PS238 Volume 9; Saving Alternate Omaha

By Aaron Williams

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.

PS238 Volume 8; When Worlds Go Splat!

By Aaron Williams

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

I recently reviewed the first seven volumes of PS238, and all of the general points that I made there apply to this eighth 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 this trade contains a few pieces on superhero science, which aren't found there.

Six issues of PS238 are collected in this volume, beginning with issue 40, in which Guardian Angel, Emerald Gauntlet and USA Patriot Act are launched into space by accident, in a cosmic garbage disposal mechanism.  In space, they discover that something else has been collecting the "garbage," however, and using it to build a technologically-advanced space station.  Zodon and Von Fogg, usually bitter rivals, must team up to rescue the other kids.

In issue 41, after the space station briefly separates Emerald Gauntlet from his power gauntlet, the young superhero is detected by an interdimensional race of beings known as "the Emerald Ones," who seem to be responsible for creating the first Emerald Gauntlet.  Together, Emerald Gauntlet and his father team up with Victor Von Fogg's older sister, in an attempt to discover what the Emerald Ones are planning.

In issue 42, a space cruiser, apparently from the planet Argos, has arrived on Earth and abducted Ron, and a number of the other kids move to assist.  This is odd, because Atlas; Ron's father, is apparently from the planet Argos, and was fully convinced that it had been destroyed long ago.

In issue 43, it's revealed that Argos was not destroyed, but that Atlas had been sent off in order to save him from a war of succession; that he, in fact, is Argos' rightful ruler.  Though Ron is trapped in stasis by this point, and can't be freed until they reach the planet Argos, Atlas agrees to go along, and Julie (code named "84,") and Moonshadow (secretly Tyler Marlocke,) decide to go with him.  It's soon discovered that the ruling body of Argos is an absolute mess; with competing families of influential people, all ready to turn on each other.  Worse yet, Lord Dax of the Argosians sends Julie alone to an alien world, claiming that she can help to end a war in which the Argosians are involved.

A lot happens very fast in issue 44.  On Argos, Lord Dax reveals his plan to rob Ron of his powers, which he does, for the purpose of using him as a hostage in order to control Atlas and the throne from behind the scenes, and it's up to Moonshadow to try to save Ron and warn Atlas.  Meanwhile, Emerald Gauntlet has been sent to the same alien world as Julie, except by the Emerald Ones, and it's soon discovered that they've been at war with the Argosians for a long time.  More importantly, on that alien world, the two kids soon discover the strange thing that they've both been fighting over.

In issue 45, having been returned home, Julie is forced to take the argosian engineer from Lord Dax's ship on as an apprentice of sorts, to try to teach him the ropes of being a superhero.  Atlas, meanwhile, confronts Lord Dax about his evil plans, as Ron and Moonshadow try to escape aboard Dax's starship.  However, they soon find themselves adrift in space.

Not much is seen of the praetorians (the rival school of PS238) in this volume, and from the little we do see, some apparently seem to have misgivings about using their powers at all, while others, like most of us, are looking to make some cash off of them.  Nothing terrible, but probably intended to sound unpleasant.  I still don't find them the least bit threatening.

I think, to be honest, that this volume rushes things a bit too much.  A lot of interesting stuff happens, but it just goes by so fast that there really isn't enough time to enjoy it for the most part.  The story of the Argosians and the Emerald Ones could have persisted for much longer and been dealt with in far greater depth.

However, this is also the volume where printing errors begin to show up.  Emerald Gauntlet's legs are inconsistently drawn throughout, including on the front cover.  However, the most noticable print error is that one page is put in the wrong order in issue 40, which makes it seem as though Zodon is complaining about parenthood before anyone refers to him as father.  For these reasons primarily, I can't give it a perfect grade.

I still enjoy PS238, and I still consider it far better than mainstream comics in America.  I just don't think this volume represents its best effort.

The Shooting Star (Tintin)

By Georges Prosper Remi (Hergé)

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

This was another of the Tintin books that I most enjoyed when I was younger, and for the same reasons I enjoy it now.  I liked the Phosilite, I liked the exploding mushrooms, the quick-growing apple tree, and the giant bugs.  It's curious and exciting, even if it makes very little sense.

Also, like all Tintin books, and especially the ones which contain human opponents, as this one does, I really enjoyed it, and thought it stayed true to the successful Tintin formula, while giving us the fun of an expedition to locate a newly-discovered mineral.

The premise is that a meteor crashes to Earth, and soon, an expedition is underway to discover it, and recover the odd, newly-discovered mineral, which it's made out of.  However, another ship, funded by a successful bank, is also looking for the meteor, and is ready to do whatever it takes to reach it first.

