GeekMom: Comic Book Corner — April 3rd, 2013

Happy Comic Release Day! Welcome to another installment of GeekMom Comic Book Corner, where we recap our adventures in comics for the week.

Dakster Sullivan — Jungle Book (Zenescope)

I was first introduced to Zenescope with Robyn Hood by Pat Shand. After the second issue, I was hooked on the characters and realized there was more to the story than just some of the raunchy covers.

Jungle Book: Last of the Species caught my attention on Comixology and after realizing it was volume two of the Jungle Book series, I sought out volume one. I found it at Mega Con this year at the Zenescope booth and the guys were happy to give me a copy to check out.

In this version of the tale, Mowglii is a girl and was raised by a wolf pack after arriving in the jungle. She wasn’t alone though. She arrived with three other children who had been kidnapped and sold. Their arrival stopped a battle between the jungle animals and it was decided that each tribe would take one child to raise.

They hoped that this decision would help keep the peace between the tribes. Sounds like something out of Superman (see Darkseid and Orion) and I was doubtful that it would work.

The apes took a little boy. The meerkats and the wolf pack each took a girl. Shere Khan takes the remaining boy in hopes he would grow up to become a great hunter and help bring down the other tribes of the jungle.

Overall, the art and the story blend together wonderfully. The men and women are both dressed in a sort of Tarzan and Jane style. Loincloths and cleavage were there, but it wasn’t so over the top that it distracted me from the story.

If you are looking for a new take on a classic, I highly recommend you check this one out. The pace was just right for an easy and relaxing read. You can locate the entire series on Comixology or on Amazon in trade form.

For most of the story my seven-year old son sat next to me and it didn’t bother him at all. I wouldn’t recommend letting anyone younger than twelve-years old read it by themselves. He had some questions that I had to answer, but they were pretty simple to explain (for example, he wanted to know why the lead male character had been scratched).

Curious to know what I’m pulling this week? Check out my pull list on Comixology.

Kelly Knox – The Flash #18 (DC Comics)

The Flash #18 is the first time I’ve picked up a book solely because of the artist on it. Artist Marcio Takara starts his run on the series with this issue, and after stopping by his booth at Emerald City Comicon last month, I’m definitely a fan of his work.

I’m glad I took the chance on the issue, because not only did the art look fantastic, the story by Brian Buccellato is in a great spot to dive right in. I didn’t know much about what’s going on in the world of The Flash, but #18 got me right up to speed. (No pun intended.) Barry Allen is adjusting to his life after losing his job and living with his girlfriend Patty Spivot, who is aware of his superhero alter ego. I wasn’t so sure about how I felt about Barry not being with Iris West, but by now I’m not expecting anything to be the same as it was before the New 52.

Barry takes on The Trickster in this issue, but this time he knows that the villain is innocent of his accused crime, which puts an interesting spin on things. I’m intrigued enough by the story to come back for more issues.

Corrina Lawson–Arcanum by John Rogers, Todd Harris and Troy Peteri

Arcanum is the latest webcomic from Thrillbent.com, a free digital comic site started by Mark Waid and John Rogers of the television show Leverage. I wandered back to the site because of a redesign, termed Thrillbent 2.0, and the promise of a new comic from Rogers, who wrote some of my favorite Blue Beetle stories. The first four panels of Arcanum make innovative use of digital technology as the background is the same but overlaid with different dialogue and a static effect. An electro-magnetic pulse of unknown origin hits with ominous overtones and then we cut to Atlanta, Georgia where two police officers investigate water literally pouring out of a building. I won’t say what comes out of the building but you’d never guess and it has me hooked for the next installment.

Looking for something else, readers? Check out this week’s listed books:

Action Comics #19 CP Adventures Of Superman: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez HC Ame-Comi Girls #2 Animal Man #19 Batman Det. Comics Vol. 1 Faces Of Death TP Batwing #19 DC Univ. By Alan Moore TP DC Univ. Secret Origins TP Detective Comics #19 CP Dial H #11 Earth 2 #11 Fairest #14 G.I. Combat Vol. 1 The War That Time Forgot TP Green Arrow #19 Green Lantern #19 CP Legends Of The Dark Knight #7 Looney Tunes #212 Phantom Stranger #7 Punk Rock Jesus TP Scooby-Doo Where Are You #32 Smallville Season 11 #12 Stormwatch #19 Swamp Thing #19 Totally Useless MAD TP Worlds’ Finest #11

Age Of Apocalypse #14 FI Age Of Ultron #4 (Of 10) All-New X-Men #10 Avengers West Coast Avengers Omnibus Vol. 1 HC Castle A Calm Before The Storm #4 (Of 5) Dark Tower The Gunslinger Evil Ground #1 (Of 2) Deadpool #7 Indestructible Hulk #6 Iron Man Extremis HC (Prose Novel) Iron Man Season One HC PE Iron Man Vol. 1 Believe HC PE Marvel Univ. Iron Man Comic Reader #2 Marvel’s Iron Man 3 Prelude TP Punisher Nightmare TP Red She-Hulk #64 Red She-Hulk Vol. 1 Hell Hath No Fury TP Superior Spider-Man #7 Thanos Rising #1 (Of 5) Ultimate Comics X-Men #25 Venom #33 Winter Soldier #17

Acronym Key:  VC = Variant Cover  / HC = Hard Cover / TP = Trade Paperback  / CP = Combo Pack  / PE = Premier Edition / OS = One Shot

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