1st issue Challenge

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Fri May 11, 2012 9:30 am

The Spider #1 (Dynamite) - David Liss did a great job on this one, I liked it a LOT more than it's pulp brother "The Shadow". Storytelling was not wall-to-wall action, but it just felt like I got more story momentum in the 1st issue out of this. Maybe because I was not going into it with an expectation that was not met.

One thing that could be improved on this is the color palette, which was far too dark. I'll keep going with this one.

Danscomics · Post by **Danscomics** » Fri May 11, 2012 1:42 pm

BobBretall wrote:
Danscomics wrote:X-O Manowar #1 (Valiant) - I read the Free Comic Book Day book and had to give this a try. From the point of view of someone who didn't read the original Valiant titles, I enjoyed it. Inside the front cover was a nice page of facts on the history and culture of the Romans and Visigoths which gave an added dimension to the story. Even without that though I thought it set up for future issues well and I will be adding it to my list.
XO Manowar #1 (Valiant) - I read the full #1 issue, not just the FCBD book. I agree that the time/storytelling with the Romans & Visigoths added a dimension. That said I thought they could have done a better job on pacing. They had 29 story pages & couldn't manage to get Aric into the X-O suit, I think that was a mistake.

It would have been better to shift things around a bit, hit some action, and go back to the origin in issue 3 or 4 after a very strong action-y start.

Just my personal opinion. I'm not sure how this book is going to resonate with the fan-on-the-street that does not have a predisposition to like Valiant. Maybe I'm wrong & the same people loving the decompressed story-telling at Marvel & DC will love this. But, while decompressed works on Justice League & Avengers, maybe the decompression only works because people REALLY want to read about those familiar super-heroes. The decompressed storytelling is failing on many mid-to-lower tier books at Marvel/DC where the characters are nowhere near as popular. My theory being that decompression works only when the reader really REALLY wants to read the story.

This could mean trouble for X-O. While I'll read a decompressed story with him, as will Sean (and he'll no doubt love it more than me), will it resonate with enough people?

Sorry, let me clarify. I did read the full #1 before I posted, I was merely commenting that it was because of the FCBD book though that I picked up #1. I originally wasn't going to give it a shot.

spid · Post by **spid** » Mon May 21, 2012 12:24 pm

Mind The Gap (Image) I liked this book, but it did take an awfully long time on the setup with a payoff that was only "OK". Morning Glories, seemed to take an OK setup first issue, and end it with a bang. This title really need the big bang at the end.

Dial H For Hero (DC) I guess I should have paid attention to the group this book was in. I was expecting a lighter book than what this book turned out to be. There was some confusing page layouts and thought captions around the pivotal moment which I did not like that much. This might be a book that would make for a decent trade.

Higher Earths (Boom) I have a pet peeve when writers do not give names to the characters in a book. A name gives an anchor to a story which this book could have used. There have been several books lately whose first issue was were improved by having more pages. This book could have used a few more pages to fill out the narrative.

abysslord · Post by **abysslord** » Thu May 24, 2012 9:59 am

Dancer #1 (Image) - Pretty good read, straightforward and a little twist at the end that makes me want to read more, although it's not as awesome as Nathan alluded to in an interview.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Fri May 25, 2012 1:02 am

abysslord wrote:Dancer #1 (Image) - Pretty good read, straightforward and a little twist at the end that makes me want to read more, although it's not as awesome as Nathan alluded to in an interview.

While I agree the twist was not earth shatteringly awesome, it did fall into the "pretty cool" category for me. I'm adding this to my pull.

IanG · Post by **IanG** » Thu May 31, 2012 3:00 pm

Trio #1 (IDW) - This was a pretty good first issue from comic book legend and writer/artist John Byrne. Mainly I liked it for the artwork, as the story was kind of been there and done that. The coloring for the character called Rock was really annoying. I wish they would just change it to a solid gray color instead of that awful fake rock texture. It's obvious this an intentional throw back to the good old days of comic books. And for that reason this may be a good comic to give to all ages/younger readers. At least those kids who may enjoy an original superhero team. I'm a big fan of John Byrne's comic books but this story doesn't have me dying to come back for more. I'd pick up the issues down the road or the trade if they are cheap.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:09 pm

Mind Mgmt #1 (Dark Horse) - Loved it. Very intriguing story & this issue just scratched the surface. I think you have to like Matt Kindt's very unique art style to enjoy this, though.

Creator Owned Heroes #1 (Image) - 2 stories & I'm split. American Muscle - So far not much to go on with this post-apocalyptic tale. It was so-so, didn't really grab me but I didn't hate it either. Triggergirl 6 - I loved this one. I'm a huge fan of Phil Noto's art & this was a really cool story setup. I kind of wish this was a standalone book.

spid · Post by **spid** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:00 am

Planetoid (Image): The story setup is simple a pilot crashes on a desolate planet, and has to survive. If you are a story person then there may not be much to it. That being said the artist does a good job of world building in a very few pages.

The thing that sold me on the book from the previews is the art, and it does not disappoint. It reminds me a lot of a european/Heavy Metal comics.

