Rating: 
Summary: No rest for the genius.
Review: This volume collects issues 1-3 of the Oni Press comics series The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius 2.0, and continues with the themes set forth by the first volume in the series. These themes are, of course, "Barry Ween is a genius. Jeremy is a fool. The first is a secret. The second is not."Ok, ok. There's more to it than that. Barry Ween is not your average 10-year-old. He is, in fact, the smartest person on the planet. Understanding that, were the truth of his genius be revealed he would likely spend the rest of his life being researched and doing the bidding of the government, Barry has taken great pains to hide his true nature from his peers. In fact, the only person who knows about Barry's staggering intellect is Barry's best friend, Jeremy. Jeremy is... not a genius... and is responsible for complicating any number of the situations the boys find themselves in. But, you know, they do say that opposites attract. In this collection, Barry and Jeremy work on doing 10 impossible things before breakfast. First, they must help an alien who has crash- landed in Barry's back yard before the feds or the alien's employers find them. Then, as if saving all of humanity weren't enough, an unfortunate accident with a matter transporter sends Jeremy (and thus, Barry) back in time to the un-romantic days of the Old West. Finally, Barry has to subdue the government when they take undue interest in him. Really, all in a day's work when you're a boy genius. Barry Ween, Boy Genius is not for the faint of heart. There's a great deal of violence, and even more in the way of colorful language. But, underneath the foul-mouthed, light-saber-weilding, world-dominating exterior, Barry Ween is a 10 year old boy who loves his best friend and wants to be accepted by his 'peers.' A fun read, all around.
Rating:
Summary: Not your everyday neighborhood kid.
Review: This volume collects the first three issues of The Adventures of Barry Ween: Boy Genius. Barry Ween is not the boy next door. At least, you'd better hope he's not. If he is, chances are you probably don't want to know, because you probably have radioactive waste stored under your house, have had your entire life history scoped out, have had your future pre-determined, and your cat is probably a clone. Barry is not your typical 10 year old. As he says, if his IQ could be measured, it'd loom somewhere around 350. He remembers his time in the womb. He has, however, hidden his staggering intelligence from his family and from most of his 'peers.' The only one who seems to know the truth about Barry is his best friend Jeremy. The attraction there is certainly not because Barry recognizes a kindred spirit. While not dumb, Jeremy would rather spend his energy thinking about [breasts] and food than world domination. If you're familiar with The Tick, you might remember Charles. Barry reminds me of Charles, except not as manic, more intelligent, and with a much more ... colorful ... vocabulary. But, despite the conniving, calculating, impatient, overbearing nature of our boy hero, he has a soft side (though he'd never admit it). Whether working to change Jeremy back into a human (long story), or saving his classmates from a group of Austrian art thieves, Barry generally finds a way to do 'the right thing' to get his friends and himself out of sticky situations, swearing up a blue streak all the while. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading more.
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