In the end, I suppose I didn't really enjoy this one as much as some of the other Tintin books, because there's not a whole lot of action on one end, and most of the book doesn't take place at the meteor on the other end.  I still enjoy it, and for largely the same reasons as when I was young; just not as much as some of Tintin's other adventures.

Tintin in America

By Georges Prosper Remi (Hergé)

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

Tintin in America is the third Tintin book I ever read, and as a child, I really enjoyed it more than the others, and couldn't explain why.  In hindsight, I suppose it was because the book consists almost entirely of action, adventure, daring escapes and victories over people who seem, at first, to have the upper hand.

The story is that Tintin lands in Chicago, fully intending to clean the place up, and bust some crooks.  The crooks, for some reason, take him seriously, and Al Capone tries to have him killed.  Al Capone himself gets away, of course, (we have to leave something for Eliot Ness to do, after all,) but that's not the end of Tintin's adventures.  There are many more gangsters in Chicago who want to make him offers; his help or his head.

The rest of the book is a series of nonstop conflicts between Tintin and the gangsters.  Some throw traps in his way, and others try to attack him directly, but Tintin wins out against his opponents in the end, and major busts occur.  Ultimately, Tintin's visit in America ends rather abruptly, just as his last conflict with the gangsters does.

I still enjoy Tintin in America more than most of the other Tintin books, but now that I'm older and more savvy, my reasons are different.  I enjoy it because, as I see it, there are two major, positive sentiments behind it.

The first major positive sentiment is a love for Old America; the America in its infancy, and indeed, this is the primary thing that Tintin runs into in America.  Chicago gangsters, cowboys, indians, steam locomotives and being tied to railroad tracks, oil wells hidden deep underground, beautiful plains, and towering cityscapes.  Herge seems to have attempted to work in every piece of American culture that was widely-known at the time, to create a sort of "mythical" America, because I truly think that he wanted America to be a beautiful culture, which could be seen and enjoyed.  As unrealistic as this is, and as unhistorical as it may be to have all of these things in the same place and time period, I can appreciate the desire to write this kind of story, and in this way.

The second major positive sentiment is humor.  Let's be honest here; the humor in "Tintin in America" is so far over-the-top as to be absolutely absurd, and it's often the little things that clue you in.  Tintin, for example, coming to Chicago with the intent of "cleaning the place up," or a gangster walking into a building with a "speakeasy" sign outside of it, loudly proclaiming that it's a speakeasy, as much as the saloon doors that he enters through.  There's no way that this stuff wasn't intended to be humorous, just because of how blatantly-ludicrous it all is.  In fact, my own view is that "Tintin in America" was intended as something of a parody of American culture; to draw attention to the many cliches and silly elements in the popular American fictions of the time, not unlike Mystery Science Theater in its day.

However, although Herge seemed to want to paint a mythical, culturally-distinct picture of America, he was also somewhat realistic in his understanding of how much America had begun to distance itself from its cultural identity, and he shows this, when he has an entire section of a city pop up over a newly-discovered oil well, literally overnight.  I don't think streamlined, industrial business is what wiped out America's identity as a culture.  I think it was cultural suicide, motivated by the misguided desire not to "offend" others.  Still, I can sympathize with the desire to see America's soul return to something distinct from other nations again; something that can be enjoyed.

Unfortunately, Tintin does do some things in this book that are clearly wrong, such as ambushing someone from behind a corner (who turns out to be a policeman,) and stealing (and subsequently wrecking) a train, so I'm afraid I can't give it a perfect grade, no matter how much I enjoyed it.

PS238 Volume 7; Daughters, Sons, & Shrink-Ray Guns

By Aaron Williams

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 5 of 5

I recently reviewed the first six volumes of PS238, and all of the general points that I made there apply to this seventh 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 34, in which Julie and Tyler's clone go to a cookout with Suzie's family; the nuclear family.  The cookout is disrupted by both a dimensional portal, releasing some form of invading, crystalline aliens, and by the fake angels and fake demons who've been showing up over the last few volumes intermittently.  However, the ones inside the head of Tyler's clone have made the decision to free him from Tyler's control, and to do this, they'll need to grant him superpowers...

In issue 35, Tyler's clone, who comes to be known as Toby, is still wrestling with the implications of his new powers, as well as the two pesky supernatural beings who've taken up residence in his head.  Meanwhile, a plan is underway to use Julie's blood in an attempt to cure Tyler of the alien virus that may otherwise destroy the human race.

