What to look for in an issue #1?

comicm · Post by **comicm** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 6:42 am

This was posed as a question in one of the shows. For me it is very simple. I don't need to be introduced to all the characters, I don't need a complete story (in a monthly), and I don't need to understand everything. The one thing I look for, is that I am entertained when I sit down and read the book. Comics for me are not just a source of entertainment but a huge stress reliever. If I am entertained then I usually want to come back. For me personally even though comics are a visual medium, is story matters more. I can enjoy a comic with bad art and and great story but I have a hard time enjoying a comic with great art and a bad story.

Paul Nolan · Post by **Paul Nolan** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 7:46 am

Story is the most important thing for me. I'm looking for layering, mystery and character. I hate everything being laid out on a plate for me. But give me enough information so I'm thinking "wow, what comes next?".

torchsong · Post by **torchsong** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:53 am

Depends on the book. Let's look at a few of the New52 books I picked up and plan to stick with pretty much because that first issue grabbed me:

Aquaman - he's an established character and generally the butt-monkey of the Justice League. He's got a loooong history. This book owned up to all that and gave me a reason to finally give a crap about him. On the flip side there's...

Blackhawks - ALL new characters, and I think they did it right. We're thrown into the middle of the action, we don't know everyone's origin story, motivations, or really...much of anything. But I *want* to...and that's what's going to keep me coming back on this on.

BadDeacon · Post by **BadDeacon** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 11:43 am

I'm trying to remember some first issues that have come out recently that I thought were really great issues. A few that I thought of:

Invincible
Moriarty
Cinderella

I think the key for me is that they introduce the main character, they make me care about the main character, and they introduce the main conflict of the story, or they have a very good "inciting incident", and show the ramifications of this incident.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 12:10 pm

BadDeacon wrote:I'm trying to remember some first issues that have come out recently that I thought were really great issues. A few that I thought of:
Invincible

Moriarty

Cinderella
I think the key for me is that they introduce the main character, they make me care about the main character, and they introduce the main conflict of the story, or they have a very good "inciting incident", and show the ramifications of this incident.

I agree.

For me, a #1 issue's biggest job is to make me care enough about what I just read to really want to buy #2.

What will do this is going to vary for different people, but for me, I'm less likely to want to come back if I felt I got a tiny fragment of story and that tiny fragment didn't do much to get me invested in the characters & ongoing storyline.

Gilgabob · Post by **Gilgabob** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 2:25 pm

I generally do a little mental checklist in my head as a form of evaluation whenever I read a comic book that includes such things as did I enjoy the art? Did this issue make me care about the ongoing story? etc...

I'm less concerned in having to fully understand everything that is going on and who everyone is.

Of course, too much mystery can be a detriment as well so a writer does have some responsibility to limit the ambiguity or risk losing the interest of the reader.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 2:49 pm

Gilgabob wrote: I'm less concerned in having to fully understand everything that is going on and who everyone is.

I don't have to fully understand everything and everyone, but I can't be at the other end of the spectrum where I'm completely in the dark about what the heck is going on, who these characters are, and why should I care.

There's a sweet spot somewhere in the middle.

Webhead · Post by **Webhead** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 5:42 pm

For me it is really simple.

"Does it make me want to read the next issue."

Weather it is a complete story or not, weather the characters are flushed out or not it does not matter but their has to be something, something that makes me want the next issue in my hands right away.

Maybe it is the character or the story or the cliff hanger at the end of the issue but I need something that grabs me and does not let go.

So I guess what I am saying is it varies from 1st issue to 1st issue.

jonah · Post by **jonah** » Mon Oct 24, 2011 12:33 pm

1) The art must be appropriate for the story. If it's not, I probably won't even make it through the issue. Hey, it's a visual media after all.

2) The character(s) need to be written well enough to make me want to know more about them and the story they are involved in. I don't need or want to know everything up front. If I did, why would I come back ?

Doesn't really take much more than that. A great story that doesn't give me a character to latch on to right away, won't see me coming back.

IanG · Post by **IanG** » Mon Oct 24, 2011 1:23 pm

I always flip through a #1 and look at the art first. I have to be able to enjoy the art or I might as well be reading a novel. Then I read the story and the writing has to click with me. I have to be able to get with the writer's train of thought. There should be a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Finally, there should be some sort of cliffhanger or reason for me to come back for the next issue.

It must be so difficult to write a new #1. There are so many good comics nowadays. It's hard to be part of the best, the 4's and 5's on the ratings scale. And what story hasn't been done in a comic book at this point.

abysslord · Post by **abysslord** » Mon Oct 24, 2011 2:02 pm

Webhead wrote:For me it is really simple.

"Does it make me want to read the next issue."

Subjectively, I agree. That's basically what I ask myself as well. Intrepids #1 was a perfectly good #1 but I didn't care if I ever read another one.

So to be objective about what makes a good #1, I'd have to say it gives you enough material that you know what you're reading [premise, characters, etc.], and enough stuff unsaid to make you want to keep reading [motivations, history, mysteries, etc.]

deeplots · Post by **deeplots** » Thu Oct 27, 2011 10:09 pm

For me the main thing I look for in a new #1, and this may be shallow, but it's "did I get my money's worth? Am I willing to spend more money on more issues?" Different things can make me feel like I got my money's worth, the art, the story, the characters and their progression, etc. I usually tend to gravitate towards books with lots of characterization with some action. I don't mind things being decompressed with some books, others I don't like that.

For instance I really enjoyed USM #1 because I really felt like I got my money's worth. It took me awhile to read it, I enjoyed it, it made me want to keep reading. However, Action Comics #1, I breezed through it, and while it was a fine book, I definitely did not think it was worth the $3.99 price tag, therefore, dropped. If a comic is $3.99 it needs to impress me a lot more than a lower priced comic, which just seems to be a reality of being on a tighter budget.