Quick Super-Hero Comic Reviews

Power Pack #1
by Marc Sumerak, Gurihiru, & Chris Eliopoulos
I have previously declared my love for Power Pack, so I may not be the most objective reviewer here, but this was a very fine first issue of an all-ages comic, one that met my high expectations. Katie, the youngest, has written and drawn an essay on "My Best Summer Ever," which tells the secret origin of Power Pack, and the rest of the kids have to convince her to not turn it in as her assignment at at school. Oh yes, and they have to fight a young snark too. Sumerak's story hits every note just right, and the manga-tinged art by Gurihiru is wonderful and filled with vibrant colors. The bonus back-up story (and it is a bonus, being five extra pages on top of the main story's twenty-two) features honorary Packer and Fantastic Son Franklin Richards, with Eliopoulos doing a riff on Calvin & Hobbes. This whole package is just a fun, charming comic book; buy one for the kids, and another for yourself.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)


Seven Soldiers: Zatana #1
by Grant Morrison, Ryan Sook & Mick Gray
Zatanna by Morrison & Sook? I was sold on this as soon as it was announced, and it's just as good as I'd hoped it would be. Everyone's favorite fishnet-wearing magician has been having a tough time of it lately and has turned to a super-hero support group to deal with her self-esteem issues. I like how Morrison characterizes Z as a woman who is not quite at home as a magician or a super-hero (though maybe her self-esteem would be better if she wasn't always dressing up in fetish clothing...) Once again Morrison manages to quickly introduce us to several new characters, and he and Sook give us a wonderfully creepy Baron Winters as well. There are references to a lot of Alan Moore here, including the finale of "American Gothic" and a riff on Promethea (apt, with inker Gray along), but they never overwhelm the story. Sook turns in some great art, though at times Gray's inking is so strong that it threatens to overwhelm. This is my favorite so far of the Seven Soldiers series; the only bad thing is that we have to wait two months for the next issue.
Rating: 4 (of 5)


Superman/Batman #18
by Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco & Jesús Merino
Okay, so this whole "Absolute Power" story has been just one continuity riff after the other, but darn if I didn't turn into a gibbering fanboy when a certain super-group showed up near the end. If you look at it too closely, the whole story doens't really make one lick of sense, but I was having too much fun to care, and Pacheco & Merino sure to draw some pretty art (although, given the delays on this book, I worry about the schedule for the upcoming Green Lantern series...) A big fanboy geek-fest is Superman/Batman, but sometimes we old fanboys need to geek out.
Rating: 3 (of 5)

Luna-tics?

Newsarama have an interview with Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir regarding their new manga-esque series from Seven Seas, Amazing Agent Luna.

I reviewed Amazing Agent Luna earlier this week, and found it to be quite enjoyable. I suspect that it may be a tough sell to people though, as manga fans will consider anything produced domestically to be 'not real manga', and super-hero fans won't go near it because it looks too much like manga (art comix fans, of course, would never even deign to go near it...) But I do wish that people would give this all-ages book a try; it's some of the best work I've read from DeFilippis & Weir (much better than their New X-Men - Academy X) and the art by Carmela "Shiei" Doneza is very good too. You can read a preview at the Seven Seas Website. I encourage you to give it a try and see if it's to your liking.

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

Finishing off our salute to National Library Week, we have what is perhaps the greatest comic book cover ever. From 1956, Gil Kane & Bernard Sachs draw the cover for Otto Binder's story "Secret of the Man-Ape" in Strange Adventures #75. Who is this ape? Why does he need those three books? And doesn't he know that the reference librarian will help him fulfill his information needs without having to brandish a gun?

In fact, this cover is so great that it was recreated by Nick Cardy in 1973 for the cover of From Beyond the Unknown #23, wherein the story was reprinted.