In issue 36, Malphast, realizing the horrible danger posed by the invading "angels" and "demons," recruits Tyler and Cecil Holmes to try to put a stop to it, but when their enemies take control of the minds of some of Earth's most powerful adult heroes, in an attempt to hunt them down, it looks as though they might be too late.  Even if they can survive the attacks of the heroes, how can they possibly stop these tiny enemies that no one else can see.

Issue 37 is a charming little issue in which the various characters write papers, complete with child-scrawl-like illustrations, on recent events in their lives.  It's cute, and it helps us get a window into what the kids have been thinking, planning and worrying about recently in the comic.

In issue 38, a soccer game between PS238 and the Praetorians.  At first, it all seems to be going great, until the Flea discovers an invisible craft, flying above the field, and with some help from Cecil Holmes, and a recently-returned Moonshadow (secretly Tyler,) finally comes face to face with the man who the Praetorians have been referring to as "the Headmaster."

In issue 39, Moonshadow goes to investigate the brick wall that seems to have sealed up the office of Vashti Imperia since the invasion of the supernatural entities, a few issues back.  However, in doing so, he finds himself in a world of dragons and magic, and must find some way to both rescue her, and to return home himself.

I have the same issues with the supernatural beings in this volume that I did in the last couple; namely, they're drawn like angels and demons, yet they're clearly not angels or demons.  This, however, is a minor issue, and largely superficial.  I was a little more bothered by the fact that "not caring" was apparently the solution to the conflict.  In the great battle of order vs chaos, it's generally -not caring- that encourages chaos most.  Nobody walks out their door with the -plan- of encouraging chaos.  They support it as a -consequence- of some other thing they're pursuing; because they don't care about the consequences.

Well, whatever.  I had problems with the angel/demon saga, but it wasn't a weak story, at least.

The humor of Tyler's clone having superpowers, and Tyler not having any is not lost on me, and I think a lot can be done with a character like Toby, if he's used right.

I probably enjoyed the "drawings" issue most.  It seemed to draw attention to the fact, in sort of an offhand way, that most young kids aren't as imaginative as they'd like to think, while recapping recent events from their own perspectives in an amusing way.

Well, it had to happen eventually.  In the soccer game issue, one of the praetorians cheats, and the others don't punish her for doing so, implying corruption in the ranks of the praetorian academy, and it's about time.  I was starting to wonder whether they were even supposed to be bad guys at all.

If I'm going to be perfectly frank, though, I'm still kind of wondering.  I mean, cheating at a soccer game is bad and all, but it's not against the law.  The headmaster's been caught spying on PS238 as well, but frankly... so what?  Revenant does the same thing.

I guess I just find the praetorians rather charming, for some reason; probably to do with the way they stress discipline, and maintain order in the ranks.  It's sad to see corruption in those ranks, but apart from that, you could have fooled me into thinking they were good guys.  I still have a hard time feeling threatened by them.

Probably my biggest issue with this volume is in the last issue, however, because there's a scene in which Vashti Imperia admits to having kidnapped a young girl from her home, for the purpose of bringing about a future event in her life.  I don't know about her, but where I come from, you may not do evil, so that good might come of it, and kidnapping a poor, little girl is clearly an evil act, regardless of who she is, or what results from it.  I may have a hard time feeling threatened by the Praetorians or the Headmaster, but I'm going to be looking suspiciously at Vashti for a while.

I really enjoyed this volume, and I think it's considerably better than volumes 5 or 6.  It's not without its flaws, but it's still a far better comic than most.

PS238 Volume 6; Senseless Acts of Tourism!

By Aaron Williams

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

I recently reviewed the first five volumes of PS238, and all of the general points that I made there apply to this sixth 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 28, in which Poly Mer and Julie, suspecting Miss Kyle of planning to leave the school for good, convince Zodon to help them follow her to her vacation destination; Las Vegas.  Also, the flea is still following the goons in gold armor.

In Issue 29 the Gold Armor goons ambush Miss Kyle and the kids again, and try to abduct Zodon.  Zodon is also caught by a casino owner called "the Crystal Skull," for cheating at cards.

In issue 30, the Crystal Skull hires Zodon to help him track down another, worse card cheat, and in the end, Tyler (the non-powered main character) is visited by Tom Davison again (the student who travels through time,) and told that he's going to be given the choice of whether human beings continue having superpowers.

In issue 31, Tyler begins listening to the testimonies of various people in preparation for the choice that he has to make, but for some reason, he also seems to have been released from stasis with a clean bill of health.  Could Angie and Von Fogg be responsible for this?  Did they cure the alien virus that had infected Tyler in volume 5?

In issue 32, the new Tyler, now revealed as a clone of the one who's still in stasis, is possessed by two entities closely resembling a small angel and a small demon.  Also, Ron is accepted into Praetorian Academy, by his old enemy; Charles.

