MOUSE

The wait for a new “Mouse Guard” series from David Petersen can be difficult for fans, which is why it’s a relief to see a new “Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard” miniseries out just in time to stem the cravings. With Mark Buckingham, Skottie Young and Hannah Christenson contributing to the first issue’s three guest stories, it’s a reminder that there are still lots of talented creators just itching to tell their own “Mouse Guard” stories. For those who have never encountered “Mouse Guard” before, the thrust of the series has been fairly simple: picture a medieval society with mice (as well as dangerous creatures like ferrets, weasels, owls, geese and so on) and you’re almost all the way there. The various “Legends of the Guard” volumes have all let other creators tell their own “Mouse Guard” short stories, with series creator Petersen joining them all with a framing device. This new chapter has a series of mice each telling tales to an innkeeper, with the winner of the contest havin

“Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard” returns with a first issue from Volume Two, featuring three separate tales by Stan Sakai; Nick Tapalansky and Alex Eckman-Lawn; and Ben Caldwell. The three stories are cleverly linked together by David Petersen, writing and illustrating a tavern scene that introduces each of the tales. Sakai’s “Autumn Tale” about an eagle that saves a mouse from a vixen, not to save the mouse but to punish the vixen was intriguing. I thoroughly enjoyed the dark idea but Sakai’s visuals were not entirely successful, feeling too cartoonish and simple for this bleak revenge story. The dark story and light visuals might actually have drawn a nice contrast, but as executed they just didn’t quite sing. Tapalansky and Eckman-Lawn’s “Leviathan” illuminating the further adventures of Tiernan The Brave, probably expands the “Mouse Guard” world in the most interesting and most vast ways in the volume. It’s also the story that feels the most faithful to the series, and I lik

It’s taken a little while, but “Mouse Guard: The Black Axe” #6 brings David Petersen’s third “Mouse Guard” mini-series to its conclusion. Happily, it’s a comic that was well worth the wait. Petersen’s comics manage to both thrill on both historical-adventure and fantasy-extravaganza levels, and this one is no exception to that rule. What’s especially nice about “Mouse Guard: The Black Axe” #6 is that Petersen felt no need to throw any final big monsters to fight, no huge hurdles to leap as Celanawe finally returns home with the fabled Black Axe in his paws. Instead, what readers get are confrontations that are in many ways even harder to go up against; ones involving honor, friendship, and duty. In many ways, that’s part of what makes “Mouse Guard” so good in general. It’s fun to see mice use swords and spears to go up against a fox, or ride a rabbit. But there’s a heart in the core of “Mouse Guard,” and it makes you care about its characters because they carry such strong emotions o

David Peterson’s “Mouse Guard: The Black Axe” #5 is a slow and sad part of the “Black Axe” story, and it’s to Peterson’s credit that it’s still completely engaging. “The Black Axe” thus far has been filled with adventure and danger, including a riveting last issue where Celanawe had to kill a massive fox in order to get possession of the fabled Black Axe. In this issue, however, we learn that so much of what he was fighting for is for naught as Em, the last of his kin who brought him on this adventure and put herself up as collateral, is dead at the hands of the Ferrets. Though her death appears an accident and the Ferrets pledge protection to Celanawe and Conrad so long as they are on the island, Em was the driving force of the book in many ways and it takes time for Celanawe to get his bearings. As a result, this is a quieter issue as Celanawe tries to understand from Em’s notes about what he is supposed to do with the vaunted Black Axe. When he pieces it together he and Conrad, w

Archaia’s bellcow, “Mouse Guard,” continues to offer new different adventures thanks to the amazingly creative efforts of David Petersen. The chapter included here is “The Tale of Baldwin the Brave,” as depicted in the form of a puppet show presented by the Applekettle Puppet Troupe in the Mouse Territories. Baldwin wishes to win the heart of a maiden and must also contend with a boisterous goose and the trouble such a noisy beast attracts. Petersen’s art is always the draw for “Mouse Guard” adventures and this tale is no exception. It certainly doesn’t hurt that his writing is every bit as good. The Labyrinth installment, titled “Hoggle and the Worm” is a fun little tale about misunderstandings and mischief. Ted Naifeh and Adrianne Ambrose guide Cory Godbey’s art through a fun pairing that showcases the excitement of a common misunderstanding. Godbey’s art is fanciful and captures the spirit of a Jim Henson production, locking that spirit into the form of a comic story. As if “Mo

