This Week In Comics: 02/15/2006

[Clayface]

Welcome to This Week in Comics for February 15th, 2006 - February 21st, 2006!

This is the place to discuss the comics you've bought this week, whether it be a brand new title or old back-issues. We also welcome and encourage talk about comics in general - news you've read on comic news sites, the state of the industry in general, upcoming issues you're excited about, etc. All we ask is that you please use spoiler brackets in the event that your comments get too detailed concerning a particular storyline. This way the book won't be ruined for anyone who hasn't read it yet.

For a list of the new items shipping this week, please consult Diamond Comics' Shipping List (http://www.diamondcomics.com/shipping/shipping_021506.txt).

To find a comic book store near you, check out the Comic Shop Locator Service (http://csls.diamondcomics.com/).


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Highlights of the Week!




Clayface's Pick:

http://www.idwpublishing.com/news/images/bwnewsbig.jpg (http://www.idwpublishing.com/news/march2006/bwnews.shtml)
Transformers: Beast Wars #1


Ace the Bathound's Picks:

http://static.flickr.com/36/99904309_d64e64539e_o.jpg (http://www.mrcomics.ca/)..............http://static.flickr.com/36/99904314_de83a65e00_o.jpg (http://www.idwpublishing.com/titles/supermarket/supermarket.shtml)
Revolution on the Planet of the Apes #2......................Supermarket #1.................



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[screw on head]

I picked up Transformers: Beast Wars #1 and Justice #4.

I really enjoyed the Beast Wars comic. Beast Wars is one of my favorite animated series of all time, so I was a little leary of what this take-off has to offer. The set-up is pretty cool, and I like that we aren't told explicitly where they've ended up in the BW timeline... obviously it's somewhere in Season 3... between Depth Charge's arrival and most likely before TigerHawk's arrival... definately before the series ender.

I liked the artwork. I'm not big on the anime slant to the art, but it's not much of a big deal. He tells the story really well and that 2 page spread toward the beginning looked pretty good.

Storywise I thought it was pretty good, and I even liked the art. I really liked the descention in the ranks and that the protoforms aren't all Predacon... great little twist there. Looks like they're headed for the Arc next issue, can't wait to see what versions we run into... Will Black Arachnia be Transmetal 2? If Cheetor's Transmetal 2, then that means Dinobot 2 is on the loose, with the possibility still open for Dinobot's consciousness to come back. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the coming issues...

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Another slow news day. When the highlight of the day is part one of a massive Chuck Austen interview (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6669), you know you're in for trouble.

The good news is that there's an adorable doggie in the rest of the links, in the form of Bluff from newcomer Narwain Comics (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6665). If you're gun shy about ordering a slice-of-life book told from the perspective of the family pet, then you can always take a crack at the Free Comic Book Day (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/preview.php?image=previews/indy/bluff/bluff_fcbd.jpg) version of the title.

And speaking of Free Comic Book Day, DC is splurging and offering a second title in addition to the largely unappreciated Justice League Unlimited #1. Of course, I question the wisdom of making the second offering the first issue of the perenially late Superman/Batman (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=59474). Oh, well -- at least maybe now I can finally read the thing.

According to Newsarama's Indy Beat column, There's an Alien in my Toilet (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=59517). Surprisingly, the title of this indie comic does NOT seem to sum up the whole concept.

Previews time! Check out stuff from Marvel coming on March 8 (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6668), including Son of M (without nearly enough Lockjaw), New Universe: Nightmask by Action Philosophers scribe Fred Van Lente, and an unlettered preview of Ultimate Spider-Man #91.

My last shipment from G-Mart (http://www.g-mart.com/) had an unexpected bonus. As the lucky recipient of invoice #200,000, they threw in a bunch of Free Stuff. I'm always up for Free Stuff. The posters may become giveaways on the CBC soon, so watch this space, but for now the BPoL review will cover two of the comics. The first is the Olympus TPB (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401206433/qid=1140060099/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/002-2033468-3064038?n=283155), written by Geoff Johns and Kris Grimminger with artwork by Butch Guice. This was one of the last books to come out from the Humanoids/DC Comics. Set in the Mediterranean Sea, a group of improbably hot graduate students (and one tag-along) are thrown together with a group of improbably hunky and noble mercenaries (with one exception), and then stranded on an island populated by monsters from Greek Mythology.

