Wednesday Number Ones is a weekly feature here at Comic Pants. We take the books that are premiering a first issue from that week and give a quick opinion on them. From time to time we may also include more than issue number ones in this feature. If a noteworthy one-shot or the first issue of a new story arc is released, we may talk about it in this feature.

This week we will cover Army @ Love #1, Aquaman Sword Of Atlantis #50, Dragonlance Chronicles Vol 3 #1 of 12, Hero By Night #1 of 4, Battlestar Galactica: Cylon Apocalypse #1, TMNT Movie Prequel 1 Raphael One Shot, After The Cape #1 of 3, Hellblazer #230 and Runaways Saga One Shot.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Army @ Love #1
Writer: Rick Veitch
Artist: Rick Veitch
Company: Vertigo

Political satire meets wonky reality television, multiplied to the nth degree and then served with a hearty helping of sex and violence on the side just for kicks. Crazy? Yes. An out of the park, knock your socks off, home run? Not quite, but sort of. Army @ Love reminds me a little bit of an Elmore Leonard novel that while good, could be better. Yes, there are great ideas here, wild ideas about a war set in the near future, the kooky people fighting in it and the lengths that the government will go to keep morale from veering into the gutter. There’s plenty of laugh out loud moments too, not to mention some swanky art by Veitch and a beautiful color job by Jose Villarrubia. Where the book fizzles for me, is that while there are these great bits to enjoy, it might have been more of an engaging read on the whole if there had been a central character for the reader to latch onto, Ala Matty Roth from DMZ, instead of the roving troop of characters that make an appearance. Still, it’s an interesting start to what could be a fun ride. I’ll definitely be checking out the second issue.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

Runaways Saga (One-Shot)
Writer: C.B. Cebulski & Mindy Owens
Artist: Humberto Ramos (framing story)
Publisher: Marvel Comics

A minor word of warning to regular Runaways readers: this issue is basically a clip show. There’s a four-page framing story that’s new, but otherwise, this is like one of those TV recap shows that catches you up on everything that’s come before. It’s a service for the new readers Marvel’s anticipating will hop on board when Joss Whedon takes the reins shortly, and for what it is…it’s actually pretty well done. The framing device is that the other Runaways are sneaking a read of the diary of their youngest member, Molly. In practice, this amounts to lots of art clips from the series with Molly’s remembrances written beneath them. The good news: the writers very much have Molly’s personality down. She’s cute, she’s funny, and the diary concept is only strained in a few places. The bad news: it’s still a bit of an information overload. Honestly, newbies will be so much more satisfied catching up on Brian Vaughan’s excellent run through the digest or hardcover collections, but as recaps go, this one’s pretty entertaining.

Dragonlance Chronicles Vol. 3: Dragons of Spring Dawning #1 (of 12)
Writer: Andrew Dabb (adaptation)
Artist: Julius Gope
Publisher: Devil’s Due Publishing

There’s almost no need to review this. Chances are, you’re already enough of a Dragonlance fan to have signed onboard with the first miniseries…or you’re not, and a review of the third miniseries won’t mean squat. As it stands, the adaptations continue to be as solid as ever, quite faithful to my memories of the books and backed by decent art with slightly oversaturated coloring. These comics will never be ranked alongside the best of fantasy comics - Elfquest, Conan, The Hedge Knight, etc. - but nor was the source material ever among the better examples of prose fantasy. It’s fun enough, though, with a somewhat better than average ensemble cast and a few surprisingly strong emotional turns. Nothing wrong with that.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Battlestar Galactica: Cylon Apocalypse #1
Writer: Javier Grillo-Marxuach
Artist: Carlos Rafael
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

This issue wasn’t quite what I was expecting. From something called Cylon Apocalypse, I figured I’d be getting a lot of Cylons kicking ass- and that’s cool. Instead, I got a bunch of talking heads. Even when the Cylons appeared outside their ships, they were talking. So no cool battles. That’s fine, I know from Middleman that Grillo-Marxuach can do good characterization and dialogue- except he doesn’t. Instead, I got a bunch of Galactica jargon and the beginnings of a plot about a Cylon planet directly between the ship and where it wants to go. Only at the end does any real action begin, in a cliffhanger. Gotta say I’m disappointed. Rafael does a nice job on art, at least, given that most of the issue is people standing and talking.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

