IT MIGHT BE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS… BUT IS IT REALLY WORTH $16.95?: Comics reviews.

Finder: The Rescuers. The latest installment of the “aboriginal science fiction” series; two interlocking plotlines, plus one backstory (and a twist revealed at the end), all centering on children in jeopardy. One plotline mirrors the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, with all the attendant upstairs-downstairs drama and suspicion. One plotline concerns an aboriginal woman who has, in a development her tribe would consider disastrous if they knew, given birth to twins. The first link between the two stories is geographical: The twins’ mother lives on the pseudo-Lindberghs’ estate, as part of an encampment that serves as a kind of tourist attraction. Jaeger, the half-aboriginal (? I think) “finder” of the title, is the second link: a member (? again, not clear on the details) of the twins’ mother’s tribe, and a supernaturally skilled detective who hunts for the baby’s kidnapper.

So, the good stuff: The plots are both highly suspenseful. You really want to know what will happen in the kidnapping investigation, whether the twins will live, and what will happen to their mother if they do.

Once again, the book has all kinds of intriguing, rough-edged details that make the Finder world feel real. My favorite from this book is probably the television kudzu that grows all over the city. It’s visually striking, and it plays to Carla Speed McNeil’s themes of celebrity, the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of human culture and technology, and the image of the city as another kind of wilderness. It’s funny and feels right.

McNeil’s loopy, organic drawings have a lovely movement, partly a vegetable or vine-growth and partly a dance. All her characters are distinctively drawn, and their facial features provide part of the clues we (and the characters surrounding them) use to fit them into the larger cultural picture.

The not-so-much: Jaeger continues to skate on very thin ice separating him from the deadly waters of Jaeger-Sueness. I’m pretty sure he’s not supposed to be wrong even once in this book (which was not true in earlier Finder books). He’s way too voice-of-hard-earned-wisdom. I still really like the character, but I’m also still afraid that McNeil is slowly succumbing to his charms; that would be bad.

More importantly, I didn’t get the impression that this book added up. It felt like a jumbled heap of examples of “rescuers,” but that’s not the same as actually saying or showing something about rescuing. Am I missing something? Why is this story being told? I don’t feel like I understand rescuing, or what it’s like to be forced into the role of rescuer, or cultural differences, or any of the book’s other themes, better than I did before I read it.

My recommendation remains what it’s been for a while: Read Finder: Sin Eater I & II. Those are awesome. If you want more after that, try Dream Sequence. Unless I’m really missing something, I’d have to put The Rescuers somewhere further down the list, which is unfortunate since it does have a compelling plot and what should have been a powerful theme.

The Pulse, vol. 2: In which, in only the second volume!!!, Marvel/Bendis/whoever forgets what the point of this series is. Why does this series exist? To tell stories about the intersection of journalism and superheroics in the Marvel Universe. This series exists to show J. Jonah Jameson vs. Jessica Jones vs. the world. This is not a series about Nick Fury’s random political troubles. I guess this was part of a crossover or something? It really felt like a story that could have taken place anywhere, with any characters, totally not distinctive to Jessica or to the Daily Bugle setting. Hulk smash, man.

Rising Stars of Manga vol. 5: So I actually bought this because the winning story, “Mail Order Ninja,” is written by Friend of This Blog Joshua Elder. And “MON” is fun! It’s a light, fluffy story about a kid who orders a ninja by mail, and the various troubles and hijinks that ensue. Like an ice cream frog from the Good Humor man: cool, sweet, a little geeky, fun while it lasts.

The runners-up are a mixed bag. None rise to the level of “you must buy this now!”, at least not for me, but some were cool and I’ll keep an eye out for other work by the creators. Here’s the rundown:

“Baggage,” by Roald Munoz: Guy can see, and carry, the “emotional baggage” carried by others. Super-angsty premise, lightweight plot; nonetheless the drawing style is all funky and what I think they’re calling “kinetic,” with lots of extreme angles and other stuff that I do find fun.

“Can I Sit Here?”, by George Alexopolous: Teen-angst storylet about a guy who can’t work up the nerve to ask if he can sit next to the girl he sees every day at the bus stop. I actually liked this a lot. The endearing, self-deprecating humor in both the writing and the artwork really worked for me. I hated the “lady or the tiger?” cop-out ending, though. Pick an ending and stick with it, doggoneit!

“Chibi Zombies,” by Ashley Cope: Uh, I don’t really know what a “chibi” is. I wasn’t the target audience for this. I found it icky and dull. Possibly if you know what a chibi is, chibi zombies are hilarious.

“Modus Vivendi,” by Jeong Mo, Yang and Andrew Yi: Parody of destined-hero-and-destined-sword fantasy schlock. Not my thing.

“Pop Star,” by T. Campbell and Amy Mebberson: Fictionalized version of Britney vs. …uh, some other pop star, not sure who. Very cute drawings, ultimately not nearly sharp enough satire to carry the premise.

“Seed,” by Morgan Luthi: Cliched but painless story of two rival sisters reconciling as they try to fix the giant robot that provides their village with its sustenance. Giant robot in the rain = fun.

“Blue Phoenix: No Quarter,” by Michael Shelfer: Sub-X-Men fantasy/sci-fi cliches a-go-go. (Can I use more dashes?) Really, I did not get why this was even a runner-up.