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 Dead Of Night Featuring Man Thing #1 of 5, Fantastic Four #554, Spooks #1, Tiny Titans #1 of 6, X-Force #1, Wolverine #62 and X-factor #28.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Dead of Night Featuring Man Thing #1
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artist: Jose Angel Cano Lopez
Company: Marvel Comics

In all honesty, I think the number of Man-Thing stories that I’ve read can be counted completely on one hand. It’s not that that character is boring either, because he’s not in the least, it’s just that he’s a hard character to get into. With Dead of Night, what we’re given is a slight re-imagining of the character’s origin, chronicling Ted Sallis’ transformation from prized scientist searching to replicate the Super-Solider serum to creature of the swamp. If you’re already familiar with the character’s history, then some of what happens in this issue will more than likely make you feel like you’re watching a rerun on television, despite the fact that the entire thing is cheerfully narrated by Digger, a character reminiscent of The Crypt Keeper. If you’re not familiar though, or are just looking for a cool throwback to some good old fashioned EC Comics, then welcome to an honest to god entertaining issue that sports some tremendously dark, startlingly violent, and spectacularly good art by Lopez.

Wolverine #62
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Ron Garney
Company: Marvel Comics

With the end of “Messiah Complex”, pretty much all of the X-Titles are getting shaken up to some degree as they deal with the numerous dangling plot threads that the mega-crossover never quite wrapped up. With Wolverine, the dangling plot thread that needs dealing with comes in the guise of the elusive and lethal character Mystique. The gist of the story is that Wolverine wants Mystique dead. Why? Well, that would be telling. Let’s just say that the conflict is personal for both parties. Helming this revenge fest is Jason Aaron, who comes on strong and crafts a mildly interesting story that like most of his other work, Scalped & The Other Side, skews to some dark places. The only problem with that is that for what is essentially a superhero story, it almost seems a little too dark. Still, there are some nice moments here, especially during some flashback sequences that tell of the two characters first clash with one another. As for the art, Ron Garney puts in some nice work. It’s slick looking and he handles the action quite well. Overall, the issue’s certainly readable but it’s not overly exciting either.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

X-Force #1
Writers: Craig Kyle & Chris Yost
Artist: Clayton Crain
Company: Marvel Comics

An X-Men black ops team is a pretty cool idea on paper, but damned if I’m gonna be able to get past the idea that Cyclops is the motivating force behind it. Not since Cap took Wolverine into the Avengers have we seen such damaging characterization of one of the heroic pillars of the Marvel Universe. That said…X-Force #1 is a solid enough first issue on its own merits, gathering the team, laying out their main opposition (the increasingly powerful Purifiers), and getting them to their first big mission. It’s all depicted with macho, airbrushed shininess by Clayton Crain, the next generation Simon Bisley. It’s hard to take his mountainous, glistening characters too seriously, but he seems appropriately Heavy Metal for the action and violence. My biggest disappointment is that the book raises some moral questions about the creation of this mutant death squad, but never truly confronts them. Wolverine outright says X-23 will lose any hope of humanity if she participates, and it’s hard not to see the same happening of Wolfsbane, but they all just seem to move forward with it because…well, that’s the premise of the book. Disappointingly cynical.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Tiny Titans #1
Writers: Art Baltazar and Franco
Artist: Art Baltazar
Company: DC Comics

Okay, this book is beyond adorable. I mean, seriously. Take what are essentially five or six-year-old versions of various Titans, put them at Sidekick Elementary, and then do short vignettes with them. Sometimes it’s a gag, sometimes it’s just a cute little story, but it’s always heart-meltingly fun. From Beast Boy changing into a dog to play with his puppy, to the girls sharing a lollipop with a kiddy Plasmus, to Cassie’s new outfit, Baltazar and Franco have managed to write stories that can appeal both to very young children and melt the heart of an old curmudgeon like myself too. Baltazar’s crayon-like cartooning is perfect for the book’s tone, and exudes joy. Really, this was just a pleasure to read.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

Spooks #1
Writers: R.A. Salvatore, Larry Hama, Geno Salvatore & Ryan Schifrin
Artist: Adam Archer
Company: Devil’s Due Publishing

Monsters vs. military. It’s a good, if not entirely fresh, concept, but the selling point is that the military guys are by Larry “Godfather of G.I. Joe” Hama and the monsters are from R.A. “Drizzt the Dark Elf” Salvatore. Good pedigree, but the book never rises much above the level of familiar and cliche, particularly in the dialogue. It’s perfectly acceptable action fare, but all the monsters gathering to attack humanity is something we’ve seen dozens of times before, and the secretive military unit that defends humanity against something it can’t even know about is even more familiar. This kind of thing needs fresh ideas, cool moments or memorable characters to rise above the level of forgettable action fare, and Spooks doesn’t really have any of those. You can read Nick’s full (and more positively inclined) take on the book here.

X-Factor #28
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Pablo Raimondi
Company: Marvel Comics

“Messiah Complex” shook up the status quo of all the X-Books, and X-Factor was particularly affected, losing one team member to the new X-Force, another to death and tagging its lead character with a fair amount more angst, physically symbolized in a tattoo on his face. David, who wrote the X-Factor crossover issues of “Messiah Complex,” takes that ball and runs with it, and in so doing, re-energizes a title that was always good to begin with. David excels at these kind of “stock taking” issues where we see where each team member is and what’s driving (or bugging) them, and while this one doesn’t have the focus of a psychological session or a confrontation with a time-bending arch nemesis, by the end we’ve had a snapshot of each character’s life that is full of future potential and shows off the investment in characterization that David has put into the book. Also, Raimondi on art is spectacular, with subtly rendered and expressive faces and exceptional action, particularly with the Madrox vs. Purifiers action piece that is one of the most memorable bits of the issue. An exceptional issue of X-Factor that will remind regular readers why they’re reading and should draw in the curious “Messiah Complex” followers into the book as well.

David Martindale Read and Thought:

Fantastic Four #554
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Bryan Hitch
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Mark Millar can be a polarizing force whenever his name is attached to a book, but it’s my guess that both fans and detractors of his work will find his latest output to be neither offensive nor something to get excited about. This opening issue is merely solid froma writing craft perspective. There’s a fun moment on the first few pages, but then the issue falls into pages and pages of characterization by way of dialogue which quickly becomes somewhat boring. A few moments of genuinely entertaining wit and a big idea at the end of the issue save it though. The art from Hitch looks great. It’s obviously photo referenced but not so photo referenced as to be distracting, and his big two page splash at the end of the issue is beautiful. I’d say it’s a well above average and solid first issue, but it’s not going to make the huge splash that quite a few expected.