Capsule reviews: Comics from 6/1

Adventure Comics #527 (DC, $2.99, Paul Levitz, Geralso Borges) - An issue spotlighting longtime Legion trainee Comet Queen, as she relates her origins and past misadventures to Glorith.  How much of this is new and how much had been previously established, I couldn't tell you - CQ is one of those many characters I remember from past incarnations of the Legion, but other than her bubbly and somewhat ditzy personality, she never left much of an impression on me.  The story here is well-told and surprisingly bittersweet; by the end of it Levitz makes you genuinely care about the character.  The art by Borges is also nicely done, detailed but not cluttered.  Not a spectacular issue, but an entertaining one.

Jonah Hex #68 (DC, $2.99, Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Rafa Carres) - A murder in a small town demands that someone pay for the crime, and a recently-arrived stranger seems a likely candidate.  But when that stranger is Jonah Hex, you know it's going to end in a rather messy and brutal fashion. One of the things I like about this issue is that it doesn't just show Jonah as being tough, it also shows him being smart, and a keen observer of human nature.  Unfortunately, the art is a little uneven this issue; it starts out decently enough, but gets a little looser (and not in a good way) as the issue progresses.  Still, the story is strong enough to help make up for any flaws in the art.

And now for something a little different...

Muppet Sherlock Holmes (BOOM!, $9.99, Patrick Storck, Amy Mebberson) - "When you remove the impossible, whatever remains is still not guaranteed to make much sense."  And so we begin a collection of delightfully demented stories, featuring Gonzo as Holmes, Fozzie as Dr. Watson, and Kermit as Inspector LeStrade.  Four of Doyle's stories get put though their paces here ("The Adventure of the Speckled Band", "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Red-Headed League," and "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual"); by the time the Muppets have their way with these stories, there's often not that much of Doyle's originals left, but they're still entertaining romps.  Storck's plots move quickly, and are filled with puns and other bad humor; if the occasional pun falls flat, that's okay, another pun will show up quickly enough in another panel or two.   Mebberson's art here is a delight, wonderfully capturing the incongruity of the Muppets on Victorian London.  This isn't for comic book fans lacking a sense of humor (of which there are far too many), but it's a great read both for younger readers, as well as (as the saying goes) kids of all ages.