By Anastasia

Catwoman ³Anodyne² #3 (W) Ed Brubaker (A) Darwyn Cooke & Mike Allred, DC
Comics, $2.50, color, 40 pages, 22 pages of story.
I felt it only necessary that after what could be considered a lukewarm review on Catwoman # 1& 2, that I should follow it up with a review on Catwoman #3. As mention in an earlier issue, I know what Brubaker is capable
of and felt the pace of #1 & #2 was a bit slow and maybe even a tad bit predictable with the accusatory finger pointing at a lackluster, uncaring police force that didn¹t seem concerned with the rampage of murdered
prostitutes being found. Issue three gives you a full kick in the face that sets Selina on a wild chase after the murderer after getting a relatively minor clue. But Selina is a woman of wits and knows how to get answers from
the tiniest fragments and that she does. I must give it to Brubaker, this issue shifted into full gear and is nothing but a good crime story. I eagerly await the next issue.
3 1/2 skulls!

Uncanny X-Men ³Poptopia² trade paperback (Collects issues # 394-399)(W)
Joe Casey (P) Ian Churchill, Mel Rubi, Ashley Wood, Tom Raney(I) Art
Thibhert, Norm Rapmund, Larry Stucker, Danny Miki, Scott Hanna, Marvel
Comics, $15.95, color.
The reason for the slew of pencillers and inkers listed above is because either Marvel cannot keep a hold of the same creative team for one story arc or there are a lot of artists over committing themselves and unable to meet
deadlines. Whatever the case, it can be disheartening to fall in love with one artist¹s interpretation of a character and become involved in the story only to be disappointed to find the next issue has not only changed artists,
but to a style that doesn¹t seem to fit at all. Poptopia is only one of the many great stories that Marvel is finally
pumping out instead of rehashing the same tired mutant storylines that everyone has outgrown. After the release of the X-Men movie, Marvel took it¹s core X titles through a major overhaul and recruited some of the best
talent to take over the revamp. Gone are the spandex brightly colored costumes to be replaced by sleeker black ones that resemble the fashionable ones seen in the blockbuster hit. Some X-Men characters didn¹t have a place
in the new slimlined titled, such as Gambit, but newer ones such as Chamber found in the Gen X title have a strong role in the new team. Old favorites such as Wolverine and Jean Grey are still there. Joe Casey has woven a great tale of the problems of discrimination and heartbreak into a beautiful tale of being different. The contrast of mutants among humans compared to the real world¹s problems of racial or religious or sexual discrimination is nothing new, but never has a story of mutants touched so closely to our own problems of prejudice among the judgemental in our own society. It¹s easy to feel for the outcasts because of their different looks or abilities because Casey does such a good job of making
them seem just like us, who may have been rejected from society in one form or another for whatever reason. He made them very relatable. That thread of the story runs continuously through as a sub plot, but the main drive of the
tale is focused on Chamber, a mutant, and his turmultolous relationship with the pop sensation Sugar Kane. It¹s a tragic love story, no one dies, but hearts do break. The story arc should have ended with the Sugar Kane tale,
but it went beyond one issue and seem to start a new story or maybe it was just an effort to introduce a new mutant to the scene. I loved Churchill¹s pencils on the initial three issues, then when Rubi takes over on the next issue, I was still satisfied with the smooth lines. I like artists who can convey some degree of sexiness to characters, and not just the female ones. But when you go from Churchill¹s detail and expressive faces to Wood¹s scratchy lines, it¹s a letdown. Ashley Wood is a great artist, I¹ve been blown away by some of his pieces, but it seemed a really
improper match to the story. When the words make you search the character¹s faces to get more information and what you find are lines that make no sense, dots for eyes, expresionless mouths, you feel disappointed. Except in
a fiery fight scene in the underground tunnels, Wood¹s pencils don¹t do the story justice. Or perhaps it¹s the inker¹s perception that drives it off the mark. I prefer Wood in his smooth digital painted style. His images are
hauntingly beautiful, but in the one issue of Uncanny X-Men, it seemed even below his normal standard.
All in all, this book was a really great read, and an impressive direction for Marvel to be taking with the X-Men.
4 skulls

