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 Arsenic Lullaby Pulp Edition #1, Batman Lobo Deadly Serious #1 of 2, Bonds #1 of 4, Halo Uprising #1, Immortal Iron Fist #8, Johnny Delgado Is Dead #1, Mouse Guard Winter 1152 #1 of 6, New Battlestar Galactica Season Zero #1, Sky Sharks #1 and Stormbringers #1 of 5.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Halo Uprising #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Company: Marvel Comics

If you’ve played both of the Halo video games and read the original graphic novel and the novelizations, then you know what makes something entrenched in the Halo-verse good: Frenetic, super-intense action. It’s sad to say then that this first issue of Halo Uprising, the start of a four issue series that acts as a lead-up to the third game, has a total of ten pages of action and uses Master Chief, normally the main character, for about half of those pages. If that’s the case, what’s the book about? Well, it’s about the Covenant’s invasion of Cleveland. Other than that, we’re introduced to a band of human characters that are not taking the invasion lying down, all of which speak with the typical Bendis lingo that feels innately wrong for the genre. Overall, Halo Uprising is disappointing. Even Maleev’s art, which seems like a good fit, is inconsistent and feels rushed at times. For die hard fans only.

Immortal Iron Fist #8
Writers: Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction
Artists: David Aja & Roy Allan Martinez
Company: Marvel Comics

The ultimate and what I consider to be a prime example of chop-socky action done right; that’s what Immortal Iron Fist has become. I still personally love the Heroes for Hire stuff but so far, Fraction and Brubaker have provided us with an enormous amount of interesting stories and intriguing notions that expand on the back story of the Iron Fist storyline. With this issue, the start of The Seven Capitals of Heaven arc, they outdo themselves yet again. Not only do you get another brief but wonderful glimpse at Wendell Rand’s (Danny’s father) character, namely his first introduction to the city of K’un-Lun, but we get the start of an ancient martial arts tournament between seven different representatives of the Seven Cities of Heaven. There’s a definite Mortal Kombat vibe going on that makes you smile, but what sells the issue is Aja’s distinct fight scenes that only get better with each issue. If you’re not already reading this book, this might be the time to start.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

Battlestar Galactica Season Zero #1 (of 12)
Writer: Brandon Jerwa
Artist: Stephen Sogovia & Jackson Herbert
Company: Dynamite Entertainment

Not bad. Set two years before the Cylon attacks on the Colonies that kicked of the Sci-Fi Channel’s hit series, Galactica Season Zero chronicles Adama and his crew on their first mission onboard the Galactica. More specifically, we see Adama discovering black ops secrets about the Colonial military during a search and rescue mission, shooting it out with some rebellious Cylons, and even logging some combat time in a Viper cockpit. It plays out slightly awkwardly as a result of flashbacks overlapping with present day stuff - I got lost a few times because the jumps back and forth weren’t given very strong cues. On the plus side, the art is above average, Tigh gets some good moments, and the characterizations and feel certainly seems very Battlestar Galactica. If you’ve got a jones for the property and you’re waiting for Season Four with bated breath, you could do worse than to give ‘er a look.

Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious #1 (of 2)
Writer/Artist: Sam Kieth
Company: DC Comics

Sam Kieth is out of his comfort zone and it shows. He’s at his best dealing with existential angst and feminist issues through dark, Tim Burton-esque fantasy (The Maxx, Zero Girl), but when it comes to superheroes…fun artist, weak writer. The story here gets going in about two pages and has Batman being teleported onto a space station where extremely unconvincing circumstances force him to team with a milder version of Lobo against a space virus. Said virus possesses bodies, turns ‘em into violence and adrenaline junkies until they die, then moves on to a new host (seen the early Kyle MacLachlan movie, The Hidden? Same premise.) And this being a Sam Kieth comic, there are some women’s issues sorta tacked on. But it’s Kieth on autopilot, with thought balloons from the Bronze Age and no good Riggs/Murtaugh banter between Bats and Lobo. Kieth can be a tremendous talent on more personal projects, but this one you can safely skip.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Arsenic Lullaby Pulp Edition #1
Creator: Douglas Paszkiewicz
Company: Arsenic Lullaby Publishing

Arsenic Lullaby has been around for years in various forms, but whether you know it as Arsenic Lullaby, Arsenic Lullabies, Laughter of the Damned, or the Thousand Deaths of Baron von Donut, it all boils down to the same thing- comedy designed to go farther than most are comfortable with. This is humor at its blackest, laughs for people bored with the same old regurgitated jokes and meaningless observations. Recurring characters include Voodoo Joe, cursed to forever help idiots get their boring revenge using his army of zombie aborted fetuses, and Baron von Donut, alcoholic living snack food mascot. Personally, I find this book to be funny as hell, and the pulp edition, which is magazine-sized and great looking, is a welcome release. If you are easily offended, though, best keep away. Might want to keep away if you like regular release schedules, too, as Paszkiewicz isn’t exactly the best at keeping to them, but with a projected release of twice a year, I suspect this new series may be more regular than past releases.

