THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week-Year 3 - Week 4 _ _________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, Sept 29 , 2008

MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #40: A Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Waste/The Image Is the Thing” (All Ages)

Chris Eliopoulos/Joe Caramagna (w); Scott Koblish/Matteo Lolli (p); Koblish/Christian Della Vecchi (i); Ulises Arreola/Guillem Mari (c); Nate Piekos (l);

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: Irradiated by cosmic rays and transformed to possess superhuman powers, they joined together to fight evil. Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch and the Thing. Together they call themselves the Fantastic Four!

In this issue : A secret organization has taken to harvesting the most brilliant brains in the world and they've decided to go for the big enchilada – Reed Richards. Is this the end of the Fantastic Four? What will Reed Richards do without his brain? Will Iron Man take his spot in the FF? Or have we just lost OUR minds? Check out this issue we had to call "Mind Over Matter!" (from marvel.com)

Review: It's double the pleasure this month, with one story featuring Reed and Sue, and the other featuring Johnny and Ben. First, Reed and Sue attend a Stark International press event in which the Mad Thinker just happens to be conducting the presentation…and Reed (or rather, Reed's mind) ends up as the guinea pig. It's entertaining enough, but nothing particularly memorable. The second story is much more enjoyable; it relies on the reliable combination of Ben and Johnny's relationship plus Ben's inability to get a break. And it's not that the Kiblosh/Arreola artwork is bad, but I find the work of Lolli/Vecchi/Mari a bit more pleasing.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES #3: “You Can't Eat Just On(c)e” (All Ages)

Paul Tobin (w); Alvin Lee (p); Terry Pallot (i); Val Staples (c); Nate Piekos (l); cover by Roger Cruz & Staples

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: Spidey, Iron Man and the Hulk team up for some zany superhero adventures.

In this issue: YOU CAN'T EAT JUST ONCE: The Iron Man of the future comes back in time to help our heroes fight Kang the Conqueror, who rules the future via a vast fortune acquired though his potato chip company. Yeah – potato chips. But these aren't just run-of-the-mill potato chips, these are nano-temporal-potato chips…engineered so that if you ever eat one, the timestream forces you to eat them again for every single meal, forever. It's Iron Man, Spider-Man and the Hulk against an army of past and future warriors, and a bag of potato chips to boot! (from marvel.com)

Review: What if every time you ate a Lay's potato chip, you were forced to eat another one against your will? That's what Kang the Conquerer, the master of time, is banking on. Leave it to the Hulk to eat nine bags before future Iron Man appears and takes the heroes twenty years into the future, where they battle Kang, pirates, ninjas, cavemen…forget potato chips, this issue is just plain NUTS! But Spidey looks fantastic on the cover, and Tobin raises another Hulk debate: who would win in a fight, Hulk or a HUNGRY Hulk?

PERHAPANAUTS vol. 2 #4: “The Calm Before…/The Red Team Adventure” (Teen/Young Adult)

Todd Dezago (w); Craig Rousseau/Jason Armstrong (p/i); Rico Renzi/Armstrong (c); covers by Rousseau & Armstrong

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: BEDLAM is evacuated! Between the recent infestation of Gremlins and the subsequent power outages, The Chief shuts the place down! Also, more on the fate of Karl! Will King Choopie be dethroned? And a Perhapanauts Extra! A Red Team Adventure! (from imagecomics.com)

Review: I love covers that feature a character talking; to me, it has a “classic comics” feel to it. Inside, we are once again treated to a double dose of Perhapa-goodness as BEDLAM is evacuated and Hammerskold and the Red Team have their own adventure. For me, the highlights of the issue are the wonderful chemistry between Arisa and MG, and between Big and Merrow.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #126 (Teen/Young Adult)

Brian Michael Bendis (w); Stuart Immonen (p); Wade von Grawbadger (i); Justin Ponsor (c); Cory Petit (l); cover by Immonen

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: The bite of a genetically-altered spider grants high school student Peter Parker incredible, arachnid-like powers.

In this issue : Guest-starring the Ultimates! The worst has happened -- Peter Parker has become the dreaded symbiote Venom! And not only is Silver Sable and her Wildpack on his gooey trail, but our troubled hero is also in the crosshairs of the Ultimates! (from marvel.com)

Review: It's Peter's worst nightmare come true; the black symbiote has attached itself to him once again. What follows is a battle royale between Peter/Venom, Silver Sable and the Wildpack, and Nick Fury and the Ultimates. There's also an internal battle going on between Peter and the symbiote, and his futile efforts to try and control it or cry for help add to the excitement. Immonen, aided by von Grawbadger and Ponsor, produces probably the best art he's done for the series yet; including a great double page splash with Venom and the Ultimates that serves as the issue's centerpiece and the final image of Spidey as he learns what the suit may have just caused.

Look out for: a nude Eddie Brock, though no revealing parts are shown

USAGI YOJIMBO vol. 3 #114: “The Beggar” (Teen/Young Adult)

Written & illustrated by Stan Sakai; cover by Sakai & Tom Luth

Publisher: Dark Horse

Format: monthly series

Concept: The adventures of the rabbit samurai known as Usagi.

In this issue : Pursued by an unlikely individual, the rabbit ronin Usagi goes on a hunt for the truth, only to discover something more shocking than he ever imagined!
People tend to ignore the homeless and destitute, but not Usagi--especially when he discovers the same beggar in every town to which he travels! Curious, Usagi begins a search to uncover the mendicant's identity. Little does he know, the Neko Ninja Clan is after the beggar as well. Indeed, there is more to this figure than meets the eye, but no one would guess that the mystery leads all the way to the Shogun!

Review: Sakai knows how to make things interesting, and the setup here—Usagi continually running into and following a beggar—is a great example. In lesser hands, the scenario could come across as run-of-the-mill. Other than a run-in with the Neko Ninja, there's not much action here, but Sakai gets a lot of suspense out of the simple premise, and every time the two characters encounter each other, the suspense just gets deeper. It's masterful storytelling.

WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #7: “Zone of Alienation, part 1” (All Ages)

Fred Van Lente (w); Steven Cummings (p); Vicente Cifuentes (i); A. Street (c); D. Bennett (l); cover by Michael Golden

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: Return with us again to the early days of the all-new, all-different, X-Men for all-new solo adventures of Wolverine and Kitty Pryde!

In this issue : The SOVIET SUPER SOLDIERS have kidnapped Kitty's flame Colossus, and she and Wolverine must brave the dangers of Russia 's irradiated Forbidden Zone to save him!

Review: After the events of the last issue, you'd think Kitty would learn not to torture herself over every female that looks at Colossus. But one phone call from a female with a cute Russian accent, and she's upset again. So what does Wolverine agree to let them do? Spy, of course. But their journey will take them far from home, right into the heart of a Russian “zone of alienation.” I'll let you figure out what that means. Van Lente paces the story nicely, and Cummings provides some nice artwork. The final page is awesome.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

BATMAN STRIKES #50

INVINCIBLE #53

VENOM: DARK ORIGIN #3

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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