A Moment of Silence (W) Bill Jemas, Brian Micheal Bendis, Joe Quesada, and
Kevin Smith (P)Mark Bagley, Scott Morse, Igor Kordey, John Romita Jr.(I)
Norm Rapmund, Scott Hanna, Marvel Comics, $3.50, color, 40 pages, no ads,
all proceeds benefit the Twin Towers Fund.
This is the second tribute book Marvel has put out, the first being titled Heroes, a collection of beautiful pin ups. A Moment of Silence is a collection of four stories (hence the number of writers and artists
mentioned) told without words. It¹s an amazing tribute that captured the desperation and horror of the tragedies of September 11th. Many were based on true events, which only makes it more heartbreaking to read. My favorite
was probably ³Sick Day² by Quesada and Kordey, a poignant story of a family who had no idea they would lose their father, a New York firefighter. The stories are short, but well written and beautifully rendered by some great
artists. There¹s an introduction by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and the end wraps up with some incredible pin up pieces along with a beautiful and very patriotic Captain America by Joe Jusko. There can be no complaints, it was a heartfelt tribute based on real life. It still brings tears to my eyes.
5 skulls

9-11 Volume 2 (W) Various (I) Various, DC Comics, $9.95, color, 224 pages,
no ads, all proceeds go to charity.
Another tribute put together by DC Comics, it¹s actually the second volume, the first volume was put together by Dark Horse, Chaos! Comics and Image Comics. I chose to review the second volume only because it contained
a story by one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman. And the cover. The cover really got to me. Based off the original cover of The Big All American Comic Book, it¹s a very moving visual tribute to the real heroes of the terrorist
attack on our nation. And it has Krypto, Superman¹s dog on the cover. My dog¹s name is Krypto, so I¹m a geek.
Both volumes of 9-11 are collecting the world¹s best writers and artists to tell their tales of how they were affected, what they saw, how they dealt, etc. As Paul Levitz stated in his forward, it was an effort to
console themselves and others. Stories packed in the pages of this book range from tear jerking dramatic tales that end in tragedy to light hearted observations to stories of hope and courage. There are far too many artists
and writers to mention, some even contributing just a single pin up, but that single image is so moving that I think many should be turned into postage stamps as an ongoing symbol of our strength and courage. One that still sends shivers down my spine is by a long time master, Neal Adams. Granted, anything seen by him is great, seeing as he doesn¹t turn out work like he use to, but this piece of Superman standing with Uncle Sam admidst the destruction spoke volumes and is worth the cover price in my opinion. Other incredible tales that left impressions in my mind were words
penned by Denny O¹Neil, a chilling reminder of history repeating itself and a light hearted rendering of snippets of hope by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, one of the few who mention the rescue dogs. Brian K. Vaughan
gives us a thought provoking yet hope inspiring tale of the role of ³entertainers² in the face of such tragedy. Ben Raab takes a very unconventional approach that showed how humble patriotism can be replaced with hate by those who find you suspect if you aren¹t wearing the flag. Even one page of only three panels gives such a wonderful perspective of the
goodness of humans as Tim Sale captures the infectious spirit of community as a little kid wearing a Superman shirt runs into a telephone booth to change into a NYPD shirt.
All in all, once again, it¹s hard to complain about a book that was created to give artists and writers a voice, to comfort themselves, to comfort others. There is no right or wrong here. If a certain piece doesn¹t move you, you move on, there must be something in among these 224 pages that will reach you.
5 skulls

*ADDED NOTE*

Fans of comics and Spiderman are anxiously awaiting the release of the
Spider Man movie, which promises to draw more than just comic geeks, much
like the successful X-Men movie. The comic industry is trying to capitalize
on this by hoping to entice readers into a world that has long suffered the
"geek factor". Many companies including Marvel, DC, Image, Oni Press, Dark
Horse and others have banded together with printers and Diamond Distrubutors
to offer "Free Comic Book Day". Printing at a loss, these companies are
taking popular books back to press to offer to retailers at a low cost to
give away on Free Comic Book Day, which will be May 4th, Saturday, the day
after the SpiderMan movie is released. DC will be issuing a reprint of
Justice League #1, based off the hit cartoon, Image will release the Tomb
Raider 1/2 and Dark Horse is releasing a brand new Star Wars story. Marvel,
capitalizing on what is sure to be hit, is releasing a reprint of the sold
out Ultimate SpiderMan #1 written by Brian Micheal Bendis. The original now
goes for the ungodly amount of $40 and up. Make sure you get to your comic
store and grab a free copy! More information can be found at
http://www.freecomicbookday.com