So it’s a full color world – TV’s, eyesight, etc. But, if you aren’t on the lookout for some black and white gems, you just might miss something really cool.

Take Terry Moore’s Echo; clean, gorgeous art and a great story. For anyone who misses his Strangers in Paradise comic, this will only remind you of his art and writing style. This is new subject matter for him – yes, I know he’s writing Runaways for Marvel – Echo is his take on superpowers and superheroes with an even more human angle than Marvel has ever dreamed of.

Julie is a photographer in the middle of a nasty divorce. Trying to clear her head and take a great picture, she wanders too close to a military test range and after an explosion overhead, is partially covered in liquid metal. The metal bonds to her and as she looks for answers, she discovers the metal gives her powers that she can’t yet control. Julie meets a park ranger named Dillon, who believes her story and begins to help her. They are soon forced to run from corporate and government agents that want the metal contained and her, silenced. While on the run, Julie and Dillon cross paths with a (for lack of a better description) crazy bum that who was also partially covered in the metal. The bum is drawn to Julie tries to kill her and claim the metal on her to continue his “crusade.”

This series has started out very slow and deliberate, concentrating more on the characters and their interactions rather than all out action sequences. But, in issue #10, origins and reasons become clear, Julie and Dillon get another “friend” and the action is set to begin next issue.

This is a great book for the fanboys who have females in their life that can’t get into “normal” superhero comics. A lot like Smallville – powers mixed with angst and romance. Check it out – it’s one of my must reads each month.