Stormbringers #1 of 4
Writer: Korby Marks
Artist: John Stinsman
Company: Stormbringer Studios, Inc.

This was a cool surprise. The premise here is that thousands of women in a city are gaining superpowers of one form or another. They don’t know how to use them, though, and are being hunted and killed by a secret organization. Enter Lydia Grant, a para-psychiatrist who is helping some of them deal with their new abilities and her old friend Malcolm Forbes, one-time head of CIA Black Ops and currently thought dead. With his help and that of some men he has trained, the women might live long enough to learn to use their new abilities to defend themselves on their own. Marks writes a compelling story, the characters have depth, and this feels like something new. Stinsman’s art is a strong realistic style, well-developed and powerful. I was also pleased to see that though all the main characters are black (I’d say African-American, but I’m not PC, and I also don’t know if all of them are even American), the book wasn’t about them being black- it’s just a good book that happens to have strong black leads. I dig that.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 #1
Writer/Artist: David Petersen
Publisher: Archaia Studios Press

When something fresh and good catches your attention, then goes on a short hiatus, there’s always a bit of apprehension when it comes back. Will it be as good as you remembered? Will it have lost something in the time between? I’m happy to report that, if anything, Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 is perhaps even stronger than Fall, the original series. For one thing, Petersen’s art, always impressive, is just stunning in depicting the snowy wilderness, the mini medieval townholds of the Mouse Guard world and the predatory dangers that face our heroes. Following the Guard mice we met in the last series and introducing a few new characters besides, Petersen shows that you can do fantasy as survival story as easily as an epic battle, as the main tension here involves the Guard mice traveling to find supplies and allies in harsh weather, to ensure the survival of their town. Oh, there’s still some action, in the form of an amazingly cool battle against an Owl that is every bit as good as your average dragon vs. human conflict in standard fantasy, but this is a mouse vs. nature story, where the environment and time are the main opponents. It’s a different type of conflict from the first Mouse Guard, and completely accessible to those who haven’t read that series, even as it follows up on character arcs begun in the last arc for those who are familiar. Quite possibly the best fantasy comic being produced at the moment.

Sky Sharks #1
Writer: Wes Hartman
Writer/Artist: Fred Perry
Publisher: Antarctic Press

There’s a good comic in Sky Sharks, a story of freelance mercenaries flying fancy planes for hire and battling other such squadrons, a nice pulp science-fiction concept. Unfortunately, it’s buried under forgettable dialogue, cookie cutter characters, somewhat bland (if nicely colored) artwork and ugly, outdated lettering. There are moments here that should have been cool and fun, like the cowboy shooting out an enemy pilot with his revolver instead of his plane guns, or the cocky airman getting caught in a tryst with the daughter of their employer, but the choice of angles and weak expression work makes these moments lie kind of flat. And the rest of the book, with character dynamics we’ve all seen a million times before and better, make the rest of the book rather flat as well. Sky Sharks isn’t a bad comic, by any means… but neither does it ever exceed the level of mediocre.

D3 (David Martindale) Read and Thought:

Johnny Delgado is Dead #1
Writers: John Leekley & Michael D. Olmos
Artist:Chris Moreno
Publisher: Kompany X

It’s a story of vengeance! Unfortunately, it’s a very boring story of vengeance. The writers take extensive steps and a very large portion of the issue to introduce the character, Johnny Delgado, just to kill him. It’s obvious that it’s done so that his death is more meaningful and the new main protagonist’s quest for vengeance is one that the reader relates to, but it fails to do even that. At no point do any of the characters endear themselves to the reader. The art is a muddled mess that neither excites nor helps tell the story. On top of that, it’s nearly devoid of backgrounds. Save your four bucks; get yourself a pastrami sandwich instead.

Bonds: Allegro #1 of 3
Writer/Artist: Durwin S. Talon
Publisher: Image

This issue is like the opener for a supernatural thriller film that you don’t know is a supernatural thriller until well into the story. While it may work well in a movie, it causes some issues in a serialized comic form. Once the twist is revealed, the story becomes entertaining and intriguing, but the casual reader may not make it that far into the issue before giving up as it doesn’t occur until the last third of the issue. The art holds some potential but ultimately falls short. The overly photo referenced look to the art gives the book a dull and static feel despite moments of exceptionally pleasing color and composition. Overall, it’s worth a flip through, but it may make a much better read in trade.