In issue 33, the Revenant has taken Cecil Holmes on a mission to visit a series of suspected metas, and after some more testimonies, the time has come for Tyler to make his decision.  Will human beings continue to have powers, or will they not?

This is probably my least favorite volume of PS238.  I didn't think the Vegas issues worked all that well, although it was nice to see some development for Julie, and the Crystal Skull is an interesting character.  They're not -bad reading.-  PS238 never is.  I just felt that thusfar, they represent the weakest leg of the series.

Also, we begin to see the "angels" and "demons" start to have an effect in this issue.  I put those in scare quotes, because it's later revealed that they're nothing of the kind; just extradimensional entities that serve beings called "chaos" and "order," rather than real good and evil.  I wish they hadn't looked like angels and demons, since they're clearly not, but apart from that, I don't mind this too much.  It's an okay plot.

I still can't seem to find the Praetorians threatening.  So far, they seem a lot like PS238, except with a heavier emphasis on structure, discipline and earning the things you enjoy, which are all -good- life lessons.  They're very military as well, which has a special charm for me.  Of course, I'm sure it'll later be revealed that some supervillain is behind them, or that they're cheaters or something, but if done right, I really think the praetorians could be compelling heroes in their own way.

Fortunately, this volume also contains Tyler's extra-temporal decision about humans and superpowers, which, in my view, is the strongest story in the volume, and it's spread out over several issues.  I really enjoyed it, if only for the moral questions it discussed, regarding those with power.  However, I don't think the character of "paradox" needed to exist.

Paradox shows up to get self-causing temporal events started to begin with, and I really don't think this is necessary.  Just because an instance of causation may not be temporally-linear, it doesn't follow that it's a paradox, or that it needs an origin point, apart from the atemporal one it already has, and Williams used this principle to great effect in all of his other time travel stories, where events cause one another in a -very- non-linear way.  I just don't see the need to bring "paradox" into it, is what I'm saying.

I'm still enjoying PS238, but as I said, this is not my favorite volume of the series.  It's still a lot better than most other, American comics, it's just not quite up to the level of the others.

PS238 Volume 5; Extraterrestrial Credit

By Aaron Williams

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.

The Adventures of Tintin, Volume 5

By Georges Prosper Remi (Hergé)

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 5 of 5

Tintin is one of the finest comic series that I ever had the pleasure of reading as a boy, and not long ago, a seven-volume set was published, collecting the best and most memorable works about Tintin, though a few were left out (either because of overall poor quality art and controversy, such as the first two Tintin books,) or the last books, due to not being published in the lifetime of their author, and most likely not being entirely written by him either.  If you've got the books in this collection, you've got the cream of the crop, and the best that Tintin has to offer.

The collection is hardcover, and faithfully reprints the various Tintin works in their original, full-color form, although the book itself is smaller that the original printings, meaning that at times, the text is a bit difficult to read, due to the reduction in size that everything took in the transition.  It would, I think, be very hard for children to enjoy this collection, but as a budget choice for adults who want to re-experience their favorite childhood stories, it's good option overall.

Volume 5 contains three stories, and they're among the most memorable Tintin stories, though not, perhaps, as exciting as some of Herge's earlier work.  I've said before that Herge seemed to have a great appreciation for cultural distinctiveness, and this shows through strongly in the first story "Land of Black Gold," where Tintin travels to the middle east, trying to figure out what's causing the gasoline supply to explode from -inside- the gas tanks of various cars.  There's a familiar villain, a silly chemical with bizarre effects, and a young, bratty prince to rescue.  The prince, oddly, may be my favorite part of the story, because he's a very good demonstration of what happens when you never tell a child "no."

The second story is "Destination Moon," in which Tintin's friend, Professor Calculus, has made some new technological advances, which, he believes, will give him the power to launch a rocket all the way to the moon.  There are, of course, complications involved in getting the rocket set up and launched, and an unnamed foreign power keeps trying to seize control of it.  Plus, they don't actually get to the moon in this book.  That honor is reserved for story three.

"Explorers on the Moon" is a moon rocket adventure, in which Tintin and his friends are on the way to the moon, but quickly discover stowaways, meaning that their air supply is more restrictive than they'd planned for.  Furthermore, someone onboard the ship is out for revenge against Tintin.

On the whole, I'd say that the second and third books might as well be grouped together, since they're two halves of the same story (preparing a rocket/using the rocket.)  By necessity, of course, Tintin doesn't need to face nearly as many human opponents in these issues, and the ones he does face often don't make much sense, in terms of their motives.  One wonders, for example, why a revenge-obsessed thug would follow Tintin to the moon, as opposed to just trying to bludgeon him while he was on Earth.  Still, they're enjoyable stories, in spite of the questions they raise.

