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 30 Days Of Night Red Snow #1 of 3, Black Canary Wedding Planner #1, Buffy The Vampire Slayer #6, Captain America Chosen #1, Eva Daughter Of The Dragon One Shot, Infinity Inc #1, Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin #1, Lobster Johnson The Iron Prometheus #1 of 5, Lucha Libre #1, New Line Cinemas Tales Of Horror #1, Sorrow #1 of 4, and Steve Niles Strange Cases #1 of 4.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Lobster Johnson The Iron Prometheus #1
Writer: Mike Mignola
Artist: Jason Armstrong
Company: Dark Horse Comics

Every once in awhile a book comes along that just knocks your socks off. This is one of those books. The character has that intangible “It Factor” that makes him such a commanding character to watch, and even in the small appearances that he’s had in the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. books, he’s always been one of my personal favorites. Having an entire mini series devoted to him seems like an idea that is a no-brainer, like something that should have happened long ago, but if we had to wait as long as we did to get this, it was worth it. Mignola’s story is perfect, blending the pulp aesthetic of the 1930’s (something he does extremely well) with the supernatural, the classic action and the sarcasm that he’s known for. And really, when the story you craft has your main character and his band of merry men taking on Nazi agents and giant Yetis, can you really go wrong? Add to that Jason Armstrong’s exemplary art, which I would put right up there with Guy Davis as being perfect for Mignola’s style, and you get a book that you can’t pass up.

Black Canary Wedding Planner #1
Writer: J. Torres
Artists: Lee Ferguson, Karl Story & Christine Norrie
Company: DC Comics

It seems like a long time since I’ve been able to say something like this, but this was fun. It’s light and nice, a comedic jaunt that doesn’t delve into the darkness that DC so often does. Actually, it was refreshing. Hard to believe, yes, but the truth none the less. J. Torres does a nice job with the characters and the story, nailing their banter as the two prepare for their nuptials. What’s the best about it is that it’s done to a degree where it doesn’t sound too shtick-y, which could have easily been the case. The art side of things is handled well with the exception of Christine Norrie, who’s work here, which consist one page fake advertisements that resemble the cover work on the Luna Brothers Ultra, is fantastic. All in all though, this is fluff. It’s not essential reading but like I said, it’s a refreshing story and has several laugh out loud moments. If you’re interested in the characters at all, you may want to check it out.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #6
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Georges Jeanty
Company: Dark Horse Comics

I’m just going to come out and say it: Brian Vaughn has one upped Joss Whedon. It seems like such a crazy thing to say, especially since I had previously stated that no one else should write these characters. I was wrong as Vaughan simply knocks this thing out of the park in every regard. His story is fresh and smart, and his take on the slayer Faith, using her as a sort of assassin that only does the dirty jobs is an interesting idea and expands on the character quite a bit. What’s better is that Vaughan gets these characters. Not once was there a point that was confusing or too laden down with continuity that you needed to confer with a Buffy encyclopedia, which was nice. Yes, that aspect is still there but it doesn’t seem as heavy handed as the previous issues have felt. Georges Jeanty continues in his art duties and in that regard, he doesn’t miss a step. Overall, this might be the best issue of Buffy yet and with the prospect of five more issues written by Vaughan, I’m guessing that it’s only going to get better.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

Infinity Inc. #1
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Max Fiumara
Company: DC Comics

“Angst. Dread. Anguish.” That’s dialogue straight from one of the leads in this perfectly awful first issue. It’s also the perfect keynote to the book. The story follows Steel as he tracks down the damaged-personality young heroes from Lex Luthor’s superhero project from 52, one of them being his daughter. And they’re all just having horrible, angsty, emo lives in the wake of Luthor’s machinations. They’re all having family issues, all experiencing depression, all seeing shrinks that allow for writer Peter Milligan to let fly with the psychiatric terminology. It’s the kind of psychobabble he wielded with clever focus on Vertigo’s Human Target, but here it’s just an immersion into gloom. I can’t help but compare Infinity Inc. to its closest Marvel counterpart - The Order. But while The Order has cynicism aplenty and some screwed-up characters, it’s also got an acid-tongued wit and, even as of the first issue, was packing big-time energy and a strong forward momentum. Infinity Inc., by contrast, opts for the same approach that made the first issue of Greg Rucka’s Checkmate such a letdown: a conclusion that calls the team’s very existence into question before they’ve even formed. Man! I’ve enjoyed me some Milligan before, especially on Human Target and X-Statix, but this one’s as big a dud as they come.

