Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5
Enjoyability: 5 of 5
I recently reviewed the first four volumes of PS238, and all of the general points that I made there apply to this fifth volume as well. It's an enjoyable comic, fun and positive; about superhero children who go to a school for superpowered beings. The concept has been done before, but unlike other comics that have approached this (most notably several "X-men" books,) this book embraces the old-school silliness of the Silver Age, without the poor writing quality that tended to come along with it. The stories are enchanting, entertaining and fun, and never depressing or angsty, like the aforementioned X-men books. Characters develop and change, and stories never become too dark to be enjoyable, even when bad things do sometimes happen. In short, it gets nearly everything right, avoids the major missteps that comic books have made over the course of comic book history, and produces quite possibly the finest series of superhero comics ever released in America. All that, plus you can read it with kids.
Again these comics are all in black and white, and they're supposed to be that way. Also, most of them can be found online as part of Aaron Williams' internet webcomic of the same name, though a few are only found in trade form.
Six issues of PS238 are collected in this volume, beginning with issue 22, in which a whole lot of things happen, relevant to a large number of plots. Cecil Holmes has a new weapon and a new boss, Tyler has given Captain Clarinet some advice about the divorce of his parents, but if anything, CC seems to feel even worse (again, a realistic portrayal of what divorce does to children,) some of Charles' old henchmen are rescued, hints are dropped that there will be a superhero career day coming up, and on top of all of that, a strange, new type of alien appears on Earth. A lot happens in this issue, so you really have to be paying attention.
Issue 23 is the "career day" issue, in which the students go to meet various types of superpowered people, and see what they do for a living. Also, Charles resurfaces in this issue briefly, and finding out where he's been and what he's been up to opens the door for another long-lasting storyline in the PS238 universe; the Praetorian Academy.
In issue 24, Tyler is trapped in another place, which looks a lot like a rock in space, and Malphast and Cecil Holmes team up to try to rescue him. However, Cecil suffers repeated mutations while he's off-world, until finally, they need to seek help from Malphast's parents, in exchange for a favor...
In issue 25, the battle with the aliens finally begins. The aliens approach Earth and attack PS238, provoking a battle in which both the students and teachers quickly become involved. However, in the process, the real plan of the aliens is revealed; infecting Tyler Marlocke (the only non-powered student at PS238,) with a virus that with turn all future human babies into aliens.
In issue 26, the battle continues to rage, as the students Whiz and Poly rush to get Tyler into quarantine. Zodon, however, has a plan that may succeed in defeating the aliens for good, if it doesn't vaporize the rest of them in the process.
In issue 27, Tyler is in stasis; a sort of dream state not unlike a coma, but meanwhile, Principal Cranston's headband has started to come undone, allowing some of his psychic powers (and thoughts, and memories) to seep out. Tyler soon finds himself living out the principal's memories, and realizing just why Cranston has always worn the headband, and who his teachers really are.
I'm just going to come right out and say it. On the one hand, no issue of PS238 is substandard or boring. They're all good comics. On the other hand, this is not my favorite volume. Part of me wants to say that my favorite issues were 25&26, but really, the combat is somewhat frenetic and hard to keep track of, in comparison to the battle against Charles in the last volume. Likewise, the first few issues, while certainly fun and entertaining in their own right, don't have the same oomph as Guardian Angel's death, or the announcement of the divorce of Captain Clarinet's parents (again, in volume 4,) especially not the career day issue, which mainly serves to set up plot points for future issues.
Also, speaking personally, I've yet to find the praetorian academy all that threatening. The aliens that take center stage in this issue are far more threatening and seem more dangerous, and they're about as basic and evil as bad guys come.
Still, I feel that the last issue makes up for these minor shortcomings, since, again, like issue 6 of the series, it deals with topics that have the potential to be heavily-political, and yet, ultimately deals with them in a way that's entertaining, rather than disturbing or controversial. It's this light touch in dealing with political topics that continues to earn Williams my respect, every time he steps into this particular arena. This is not, after all, a political propaganda book. It's a comic book.
On the whole, I don't consider this volume to be quite as good as volume 4, but the difference in quality is so small, that I don't feel justified in giving it a lower grade. It was and is fun to read, and it gives a few new characters the chance to show what they can do. I'm still reading PS238, and I'm still impressed.
No comments:
Post a Comment