THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week
INVINCIBLE #37 (Teen/Young Adult)
Robert Kirkman (w); Ryan Ottley (p,i); Bill Crabtree (c); Rus Wooton (l); cover by Ottley & Crabtree
Publisher: Image
Format: ongoing monthly series
Concept: Follow the adventures of young superhero Mark Grayson.
In this issue: Will Mark save William before being beaten up by Rick? Can Rick ever be cured? Will Robot and his date be allowed into an R-rated movie? All this and more in this issue!
Review: Mark confronts Sinclair, and the sparks fly. Kirkman and Ottley do a great job of building suspense as William cries for Mark's help as he's being injected. Be warned that there are a couple of images in this issue that might cause some readers to turn away, but as always, the intense stuff is balanced with some nice humor. As a former movie theater employee (my first job, in fact), I loved the creative way Robot—in a teenager's body—gets the box office clerk to sell him some tickets for “Machine Gun Slaughter.
Look out for: some blood and one panel showing Rick's body, which has been badly cut up and is missing an arm
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #28: “Season's Beatings, Justice League!” (All Ages)
Mike McAvennie (w); Sanford Greene (p); Nathan Massengill (i); Heroic Age (c); John J. Hill (l); cover by Ty TempletoN
Publisher: DC
Format: ongoing monthly series
Concept:
In this issue: It's Christmastime on the Watchtower, but all is not festive. Clayface is decorating Gotham with his victims, and the Flash and Batman seem ready to hang one another over a fire. Can the intervention of the Phantom Stranger and a visit to Christmas past raise everyone's holiday spirits? (from dccomics.com)
Review: Flash and Batman are two opposite ends of the spectrum, at odds with the way the other person behaves. But outward appearances can be deceiving, as Flash finds out (with the Phantom Stranger's help). This issue really nails the essence of Batman's character. For one brief, shining moment, we see young Bruce Wayne—could it be—truly HAPPY upon receiving a Gray Ghost flyer one Christmas, but one look at his parents' portrait, and the happiness is gone. That, in a nutshell, is what I believe to be Batman's ultimate tragedy; he's never learned to let go of the past, and he's become so obsessed with avenging his parents' murder that he doesn't allow himself to experience even the simplest pleasures. But, as Flash discovers, even Batman can occasionally show signs of a heart.
MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #22: “World War G” (All Ages)
Fred Van Lente (w); Cory Hamscher (p/i); Guru eFX (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Patrick Scherberger, Hamscher & Guru eFX
Publisher: Marvel
Format: ongoing monthly series
Concept: Bitten by an irradiated spider, which granted him incredible abilities, Peter Parker learned the all-important lesson, that with great power there must also come great responsibility. And so he became the amazing Spider-Man!
In this issue: When the Green Goblin swears to destroy the Hobgoblin for stealing his shtick, only Spider-Man can save the city from World War “G”-- but with his new black costume, crooks and citizens alike don't know if he's a new hero, a new villain or the same old Spidey! (from marvel.com)
Review: Van Lente presents Spidey with a dilemma I've never thought about in regards to Spidey before: no one recognizes him with the new black costume. But even bigger than that is the battle between the Green Goblin and the Hobgoblin…and the fact that J. Jonah Jameson wants to cover it WITH Peter Parker! Jameson has some hilarious lines, and the whole thing's a fun issue with two classic villains duking it out.
SPIDER-MAN & POWER PACK #2: “Sands of Time: The New Kid, part 2” (All Ages)
Marc Sumerak (w); Gurihiru (p/i/c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Gurihiru
Publisher: Marvel
Format: four-issue miniseries
Concept: Power Pack teams up with Spider-Man in this fun-filled adventure.
In this issue: Featuring the Amazing Spider-KID?!? Power Pack has a brand-new member... and he's not too happy about his current situation! Will the Power kids be able to help Spidey find a way to get himself back to normal before all heck breaks loose? Or will Jack's desire to get Power Pack some more attention on the super hero scene get them all trapped in a very tangled web? (from marvel.com)
Review: This issue is not only lots of fun to read, it's also a great issue for those who may not be that familiar with Spider-Man's past and rogue's gallery. (That's referring to the various colorful villains he's had to tangle with.) Sumerak acknowledges Spidey's past—he makes remarks about cloning, growing extra arms and the alien costume—while putting him in a new predicament: being a kid again! Of course, this means a new costume, and there is a nice montage of outfits, including a jab at the Iron Spidey suit recently worn by Peter in the pages of some of the other Spider-Man books. The team proceeds to battle Vulture (who has also felt the effects of age regression; he's now a young man), the Lizard, Electro, the Shocker, Rhino, Mysterio, and finally Sandman, who looks mighty impressive, thanks to Gurihiru. And check out the hilarious back-up story “Civil Wards,” in which Spidey baby-sits the Power kids, gets blown off by Gwen Stacy for the Green Goblin in a scene that longtime Spidey readers will appreciate, and exchanges some classic dialogue with Sandman. Oh, and Spider-Woman even makes an appearance, making this truly a jam-packed issue!
TRADES/DIGESTS:
RUNAWAYS, VOL. 2 is a deluxe hardcover edition that collects RUNAWAYS VOL. 2 #1-12 and the Runaways/X-Men team-up from Free Comic Book Day 2006.
To be included in next week's column:
THE BATMAN STRIKES! #28
by thy side,
John “Figaro” Norris
12/10/06
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