Wednesday Number Ones 1/23/08
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 Afterburn #1, Rod Espinosa Prince Of Heroes #1, World War Hulk Aftersmash Damage Control #1 of 3 and Young Avengers Presents #1 of 6.
Nick Budd Read and Thought:
Young Avengers Presents #1 of 6
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Paco Medina
Company: Marvel Comics
Awhile back, when the initial Young Avengers series started up, I couldn’t help but think that this was a book doomed for failure. A little pessimistic? Sure, that’s a good way to say it, and even though it was, that didn’t stop me from thinking it. But after a few outings, something unexpected happened…The series was good. Very good, in fact. Allan Heinberg had actually come up with a slew of new characters, all of who were interesting to read, and were extremely viable properties that had some staying power in the Marvel Universe. So now, that brings us to this first issue of Young Avengers Presents, a series where each issue is dedicated to one of the members of the team. This time out, Patriot is our main focus and stepping in for Heinberg this time is Ed Brubaker, who takes up the reigns and dishes out a well balanced and entertaining tale of a boy whose lost his faith and way in the world. As for the art, Paco Medina delivers some good work. His New Warriors stuff had a little more oomph to it, but for YAP, the action is smooth and easy to follow, and continues to have the same spark of energy that grabs the eye. All told, a solid first issue.
Dave Farabee Read and Thought:
Afterburn #1 of 4
Writer: Scott Chitwood & Paul Ens
Artist: Wayne Nichols
Company: Red 5 Comics
I like the premise on Afterburn: on an Earth devastated by a massive, rogue solar flare, a team of mercenary thieves ply their trade, stealthing into quarantine zones to steal rare items for rich clients. In execution, it comes off more as a Sci-Fi channel movie, replete with cornball dialogue and jumbled action scenes. It walks a strange line between post-apocalyptic grit and pulpish camp, but I think it would’ve been a stronger product had it distinctly favored one over the other (given the occasional mutant sharks and Frenchmen, I’d go with camp).
Dan Grendell Read and Thought:
Prince of Heroes #1
Creator: Rod Espinosa
Company: Antarctic Press
I’m a bit unsure about this book. It has a lot going for it- Rod Espinosa is a brilliant artist, with a penchant for color and scale that makes epic adventure come alive in his hands. There’s a panel in the beginning of this issue showing several hyena-men riding zebra-like beasts that really caught my attention, as the stance and leg-length of the riders, in addition to the faces, really make it clear that they are hyenas and not some other animal. That kind of creativity and attention to detail can make a book like this. I’m not as sure of the story yet- the first half of the book seems only vaguely to the second half, though I get the impression that perhaps time passed. The hero of the story, Ronen, is a member of the dominant race, and acts to protect others from the cruelty of another member of his race in a move that’s sure to have consequences. You get the feeling that it’s just the beginning of his hero’s journey, and Espinosa mentions in his introduction that though this is a short mini-series he plans to tell an 18 chapter story, so there is plenty to come. I think future issues are where the story will really take hold, but for a first issue, this is well worth checking out.
Randy Lander Read and Thought:
Damage Control #1 of 3
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Artist: Salva Espin
Company: Marvel Comics
When last we saw Damage Control, they were secretly responsible for Civil War, or so I heard, as you couldn’t pay me to read Marvel’s Front Line series. The good news is, the characters have been restored to the guardianship of their creator, Dwayne McDuffie, and fans of the original, lightly comedic Damage Control miniseries will be very happy with the results. The even better news is that even if you have no idea who these characters are, or don’t know the in-joke that many of them are based on Marvel Bullpenners, you’re still going to get an accessible and entertaining read. McDuffie plays the “getting the band back together” plot well, introducing each character and their personality, and there’s an interesting underlying plot about rebuilding New York in the mix as well. McDuffie’s skill with plot, dialogue and characterization are dead solid perfect, and he’s paired with a new artist, Salva Espin, who blends a cartoony style reminiscent of the original Damage Control minis with a shiny veneer that calls to mind the work of guys like Mike Perkins and Steve McNiven. Whether you’re a fan of the original incarnation or not, if you want to see who’s going to put New York back together after the Hulk took it apart, and have a damn good time doing it, you’re going to want to read this miniseries. My only complaint? At three issues, I just know it’s going to be too short, and I’m going to be wanting a lot more.
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The connection between Damage Control and the Civil War was in Wolverine, not Front Line.
23 Jan 2008 at 1:36 pm
QuoteYoung Avengers did not wow me the way it did evreybody else. It’s so muddled in my brain I REALLY can’t remember what made me give up. PARIOT being a junkie,the finding of Young Quicksilver or Hulking as the lost Skrull Prince.
