Zadzooks: Comic book reviews, Batman, Aliens and more

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By Joseph Szadkowski

X-Men: Magneto Testament, Nos. 1 through 5 (Marvel Publishing, $3.99 each) - An ambitious and required story sheds light on the X-Men ubervillain's early years. Tapping into Chris Claremont's origin efforts, which reveal Max Eisenhardt (aka Erik Magnus Lehnsherr) to be a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, writer Grek (Hulk) Pak extends the legend.

He adds plenty of real history to the Master of Magnetism's ghastly life, showing the rise of the Third Reich and its genocide of the Jews through scenes mixing brutality in the Warsaw ghetto, the murder of his parents and role as a Sonderkommando.

After reading, fans will have no trouble understanding why Magneto has such a violent distaste for humans.

What easily could have been a splashy tabloid take on a somber subject stays focused thanks to Carmine Di Giandomenico's slightly restrained and stark art style. It remains a deafening reminder of man's inhumanity to man. "We must never forget" rings throughout.

In addition, a creative powerhouse including Neal Adams and Joe Kubert offers a six-page illustrated version of artist Dina Babbitt's crusade to reacquire the work she created as a concentration-camp prisoner. This woman has returned from hell, and her story needs to be read.

By the way, the hardcover of "X-Men: Magneto Testament" is on shelves ($24.99) and is well worth the investment.

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Deluxe Edition, trade paperback (DC Comics, $24.99) - Mention the name Neil Gaiman to a serious comic-book reader and watch his eyes water with delight. Mention Batman in the same breath and break out the restraints.

Thus, we get a pretty hardcover edition compiling four of Mr. Gaiman's Bat stories, including his most recent and least interesting, "Whatever happened to ... ." This ethereal two-parter from Batman No. 685 and Detective Comics No. 852 defines the death of Batman, sort of.

It certainly leaves much to the imagination, but the famed writer never caught mine. Various characters take responsibility for Batman's demise, with vignettes on Catwoman and Alfred the butler leading the pack. Only Andy Kubert's artistry shines as he offers multiple designs of the Caped Crusader and great villain illustrations and even revisits the giant dinosaur in the Batcave.

The other stories are much better, led by a profile of Poison Ivy and a look behind the scenes of the Batman-Joker conflict, brought to life in a chaotic black-and-white style by Simon Bisley.