rather graphically. During all this, we're given a very concise recap of the symbiote's history with Spider-Man. When Brock realizes that it knows Spider-Man's secret, he flashes those teeth and that tongue, and Venom as we know him is born. By waiting until the third issue to reveal him, Wells and Medina show that the symbiote just made Brock more of what he already was: a monster with a black soul.

Look out for: As mentioned above, the transformation is rather graphic. There's no nudity or gore, but the way Medina shows the symbiote consuming Brock's body is definitely not for young children's eyes.

COLLECTIONS

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #16 collects MA AVENGERS #16 and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #4.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31 st CENTURY #19

MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #16

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #44

SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE season 2 #3

TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED: THE ARRIVAL #3

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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