Comics

Usagi Yojimbo #145

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Usagi Yojimbo #145Finally my rabbit ronin withdrawal is at an end. Usagi Yojimbo has returned! After three years of the series on hiatus writer/artist Stan Sakai returns to bring us the further adventures of Usagi Yojimbo with with first issue of a new three-issue arc “The Thief and the Kunoichi” which will reunite Usagi with a few familiar faces.

Usagi Yojimbo #145 begins with not one but two different thieves robbing merchant Inoyue’s heavily-guarded compound. The realization that neither is alone in the dead of night creates friction between the two thieves which eventually leads to guards and a nearby wandering ronin getting caught up in the night’s festivities.

Revealing Kitsune to be the less bloodthirsty of the the two thieves, the comic ends with the unmasking of Chizu as the other with Usagi likely being forced to step-in between the two women for the apparently worthless scroll that led to the night’s events unraveling. It’s good to see Usagi back in action, and entangled in another of Kitsune’s messes, once more. Best of the Week.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]

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Astro City #23

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Astro City #23In the first half of a two-issue storyline Astro City writer Kurt Busiek and artist Brent Anderson put their own spin on DC’s Gorilla City with the introduction of a talking ape from a hidden city filled with intelligent talking apes who arrives in Astro City with plans on becoming a drummer but quickly learns why that may be problematic and that he may have more potential as a hero.

As a fan of the Silver and Modern age Flash comics I’ve always loved Gorilla City and it’s fun to see Busiek and Anderson come up with their own version of bizarre world set not in the jungles of Africa but in an impossible jungle climate hidden away in the middle of the Antarctic.

As is true with almost all of the comic’s best storylines, Astro City #23 leaves the reader wanting more of the central character’s story and Sticks’ adventures in his new home. Thankfully we will be getting at least one more issue with the simian hero/drummer, but from what we’re given here I’m hoping that won’t be all we see from the character for the foreseeable future. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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Samurai Jack #19

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Samurai Jack #19In another single-issue adventure, and one of the goofier adventures of Jack in his current IDW comic series, Samurai Jack is hired by the Canine Archaeologists who need the samurai’s help with the haunted tomb of the world’s first talking dog.

It’s fun to see the comic bring back Sir Drifus Alexander, Sir Angus Mcduffy, and Sir Colin Bartholomew Montgomery Rothchild III and pair the intrepid archaeologists with our hero for a adventure involving an unearthed tomb and a ghost who, like all dogs, just needed a bit of love and attention to stop acting out and driving all of his descendants crazy.

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Convergence: Harley Quinn #2

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Convergence: Harley Quinn #2 (of 2)In the most bizarre Convergence tie-in issue yet Convergence: Harley Quinn #2 pits the pre-New version of the Joker’s sidekick against the leader of the Zoo Crew. That’s right, it’s Harley Quinn vs. Captain Carrot. And it’s kind of brilliant.

Sadly the rest of the Zoo Crew is marginalized to little more than cameos, and those unfamiliar with the pre-New 52 storyline centering around Harley’s attempt at a normal relationship may feel a bit lost with the issue’s B-story, but what Steve Pugh and artist Phil Winslade deliver here feels like a bizarre Warner Bros. cartoon with the homicidal Harley pulling out all the stops to take down a rascally rabbit (including lying to the hero about her super-powers, destroying most of an amusement park, and faking the death of a member of the Zoo Crew).

Convergence: Harley Quinn #2 teases a dangerosly dark New 52-ish twist, but thankfully Pugh and Winslade know their audience and allow the issue not to end on a dark note but with Harley and the Captain sharing a moment of camaraderie together that’s as strange as every other piece of this issue. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

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The Trial of Atomic Robo

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The Trial of Atomic RoboEver since his first appearance in Atomic Robo’s Free Comic Book Day issue back in 2012 Dr. Dinosaur has been my favorite character in Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener’s insane (with genius!) comic book universe. Released as a free digital one-shot, The Trial of Atomic Robo pits Atomic Robo against the pain in his ass once again when the dinosaur attempts to sue in court for the same legal rights Robo has been granted.

Of course with his limited attention span, and the fact that he’s completely insane, it doesn’t take long for Dr. Dinosaur’s case to be thrown out leading the villain to declare Jungle Law and introduce his Omnisaur into the proceedings causing destruction and mass panic. Luckily a heroic science-adventurer is on the scene.

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