Thank heaven for teen sleuths. Without them, the streets of Japan would be overrun with criminals.

Okay, that’s overstating things, probably a side effect of the manga I’ve been reading lately (the charming Case Closed, the middling CLAMP School Detectives, and the wonderful Kindaichi Case Files). And while it would be nice to see a professional detective who isn’t egotistical or inept, I’m more than happy to leave the investigations to the youths, particularly one as appealing as Hajime Kindaichi.

In most ways, Kindaichi is a typical kid. He’s an intelligent under-achiever who doesn’t take much of an interest in his studies. His investigative skill is more of a natural aptitude than the result of any diligence. While his knack makes him a asset when crime occurs, he’s enough of a smart-ass to make adults bristle at his interference. Dig a bit deeper into the gifted slacker and you’ll find a genuinely compassionate soul with some unusual insights into human nature.

He’s a great protagonist, and he finds himself in the thick of satisfying, grisly mysteries filled with an interesting range of suspects and victims. They crimes are structured in ways that allow careful readers to solve them. At the same time, these aren’t clinical exercises in deduction. The passions that drive the crimes are poignant, even devastating.

The two volumes I’ve read so far (Vol. 2: The Mummy’s Curse and Vol. 3: Death TV) both use an interesting storytelling technique. There’s a moment at the beginning of each that, while seemingly mundane, lays a thematic foundation for the mystery. In The Mummy’s Curse, Kindaichi and best friend Miyuki Nanase expose adult hypocrisy to help a schoolmate out of a scandalous situation. In Death TV, Kindaichi gets a reminder that you can’t assess a person’s character based on surface assumptions; everyone’s more complex than they appear. These themes recur and evolve as the mysteries move forward.

Visuals do something similar. Sometimes, camera angles and panel composition is repeated. While this is often attributed to a lazy artist with a copier, it’s used to productive effect in Kindaichi Case Files. When this happens, it’s an invitation to compare the two and search for clues. Illustrator Satoh Fumiya and writer Kanari Yozaburo apply this fairly subtly, never drawing too much of a circle around it.

There’s nice variety to the investigations in these volumes. Cracking the case in Death TV demands a careful examination of means and opportunity. Motive is actually a distraction on the way to the truth. The Mummy’s Curse depends more on finding out why the murders are taking place, though the mechanics of the crimes get some wonderfully ghoulish play, too. (It’s like a bloody logic puzzle, and I won’t say any more for fear of spoiling things.)

As if diabolical criminals weren’t challenging enough, Kindaichi also has to contend with interference from the aforementioned “professionals.” In the real world, resistance to amateur teens meddling in criminal investigations would seem fair enough, but this is fiction with a teen protagonist, so the pros get portrayed as a blend of arrogant and ignorant. (In Death TV, the detective in charge actually goes so far as to bet on the outcome of the case; Kindaichi is rightly aghast, but he goes along knowing the case won’t get solved if he doesn’t.) If Kindaichi does make a friend on the force, that friend usually just steps aside to let the kid do his thing. It would be nice if there were more of a balance between the two portrayals, a competent cop who’s an actual partner in the outcome, but it’s not too much of a distraction. And Kindaichi brings some of the resistance on himself.

But he’s also surprisingly kind and serious, in proportion with events around him. He doesn’t insert himself into cases out of ego so much as genuine concern for the safety of people around him. He even musters compassion for the perpetrators, though that doesn’t stop him from foiling them.

These volumes of Kindaichi Case Files are solidly entertaining mysteries. Fumiya and Yozaburo balance character and plot, detail and emotion. I’m looking forward to reading more.

Marvel has hired a new Director of Marketing, John Dokes. I’m hoping his first task wasn’t to sign off on the press release announcing his arrival.

The possessive form you’re looking for is its, not it’s. If I were a more generous person, I’d buy you a copy of Garner’s Modern American Usage. I’m not, so you’re (not your) on your (not you’re) own.

If Dokes can only do one thing in his new position, I hope it will be to scrap the horrible style Marvel uses to write solicitations. I know they’re just selling comics, but those blurbs make my head hurt. They read like watered-down versions of Wizard’s Picks, and, while the exclusion of ejaculate references is appreciated, they’re still awful.

(Edited because hubris is a terrible, terrible thing. Thanks for the correction, kjánari!)

Hot on the heels of Newsarama’s interview with Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, we get a similar peek into DC’s Dan Didio, recently re-titled as Vice President – Executive Editor, DC Universe. While Didio scores points for eschewing the cadaverous “true believer!” shtick, what really strike me are the distinct differences between these two comics juggernauts.

So, gents, how do these crossover events come about?

JQ: “What’s most fun about this is that our Marvel creative community is so into this as well, it must be in the air… There are strings of e-mail I wish I could show you in which our creators are spitballing about events involving the Marvel U and trying to keep things cohesive.”