It’s been quite a few months since the last issue of “Mouse Guard: The Black Axe,” and so my first instinct was to pull out the first two issues and refresh my memory before tackling the new chapter. But on a hunch, I left them safely stored away and jumped right into the new issue. And, as I suspected, I had no problem following along. Why? Because David Petersen is a firm believer in making each issue of “Mouse Guard ” its own distinct chapter, and keeping it new-reader friendly. It helps that this issue of “Mouse Guard: The Black Axe” opens with Celanawe and Em having washed up on shore of an island, their boat having gone down at sea. Petersen gives us a new setting for this issue, and aside from our two main characters, an entirely new cast. Celanawe and Em remind us of their quest for the fabled Black Axe, and from there we plunge right into the thick of things. Petersen’s drawings of the ferret stronghold are great here; from the way it’s burrowed into the ground to the trace

One of the (many) things I appreciate about David Petersen’s “Mouse Guard” series is that no matter how long it’s been since I last read an issue, jumping back into the thick of things is easy. So never mind the long delay since the first issue of “Mouse Guard: The Black Axe,” the second issue pulls you back in within seconds. As always, Petersen takes great care in constructing the world of “Mouse Guard,” from the boats and docks and inns that form Port Sumac (complete with a duck the size of the mice’s boats idly floating next to them), to getting a glimpse inside a tavern named the Mariner’s Bell, complete with a massive bell at the entrance and a spiral staircase that winds down beneath the bell and its clapper. It’s hard to keep from thinking, “That looks so cool” with each new page, as Petersen brings a mouse-sized medieval world to life in inventive and exciting ways time and time again. As for the story itself, it’s picking up nicely. Celanawe and Em are preparing to sail ac

David Petersen’s “Mouse Guard” is one of those rare comic series that manages to be fun, no matter what’s happening. I have a sneaking suspicion that if Petersen wrote and drew “Mouse Guard: Eating a Delicious Brunch” it would still end up enchanting its readers, due to his skill as a storyteller. That’s why even though “Mouse Guard: The Black Axe” is off to a slightly slow start, it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable first issue. Jumping back 40 years before the “present day” in the “Mouse Guard” timeline, “Mouse Guard: The Black Axe” reintroduces us to Celanawe, now a young mouse in Lockhaven’s Mouse Guard instead of the older, grizzled warrior we know from the “Fall 1152” and “Winter 1152” mini-series. What starts as a simple day for Celanawe as he prepares to return to Lockhaven becomes a quest to cross the great ocean in search of the fabled Black Axe. Petersen is always careful to balance his exposition with action, never letting “Mouse Guard” linger too much in any one situation.

When I think of famous Disney comics, it’s usually Carl Barks’s and Don Rosa’s work on “Uncle Scrooge Adventures” and “Donald Duck Adventures.” Poor Mickey Mouse, despite being the flagship Disney character, seems under represented in the great Disney comics canon. The one exception is Floyd Gottfredson’s work on the Mickey Mouse comic strip, and with Fantagraphics set to start reprinting it next year, I’ve found myself curious on if it’s as good as everyone says. With a Gottfredson story schedule as the backup in “Mickey Mouse and Friends” #300, well, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to see for myself just what I’d been missing. Before I got to the Gottfredson story, though, there’s the main event from Stefan Petrucha and Cesar Ferioli Pelaez. I’ve known Petrucha’s comic works to be a little crazy and off beat over the years, with comics like “X-Files” and “Meta 4.” I’d forgotten that he’d worked on Disney comics published in Europe (like so many rock bands, when it comes to com

I’ve appreciated that David Petersen’s been letting other comic creators play in his “Mouse Guard” world, creating their own stories of valiant mice who live in a medieval styled world where hawks, foxes, and other wild beasts are the enemy. Generally, it’s been fun to watch everyone’s own particular take on the concept and basics that make Petersen’s series such a smash hit. With that said, though, “Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard” #3 is probably the weakest issue to date. It’s not that any of the stories are bad, but there aren’t any entries that stand out as great like the previous two issues offered up. Still, each entry does offer something up for the reader’s enjoyment. Katie Cook’s “A Mouse Named Fox” is short and sweet, with a children’s storybook style of art as a young mouse raised by a pair of foxes discovers that most foxes are not friends at all, but uses that to his advantage. It’s cute, and while you see the ending coming the second the final piece is set into place