23 Jan 2008 at 3:13 pm
QuoteAh. Good to know. Though I still stand by my assertion that you couldn’t pay me to read Front Line.
23 Jan 2008 at 3:33 pm
QuoteThe Wolverine Civl war stuff did not make me want to puke.
However given that Namor and Logan both wanted to kill Nitro they should have ethier not fought or had a HUGE FIGHT Come on NOW it’s only happened what? TWICE? and never with both at full power. Huge right?
23 Jan 2008 at 4:47 pm
QuoteJust like last week, not much new titles that really interest me. I’m still bummed about The Order being cancelled. What kind of world we live in where Ultimates 3 is the top selling title, while The Order can’t get a decent sales numbers. Okay, I’ll stop my rant. Anway, I’ll be trying Afterburn #1 and maybe Damage Control #1, along with the usual comics I get this week.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on the Jack Staff Special #1 and New World Order #1 that’s out this week?
23 Jan 2008 at 4:53 pm
QuoteThe Declun guy that Robin and Anne-Marie are referring to is the guy responsible for giving Nitro the MGH for the Stamford explosion; Wolverine executed him in broad daylight and told Miriam Sharpe about it. Unfortunately, No one else at Marvel read that arc.
23 Jan 2008 at 9:54 pm
QuoteI’ve been doing my own version of this rant today. The Order being canceled really sucks.
Jack Staff is always entertaining, but I kind of had my fill after a couple trades and didn’t go back.
I don’t actually know what New World Order is.
Doesn’t sound unfortunate to me. The unfortunate thing is that Marvel published it, because the last thing I want out of Damage Control is to see it linked to the destruction in Stamford. That’d be kind of like taking Speedball, one of the most fun characters in the Marvel Universe, and turning him into some whiny pain-freak.
Which is why I thought Front Line was responsible for the Damage Control thing… it just sounded like the kind of thing that would fit in with Penance and Sally Floyd confronting Captain America about his non-Myspace-iness.
23 Jan 2008 at 10:02 pm
QuoteWoW. The Order’s cancelled already? The funny thing is I had just now been thinking about picking it up. I’ve really liked Matt Fraction’s other works I’ve read. I had been seeing it get consistently good reviews, and was thinking of giving it a try. The reason I passed up on it to start with was that Civil War left a bad taste in my mouth and I was very apathetic about the “Initiative”. And of course The Order was billed as “The Crowning Jewel Of The Initiative”. Between OMD and this getting cancelled. I gotta feeling that shortly after Secret Invasion, Civil War’s just going to be a memory. I think the major problem behind it all is that “government sponsored super-heroes” just isn’t all that interesting of an idea. It just looks bland as hell on paper. It basically just reduces them to cops with powers. And if I want great cop stories, I’ll reread my Gotham Central’s (which as great as it was couldn’t survive cancellation either). It took 6-months of good reviews to even get me interested, and now it’s too late.
23 Jan 2008 at 10:27 pm
Quoteslim pickin’s this week from your review, more talk of cancellations and the lousy event Civil War was.Still the promo poster M Turner did was great.
There really is not one book, series out there that really sets me up to not want to wait until the next issue. Where has the Flaming Carrot gone? Is there a series out there now being printed on par with Jeff Smith or SANDMAN by Gaiman.
And to finish with this, which is better; a comic book with an average cost of 3.00 an issue or one printed on newsprint type paper.
23 Jan 2008 at 10:59 pm
QuoteDon’t know whether or not you’d consider them on par with Smith or Gaiman (depending on the depth of your love for them) but if you like cliffhangers and comics that give you a reason to look for the next issue I highly recommend:
Dynamo 5
Astounding Wolfman
The Sword (anything from the Luna’s really)
These comics seem to make it a point every issue to give you something to look forward to next time.
23 Jan 2008 at 11:39 pm
QuoteWhich is why I thought Front Line was responsible for the Damage Control thing… it just sounded like the kind of thing that would fit in with Penance and Sally Floyd confronting Captain America about his non-Myspace-iness.
Why oh why couldn’t the Red Skull have orchestrated Sally Floyd’s assassination instead? If I had been Cap and Floyd asked me those asinine questions, I would’ve just punched her smug face — which is probably why I would never make a very good Captain America.
24 Jan 2008 at 8:57 am
Quoteas a fellow Sandman lover, I’d recommend Fables and DMZ. Of course, if you’ve been reading this site for long, you’ve heard of both of these already.
