Hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving. It is the least commercial
major holiday that we have and usually one that everyone enjoys; of course it
did delay my getting my books until Friday. Last week was a glorious week and
no matter what this week was going to bring it could not match last week. Still
between Marvel and Image the number one issues continue to roll out unabated.
Did they all make the cut or not?
But, before we start that let’s first give you the links to
next week’s books. On a personal level I have to do a purge of my list again as
all the new number ones are crushing me. This is especially true as Marvel
rolls out 2 issues of a new book in a month. The clean and easy to review list
is here, the detailed list giving you creators and hype is here. I find both
lists to be useful in determining what I’m getting. The highlights for me are
the return of Before Watchmen books with both Ozy and Silk Spectre, the new Joe
Kubert Presents, Batman Incorporated, All New X-Men, Uncanny Avengers, Chew,
Fatale, Stuff of Legend and Tower Chronicles, another huge list.
Now let’s get to the six new number ones.
First up from Image
Comics is Comeback #1 by Ed Brisson
and Michael
Walsh. I’m assuming this is a mini-series as the Shadowline portion
of Image does not go for unlimited series. They seem to prefer doing a
mini-series, check sales and green light a second one if it works. I’m fine
with that approach but as a consumer let me know what my level of commitment is
going in. Image is hands down doing more to open up comics to different genres
than anyone else. In fact science fiction themes are alive and well at Image.
The premise for this series is that there is an illegal time travel agency that
helps people “Come Back” from the dead. The idea is that a love one dies and
you hire these guys to go back and save them from that death. It means staging
the death and essentially doing a whole new identity for the person in the
future. It is a very cool premise and the first issue was okay, but not without
some story structure problems. First we start with a job that goes bad. Now
this job plays into the story, but I think maybe establishing what the book is
about with a quick successful job would have been better. Also a lot is going
on with one agent looking to quit soon, another agent redoing the job that went
wrong and people are spying on Reconnect. Sadly the entire issue comes together
when I read the blurb for issue #2 which states “An FBI raid throws, Reconnect,
an illegal time travel agency, into a panic” and it goes on from there. The
book should do the job on its own, especially with a number one issue. I was on
the fence whether to continue with the book until I read the blurb since I was
a little lost at the end. That should not happen with a first issue, I should
be able to read it and have discern that from my reading of the book. Still the
premise is very interesting and while time travel is always filled with
problems this looks to be a good read. The art by Michael Walsh has a nice noir
quality and it takes what is a science fiction premise book and makes it into
an almost crime novel type of feel. The distinctiveness of some characters
needs to be worked on as Seth and another guy look way too much alike. The
basic storytelling is strong and all in all I like Walsh’s style. A strong enough
start by two creators I was unaware of before and I will be back for more. 
Image and Marvel are the companies with most of the number
one issues right now. Image is doing it with just a wealth of mini-series and some
unlimited series and Marvel with all the Marvel Now stuff. The next number one
is from Image. Clone #1 is by David Schulner and Juan Jose Ryp. This book was my
favorite book of the week. Again it has a heavy science fiction theme with a
murder mystery thrown in for good measure. First off let’s talk about the art.
Ryp is a very good artist who has done extensive work with Avatar and his blood
and guts are up there with the best of them. Layouts, design, expressions and readability
are all top drawer. Of course he has one habit of dotting for shading ( I guess)
and it absolutely made the main character’s wife look a little mannish at
times. Since she is very pregnant is was distracting in the first few pages.
Our central character is about to become a Dad for the first time and laments
that his Dad was never there for him, the reason become apparent quickly. Dr. Luke
Taylor goes to work and finds that another version of him lying in the lab
shot. At the same time a third version of him has kidnapped his wife.
Fortunately the second version of him is willing to help him find his wife. So
begins the unraveling of Dr. Luke Taylor’s life and a struggle is trying to
keep the pronouns straight. For a first time comic writer I thought this was
excellent. Image is two for two.
Next up is Marvel with
Indestructible Hulk #1 by Mark Waid
and Lenil Yu.
