Top Notch Package: ClanDestine #1

Writers are always warning us that the dream of immortality wouldn't be nearly as great as we think it would be, but, you know, I'd kind of like to test that theory out for myself. It seems to me that life's disappointments would be easier to live with if you had a couple of centuries to get over them. I mean, if time heals all wounds, and you've got unlimited time, things should work out pretty well in the end.

I bring up immortality because, though you may not have noticed, there is an immortal clan lurking around the edges of the Marvel Universe. The Destine family are all the offspring of 800 year old Adam Destine. This powerful, immortal, extended family mostly hangs out at the Ravenscroft Estate, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves. Of course, it is a little difficult to remain unnoticed when the youngest members of the clan insist on going super-heroing in their spare time.

Young twins Rory and Pandora (AKA Crimson Crusader and Imp) have powers that only work when they are together. Rory has grand dreams of being a hero, but when the twins start fooling around with the forces of badness, they draw unwanted attention to their unusual family. Father Adam senses that bad news is on the way, but it may be too late to do anything to stop it...

New work from Alan Davis, the creator, writer, and artist of ClanDestine, is all too infrequent. He's had some celebrated runs with the X-Men and Excalibur, but he doesn't seem to get the attention his work deserves. ClanDestine is a concept created by Davis a few years back, loved by those who read it, but the short-lived series flew under most reader's comic book radar. (Comdar?) Davis is in top form with this return to the world of ClanDestine. His art is detailed, dynamic, classic Marvel-style stuff. Combine awesome visuals with an intriguing story and interesting characters and you've got a book that really shouldn't be missed.

Look, you probably won't live forever, so you really can't afford to miss this book. Time is running out! Besides, you don't want a vast, powerful, immortal family to be annoyed with you. Read ClanDestine #1 right now, while it is the guaranteed Book of the Week!

Ready for the movies? The Stranded #1

I'm sure you've probably noticed that, of late, many movie and TV producer types have discovered the joys of comic books. They came a little late to the discovery that fans already knew: there are some awesome storeis being told in the sequential art medium. With all the comics being optioned for film nowadays, it's interesting to see a TV network actually helping to produce comics that could, someday, be filmed. The Stranded #1 is the first book to come from Virgin Comics in collaboration with the Sci Fi Channel. Written by Mike Carey with art by Siddharth Kotian, this book is a pretty darn good first effort.

The Stranded is about a group of mysterious aliens, forced to flee from their home planet. They ended up on Earth decades ago, and disguised themselves to blend in with human society. Most don't know that they aren't just as human as they appear to be, but there are a few caretakers out there, keeping an eye out for their charges. It's good to have sombody looking out for you, especially when they've got alien technology, superior knowledge, and loads of big guns. Gotta have big guns.

Tamree is one such caretaker, and she has to break out the big guns when her "sleepers" start to turn up dead. She quickly realizes that the enemy they have been hiding from all this time has found them. With her base of operations destroyed and her super-smart rat dead, Tamree has to get to her people before it is too late. Of course, discovering that they are really an endangered alien race may be disconcerting for some of them. (I think we should all have genius rats around. I'd give mine tiny little glasses and a fez!)

The art and the story in The Stranded are both very well done. This series could be easily translated to TV, so this could be the beginning of Sci Fi's next big thing, and you wouldn't want to miss getting in on the ground floor of that, would you? So, if you are who you claim to be, head out to Four Color Fantasies and try out this guaranteed Book of the Week. Just leave your rat at home. Unless he's wearing a fez!