Grounded (Image Comics)Imagine you go to a high school where everyone's special except you. Sounds like 9th-12th grade for me, but Jonathan in Grounded is the only normal kid in a school full of super-powered teens. The creators mix in equal amounts of humor and pathos as they introduce this lonely but determined young boy. Jon's belief in himself at the expense of a social life reminded me of Corey Haim in Lucas--and I don't mean that as a punchline. This is a story about a kid overcoming extreme odds and trying to gain respect through sheer force of will. It had a few flaws (which knocked this down from earning a full review), but it pays off for fans of the superhero genre looking for something original and heartwarming.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (Anchor Bay)Most horror films ask you to suspend your disbelief the way a bum wants you to think your donation is going towards food. This movie knees your disbelief in the balls and offers you an ice pack only after you've suffered for an hour. Behind the Mask isn't bad, mind you, but it asks an awful lot. Are you OK with a mockumentary selling the premise of a slasher that lets a camera crew film his wacky exploits as he plans a night of premeditated murder on a group of teenagers? And that the interviewer would treat him like an all-star quarterback training for the Superbowl? To be honest, I was. I wanted to like it based on this blogger's review. It's clear the creators love the genre they're satirizing, but maybe I'm too much of a fan: I saw plot twists coming from the first ten minutes and got hung up on all the questions they didn't answer that would've made it stronger. Saving them for the sequel, perhaps. Heck, I'll rent it. I give change to hobos, too.
52 volumes 1-4 (DC Comics)I'm more of a Marvel fan than anything, but I cut my reading teeth on old school DC titles, and the premise of telling a year's worth of stories in real-time (a comic a week for 52 weeks) appealed to me. But not enough to buy them as they came out. Hell, no. I waited for the four collected volumes before delving into a universe without its Three Big Guns on active duty. Supes, Bats, and the Amazon take a back seat to a handful of minor and/or supporting characters and give them their moments in the spotlight. Who'da thought a Marvel zombie would actually care about The Question or Animal Man? Or that I would get goose pimples during an especially creepy moment when a burning wicker effigy with a woman's face tugs at Elongated Man's robe and whispers, "Ralph...?" Jebus, I'm still creeped out, and that was in the first volume! Many of the finer points were surely lost on me, but I came away with a deeper appreciation of DC's rich history.
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