1st issue Challenge

[BobBretall]

I can't remember if I posted anything about Scarlet #1 but I really liked it. The breaking of the 4th wall was fun and the story was quite interesting. #2 was an even better issue so needless to say I'm in!!

I think a lot of how you feel about this series is going to come down to how you feel about a comic character talking directly at you the reader. I don't like it, thus I didn't care for the series. People who think it's neat (like FrankCastle above) will have a much better chance at enjoying the series.

Regardless of how good the story is, Bendis' chosen storytelling "device" of breaking the fourth wall was a barrier to entry for me.

[BobBretall]

Wolverine #1 (Marvel) - I've not been following the plethora of Wolverine books for a number of years but tried this one because of the steep DCBS discount. Good intro issue, I liked the art, I like the "Wolvie in Hell with someone in his earthly body" angle. I'm going to keep on with this series as long as it's standalone. Once they tie it into some X-crossover I'll probably drop it, but for now I'm on board.


Freedom Fighters #1 (DC) - VERY different from other DC super-hero books, I found this refreshing. If you're looking for something a bit different & don;t want to go all the way to an Indie publisher, this is something worth checking out.


Mata Hari Premiere (Radical) - Great art, nice preview of the upcoming OGN. This is a textbook example of the right way to promote a $20 OGN. I personally loved this, but at $1, I think everyone should at least give it a try. The text piece by the author at the end was superb, the icing on the cake for me.


Dungeons & Dragons #0 (IDW) - Good intro for $1, however I think this is not going to appeal to people who aren't gamers. That said, I'm a long time D&D player, so here it goes:
* D&D Story: I liked it, but there were a couple of choppy scene transitions. Good enough to get me to order issue #1 in Sept, but I'm going to want to read a full-length issue before I commit to the ongoing series.
* Dark Sun story: I'm not a fan of the Dark Sun campaign setting and nothing in this story made me want to read a story set in that world. I won't be picking up the Dark Sun series when it premieres.

[BobBretall]

Billy the Kid's Old Timey Oddities and the Ghastly Fiend of London #1 (Dark Horse) - It certainly has the longest title I've seen in a long while (or maybe ever)...... A fun book, you have Billy the Kid, circus freaks, James Merrick (The Elephant Man), and Jack the Ripper, all with art by Kyle Hotz that's very well suited for the series. Throw in a great Goon back-up story and this is now added to my pull list.


Thor: For Asgard #1 (Marvel) - I'd be getting this just for the wonderful art by Simone Bianchi, but the art is complemented by a great story of political intrigue & mystery by Robert Rodi. What is plaguing Asgard? Why has there been 26 months of winter? Where's Odin? Great stuff if you're a fan of the "non-super-hero" Thor.

[HassanT]

Thor: For Asgard #1 (Marvel) - I'd be getting this just for the wonderful art by Simone Bianchi, but the art is complemented by a great story of political intrigue & mystery by Robert Rodi. What is plaguing Asgard? Why has there been 26 months of winter? Where's Odin? Great stuff if you're a fan of the "non-super-hero" Thor.

It is good to hear that you liked the first issue. I decided to pass on majority of new Thor books that Marvel is flooding the market with and pick them up as Trades if the buzz is pretty good.

[spid]

Pilot Season: 39 Minutes #1 (Image/Top Cow) I like these pilot season issues Top Cow puts out every year. It is a nice way to try a concept out for both the reader and the publisher. So I look at these as a little different than a standard #1 issue.

All of this being said because 39 Minutes is not a complete pitch. It seems like unsatisfying number #1 for a series that already has the luxury of being picked up. They did a poor job of giving me the hook of the series. The series, I guess, is about an rouge group of ex-marines are robbing banks and their old unit leader is being brought in by the government to bring them in.

Pilot Season: Asset #1 (Image/Top Cow) The second pilot season comic at least lived up to the name. I felt like I was reading a pilot for a television show. I do not want to spoil the issue, but it felt a little like La Femme Nikita a few years after Nikita is in the program. I am not sure I liked the comic enough to follow it monthly, but it might be an interesting trade read. The twist in the story you should be able to see coming, but it is a well executed twist

[BobBretall]

Pilot Season: 39 Minutes #1 (Image/Top Cow) I like these pilot season issues Top Cow puts out every year. It is a nice way to try a concept out for both the reader and the publisher. So I look at these as a little different than a standard #1 issue.

All of this being said because 39 Minutes is not a complete pitch. It seems like unsatisfying number #1 for a series that already has the luxury of being picked up. They did a poor job of giving me the hook of the series. The series, I guess, is about an rouge group of ex-marines are robbing banks and their old unit leader is being brought in by the government to bring them in.

Hmm. I really liked the issue & thought they did a good set up.

I would agree, however, that the issue didn't really give a complete story. If this was an on-going series, I wouldn't have minded, it would just be the hook to get me to pick up #2, but with Pilot Season there is no guarantee that I'll ever get a #2, so now there's a good possibility that I'm going to be left hanging with an incomplete story.

All-in-all, though, I was very entertained by the issue.

