Sometimes it takes a supervillain to defeat a supervillain

The team goes on two missions, while their leader fights to retain control of her project in New Suicide Squad Volume 1: Pure Insanity.

So the Suicide Squad is doing its crazy thing, but apparently someone's decided that it needs a bit more oversight than it has traditionally had. Enter Victor Sage, a by-the-books kind of guy, designated to lead the Suicide Squad alongside Waller, and keep tabs on their actions.

Understandably, this transition doesn't go so well, but the missions go on.

Initially, the Squad heads into Russia. Sage thinks it's an awesome idea to cause rivalry within the team, in an effort to 'spice things up.' Which goes about as well as can be expected. But they do end up finding out what the Russians have been working on...by running headfirst into it. And we are reminded once again exactly how disposable the Squad members are.

Later, what's left of the team picks up a few replacement members and heads off to China. While the brainwashed ninja man-bats distract the guards at a secured facility, and Reverse Flash sets up enough bombs to blow the place sky-high, Black Manta and Harley check out what exactly is going on there.

Looks like China's working on the supervillain threat as well. With similarly astonishing results.

There's a lot going on in this book. With the ever-revolving team members, who by definition don't play well with authority, there's going to be power struggles. Black Manta can only do so much as an on-site team leader, when it's a crapshoot whether he can get anyone to actually listen to him. Waller understands this, but it's hard to make an outsider understand what allowances have to be made for such an...eclectic team.

I also have to make the standard objection to how they've changed Waller's looks. Not every important female has to be slim and pretty. It was nice to see a woman in power who had better things to worry about than her diet, but alas, that's once again gone to the wayside.

In all, New Suicide Squad Volume 1: Pure Insanity is a pretty decent jumping-off point for new fans to the franchise. Fans who have come to it from the Arrow TV show references have enough touchstones with Deadshot and Deathstroke to not be too lost, while still building towards what will probably be future storylines.

Highs: Both the Russian and Chinese approaches to the supervillain threat are fascinating, and I hope future stories go into these further.

Lows: Between pitting the two female Squad members against each other, and Waller's 'makeover,' this isn't exactly the most feminist-friendly book out there.

Verdict: While not a perfect comic by any means, New Suicide Squad Volume 1: Pure Insanity still has lots going for it.

Further Reading: Arkham Manor, Gotham Academy, Ms. Marvel Volume1: No Normal

Ms. Marvel gets a serious case of the fangirls

As it turns out, a new superhero stretching her legs in Jersey City attracts a bit of attention from other heroes, as Kamala realizes in Ms. Marvel Volume 2: Generation Why.

Note: Ms. Marvel Volume 2: Generation Why is the second volume in a series. For the review of Volume 1: No Normal, click here. Otherwise, read on!

Redemption, loyalty, and a terrible choice

Doctor Stephen Strange is one of those oddball superheroes that the mainstream moviegoer might not have heard of. Trained as a doctor, and once one of the most skilled surgeons in the world, a car accident stole the steadiness of his hands from him. As he searched for a cure for himself, he met Earth's Sorcerer Supreme and apprenticed under him. Now, a slightly more humble man, he uses his new found skills to aid the Avengers in their mission to protect the Earth.

In Doctor Strange: The Oath, we meet Strange in Night Nurse's waiting room. Someone's shot him, but that's not Strange's biggest worry. His assistant, partner and friend Wong is dying, and even Strange is wondering whether he'll be able to save him.

The story goes backwards and forwards in time, showing the reader his arrogance and disregard for the suffering of those around him, the accident that sent Strange down his new path towards sorcery, and more recent events as he's searched for a cure for Wong.

And Strange is so very close to a cure. The elixir that he traveled to another dimension to find is said to 'erase what troubles the mind of man." But what if this doesn't simply cure Wong's tumor? What if it is the cure for everything?

And what if some people don't want everything cured?

Brian K Vaughan is one of the most popular comic writers in recent years, and with good reason. After wrapping up an amazing run with Y: The Last Man, he started his award-winning series Saga. With The Oath, Vaughan brings his amazing characterization and storytelling to a character who has quite a bit of depth to him. The Oath is a wonderful introduction to a character who is Earth's greatest defender against all that the other dimensions can throw at us.

