1st issue Challenge

Frank Castle · Post by **Frank Castle** » Tue May 18, 2010 9:09 am

Ast Xmen Xenogenesis #1 - Worst Ast Xmen book in a long time. The writing was average but Kaare's art was terrible. I hated it. And the joke with Emma's boob in every scene was stupid and made no sense. I enjoyed Kaare's previous work on the Ghost Box mini and the Spider-Man mini he did a few yrs back but this seemed like a huge step back.

IanG · Post by **IanG** » Tue May 18, 2010 10:28 am

BobBretall wrote:iZombie #1(Vertigo) - Really liked #1. I also like how DC chooses pages to preview that give the "flavor" of a series instead of just the 1st few pages of a book. The Preview floating around for this book is actually the last few pages of #1. Good book overall, and it's only $1, so folks should give it a try!

I also really enjoyed this #1. I like that Mike Allred is doing the art for another writer. I enjoyed his art on Madman but the writing was always so out there that I couldn't really get in to it. Mike draws beautiful women, or female monsters in this case, and I'm not connecting it to an actress or celebrity like I often do for other artists. He really gets expressions too. This is a very funny book in a lot of ways. I'm in for at least the first story arc and/or six issues. [WebWiz20]

IanG · Post by **IanG** » Tue May 18, 2010 10:46 am

BobBretall wrote:Frenemy of the State #1(Oni) - In interest of "full disclosure", I read this as a "Press Preview" PDF from Oni. The solicit was not compelling enough for me to buy it, and there is a shady track record for comics associated with Hollywood celebs (Rashida Jones from 'Parks & Recreation' on TV and the movie 'I Love You Man').
That said, going in with ZERO expectations I read this book in PDF format & really enjoyed it. Some very clever dialogue, nice plot, and I'm interested to see where they go with #2. One thing that bothered me was that the "flashback" part in the middle could have been a bit clearer that it was flashback. The key indicator is the page background/border on the flashback portion of the book is black, whereas the "now" portion is white.
Anyway, I liked it enough that I bought a "real" copy of the book at my LCS & am adding #2 to my pull list.

This was a solid first issue. I had pre-ordered this based on the cover and solicitation. I don't think I ever got a monthly fron Oni before. I felt like the writers were writing well for a younger adult audience without pandering to them lilke I sometimes see in other comics. I'm interested enough to see where this goes for the next couple issues if not more. I just read that Rashida Jones is the daughter of Quincy Jones. Also Frenemy has already been optioned for a film by Universal.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Sun May 23, 2010 6:27 pm

Atlas #1 (Marvel) - I thought the #1 issue was OK. Not great, OK. It was mostly a 3-D man issue, there was little Atlas in it, maybe not the best move for the first issue of an Atlas series, just my opinion. That said, it was well written, but given that it was $3.99 for a standard 22-page comic (and at that only a 17 page main story with a 5 page backup), this does jot exceed my bar to continue buying it. I have to LOVE a $3.99 normal length comic to keep buying it. As I said, I thought this was OK, so I'm cutting it.

EDIT: Atlas gets a reprieve. As I was going to excise the book from my DCBS order, I noticed that issues #2 & 3 were only $2.99. Looks like Marvel was just taking advantage of the fact that #1 issues sell better to rape their loyal fans of an extra $1..... Since the book is $2.99 from #2 onwards, I'll stick with it & hope we get a bit more actual "Agents of Atlas" content in future issues.

Discuss this issue here:http://www.comicbookpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=984

comicm · Post by **comicm** » Sun May 23, 2010 7:10 pm

DV8 #1 - Bought this issue for Brian Wood and Fiona Stables Cover. Loved the cover. The team is taken in a entirely new direction which can be interesting. I did not feel that #1 gave me enough to make a decision so I will give it a yellow rating but will keep getting it.

War of the Supermen #1 - Fantastic and very powerful issue. The story is high paced and there were a lot of emotional and powerful moments. Igle drew a hell of an issue and Blond's colors were amazing and very noticeable for one of my favorite colorists of 2010. Highly recommended!

Firestar #1 - Man was this one great story and the artwork really hit the spot for the flavor of the book. If it was an ongoing I would be on board. Maybe I will have to try Young Allies.

Daredevil Cage Match #1 - Love Daredevil and Luke Cage but I really did not enjoy this issue. I was very disappointed.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Sun May 23, 2010 7:14 pm

Legion of Super-Heroes #1 (DC) - Wow! Paul Levitz still "has it". This issue (for me as a long-time Legion fan) totally kicked (bleep). And I felt that Levitz really captured the "voices" of the individual Legionnaires. I'm going to be loving watching how this series unfolds.

Discuss this issue here: http://www.comicbookpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=985

Frank Castle · Post by **Frank Castle** » Mon May 24, 2010 10:26 am

Avengers #1 - This issue was ok, nothing about blew me away. I've enjoyed Bendis's Avenger work but this issue is not at the top of that list. And I've been a long time JRJR fan but I did not enjoy his work here. I'll keep reading but I'm hoping it gets better.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Mon May 24, 2010 3:30 pm

Frank Castle wrote:Avengers #1 - This issue was ok, nothing about blew me away. I've enjoyed Bendis's Avenger work but this issue is not at the top of that list.

