Hoopla! - Episode 34: Comics that make me feel all tingly inside... [Part One]

Hello and welcome to Hoopla!


This week we're going to take a look at ongoing, monthly comics and a few upcoming projects that all have one thing in common... they rock my world!!!



And where better to start than with the upcoming Tiny Titans comics? This is being solicited as a new monthly series for kids 3-5 years old which, of course, makes it perfect for me!!!


Please note that Aqualad apparently has a sidekick in this comic... a fish named Fluffy.


I don't think any comics fan could reasonably ask for anything more wonderful in this world than a story starring Aqualad and Fluffy, the fish.

Feeling bummed out about the death of Bart (Impulse/Kid Flash) in the DC Universe? Look no further than Tiny Titans... which is clearly, gloriously out of continuity.

Take that, Dan Didio!!!

Please note that Speedy's trick arrows include a pie-arrow (presumably to be fired into someone's face) and a water-balloon arrow.


Genius!




Tiny Titans is schedule to start coming out in January; you can read here for more information.





[They also discuss two other comics-for-kids that will be coming out soon, but Tiny Titans is the only one of the three that looks interesting to me...]





Meanwhile, I wanted to mention a few monthly comics that I'm enjoying tremendously...







Nova
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Art by Sean Chen
Published by Marvel

The cover art isn't much to look at, I know, but this monthly sci-fi/super-hero series is one of my most eagerly anticipated titles every month. It's difficult for me to put my finger on what, exactly, it is about Nova that works so well. The writers, Abnett and Lanning, are generally good but they've never really blown me away in the past. The artist, Sean Chen, is similarly good-but-not-great... he's certainly not an artist whose work I actively seek out. And the title character, Nova, is sort of a generic Marvel super-hero, initially created to be a sort of Spider-Man-esque teen loser/hero.

And yet...

Nova is only in its fifth issue but already so much has happened... it's sort of a non-stop adventure with solid characterization, awesome cliff-hangers, and lots of rock 'em sock 'em fight scenes that make me feel like a young Paul, reading comics again for the first time.

Nova isn't anything ground-breaking or terribly innovative... there's nothing here you haven't seen before. It's generic super-hero/sci-fi done with passion, though, and with a genuine sense of fun in every page. There's plenty of story in each issue, but when I get to the last page, invariable, I'm left with a desperate craving for the next issue.

Good, good stuff!

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Whoops... my Homework-o-meter has just gone off, which means Part Two of Comics that make me feel all tingly inside... will have to wait until next week, but in the meantime I leave you with the following...

See you next week!

- Paul