Highs: Night Nurse deserves her own comic, hands down.

Lows: I'm glad how the story eventually resolved, but I wish Strange would eventually grow out of a bit more of his selfishness.

Verdict: The Oath is a great place for new fans to start, especially those wanting to get a feeling for the character before the movie comes out.

Further Reading: Ms. Marvel, Loki: Agent of Asaguard, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers

A new superhero debuts!

Everyone is used to the X-Men addressing issues of alienation and rejection, of feeling like a freak and not fitting in. But there are more ways to not fit in than to be crawling up the walls or calling the weather. 

Nowadays, perhaps one of the most common problems facing teens and their parents is the dilemma of the first-generation American immigrant. As the parents do their best to raise their children in the culture that they themselves grew up in, the kids are torn in a different direction by their peers. Marvel takes this on, with remarkable results, in Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal.

In most ways, Kamala Khan is just a normal teenager growing up in Jersey City. She bickers with her protective parents and older brother, she sneaks out her window to go to parties, and she writes Avengers fanfic. She struggles with blending her Muslim religion with the secular culture of America, and has friends who support her whatever she chooses. She has a pretty decent life, and she knows it.

But while she's out at that illicit party (with BOYS), she's exposed to the Terrigen Mist, and everything changes. Now, she has powers she can't control, a new responsibility to protect those around her, and no idea how to go about it.

And she's grounded.

Ms. Marvel Volume 1 shows us perhaps the most relatable superhero in comics today. G. Willow Wilson brings a fresh perspective to comics, and her empathy shows. Kamala is neither a caricature of a rebellious Muslim girl, nor a perfect daughter. She is a human being, with all the flaws that brings, and the reader loves her all the more for it. Bringing to light social issues without beating the reader over the head with them, and showcasing the most human characters I've read recently in any medium, Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal is a comic with broad appeal.

Highs: Watching Kamala make her costume (with puffy paint!) is absolutely excellent.

Lows: The villains are fairly one-dimensional so far, but there will be plenty of room for them to develop later.

Verdict: This is a comic that no one, even those who aren't as familiar with superheroes in general, should miss.

Further Reading: Alif the Unseen, The Complete Persepolis, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers

Why let a little something like death slow you down?

Gwen Dylan isn't your normal gal. She works as a grave-digger at an all-natural cemetery, for one, which automatically brands her as 'one of the guys.' She's recently cut ties with her past, so she only has a few people that she can truly call her friends.

Oh, and she's a zombie.

In iZombie Volume 1: Dead to the World, Gwen isn't exactly your standard shambling undead. As long as she maintains a steady diet of a brain a month, she keeps her focus and her memory. And so, being the moral sort, she's found herself employment that lets her be around plenty of brains that no one is using anymore.

Honestly, her life is actually pretty normal for being a living dead girl. She lives in a crypt in the cemetery she works at, and has a slightly 'airheaded' ghost for a roommate. Her other friend, Scotty, is a 'thrope' of the terrier variety.

But she still has a couple problems. When she eats a brain, which is by far the most disgusting thing she's ever had to choke down, she is flooded with the fragmented memories of that person's life. Sometimes it includes a bit of unfinished business that the decedent has left behind. Often it includes his final moments, and whether he died under...mysterious circumstances.

It turns out, Gwen isn't the only undead in town either. A pack of vampires has taken up residence at a local paintball course, and while their leader is bright enough not to leave a trail of bodies behind, not all of them are.

And there might be another, less ethical zombie in town as well.

Chris Robertson does a good job setting up a world full of creatures of the night, while still giving us some rules to go by. The characters each have their own personality quirks already, with plenty of room to go. Gwen even has a love interest, of a sort.

It's amazing how full a life a gal can have, even when she's dead.

Highs: Gwen's friends are hilarious, and their antics are sometimes even more fun than the main story.

Lows: The artwork isn't quite what I expect from a Vertigo title, and there's a lot of backstory still missing.