24 Jan 2008 at 10:42 am
QuoteHard to hit those classic levels, but I will say that there’s a higher level of quality to writing right now than almost any other time in comics. I’d put FABLES up there above SANDMAN (for me, at least), and if you dug on BONE, I’d recommend checking out MOUSE GUARD from Archaia.
There’s always disappointment in comics, but let’s not get carried away… there are a lot of good books out there right now.
Problem is, as I understand it, newsprint has gone up too. So it’s more like a choice of a comic on shitty paper for $2.50 or a comic on nice paper for $3.00. Which is less clearcut.
No, it’s OK… you just gotta yell “SKRULL!” before you punch her lights out, and it’s all cool. Hell, they’d probably give you some kind of anti-Skrull Illuminati medal.
24 Jan 2008 at 12:23 pm
QuoteI will be getting Jack STaff ASAP my all to pro-Marvel comic shop did not get it
24 Jan 2008 at 2:07 pm
QuoteMy local comic book shop is pretty lousy as far as variety and diversity are concerned (and apparently too lazy to add books to a pull list), so I’ve been ordering more of my comics online. In the case of smaller or independent publishers I try to order directly from them. (Fuck You, Diamond — and not in a way you would like.)
24 Jan 2008 at 3:00 pm
QuoteYeah what bothers me about that is twofold
1. theyre already asking me about SECRET INVASION (that’s two months from now!) A they know I hate Bendis B if I DO want that you better have it.
B. jack Staff is not obcure it’s an IMAGE book
24 Jan 2008 at 3:48 pm
QuoteReally, Luke Cage didn’t even bother with that before he gave Elektra the old beaver-kick special, so I say just go for it.
24 Jan 2008 at 4:02 pm
Quotegood lord Luke kicked a woman in the genitles? really? That does not seem right Wolverine maybe.
Man am I glad I missed that
24 Jan 2008 at 4:31 pm
QuoteFirst, how do you guys know that The Order was cancelled? I don’t remember seeing that news anywhere.
Damage Control this week had me, embarrassingly enough, giggling like a little school girl while reading it. It was a great book, and it made me really look back fondly on the 2nd miniseries (which was the only one I read.) It also made me realize that I really have to get the 1st and 3rd miniseries.
25 Jan 2008 at 7:23 am
QuoteThe news is all over the internet, quick search brought this up.
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0801/21/index.htm
Scroll down to where it says briefly, issue ten is the last one.
The Order never wowed me like it has some others, I was at best mildly interested in it, so from that point of view I don’t really care much that it’s gone. Still, it’s a shame when something dosen’t get a fair shake.
25 Jan 2008 at 11:02 am
QuoteThe Order never wowed me like it has some others, I was at best mildly interested in it, so from that point of view I don’t really care much that it’s gone. Still, it’s a shame when something dosen’t get a fair shake.
It never really impressed me much either, although I do like Barry Kitson’s artwork. Come to think of it, with the exception of Casanova, nothing Matt Fraction has written has really “clicked” with me. Oh well.
25 Jan 2008 at 12:51 pm
Quote“Really, Luke Cage didn’t even bother with that before he gave Elektra the old beaver-kick special, so I say just go for it.”
When people ask me “what’s the best way to improve comics?” The first thing I say is “Get Brian Bendis into couples therapy.”
Rand-Man: Well, Declun was an all-new character. Guggenheim made it very clear that Anne-Marie was not happy with him and she sold him out to Wolverine. He was careful not to tar the rest of DC with his brush.
What sticks in my craw is that Wolverine told Miriam Sharpe about this, yet she never mentioned publicly that Nitro exploded and killed her son because Declun was supplying him with boosters to cause disasters. Fills CW with even more holes than it already has.
25 Jan 2008 at 1:57 pm
QuoteSorry for me the Order is just a Civil war tie in by the guy who writes Cassanova. Not a resume that makes me sit up and take notice. Hell there’s part of my brain that’s glad a Civil War based title CAN FAIL.
25 Jan 2008 at 2:12 pm
QuoteThat part of your brain never read THE ORDER. I was no Civil War fan, but a lot of the Initiative stuff was pretty decent, and THE ORDER was an excellent title, in my opinion. Shame to write it off because of a Millar event book.
25 Jan 2008 at 3:15 pm
QuoteI do see that point But I can’t justify spending money on somthing just has absoultely no gut-level apeal.
Heck I LIKE Thunderbolts.
For me Civil war (and the tone of Marvel’s internet hype) Does mean I won’t read Marvel stuff but a “maybe” is closer to no than yes now days.
25 Jan 2008 at 4:26 pm
Quotehey Randy it turns out I WILL BE buying the order trade read a bit the preveiw of the namor one looks good
25 Jan 2008 at 7:00 pm
Quote