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’re writing on Friday due to the holiday delay (same deal next week) and we will cover Fantastic Four Isla De La Muerte One Shot, Hulk Vs Fin Fang Foom One Shot, Invincible Presents Atom Eve #1, Legion Of Super Heroes #37, Pax Romana #1 and Redball 6 #1.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Pax Romana #1 of 4
Writer/Artist: Jonathan Hickman
Company: Image Comics

Not the best, certainly not the worst. That might sound a little lame but with Pax Romana, it’s the truth. The concept behind the entire thing, a what if scenario that has the Roman Catholic Church going back in time to make sure that their beliefs take a foothold in the creation of the world, is one that’s certainly ripe with possibilities. What keeps these good ideas from being better is the execution of them, which sad to say, is slightly flawed and hinders the actual enjoyment of it all. I only read one issue of Hickman’s first foray into the world of comics, Nightly News, mainly because the format of the book, which presented some extravagantly cool looking art pieces that were paired with extremely text heavy panels, just didn’t do much for me. The same can be said for Pax Romana. Hickman’s art, everything from the Paul Pope-ish, sketchy style to the bright color palate is quite good, but again, the sheer amount of text and the way that text is presented takes the reader right out of the story. Like I said before: Not the best, certainly not the worst.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

Hulk vs. Fin Fang Foom
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Jorge Lucas
Company: Marvel Comics

This is a pretty good book. I can’t quite figure what led Marvel to put out a one-off telling of the Hulk’s first battle with the goofily-named-yet-always-cool dragon, Fin Fang Foom…but it’s a pretty good book. And it should be, with Hulk-meister Peter David writing and Jorge Lucas walking an artistic line somewhere between Jack Kirby and John Buscema. Plot-wise, we’ve got a clear homage to both film versions of The Thing, with David even sneaking in a cheeky reference to the original short story on which they were based. In short: scientists at an Antarctic research base accidentally unearth Foom, the savage Hulk happens to be in the neighborhood to get some peace and quiet - you guess what happens next. There’s also a reprint of Foom’s first appearance, a fairly awesome little story in which he’s tricked into kicking the crap out of some Commies and uses a chunk of the Great Wall of China as a bullwhip. Top that, Bendis!

Legion of Super-Heroes #37
Writer: Jim Shooter
Artist: Francis Manapul
Company: DC Comics

We’re not usually in the habit of reviewing issue thirty-sevens of comics, but when Jim Shooter returns to the Legion, it’s a pretty big deal. Or you’d hope, anyway. In practice…it feels about average, maybe even a little underwhelming given Shooter’s slightly out-of-date scripting. The premise seems strong enough, though: current leader, Lightning Lad, is having trouble with the pressures of the job, the net result of which is clumsily thrown-together mission teams finding themselves in real trouble. And there’s plenty percolating in the background, maybe too much - from internal dissent to burgeoning romance to a new alien threat to new members foisted upon the team by the President. Regular readers might be cool with the huge ensemble cast and all the comings and goings, but as a casual fan I found it a bit much and wished the story had a bit more focus on a single group of Legionnaires. I’d say it’s worth a look for the Legion faithful, but don’t expect an instant classic.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Invincible Presents: Atom Eve #1 (of 2)
Writer: Benito Cereno
Artist: Nate Bellegarde
Company: Image Comics

I’ve always liked the character of Atom Eve, the main character’s sometime love interest in Invincible. She’s smart, she has a cool power, and that name is just fun. This mini, which explores her origin and early years, fleshes out her backstory and makes her even more interesting by making her a runaway government superweapon. Watched over by the doctor who developed her powers as she grows up, Eve learns to deal with her abilities and the problems and benefits they bring, and Cereno does a great job of portraying the positives and negatives of them. The writing is snappy and smart, just like Kirkman’s on Invincible, and Bellegarde does a great job on art with a style that reminds me of Jim Rugg. Not just a pointless spin-off, this is well worth checking out.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

Fantastic Four Isla De La Muerte One Shot
Writer: Tom Beland
Artist: Juan Doe
Company: Marvel Comics

Though it reads at times like it was co-written by the Puerto Rico Tourism Board, the Isla De La Muerte one shot is a whole lot of fun for Fantastic Four fans, especially those who are fans of the Thing. Beland is known for strong characterization, humor and touching moments, and all of those things are to be found here, just like they are in his autobiographical comic book True Story Swear to God. This issue also features superheroes fighting El Chupacabras, which there is less of in True Story Swear to God. But Beland’s skill at developing characters is also put to use developing interesting uses for the characters’ powers, notably a clever use of the Invisible Woman’s force fields. Even the factoids about Puerto Rico, while not as subtly dropped as they probably should have been, make sense given that they’re coming from Reed Richards, who has both an immense knowledge and a propensity for showing it off. Isla De La Muerte features bright, slick artwork by Juan Doe that looks like it could have come off of animation cels and is a smart, funny and all-ages friendly read.

Redball 6 #1
Writers: Ian and Jason Miller
Artist: Jok
Company: Atomic Pop Art Entertainment

I liked Redball 6 back in October when I first read it, and I still like it now. Reminiscent of odd world cops like the ones in Men in Black or Nightwatch, Redball 6 is the story of the homicide division in a dimension that seems to be somewhere between Hell and Heaven. The Miller brothers have cooked up an interesting world here, where spirits can be destroyed by murder and the law is recruited from different times and locales, often given false stories of misdeeds on Earth to “recruit them” rather than sending them on to their final reward. The cops are also an interesting bunch, with the most interesting to me being a marshal straight out of the old west. Their quarry in this issue is one of those babbling mad scientist types talking about the end of the world, hinting that the plot is about to get a lot bigger than just some murders. And Jok, the artist, has an unusual, exaggerated style that reminds me of a cross between the animated look of Aeon Flux, a 2000 AD feature and Keith Giffen’s art style. The only nervousness I have is that the first issue is a month later than it was supposed to be, and the second issue has been canceled at Diamond, leading me to believe it’s either having lateness issues or distributor issues, neither one of which is great for building confidence. I hope they can get past whichever one it is, because Redball 6 has a fresh concept and strong creative talent behind it.