9

Aug

2012

Take It Or Leave It – August 8th 2012

Posted By on Thursday August 9, 2012 at 11:44 am
To Take It Or Leave It

Idolized 1 regular cover

This is the first of of new column, where each week I pick out new comics and tell you if they’re worth the price and you should take them, or if you should just leave them on the shelf. This week I review Idolized #1, Space Punisher #2, Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch, and Superman Family Adventures #3.
.

Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch
 
I picked this up because it’s from Evan Dorkin, writer of such comedy classics as Milk and Cheese and Dork!, and the best unproduced series ever to air on Adult Swim, Welcome to Eltingville. So I was expecting some kind of lighthearted comedy with a bunch of cute talking animals, based on the cover and his past work. Not even close. There was no comedy at all. In fact, it’s depressing as shit. This one shot contains three stories about a bunch of talking animals, so I was right on that front. But they all live in a town filled with supernatural beings that only they can see. The final story ends with a beagle scared out of his mind because he is the only one who can see that a herd of sheep is really dead, which leads to a haunting final frame of skinless burned zombie sheep. The art is all painted and adds an otherworldy element to it, making it even more dark and disturbing. Unless you want to be totally freaked out, I don’t recommend it.

Verdict: Leave It
Idolized #1
 
I’m a sucker for photo covers, especially ones of hot women. It’s an Aspen book, who has a history with other hot babe books (Aspen, Fathom, Soulfire), so I thought I’d try it. It’s far from an original book. The main protagonist is a young girl with powers who watches her parents die during a supervillain attack because she doesn’t know how to use them yet, and she then dedicates her life to training to use them. So basically a combination of Batman and Spider-Man, with a touch of Inigo Montoya thrown in, but a girl. The basic premise of the book is that she’s trying to get onto an American Idol style show for superheroes, because the winner gets to join a super team, whose main villain is the one who killed her parents, and she wants revenge. Since this is issue #1, it’s all about setup, and it’s hard to judge based just on getting all the pieces in play. There is some potential here, even if it tries too hard to be ‘meta’ just for meta’s sake. I’d give it a few issues before making a decision to see how they play it.

Verdict: Take It (for now)
Superman Family Adventures #3
 

Just look at how cute this is, it’s so freaking adorable! Also, I don’t remember there being a mouse in the Legion of Super Pets. Sure, it’s aimed at children, but it’s the type of children’s story that works on multiple levels, like a PowerPuff Girls or Adventure Time. It’s here where I found all my comedy, it was actually pretty hilarious, and had a bunch of callbacks to other various Superman media. In fact, I loved it so much, I’m thinking of adding it to my regular subscription list.

Verdict: Definitely Take It
Space: Punisher #2 (of 4)
 

It’s exactly what it sounds like. The Punisher. Punishing people. In Space. Apparently it takes place in an alternate universe where the Hulk is some crazy space pirate who rules Venus and the Punisher has a set of laser claws and a wisecracking robot. Seems to be over the top and hyperviolent for the sake of being outrageously in your face, like Ultimatum was (at least so I hear). It has its moments, but I don’t know that I’d pay full price for all four issues of this miniseries.

Verdict: Leave It, Take the trade if it’s cheap
is the proud owner of a life size replica Captain Kirk Chair. He is a hoarder of Comic Books, Transformers, and Star Trek action figures. He attended Space Camp as an adult. He has taken vacations to the closing of the Star Trek Experience and the final night Shuttle launch. He has been known to yell at his television when the kids can't put together the damn statue in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey. When not writing for InsufficientScotty, he is a Software Engineer for a major healthcare communications company.

You can Email or follow on Twitter @NotEnoughScotty or Facebook