Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Cosmic Cooties

Just a quick one today...

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is an absolute hoot.  Moon Girl is 9 year old Lunella Lafayette and Devil Dinosaur is her pet Tyrannosaurus Rex.  Lunella is a child prodigy, super clever and can build just about anything.  She is exposed to the Terrigen Cloud which turns her into an Inhuman and gives her a superpower, but it's not what she expects and it's not an easy or convenient power.  On top of this, a boy from the Kree homeworld has arrived on earth to capture her.

This is an all ages title and it's such good fun.  The art is superb.  It's cartoony and vibrant and so easy to read.  Cosmic Cooties is the second volume in the series but perfectly easy to jump into.

Credits:
Writers: Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder
Artists: Marco Failla and Natacha Bustos
Colour artist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The other volumes available are:
Volume 1: BFF
Volume 3: The Smartest There Is

Black Lightning: Year One

Writer: Jen Van Meter
Artist: Cully Hamner
Colourist: Laura Martin
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: DC

What's it about?

Metropolis' Southside is a slum. Ignored by police, run by gangs (well, one gang), even Superman doesn't touch the area - he says his powers don't work there, but that's no comfort to the residents. From a once promising upcoming middle class neighbourhood, the place has sunk to the point that the locals and the rest of Metropolis call it Suicide Slum.

Back to this troubled neighbourhood comes Jefferson Pierce, superstar high school principal with a track record of turning around five schools in ten years – and a secret. A year ago, he started having serious nightmares, and at the same time something started manifesting in his body; electricity and sparks that scorched the bedsheets and frightened his wife. They both hoped the return home to his family, and to help the community where he grew up would help to ease these problems.

But Suicide Slum needs more than a new principal for Garfield High School.

This is the story of the origin of Black Lightning. Not how he got his superpowers, that happened off panel and before the events of the book, and aren't even explained. Jefferson Pierce is just in possession of 'metagene' making him the DC equivalent of a mutant, but without the civil rights metaphor. The subject of race relations in this book are completely literal. Instead, it's the story of how Jefferson Pierce learned to use his powers as another way of helping his family and neighbours, at the same time never forgetting his purpose as an inspirational principal.

Northlanders: Sven the Returned

written by Brian Wood
illustrated by Davide Gianfelice
colours by Dave McCaig
letters by Travis Lanham
published by Vertigo 

What's It About?

It is 980 A.D. and the Norseman Sven has returned home to the Orkneys from Constantinople to claim his inheritance. His father is dead but as he enters Grimness Settlement he discovers that his ruthless uncle Gorm has claimed the inheritance for his own.

An outsider and a stranger Sven finds himself alone, fighting a one-man war to reclaim what is rightfully his and return to Constantinople with its warm, wealth and exotic women before the past he escaped long ago kills him. 

All Star Superman

  

Today's review is brought to you by guest blogger naswho, who describes himself thusly: Student. Writer. Tutor. My role model is a fictional character, just like Yours. If you're reading this, you're reading my mind.

You can find Nas on twitter, here.

All Star Superman

Writer: Grant Morrison
Art: Frank Quitely
Colourist and Inker: Jamie Grant
Letterer: Phil Balsam and Travis Lanham
Publisher: DC Comics

What's it about?
The Superman myth is a well known and popular aspect of modern comic culture. He’s the granddaddy of all superheroes, and is constantly being reinterpreted by writers and artists of various eras to suit the times. All Star Superman is writer Grant Morrison’s attempt to tell a timeless Superman story, one that exists within a continuity he’s created from across the varied eras of Superman’s publishing history and is both easily accessible to new readers and rewarding for anyone who already loves the Man of Steel. 

I usually end up describing it as “What if Superman were God, except cooler?”

The basic thrust of the plot is that Superman, after rescuing scientist Leo Quintum from a failed mission to land on the sun, finds himself overloaded with solar energy. He’s reached the peak of his potential in his current form and is now dying. With only a year to go, the Man of Tomorrow sets out to try and save the world one last time, completing the adventures that will become known as his 12 Labors in the far future, and come face to face one final time with his archenemy, Lex Luthor.

The story’s a whimsical homage to every era of Superman, with a hefty dose of Silver Age charm and excitement thrown in for good measure.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold - The Fearsome Fangs Strike Again!

Writer: J Torres and Landry Walker
Pencils: J. Bone, Carlo Barberi and Eric Jones
Inks: J.Bone, Terry Beatty and Eric Jones
Colorist: Heroic Age
Letters: Travis Lanham, Pat Brosseau and Rob Clark Jr
Publisher: DC 

What's it about?
This is a Batman team up book for younger readers.  Based on the long running Brave and the Bold cartoon, the trade contains 6 issues, each of which sees Batman teaming up with another hero or group of heroes.

In this book Batman works with the Doom Patrol (a group of heroes who have had bizarre accidents leaving them with strange powers), Green Arrow (archer extraordinaire), The Great Ten (China's equivalent of the Justice League of America), Catman (a new character with similar skills to Batman), The Atom (able to shrink himself to fight crime), the Huntress (mafia daughter fighting for justice) and Adam Strange and Alanna (sci-fi adventurers).

They encounter yetis, tentacled many-eyed space octopus's, the moon gang, mis-named unbeatable nightmare mutants, deadly ninja and a force comprised of universe destroying anti matter.

Secret Six - 6 Degrees of Devastation

Writer: Gail Simone
Penciller: Brad Walker
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colourist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: DC Comics

What's it about?
"Take half a dirty dozen...and you get the Secret Six"
Six villains in the DC Universe have ostracised themselves from the greater community.  In so doing, they've made rather a lot of powerful enemies.  Does this bother them? Not in the slightest.  They know their skills, they know they can fight and they won't go down easily.

The book starts with the team carrying out a hit contract which takes them to the concentration camps of North Korea (in all their twisted nature), but soon changes to become a violent mystery story as each member of the team finds themselves attacked and then strive to discover who is behind it all.  Betrayal, passion and fights ensue.

Terra

Story: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
Pencils: Amanda Connor
Colourist: Paul Mounts
Inks: Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: DC Comics

What's it about?
This trade collects Supergirl issue #12, featuring this Terra's first appearance, and the four issue Terra miniseries released in 2008/2009.  This collection serves as an introduction to the latest character to the Terra name.

This is the third character to be named Terra, all have powers over rock and earth.  As an introductory volume, we learn more about who this Terra is, where she comes from and what her relationship to the previous Terra's is.  She comes up against a power hungry bad guy who has been turned to diamond by a mysterious pool located near the middle of the earth, fights all manner of monsters from beneath the earth's crust such as lava creatures, and makes friends with certain surface dwelling superheroes.  It's basically a get to know you volume.