Aquaman Sword of Atlantis #50
Writer: Tad Williams
Artists: Shawn McManus & Walden Wong
Publisher: DC Comics

The underwater fantasy genre take on Aquaman sounded like a good idea when the interviews were first circulating, but despite some gorgeous Butch Guice art, the end result was just, well, kinda boring. Now fantasy author Tad Williams comes on to give the book his own new spin and it’s… well… kinda boring, with an added layer of over-complex and full of continuity bits. Aquaman is a character who has always been a bit of a hard sell, making him inaccessible as well is probably not the best way to go. And McManus, who has done good work elsewhere, brings an overly simplistic, cartoony look to a genre that requires more grit, more blood and guts and more realism. Mix in a tendency to over-write (too many dialogue balloons and captions only make the thing look more impenetrable) and a cheesy sense of humor, and you’ve got a book that is exactly what most people think Aquaman is: simultaneously dull and off-putting.

Hero By Night #1 of 4
Writer/Artist: DJ Coffman
Publisher: Platinum Studios Comics

Hero By Night is a solidly built, if somewhat predictable, bit of entertainment. Everything here, from the hero vs. villain final battle that opens the book to the early meeting of our protagonist and his new supporting castmate to the overbearing dad to the crush his female friend secretly has on him, is something that’s been seen before. Coffman’s characters are likable enough and believable enough, and his artwork is like an early approximation of Steve Rolston’s stuff, but the book is predictable and its plot familiar.

TMNT Raphael Movie Prequel #1 of 5
Writer: Murphy
Artist: Fernando Pinto
Publisher: Mirage Publishing

On the surface, the artwork for this prequel looks a little bit amateurish, and the action sequences in particular are really weak. However, the general storytelling is clear enough, the backgrounds inconsistent but certainly not absent, and the overall story is kind of an interesting one. It’s nothing terribly new, a story about a hero feeling the pull between fighting the big battles and protecting the little guy, but it’s decently told and provides a good bit of backstory for Raphael prior to the upcoming movie. If you’re feeling the Turtles vibe after watching the trailers, this might provide a nice warm-up.

D3 (David Martindale) Read and Thought:

After the Cape #1 of 3
Writer: Howard Wong
Artist: Marco Rudy
Publisher: Shadowline (Image)

It’s a book about a washed up hero that is bent on self destruction and alcohol addiction, and it reads exactly as one might guess. There are some serious issues with predictability. Not just predictability with the plot, but also with the cliched dialogue. Half way into a few of the most pivotal points of dialogue, I was ready to finish sentences for the characters, and I wasn’t far off. The art is well above average. It’s black and white with very heavy inks done in a very photoreferecy noir sort of style that fits the story well. My biggest complaint is that it, like the writing, feels a bit cliched. The book isn’t groundbreaking, but if a revisiting of the tried and true “dark superhero story” formula is up your alley, After the Cape does the job adequately.

Hellblazer #230
Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Leonard Manco
Publisher: Vertigo

Andy Diggle and Leonard Manco launch a two part story that introduces Diggle as the new ongoing writer for the title, and Diggle seems to be a good choice based on the strength of this issue. A couple of rough and tumble gang enforcers decide to handcuff Constantine to a dock post on the Thames to watch him drown, but when Constantine is involved, there’s got to be a lot more going on than a simple gang score being settled. I won’t give away the surprise ending, but I was flipping through the issue as fast as I could while the river’s tide rose. Diggle does a great job progressively teasing the suspense level of the story. Diggle’s Hellblazer absolutely drips with authenticity, suspense, and excitement. He is now the ongoing writer for the title, and here’s hoping Manco is the ongoing artist. Manco’s highly emotive but subtle horror sensibilities are a perfect match for the title. Definitely picking up the next issue.