Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #20by Peter David, Mike Norton & Norman Lee
Marvel, $2.99
Back to the past when Peter Parker was still in high school, that time when he teamed-up with Hawkeye to fight Frankenstein's Monster at a school Halloween party. MAS-M is the Spidey title for those who like their Spider-Man in the classic mode without a lot of continuity bogging him down (and without that silly Iron Spider costume!)
Rating: 3 (of 5)
Gold Digger Halloween Special #2by Fred Perry & Friends
Antarctic, $2.99
The lead story by Fred is a GD-18 adventure of young Brit & Gina as they start the evening trick-or-treating as a Cylon & Imperious Leader from Classic Battlestar Galactica, and end the night bass fishing. Yeah, bass fishing; you'll just have to read it. The second story by Jessica Moffett has Brit trying on a bunch of cosplay outfits, and might have been more interesting to me if I knew more of the characters she was emulating. The final story by David Hutchinson features his Mischief & Mayhem kids mixing it up with the Peebos during tricks-or-treats. It's rounded out by a variety of pin-ups of varying quality, though Ben Dunn's pic of Gina dressed up as Dr. Who is a winner.
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #12by Kyle Baker, Terry Moore, & Eric Powell
Bongo Comics, $4.99
Part of the fun of these annual ToH specials is seeing how you favorite comic artists interpret the Simpsons. Unfortunately (and a bit surprisingly) neither Baker nor Moore acquit themselves very well. Their stories are okay, but nothing too special. On the plus side Eric Powell's Simpsons look great and his story has the right tone for a ToH segment. Make this year a 1 for 3 then.
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch #79by Tania Del Rio with Jim Amash
Archie, $2.25
Sabrina and her other witch friends learn that on Halloween witches are allowed to use their magic freely in the Mortal Realm, just so long as they don't get caught. They decide to go to a haunted house to have a little fun, but when they get tired of standing in the long admission line Salem convinces them to visit a 'real' haunted house instead. The Four Blades plot takes a backseat this issue, and though it looks like none of the overall plot is advanced, based on reading solicits for future issues I suspect that what Salem discovers inside the haunted house may have implications down the line. Tania Del Rio continues to quietly turn in one of the best OEL manga with each issue.
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
52 week 25by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, Keith Giffen, Joe Bennett, Dale Eaglesham, Phil Jimenez, Pat Olliffe.
DC, $2.50
It's interesting that DC is keeping their weekly 'real-time' series in line with the current time, meaning that if it's Halloween here on Earth Prime it's also Halloween on New Earth. Aside from the wonderful J. G. Jones cover there are only a couple of the scenes taking place during tricks-or-treats in Boston & New York. There's not much here that couldn't have taken place at any other time of year, but the Halloween backdrop adds a nice bit of color. We also get some of the background on why Alan Scott and Michael Holt joined Checkmate, see the Black Adam Family in action, and witness the triumphant return of a classic Wonder Woman villain, whose last-page reveal is a crowd-pleaser.
Rating: 3 (of 5)
