Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5
Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5
I recently reviewed the first eight volumes of PS238, and all of the general points that I made there apply to this ninth 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 as of the time of this review, the contents of this trade aren't online yet.
Six issues of PS238 are collected in this volume, beginning with issue 46, in which Victor Von Fogg is using uninhabited universes as power supplies, to give himself supernatural powers, and is about to absorb another universe, which seems to contain inhabitants. Zodon, joining forces with Julie, USA Patriot and Guardian Angel, goes through a dimensional gateway (which closely resembles a stargate,) in pursuit of Von Fogg, in order to make him stop.
In issue 47, Tyler and Ron; still adrift in space, come under attack by some kind of tentacled, technological monstrosity, and Zodon's group is ambushed by some kind of interuniversal police patrol. Victor, meanwhile, has entered the world that he'd been about to destroy, and discovered that in that world, no one has any superhuman powers or abilities.
In issue 48, the interuniversal police briefly recruit Guardian Angel to assist them in stopping Von Fogg after they realize who the good guys are. Victor, meanwhile, has escaped and begun his campaign of conquest across the world without superpowers, while his sister is uncovering information about the origins of the Praetorian Academy; that an early prototype design method of PS238 was built by Hershell, then disappeared; most likely stolen. This seems to indicate just how the Praetorians got set up so fast. Finally, Tyler and Ron journey through their ship after the attack of the techno-tentacle beast, only to discover that vein-like technological doodads are spreading throughout their ship; contaminating it.
In issue 49, Tyler and Ron managed to get in contact with Cecil, who helps them coordinate their effort to stop the techno-veins and tentacles that seem to be devouring and assimilating their ship. Victor has begun taking over Omaha, and using his powers to turn those who resist into various non-human things. As Zodon and the others work on some means of stopping him, Zodon begins to reveal the truth behind his involvement with the non-powered universe, and the reason he was sent to PS238 to begin with. Zodon's group gets in contact with Cecil, Tyler, Ron and Zodon's sentient satellite, and they all coordinate an effort against Victor, who attacks them with a giant robot. Finally, Victor's sister confronts the headmaster of the Praetorian Academy, alleging that she can prove he's committed crimes, and wants answers from him.
In issue 50, the Headmaster begins explaining the reason and origins of the Praetorian Academy to Miss Von Fogg, and finally makes a deal with her, while Zodon's group continue battling Victor. Ron and Tyler are able to return to Earth and bring their starship in for a rough landing, but ultimately, the two reconcile their differences. Zodon's satellite reveals some key information to USA Patriot about his new powers, and he uses them to fight Victor and briefly imprison him. In the end, everyone ends up back in their own home universe, and the alternate universe story arc basically comes to a close.
In issue 51, virtually every page pertains to a totally different plot point, making it almost impossible to summarize. The only overarching plot threads are these; Julie is becoming popular on the internet among other superheroes with the powers of flight, invulnerability, strength and speed (FISS heroes,) Victor is still puzzling over how Zodon's group was able to defeat him, Cecil now has a cloaking device that can turn him invisible, and Ron still doesn't have any powers, but it's implied that he might one day develop some. He's stopped blaming Tyler for everything, and the two seem to be on speaking terms again, though perhaps not entirely -friends.-
From the summaries alone, you may notice the same thing that I did. This story moves things along -much- too fast, and tackles far too many plot threads at once. It's not as uncomfortable to read as to summarize, but a slower pace might really benefit it from here on out. In earlier issues, a lot of stuff tended to happen at once, but generally, focus was kept on a few characters at a time, many of whom were essentially side characters; there for support and jokes. Unfortunately, when you've got 7-9 main characters, all undergoing change and development at the same time and in the same part of the story, things start to feel just a little crowded. The story is still fun to read; it just takes more work.
Sure enough, the Praetorians are apparently responsible for at least some evildoing, though we still haven't been shown just what it is, and I still have a hard time finding them threatening. I don't like the headmaster, but I just don't see him as a villain either; particularly since his act of alleged thievery really wasn't entirely his fault. I guess you could write him a ticket for trespassing or something, but once again, the deeds of the Praetorians just don't seem to put them that firmly in the category of "villains." Given a facelift and some elbow grease, they could be great heroes.
As with the last volumes, there are some print errors as well, though not, mainly, inside the comics themselves (though there is a typo or two in there as well.) I'm talking about the front cover. This volume is the 9th collection of PS238, gathering issues 46-51, and the front cover gets all three of those numbers wrong. It's still way better than other American comics (especially modern ones,) but I just can't give it a perfect grade.
Once again, this volume isn't the best work of PS238, but I'm still reading it, and I'm still enjoying it. The very fact that I have so few gripes here is a testament to the quality of this, at the time I'm writing, most recent volume.
