What Do You Mean They're Not Superheroes?: Sneak Peek Reviews 08/26/2008

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond 3-D #1
Written by: Grant Morrison
Art by: Doug Mahnke

Want to get me excited about a book? Tell me Grant Morrison is going to write it. Want to get me really excited about a book? Tell me Doug Mahnke is going to draw it. Want me to lose my mind? Combine the two and make it 3-D! This was a phenomenal book that contained an absolutely stunning combination of incredibly progressive writing and unbelievably mind-bending artwork. This takes off from a moment in Final Crisis #3 and focuses on the Supermen of many of the 52 Universes and a rogue Monitor. We follow as they attempt to thwart the coming crisis in their own way, or at least that is what we are lead to believe. We also see what might be the only record of the birth of the multiverse. This is the kind of mind-expanding experience that we have all grown to expect from Grant Morrison and while I would like to say that this is the kind of artwork that we have grown to expect from Doug Mahnke I think that he is truly one of the few artists currently working in the industry who can, project to project, continually defy expectations (in many ways I think that this artwork is even in subtle nuances superior to the work that Mahnke turned in on Final Crisis: Requiem just a little over a month ago). This is definitely one to check out this week! And don't worry they provide the 3-D glasses!

Northlanders #9
Written by: Brian Wood
Art by: Dean Ormston

This is the first of the two part Lindisfarne story-arc and perhaps more importantly (at least to me that is) the first issue by artist Dean Ormston, a 17 year industry veteran whose artwork I have come to really love over the years, mostly from the work he did on Books of Magick: Life during wartime. Long gone from the Sven, The Returned story-arc we are now well into the era of the the first Viking invasions into Northern England. Lindisfarne is actually the name of the monastery where they made their first landing. What we see here though is thematically similar to what has come before in this series. This is a series that, among other things deals a whole, whole lot with fathers and sons. In Sven we saw what happened when the son tries to return home and prove that he has grown out the shadow that his father cast. This is going to be much more a story of watching a father/son relationship fall apart. And what a son scorned will do to his father if given the chance.



Runaways Vol. 3 #1
Written by: Terry Moore
Art by: Humberto Ramos

Brian K. Vaughn must be riding cloud nine these days. Years ago he created a rag-tag group of characters who were bucking their parental authority and making a life for themselves far earlier than anyone should ever have to consider. Sure their parents were super-villains and a bunch of them wound up having powers and stuff but ultimately this is what the story is about. It was launched as part of Bill Jemas' big plan to get new readers who were way into Manga to check out Marvel comics. Skewed towards younger readers and with Runaways as the single exception all of them failed (Sentinel received a second mini-series but I think that was just an attempt to boost the name of Sean McKeever). Now 8 trade paperbacks and 2 volumes later we arrive at this weeks issue. The reason that BKV should be so proud is that his creation has been so enjoyed by the fans that such talented creators as Joss Whedon and now, one of the most acclaimed and popular independent creators of our generation, Terry Moore have been dying to continue his work and see these characters live on and go on more adventures. So, we've seen what a new creator can bring to this band of vagabonds, and we've seen what one of television's most creative minds has had to say, and now it's time for the indie kid's take.