It's an action B-picture in the finest sense. The characters strain to reach two-dimensionality, the plot is a serviceable excuse for lots of shooting and slashing action, and the surprises come largely from curiosity on which ancient Greek monster will jump them next. Luckily, it's reasonably short at 112 pages and seems fully aware of its own limitations. In some way, the slightly cliched characters benefit the story by letting Johns and Grimminger dive straight into the monster-blasting action. The high point is definitely the artwork by Guiche, which is undeniably beautiful. Guice shows equal skill at drawing graduate students in swimwear and fantastic monsters.

I didn't pre-order this TPB on its release (no doubt contributing to the end of the DC/Humanoids partnership ;)), and probably would have been more disappointed by it if I paid full price for it. However, it's a decent, big and stupid popcorn graphic novel that knows exactly what it wants to be and hits its target dead on. Not a bad find if it's in a bargain bin. There's a 10-page preview at the Humanoids website (http://www.humanoids-publishing.com/news/news.php?id=137), if you're curious.

The other free comics I got were Gone South #1-2 (http://www.atomicbasement.com/) from Atomic Basement. Two women vampires hightail it out of New York and head south of the Mason-Dixon line to lie low for a while. Of course, this plan fails for a variety of reasons, mostly due to incredibly poor impulse control in the younger of the two. It's not bad, but not great; my major beef with it is that it doesn't seem to add anything truly new to the body of vampire stories out there already. It also doesn't help that the artist changes between issues #1 and 2, and the new one is considerably less skilled than the original. Not likely to find these just lying on a store shelf, but if you're a real sucker for vampire comics, so to speak, help yourself.

-- Ed/Ace

[rggkjg1]

ACTION COMICS#836 - great issue. it was/is confusing at some points. i'm just trying to figure if if some the events (1st meeting with batman, doomsday battle, mind wipe of dr.light) are "what if" scenarios, or if they are actually being altered into continuity. i am also wondering if this arc is going to be changing superman continuity AGAIN. or at least trying to fix it.

HELLBLAZER #200

HELLBLAZER #217 - EXCELLENT! this arc is getting in full swing now.

JUSTICE #4 - not the superman "spotlight" i was expecting.

DAREDEVIL #82 - great issue from brubaker. even though i might be fed up with next issues out come. granted marvel already "spoiled" with the cover image for daredevil 83 in the march solicitation and again with issue #84 description in april. it was a nice cliff hanger, but obviously it doesnt do the readers any good since they read solications 2 months in advance. unless what we think is going to happen doesnt. it lookis like daredevil is going to make alot of people fed up. i'm fed up with the solicitations and i'm fed up with the overall corruption in the story. i'm sure matt is going to be fed up before this arc is done as well. one question though, was matt put in jail in the last bendis arc?

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #27 - interesting. i would think reed richards would have the intelect to know the dangers of altering the past for personal gain. i also liked the appearance of the zombie fantastic four. i hope we get another zombie arc soon.

X-MEN DEADLY GENESIS #4 - finally this story begins to pick up and go somewhere.

Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom #1-3
Further Adventures Of Indiana Jones #22

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Never fails. Two days straight of little linkage, and today it comes in a flood. It seems that today's links are intent on playing "six degrees of Warren Ellis" today. Perhaps it's because today's the man's 38th birthday (http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/happy_38th_birthday_warren_ellis/). Happy birthday Warren!

First, we get a post from Action Philosophers' Fred Van Lente about New Universe: Nightmask (http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/NewUniverse/Nightmask/NightmaskPre.htm), his one-shot with Arnold Pander, where he name-drops Ellis' [newuniversal] initiative, which promises to give Marvel's aborted New Universe the glory it was so cruelly denied the first time around. Or maybe we'll find out that it really did suck as badly as we thought it did the first time around.

