THE CAT'S MEOW: What's Good on the Shelf This Week / Year 2 - Week 11 ___________________________________________________________________________
Reviews by John Norris, November 18, 2007

THE BATMAN STRIKES! #39 (All Ages)

Jai Nitz (w); Christopher Jones (p); Terry Beatty (i); Heroic Age (c); Travis Lanham (l); cover by Sanford Greene

Publisher: DC

Format: monthly series

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

In this issue : The streets of Gotham City are free of criminals, and it's Black Mask's fault! Can Batman figure out how to stop a criminal who isn't committing crimes? (from dccomics.com)

Review: Black Mask is hardly the first person to call Batman a criminal and a vigilante, but I don't remember the last time anyone called Bruce Wayne a crook. Nitz's thrilling story is a psychological conflict between two men with two very different philosophies, and he presents those conflicting views quite convincingly. It's hard not to buy Black Mask's idea that criminals are formed due to the loss of jobs as a result of Wayne Enterprises putting other companies out of business, and it's interesting to see a villain who considers Bruce to be the real threat and Batman merely a lapdog. But Bruce's argument of what really makes a criminal is convincing as well. To Nitz's credit, the conflict is resolved in a mostly non-violent manner, though the fighting that does take place is nicely drawn by Jones. This is an entertaining issue that asks the reader to think as well.

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CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK #2: “Frog Day Afternoon” (All Ages)

Bill Morrison (w); Scott Shaw! (p); Al Gordon (i); Tom Luth (c); Ken Lopez (l); cover by Shaw!, Morrison & Luth

Publisher: DC

Format: three-issue miniseries

Concept: Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew are back for an all-new adventure!

In this issue: Leapin' lettuce! Frogzilla's back! And teamed with Salamandroid, he stands poised to plant his preposterously large footprint right on the Sandy Eggo Comics Convention! But…is the Zoo Crew's real foe bigger than both those bad guys? (from dccomics.com)

Review: Frogzilla's in Gnu York, and it's up to the Zoo Crew to take him down by ANY means necessary, whether it be a fish…er, I mean mammal-in-the-face or by wrapping him up with Rubberduck. Alley-Kat-Abra returns, and we find out what really happened with Little Cheese. We also meet Vicuna Pacos and his alter ego (who really knows how to put on a puppet show) as well as another major aquatic villain. Morrison and Shaw load the story with laughs and references to Prince, the Dixie Chicks and DC's “52.”

Look out for: minor sexual innuendo

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IRON MAN & POWER PACK #1 (All Ages)

Marc Sumerak (w); Marcelo DiChiara (p/i); Gurihiru (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Gurihiru

Publisher: Marvel

Format: four-issue miniseries

Concept: Ol' Shellhead and the Pack team up in this series.

In this issue: What's 50-feet-tall, nearly indestructible, and on a rampage through New York City ? Iron Man calls it "Ultimo"... but to the members of Power Pack, it's just another super-jerk trying to ruin their day off! And while our young heroes join forces with everyone's favorite armored Avenger to bring down this mega-sized metallic monstrosity, are they missing something far more sinister going on behind the scenes? Does the action ever end?!? Not for Marvel's youngest heroes! (from marvel.com)

Review: The kids are enjoying a nice afternoon in Central Park , when who should come walking by but ULTIMO!! Someone is controlling him, but what's he really after, and who is he working for? Sumerak returns as writer for this entertaining issue, with Gurihiru providing colors for DiChiara's art. Iron Man looks great, and the scene where Tony Stark changes into ol' Shellhead is very cool. And how can you not love that cover?

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MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #5: “Bruce Banner and the Half-Monkey Prince” (All Ages)

Paul Benjamin (w); David Nakayama (p); Gary Martin (i); Michelle Madsen (c); Dave Sharpe (l); cover by Santacruz and Sotomayor

Publisher: Marvel

Format: monthly series

Concept: Caught in a blast of gamma-radiation, brilliant scientist Bruce Banner now finds himself living as a fugitive, cursed to transform in times of stress into the living engine of destruction known as the HULK.

In this issue : Bruce, Rick and Monkey seek out Dr. Strange, hoping the master of the mystic arts can cage the fury of the Hulk. But Bruce gets more than he bargained for when Dormammu, Prince of the Dark Dimension, takes control of one of his allies. Can even the combined strength of the Hulk and Earth's Sorcerer Supreme stand against the awesome might of...Dormammu-Monkey! (from marvel.com)

Review: Dr. Strange and Wong make their Marvel Adventures debuts, and things get interesting. In case you aren't familiar with Dr. Strange, Benjamin and Nakayama do a great job of recapping his origin in the space of one page. (That you could have the captions on that page removed and still understand exactly what's happening is a testament to Nakayama's talents as an artist and a storyteller.) The whole issue is a visual knockout, with Nakayama aided immeasurably (as always) by Martin and Madsen. Just take a look at Dormammu-Monkey, and you'll see what I mean.

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MICE TEMPLAR #2 (Teen/Young Adult)

Publisher: Image

Concept: The extraordinary adventure of magic and wonder, tragedy and hope, faith and valor, and of one small mouse whose destiny might change the entire world.

In this issue : Karic begins his studies in the martial disciplines of the legendary Templar under the tutelage of wandering knight Pilot the Tall, and experiences mystic dreams of the ancient battle between owls and bats for supremacy of the night sky. Stalking both is a vicious, scarred rival from Pilot's past and the fall of the Templar. But neither hunter nor prey may possess the skills necessary to defeat the ravenous horde knows only as “The Many.” (from imagecomics.com)

Review: Karic and Pilot continue their journey. Karic's training really intensifies in this issue; he receives physical training and visions, and is taught to question things he thought he knew. The artwork is just gorgeous, with some amazing battle scenes.

Look out for: blood

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COLLECTIONS

MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS vol. 4: THE DREAM TEAM digest collects MA AVENGERS #13-15 and GIANT-SIZE MA AVENGERS #1.

TEEN TITANS GO!: TITANS TOGETHER TP collects TTG #27-32.

THE OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE TP is a terrific source of information for INVINCIBLE fans and new readers alike.

To be reviewed in next week's column:

FLASH #234

FRANKLIN RICHARDS: FALL FOOTBALL FIASCO

INVINCIBLE #46

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31 st CENTURY #8

MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #18

MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #30

By thy side,

John “Figaro” Norris

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