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 Charlatan Ball #1, Chuck #1, Eternals #1, Magdalena Daredevil, Marvel Illustrated Three Musketeers #1, Red Mass For Mars #1, Secret Invasion Who Do You Trust, Skaar Son Of Hulk #1 and Voyages Of She-Buccaneer #1.

Nick Budd Read and Thought:

Chuck #1 of 6
Writers: Peter Johnson & Zev Borrow
Artist: Jeremy Haun
Company: Wildstorm

Before getting into the particulars of this one, let’s get one thing out of the way. If you’re not already a fan of the Chuck television show, then the comic might not be up your alley. That said, as a fan of the show myself, this translation into comic book form worked better than most. The main reason for the success lies with having two of the actual show-runners writing the thing. Because of that, they were able to capture the essence of both the characters and the comedic/action /espionage angle of show overall. Some of the jokes don’t work as well as they normally do, but that’s only because the actual actors aren’t selling the punchlines. As for what exactly Chuck’s mission is this time out, think big, as in nuclear bomb big. And of course, he and his two CIA/NSA handlers, Sarah and Casey are the only ones who can stop it. As for the art, Jeremy Haun nails it. His character likenesses are dead on and he sells the action of the story, not to mention the moment to moment stuff, perfectly. I’ve been a fan of his since his work on The Leading Man, but he definitely continues to get better and better. All in all, a worthy continuation to the Chuck series.

The Magdalena / Daredevil #1
Writer/Artist: Phil Hester
Company: Marvel Comics / Top Cow

Holy crow, that was good! No seriously, I’m not kidding here, this was very good. Why? That’s a simple question, really. The answer is Phil Hester. As a writer, he’s always been talented. With this superhero crossover, one that oddly teams up Daredevil and The Magdalena (a character that I knew nothing about other than the fact that she’s a demon hunting nun, which is all you really need to know), he continues to show that he can write just about anything with skill. One of the big reasons I liked this so much is that it doesn’t quite adhere to the whole hero team-up outline that most do. It’s a cool little one-off, one that isn’t dour or dark, even though it deals with the kidnapping of a child from Hell’s Kitchen by an actual demon. The hook is simple, the craft of it is solid, and the execution is darn near perfect for what it is. To make things just a bit better, if that is indeed possible, Hester and his partner in crime Ande Parks (Green Arrow) get to draw the proceedings too. I’ve never seen Hester draw the character before, but there’s no bones about it now, he draws one awesome looking Daredevil. Beyond that, there’s also a huge amount of immersing backgrounds and action, all intricately detailed and eye appealing, to sink your teeth into too. At the end of the day, this is a refreshing superhero team up that’s certainly worth picking up.

Dave Farabee Read and Thought:

The Three Musketeers #1 of 6
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Hugo Petrus
Company: Marvel Comics

There’s not a great deal to say about these Roy Thomas adaptations of prose adventure classics. They’re faithful to the originals, a little dry with their extremely traditionalist layouts, and always a little overly captioned. This one’s got the fortune to have an excellent artist in Hugo Petrus, and some pretty buoyant source material (this first issue follows d’Artagnan’s clever initiation into the Musketeers), but even so, it seems to lack the energy such a project would have. I honestly think these adaptations would be much more interesting with some storytelling liberties taken and a more adventurous approach to the possibilities of the medium. They’re fine, but respectful to a fault.

The Voyages of the SheBuccaneer #1 of 3
Writer: Heidi Hughes
Artist: Bill Hughes
Company: Great Big Comics

That was…interesting? Voyages of the SheBuccaneer is, in many ways, a classic pirate adventure with a strong helping of supernatural adventure. It follows a female pirate captain, pressing her crew to join her on a risky trip to Egypt to try and resurrect her dead lover, and it’s a fun enough premise, but…the book has its issues - issues that kept me from connecting with it beyond a general admiration for the craft. The cartooning is good, but maybe too lighthearted for the proceedings. The pirate dialects seem authentic (at least to me), but it’s also something you have to wade through a bit. And what to make of that authenticity in the same comic where the heroine wears the equivalent of a bikini top with a skull and crossbone over each boob? It’s just…weird. Sort of Top Cow in concept, but better than Top Cow, but weirdly non-commercial with its cartoony art. I can see it clicking with folks who’ve enjoyed, say, the Brendan Fraser Mummy movies. My biggest real issue was that the writers just never went to any lengths to introduce us to the lead character, so it was hard to care about her love for her dead hubby. Not bad, just flawed.