Marvel rolls out so many number one issues that I think the adjective game
helps make it seem to be more of a difference then it is. Eventually this will
lead to some odder and odder sounding titles like the Pretty X-Men or something
else. Of course it is all about the illusion of change. To their credit Marvel
has made a concerted effort to make these books new fan friendly. Since I fall
off Marvel books frequently I appreciate the effort and this book makes me want
to sign up for a little while. What I enjoy is that Mark Waid comes into a book
with a plan that you can see from the jump will give us a different take on the
character and sets up a premise that can last for years. The hook this time is
Bruce Banner accepts he is going to always be the Hulk and he needs to manage
it. He bribes SHEILD with promises of inventions in exchange for their help in
giving him a lab and pointing the Hulk at the bad guys. Lenil Yu is a very good
artist, but I have never been a huge fan of his style. It is not off-putting;
it is just not my favorite. His skill and draftsmanship is obviously superior,
but not an artist I follow. The book for me is sold by Waid as he does it all
with setting the premise, giving us some action, foreshadowing the obvious
problem all within the first issue.
Marvel also
brings us Captain America #1 by Rick Remender,
John Romita Jr
and Klaus Janson.
I enjoyed large portions of Brubaker’s run on this book and it will certainly
go down as one of the more successful runs. Remender had a hard act to follow
and I loved what he did with the first issue, he changed the entire tone of the
book. Captain America is having his ninetieth birthday, due to being frozen and
the super soldier formula Steve Rogers looks great. His girl friend wants him
to get married and as he is contemplating that on a mission they have to
separate and Cap gets captured by Arnim Zola. A wonderful introduction to what
promises to be Remender’s take on a lot of the old Jack Kirby work. Plus they
are saying Cap is trapped in Dimension “Z” which allows this book to stand on
its own. Heck with a quick nod that time moves differently there and Cap can
have a yearlong adventure and get back in time for dinner with Sharon and still
dodge the marriage proposal. Romita’s work is always good in the beginning, but
deadlines seem to make his work get looser and looser, so with Klaus Janson
aboard it should be fine in the art department. It is funny I enjoyed
Brubaker’s take, but a clean break was needed and Remender started out with a
solid hit.
Supurbia #1 is
from Boom Studios and is by Grace Randolph
and Russell
Dauterman. This is the unlimited series that follows up a four issue
mini-series that I missed. I had read some good things about it and decided to
try it out. I’m glad I did, this book has humor and is just out and out fun.
The basic idea is that the super hero set all live in their own little suburban
community. Think JLA meets Desperate Housewives or something of that ilk and
you get the gist of the idea. We have a Superman clone being bitched out by the
Lois stand in since this guy is shacking up with some criminal girl. The Batman
stand in is married, but having a gay affair. A house husband is stuck with the
wives of the other heroes and it is just hilarious on a lot of levels. I
ordered the trade, especially since for 4 issues it is only $10. The art has a
nice cartoon feel to it, yet still maintaining a decent realism and super hero
type quality. Let’s face it many of our favorite comics are soap operas in
disguise, this book just makes in more obvious.
The last of the number ones is a character that has a long,
long history and yet can never quite make it big in the USA, as IDW brings us Judge Dredd #1 by Duane Swierczynski and Nelson Daniel as artist on story #1
and Paul Gulacy
on story #2. Not going to get long winded here just a couple of things to say.
First off Duane gets Dredd right and both stories were enjoyable with terrific
art. Second is that IDW is promising to re-publish a lot of Dredd stuff
including an “Origins” story I didn’t know about. This story is suppose to
explain how we got to the mega-cities type of world. Also the background
material told me that Dredd has aged just as long as the series has been
published and he is now 35 years older than when the series began. I love that idea and wish all
heroes would actually age and get older as opposed to being young forever. If
you are a Dredd fan, you should love this book, if you are not; it is a good
place to try it out for size.
So the number one books are six for six as I’ll be back for
second issues and more on all of them. A good start to what looks like it could
have been a weak week.
Part 2 and Part 3
will split the day tomorrow.
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