Verdict: iZombie Volume 1: Dead to the World is a fun, quick read with lots of potential for future volumes.

Further Reading: iZombie Volume 2: uVampire, V Wars, World War Z, Soulless: The Manga, The Unwritten

What hunts bats?

For generations, the Wayne family has watched over Gotham City. Both figuratively, from the top of the original Wayne Tower, and literally. One would think that Gotham would be grateful of its protector and philanthropist, and most are. But as always, there is always two ways to view history.

In Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls, we get to learn about the history of the Wayne family in Gotham City. In the 1880s, Alan Wayne built the original Wayne Tower, and designed it in a way that visitors would feel protected by it. Towering over Gotham's Union Station, the gargoyles perched on its upper levels both watch over and welcome the residents of the city.

Bruce's parents were also not the first to die in a tragic way. Alan Wayne's body was found in the sewers after he disappeared. Tragic, but not necessarily unexpected, since he'd been declining mentally for a while. Becoming more and more paranoid about owls, he seemed to be falling farther and farther into his delusions, until one night he fell into a manhole while fleeing from his imaginary tormentors. 

But what if his demons weren't imaginary? What if the owls that he was so sure were stalking him really existed?

What if the owl's nest that a young Bruce Wayne found after the death of his parents wasn't a coincidence?

The speech that Bruce makes near the beginning of the volume encourages Gothamites to look forward; to envision what Gotham City can become, rather than dwell on its past or present. The danger in that, though, is that sometimes the past can come back to haunt you.

Highs: Seeing the entire Batman family come together while Bruce is indisposed shows that Bruce is hardly alone anymore.

Lows: Since I'm not a regular reader of DC superhero comics, it's hard to tell how much of this is new revelations and how much is part of the decades of Batman cannon.

Verdict: A fascinating look into Batman's past, and an ending that demands the next volume be acquired immediately.

Further Reading: Batman Volume 2: The City of Owls, Attack on Titan, The All New Batman: The Brave and the Bold Volume 1

An adorable cat doing adorable things

It's hard work being a kitty, and we get to learn all about it in Clare Belton's I Am Pusheen the Cat.

Pusheen's a very active kitty! Her perfect weekend includes everything from blogging to partying. Unfortunately, she's also a kitty, so her plans end up being mostly a series of naps, but A+ for effort!

She also makes quite the argument for being a cat yourself. Who can turn down free food and free rent? And when you toss in sleeping as long as you want to, I think this whole 'human' thing is totally for the birds.

Pusheen's the kind of cat who doesn't care if she's a little extra fluffy. She'll still eat all the cookie dough before it has a chance to reach the oven, order in pizza when she fails to make it herself, completely fail at her new years' resolution to work out more, and still get all fancied up.

Pusheen's even (relatively) kind to her annoying younger sister Stormy. She might have to share her kibble, and get harassed to play while she's trying to sleep, but they're still best friends in the end.

Like other webcomics, I Am Pusheen the Cat loses a little bit when translated to the printed page. Part of the adorableness of the website is that the gifs are presented as little tidbits of cuteness, and as the book goes on you miss a bit of the surprise. The book doesn't drag on, though, and at 192 pages, the length is just about spot-on. A great book to give as a present, I Am Pusheen the Cat would be great for any cat-lover.

Highs: It's always adorable to watch what a cat thinks its doing, versus what the reality is.

Lows: I wish we'd seen more of Stormy.

Verdict: A great stocking-stuffer or gift card holder present.

Further Reading: Chi's Sweet Home, How to Tell if Your Cat is Trying to Kill You 

Sometimes the story behind the story is even more interesting

"Just a story? Tell that to the Greeks who fought at Troy...Tell the women burned as witches. The Rosenbergs. Sacco and Vanzetti. Tell the martyrs of all the religions and the millions who fell in all the wars since time began. Stories are the only thing worth dying for."

That speech, made by a man consumed by a story, eloquently sums up the beginning of an amazing new series from Vertigo, The Unwritten Volume 1 by Mike Carey, illustrated by Peter Gross. 

Tom Taylor can't help who his father was. Wilson Taylor created the world-wide phenomenon of the Timmy Taylor book series. He completed 13 books centered around this character before his mysterious disappearance, leaving his own son Tommy behind.

