Falling vaguely into this column's bailiwick is "Sidekicks" (Abrams, $16.95), an entertaining young-adult novel set in a superhero milieu, written by Emmy award-winning writer Jack Ferraiolo ("Wordgirl").

The star is 13-year-old Scott "Bright Boy" Hutchinson, sidekick of the world's premier (and Batman-esque) superhero, Phantom Justice. Bright Boy is coming of age, and unexpected hormonal surges are causing some predictable problems in his too-tight, bright yellow tights.

His public embarrassments are compounded when he discovers that his chief foe, Monkeywrench, sidekick of the world's worst supervillain, Dr. Chaotic, is secretly a girl. A girl who attends his school and is popular, whereas he is a dweeby loner to protect his secret identity. Talk about injustice! Now the arch foes must work together, despite the almost inevitable result of two healthy, attractive, athletic teenagers being forced to spend a lot of time alone together.

What do Phantom Justice and Dr. Chaotic think of the situation? It turns out they have secrets of their own, which complicate matters. The plot shares a number of elements with a comic-book miniseries titled "Brat Pack," published by King Hell in 1990. But there are only so many ideas in the world, and "Sidekicks"develops this familiar premise in a way that is sure to amuse its target market, young adults. Aside from some stiff expository dialogue on occasion — not the deliberately pompous superhero speeches, but the "real"conversations — "Sidekicks" is a joy ride in tights, using the conventions of superhero comics to tell a story we can all relate to, regardless of age.

REPRINT ROUNDUP

— Nobody does a better job of collected editions than Dark Horse, and the latest evidence is "Hellboy Library Volume 4" ($49.99). I've already bragged on the first three volumes, part of a series collecting all Hellboy stories chronologically in beautiful oversize (roughly 9 ¼ x 12 ½ inches) hardbacks.

This is the first volume to contain Hellboy stories not drawn by the series' writer and creator, Mike Mignola, but as both he and editor Scott Allie assert in forewords, they chose Mignola's replacements carefully and successfully. The 72-page "The Crooked Man" is an incredibly creepy story adapted from Southern U.S. folklore and drawn by the legendary Richard Corben. A 19-page vampire story set in Prague is limned by the extraordinary P. Craig Russell. No complaints there! Plus, there's plenty of Mignola himself — not only Hellboy tales, but also some obscure but gorgeous stories he crafted for various Dark Horse projects that have never been reprinted before.

— Irishman Garth Ennis has proved himself a master at telling World War II stories, which he does for Dynamite Entertainment as a stand-alone miniseries under the umbrella title "Battlefields." The stories are then collected in groups of three in hardback. My wife and I both devoured the first collection, and "The Complete Battlefields, Vol. 2" ($29.99) may be even better.

This volume includes "Motherland," a sequel to "The Night Witches," about a Soviet combat aviatrix; "Happy Valley," concerning the short lives and camaraderie of British bomber pilots; and "The Firefly and Her Majesty," featuring a cat-and-mouse match between the Prussian commander of a King Tiger tank and Ennis' British Sgt. Stiles, equipped in this story with a modified "Firefly" tank instead of a Churchill — but still just as irritable (and his Northumberland accent is still just as impenetrable to friend and foe alike).

As usual, Ennis' stories shed light on little-known corners of that enormous conflict, and are more about people, emotions and consequences rather than the patriotic jingoism and invincible, wisecracking Allied soldiers one usually finds in war comics. If it can be said that stories can make you cheer through your tears, it is these.

— Dark Horse has another winner with "Flash Gordon Comic Book Archives Volume 4" ($49.99), if only in comparison to previous volumes, which were pretty mediocre. This one collects the "Gordon"comic books published by Gold Key (1978-80), the best so far. One reason is continuity; events have consequences issue to issue. Another reason is girlfriend Dale Arden finally throwing a few punches and occasionally coming to Gordon's rescue, instead of her usual, tiresome role as Helpless Hostage.