Ben 10 Alien Force: Ben 10 Returns

From the Cartoon Network series comes BEN 10 ALIEN FORCE: BEN 10 RETURNS, a slim, digest-sized comic version, entirely using cells from the animated show, rather than original art. That cost-saving trick works better than it did in CN's other recent print effort, BAKUGAN BATTLE BRAWLERS, but then again, everything works better here, probably because the quality between the programs is night and day (I'm assuming). Thanks to some sort of alien wristwatch-y thing, Ben has the power to shape his body into 10 different monsters. He's vowed never to use it again, but has to when his grandfather is kidnapped by some outer-space creatures. With the help of his cute, redheaded cousin, Ben slaps the sucker on and becomes some lizard-looking beast called Swampfire; the story ends on a cliffhanger. While it's not exactly my thing, BEN 10 should be a natural match for the show's grade-school fans, and you can't argue with something that encourages them to get hooked into reading. The art — although taken as is from the tube — is pretty good, as is the character design. —Rod Lott Buy it at Amazon.