Fast-forward a decade or so, and Tom hasn't done all that much with his life. Really, besides money from his father's estate, he mostly just trolls the convention circuit signing his father's books and doing Q&A sessions for fans who have a dubious grasp of reality.

His whole life begins to unravel at London Tommy Con. As Lizzie Hexan brings light to the inconsistencies in Tommy's childhood, more and more of his life stops making sense. Finally, after he survives a kidnapping by a fan (with a little bit of help from Lizzie) he's hailed as a messiah, begged to lay hands on the sick and heal the crippled. And as he continues to track down figures from his childhood, it looks like there are outside forces determined to keep the past firmly in the past.

With a debut including Sandman and Hellblazer, Vertigo has been known from the beginning for bringing high-quality, innovative series to the comic store. With a current lineup including the hit 'Fables' along with this title, Vertigo is continuing this trend today. While this title could go in many different directions, history has shown that it won't lack for quality storytelling.

Highs:  The 'torture porn' version of Tommy Taylor make me giggle out loud.

Lows:  The the switch to the past in the last chapter was a bit jarring.

Verdict:  An extremely promising opening to the series, with some of the best lines about the importance of stories I've ever read.

Further Reading:  Fables, Y - The Last Man

When one of their own goes missing, the Avengers assemble

When the Pet Avengers Throgg leave this plane, they assemble to find their lost comrade in Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed.

Note:  Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed is the sequel to Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers.  The review of Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers is here.  Otherwise, read on!

Dragons have returned, and it takes a village to defeat it

Graphic novels have enjoyed a renaissance as of late.  Once the domain of men wearing capes and tights, comics evolved in the underground comic culture with the likes of Eisner, Spiegelman and Gaiman.  With the introduction of Japanese and Korean comics to chain bookstore shelves, as well as the newer trend of the graphic novel memoir, there are many options for the discerning adult.

But with the explosion of options for adults, there are fewer choice than ever for children who aren't interested in manga.  While there are plenty of shonen and shojo comics out there, many superhero comics are either too dark or too sexualized to hand to a mid-grade child.  The ones based off of the cartoons, likeTeen Titans Go! and The All-New Batman: The Brave and The Bold are still fine, but again, these are of the capes and tights variety.

Jane Yolen is a well-respectd author who has won awards as varied as the Caldecott medal and two Nebulas, as well as a World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement.  If anyone could bring the graphic novel back to children, it would be her, and she does.

The Last Dragon, illustrated by Rebecca Guay, delivers a well paced, dramatic, enchanting story from beginning to end.  A healer with three daughters, called Rosemary, Sage and Tansy after their father's affinity with herbs, disappears one day while he's out gathering.  Just the day before, Tansy found a flower that could only be Dragon's Bane, known for burning any flesh that it touches, and being powerful enough to set fire to dragons.  Legend has it that Dragon's Bane only flowers when there's dragons nearby, but none have been spied here in centuries.  But as more and more large animals, and eventually people, start disappearing, only one conclusion can be made.

Dragons have returned.

As the boys in town go off in search of a hero, the Healer's daughters cope in their own ways as well.  Rosemary, kind but not pretty, starts being approached by suitors who see her father's house and status and want it for themselves.  Sage, pretty but not bright, holds out hope the longest and is the family cheerleader.

Tansy, on the other hand, set to follow in her father's footsteps as a healer, starts researching the folklore about dragons and how to defeat them.  When the boys come back with the most heroic man they can find, perhaps Tansy will make good use of the knowledge she's gathered to help their "hero." 

The story teaches a lot of the lessons that young adult literature tends to teach.  It shows that being heroic isn't the same as not being afraid.  It shows that cleverness can come in just as handy as brawn or a sword.  It shows that a town can come together, each doing what they're able, to face a seemingly unbeatable foe.

But something must also be said about Rebecca Guay's amazing art.  Beautiful, painted scenes set the tone for a classic fairy tale without putting off the younger crowd by being childish.  Tensions is built up by avoiding showing the monster in its entirety until later in the story, and while the panels are wonderfully detailed, it never comes off as too fussy or cluttered.