I really enjoyed the moon stories when I was younger, and I still do, but having read them over again, I have to say that I think "black gold" is my favorite of the three, if only because it stuck closest to the classic Tintin formula, and let's be honest here; it's a formula that worked.

Still, all three stories were very enjoyable.  I never felt the characters were used badly, and I never felt uncomfortable reading them, which is more than can be said for most American comics these days.

PS238 Volume 4; Not Another Learning Experience!

By Aaron Williams

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 5 of 5

I recently reviewed the first three volumes of PS238, and all of the general points that I made there apply to this fourth 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 16, in which Tyler (the non-powered main character,) and the Revenant (sort of a Batman knockoff,) have to get the "rainmaker kids" (those with non-combat-related powers,) back to PS238 before the other superheroes cause a scene over their disappearance.  This is the conclusion of the Rainmaker story arc that began in the last volume, and I think this one really shines in the humor department.

In issue 17, Guardian Angel seems to be dead, and is wandering around as a ghost.  What will happen to her in this new, spectral form?  Also, kids suddenly find themselves appearing over the local lake and plummeting into it, getting all wet and ending up late for class.  Is there another metahuman in town?  This is kind of a cool issue, though mainly as setup for later developments.

In issue 18, a girl has been discovered who can communicate with ghosts, and the teachers begin trying to assist her with her powers.  Also, Tyler and some of his friends have discovered the identity of the kid who's been dumping other kids in the lake with his superpowers, and they form a super-team to go after him.

In issue 19, the big team confrontation with Charles the teleporter, and Tyler, in his super-identity as Moonshadow, begins to gain some popularity among the other students.

In issue 20, we have another issue about time travel; this one from Zodon's viewpoint, and as I mentioned in my review of volume 3, I don't know of -anybody- who writes time travel as well as Aaron Williams.  Characters appear and disappear at different times relative to one another, with seemingly no explanation (unless you've read the previous issues, and plan on reading a few later ones.)  It's all intensely confusing at first, but if you take some time to think it over, it all makes perfect sense; just not in the typical, linear way that we normally think about these things.  I love it all.

Finally, in issue 21, Moonshadow has become very popular at the school, and Captain Clarinet is wrestling with self-doubt over his path in life and the impending divorce of his parents, and has called on Moonshadow for advice, still not realizing that Moonshadow is really his friend Tyler.

I have to admit that over time, issue 21 has endeared itself to me, largely because it pulls no punches with regard to just how damaging divorce can be for a child to have to suffer through.  It's the sort of thing that can destroy a person's life, and if you know anyone who's gone through it, you know what I'm talking about.  Williams gets big points from me for treating the subject with the gravity it deserves, to the extent that the divorce of CC's parents has had repercussions on his life, which he still hasn't fully recovered from, more than 5 volumes later.  I congratulate him on his handling of this subject.

I found the introduction of Charles to be a bit less exciting than some of the other events in PS238 history, in spite of the clear threat he posed.  Still, the ending of the Rainmaker and Time Travel sagas, the events surrounding Guardian Angel's death, and the beginning of Ron's psychological breakdown over the divorce of his parents were all high points of the book.

Trust me when I say, however, that this is only the case because of how Williams writes dark events as though they weren't dark.  Other comic books have dealt with things like death and psychological deterioration (even divorce,) but in the end, those comics were generally bronze-age comics, which seemed to be trying to be "relevant," and often forgot to factor in what kinds of effects superpowers would have on these experiences.  PS238 doesn't forget this, and remains very positive throughout, and because of this, these issues were, for me, more fun to read than any other comic that dealt with these subjects.  I remain highly pleased with what PS238 has to offer, and I plan to continue reading it for quite a while.

PS238 Volume 3; No Child Left Behind!

By Aaron Williams

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 5 of 5

I recently reviewed the first two volumes of PS238, and all of the general points that I made there apply to this third 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 (such as explanation of Dr. Positron being more than one android,) are only found in trade form.

Five issues of PS238 are collected in this volume, beginning with issue 10, in which Tyler (the non-powered main character) is given the task of teaching a fellow student named Malphast how to be human.  Malphast is the "son" of an angel and a demon, and comes off as a little like the comic book character Spawn in terms of his appearance and abilities, and in issue 6, he challenges a school bully to an extradimensional game of Four Square.

As a Christian, I take some offense at the depiction of angels and demons as being "part of the same whole" and "not really two opposing forces."  Nevertheless, you could defend these theological claims on the grounds that angels and demons are essentially the same (it's just that one fell from Grace and the other didn't.)  You could also point out, correctly, that it's impossible for any demon to oppose God directly.  Still, the scenes with the demons and angels tend to sound a bit more new-agey than is good for them.

