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 Birds Of Prey #113, Doctor Who Classics #1, Incredible Hulk #112, Long Count #1, Marvel Illustrated Iliad #1, Robotika For A Few Rubles More #1 of 4, Some New Kind Of Slaughter #1 of 3, and World War Hulk Aftersmash: Warbound #1 of 5.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Incredible Hulk #112
Writers: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Artist: Koi Pham & Stephanie Peru
Company: Marvel Comics

Pretty close to being perfect. Yeah, that might be setting expectations fairly high, but truth be told, the start of the “Incredible Herc” storyline is one that seems to have most everything that one might look for in a comic book. For those needing a bit more than that, the general notion is that since Hulk is MIA, Hercules (a favorite character of mine) takes center stage and joins Amadeus Cho in a fight against S.H.I.E.L.D. Pak and Van Lente write these characters insanely well, and are able to imbue them all with a real sense of character and spirit that makes them and the story that much more interesting. In some ways though, as much as this is a spotlight on the “Renegades” team, this issue happens to be a perfect introduction to the character of Hercules, as you get snippets of his back story in the form of flashbacks throughout that again flesh the character out and make you care for him even more. The art too is nice. I’m not very familiar with either Pham or Peru but their styles look exceptionally nice on the page and their storytelling is spot on. All in all, this one doesn’t dissapoint in the least.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

Birds of Prey #113
Writer: Sean McKeever
Artist: Nicola Scott
Company: DC Comics

Despite some strong moments and an easy approachability, Sean McKeever’s first issue of Birds of Prey is not what I was hoping for. It kicks off sluggishly with some heavily-captioned flashbacks, then moves on to a car chase sequence that I was enjoying quite a bit…up until the sudden appearance of, well, a Transformer. I was also disappointed that the issue all but chastises the team for getting in over their head - not an unreasonable plot point in general, but coming across as weirdly self-loathing as a writer’s first issue. I was pretty happy with the characterization, though, and Nicola Scott’s art impresses throughout. A mixed bag.

Doctor Who Classic #1
Writers: Pat Mills & John Wagner
Artist: Dave Gibbons
Company: IDW Publishing

I’m prepared to recommend this late 70s reprint on the basis of Dave Gibbons’ art alone. Wow, is it sharp - lotsa detail, elaborately lit figures, and typically excellent storytelling. The story is harder to judge, as I only know the Doctor’s adventures from the Eccleston era onward and this is Tom Baker era. In general I found it came across like most Star Trek comics - well-intentioned, dotted with some fun moments and ideas, but a little too steeped in comic book conventions to capture the charms of live actors. It’s a classic sci-fi premise: the Roman Empire that never fell, albeit tweaked with some Who-style alien involvement. It’s fine, nothing wildly compelling. But that ART! Man, is it good.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Marvel Illustrated: The Iliad #1 of 8
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artists: Miguel Angel Sepulveda and Sandu Florea
Company: Marvel Comics

This is a fairly strong adaptation of Homer’s epic poem, starting with some backstory on the cause of the Trojan war and what happened during the first nine years of it before moving into the meat of the narrative. Reading the story in this format really makes it clear how much of the war is attributed to the interference of the gods, and how big a role religion played in the tale. The artwork is decent, though not inspired- the panel layout is dense to accommodate the many narrative captions, but it lacks imagination, and the detail is good enough to tell the characters apart, which is important in a story like this. Overall, I dug this, though for a much stronger take on this era, check out Age of Bronze.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

Robotika: For A Few Rubles More #1 of 4
Writers: Alex Sheikman and David Moran
Artist: Alex Sheikman
Company: Archaia Studios Press

For A Few Rubles More is the second Robotika miniseries, but those who missed the first one won’t feel at all left out by this fun, beautifully illustrated first issue. In fact, aside from one very funny in-joke about a character’s method of speech, the whole thing is pretty much square one, as the three lead characters, freelance warriors by trade, wander into a town run by a crimelord who has recently pissed off another criminal. Anyone who has seen a western or a samurai flick knows what’s going to happen from there. Robotika draws a lot from those genres, but it also features a futuristic, tech-heavy setting, light and fun writing by Sheikman and Moran and gorgeous artwork by Sheikman. Sheikman’s style calls to mind equal parts Steve Dillon, Frank Quitely, Tim Bradstreet and Geof Darrow, to name but a few, and the resulting style is packed with impressive detail, imaginative designs and fluid storytelling.

World War Hulk Aftersmash: Warbound #1 of 5
Writer: Greg Pak
Artists: Leonard Kirk, Rafa Sandoval & Roger Bonet
Company: Marvel Comics

Civil War had The Inititiative, and now World War Hulk has Aftersmash. Although the World War Hulk event is over, it’s quite clear that Greg Pak is not done with these characters or their situations yet. Warbound is a pretty direct sequel to part of World War Hulk, following up on what happens to Hulk’s alien allies after their part in Hulk’s ultimately unsuccessful act of revenge. They’re on the run from SHIELD, their entire reason for being on the planet turned out to be a lie and, in this issue, there’s someone else who wants to use them. Because the book is split in two, the first half the main story about the Warbound becoming entangled with a familiar villain and a new SHIELD agent and the second a flashback to flesh out the characters, this does feel mostly like setup, but it’s interesting setup, with terrific art by Kirk, Sandoval and Bonet. It’s too early to judge the whole book, but based on Pak’s previous work with these characters in Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, it seems likely that Warbound is going to be a fun read.

David Martindale Read and Thought:

Some New Kind Of Slaughter #1 of 3
Writers: mpMann and A. David Lewis
Artist: mpMann
Publisher: Archaia Studios Press

This book is too smart for its own good. The issue tells several Flood stories and interweaves them in what appears to be an attempt to show the human element as the common thread that connects them all. Unfortunately, the common thread is actually dry and boring storytelling. There isn’t really enough material from each individual story to cause the reader to care one way or the other about any of the characters or the outcomes of any of the narratives. The art from mpMann looks attractive enough, but unfortunately his subdued style, in combination with Lewis’ dry writing, makes for an even less interesting read. If you enjoyed Inanna’s Tears, there’s a chance you might enjoy this one, but to be completely honest, it’s even drier and less exciting. Another disappointing debut from Archaia, the company that had so much promise after bringing us The Killer, Robotika and Mouse Guard.

The Long Count #1 of 6
Writer: Jason L. Blair
Artist: Leanne Buckley
Publisher: Archaia Studios Press

It’s the near future, and the Maya and Aztecs were never fully conquered by the Europeans. It’s the end of the world or the end of The Long Count, and a poor girl from the barrio turned famous sports star is chosen to play an important part in the last days by Quetzalcoatl. The world created here is an intriguing mix of high tech and more traditional South American stone sculpture. The first issue is certainly an exciting read with nearly nonstop action. The art lends itself quite well to the exciting tone, to the futuristic elements, and to the South American Indian elements. A bit of the storytelling in the art can be hard to follow despite looking quite nice in the vein of artists like Chris Bachalo. A very solid first issue, but I strongly recommend that you read the blurb on the rear cover that explains the setting before you read the issue.