I agree with you on this. The "voices" of the characters seemed a bit off based on their past history (w/ non-Bendis writers). And since when has Wonder Man been a total a-hole?

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Mon May 24, 2010 7:20 pm

Full Disclosure: I read the press review on-line versions of these books:

Cold Space #1 (Boom!) - I liked this one, nice sci-fi/space with good pacing & action in the 1st issue. I appreciate that this is nicely consumable as a monthly book. Read #2 also, and it actually opens with a bit of a recap, so more evidence that it is skewing away from the trade reader a bit. I had originally dismissed it as a "Sam Jackson name-fame grab" but it's actually a good read.

7 Psychopaths #1 (Boom!) - Good story, but not paced good for monthly reading. What I read I liked, but this one may be worth waiting for the trade.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep: Dust to Dust #1 (Boom!) - Long title, but a pretty good sci-fi story. I gave up on the overly literal translation of the main DADOES book by Philip K. Dick, but this story is a "prequel" to that and told more like a traditional comic book story. I enjoyed this quite a lot, an exploration of the world BEFORE all the animals are dead. This can be read & enjoyed even if you don't read DADOES.

The Amory Wars: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 #1 (Boom!) - And I thought the LAST title was long! This is apparently co-written (with Peter David) by the lead singer of the band Coheed & Cambria. I had never heard of this band in my life before checking out this comic, so I had no pre-conceptions based on the singer, and base my review purely on the quality of the comic. There were also 2 previous Armory Wars minis that came out from Image that I never read, so no bias based on those either.
So, enough of the disclaimers. As a standalone story this was pretty good. I really enjoyed the art by Chris Burnham, and the story had a "recap" feeling to part of it that helped me get up to speed on what was going on (not sure if it was reminding me of stuff from the previous series or not, but I was not lost at any point and felt I got a good chunk of story). There were references to characters named Coheed & Cambria, so I think this is a nice easter egg for followers of the band.

CONCLUSION: I'll be laying out money to buy Cold Space, Dust to Dust, & Amory Wars in monthly form.

Frank Castle · Post by **Frank Castle** » Tue May 25, 2010 10:05 am

Garrison #1 - Grabbed this because it looked intriguing and I dig Franseco's art. The issue was a set up issue, had a little action and probably enough to make me want to read another issue.

Kill Shakespeare #1 - After reading this, I discovered I'm not the target audience. Maybe this book is great and I just don't know it but I didn't get it and I didn't like it.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Tue May 25, 2010 11:06 am

Frank Castle wrote:Garrison #1 - Grabbed this because it looked intriguing and I dig Franseco's art. The issue was a set up issue, had a little action and probably enough to make me want to read another issue.

Kill Shakespeare #1 - After reading this, I discovered I'm not the target audience. Maybe this book is great and I just don't know it but I didn't get it and I didn't like it.

Perfect example of how any book will have it's people who love it and people where it is not in their "sweet spot".

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Wed May 26, 2010 11:41 pm

Mystery Society #1 (IDW) - Very cool story. A bit heavy on the set up, but it was neat seeing the Steve Niles character "The Secret Skull" again, and I REALLY want to know what those little girls at the end of the issue are going to do in issue #2........

Zatanna #1 (DC) -Loved it! No great surprise on this one, I like Zatanna in general, but thought Dini did a great job writing with some really nice/clever uses of her magic instead of some of the "Brute force" spells other writers have her use sometimes. Nice art by Stephane Roux too.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Thu May 27, 2010 12:17 am

Age of Heroes #1 (Marvel) - I really liked Busiek's JJ Jameson story, the Doctor Voodoo & Captain Britain ones were Ok/fillers. Spidey's one page was kind of a no-op. This series will be good as long as they anchor each issue with one loner very strong story by a good writer.

Secret Avengers #1 (Marvel) - This was so ridiculously better than Avengers #1 by Bendis..... Brubaker really told a sharp story and I loved the use of the different characters in situations perfectly suited to their powers/attributes! A new serpent crown story coming up! Classic Avengers!

Frank Castle · Post by **Frank Castle** » Thu May 27, 2010 8:38 am

BobBretall wrote: Secret Avengers #1 (Marvel) - This was so ridiculously better than Avengers #1 by Bendis..... Brubaker really told a sharp story and I loved the use of the different characters in situations perfectly suited to their powers/attributes! A new serpent crown story coming up! Classic Avengers!

I didn't grab this book but I will next time I'm out!!

spid · Post by **spid** » Fri May 28, 2010 7:03 am

BobBretall wrote:
Secret Avengers #1 (Marvel) - This was so ridiculously better than Avengers #1 by Bendis..... Brubaker really told a sharp story and I loved the use of the different characters in situations perfectly suited to their powers/attributes! A new serpent crown story coming up! Classic Avengers!

The only issue I had was the fact they kept their uniforms on all the time. Otherwise it was a great use of the team and used everyone logically.