DD: “The most exciting thing to say about the follow-ups and connected stories is that I can’t tell you where an idea started, because everybody has taken ownership of it. Everybody who’s involved is involved in the process. We’ve been talking about it, and massaging it, and working it through, so it really has a natural sense of how it can go.”

Wow! Creator synchronicity rocks! But doesn’t it suck when books get great reviews and still don’t sell?

DD: “At the end of the day, if we put something out that we’re proud of, that we all believe in, and are glad to put the DC bullet on, then I think it’s worth putting out, regardless of the sales.”

JQ: “We just have to pull the plug once the book no longer makes money, others have the ability to let their books fall into the red and continue publishing. I wish we could work that way, but we just can’t.”

Okay, that’s kind of different. But what about pushing the envelope with new ideas?

JQ: “I firmly believe that as the business continues its sturdy, steady growth, we’ll all be able to break in new ideas that have a better chance of survival. To be honest, we’ve launched several new projects that have done better in today’s climate than we were expecting and that’s a great sign.”

DD: “I have to say though, that we need to continue pushing different stories, different characters, and different ideals. Realistically, what happens if the superhero bubble bursts one day? Where do we stand? We’re standing with nothing.”

Ouch! Maybe there’s more of a schism than I thought! But what about reader response to controversial stories?

DD: “It’s great that it’s positive and negative too. If it’s one flavor, one answer, then it’s not striking any chords. The fact that we’re able to polarize so many people with such strong opinion is a wonderful thing to do.”

JQ: “Yes, I’ve been ecstatic with the stories and response. We’ve touched a nerve and it seems that people are buzzing at comic shops. They love it, they hate it, they don’t know what to think or expect but they’re reading it!”

Wow! It’s okay to hate it, so long as we keep buying it! Thanks, guys! But what’s coming up? What are the defining trends for your respective companies?

JQ: “ARRRGH! I can’t tell you just yet. We’re about two weeks, maybe sooner, from breaking some news but let’s just say it involves a Hollywood director, and a single character book launching out of Marvel Knights with a #1 in February. This particular book will be affecting the Marvel U in huge ways. It may not seem like it at first but trust me, it will big and a lot of fun!”

Goody! More star-f___ing!

DD: “There are so many strong threads that come out of Identity Crisis that we were able to hang a lot of stories on into 2005…”

Awwww… they’re f___ing the star they’re with. *Sniff.*

Ah, the Essentials volumes. First, there’s the creepy, nimbly expanded upon by John Jakala at Fanboy Rampage. But, did you know that, long before Dr. Doom was cherry-picking local homes for comely Latverians in Super-Villain Team-Up, he was coming up with the stupidest plan in memory in the twenty-fifth issue of Avengers?

Admittedly, he was new to the vengeful despot game at that point, playing up the “mask of benevolence” and passing on the “droit de seigneur,” but you still have to wonder what on Earth he was thinking. Y’see, he decided to strike fear into the heart of a quartet of super-heroes by luring an entirely unrelated quartet of super-heroes into Latveria. Yup, to put a good scare into the Fantastic Four, Doom planned to utterly destroy the Avengers.

Wha-huh? Why didn’t he just use those energies to… y’know… destroy the Fantastic Four?

Of course, his strategem is genius, sending a forged letter to pathologically needy Eastern Europeans Wanda and Pietro, claiming they have a previously unknown Latverian aunt who’s just itching for a meeting with her famous mutant kin. And what does Cap’s Kooky Quartet decide to do? Pack up and head to Latveria without asking a single sensible question! (It markedly improves a stupid plan’s chances of success if it’s directed at stupid victims, apparently.)

Upon arrival, the Dysfunctional Four are immediately taken into custody so that Doom might destroy them utterly. Only then do the Avengers remember where they’ve heard of Latveria before. Oh, that’s right! It’s the dictatorship ruled by the Fantastic Four’s arch-nemesis! The Fantastic Four, with whom we have routine contact, who also live right across town! We can see their skyscraper from the mansion! Wave, guys!

Ye gods.

Do you need me to tell you that this plan goes badly awry? Even Doom can’t quite keep his motives straight, as mid-story he switches from wanting to frighten the FF to wanting to lure them to Latveria to rescue their peer super-team. Hilariously, the United States government prevents the FF from doing so, as Latveria is widely viewed as a friendly nation. So, sucks to be you, Victor.

Even the “mask of benevolence” gets a little tarnished. First, Victor gives his Avengers-hating populace a thrill by throwing a gold coin at a local urchin (who defeats the purpose entirely by swearing he’ll never part with it), only to be forced to coldly deny that same urchin departure from Latveria for vital medical treatment across the border. Because he’s covered the entire country with a force field to keep the Avengers in.

Some days, it just doesn’t pay to be a megalomaniac.

You think things are freaky now in Marvel Comics? Take a look into the distant past via Essential Avengers Vol. 2, which is absolutely (with apologies to Gwen Stacy) pregnant with melodrama.

In the early going, we have Hawkeye pining (kind of) over the Scarlet Witch:

“As far as she’s concerned, that over-aged square is the only Joe in the room! But it might be different if I was the leader here! Chicks always go for the guy who’s top dog! Just my luck it hasta be him!”

