Marvel vs. Marvel

Captain Marvel #6

Carol Danvers is still traveling through time, now with her old idol Helen Cobb reluctantly tagging along. And they’ve just arrived at the event where a battle between a Kree supervillain and the original Mar-Vell ends up giving Carol her own superpowers. Will Helen end up stealing Carol’s powers and taking her place?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Good action, good dialogue, and some seriously freaky time-travel stuff. This is just a grand series — I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am.

Happy #2

Former cop and current hitman Nick Sax is drugged and trapped in a mob hospital while a crew of sadistic torturers close in on him — and his only ally is a tiny blue cartoon pegasus named Happy, the imaginary friend of a little girl who’s been kidnapped by a serial killer. Happy wants Nick to help rescue Hailey, but Nick doesn’t do any favors for anyone, and even Happy’s help during a high-stakes poker game may not convince Nick to help out.

Verdict: Thumbs up. A thoroughly bizarre series so far — part hard-boiled crime thriller, part — well, something with a little blue horsie in it. I don’t really know how to classify it, but it’s good violentastic fun.

Batgirl Annual #1

So we get a big teamup with Batgirl and Catwoman. Selina helps the female Talon from an earlier Batgirl story escape from jail and makes friends with her when she learns she has no family and no friends of her own. When Catwoman delivers her to what’s left of the Court of Owls, they order the cat burglar executed, but Batgirl comes to the rescue. But can either of them handle fighting off not just one, but another half-dozen of the near-unstoppable Talons?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Excellent action and dialogue. Gail Simone loves writing about female heroes, and she manages to fit three absolutely awesome ones in this story. Heck, if Catwoman had been written like this instead of Judd Winick’s useless sexpot, that comic would’ve been more worth reading.

Today’s Cool Links:

• This may be the best Family Circus cartoon ever. Heck, it may be the most purely HEAVY METAL comic strip ever.
• I love movie mashups. Here’s one with every film from the IMDB’s Top 250 movies list.
• This article — about the reporter’s close call with a serial killer 20 years ago — is incredibly powerful storytelling.