Giving girls a reason to read comics: White Tiger #1

Who can resist a shapely woman who can kick your butt without breaking a sweat? Apparently, too many people. No one can dispute the dearth of women in comics. Not enough women are working in the industry, not enough women star in the books, and not enough women are reading the material. Now's our chance to celebrate all three with the butt-kicking launch of Marvel's White Tiger.

Scripted by the married team of Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe, White Tiger captures the audience with an intriguing story: the mythical organization, the Chaeyi, might be real, the is-he-or-isn't-he Daredevil pops in, and our hero isn't sure if she wants all this. Angela Del Toro, the niece of the original '70s kung fu hero White Tiger, received Hector Ayala's amulets just before being fired from her FBI position investigating Matt Murdock as Daredevil. Leave it to Brian Michael Bendis to introduce a character so compelling she deserves her own limited series, but Del Toro really comes to life in the able hands of Pierce, best known for her strong female leads in a series of young adult fantasy novels.

Despite the history behind White Tiger, the authors quickly fill in her backstory without being bogged down in exposition. And together we stumble through Angela's personal dilemma about using the amulets and whether or not that means she has to wear a costume. In the first of six issues, the Black Widow shows up to mentor Angela and her first stop is helping choose the costume. Fanboys might be disappointed by the decided lack of flesh showing, but the skintight outfit draws the eye to every sinuous muscle.

The artwork by Phil Briones with inks by Don Hillsman and colors by Chris Sotomayor is realistic with gritty, dark New York nights and sunny, yet grimy streets during the day. The world of Angela Del Toro is captivating through the eyes of this creative team and her emotional life is revealed with every expression.

If you are a fan of Collen Wing and Misty Knight AKA Heroes for Hire (and if not, why not?), White Tiger is a must read. If you want to see more female action heroes, White Tiger is a must read. If you want your girlfriend to share your super hero obsession, White Tiger is a must read. Did you need any other reason to check this out? Oh, wait, if you hurry, it comes with Four Color Fantasies' money-back guarantee. Buy it today and make this Tiger purr.

Samurai: Heaven and Earth (Vol. 2, #1)

In comic book circles, there is some debate about which is the greatest breed of legendary warriors: ninjas or samurai. For my money, samurai have the ninja beat by a mile. Sure, ninja can do all that hopping around, stealthy stuff. They can poison your food or sneak up behind you and stab you with their fancy ninja blades, but is that really any way for a deadly martial artist to act? Would you hang out with someone who did that to you?

Samurai, on the other hand, are noble warriors who will look you in the eye. A samurai will tell you how he's going to kill you, give you the first shot, and still take you down before you know what happened. Now THAT'S impressive! Asukai Shiro, the star of Dark Horse's Samurai: Heaven and Earth (Vol. 2, #1) by Ron Marz and Luke Ross, is a prime example of the honorable samurai warrior. He fights for a just cause, he gives his opponents fair warning before they die at his hand, and he stays cool and calm even in the face of insurmountable odds. I'd like to see a ninja top that!

Shiro is on a quest to rescue his kidnapped love Lady Yoshiko. He swears to cross Heaven and Earth to be reunited with her, and is well on his way to keeping that vow. Having crossed all of Asia and most of Europe on Yoshiko's trail, Shiro finds himself in Spain as this volume of the series opens. Being a stranger in a strange land puts him at a bit of a disadvantage, so Shiro has to recruit some unwilling local to help him pick up his lost love's trail. Of course, some people just don't believe Shiro when he says they will help him or die. As you can probably imagine, some of those skeptics end up on the wrong end of Shiro's sword. (That's the sharp end, if you couldn't guess.)

This book has a great, epic story with beautiful, realistic art. Both Marz and Ross have done their research, as this historical tale looks and feels very authentic. If you love Lone Wolf and Cub, Frank Miller's Ronin, or even those Wolverine issues where he goes to Japan, you should check out Samurai: Heaven and Earth #1. This book has tragic romance, historical drama, plenty of action, and a cool samurai hero. If that isn't enough to entice you, it looks like Shiro may be running afoul of some pirates soon. Nobody can resist pirates. Pirates are cooler than ninjas, too.

Don't skulk in the shadows! Boldly make your way to Four Color Fantasies, where you can do the honorable thing and try out this guaranteed Book of the Week.

New Beloved Brit Stuns: Wisdom #1

You know, thanks to Walt Disney and Tinkerbell, everyone thinks fairies are adorable little winged darlings, flitting about the English countryside. However, if you read your folklore, fairies are usually portrayed as manipulative, angry, hateful little buggers. Given half a chance, they'll steal your crops and kidnap your babies. Bloody fairies.

In the England of the marvel Universe, fairies really exist in the Otherworld. The Otherworld is essentially the collective unconcious of the English people. It exists alongside the "real" world and is teeming with fairies, monsters, knights, kings, swords in stones, and all that other great stuff from your English Lit class. Unfortunately, sometimes the residents of the Otherworld collide with modern day England, and that makes trouble. When a bunch of wild fairies start waging war on humans, it's time to call in Pete Wisdom.

Wisdom is the head of MI-13, a secret government team that deals with "weird happenings." Pete's team is, honestly, a pretty weird bunch too. Wisdom himself is a mutant (he was in the best ever Excalibur run, back when Warren Ellis wrote it), and he leads a group with a rogue fairy, a hippy Skrull, Captain Midlands, and a woman who is "clairsentient" but NOT a telepath. A strange team to deal with strange stuff.

Wisdom is a Marvel Max limited series written by Paul Cornell, with art by Trevor Hairsine. Cornell has long been a favorite writer of mine. He has written some excellent Doctor Who novels, an acclaimed episode of the new Doctor Who TV series, some original sci-fi novels, and some great comics for 2000 AD. This is his first work for American comics, and I have a feeling Paul Cornell will become a beloved import like fellow Brits Garth Ennis and Warren Ellis. In the first issue alone, Wisdom manages to be original, funny, and scary, packed with great moments and clever ideas. Trevor Hairsine, another former 2000 AD artist, is no slouch either. His detailed, dark, and gorgeous art is a perfect fit for the book.

With great art and a great story, there is no excuse for you to miss out on Wisdom #1. If you enjoy the modern take on folklore in Fables, you should definitely give Wisdom a try. Of course, the fairies might try to steal your copy, so be careful! Bloody fairies.