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 Criminal 2 #1, Doctor Who #1, Kick Ass #1, Many Adventures Of Miranda Mercury #295, Nearly Infamous Zango #1, RASL #1, Rogue Angel Teller Of Tales #1, Silent Hill Sinners Reward #1, Urban Monsters #1, and X-Men Legacy #208.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Kick-Ass #1
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: John Romita Jr.
Company: Icon/Marvel Comics

From the get go, the very first page in fact, you absolutely know that this is a Mark Millar comic. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing because Millar can write a solid and entertaining book from time to time. He’s proved this with varying degrees of success with things like The Ultimates, Wanted and more recently with the first issue of Fantastic Four. The man most certainly has the ability to write, but with Kick-Ass, some of his more extreme writing tics and sensibilities that he’s famous for overtake everything else and leads to a less than thrilling first issue that just happens to feature copious amounts of blood and swearing. As for what actually takes place in the issue, that would be the story of a down on his luck teenage boy living in the real world who, to spice things up a bit and add meaning to his view of the world , becomes a superhero. Not too shabby as plots go but it’s something that we’ve certainly seen in one for or another before. On the art side of things, John Romita Jr. does some truly stunning work. It’s visceral and eye-catching and he gives each character that appears his or her own specific look and attitude. All in all, not an awful read but I’d buy it more to look at the pretty pictures than anything else.

The Nearly Infamous Zango #1
Writer/Artist: Rob Osborne
Company: Absolute Tyrant

The best way to describe The Nearly Infamous Zango is that it feels like a super-villain fueled sitcom. Rob Osborne, the guy behind such things as Sunset City and 1000 Steps to World Domination, brings us Zango, once one of the most frightening super-villain geniuses to ever walk the streets of Metrotown who now likes junk food and sitting in front of the television. The comedy of it all is actually the biggest draw, as it really does have that rare ability to make you laugh out loud. In some ways, there are a lot of similarities with Zango to Ben Edlund’s beloved The Tick, mainly the band of colorful characters mixed with a unique and bizarre sense of humor, which in my book is never a bad thing. My only gripe is some of the scenes don’t gel with one another and seem more like a series of skits that, while funny, just seem to hang there. All in all, a fun book with some good art. Worth taking a gander at.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

Doctor Who #1
Writer: Gary Russell
Artist: Nick Roche
Publisher: IDW Publishing

Solid enough. Maybe even a bit above average, in fact. With writing by Gary Russell, best known for various Doctor Who novels and other spin-off projects, what we’ve got here is a predictable but fun intro to the Doctor’s world. I was mildly put-off by the first page, which out-and-out explains the Doctor’s origin (I think it’s a lot more fun to learn this stuff as one goes along), but soon thereafter things are movin’ at a good clip. What starts as a trip to an interstellar restaurant to impress Martha with the best chocolate milkshake in the galaxy (cool) goes awry when she and the Doctor are targeted by an alien intent on selling the Doctor for an integalactic version of The Most Dangerous Game. I wasn’t particularly feeling the cartoony art, but it’s nice enough. Combined with a script that definitely “gets” the characters, the book captures the show’s feel well enough that I think fans will be pleased. For my own part, I’d say it’s on par with one of the more average episodes, but I’ll stick around for a bit and I definitely got a kick out of the alien who proclaimed, “Sycorax strong. Humans weak. That is why we rock!”

Silent Hill: Sinner’s Reward #1 of 5
Writer: Tom Waltz
Artist: Steph Stamb
Publisher: IDW Publishing

Not bad at all! I’m a fan of the Silent Hill game franchise, though previous comic outings based on it have left me cold. A quick Googling of writer Tom Waltz tells me he’s a working pro who hasn’t hit it big, but based on this issue I could see this guy going places and he’s definitely treating the property right. And there’s no gimmicks - it’s just straight-up strong writing as he introduces as to an Irish hitman looking to cut and run with the boss’s girlfriend. The bad news: his escape route is about to cut through the haunted town that’s terrified video gamers for years. Now outside the horror stuff, this is a mob situation that could easily have fallen into cliche, but Waltz eases the reader smartly into Jack “The Pup” Stanton’s world with flashbacks that actually manage to humanize the guy. The pacing’s sharp and so’s the script, so by the time things start to get spooky, I was good and into the characters. On the art front, Sinner’s Reward features slick, painted interiors that call to mind the photo-referenced realism of John Bolton. All told, I’m hard-pressed to come up with any criticisms and I find myself genuinely looking forward to this miniseries playing out. Madness!

