Comics

Samurai Jack #20

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Samurai Jack #20Although it has far less of our title character than any other issue of the series, Samurai Jack #20 is a fitting end to IDW’s comic adventures of the time-displaced samurai. Set years in the future, the issue centers not on Jack but a scribe named Mako (in deference to the actor who so brilliantly voiced the Jack’s nemesis in the cartoon) who has spent his life gathering stories of Samurai Jack.

On the eve of Jack’s latest, and largest, assault against Aku, Mako luckily runs into someone that not only has firsthand knowledge of Jack but who can lead him straight to the legendary warrior’s camp not only allowing Mako to hear countless new stories of Jack but also meet the man himself.

…

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Bat-Mite #1

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Bat-Mite #1Created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff way back in 1959, Bat-Mite has given the Dark Knight Detective his share of headaches over the years. An imp from the Fifth Dimension who believes himself to be Batman‘s biggest fan, Bat-Mite is usually more trouble than helpful when he shows up.

The first issue of the new six-issue mini-series sees Bat-Mite banished from the Fifth Dimension to Earth where it’s unclear, other than the power of flight, just how much of his near infinite abilities the character still possesses especially when he’s so easily captured by the villainous Doctor Trauma whose plans the imp ruined while taking the Batmobile for a spin (over a cliff).

I’ve always had a soft spot for Bat-Mite who I remember fondly co-starring on The New Adventures of Batman when I was younger (a show that hasn’t aged as well as I’d like). I have no problem with the character getting his own mini-series but this toned down version without his abilities feels like a shadow of his former self. For fans.

[DC, $2.99]

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Batman Beyond #1

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Batman Beyond #1Spiraling out of the events of Convergence and Future’s End, the new Batman Beyond ongoing series stars Tim Drake trapped in a future where Gotham is the only known city standing after Brother Eye‘s attacks. Picking up the mantle of Batman following the death of Terry McGinnis, Tim Drake begins protecting this new future Gotham which is similar to that of the television show but different in several important ways beyond just the identity of the man behind the cowl.

The truncating of the Bat-Family’s chronology in the New 52 reboot left a glut of former and current Robins all roughly the same age and not enough room for each to operate. Mercifully released from that regrettable Teen Titans title, I would have preferred Drake to have spun off his own book in the present but this at least affords him the opportunity to prove himself in new ways. Drake plus the Batman Beyond Universe, with a more dystopian feel, is an odd mix, but writer Dan Jurgens (at least initially) sells me on the concept while artist Bernard Chang shows he has what it takes for the series’ unique visual look. I’ll be curious to see where things go from here. Worth a look.

[$2.99]

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Star Wars #6

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Star Wars #6The latest issue of Marvel’s main Star Wars offers some surprises along with the first big “Fuck You” to the previously existing Expanded Universe continuity.

In the main storyline a blinded Luke, searching for Obi-Wan‘s journal on Tatooine, faces off against Boba Fett whose been sent by Darth Vader to bring back the pilot responsible for the destruction of the Death Star (whose name the Dark Lord of the Sith finally learns at least bringing an end to that “mystery”). Offering plenty of action while foreshadowing the Jedi that Luke will become, Skywalker survives mainly through dumb luck and trust in the Force.

The issue’s B-story has wide consequences as Han and Leia run into Han Solo’s ex-wife while running from an Imperial patrol in the Outer Rim. Just what exactly Sana Solo‘s role will be going forward is unclear but her introduction begins a likely wide divergence between the decades of Star Wars comics and novels of the past 25 years. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

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Powerpuff Girls: Super Smash-Up! #5

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Powerpuff Girls: Super Smash-Up! #5Realizing the girls need all the help they can get to stop the mutated DeeDee from wreaking havoc across the multiverse, Professor Utonium and Dexter enlist the help of an unlikely ally: Mojo Jojo! That is right. The villain of the Powerpuff Girls is now their partner. He who is Mojo Jojo will help his hated rivals locate the girl that is named DeeDee. Mojo Jojo will save the day! Well… not really.

Of course Mojo inevitably betrays Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttecup to steal the power to move between dimensions for himself and remake it in his own image, but, in a nice twist, the day isn’t saved by the Powerpuff Girls but by DeeDee who uses her unique skill set to foil the monkey’s evil plans.

Much like the Powerpuff Girls title that preceded it, Powerpuff Girls: Super Smash-Up! has proved to be an awful lot of fun (even if not all of the back-up stories were as strong as I’d like). I’m sad to see it come to an end. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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