Comics this week

Astro City #21- After the end of last issue, you know big changes are in store for Crackerjack and Quarrel and boy, did writer Kurt Busiek deliver or what? After some quick action, we came to the meat of the story; what do you do when you're a superhero who’s now too old to cut it? With Quarrel, she went and got advice from the most unlikely of sources; her father. What’s nice about this was how Busiek handled the meeting. The first Quarrel was unapologetic about his past and readily admits that he miss the thrill of being a super-villain. However, he know he’s old so he retired and found another way to live his life. This down-to-earth, no-nonsense advice was exactly what his daughter needed to hear. Here’s a guy who been through what she’s going through and he’s not willing to sugarcoat anything. She’ll miss the thrill but age catch up with everyone so she has to move on. That father/daughter scene made the issue; maybe the entire arc. Brilliant!

Ms. Marvel #13- I will admit that for the past few issues, Ms. Marvel, while charming, has been kind of treading water. This issue however has writer Willow Wilson back on track as Kamala hits it off with a young man introduced to her by her parents. The fact is so surprising even her father, and the young man’s father, had no idea what to do. They basically expected the two young teens to hate each other. Such humor is what make this series great and Wilson even manages to expand on Kamala’s superhero career with the Inhumans worrying about her inexperience and solo career. The balance of humor and drama is back, and hopefully, it’s here to stay.

Ninjak #1- I’ll admit; I never got Ninjak. To me, he’s always a bit of a gag/trend character. A ninja armed with all sort of sci-fi toys taking on beings with superpowers? If it sounds like Batman, that’s because it is. To his credit, writer Matt Kindt took the premise and ran with it. Not only that, he gave Colin King an engaging back story with Ninjak just being the latest in a long line British agents starting with Ninja-A. I really hope Kindt would dig deeper into the "Ninja Program" much like what he’s doing with Rai. Wait…Rai and Ninjak? Is there a connection? I certainly hope so. This issue got me interested in a character I never really care for. In short, this is a great debut!