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 Cthulhu Tales #1, Damned Prodigal Sons #1, DC Wildstorm Dreamwar #1, Iron Man Legacy Of Doom #1, Jim Butchers Dresden Files #1 of 4, Noble Causes #32, Perhapanauts #1, Pigeons From Hell #1 of 4, Star Trek Year Four Enterprise Experiment #1, Worlds Of Dungeons & Dragons #1, and X-Men Divided We Stand #1 of 2.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Pigeons from Hell #1 of 4
Writer: Joe R. Landsdale
Artist: Nathan Fox
Company: Dark Horse Comics

Even though I’m not at all familiar with the source material for this one, which is a short story by legendary writer Robert E. Howard, this first issue of Pigeons from Hell is a genuinely creepy and quite awesome start. The setup of the story is as simple as you can get: It follows a group of friends who travel to a house that one of them has inherited from a family relative and quickly finds that not everything about the mansion is as it seems. What makes Lansdale’s different than most and pop right off of the page are the details of the story and the overall old school horror meets new school style of the piece. The character introductions, normally very brief in most stories such as these, are perfectly done. Each one of the group have their own voice and character, which is something that draws you further and further into the story that’s being told and makes the characters feel more real. Nathan Fox’s art however, might just steal the show. His stuff on DMZ was damn good but with Pigeons from Hell, he may have found his true calling. Horror suits his Paul Pope meets Guy Davis style, and the air of terror that he gives the work is truly palpable. I was even thrilled to see such smaller things, things that normally could be overlooked, like seeing the group’s breath when the interior of the mansion becomes as cold as a freezer make the cut, as it gives the story yet another check-mark in the cool column. Overall, a fantastic showing, one that any true fan of horror will absolutely love.

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files #1 of 4
Writer: Jim Butcher
Artist: Adrian Syaf
Company: Dabel Brothers Publishing

Having never read any of the Dresden Files books and having only watched a few of the episodes from the short-lived television show and liked them, I was curious to check out what was the hubbub behind this one was. Most licensed properties, besides things like Star Wars and Buffy, don’t often pan out or are, by the skin of their teeth, barely readable. This one however is a nice change of pace, as it is quite good. For those who know nothing about Dresden, I’d almost compare the character to a nicer, quasi-friendlier version of John Constantine, a guy who actually has friends and a decent sense of humor. The story itself is straightforward, but it works perfectly as a introduction to the characters and world for new readers. It also, in the course of investigating the brutal murder of a zoo security guard, accomplishes a nice balance of action and entertainment. What makes it so good though is that Jim Butcher, the actual series creator, is the person who’s writing the comic. That doesn’t happen often and it speaks volumes for it’s faithfulness to the actual work. As for the art, Syaf does a decent enough job. There are times where the anatomy looks wonky or elongated, but his renditions of the zoo animals and demons of all shapes and sizes are strong, and his action is smooth. All in all, a strong start to a book that’s worth a look.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

The Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons
Writers: Nick Schley & Neil Kleid (adapting from stories by R.A. Salvator, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman)
Artists: Rafael Kayanan & Javier Aranda
Company: Devil’s Due Publishing

As pirate TV operator Blank Reg once said on the cult show Max Headroom, “Comin’ up next? More of the same!” With all the settings and material that exists for the Dungeons & Dragons license, you’d think Devil’s Due might want to explore elements beyond the tried and true Drizzt and Dragonlance stories. And something beyond mere adaptations of prose stories. But nope. I gather we will see some other D&D settings eventually (Ravenloft, Eberron, etc.), but somehow the fact that they’ll be adaptations too leaves me less than enthused. For this first issue, we get a pretty solid (and quite nicely drawn) tale of Drizzt on the trail of some raiders, and a much more continuity-drenched and ponderous Dragonlance story involving Caramon, his son, and his dead bro, Raistlin. It’s a chore to read, though the art is fine. Overall, not remotely the direction I’d like to see for the D&D license, which could use a robust, original ongoing.

