Batman Adventures #13: Yah! The long arc is finally over! Huzzah! All is right with Gotham again! And the back up story is cute. A little overly cute, yes, but cute. 
Astro City/Arrowsmith: I'd read the Arrowsmith story before, but the Astro City story was new, as was the long article in the middle. Since the Astro City story is a prelude to the upcoming series, I'm now looking forward to the next books. Of course, there's no set schedule yet... just "late summer or early fall". Argh! Must...be...patient... 
Digital Webbing Presents #11: When Kevin Melrose first blogged about this book and his involvement in it, I knew nothing about it. I couldn't recall ever having heard of it, never mentioned it in my Flipping Through Previews posts... in short, it was a complete mystery. So I was surprised to see that it's a 32-page anthology at a low enough price point that it's worth checking out. I'm a big fan of "sampler" type books that showcase talents in a stand-alone format. So I was stunned to see that I'd completely missed it. Ok, enough self-flagellation, I'm sure you want to know what I thought of it?
Kevin was kind enough to send me the first issue that his work had appeared in so I could get an idea of what the book is like. There are a whoppin' six stories in this issue, ranging from a one-pager to ten pages.
- "Bad Elements" by Kevin Melrose (story), Peter Honrade (art), and Ed Dukeshire (letters) - 10 pages: Nicely paced tale that starts as a standard mob story, but quickly develops its own flavor. The ending is slightly predictable, but the whole angle is nicely fresh, so it works out. The artwork is almost too cutesy for the subject, but manages to give the story an almost whimsical feel at times, which helps to distract from the ending and make it less predictable. I enjoyed it a lot.
- "The Gig: Chapter III" by Glenn Jeffers (writer), John Etienne (pencilier), Travis Walton (inker), and Ed Dukeshire (letters) - 8 pages: I wasn't sure what was going on, but I actually enjoyed the ride. Yeah, it's only part of an ongoing, but it had nice art.
- "Leviathan" by Joshua Gamon (words), Nick Postic (pencils), Nick Marinkovich (inks & tones), Ed Dukeshire (letters), and edits by Jeffery Stevenson & Jim Keplinger - 5 pages: Nice and creepy. Definitely the kind of story I enjoy. Unfortunately it reads like a prologue, and there's no indication that there will be more story. So it falls a bit short.
- "Just Another Wednesday" by Ev Jameson (writer) and Justin Peterson (illustrator) - 1 page: Um. This story is juvenile, and revels in it. Not my style, but funny anyway.
- "Summer Days, Winter Nights" by Troy Wall (story), Mitchell Breitweiser (artwork) and Ed Dukeshire (letters) - 8 pages: This one plays on the expectations of comic readers used to seeing superheroic characters who find the truth and fight evil alone. Very effective, very disturbing. The artwork isn't as strong in the storytelling department as I'd like to see, but it was certainly nice looking.
- "Payback" by C.G.Kirby (writer), Enzo Pertile (illustrator), and Ed Dukshire (letters) - 6 pages: Ouch, ouch, ouch. This is the ultimate in major screw-ups screwing other people up. Man this one just worked on me, in the most irritating way possible. It was a very good story. Just annoying because it hits on a universal truth.
As a whole this book gets a solid four starfish.
Iron Chef America - Bobby Flay vs Hiroyuki Sakai - (spoiler)Battle Trout(end spoiler): If you aren't familiar with Iron Chef, some of what I'm about to write won't make much sense to you. This version is based on the original Iron Chef, but produced by Food Network. This is NOT the UPN version with William Shatner playing the Chairman, it's far, far better. Now, for some live-blogging comments I wrote while watching the first episode.
Two complaints right from the start. The first complaint is the requirement to make five dishes. That's just stupid. The original Iron Chef didn't have such a limitation, and it allowed for flexibility. Insisting on five dishes will limit the chefs unnecessarily. Second complaint is that Alton Brown, as good as he is, needs someone else to play straight man. Multiple commentators are far more interesting.
Now, lest you think I hate it, I think there are some nice touches. First off, the kitchen is fantastic. The set is a nicely updated version of kitchen stadium. The new Chairman is fun. Making him Kaga's nephew is a nice touch, allowing that one truly fictional bit to continue. His substitution of the pepper for an apple was also a good touch. For pure showmanship, this is a very nice version.
Alton's "Ota" sidekick, Kevin, isn't very good, and needs an "interruption" catchphrase. The show keeps going away from the food too much. In fact, the focus seems to be away from the food far more than in the original version, which was less focused on showmanship and more on the food. That was a huge part of the appeal... seeing close up exactly how the chefs worked with food. In this version, the camera keep cutting away to talking heads. Show the food!
During the second half, the food gets more focus, which is nicer. The artistry of the chefs is demonstrated and even focused on (note the replay of Sakai peeling an apple). Again, Kevin doesn't make a very good Ota. I like the split screen effect, being able to see how both chefs are reacting at the same time. Alton also seems to pick up some steam, getting better as he goes.
Kevin explains the scoring, then the Chairman interviews Bobby Flay before tasting and judgment. No view of all the dishes together? It's interesting how Bobby is always saying "we" when referring to the cooking. Giving credit to his assistants?
Sakai is and always has been my favorite Iron Chef. I want him to win. I love the set up for tasting in this version. It owes a lot to the original show, with the bonus that I actually understand every word.
WHAT??!?? Bobby Flay won???? Oh man, that's just sad. Still, this is a good translation of a fun little show.
Coming next week: Conan, Usagi Yojimbo, Harley & Ivy, Green Lantern, and JLA. Also left to review, Electric Girl Volume 1 and American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
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