Don't you just hate it when you miss out on a cool new series? You hear all the buzz, but you already missed the first few issues, so you just don't feel like you can catch up. It's even worse when you hear all about how cool a title is, but you have YEARS worth of missed issues scaring you away from the book. Lucky for you, those clever folks at Marvel have everything under control.

In this case the cool series you may have missed out on is Runaways, by Brian K. Vaughan and an assortment of excellent artists. This title has hidden on the fringes of the Marvel Universe. Despite excellent reviews, lots of people still haven't read it. Now you may have heard that hot-shot writer Joss Whedon (You know, the Buffy and Astonishing X-Men guy.) is going to be taking over the book. This would be a great time to try this book, but what about the first 42 issues? To you I say, "Runaways Saga #1!"

This special Runaways issue cleverly compacts the events of the entire series into one handy-dandy issue. Still on the run, the team picks up the journal of their youngest member, Molly. Reading the journal, they get to see the crazy events of their lives from Molly's sometimes naive viewpoint, starting with how they had to run from, and eventually defeat, their own villainous parents. If you've never picked up an issue of Runaways before, this book is a great introduction. If you are already a fan, you may still enjoy seeing the events of the series analyzed by Molly. As an added bonus, there are a few new story pages by Humberto Ramos to link everything together.

Now's your chance to hang out with the cool kids and make up for your shameful ignorance! Runaways Saga #1 has everything you ever wanted to know about the Runaways, but were afraid to ask. It's all in one convenient book at one thrifty price, so what do you have to lose? Nothing! Because this book is Four Color Fantasies' guaranteed Book of the Week!

Kid Fair: Franklin Richards-Son of a Genuis: March Madness!

Need a break from all the doom and gloom in the world of comics? Had enough wars, shocks, dead super-heroes and black costumes? Or maybe you'd just like a comic your kids can read without needing therapy later in life? Either way, I've got the book for you! The hugely titled Fantastic Four Presents: Franklin Richards-Son of a Genius: March Madness!

The basic premise of Franklin Richards (by Chris Eliopoulos and Marc Sumerak) is pretty simple: Franklin, son of Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards deals with many of the problems kids face in their day-to-day life by using stuff found in his dad's lab. His robotic baby-sitter, H.E.R.B.I.E, tells him not to, but Franklin doesn't listen and chaos ensues. It's kind of like what would happen if Calvin and Hobbes' Calvin had a real transmogrifier or dimensional portal, instead of just a painted cardboard box. I'm pretty sure the creators must be fans of Bill Watterson's duo.

This book is a one-shot collection of several short Franklin Richards adventures. Franklin de-evolves his dad, rides the subatomic sled, has a bad hair day, and plays his first basketball game, all with predictably silly results. My personal favorite from this issue has to be when Franklin foolishly decides to give his hamster, Mr. Sniffles, super-expanded intelligence. Little did he know that he would be unleashing the villainy of Norbert Q. Sniffles, Hamster of Destruction upon an unprepared world! Oh, the horror!

This comic won't "change the universe forever!" But, it will provide a chuckle or two. (And, really, couldn't we all use a good chuckle?) If you're in the mood for some simple, cartoony, fun, you need to try out Franklin Richards. It IS Four Color Fantasies' guaranteed Book of the Week. Besides, if you choose not to read it you may will incur the wrath of Norbert Q. Sniffles, Hamster of Destruction! I don't think anybody wants that.