After that, we get a keen analysis of the $1.99 comics model (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=59656) pioneered by Ellis and Ben Templesmith with Fell, which is simultaneously a grand, insane idea, a really great comic, and a way to find out if it's true that all we need is cheaper comics to grow the industry. Also contains news about Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba's Casanova, coming soon from Image and also at the $1.99 price point.

Even next week's previews are tied to Warren Ellis (http://popcultureshock.com/features.php?id=1282), with Nextwave #2 being a highlight among all the other stuff coming next week from DC and Marvel.

And finally, we get the Man himself, (http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=39;t=000138) rambling on the state of the single issue comic and name dropping Kevin Huizenga's Ganges #1, and even linking to a preview of a story from that comic (http://www.usscatastrophe.com/kh/time.travelling2.html). We'll come back to that in a minute.

The next link may have come out too late for Ellis to include in his "ideas to save the monthly comic" article, but apparently those wacky Japanese have figured out two great tastes that taste great together: the manga barbershop (http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602140138.html). Makes perfect sense -- get a chunk of something readable for cheap while you wait to get your head cut. How come Gail Simone (http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/ambi/104611396520415.htm) never thought of this?

Unfortunately, something in the "not such a great idea" is advocating comics as investment vehicles. This concept is even worse when you incorporate the sentence "Ka-Pow!" in the article talking about it in the mainstream news. Sadly, I find the New York Daily News guilty on both counts (http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/02/pow_sock_theres_gold_in_them_t.html). Bad Daily News!

Flipping straight to the other end of the spectrum on comic valuation, we have a major Hey Kids! Free Comics! moment with Broken Frontier's (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/) "Speakeasy in Full" feature, which promises one full and complete Speakeasy comic book per day all week long. Current offerings include The Killers (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/details.php?id=1204&PHPSESSID=bbb2323089c741b3a3542ef1c6d93ef4), Spellgame #3 (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/details.php?id=1197&PHPSESSID=bbb2323089c741b3a3542ef1c6d93ef4), and Beowulf #6 (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/details.php?id=1196&PHPSESSID=bbb2323089c741b3a3542ef1c6d93ef4). I haven't checked them all out, so be aware that there might be the occasional PG-13 element in there.

Maybe if you don't spend the money on those comics, you can scratch up the $150 plus a bribe needed to get your retailer to buy you the Superman shield neon sign (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=59651) that DC is offering to retailers. Nice to see that someone's trying to tie comic books back to the movie somehow.

And finally, I'm sure there's a segue from that to the latest LA City Beat (http://www.lacitybeat.com/index.php) magazine All Comics Special. Interview with Dan Clowes (http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3323&IssueNum=141) on Art House Confidential (comic book AND movie). An article about Kyle Baker (http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3318&IssueNum=141) and his self-published stuff (buy Nat Turner (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=2066374&postcount=16)). Non-superhero comics for films (http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3319&IssueNum=141). Discussion of Gødland (http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3320&IssueNum=141) from Image. Getting some War On with the obscenely funny David Rees (http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3315&IssueNum=141). A feature on Charles Burns (http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3322&IssueNum=141), writer/artist of Black Hole (which is a pretty hard R-rated graphic novel, so watch your step there kids). It's like some kind of monster comics smorgasbord and I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START!!! AAAAGGGHGHGHGHHH!!!

Tying back to the earlier link, today's BPoL review will be for Ganges #1 (http://www.fantagraphics.com/recent/cmx.html) by Kevin Huizenga and published by Fantagraphics Press. I bought this pretty much because Tom Spurgeon said to (http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/go_buy_ganges_1/) and my shop happened to have one on the shelf. I think it might have attracted my attention for being such a distinctive and well-made product -- it's a slightly oversized comic book whose heft belies its relatively slim 32 pages. It collects several beautifully detailed short stories of the slice-of-life variety, focusing on one Glenn Ganges living in an American suburb. Ganges has a tendency to think far too much, and these thoughts lead to some wonderful flights of fancy that are expressed with some of the most innovative uses of the comic book medium I've ever seen. I'm a sucker for works that use the medium they're in to maximum effect, doing things that are simply not possible to do in any other medium, and Huizenga seems to average about 4 or 5 of these tricks per page. The preview (http://www.usscatastrophe.com/kh/time.travelling2.html) I linked to earlier seems to take the basic idea expressed in Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics that comic books express time in two-dimensional space, and runs with it far further than you'd think it could go. Really, if you haven't yet, click through there and start reading. It will blow your mind. With this book, I think Huizenga has carved out a permanent place in the history of the medium.

