June's Number Ones

I feel super-late on my reviews of new Number Ones, but the Red Bee would not be denied! I know some of these books have already had a #2, and I'm not even going to cover everything today), so let's get to it, shall we?

Infinity Man and the Forever People by Keith Giffen, Dan DiDio and Scott Koblish for DC. Did you like this creative team's OMAC? Because it's the same kind of crazy Kirby riffing that makes it impossible for me to reconcile DiDio the editor-in-chief with DiDio the writer. Now, I think we can all agree that Forever People was the weakest of Kirby's Fourth World books, mostly because the protagonists were rather lame (the little cowboy especially). Well, this version of the Forever People does just enough reinvention to make the book exciting. In this version, the Forever Peeps are Himon's Academy students on a field trip to Earth, specifically Venice Beach. It's Fourth World Melrose Place. And it goes on from there. The characters are less goofy than they used to be, there's more variety, better relationships. Serifan's been turned into Vykin's sister, for example. And there's an overt Kirby homage.
Keep reading? Of course. Like OMAC, I don't expect it to last long, but I'll enjoy the ride while it does.

Big Trouble in Little China by John Carpenter, Eric Powell and Brian Churilla for Boom! The continuing adventures of Jack Burton and the Pork-Chop Express, as it's subtitled, is a straight sequel to the cult Carpenter film, and though I remember it only vaguely (been meaning to find a good DVD copy), it's not hard to get into at all. Like the film, it's an anything goes demonic kung fu tale starring a pretty good likeness of Kurt Russell, and it's FUN. Not only do the heroes return, but even the threat is direct sequel to the movie, as new villains show up to take revenge (it's kung fu, guys, it's expected). And just to add complications, Jack inherits a demon familiar for his trouble.
Keep reading? Sure! It's making me want to track down the movie sooner rather than later.

Tiny Titans: Return to the Treehouse by Baltazar and Franco for DC. If you weren't reading Tiny Titans the first time around (and maybe you were, it did reach 50 issues), it's back. And just as fun and charming as ever. It even acknowledges that some of its stars were off doing their thing in the equally awesome Superman Family Adventures. AND Baltazar and Franco show their usual love for the DC Universe (specifically, the pre-New 52 DCU) by giving us a little tour, with neat cameos from adult DC stars. I like these guys' indie stuff (Aw Yeah Comics! and Action Cat), but I'm so glad this is back.
Keep reading? Aw Yeah.

Armor Hunters by Robert Venditti, Doug Brathwaite and Laura Martin for Valiant. I like how Valiant is doing its crossover events, making them come out of specific books and, for the most part, only interacting with relevant titles. In this case, I guess Armor Hunters will intersect almost every book (I'd be surprised if it touched Rai) and will shake things up enough that some titles will be... changed? Get new #1s? Get cancelled? I just don't know, because in the first issue, the creative team does something so shocking, it clearly means business. Do you know how long it's been since I've been shocked by something that happened in a crossover event?! Anyway, this is definitely X-O Manowar's story, but the eponymous team is so dangerous, it's gonna take a whole universe to take them down. The art is slick, the colors rich and textured, and from what I've already read of the continuing story, the action doesn't let up.
Keep reading? Valiant is doing some superlative superhero work, both serious and humorous, and I really like their model for using a shared universe. So I say yes.

Angry Birds Comics by Jeff Parker, Paco Rodriques, Paul Tobin and Marco Gervasio for IDW. Ok, normally, I'd say a tie-in with a cel phone game would be beneath me, but these "mini-comics" are written by Parker and Tobin, the awesome writers of so many all-ages Marvel Adventures. These guys know comedy and imbue their stories (each writer gets half an issue) with a lunacy worthy of the Looney Tunes, as ball-shaped birds and pigs square off. Best of all, they've figured out how to make the silly world created by the game and turn it into a coherent set of gags that manages to stay entertaining all the way through.
Keep reading? Change the writers, maybe not. Stick to either or both of these guys, and I'll keep reading. I'm definitely amused.

Ok, all I could churn out this time around. Did I cost you a couple dollars? It certainly seems like I couldn't warn you off anything. Maybe next time. Many more books were introduced in June, after all.