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 Brothers In Arms #1, Casey Blue: Beyond Tomorrow #1, DC Special: Cyborg #1, Dead, She Said #1, Igor Movie Prequel #1, Pilot Season: Twilight Guardian #1 and Star Trek: Assignment Earth #1.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Brothers In Arms #1
Writers: Mike Neumann & David Wohl
Artist: Davide Fabbri
Company: Dynamite Entertainment

Easily forgettable. I hate to say something so damning about the first issue of a comic, but it’s true with this one, which is a tie-in to Gearbox’s Brother In Arms video game series. As for the story that this issue tackles, that would be the introductions of members of the 101st Airborne Division, mainly two best friends, Sergeant Matt Baker and Sgt. George Risner, and the opening salvo of brutality that was D-Day. As I’ve never played the game before, I’m not sure how close the book adheres to the story, but a lot of it feels generic and like material that we’ve seen a zillion times in other formats, be it prose, movies, or other comics. The art by Fabbri, one of the many artists that has tackled the Star Wars property over the years, does some decent work here, though not as strong as some of his work has felt. There’s some stiffness here that is a tad distracting, especially during the action sequences. He does add quite a bit of depth to the characters through facial expressions and the like, which helps. Still, I can’t help but think that if you’re in the mood for a World War 2 story, you might be better off tackling the awesome that is Band of Brothers instead of this one.

Casey Blue #1 of 6
Writer: B. Clay Moore
Artist: Carlo Barberi
Company: Wildstorm Comics

B. Clay Moore is one of those writers that I generally enjoy. The Leading Man was an interesting combo of action and suspense, and the always entertaining Hawaiian Dick has yet to deliver something other than suaveness and cool. Casey Blue however, fails to produce anything more than a mediocre mystery story that just happens to have some sci-fi elements added to it. There’s talk of an alien invasion of some sort to come, but this time around the main deal is the introduction to Casey Blue, a mild mannered high school student that is something more. What exactly is she? We don’t know yet. There are a couple of good character bits, some fun dialogue between Casey and her Dad that can be found, but overall the story’s weak moments far outweigh its strengths. The art, a cross between Joe Madureira and J. Scott Campbell, is fine and fits the story, though for me it doesn’t do much. All in all, while perfectly readable, Casey Blue just doesn’t deliver anything that we haven’t already seen before in some fashion. It’s not awful, it’s just kind of blah, which is not what you want from your first issue.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

DC Special: Cyborg #1 of 5
Writer: Mark Sable
Artist: Ken Lashley
Company: DC Comics

Hoo, boy. Not so good. I’m not sure where this mini’s ultimately headed, but this first issue’s largely a flashback to Cyborg’s early life - his issues with his dad and his friendship with a gangbanger. Are there retcons at work here? I think so. Cyborg’s gangbanger bud goes to prison, emerges with a thing for radical Islam, and tries to recruit Cyborg into joining him for some good-time terrorism. The big problem is that a lot of the dialogue has a very hokey, 80s feel (”I don’t care if my body rejects this steel…I don’t care if I die. And I don’t care if I never see you again!”). It don’t know if writer Mark Sable is paraphrasing old Marv Wolfman stuff that was progressive in its day or if that’s just his own approach - I just know it did nothing to enthuse me for the story. Art is solid, a bit like the hit/miss ratio of Ron Garney, but not enough to give me much confidence.

Star Trek - Assignment: Earth #1 of 5
Writer/Artist: John Byrne
Company: IDW Publishing

The original Star Trek’s always been my favorite era for the series, but somehow I’ve never seen the episode “Assignment: Earth” from which this miniseries is derived (and which was itself a pilot for a proposed series that never happened). The inside cover has a solid little catch-up, though, and Byrne’s story eases the reader into Gary Seven’s world of time travel intervention. Obviously this is less of a typical Trek story and more an exploration of how the Assignment: Earth TV series might have proceeded, with Gary and entourage investigating the construction of an experimental bomb in the late 60s. I enjoyed Gary’s banter with his assistant, Roberta, and incidental moments of the investigation, but ironically this tale of a time-altering spy comes off as dated with its Russian agents and double-crosses. The style and wit doesn’t quite carry it, and Byrne’s art looks particularly sketchy - like it was scanned from pencils and even reproduced with slight pixelization. Amateurish coloring doesn’t help. Next issue looks to bring in some Kirk-era futurism which might give the series some energy, but I’m not sensing this’ll be one of IDW’s stronger Trek outings.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Dead, She Said #1
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Bernie Wrightson
Company: IDW Publishing

It’s clear what Niles was going for here. From the very first page, the dialogue reads like a pastiche of Mickey Spillane. Unfortunately, instead of giving the book the feel of a hard boiled detective story, it ends up being distracting. Its a shame, too, because otherwise Niles serves up a cool tale of a detective everyone hates waking up after being murdered, setting out to track down his killer, and walking into a real mess. Wrightson provides a moody atmosphere and some gory bits to boot- the panels where the detective stuff his guts back in and tapes himself up were particularly affecting- and an idyllic scene in the middle breaks up the mood, helping to make things all the more grotesque. Overall, I thought this was pretty cool.

Igor Movie Prequel #1
Writer: Dara Naraghi
Artist: Grant Bond
Company: IDW Publishing

If this is any indication of what the movie’s going to be like, I think we’re in for a treat. The story takes place in the land of Malaria, a land where mad scientists are celebrities and they are all served by near-mindless assistants named Igors. When one is damaged or killed during an experiment, the scientists just go to the Igorium, where new Igors are available at low low prices. The hero of our story is, well, Igor, but this one’s different- he’s a genius. Smarter than the scientist who buys him, he does his best to prove himself and show the world that even an Igor can be great. There are actually two stories here, one of how Igor gets to his new home and one of how he makes his pet rabbit super-intelligent and immortal. Both are charming and funny, and Bond’s artwork is a major reason they work so well. The big-eyed Igor is adorable, and the cartooning is just outright funny. This is definitely a winner.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

Pilot Season: Twilight Guardian
Writer: Troy Hickman
Artist: Reza
Company: Image Comics/Top Cow

As a pilot for an ongoing series, Twilight Guardian isn’t great, as it doesn’t seem to be a concept screaming out with ongoing potential. But as a standalone, melancholy and yet somewhat funny one-shot, it’s a pretty good read. Hickman crafts the story of a lonely, mildly delusional (in a sweet way) girl who patrols a nine-block area as “the Twilight Guardian.” In her nocturnal patrols, she sees somewhat strange and yet simultaneously mundane events, which she processes through the filter of someone who has internalized way too many superhero comics. Artist Reza provides a simple, clean style that is a good match for the low-key approach of the book. The story of the delusional hero in the real world has been played more broadly (see also: Kick Ass), but Twilight Guardian is a more gentle, more funny and more thoughtful take on the concept.