Keep telling yourself that, Clint. Still, Wanda seems to be hot for teacher:

“What is there about Steve Rogers that makes him so appealing to me?”

Contrary to Hawkeye’s power-is-catnip theory, we see the beginnings of Wanda’s fascination with head cases or emotional cripples:

“Is it the fact that he seems to harbor some tragic secret… some hidden sorrow?”

But maybe Clint shouldn’t be too bummed out:

“Or am I just confusing pity with the dawning of love?”

Harsh! But that’s a Patsy Walker comic compared to the woes of Wasp and Goliath. Maybe there’s more of a foundation for that spousal abuse story than I thought? Because when Hank gets stuck at 10 feet tall (doofus), things get ugly.

“Whereas I used to cherish the love of Janet Van Dyne… I cannot bear her sympathy!”

Now, that’s healthy. But it gets worse when Jan tries to… y’know… help. And what thanks does she get for acting as Hank’s assistant?

“I’ll get one — a top-notch scientist — not a chattering female!”

An interesting follow-up to one of Jan’s previous remarks:

“Hank, darling! You’ve been closeted in there all day!”

Okay, modern prism and all, but still…

Roy Thomas takes over about halfway through the volume, but things don’t get any less juicy. Poor Quicksilver is so torn between his boy-crush on Captain America and his way creepy relationship with his sister. Even Hercules, who knows from incestuous romance, Mount Olympus style, raises an eyebrow:

“They zelous devotion doth touch my very soul, swift one! Whence came such a bond ‘twixt mere mortals?”

Translation: “I thought only Greek gods got hot for their sisters!”

Yes, it’s a Freudian mine field, this early run of Avengers stories. Open this volume with care!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to make some recommendations. Armed with this fine list of non-soul-killing comic books, I went to the shop yesterday and placed some orders, starting with Hopeless Savages and Scott Pilgrim.

Of course, I also found myself unable to resist immediate gratification and picked up Essential Avengers Vol. 2, for some reason, and… well… Stan had issues. More on that later, but suffice to say that the interpersonal stuff was just hilariously stacked with unintended subtext. (Or was it unintended?)

Yesterday was movie rental day, which we hardly ever do for some reason. Mean Girls was okay, much sharper and smarter at the beginning than at the end, but Saved was a really delightful surprise, full of great lines and strong performances from people like Mandy Moore (I know!) and Macauly Culkin. (I know!!!)

Maybe it’s the last remnants of the blargh, but reading the Newsarama interview with Joe Quesada left me feeling kind of… I don’t know… dead inside as a fan of comic books. So, obviously, it’s time to take another crack at broadening my horizons.

So I’m asking: what have you read lately that’s really made you happy to read comics? What’s out there that’s fresh and exciting and weird and funny and smart? (OGN and TPB recommendations are particularly welcome, as the local shops don’t stray too far from major publishers. If I can order it on-line, all the better.)

Or at least that’s the conclusion I’ve drawn about the cold medicine I’m taking (and taking… and taking). But maybe it’s not the best idea to pop a few and then sit down to an episode of Lost. (Is this television’s version of decompressed storytelling, or is it the drugs?)

Shane at Near Mint Heroes wants to bring more zombies into your life with his Walking Dead contest.

Dorian at Postmodern Barney has linked all the follow-up to his “Why I Hate Manga” piece in one convenient place.

CapVsBats (a nom de ‘net that’s sure to raise Byrne’s hackles) takes a crack at scripting the preview pages from Avengers #503. “If only I could go back in time and redo that last panel! Only bigger.” Hee.

Consider yourselves warned. ChaosMonkey has packed a lunch and is taking a little excursion to the Ultraverse.

Blargh. I was going to post my comic shopping list, but if things progress at their current rate, my only purchases will be of the “don’t operate heavy machinery” over-the-counter-medication variety. Thanks, comic book industry, for timing a relatively uninspiring week to coincide with blargh-ness. (Queen and Country usually shows up a week late in these parts, anyways. And who knows what Tokyopop means when it lists the latest volume of Kindaichi Case Files?)

Have you visited A Blog Found on a Garbage Heap? You should. (And I should add it to my links, but… heavy machinery. Later. I swear.)

Matt Maxwell thoughtfully scripts the preview pages from Avengers #503 at Highway 62. (So… many… numbers…)

Oh, and Tom the Dog likes Desperate Housewives. I do, too. Though I suspect his nickname for William Shatner is going to lead some Googlers astray. Which is probably just as well.

I’m confused. I’ve read Alan David Doane’s Five Questions with Mark Millar. I’ve read Doane’s comments on the work of Geoff Johns.

Is Millar honestly that much better than (or distinct from) Johns? As near as I can tell, the major difference is that Johns writes middling, violent stories about super-heroes because he loves them, and Millar writes middling, violent stories about super-heroes because he sort of hates them. Where’s the gap?