And, all that said, I really wish I liked the book more.

I find the book beautiful and striking -- the sort of thing I can get lost in for hours admiring his technical brilliance, but my admiration seems to end at the technical level. Put simply: I think Glenn Ganges is dull. There's love and artistic merit to be found in everyday things (a lesson I was far too immature to appreciate when Frank McCourt tried teaching it to me), but I find Ganges the comic to be a bit too cold and abstract when it comes to its subject. While many around the comics blogosphere find the closing story to be amazingly touching and moving, I find it an enviably skilled use of the medium to communicate something that, unfortunately, I find trite and cliche. Still, it's worth looking at for the sheer techincal skill involved in making it, and Huizenga has become a creator to keep an eye on because of this comic.

-- Ed/Ace

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Collected comic strips are all the rage these days, and the latest one to get announced is Mary Perkins On Stage (http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/otbp_on_stage_to_be_collected/). Why should this project get your comics-buying dollar over anything else, like Peanuts? Because Kurt Busiek wants you to buy this one (http://www.comicworldnews.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi?;act=ST;f=7;t=2255). And if you buy it then Kurt Busiek will be happy and he will make more comics that will make you happy. Plus, the strip looks beautifully drawn, if nothing else.

As you can guess, Mary Perkins On Stage is about an actress, which is about the arts. Being a musician is about the arts too, as shown in the new comic Bluesman, which is my tortured segue to the Year in Review and a look ahead for NBM Publishing (http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=004783), who also owns the Papercutz imprint. NBM took a special place in my heart really quickly by being the company to give Bluesman a new home. They're also home to War Fix, a graphic novel from war journalist David Axe coming in April.

I know about Axe because he's a contributor to DefenseTech.org (http://www.defensetech.org/), a blog I read regularly (and steal Comic Book Science links from regularly). It's not a Comic Book Science link as much as a Comic Book link from them today, since apparently SAIC is putting out a call for Manhunters (http://www.defensetech.org/archives/002178.html). I just hope they get the Kirk DePaul Manhunter (http://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=97959&zoom=4) or maybe the single female lawyer (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=5092) one rather than the ones from the comic shown on the page or, heaven forbid, the space robots (http://www.glcorps.org/manhuntr.html). Then again, maybe the robots will be able to find Osama, since "No Man Escapes the Manhunters." (<- That's the Scary Robot Voice font, in case you couldn't tell.)

No, today's Comic Book Science link comes from the Comic Book Urban Legends post this week, which shows that the little ankle bracelet Martha Stewart wears so she won't jump parole has its origins in a Spider-Man comic book (http://goodcomics.blogspot.com/2006/02/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-38.html). Or, more accurately, a comic strip, and maybe I'm showing my age by saying I remember that strip when it first came out. The other legends are pretty neat, too, including whether Frank Miller is responsible for the phrase "Dark Knight," and Green Lantern's dog.

And speaking of animal leading characters, check out the preview for Monkey in a Wagon vs. Lemur on a Big Wheel (http://www.newsarama.com/SilentDevil/Monkey/MvLPre.htm) at Newsarama.com. Normally, I don't link to unlettered previews, but I'm not sure if these stories are supposed to be lettered. Regardless, it is teh 4W35oMEE!!

Know who else is teh AWESOME? That would be Will Eisner (R.I.P. Will). If you don't believe me, maybe this review in the New York Press of the new Best of the Spirit TPB and the Contract with God Trilogy hardback (http://www.nypress.com/19/7/books/Books4.cfm) will convince you. I just got my copy of the trilogy hardback, and it is definitely a sweet, sweet package of comics.