The Perhapanauts #1
Writer: Todd Dezago
Artist: Craig Rousseau
Company: Image Comics

For those who haven’t read any of the previous Perhapanauts material, it’s a sort of quippier B.P.R.D., with pleasant, cartoony art and a likeable cast of misfits. This first issue of the ongoing jumps straight into the action - sometimes a good thing - but the pace comes at the expense of warming up to the characters. As a result I found myself just going through the motions of what might otherwise be a fun enough story (team captured by Mothmen; lowly ghost-girl given a chance to shine). It’s cute. It’s fun. It’s well drawn. It doesn’t seem to bring enough new to the table to be my thing, but if you’re a B.P.R.D. fan or generally dig on these pulp mash-up stories, you might give it a look.

Star Trek Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment #1
Writer: D.C. Fontana & Derek Chester
Artist: Gordon Purcell
Company: IDW Comics

Sometimes you can’t go home again, and it’s too bad. D.C. Fontana wrote some of the better episodes of the original Star Trek, including “The Enterprise Incident” (Kirk swipes a cloaking device from the Romulans) and “Journey to Babel” (Trek perfection, as Spock and his dad feud while a murderer stalks the Enterprise’s diplomat passengers). This is a direct follow-up to the former, featuring an experiment gone awry with a cloaking device installed on the Enterprise. The problem is that where Fontana’s best material for the original Trek always balanced human concerns with plot, The Enterprise Experiment feels a like a full issue of techno-babble. I swear, at one point polarities are actually reversed. There are hints, here and there, of the personalities we know and love - even an intriguing aside about Kirk’s ex, Carol Marcus, and his son, David - but these moments end up frustratingly submerged beneath a tech-heavy plot.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Cthulhu Tales #1
Writers: Steve Niles, Michael Alan Nelson, and Tom Peyer
Artists: Chee and Sunder Raj
Company: BOOM! Studios

I’m a big fan of the Cthulhu Mythos, and Lovecraftian horror in general, and I know how hard it is to do it right. It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing the Mythos as monster stories, and forget that the key to them is fear of the unknown and the unknowable, and despair at the realization that powers exist that see humanity as nothing but fleas. Like most anthologies, this one’s a mixed bag, but for the most part the creators seem to get that, and that’s good. Niles’s story deals with a man who sees things he shouldn’t and is a decent idea, but is hurt a bit by actually showing what he sees instead of leaving it to the imagination of the reader. What he is shown to see ended up deflating the story for me. Nelson’s story, about some kids who check out a dead body and get more than they bargained for, hits all the right notes and Raj’s art works perfectly. Peyer’s story involves the rituals of sports fans gone wrong and is a fun tongue-in-cheek Mythos story, though the ending stretches things just a bit. Chee, who does art on both the Niles and Peyer stories, has a somewhat spare style that I like, but he isn’t helped on the Niles story by his colorist. Overall, this is a promising launch for the book.

DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar #1 (of 6)
Writer: Keith Giffen
Artists: Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott
Company: DC Comics/Wildstorm

I’m not real sure what’s going on here yet. For some reason, an island in the Aegean (Themyscira, maybe?) and Titans Tower in Happy Harbor rise out of the ground on the Wildstorm Earth. An early version of the JLA is on the island, and early Titans are in the Tower. It looks to be a fairly recent version of Wildstorm Earth, and we get scenes with Gen 13, Majestic, Spartan, some Tranquility folks (chatting with JSA members), StormWatch (being watched by the Legion of Super Heroes), and the Authority. whatever this is setting up, it’s gonna be big. This is a huge cast. Everyone seems to be in character (although I question Majestic’s not recognizing Titans Tower, given his time standing in for Superman on DC Earth), Garbett and Scott do a great job making it all look good, and my interest is definitely piqued. I question the wisdom of releasing this while also in the middle of the third of a series of minis that are supposed to change the Wildstorm Universe, but it seems good so far.