Captain America: The Chosen #1 of 6
Writer: David Morrell
Artist: Mitch Breitweiser
Company: Marvel Comics

For good or ill, this miniseries is being written by the novelist who wrote First Blood. Never read the book, but have good memories of the movie. As sometimes happens when creators from other mediums take their first shot at comics, though, we’ve got what’s shaping up to be an awkward transition. First off: ultra-decompression. In 22 pages, little more happens than a single U.S. marine in Afghanistan reflects on the fighting and sees (or thinks he sees) Captain America fighting by his side. The writing is straight out of Marvel’s immediate post-9/11 playbook, with a lot of obvious (if sincere) sentiment about missing loved ones at home and the dangers of religious zealotry. It comes off as hokey, though - not real - the uninspired writing exemplified by this dialogue from a suicide bomber about to set off a car bomb: “I get to be a martyr! I go to paradise! Virgins wait for me!” Now the scene is meant to be symbolic, seemingly, of what U.S. forces are up against, but geez. That’s awful. On the plus side, the art is quite strong, reminiscent of the better photo-reference artists like Steve Epting. And who knows? Maybe the Cap hallucination sequence, hinted at being part of some kind of experiment near the end, will prove to be an interesting storyline at some point. But, wow, is this first issue not a grabber.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Steve Niles’ Strange Cases #1
Writer: Dan Wickline
Artist: David Hartman
Company: Image Comics

I’m not all that sure what Steve Niles actually did on this project besides lend his name to it; He gets a “Created by” credit, but that could mean a lot of things. I suppose it doesn’t really matter, but those of you looking specifically for work by Steve Niles may be disappointed. I, on the other hand, was just looking for a decent comic, and overall I got it. The basic story is that a rich investor gathers several different famous monster hunters together to clean up a town famous for its weirdness, on the premise that once it is clean his investments there will pay out. Kind of a cool idea, and Hartman’s vaguely creepy cartoonish art style is a good fit. There was one big leap of logic that all the hunters missed that made me wonder a bit, but overall a decent job.

Lucha Libre #1
Writer: Jerry Frissen
Artists: Bill, Gobi, Witko, and Tanquerelle
Company: Image Comics

If you’ve always liked the idea of Mexican wrestling, but thought the wrestlers should live on welfare in LA and be fighting werewolves, roving gangs of Frenchmen, and Tikis led by Elvis impersonators, this is the book for you. If nothing I’ve just written appeals to you, then you need to see your doctor immediately, because you may actually be clinically dead. Jerry Frissen packs this book with so many cool concepts that it’s hard to fully grasp one before another one hits you in the face, and Bill, who does the art on the main story, has a cool Euro cartooning style that makes it all that much better. Extra bits like an article on mexican wrestling, a number of gag strips, and character bios make this more than just a comic- its a complete package. Well worth your cash.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

30 Days of Night: Red Snow #1 of 3
Writer/Artist: Ben Templesmith
Company: IDW Publishing

It’s rare for a horror comic to actually creep me out, but Ben Templesmith, in unflinchingly portraying human cruelty, has creeped me the hell out with Red Snow #1. And that’s with barely any vampires at all, so the rest of the series promises to be even more horrific. I have to admit, given Templesmith’s anarchic, darkly humorous vibe in Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, that I was expecting Red Snow to be something in the same sort of vein, but it’s not. Instead, it’s a portrait of war in the snows of Russia, from the point of view of a German SS unit, a Russian unit and some Russian farmers, all of whom are about to get caught in the middle of some serious vampire problems. Templesmith’s art is perfect for setting mood, and his distinctive, toothy vampires are creepy and effective. There’s also a beautiful use of color, especially with the cool blue palette that give off the sense of deep cold and isolation. Great even for folks who have never read a 30 Days comic in their life, and proof that Templesmith is an artist and writer to be reckoned with.

Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #1 of 6
Writer: Joe Casey
Artist: Eric Canete
Company: Marvel Comics

Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin can be considered a sequel to, or at least a continuation of, Casey’s work on Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. It’s got the same weird mix of Cold War politics and Silver Age stylings and a seemingly anachronistic use of modern technology and morality. That disconnect always tugs at my suspension of disbelief in these stories, but I can generally forgive it for two reasons. The first is that Casey’s work on Marvel’s superheroes is, like that of Matt Fraction, a perfect blend of outsider hipster cool and undeniable ingrained fanboy appreciation for the characters. So you get cool moments like Iron Man being air-dropped into China via stealth bomber, or Mandarin facing off with arrogant communist generals trying to co-opt his power, a neat mix of the superhero genre and a more real world vibe. And the second reason I dig this book? Eric Canete’s art, which earns major brownie points by using the pointy helmeted old school Iron Man design, but also just has a slick, animation style aesthetic that is unusual, kinetic and beautiful to look at. With Dave Stewart providing exquisite colors, it’s certainly the best an Iron Man comic has looked in quite some time. And Casey’s fast-paced story, with snappy, clever dialogue, makes it a pretty good read as well.

Sorrow #1 of 4
Writers: Rick Remender & Seth M. Peck
Artist: Francesco Francavilla
Company: Image Comics

There’s definitely something to be said for the horror story where things are seemingly normal, and neither the characters nor the readers know exactly what’s going on. That’s the vibe of Sorrow #1, which features some really strong character work on four twenty-somethings out for a drive in the desert who find themselves in a strange little town. Remender and Peck serve up interesting characters and creepy mood, and Francavilla delivers beautiful black and white art reminiscent of the strong character work that Adlard is doing over on Walking Dead. The only downside, and it is a big one, is that as an issue, this isn’t a hugely satisfying chunk of storytelling. There’s a lot of mystery, but the real hook of the concept is left almost entirely unexplored, and while I’m sure that the whole story will read well, it does kind of feel like the serialization wasn’t taken into account when the story was broken down.

D3 (David Martindale) Read and Thought:

New Line Cinema’s Tales of Horror #1
Writers: Peter Milligan, Christos Gage
Artists: Tom Feister, Stefano Raffaele
Publisher: Wildstorm

There are two separate stories featured here, a Freddy Krueger story and a Texas Chain Saw Massacre story. Milligan and Feister deliver a moderately boring and exceptionally anticlimactic story. Feister’s art seems like it would do well in the horror genre, but without an actually scary, creepy, or disturbing story to go with it, it just ends up doing nothing. The second story (the Freddy Krueger story) is an improvement over the first, but not by enough. Gage scripts a tightly plotted done in one story with good dialogue and characterization. Unfortunately, it just isn’t scary or disturbing. The art is adequate, but uninspiring. For all but the die hard horror devotees, I suggest you skip it.

Eva Daughter of the Dragon One Shot
Writer: Brandon Jerwa
Artist: Edgar Salazar
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Must… overcome… wall… of… text… I didn’t actually count the words, but I’m quite certain there’s more material in the narrative captions than in dialogue balloons. Not only is the book far too dense, but it’s severely unoriginal and just plain boring. Alright, we have a protagonist using powers born of evil to fight against that very same evil. Yeah, I’ve read that story a few times myself. But wait! There’s more! The protagonist is a scantily clad sex object, and we know how original that is, right? The art is of the sketchy variety made famous by Top Cow, and I’m not at all surprised to find a teaser for the upcoming Eva vs. The Darkness crossover. I’m sure you can find a charity to send your five dollars to that deserves the money more than the purveyors of this book. Maybe The Bacterial Rights Campaign or maybe The Cockroach Preservation Foundation.