In issue 7, Tyler is accidentally brought to "the Castle Beyond Time and Space," where there are mirrors that show you alternate versions of yourself; other possible worlds, and books that contain the knowledge of the universe.  Tyler is eventually sent back into the flow of time, to stop Zodon from building a working time machine.  This leads to the next issue.

Issue 8 is a time travel story.  Tyler is yanked back and forth through time in a seemingly chaotic way, and it's implied that there will be more time-traveling later.  However, this story, I think, really shines.  Williams writes time travel better than anyone else I've ever seen in my life.  Characters show up suddenly out of a time vortex, refer to things we haven't seen yet, then disappear just as quickly.  Then, later on, we see some of the things they were referring to, and we start to understand the sort of nonlinear cause-and-effect that brought this chain of events about.  It's magnificent.  Probably the best issue in the collection, which is saying a lot.

Issues 9 and 10 revolve around a metahuman called "the Rainmaker," who has the power to eliminate the powers of other metahumans, amplify them, or cause them to rage out of control.  He assumes that the "Rainmaker Program" at PS238 is still the same government program that imprisoned him as a child, and that he has to "rescue" the Rainmaker kids (the kids with non-combat-oriented superpowers.)  He storms through PS238, and takes the kids with him.  Then it's up to Tyler, with some help from the Revenant, to rescue them.

This volume contains some of the best PS238 stories of all.  As I said, I've never entirely approved of how Williams writes angels and demons, but the rest of the stories are that much better, and on the whole, I found it a very enjoyable read, and a fitting continuation of one of the best comic series of all time.

The Adventures of Tintin, Volume 6

By Georges Prosper Remi (Hergé)

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

Tintin is one of the finest comic series that I ever had the pleasure of reading as a boy, and not long ago, a seven-volume set was published, collecting the best and most memorable works about Tintin, though a few were left out (either because of overall poor quality art and controversy, such as the first two Tintin books,) or the last books, due to not being published in the lifetime of their author, and most likely not being entirely written by him either.  If you've got the books in this collection, you've got the cream of the crop, and the best that Tintin has to offer.

The collection is hardcover, and faithfully reprints the various Tintin works in their original, full-color form, although the book itself is smaller that the original printings, meaning that at times, the text is a bit difficult to read, due to the reduction in size that everything took in the transition.  It would, I think, be very hard for children to enjoy this collection, but as a budget choice for adults who want to re-experience their favorite childhood stories, it's good option overall.

Volume 6 contains three stories, and unfortunately, they're not the best of the lot, though none is horrible.  The first; "the Calculus Affair," is easily the best.  Professor Calculus is abducted by international agents after he makes a few breakthroughs in the use of sound as a weapon, and Tintin, Captain Haddock and Snowy go off in pursuit.  Adventures and hijinks ensue, and a good time is had by all.

The second story; the Red Sea Sharks, is probably the worst story in the volume, for a couple of reasons.  First is its treatment of the black passengers on the freighter "the Ramona."  They speak very limited english, and sound very much like the Indians from Peter Pan, or like Bizarro Superman in terms of the way they talk.  I suspect that this is just because Herge himself (or the translators, perhaps,) didn't know how real people would talk if they had a limited knowledge of the language that Tintin speaks (French in the original publications,) but it does come off as kind of corny.  Because of this, they also fail to understand the Captain's initial warnings to them, and seem a bit dim, as a result.  Still, this part could have been a great deal worse, since they -do- try to defend themselves when they feel they're being attacked, and one of them saves Captain Haddock from the knife of a slave-trader.  Tintin, in turn, saves many of them from being sold as slaves, and eventually exposes the slavery ring responsible for the travesty.  It's a bit uncomfortable to read, but not nearly as bad as it could be.

The second problem with this story is all the guest-stars from previous books.  Alcazar, Abdullah, Castafiore, Allan, etc, etc...  There's a point at which the fun of seeing a familiar face becomes more of a sales hook for the previous books than an integral part of the story.  Allan's role in particular was unnecessary, and could have been played by any generic sea captain in the region.  Too often, in this one, I just didn't feel that the guest stars added anything to the story.

The final story really only had one problem, that I can see; its continual reliance on dreams/visions to drive the plot.  Tintin is alerted to the fact that his friend is alive, and in danger by a dream, and later on, a Tibetan monk experiences multiple visions that assist Tintin in his quest, complete with spontaneous levitation and everything.  It got annoying to me.