And now, the double-barreled segue on "animal comics" and "dudes who are really really good at this comic thing" -- Broken Frontier says great things about Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/details.php?id=334&PHPSESSID=f1b5864c6f258373ccad0580815f3faf). The bit where BF's Megan Moore says Stan hasn't improved because he rocked the house from issue #1? The scary thing is that she's pretty much right.

Broken Frontier also continues it's free Speakeasy trend with Butternut Squash (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/details.php?id=1209&PHPSESSID=3fe57d21079cb9cfda56cd76f395f200) in today's Hey Kids! Free Comics! link. And while I'm on the topic of slightly oddball but cool looking comics, check out the preview of Image's Emissary (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/details.php?id=1207) (where the alien promising to be the savior of the planet is a brother), the quickie feature on J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog's Stardust Kid (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/details.php?id=1210&PHPSESSID=3fe57d21079cb9cfda56cd76f395f200) moving to Boom! Studios, and the interview with Alex Robinson on Tricked (http://popcultureshock.com/features.php?id=1299) (which is really cool even if I think it has kind of a cop-out ending).

And finally, it's always an event when Neil Kleid does another "Take That!" column for Pop Culture Shock (formerly known as Buzzscope, and formerly known as, um, Pop Culture Shock before that), and the latest one takes aim at the new Spider Armor (http://popcultureshock.com/features.php?id=1303) and the old Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends TV show. Skip if you think four-letter words and superheroes don't mix.

The review will be coming this weekend, along with a CBC giveaway opportunity. That's right, it's your very own Hey Kids, Free Comics! link, except one of you lucky readers will end up with real comics.

-- Ed/Ace

[wonderfly]

Time for some reviews:

Daredevil #82: It's Brubaker and Lark's first issue on the title, and the first thing that strikes me upon reading this issue is just how close their style fits in with Bendis and Maleev's style. The gritty story, the intriguing mystery, the realistic art style, not to mention the fact that the story picks up right where Bendis's story left off...this is truly the smoothest transition between comic book creative teams that I have seen in years! There are some subtle differences between Brubaker and Bendis's writing though: character's now actually manage to complete their sentences without being interrupted, and they actually speak coherent sentences when angry. Bendis' dialogue may be realistic, (in his work, characters have conversations, they're not just speaking their lines), but there's something to be said for Brubaker's more traditional comic book dialogue! As for the plot itself, it's a great read, but the story has become a source of much controversy thanks to the Marvel's solicitations debacle, (they let slip a major plot twist a couple of months ago). I for one smell another plot twist coming, and all is not what it seems...but I'm definently looking forward to the next issue! Grade: A

Jonah Hex #4: Allright, I'm convinved: This title is just plain fun! I've been testing the waters, buying each consequtive issue...but I think DC's got a bonafide hit on their hands with this title! Of course, since it's not tied into the regulard DC superhero-verse, I wonder how long it will last...but I hope to be enjoying this title for some time to come! Every issue is a stand alone story, (something that is most welcomed in this day and age of stories that take 5 to 6 issues to resolve), chronicling the adventures of the DC's Old West bounty hunter. Every issue starts with Jonah chasing down a bounty, and ending with whoever crosses Jonah's path getting exactly what they deserve. The realistic artwork by Luke Ross is a perfect match for Jonah's grim world, and who cares if Jonah resembles Clint Eastwood just a tad too much! Grade: A-

Runaways #13: A stand alone issue focusing on Molly, the youngest of the Runaways team. Our young heroine gets seperated from her fellow Runaways, and ends up in the sewers with a group of kids who survive by thievery. I immediately thought back to an infamous old Batman: The Animated Series episode with the &quot;Sewer King&quot;, a Charles Dickens-type villian ruling over kids in the sewers, and the villian we recieve here is equally silly, but Vaughan's writing shows it's intentional. The real message here is to show the differences between Molly's group of Runaways, and these other children who are their own group of deliquents. Beautiful artwork from Alphona, as usual! Grade: B+

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

For some reason, it seems that the Danish Mohammed cartoons are making their way into comic book circles. Joe Sacco and Art Spiegelman both weigh in on the cartoons (http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060306/interview), mostly sensibly and without too many surprises. Meanwhile, Warren Ellis titles a blog post with "Colleen Wants Your Danish Goodies (http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=1864)" to highlight artist Colleen Doran's challenge for the New York Comic-Con this week -- bring something related to Denmark and she'll give you a doodle (not of Mohammed) and pay $1 to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. It only takes 'till post 2 for someone to be a dweeb and then 2 more for someone to hit on Colleen digitally. Some days, I despair for comics fandom.