This is the perfect book for the reader who has grown up with Diana Wynne Jones and Brian Jacques, but might not be ready for Fables.

Highs:  Not every guy telling stories at the tavern qualifies as a bona-fide her, you know.

Lows:  Does every dashing hero have to win a maid's hand?

Verdict:  An amazing addition to young adult literature, and a great bridge from picture books to graphic novels.

Further Reading:  The Prince of Mist, Little (Grrl) Lost

A collection of Batman's more...varied cases

When you pick up a Batman comic, there is a certain cast of characters you expect to see.  He has is traditional line-up of supervillains, such as Joker, Riddler and Two-Face.  And he has the people he generally calls for help, like Zatarra and Black Canary.

But that doesn't mean no one else ever visits Gotham City, or that Batman never travels himself, either.

Welcome to The All New Batman: The Brave and The Bold Volume 1.  Based on the Cartoon Network cartoon series, The Brave and The Bold has Batman team up with some of the heroes we don't see so often, and fight villains who might not be in the same league as Darkseid.

Collecting issues #1-6 of the comic book series, Batman mainly teams up with other heroes we're quite familiar with, but the stories aren't like ones we would generally see in one of Batman's normal comics.

In 'That Holiday Feeling', it's Christmastime in Gotham.  Billy Batson has taken the bus into town with Mister Tawny, but as they step off the bus they see chaos that isn't the usual last-minute shopping bustle.  Psycho-Pirate is broadcasting on all channels, and he's spreading the less cheer-y emotions like despair and greed.  Will Billy and his friends be able to get Batman out of his sulk and save Christmas?

While brooding might be in Batman's nature, marriage certainly isn't.  That's the side of Batman we see, along with Wonder Woman, in 'The Bride and the Bold'.  Eros is disgusted that Diana, instead of spreading love on Earth, has been fighting.  So he sends a few love arrows down to Earth and now our heroes are planning their wedding.  Will they find out where their new-found love really came from before they reach the altar, and what kind of party crashers might show up on the big day?

The heroes that Batman teams up here are generally better-known Justice League members, but the variety comes out in the choice of supervillains they face.  Rarely do Gentleman Ghost or Mouse Man get much print time, but here they get their time in the spotlight once more.

Highs:  Seeing Batman and Martian Manhunter practice their detective skills together

Lows:  I would have liked to have seen more varied superheroes here

Verdict:  A great companion series, suited for all ages, to the cartoon series

Further Reading:  Teen Titans Go!, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers

Who said that superheroes needed to be humaniods?

Superheroes team up all the time.  Marvel has The X-Men and The Avengers.  Likewise, DC generally has a Justice League and a Justice Society active, with revolving rosters of members.  Even the sidekicks occasionally strike out on their own, forming the Teen Titans and Young Justice and the like.  But why should the humanoids be the only ones with friends?  And so, The Pet Avengers was born.

Meet the Pet Avengers!  When Mr. Fantastic goes to the Inhumans  to look for the Infinity Gems, Lockjaw happens to have found the Intelligence Gem.  With his boosted smarts, he decides to go find the Gems for Mr. Fantastic himself.  But he knows that he'll need help, so he goes and finds more Avengers to help him.

Enter Throgg.  Formerly a human, he was turned into a frog by a gypsy and took on the name Puddlegulp.  He found a shard of Thor's hammer, and used it to help defend his colony of frogs from a group of rats.  Taking on the mantle of Thor, and using the name Throg, he is the first animal Lockjaw goes to for help.  Because of the Intelligence Gem, Lockjaw is able to project his thoughts to Throg, who becomes the second-in-command and voice of Lockjaw.

Hairball is another of the more outgoing members of The Pet Avengers.  The pet of Speedball, he too has the power of kinetic energy.  He also has the traditional hatred of dogs (except Lockjaw) that a cat has.  

