Silverline; $15 (crowdfunded foil cover, $7 regular cover)

Beginning in 1990 at Aircel Publishing, Cat & Mouse told the story of two thieves in New Orleans caught in between the Yakuza and the Mafia, which were each attempting to control the city. When the Mafia frames Cat & Mouse for the murder of a police officer, and the duo learns their Yakuza bosses knew about it and did nothing to stop it, they quit, and this leads them to a different path. The original series ran 18 issues, some of which were collected in trade paperbacks by sister company Malibu.

In more recent times, writer Roland Mann has brought back new iterations of the characters for further adventures in a series of mini-series under his Silverline banner. While their efforts have largely been crowdfunded, Silverline also made a return to comic shops over the last year.

Their latest adventure begins in Cat & Mouse: Vipers #1. In it, Cat and Mouse find themselves fighting giant child-snatching vipers! The fact that the characters tackle this case without dwelling on that crazy-absurd situation is part of the fun. By this point, they’re accustomed to way-out stuff coming their way.

Mann’s story is brought to comic book life by pencil artist Angelo Concepcion, inker Jose Fuentes, colorist Robert Conroy, and letterer Brian Dale. They infuse a bit of a manga sensibility into the storytelling and the superhero action, and the result is really enjoyable.

I’m definitely looking forward to the next chapter.

– J.C. Vaughn