Spider-Man and Power Pack #2

December 3, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Sands of Time (The New Kid Part 2)
Rating: All Ages

The newest member of Power Pack – Spider-Man?

Writer: Marc Sumerak
Art: Gurihiru
Mini-Marvels Art: Chris Giarrusso
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Nathan Cosby
Cover Art: Gurihiru
Publisher: Marvel Comics

I really love the fact that Marvel publishes books like this. There aren’t enough good comics out there that can appeal to young readers, and this is one of the best on the market. Last issue, Spider-Man and the Vulture got dunked in some sort of comic book-y goo that reduced their ages. In the Vulture’s case, he becomes a young man again, but Spider-Man is reduced to childhood. He turns to the only superheroes who can help him (without making fun of him) – the kid heroes of Power Pack.

It’s really a lot of fun to watch Spider-Man palling around with the kids, and the scene where Julie tries to redesign his costume is hysterical. The final battle, a beachfront slugfest with Sandman, is a real blast. Much of the time Sumerak tries to work in a moral to his stories, but this one is just pure fun. Gurihiru’s artwork is also exceptional. There’s a slight “Manga” flavor to it, but not so much as to be off-putting to readers who may be tired of its dominance.

Following up the main sort is part two of “Civil Wards,” a Mini-Marvels Event. As Spider-Man (the kid) is hired to babysite the Power Pack (as babies), he turns to a nearby park to keep them occupied – but danger is only a sandbox away. I absolutely love the Mini-Marvels, and I’m really happy that Marvel is giving them another shot here in the pages of Power Pack.

This book is pure fun, something that will be great for kids but also works as a nice treat for grown-up fans of the characters. Definitely recommended.

Rating: 8/10

Zombie Highway: Directionless #1

September 28, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Directionless

Can you survive a plague of zombies?

Writer: Jason Pell
Art: Juan Romera & Dan Lauer
Letters: Jason Arthur & Trebor
Editor: Jeremy Wilson
Cover Art: Juan Romera, Robt. Snyder & Ed Dukeshire
Publisher: Digital Webbing

Digital Webbing’s Zombie Highway is by no means the only zombie comic book fighting for your dollar these days. The Walking Dead is huge, Marvel Zombies is a juggernaut, and it seems like a dozen more tomes of the undead are solicited every month. Even comics like Welcome to Tranquility and Shadowpact are doing zombie stories these days. What makes Zombie Highway unique, I think, is its cast – we’re following the guys who caused the outbreak.

But for the Directionless one-shot, that doesn’t really matter all that much. The main cast is really only incidental to the story. Instead, we follow a new character that encounters the boys and has to try to survive with them in a zombie world. What makes this book unusual is the format – this comic is done in the style of the old Choose Your Own Adventure books, where every few pages you – as the character – are presented with a choice. If you make Choice A, go to page 12. Choice B, go to page 20. The story continues.

As a Choose Your Own Adventure, this book doesn’t quite hold up. What made those books work was the wild way the story would weave in and out of itself, how every choice brought you to another myriad of possibilities. This book doesn’t really give you that – you’re presented with a choice four times, and each time making the wrong choice leads you promptly to the character’s death. This isn’t really a fault of the creators, but of the format. To do a proper Choose Your Own Adventure, you need a lot more than just 33 pages of story. A Choose Your Own Adventure comic doesn’t really work – to do it up right, you’d need a full-blown graphic novel of at least 100 pages, preferably more.

Still, it’s a noble effort on the part of the creators. There isn’t nearly enough experimentation in comic books these days. The medium is capable of so much more than it does, and this is a fine attempt to reach out and accomplish new things. A for inspiration, B for execution.

Rating: 7/10

Flash (1987 Series) #207

February 23, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Rush Hour

Linda Park-West is gone, but the Rogues are back… and they brought Howard Porter with them!

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils:Howard Porter
Inks: Livesay
Colors: James Sinclair
Letters: Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Cover Art: Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald
Publisher: DC Comics

A few years after he left JLA, following a brief stopover with the Fantastic Four, Howard Porter has come home to roost in the DC Universe. Adding him to one of the best superhero writers in comics, together with one of the best characters in spandex, makes this a book anyone who digs superheroes should read.

Last issue the Flash revealed to his wife how the Spectre wiped the secret of his identity from the world. This issue he’s got to deal with her departure in the middle of a celebration in his honor It doesn’t get any easier when his nastiest enemies, the Rogues Gallery, come back to welcome him. Geoff Johns has owned this title for the past few years (and Mark Waid did not give him an easy act to follow) and this issue serves both as a recap of the last story arc for anyone who came in late and a setup for the next, brighter stage in the life of our hero. He really gives Wally West his own identity here, comparing him to the big trinity of the DC universe and showing what makes him a truly unique hero compared to those more iconic characters. He also works in a nod to the Flash’s recent guest appearance in Wonder Woman’s title, which may put off people who don’t know what happened in that issue, but fits in very well.

I loved Porter’s Flash when he penciled the adventures of the Justice League, and he hasn’t lost a step. From high-speed scenes to shadowy conclaves of villains, this is a really good looking comic book. Johns and Porter manage to give each Rogue a big, flashy entrance, cluing in new readers as to who these characters are and what they do.

And let’s not forget that fantastic cover by Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald – go ahead and look at it. Moon over it. It’s beautiful.

The Flash has been one of DC’s most consistently entertaining titles for almost 15 years now. Hopefully the boost of a new great artist will finally propel it to the top of the sales racks where it belongs.

Rating: 9/10