So, of course, Lockjaw includes the rather...airheaded Ms. Lion.  Ms. Lion means well, but as simply the puppy owned by Peter Parker's aunt May, he doesn't have the intelligence or powers of the rest of the team.  His heart is in the right place, though, and if the intelligence-augmented Lockjaw says that he's needed, he must have a role to play in all this, too.

Along with Kitty Pryde's companion dragon Lockheed and the falcon Redwing, the Pet Avengers head off to find the rest of the Infinity Gems.  They end up travelling to all sorts of places, thanks to Lockjaw's teleportation powers, from the underwater domain of Sub-Mariner to the Savage Lands.  Along the way, in the spirit of team-ups of any species, the learn to appreciate each other and work together as a unit.  It may have started as a novelty, but the Pet Avengers certainly end up deserving their place in the Marvel universe.

Being compressed into a four-issue miniseries, the story of searching out the gems itself gets a bit lost under the banter and character development of our team.  A few points get a bit confusing, but the ride is fun enough to go along with it.  What is almost better is the one-shots that follow, which each deal with a different Pet Avenger on their own.  Watching Throg go back to his colony and see how having a protector has affected them is one of the best issues in the book. 

Following the one-shots is an encyclopedia of Marvel animals.  The reading is a bit dry, but it's certainly a reference that Marvel fans might want to have.  Some entries are more interesting than others, but it's a great place to pick up the little bits of trivia that fans love.

Highs:  Ms. Lion's introduction to the team.  And the clarification of his gender.

Lows:  Without a general idea of who the pets 'belong' to (and the term pet is used rather loosely here), some of the subtext is lost.

Verdict:  A hilarious, fun treat that comes along once in a great while.

Further Reading:  GLA - Great Lakes Avengers #1 (Misassembled)

An outspoken, brazen girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution

Many memoir writers are not terribly good at really being honest with the reader. While writing a memoir should be a reflective exercise, oftentimes the writer simply justifies past actions, rather than admitting when those actions were wrong.

Marjane Satrapi is brutally honest about herself, and this is what helps make The Complete Persepolis an interesting, and important, read.

Marjane was born into a very interesting time and place. Raised in Iran during the Iran/Iraq war, even as a young girl she has had strong opinions and convictions that didn't always match up with the popular opinion. In the first story, when she is now required to wear a veil in the newly conservative school, she needs to come to a decision on her own about what is right and wrong with her relationship to God. While throughout her life how her relationship with God changes and grows, the relationship is always there.

Being an outspoken opinionated female in any Muslim country is a perilous prospect. When the country the girl is in is undergoing a fundamentalist revolution, the situation becomes more dire. In fact, as Marjane becomes older and even more rebellious, her parents arrange for her to live in France. While there, she rebels even more strenuously, even going so far as to move to Amsterdam for a short time.

One of the most painful scenes in the book shows when Marjane points out a random, innocent man on the street to divert the attention of the police off of herself. She absolutely deserves the shaming she receives from her mother when she returned home. In the way of most young adults, she really didn’t think of the consequences her actions might have on that man and his family. It would have been very easy for Satrapi to leave this event out, but putting the story in helps to show the growth and maturity Marjane gains later in the story.

It would be very easy for Marjane to justify her rebellion and bad choices on anything from the Islamic Revolution to bad parenting. However, Marjane takes full responsibility for her decisions. This changes the book from the story of a spoiled, bratty child and young adult, to the story of a woman who looks back at her life with a more experience eye, and has learned from both the good and bad choices she has made.

Persepolis also has a special place in literature as one of the first biographical graphic novel to get both critical and popular acclaim in the US. While the WW II stories Maus and Maus II came out well before Persepolis, the story of Persepolis got more mainstream media attention upon release due to its subject matter, as well as a considerable publisher push and movie tie-in. For many pop lit and book club reader Persepolis was probably the first “comic book” they have read in decades. If the surge in graphic novel memoirs as well as nonfiction graphic novels in general is any indication, Persepolis must have made a good impression.

Highs: Little Marjane's conversations with God

Lows: Watching Marjane rebel against what she still knew was wrong in France and Amsterdam

Verdict: A painfully honest look at the life of an upper-class women during the Islamic Revolution

Futher Reading: The Complete Maus, Pyongyang