Dan Grendell Read and Thought:

Red Mass For Mars #1 (of 4)
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Ryan Bodenheim
Company: Image Comics

This left me fairly confused, but a little intrigued. Some hundred years in the future, after man has tried several times to destroy himself, he has finally found an uneasy peace with the help of a ridiculously rich precognitive. Unfortunately, an alien race that has invaded before has returned, this time in huge numbers, and the only hope seems to be the most powerful superhumans- including a very arrogant one who lives on Mars. Hickman doesn’t exactly do much to introduce most of his characters here, leaving most of it to context and mystery, and that had the effect of making me wonder why the hell any of these people matter. Bodenheim does a great job of making what Hickman does reveal exciting, though, and he uses interesting layouts to make the various static scenes more interesting. When a world is in dire peril of invasion, though, and I can’t seem to care, there’s something wrong.

Skaar: Son of Hulk #1
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Ron Garney
Company: Marvel Comics

So, Hulk has a son. Growing up on the harsh world of Sakaar without parents, with the might of the Hulk and the Old Power of Caiera, what do you think happens? Yeah, he becomes a super-powerful feral beatstick. Growing up way faster than normal, he hooks up with some natives, and gets involved in a fight with a warlord, but despite everything that happens… it just doesn’t feel like very much actually happens. It’s just the first issue, but I don’t really have much of a feel for who Skaar is yet. He beats stuff up, and yells. Is that it? Is he still growing up? I dunno. I’m willing to stick with the book for a little while to find out, but even Hulk at his dumbest has more personality than that.

Randy Lander Read and Thought:

Charlatan Ball #1
Writer: Joe Casey
Artist: Andy Suriano
Company: Image Comics

Casey is channeling the Jack Kirby vibe pretty hard these days… but he does it well. Just as Godland is a riff on Fantastic Four and New Gods, Charlatan Ball reminds me of what you might get if Kirby had taken a crack at Doctor Strange with his more bombastic ’70s DC style fully intact. There are the hallmarks of Casey’s post-modernism, from the strip club setting to the vicious legbreakers, but mostly this is all about crazy cosmic magic contests, mutated bunny companions and strange, otherworldly creatures, as filtered through the point-of-view of a hack stage magician. Suriano also has a Kirby vibe, with a stylized look that emphasizes distorted reality and big ugly goons, and the result is a perfect continuation for those who read the recent collections of Kirby’s whacked-out New Gods or OMAC series and want something in a similar vein.

Eternals #1
Writer: Charles & Daniel Knauf
Artist: Daniel Acuna
Company: Marvel Comics

Fair warning: I wasn’t even interested enough in these characters to read Neil Gaiman’s version of them, so the odds of the Knaufs holding my attention, even with Acuna’s attractive artwork, were never good. And Eternals #1 did just about bore me out of my seat. There are some heady ideas here involving the re-awakening of gods to fight an oncoming destructive alien horde and a schism within those gods, all kinds of politics and magic and sex and such, and yet… it’s just so dull. The characterization, and the conflicts deriving from it, are predictable and trite. Not wanting to stoop to the level of the adversary, even though it might be the only way to beat him. A lecherous priest stumping about hellfire and then trying to seduce a nubile young girl. A lover frightened that her boyfriend is destroying himself for his noble goals. It’s all potentially interesting stuff, but it’s also familiar, and the moment-to-moment writing doesn’t offer up any kind of fresh take.

Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust
Writers: Brian Reed, Mike Carey, Christos Gage, Zeb Wells, Jeff Parker
Artists: Lee Weeks, Timothy Green III, Mike Perkins, Steve Kurth, Drew Hennessey, Leonard Kirk & Karl Kesel
Company: Marvel Comics

Whether you’re digging Secret Invasion or not, this is a Marvel book that should be in your stack this week. It’s got five stories and five creative teams, and the first two stories are on the “meh” side, but the last three are gold. Specifically, Christos Gage just gets the Wonder Man/Beast relationship perfectly, flavoring it with the paranoia that’s been missing from Secret Invasion proper and serving it up with beautiful visuals courtesy of Mike Perkins. Wells’s story of Marvel Boy and the Cube prison is a little brief, but it’s filled with neat ideas and a good setup for Marvel Boy’s role in Secret Invasion. Both of these stories, plus the first two featuring Captain Marvel and Agent Brand, do their job of seeding in backstory that the Secret Invasion mini hasn’t made time for, and whether Secret Invasion delivers on the potential or not, it’s still good backstory. The true gem of this piece, however, is one that stands alone outside of Secret Invasion, that shows how the underrated Agents of Atlas react to the invasion, and it’s got the same deft touch of characterization, golden age history and modern day conspiracy mixed together that the Atlas limited series did. In fact, if I did a “top moments in comics” type thing, I’m pretty sure the climactic moment of this story would make the 2008 list. So there you have it… great art across the board, some pretty great stories and no outright stinkers… this is some damn fine superhero comics.