[BobBretall]

Pilot Season: Asset #1 (Image/Top Cow) The second pilot season comic at least lived up to the name. I felt like I was reading a pilot for a television show. I do not want to spoil the issue, but it felt a little like La Femme Nikita a few years after Nikita is in the program. I am not sure I liked the comic enough to follow it monthly, but it might be an interesting trade read. The twist in the story you should be able to see coming, but it is a well executed twist

I'm not so sure of the Nikita parallel, seems like kind of a stretch that could be applied to almost any story with a female spy if you want to draw a possible parallel.

I'd agree that we at least get a complete story out of this one, as opposed to 39 minutes that clearly leaves things unsaid, undone, and unresolved.

I think Sablik was treading a fine line though in putting a complete story in the issue vs. having unresolved threads of backstory that would undoubtedly be featured in an ongoing & would make the book (if it was an ongoing) more compelling to pick up month after month.

My ratings:
Pilot Season: 39 Minutes #1 (Image/Top Cow)

Pilot Season: Asset #1 (Image/Top Cow)

[BobBretall]

Pilot Season: Crosshair #1 (Image/Top Cow) This is the same as 39 minutes in that it really leaves you hanging with a largely unresolved story. I think this is a major flaw of the "Pilot Season" program. I don't want to read PART of a story if that story is never going to be continued.

[BobBretall]

Machete #0 (IDW) Standard "good cop vs. the bad guys" story ending up with the cop in quite a predicament.

As a Machete story, it loses a LOT in translation to comics. Machete IS Danny Trejo, seeing in a comic it's just another bad-(bleep) cop story.

[IanG]

Thor: For Asgard #1 (Marvel) - I'd be getting this just for the wonderful art by Simone Bianchi, but the art is complemented by a great story of political intrigue & mystery by Robert Rodi. What is plaguing Asgard? Why has there been 26 months of winter? Where's Odin? Great stuff if you're a fan of the "non-super-hero" Thor.

I just picked this up at my LCS based on your review, Bob. I also picked up #2 because my LCS is having a 50% sale for comics older than two weeks. I flipped through #1 in the shop and I was sold. I'll come back later for a quick review.

[BobBretall]

Skullkickers #1 (Image) Trevor was saying he had heard this was "more D&D than IDW's D&D comic". I'm not sure if I agree with that, given one of the main protagonists seems to be fond of shooting stuff with a pistol. My rule of thumb is "if you have guns, it's NOT D&D". That said, it looks like a fun book. My rating is based on the 10 page preview at this link:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/prev_ ... =6433&pg=1

Why base my rating on only 10 pages? Because I can't buy #1. I asked my shop, they sold out of 10 copies within an hour the day it came out.

In fact:
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2010/09/s ... nting.html

Image Comics is proud to announce that despite a significant overprint, SKULLKICKERS #1 has already sold out at the distribution level in advance of its September 22 street date!

Now, given the typically dismal sales of Image books that are not Walking Dead, this could mean orders around 3,000 with a 50% over-print to 4,500, but the fact remains that this appears to have blown off the shelves and copies of the #1 1st print are going to $10+ on eBay (in fact, it seems like half the people who bought the books just did so so they could "flip" it on eBay.

In any event, a 2nd printing (which is ALSO sold out at Diamond, with a 3rd print on the way) will hit store this Wed, Oct. 13th, so if you're interested, ask your store to hold one for you on Wed.

[Frank Castle]

Finally read Morning Glories #1 (and 2) and I really liked them. I'm still not quite sure of all the hype for it but I'm excited to see where the book goes. Nick Spencer has turned into a hot writer.

[comicm]

Skull Kickers #1 - This book recently sold out it's initial print run which I think is pretty cool. Although the print run was probably in the 3000s. A big bald hulking and dwarf mercenaries team up to hunt monsters and earn money in a world like Dungeons and Dragons. I liked it but did not think it was great. It was getting a lot of hype which kinda surprises me because of the content. I pre-ordered the next few but I don't think I will be getting it beyond that.

X-23 #1 - Fantastic story coming off her run in X-Force. Great scene with storm. Writing great and I really enjoyed the artwork

Daken: Dark Wolverine #1 - I was on the fence about this one. I enjoyed Daken in Dark Avengers and Dark Wolverine but not in Wolverine Origins. This issue was better than the last few in Dark Wolverine so I will be jumping on board for this one.

RASL #1 - Found this one in the cheap bins and thought I would check it out. It was interesting but there was not a lot there to hook me. I have another issue or two to try but right now I am on the fence.

Mekanix #1 - Got the entire run in the cheap bins and did not even know this was about Kitty Pryde in college. I really enjoyed this series by Claremont and I loved the artwork by Bobillo

[IanG]

Thor for Asgard #1 (Marvel) - This comic book is really about the artwork from Simone Bianchi. I don't normally care about Thor unless he's part of the Avengers. The story is more Sword and Sorcery type stuff, which I enjoy, than Thor Marvel continuity. The arwork is closer to a painted style than traditional comic book art. Simone uses a lot of gray ink washes, kind of like black and white watercolor. Then the colorist works over that. I really enjoy Simone's highly stylized vision of Marvel characters. I'll be picking up the rest of the series, thanks for recommendation Bob.

[BobBretall]

Warlord of Mars #1 (Dynamite) - I LOVED this. They are just getting into the story in this issue, but I really liked the fact that we got some precursor stuff that usually gets glossed over (e.g. before John Carter ends up on Mars).

Especially given the $1 price tag, this book was well worth it. That said, I'm looking forward to JC getting to Mars.