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #1 (of 4)
Writers: David Michelinie and Bob Layton
Artists: Ron Lim and Bob Layton
Company: Marvel Comics

This is being marketed as the third part of the “Doomquest” trilogy, but those of you looking for another Camelot story are going to be disappointed. Well, no Camelot in this issue, anyway, and no indication of any to come. The framing device has Tony looking through old recorded data files while melting down old armor and discovering a day he doesn’t remember. There is a recap of what happened when Doom and Tony first went back in time to Camelot, and then we move on to another journey with Doom- this time to Hell, where they find Mephisto. I find it a bit unbelievable the Tony would go to Hell just because Doom says he needs to, but that’s a fairly old-school storytelling technique, and that’s how this issue feels; old-school. Even the artwork has a bit of that feel to it. This was okay, but it felt weirdly out of step with the current Iron Man.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

The Damned: Prodigal Sons #1 of 3
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Brian Hurtt
Company: Oni Press

The first Damned miniseries was a gem, a perfect mix of demons and Prohibition era crime elements, and the new series picks up right where it left off. Literally so, in that this feels more like Damned #6 than the beginning of a new series. The last series ended a little abruptly, with self-reincarnating anti-hero Eddie discovering his mother in the afterworld, and in this one, he seeks out his palooka of a brother to try and bring her back. Trouble being, of course, that Eddie has some enemies in the demonic crime family, leading to an inspired shootout in which the protagonist of the book is dead throughout, yet still plays an integral role. Hurtt continues to bring a level of detail and style to the work that makes you think maybe there actually were demon gangsters in the Prohibition era, and there’s a perfect blend of the foreboding elements of supernatural horror and noir crime, genres that fit together easier than you’d think, especially when you’ve got a writer like Bunn who seems at ease with both. The only problem is that it’s a bit inaccessible to someone who didn’t read the first series, but a quick purchase of the trade is well worth it, and takes care of that problem nicely.

Noble Causes #32
Writer: Jay Faerber
Artist: Yildiray Cinar
Company: Image Comics

Now that Dynamo 5 is a bona fide buzz book (and Hot Pants pick), Faerber is taking advantage of that to relaunch Noble Causes, his soap opera-meets-superheroes book, with a new status quo, new characters and a “five years later” clean break that makes for a super-new-reader friendly first issue. Faerber reintroduces the characters by means of a news crew covering their assault on a band of supervillains, and it turns out there have been some new characters added to the family, some notable changes in the familiar characters and a focus put a little more on the superheroics so that the soap opera aspects slide a little more to the back. Not that they’re gone… like Dynamo 5, Noble Causes is straightforward superheroes, but it features strong character dynamics and relationships to back it up, and I’m actually pretty impressed by how many relationship hooks and questions Faerber slides into this first issue, without it feeling crowded. Faerber has also found another artist like Dynamo 5’s Mahmud Asrar who has a difficult-to-pronounce name and an impressive style for a newcomer. Cinar’s work is reminiscent of early Ed McGuinness or Mike Wieringo, and Ron Riley’s colors really pop. Classic superheroics with strong character work and great art without the continuity porn and the obsession with shocking events? Sign me up!

X-Men: Divided We Stand #1
Writers: Mike Carey, Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, Skottie Young & Matt Fraction
Artists: Brandon Peterson, Sana Takeda, Skottie Young, David LaFuente & Jamie McKelvie
Company: Marvel Comics

It sucks to be a mutant now that Cyclops has disbanded the X-Men, and it wasn’t all that great before then. There, I just saved you $4 you might otherwise have spent on this collection of uninspired short stories. If you want to see “What If The X-Men were hopelessly emo,” you might enjoy the story of Cannonball getting into a bar fight with stereotypical American South hillbilly warfare overtones, or the tale of a Wakandan mutant suffering what can only be described as widespread racism amongst that generally enlightened society, or the story of a kid who was so traumatized by his time with the New X-Men that he doesn’t fit in anywhere and he lashes out physically at everyone, or… well, you get the point. Fraction and McKelvie try to save the thing with an intriguing story of a killer’s remorse and a hero’s mercy, but eight pages aren’t really enough to tell that story either, and after almost forty pages of mopey, forgettable tales of mopey, forgettable characters, I wasn’t in a charitable mood towards an “OK” story from creators who would have done better with a more inspired premise and a larger page-count.