TEEN TITANS GO #36 a DC Comics Ongoing Series Comic Review by: Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski Writer: J. Torres  Artist: Todd Nauck & Lary Stucker Release Date: 102506

Just to get this out of the way early, I’m not a fan of the animated series that this book is based on. The anime style just doesn’t work for me when it comes to superhero cartoons. I much prefer the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm Batman and Superman animated series. This issue brings Wonder Girl into the mix with the expected results. Her introduction gets the testosterone flowing in the male titans as they take on a generic race of alien invaders. Some fairly lively dialogue here but not much else. Parents: nothing here to worry about. It’s all very tame. Not really even a positive message in the mix. That’s my main problem with the book. It’s so terribly generic. It exists as a piece of merchandising. A very lazy piece of merchandising.

MSRP: $2.25, Alternate Reality Price: $1.79 (That's 15% OFF, All This Week!)
If you're in Grade School are you a Good Grades Club member? If not join today and get in-store discounts on all your purchases foe each of the "A's" & "B's" on your report card!

CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #26 a DC Comics Ongoing Series Comic Review by: Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski Writers: Various  Artists: Various Release Date: 102506

Three, count ‘em, three stories for the price of one. Unfortunately, not even one of them is enough to recommend the book. If it’s possible for a comic book to be too loud, then this is the one. This book should come with aspirin. Hectic, frenetic and just really annoying is the best thing I can say here. The prefab Asian pop band Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi needs a new amp for the band. The Powerpuff Girls run out of breakfast cereal and Billy and Mandy…..well, I’m not quite sure what their deal is. There are worse books out there for the kids. At least the Powerpuff Girls story manages some laughs. But the rest is a mess.

MSRP: $2.25, Alternate Reality Price: $1.79 (That's 15% OFF, All This Week!)
If you're in Grade School are you a Good Grades Club member? If not join today and get in-store discounts on all your purchases foe each of the "A's" & "B's" on your report card!

THE BATMAN STRIKES #26 a DC Comics Ongoing Series Comic Review by: Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski Writer: Jai Nitz  Artist: Chris Jones & Terry Beatty Release Date: 101106

My exposure to the Kid’s WB series, upon which this comic is based, is minimal: 4-5 episodes at best. Being a huge fan of the previous series that was produced by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, this newest incarnation of Batman is a huge disappointment. Animated in a faux/anime style, the look of the characters has changed and in some cases, like the Joker, rather dramatically. These changes, in my opinion, do not serve the characters well. Batman himself seems to have lost the inner demons that haunt him and is more cocky and self assured. While different interpretations of the character have come and gone through the years, this version seems somewhat simple minded after the spot-on characterization that the Dini/Timm team and Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan have given us recently. The comic version carries on from the series with its simple mindedness intact. Clayface seeks the help of Hugo Strange to cure him. Batman uses the old Mission Impossible rubber mask trick to fool Clayface into thinking he is Hugo Strange. That’s pretty much it. This book is about as deep as the average puddle of rain. The rain puddle is probably wittier too. Not much here for the kids, let alone adults to sink their teeth into. This book is the comic equivalent of an action figure: merely a piece of merchandise. Given the long and varied history of Batman, this comic is best left forgotten.

MSRP: $2.25, Alternate Reality Price: $1.79 (That's 15% OFF, All This Week!)
If you're in Grade School are you a Good Grades Club member? If not join today and get in-store discounts on all your purchases foe each of the "A's" & "B's" on your report card!

FUTURAMA COMICS #27 a Bongo Comics Ongoing Series Comic Review by: Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski Writer: Eric Rogers, Artist: John Delany Release Date: 100406

Well, I don’t know how the kids will like it but I certainly got a chuckle or three out of this book. The story concerns an alien invasion from a race of molten rock creatures whose planet is suffering from global cooling. Eric Rogers’s script is filled with scatological one-liners about everything from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Brokeback Mountain to Prince. A lot of this will be lost on the kids, but there are plenty of other more obvious laughs for them. As for me, when Bender becomes mentally incapacitated and starts singing 60’s folk songs from Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan, I laughed out loud. That’s very rare in ANY comics. John Delany’s art is serviceable. It’s meant to look like the animated series and on that level it succeeds. This one’s a keeper

MSRP: $2.99, Alternate Reality Price: $2.54 (That's 15% OFF, All This Week!)
If you're in Grade School are you a Good Grades Club member? If not join today and get in-store discounts on all your purchases foe each of the "A's" & "B's" on your report card!

All Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2006 by their respective owners. No rights given or implied by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.

Reviews © 2006 Alternate Reality, Inc.