Jen picks ’em …
By JENNIFER KING
Mockingbird #1, Marvel Comics. I start most books from the Big Two nowadays with a very critical eye. I’m tired of books with no plot and all about bridging pages between fight scenes. I need good writing, for goodness sake. Is that too much to ask for?
Then a gem like Mockingbird #1 comes around. Thank you Chelsea Cain! This is a puzzle of a story that’s going to be laid out over four issues. So many funny things to see on the pages and hints all over the place. Mockingbird, aka Barbara Morse, is subjected to frequent medical exams at the whim of SHIELD and her file includes … a sarcasm chart. They’re watching carefully for any new abilities caused by her exposure to both the Super Soldier serum and the Infinity Formula. Should they be worried? Probably.
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Disney Princess #1 Joe Books. I don’t like talking ill about a comic if I can help it, but I could only make it through a couple of pages of this. It’s probably because I’m not its target audience or maybe it’s that I hate comics that are laid out so that you have to read the book sideways.
This book is a gathering of short, one-line comics, similar to the Sunday paper, mixed with longer multi-panel stories. The art is gorgeous and younger girls will probably love this book.
Some advice to the books creators, though: Please help us sell this book by laying it out like a regular comic. Kids have a hard enough time reading and this layout will result in lots of accidentally torn pages.
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Samurai: The Isle With No Name #1, Titan Comics. Oh my goodness! The art! Frederic Genet kills it in this first issue. Gorgeous and rich with amazing details, this book is a feast for the eyes. Takeo is on a quest to find his brother and arrives on the Isle With No Name at a very tense time. The Yakuza have come to collect a yearly tithe from the villagers — which they have spent on a champion instead. If this champion can best the Yakuza’s man, then the villagers no longer have to pay the bribe. Will all of this drama get in the way of Takeo’s quest? Most definitely.
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InSEXts #4 AfterShock Comics. I must be a sucker for art this week, because this issue hits all of my buttons in the visuals department. Ariela Kristantina really knows her stuff and colorist Bryan Valenza brings it to vibrant life. Lady Bertram and Mariah continue to hunt the Butcher. There’s love-triangle drama too and before it’s all over, I’m pretty sure many hearts (and bodies) will be broken. One point: The sex scenes now feel forced into the narrative and I continue to struggle with who to recommend this comic to. It seems laser focused on a certain customer and therefore narrows the appeal.
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Baker Street Peculiars #1, Kaboom! Perfectly aimed at the 8-14 crowd, this book follows a street urchin, Rajani, an upper-class boarding-school student, Humphrey (and his dog) and sweet girl Molly as they try to figure out the mystery of a statue that has come to life and is terrorizing London streets. They meet a mysterious character (Sherlock Holmes?) and become “his” assistants. Mysteries abound. There is a great little preview of Goldie Vance (a Boom! Box title, releasing in April) in the back of this issue. It looks like a fun tale that takes place inside a big hotel.
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Also this week:
Mars Attacks: Occupation #1, IDW. Years after Mars has taken over Earth, our main character, Ruby Johnson, dreams of fighting back. It all seems hopeless, as some humans are now collaborating with the Martians, helping enslave the human race and building a new Martian city on Earth. A great read.
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Haunted Mansion #1, Marvel Comics. Fans of the ride will recognize many of the locations and art. In the mansion there is great evil — and also ghosts who are just looking for a peaceful place to pass eternity. The peaceful ghosts enlist the help of a young man to rid the mansion of its evil inhabitants.
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Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 DC/IDW. Another strong showing from DC and IDW in this crossover event. The turtles are desperate to find a way to keep their powers and mutations, and need help — which arrives through the portal (I wont spoil this, as it’s awesome) only to have everything go wrong again. Grab a copy of this because it sells out very quickly.
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The Infinity Entity #1, Marvel. Glad to have Jim Starlin at the writing helm of this book. Adam Warlock has been stripped of his memory, having being reborn into our reality with the help of Thanos. He’s jumping through time, trying to figure out his purpose and identity and has some interesting interactions with the original Avengers team. Is Adam this reality’s only hope against Annihilus? I guess we’ll find out.
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Jen King owns Space Cadets Collection Collection, a comics shop in Oak Ridge North, Texas.
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