In every other respect, the third story is positively magnificent; another tale of Tintin repeatedly putting his life on the line to save his friend, and really, isn't that where all the best stories come from?  Tintin's friend Chang is a Chinese boy who crash-lands in a plane, and everyone is sure he's dead; except for Tintin himself, so off we go on more adventures!

Though I enjoyed these stories as a kid, I found myself enjoying them even more as an adult.  Tintin's world is a refreshing one, in which American cultural imperialism hasn't yet crushed the individuality of independent national identities, and in which each nation has its own unique style and culture.  I find this to be one of the most appealing aspects of the books; their appreciation for international distinctiveness.  Though I think that there should only be one -religion- in the world, I find the idea of -cultural- diversity very appealing, and apparently, so did Herge.  I just wish that people would realize the grave threat that America and its mass media poses to that cultural diversity on a global scale.

PS238 Volume 2; To the Cafeteria... For Justice!

By Aaron Williams

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 5 of 5

I recently reviewed the first volume of PS238, and all of the general points that I made there apply to this second 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 (such as the introductions of Malphast, Angie and the Flea,) are only found in trade form.

Five issues of PS238 are collected in this volume, beginning with issue 6, which was the one that convinced me that I was in good hands reading this comic.  In issue 6, two new characters are introduced; "American Eagle" and "USA Patriot Act."  Each has basically the same kind of MO.  They walk around in bright, flag-themed outfits, spout over-the-top, patriotic rhetoric at every chance they get, and constantly fight with one another.  They're apparently being groomed by our nation's political parties, to replace another patriotic-themed superhero when he dies/retires.

This kind of premise sounds like a recipe for disaster, or might even threaten to turn PS238 into a politically-charged book, but to my amazement, Williams avoided doing this, showing both clever writing skills and greater maturity than most modern "entertainers."  Politics shouldn't be about who's on whose side.  It should be about the issues, and all of this so-called "comedy" that you see about politics in recent years has really done nothing but decrease the human ability to reason, while increasing faction-based devotion (which has no intellectual basis at all.)  I don't know if this was Williams' reason for framing the book as he did, but even after reading it several times, I'm still not entirely sure which party was supporting which Jr. Patriotic hero.  At one point, they say their favorite colors; blue and red, which might be a clue, but it's not overt enough to mean anything, and maybe it's better that way.  The political reality that this comic points to is simply that America is incredibly divided right now, while still doing its best to keep up appearances.  Any person of either party can look at this, and get some laughs, and by shifting the focus onto truly nonpartisan political humor, Williams showed that his interest was -entertainment,- not some ulterior motive of his own.  I think that's the reason why I loved issue 6 so much, and why I felt so safe in the hands of PS238 after reading it.

Issue 7 tells the story of Mister Extraordinary; the world's first superhero in the PS238 universe, and the problems that he and his family faced as a result of his powers.  In some ways, it's a tragic story, but Williams makes it work magnificently by focusing, not on the tragedy, but on the good that comes about in spite of the tragedy, and on the foiling of the plans of evildoers, which, in my view, is the best he could have done with a story like this one.  You don't feel depressed when you put it down, and really, that already makes it superior to the tragic tales told by other comic companies.

Issue 8 talks about the history of Project Rainmaker; the branch of the school that teaches those with non-combat-oriented powers, though many of them, I'm convinced, could be truly devastating if they put their minds to it.  Apparently, it was once a controversial government program, to try to learn the secrets of superpowers.  This is another tragic tale, after a fashion, but again, it's exciting, and a lot of fun to read.  I was very pleased with how it was handled.

In issue 9, "The Revenant" (a sort of Batman parody,) takes Tyler under his wing, and tries to teach him a little about how to fight crime without any special powers.  This one is just pure fun, though we see that Tyler is looking for more information on his teachers.

Finally, issue 10, in which Tyler, Angie and the alien Prospero are given a science project involving silly putty; a project that takes them back into outer space, and into deadly peril.  This issue is high-flying adventure at its finest.

Although no major story arcs are ended in Volume 2, a couple are started, and several new characters introduced.  The overall result is a volume that, by itself, is part-introduction, part-setup, part self-contained storylines, and just good, clean fun all along the way.  As fun, entertaining, secular comic books go, this is the measuring stick.  I loved it, and I hope you will too.

PS238 Volume 1; With Liberty and Recess For All

By Aaron Williams

Catholic-ometer: 3.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 5 of 5

The history of comic books can be traced in terms of "ages."  In the Golden Age, we saw the debuts of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice Society, as well as a number of others.

In the Silver Age, a lot of the old superheroes were revamped with sci-fi and fantasy origins and truly bizarre storylines, which would have been perfect fun, if not for the generally-poor writing quality of the time.  When Spider-man's girlfriend; Gwen Stacy died, so did the Silver Age, unfortunately.

