Hey Kids! Comics!! 12-29-06

This week was light. I was home on vacation so I didn't go to my usual comic shop where, as a regular customer, I have credit. Visiting a new comic shop is like cheating on your wife - it somehow feels dirty.

Justice #9

I'm enjoying this mini-series mostly due to Alex Ross' amazing art. I suspect that's the case with 90% of the people who buy it, as the story is hardly on the level of Miller's The Dark Knight Returns or even DESTROY!!. I feel kind of ripped off, and naively stupid as well, since this will be released as a collected edition about 10 minutes after the last issue hits the stands for one-tenth the price. I guess I just don't have the patience to wait that long.

Supergirl and The Legion Of Super-heroes #25

This is one of the 3 or 4 pure regular super-hero books I still buy. It's written well and the (interior) art is usually pretty good. A new reader can jump into the current story arc with little difficulty so it's worth checking out if you're in the mood for check-your-brain-at-the-door super-heroics.

Fables: Legends In Exile Trade Paperback #1

Now this is more like it. I missed this book when it initially started a few years ago, and I'm sorry I did. It's the best comic fantasy series I've read since Sandman was in it's prime. I only picked it up because DC recently re-published the first issue as a 25¢ discount book with an introduction by writer Bill Willingham basically asking people to give the book a chance. I did, and I'm glad for it. It was so enjoyable, I went out and bought this, the first collected volume. Next week, I'm going to pick up the rest of the trades. The basic premise is that all the fairy tales and legends from our youth existed for "real" in an alternate dimension, kept alive by the retelling of their tales in our world. They were driven out into our world (the world of "Mundy's" for "mundane") by a mysterious Sauron-like villain who killed or imprisoned those who stayed behind. The survivors now live mostly in NYC and upstate New York in tight-knit, secret communities self-policed and protected by magic. Someday, they hope to return and reconquer their land. This first collection revolves around the murder of Snow White's sister Rose Red and the subsequent investigation by Bigby (i.e.: Big Bad) Wolf, here taking human form. It was so enjoyable, I read it in one sitting. You should, as well. That's it for this week! For more weekly reviews, check out Jared's Blog. Happy New Year!!