Doran worked with Neil Gaiman on a few Sandman issues (after which she promised that she'd break George Pratt's fingers if he ever came close to her pencils again). Presumably, those issues will show up in a volume of Absolute Sandman, which Neil Gaiman talked about last Thursday (http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2006/02/nature-of-change.html) and which I only just remembered to link to now because, you know, it's about comic books. Duh :o.

Neil has definitely been disassociated from comic books lately, but one guy who will never have that association broken is Stan Lee, who just got interviewed by SciFi.com (http://www.scifi.com/sfw/interviews/sfw2685.html) about being a LIVING legend. As an aside, I also just saw Lee on PBS in an episode of Nature (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/spiderhunter/index.html), of all places, talking to a guy who's a real spider nerd. It was pretty neat, though.

Finally, we get two previews. One is for I (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6704)Am Sparticus (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6704) from Cellar Door Publishing (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6704), which tells us that Big Companies are Bad and super-powered homeless people are not to be messed with. Still, the writer sounds interesting enough and the preview pages are certainly striking in a Ben Templesmith kind of way. The other preview is for Brian Wood and Toby Cypress' The Tourist (http://www.newsarama.com/ImageComics/Tourist/TouristPre.htm), originally coming from AiT/PlanetLar and now coming from Image, about a former Green Beret involved in drugs, oil, and probably one of those Big Companies that are Bad. Both books are available for pre-order now, and if you want either one, you better ask your shop to pre-order it for you just to be sure.

Surprise! Today's BPoL Review is for something that actually came out last week: G.I. Joe Special Missions Manhattan (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/details.php?id=1133) (click the link for a preview). I have many fond memories of growing up to Larry Hama's classic G.I. Joe run in the 80's, and while I haven't cared much for the current comics, I flipped through this issue at the shop and decided to give it a shot. I'm pretty glad I did. This isn't anything really deep or heavy, but it's a very solid military thriller in a Tom Clancy vein with a bunch of characters I remember fondly.

The book gets three stories. The first is by B. Clay Moore and Jeremy Haun, and follows a 5-man team of Joe reservists tackling a Cobra bio weapons factory in the middle of New York City (OK, fine, it's 4-men plus Cover Girl, but she'd totally kick my ass if I didn't treat her as equal to the guys). Moore and Haun keep the story cracking along, with the same blend of action and humor that kept me coming back to Hama's Joe comics when I was a teen. What I find most remarkable is how the pair manage to impart separate and distinct identities for all 5 members of the team, in both visual and character senses. It was a fun way to catch up with some old friends, and goes a long long way to make up for Moore and Haun's totally misguided Battle Hymn (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=2061649&postcount=5).

The second story follows a former Joe and a former Cobra, which works pretty well as a very short thriller, but would probably have more impact if I knew who either of these people were. The last story is an amusing little throwaway involving Shipwreck's parrot leading a team of Joe animals against their Cobra counterparts. The gag runs for exactly the length it can last. The stories are separated by dossiers on the characters involved, which is a nice touch and a great way for people to either get to know or catch up with the characters. All in all, it's a classy, high-quality product.

Last note: you may want to brace yourselves. My local library got the Identity Crisis HC in, so I've finally read the thing, and am planning a longer-form review of it soon. While it isn't as bad as you might think, it ain't gonna be pretty.

-- Ed/Ace

[randomguy]

As an aside, I also just saw Lee on PBS in an episode of Nature (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/spiderhunter/index.html), of all places, talking to a guy who's a real spider nerd. It was pretty neat, though.I saw that episode too. It seemed to be focused on comparing Spider-Man's powers to those of real spiders, including places where they overlap, powers Spider-Man has but real spiders don't, and some abilities that some spiders possess (like spraying acid) but Spider-Man doesn't. It was a fun little special.