(standard disclaimer about apes not really being monkeys applies)

Image is courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

YAFL: Week 11 Results

Here are the results from week 11 of Yet Another Fantasy League:



Inferior 5 plus 6 60
Kickers Inc. 61

Nine Pound Hammers 69
The Inferior Five 65

Danger Limited 52
www.rickgebhardt.net 64

Secret Six 72
Moon Knights 80

The Maxx Squad 70
B.P.R.D. 67

Tomorrow Syndicate 80
Power Pack 65


Current Standings:

Team                 W-L-T  Pct   Pts  Streak
-------------------  -----  ----  ---  ------
*1.B.P.R.D.             8-3-0  .727  729  L-1
*2.Power Pack           8-3-0  .727  702  L-1
3.Kickers Inc.         7-4-0  .636  653  W-1
4.Nine Pound Hammers   7-4-0  .636  642  W-3
5.Inferior 5 plus 6    6-5-0  .545  715  L-5
6.www.rickgebhardt.net 6-5-0  .545  543  W-4
7.Secret Six           5-6-0  .455  715  L-2
8.Tomorrow Syndicate   5-6-0  .455  681  W-1
9.Danger Limited       4-7-0  .364  670  L-1
10.The Maxx Squad       4-7-0  .364  588  W-2
11.The Inferior Five    3-8-0  .273  556  L-3
12.Moon Knights         3-8-0  .273  552  W-1

Week 12 Games:
(Remember: games start on Thursday this week!)

The Inferior Five (3-8-0)
vs.
Kickers Inc. (7-4-0)

Nine Pound Hammers (7-4-0)
vs.
www.rickgebhardt.net (6-5-0)

Danger Limited (4-7-0)
vs.
Moon Knights (3-8-0)

Secret Six (5-6-0)
vs.
B.P.R.D. (8-3-0)

The Maxx Squad (4-7-0)
vs.
Power Pack (8-3-0)

Inferior 5 plus 6 (6-5-0)
vs.
Tomorrow Syndicate (5-6-0)


Good luck to all!


In my other Fantasy Leagues, I lost--again, no big suprise--64-36 in my friends & family league (3-8-1, still seventh place); scored a solid 63-42 win in my public league (6-5-0, moved up to sixth place); and scored a sad 239.95 points in my Pass & Kick league, which dropped me to fifth place (I was winning this league at one time...) In Fantasy Basketball I went 3-3-2 and stayed in seventh place (9-13-2 overall).

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

From 1953, here's Atlas's The Monkey and the Bear #1, with a cover by Howie Post.


Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

SNAP! Day 4: Anthologies

Continuing my long-delayed look at the things I picked up at SNAP! last month. This time out I'm focusing on the various anthologies. Of course, as with many anthologies, there's a wide range of styles and subject matter covered in these, and chances are that not all stories in each of these will be to all tastes. But that's one of the thigns that makes comics so great--the variety. Right?


Turtleneck Boy is the brainchild of mini-comics creator Suzanne Baumann. She created the blank slate character, and invites other creators to contribute stories about him. I picked up #5, which includes a four-page a Pam Bliss story, and a cover by Paul Sizer.


Yes, you're seeing that right, the price on Pop Art Funnies #3 is just 15 cents for a full-sized 32-page comic (black & white with color cover). It's the project of Martin Hirchak, who draws the lead story in each issue (and sometimes other stories too) and then gets area cartoonists (like Sean Bieri & Matt Feazell, among others) to contribute shorter stories to fill out the book. Issue #4 was 25 cents, and issue #5 was 50 cents. But even at that rate of increase it'll still be a bargain for a while.


At $6.95 Potlach Project #4 is more expensive, but it's also 108 black and white pages on sturdy paper stock, so it's a good deal too. It's from Angry Dog Press, a Maryland outfit, so presumably most of the artists here aren't local to Michigan, but there's still some interesting stuff to be found here.


The most interesting anthology has to be Empty Pockets from The Wooden Book Press. All of the contributors to this 250-page black & white anthology were students in Phoebe Gloeckner's narrative art courses from Fall 2004 & Winter 2005. Not only are these stories the first published work for these artists, for many it's the first comic work that they've ever done. Tastes will vary of course, and some stories are stronger than others, but it's on the whole impressive. At $19.95 it's not cheap, but worth it I think for a peek into what just might be the next generation of cartoonists.

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover.

Tarzan rescues Boy from strange apes in The Caverns of Kor on the 1961 cover of Tarzan #129, painted by George Wilson.

(Standard disclaimer about rock- and club-wielding apes not really being monkeys applies.)

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.