By Justin Leiter

June 13th, 2007- JL’s Comic Shop Stop has returned! We know you were all weepy and sad to see a few days go by without any new comic reviews, but rest assured we’re here to guide you to some of the good stuff from the comic racks these past couple of weeks.

Maybe not as fresh as the day they were on the shelves, but these books are still ripe and ready for the reading.

HELLBOY: DARKNESS CALLS - # 2 of 6
(Dark Horse Comics, May 2007, $2.99; 24 pp. + 2 pp. letters).

Story by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo
Colors by Dave Stewart

Even though Mike Mignola hasn’t been drawing that much of his most famous character of late, limiting his Hellboy work to covers and the occasional short story, he’s been doing a lot more writing. Besides co-writing the latest B.P.R.D mini-series and scripting the up-coming Dark Horse Abe Sapien and Lobster Johnson mini-series, he’s writing this new six issue mini-series, the first Hellboy series since 2005’s “Makoma.” Then again, Makoma, illustrated by Richard Corben, was only two issues, as was the last Mignola-drawn Hellboy story, 2005’s “The Island.” This longer story seems ready to give us a healthy dose of Hellboy mythology, old and new. The first two issues set up the story for a war between the witches and ‘The Worlds Greatest Paranormal Investigator.’ They seek his help in freeing one of their own, The Queen of Night, Hecate, who has been brought back to earth by power-seeking half-human, half-lizard Igor Bromhead. Mignola brings together some past characters and story elements that so far make this appear to be one of the more satisfying tales in the Hellboy mythos. And even though the art isn’t by him, it certainly has the feel of Mignola. Duncan Fegredo is probably the perfect artist to have guest a Hellboy mini-series; Some of the pages and panels in this story are like a more rendered version of Mignola’s; the drawing is more fluid as well. His figures can sometimes contort their bodies into sinuous undulating forms, especially arms and hands. One of the most evocative qualities of Mignola’s art is the mood he gets with his pacing and use of shadows and light and dark. Nowhere is this more apparent than when he cuts to close-ups of stone statues and bas-reliefs. Fegredo uses all these Mignola-ish approaches and the result is genuine. There’s lot of incantations and ancient texts, doom and gloom, balanced by the everyday, “give me a break” attitude of ‘ol horn head. The tempo begins building and by the end of issue two, things are starting to heat up and it looks like some fun and crazy things are in store for this series. If you dig Hellboy you’re gonna love this one.

Comic Shop Stop Meter: 9
Story: 9
Art: 10

THE RIDE - DIE VALKYRIE # 1 of 3
(Image Comics, June 2007, $2.99; 22 pp of b/w art + 10 pp. of previews and ads)

Story by Doug Wagner and Brian Stelfreeze
Art by Brian Stelfreeze
Cover by Jason Pearson

First up, anyone that’s going to be drawing an issue of The Ride had better be able to draw some smokin’ hot cars. Not to mention some smokin’ hot girls. Luckily, Brian Stelfreeze can do both. The art is sleek, sharp, and just plain cool. Always framed around a classic ‘68 Camaro in each storyline, this latest The Ride mini-series plays like a great sequence from some kick-ass action movie. Rebecca has just “borrowed” a car from her dad’s auto-body shop (he’s drawn like the long lost brother of the father on “American Chopper”) to take for a road trip with her two friends, Cleo and Ting (who likes to cut herself), to beat up a cheating boyfriend. They imagine themselves as Valkyries from Norse mythology - get it? ‘ The Ride of the Valkyries’ . . . and it’s even written by Wagner! . . . Okay the spelling’s different, but I digress . . .As in those old tales, wherein Valkyries rode wolves (not “winged stallions” as Rebecca corrects Cleo),they take that classic 1968 RS/SS Camaro, which to Rebecca would qualify as a “Wolf.” Unfortunately, unknown to them, the car belongs to some, shall we say, unsavory characters, who want it back as well as what’s in it. With Rebecca’s dad held hostage back at the auto body shop, the ride is on. Along the way is a subplot involving Laci (the gun-toting crazy lady from the original The Ride mini-series from 2004 as well as other The Ride stories) and a group of nuns. So far, we’re not sure how these two separate storylines are connected, but I’m sure it’ll all come together in a lot of gun blasting mayhem. This is just pure balls-out entertainment. You’ve got guns, nuns, fast cars, and faster women--as they say . . . what more could you ask for?

Comic Shop Stop Meter: 8+
Story: 8
Art: 8+

THE SHAOLIN COWBOY # 7
(Burlyman Entertainment, May 2007, $3.50; 29 pp. of story and art)

Story and Art by Geoffrey Darrow
Ass-ologue written by Andy and Larry Wachowski
Colors by Alex Wald

Okay, I’ll be honest. I have no friggin’ clue what’s really going on in Geoff Darrow’s insanely crazy dream-world story and if it’s got deeper meanings and underlying social commentary, then I’m totally missing it. But that doesn’t matter at all because a lot of what this is really all about is Geoff Darrow’s absolutely mind-blowing detailed illustrations. I’ve got to say it’s a shame this book isn’t being printed in a larger size, like his earlier Frank Miller collaborations, Hard Boiled and Big Guy and Rusty The Boy Robot. This is more of the same ridiculously rendered style as seen in those books but here he gets to go all out on monsters, babies, dead bodies, zombies, sharks, and any incidental object, from beer bottles to literally the kitchen sink, that he can think of to draw. I can’t even begin to imagine how long Darrow spends on creating this visual feast. It’s almost beyond comprehension that’s he’s able to turn out such superbly drawn and complex pages on a fairly regular basis. I like the colors better in this issue, too (last issue had a different colorist), as most of the story takes place outside; this is unlike the last issue, which took place entirely inside the belly of a giant dinosaur creature with a city on its back and was colored in very muted tones. Some were very dark and made a number of the smaller objects a little difficult to figure out. The last six pages of art in the book are three amazing black and white double page spreads where we finally get a decent-sized printing of Darrow’s beautiful inks. If you’re ready to be blown away by incredible artwork this book will give you more than your money’s worth. But it’s also got some funny characters, great action, and over the top gore. A definite must.

Comic Shop Stop Meter: 9
Story: 8
Art: 10

ACTION COMICS #850
(DC Comics, July 2007, $3.99; 38 pp. of story and art)

Story by Kurt Busiek, Geoff Johns and Fabian Nicieza
Pencils and Colors by Renato Guedes
Inks by Jose Wilson Magalhaes

Trapped in the 31st century, Brainiac is trying to help Supergirl return to her rightful era in time, our own 21st century, by using a special time travel helmet that allows her to see events from her past. Brainiac is not yet able to create a time machine; this is the closest he’s able to come. This special 850th celebratory issue is really an excuse to go back and relive some older Superman storylines and incidents as well as tell a little tale about the importance of family. By story’s end we see Superman more from the human side than the super, and how even he, with all his powers, can at times feel like a true outsider. Supergirl, coming into the story, says that he can be a “jerk,” but it’s more her perception of him than the actual truth. By viewing scenes out of her past, some that she doesn’t even remember, she learns more about her cousin and comes to appreciate him for who he was. It’s cool to see Guedes takes on some familiar classic Superman looks; his own style is beautiful, with clean, precise line work for the characters melded with almost animation cell-like coloring, though with more depth to the painting than most. Check out the rendering on the cover art. I have to say, though, he draws Kal-El as one pretty darn ugly baby!

Comic Shop Stop Meter: 8
Story: 7
Art: 9