The Silver Age was followed by the Bronze Age, in which superhero comics did everything they could to address the key issues of the time.  Darker and grimmer storylines also tended to pop up every now and then until "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Watchmen" were published, and became intensely popular.  Unfortunately, rather than learning the lesson that well-written stories sell, publishers made the mistake of thinking that "dark storylines are popular now."

Thus was born the Dark Age of comics, in which all stories were either dark, grim and depressing, or a prelude to something that was.  It could be argued that this age has never really ended, since even in the modern age of comic books, writers and editors aren't shy about killing off characters for no reason, and writing mega-crossover storylines in which tons of characters die.

Each age of comics really seemed to make some serious mistakes.  The golden age had licensing problems, the silver age was badly-written, the bronze age more concerned with "relevance" than enjoyable storytelling, the dark age was -way- too dark, and certainly not something you can share with kids, and in the modern age, comic books are a mish-mash of all of these mistakes, plus the added problem that many writers and editors try to use them as a vehicle for their incorrect views of moral and political issues.

The reason why I bring all of this up is that in my time reading comics from various companies and various nations, only a few comic books ever managed to avoid making -any- of these mistakes, and only one of them was written and published in America; PS238.

PS238 began as a webcomic, and it can still be found online, if you need a sample to get you interested.  Basically, a group of kids with superpowers go to a school for superpowered children, and have adventures.  However, this is only the very basic premise.  It excels in many other areas.

For one thing, the children in this book act like real children.  They're not miniature adults, like Harry Potter, or parodies of children, like Bart Simpson.  If real kids had superpowers, they'd act a lot like this.

Secondly, the comic is enjoyable and positive, not unlike the Silver Age comics published long ago, and contains many bizarre storylines as well.  However, unlike those comics, it's also exceptionally well-written, and humorous.

The characters develop, not unlike manga characters.  They don't always remain exactly the same.  Tyler and Ron, for example, have been developing continually over the course of the comic, and Guardian Angel has also undergone plenty of growth since the comic began, though you may not see much of this in the early issues, where everyone is still being introduced.

What amazes me is how, even when the comic gets serious, and addresses tragic situations, which happened in the past, or are happening in the present, it never does so in a negative manner, and the reader is always left feeling that, in the end, things really didn't turn out so bad, even when they did.  Williams never -dwells- on tragic occurrences, even when he does narrate them, and I think that may be what makes his work so much superior to the typical fare from Marvel, or even DC these days.

However, the thing that will, I think, draw readers to this comic most is the simple fact that it's something that kids can read.  For the longest time, comic books have been struggling so hard to subvert the silver age, that they've become antisocial, mean-spirited, grim, and even immoral.  They contain not-infrequent cursing, blood and over-the-top violence, and even overt sex!  PS238 is none of these things.  It revels in the crisp, clean world of those old, superhero comics, then just writes the stories better, and has fun with them.

That's the long and short of it, really.  PS238 isn't just family-friendly.  It's -fun.-  It won't make you angst, like the X-men.  It won't make you upset, like a big, company crossover.  It won't make you feel hopeless, like so many comics nowadays do.  It's fun, and after all, isn't that the reason why comics were created to begin with?

These comics are all in black and white.  That's how they were drawn, and it's how they're being represented.  Also, most of the comics in these collected volumes are also available online as part of the webcomic.  I say -most,- because there are some special segments in these volumes, such as Miss Kyle's preparations for super-powered teachers, which are only present in collected form.  You won't miss much by reading the webcomic, but if you want the whole thing, this is the way to get it.  Besides, it's not so easy to read to your nieces off the internet.

This volume covers 6 issues of PS238; Issue 0 (a montage of character introductions and other preparations for the world of PS238,) Issue 1 (in which Ron, also known as Captain Clarinet, must do battle with his fear of flying,) Issue 2 (in which an alien child lands at PS238, and must find a way to integrate with the rest of the class,) Issue 3 (introducing Tyler; the main character of the comic, and the only student at PS238 who lacks any kind of special powers or technology,) Issue 4 (in which the students are stranded on the moon,) and Issue 5 (in which Tyler and some of the others decide to investigate the secret depths of their school, and find themselves pursued by what seems to be a ghost!)  All of these stories are delightful and fun.

There are, of course, magical characters in this story, but that's to be expected from a comic about all kinds of superheroes.  Because of this, I'm giving the first volume of PS238 the best grade that I ever give to anything that isn't overtly religious, and I fully expect to give its many follow-up volumes the same grade.  It's been a long time since we got to see superheroes having fun and fighting evil at the same time, and believe me; it's refreshing to see it again.