Okay, quick, all-Marvel reviews this week:

New Avengers #16: SHIELD discovers a new threat in Canada, eh?, while the New Avengers... well, they don't actually appear in the book. Anyhow, this is lame to the tune of eight dialogue-less splash pages, which is absolutely inexcusable. At that point I don't even care much about the rest... although the rest isn't very good either. The worst issue of the title yet, and it doesn't bode well for this upcoming arc. Grade: F

She-Hulk #5: She-Hulk helps the Two-Gun Kid get familiar with the 21st century while Awesome Andy has a bit of a crush on someone. Hilarious and sweet issue that balances depth of continuity with accessibility, a great and unexpected cameo in the end, and some great character work on Andy and Pug. I say this pretty much every month, but best issue of volume 2 yet. Keep 'em coming, Dan Slott. On the downside, this is Juan Bobillo's last issue. I'll miss his eccentric and refreshing style. Grade: A

Runaways #13: Molly is seperated from the rest of the group and has a Power Pack-esque adventure. It's a standalone story (a first for this book) and Vaughan knocks it out of the park with great characterization and a powerful ending. Good little read, if too brief (like most of Vaughan's work). Grade: A

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

So I'm not the only one who saw Stan Lee on Nature. My favorite bit was when the host talked about how incredibly deadly this one particular breed of spider was, and then said, "Now I'm going to try and get it to strike." I tell ya, those nature show dudes nowadays gotta have a death wish or something.

Speaking of science, let's kick off today's BPoL with the Comic Book Science link today: scientists want to give us X-Ray Vision (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2047274,00.html). It's not as cool as it sounds, though -- apparently, their tactic is to make the buildings transparent. No surreptitious ogling that cutie in his/her underwear.

While I'm at it, there was also an interesting story in today's Science Times asking why ice is slippery (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/science/21ice.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) (registration required, visit bugmenot.com (http://www.bugmenot.com/) for a login). It's not really a Comic Book Science link, but heck, there's superheroes who use ice a lot, right? Pretend its about one of them.

The last science link is about autism research, and a comic raising money for it (http://popcultureshock.com/features.php?id=1305). Plus, it has cute robots in it. How can you go wrong?

From the sciences, we whip over to the arts -- philosophy, to be specific. Action philosophy to be even more specific. This weekend at the New York Comic Con, Ryan Dunlavey and Fred Van Lente will be debuting Action Philosophers T-shirts, and Ryan just posted a pic on his forum (http://www.eviltwincomics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34&sid=f1b39b00fef9182b07e6a94e3855b1c8). You know I'm all over that.

I haven't confirmed that this is legit yet, but it seems Marvel may be doing a survey on what you'd like to see in a downloadable comics (http://www.snap-surveys.com/marveldigitalcomics/)service. Watch this space for more info on whether it's real or not -- you could win $500 of Marvel Stuff if you take it, though.

Of course, there's downloadable comics the old fashioned way -- in 4-page preview increments, just like the ones Mile High has for comics hitting stands tomorrow (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/firstlook022206.html).

And speaking of comics on your computer, someone just put together a nice little widget (http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/games/icosicomicsonsale.html) that will link up to the Diamond shipping list for the week, so you can see covers of what's shipping. PC users are out of luck, though -- this is for Mac OS X's Dashboard functionality. Finally, I have a reason to upgrade to Tiger.

And it's not tigers, but lions that we get on Rafael Kayanan's weblog (http://rafaelkayanan.blogstream.com/). He gets a link here because his day job is teaching knife fighting to Hollywood stars. I think I know who I want to draw Conan if Cary Nord ever leaves the title.

And finally, the up-and-coming artist at Newsarama.com this week (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=60219) is Michael May, who gets a link simply for creating a vampiric bovine named the Cownt who is, inexplicably, male.

No review tonight -- something on TV I wanna watch. This is also why the link commentary is slightly abridged.

-- Ed/Ace