In the 'Books' section of the August 12th issue of Entertainment Weekly, EW has included capsule reviews of four comics and graphic novels under the headline: Comic Books 101.  Keith Giffen and Shannon Denton's Common Foe ($3.50, published by Desperado) in which World War II GI's team up with a Wehrmacht platoon to fight hordes of demon vampires gets a 'B' grade as does Alex de Campi and Igor Korday's Smoke ($7.49, IDW), a futuristic dystopian thriller set in a near-future London.

Joann Sfar's The Rabbi's Cat ($21.95), published by Pantheon, gets kudos for its 'visually exciting' graphics, but it manages to get only a 'B-' grade because of its 'pointless, disjointed plot.' The Ride, published by Image, earns this edition of Comics 101's highest grade -- an 'A-.'  The Ride ($9.99) is an anthology of five different stories by a host of creators including Ron Marz, Brian Stelfreeze, Jason Pearson, Chuck Dixon and Cully Hammer--the only constant in this 120-page B&W book is a spotless 1968 Camaro, a pristine muscle car with decidedly deadly effect on those around it.