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 Batman Death Mask #1, George R R Martins Wild Cards #1, Number Of The Beast #1, and Titans #1.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Titans #1
Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Ian Churchill
Company: DC Comics

Okay, where to begin with this one? In all seriousness, as much as I was dreading this secondary Teen Titans title (something that still doesn’t make much sense to me), this first issue turned out to be at least readable with a few spots of goodness peppered throughout. Even at his worst, Winick still does have the ability to write good character moments, something that he’s proved in the pages of Green Arrow and The Outsiders, and the same can be said for this book too. His Nightwing and Raven are the standouts, but he’s able to introduce all of the team fairly well, giving each one a fun moment or two while allowing the readers a glimpse at each of their lives outside of superheroics. Still, as good as those character moments are, much of what this story accomplishes and who it presents as the big bad feels like a retread of past Teen Titans continuity, which again makes me ask why there was a demand for this book in the first place. The art, handled by Ian Churchill, is decent enough but often skews into the Top Cow-y like world of unnecessarily big boobies. Still, the otherworldly creatures that the team battle in the issue are inventive looking and fearsome, and the action is quick and fluid. All in all, this one reaches the same heights that Geoff Johns first came onto Teen Titans. If you dug that sort of feel, or just happen to be in the mood for another team book starring the original Titans, this one might be worth checking out.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

Batman: Death Mask #1 of 4
Writer/Artist: Yoshinori Natsume
Company: CMX/DC Comics

I didn’t like the cover, but I liked just about everything else. Batman: Death Mask marks one of DC’s periodic forays into combining manga and superheroes, utilizing the talents of actual manga creators. If I’m not mistaken it’s the third or fourth time Batman’s been the subject, but this is the first time I remember being so taken with the “East meets West” blend. In many ways, Yoshinori Natsume’s story is traditionalist, including a quick recap of Batman’s origin (with a great double-page splash of all his villains) and idly posing some of the traditional questions other writers have posed (Does Batman create his own villains? Is age destined to catch up with him?). Two things set it apart, though: First, an Eastern-themed mystery involving Japanese businessmen, mystical masks, and a killer who shares Batman’s silhouette and shears off the faces of his victims (go manga violence!). Second, of course, there’s the unique manga style of storytelling. Even a simple takedown of some muggers in the first few pages crackles with the cinematic energy Japan’s comics are famous for, but quiet scenes are similarly decompressed. For instance, I loved the sequence where Bruce locks eyes with the lone female member of the businessmen’s entourage and, after several beat panels of them staring each other down, strides purposefully towards her (accompanying sound effect for business suit movement: “FWISH!”). For the manga-fearful (I know you’re out there), note that this style of manga art is rooted in the realistic tradition of suspense manga, so don’t worry about being bombarded with the cartoony stuff. Some conventional moments aside, Death Mask is a welcome novelty dotted with any number of remarkable moments. I recommend it and I’m looking forward to the next issue.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Number of the Beast #1 of 8
Writer: Scott Beatty
Artists: Chris Sprouse and Karl Story
Company: Wildstorm/DC Comics

I’ll be honest. I’ve followed the Wildstorm Universe off and on for years now, and I have a fairly good grasp of it. I’m no expert, but I know the major players and a good number of minor ones. If you haven’t, you will have no idea what the hell is going on in this issue. The key here is two members of an old supergroup from Warren Ellis’s run on StormWatch called the Changers. Both were supposedly dead. One, The High, ran into a forcefield at superspeed, and the book opens with members of Program 666 dumping his living liquid remains into a canister. The other, The Eidolon, was supposedly killed by Rose Tattoo, but shows up here on what seems to be a new world filled with new heroes and villains warning them that “He” is coming and that things are about to change. This is all set-up for what’s to come, but the new heroes, though analogues of existing ones, are fun, and Sprouse and Story do a good job on the art. If you have any interest in the Wildstorm Universe, this is worth checking out; if not, skip it, as you’ll be lost.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards #1 of 6
Writer: Daniel Abraham
Artist: Eric Battle
Company: Dabel Brothers

Newcomers need not apply, I’ll say that right from the start. If you don’t already have some basic knowledge of and appreciation for the Wild Cards anthology novels, I suspect that you’ll find this story of realistic superheroes and supervillains less than friendly, and maybe even a little familiar given how real life elements have slipped into the superhero genre en masse in the last decade or so. However, if you, like me, have read and enjoyed some of the Wild Cards novels, or if you avail yourself of their current reprinting, getting a new story of the Wild Cards universe after some time has passed, with whole new characters and a somewhat updated status quo, is like rediscovering an old favorite. Abraham captures the somewhat moody, occasionally verbose tone of the books perfectly, and the central mystery of a nurse murdered by someone pursuing the virus itself and why they would then use it is a good one that can easily sustain a six issue miniseries. Bonus points for using the Sleeper, the cool Wild Card who gets new powers every time he goes to sleep, as the hard-boiled anti-hero of the piece. Eric Battle’s artwork is not my ideal for this property, a little too uneven in depicting the all-important normal faces and a little bland in imagining Joker’s or the effects of the Black Queen, but with solid enough storytelling to convey the moments. Bottom line, if you’ve ever been a fan of the Wild Cards universe, or if you’re curious enough to check out the novels and find you like it, this comic is a worthy successor to a fondly remembered series of superhero fiction that’s making a welcome return.