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Rogue Angel: Teller of Tall Tales #1
Writer: Barbara Randall Kesel
Artist: Renae De Liz
Publisher: IDW

Based on a series of novels, this book stars Annja Creed, an archaeologist who just happened to find the magical sword of Joan of Arc, a blade that appears when she needs it. Part historian, part adventurer, in the vein of Indiana Jones or maybe Lara Croft, in this story Creed is called on to help a friend who is investigating the possibility that Mark Twain drew on conversation with a friend to help write his novels. The problem is, that friend was black, and someone is willing to kill to keep history told as it is and Twain’s legacy “untainted”. Lest you think that far-fetched, I’ve been taking a course on Historical Investigation and one historian researching the Alamo received multiple death threats when he found evidence that Crockett may have been taken prisoner and executed instead of dying heroically in battle. Kesel does a good job of laying the ideas out so that you don’t need to be a historian to understand them, and De Liz has a good understanding of flow of action and layout, though at times the art feels a bit too cartoony. Also, I’m sure De Liz was constrained by a model from the novels, but the thin waist and large breasts make it hard for me not to think of Creed as yet another unnatural comic woman. Overall, though, this was a thrilling read that hit intriguing topics, and made me interested to check out the novels.

Urban Monsters #1
Writers: Will Wilson and Joanne Moore
Artists: Tone Rodriguez and Rick Ross
Publisher: Image

Hmmm. A hundred years ago, monsters (which are real, by the way) decided to integrate with humanity, and now they live among us, being treated like crap and working lame jobs. I would have figured there woulda been a war or something instead, but whatever. In this case, four friends (a fish-man, a goat-man, a zombie, and a bigfoot) head for LA to try out for a movie. Road trip for monsters- cool idea. Unfortunately, the gags are not very funny, based mostly around the zombie falling apart and the bigfoot being a giant babe magnet for some reason. Also, New York to LA in 3 days? That’s a serious drive. The artwork is fair, with monsters looking good but humans (especially in the facial area) not so much. Another one to miss from the Shadowline imprint, I’m afraid.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

Many Adventures Of Miranda Mercury #295
Writer: Brandon Thomas
Artist: Lee Ferguson
Company: Archaia Studios Press

Don’t let the numbering fool you, this is actually the first issue of Miranda Mercury, the numbering is just a cute gimmick so that this five-issue mini can lead up to a double-sized issue 300 conclusion. Unfortunately, starting so late in the series seems to be more than just a gimmick on the outside, as Thomas starts the story as if there had been 294 issues of Miranda Mercury before this, and as a result, the first issue is a little impenetrable. What’s actually going on is spelled out pretty clearly, but establishing who the lead character is and what she does is not given a lot of focus, and the central conflict of solving a sci-fi puzzle to unlock a wish-granting science genie sounds like cool Morrisonian high-concept, but comes across as a little bit boring from someone clearly meant to be a futuristic swashbuckling adventurer that’s a cross between Flash Gordon and Indiana Jones. We don’t know the character, therefore we don’t particularly care why she does what she does at this point. The artwork is a treat, with lush, colorful backgrounds and clean-line, simple figure work, a combination that recalls the work of animation pros like Darwyn Cooke or stylish storytellers like Marcos Martin and Cliff Chiang. And one of the big conflicts, where what seems like a betrayal is actually motivated by the deepest loyalty, is a fascinating dichotomy, but I would have liked either a little more character and premise development or a lot more flashy big ideas and kick ’splode in a first issue.

RASL #1
Writer/Artist: Jeff Smith
Company: Cartoon Books

The two words that come to mind most strongly when I read RASL are “action packed.” A daring art heist, a quick inter-dimensional escape, and a chase and a brawl with a shifty, gun-toting character take up a lot of the issue, and Smith’s expert pacing and storytelling makes for some of the most exciting action comics has to offer. RASL is light on details, and in fact if you didn’t know the premise involved an extradimensional art thief, you might not be certain of it after reading the first issue, but it is a fast-paced read that also finds time to slow down and show us the character dealing with the difficulties of his chosen profession. It’s beautiful to look at, ambitious in scope and expertly crafted. We could use a lot more comics like this.

D3 (David Martindale) Read and Thought:

Criminal Vol. 2 #1
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Publisher: Icon (Marvel Comics)

The new single issue story format fits the vibe of the book quite well. In fact, I would go so far as to say the format is an improvement over previous arcs. The concise storytelling prevents any real slow spots and brings an immediate satisfaction upon completing the issue. There’s a bit of flashback action in the story that feels very much like the great mob movies taking place in the sixties and seventies, and Phillips’ art is spectacular as always. The only real complaint that I have is that despite a new format and a new first issue, the shelf appeal of the issue doesn’t have anything to really grab a new reader. A subtle color palette on the cover, and a very small “#1″ makes it look like any other issue of the title. A very strong recommendation for both Criminal fans and fans of crime fiction.

X-Men Legacy #208
Writer: Mike Carey
Artists: John Romita Jr & Scott Eaton
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The art from both Romita and Eaton was pretty, but otherwise, the book was exceptionally boring. The concept of the adventures of Professor X’s consciousness through his own mindscape is an idea that could be pulled off, but this first issue doesn’t bode well for the idea. There are a few notable occurrences in the narrative that should have been big shocker moments that unfortunately fell flat when introduced with very little more than conversational dialogue. It was also a less than ideal jumping on point for new readers. To have any real understanding of what’s going on in the issue, the reader needs a familiarity with both the events of Messiah Complex and the X-books of the nineties since the majority of the characters are nineties creations that haven’t really been seen since. It was easily the weakest of the X-relaunches post-MC; I’d recommend it to hard core X-geeks only.