IanG · Post by **IanG** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:03 pm

BobBretall wrote:Creator Owned Heroes #1 (Image) - 2 stories & I'm split. American Muscle - So far not much to go on with this post-apocalyptic tale. It was so-so, didn't really grab me but I didn't hate it either. Triggergirl 6 - I loved this one. I'm a huge fan of Phil Noto's art & this was a really cool story setup. I kind of wish this was a standalone book.

I'm kind of torn on this comic/Wizard magazine also. I wish the two stories were longer instead of the interviews and stuff. I don't know that I care that much what the writer's favorite movies and books are. It's all kind of interesting and and it's worth the $3.99 I paid for it at the LCS. Although I'll probably wait for the trade if there is one.

abysslord · Post by **abysslord** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:27 pm

IanG wrote:
BobBretall wrote:Creator Owned Heroes #1 (Image) - 2 stories & I'm split. American Muscle - So far not much to go on with this post-apocalyptic tale. It was so-so, didn't really grab me but I didn't hate it either. Triggergirl 6 - I loved this one. I'm a huge fan of Phil Noto's art & this was a really cool story setup. I kind of wish this was a standalone book.
I'm kind of torn on this comic/Wizard magazine also. I wish the two stories were longer instead of the interviews and stuff. I don't know that I care that much what the writer's favorite movies and books are. It's all kind of interesting and and it's worth the $3.99 I paid for it at the LCS. Although I'll probably wait for the trade if there is one.

Yeah, they said they're experimenting with the format to find out what is best. The answer? 4 stories of 11 pages or so.

Dark Horse Presents is the opposite for me, there are too many stories and not long enough. So Creator Owned Heroes has a chance to be a DHP junior, which would be perfect for me.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:15 pm

I'm afraid neither of the new #1s from Dynamite made it onto my Pull list:

Prophecy #1 (Dynamite): Not a bad story, combining a various Dynamite properties, chiefly Red Sonja & Vampirella with appearances by Sherlock Holmes & Dracula. The problem here was this was a very fast read and I really didn't feel like this was worth $3.99 per issue moving to #2 & beyond. I'll gladly pick up the subsequent issues from a $1 box, though.

Pantha #1 (Dynamite): This was (to me) completely unreadable. Nice T&A book (heavy on the A, with Pantha prancing around in a floss-thong), if that's what you're looking for.

Gilgabob · Post by **Gilgabob** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:38 am

BobBretall wrote:I'm afraid neither of the new #1s from Dynamite made it onto my Pull list:

Prophecy #1 (Dynamite): Not a bad story, combining a various Dynamite properties, chiefly Red Sonja & Vampirella with appearances by Sherlock Holmes & Dracula. The problem here was this was a very fast read and I really didn't feel like this was worth $3.99 per issue moving to #2 & beyond. I'll gladly pick up the subsequent issues from a $1 box, though.

Pantha #1 (Dynamite): This was (to me) completely unreadable. Nice T&A book (heavy on the A, with Pantha prancing around in a floss-thong), if that's what you're looking for.

I'm not surprised at your reviews of these two Dynamite books. In general, I have been avoiding Dynamite. I seem to be dissapointed in most cases whenever I try one of their new offerings. To me they seem to invest most of their time and effort into covers and advertising. I wish they would focus more on better interior artists and story.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:06 am

Gilgabob wrote: I'm not surprised at your reviews of these two Dynamite books. In general, I have been avoiding Dynamite. I seem to be dissapointed in most cases whenever I try one of their new offerings. To me they seem to invest most of their time and effort into covers and advertising. I wish they would focus more on better interior artists and story.

Just to be clear, both of these books had really nice interior art. Dynamite, IMO, generally has pretty good art. There are a number of other companies that seem to have multiple covers and then mediocre to poor art on the inside, but my personal experience is that Dynamite is not one of those.

That said, the writing tends to fall short by my taste standards in many cases. Prophecy is written by Ron Marz, so not a bad writer, the story pacing just fell shy of the mark for me for a $3.99 book. This puts it in the same company as 80% of the books Marvel is putting out, though, so Dynamite is certainly not falling below the "industry standard", at least as it's defined by what a LOT of people do spend their money on.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:37 am

IanG wrote:Trio #1 (IDW) - This was a pretty good first issue from comic book legend and writer/artist John Byrne. Mainly I liked it for the artwork, as the story was kind of been there and done that. The coloring for the character called Rock was really annoying. I wish they would just change it to a solid gray color instead of that awful fake rock texture. It's obvious this an intentional throw back to the good old days of comic books. And for that reason this may be a good comic to give to all ages/younger readers. At least those kids who may enjoy an original superhero team. I'm a big fan of John Byrne's comic books but this story doesn't have me dying to come back for more. I'd pick up the issues down the road or the trade if they are cheap.

I've come around to your way of thinking, Ian.....

I really liked the 1st issue, but when I read #2 with the Namor knock-off I really got the feeling that I was reading a re-tread. I'd pick more issues up from a $1 bin, but at $3.99, I'm dropping this title.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:39 am

spid wrote:Planetoid (Image): The story setup is simple a pilot crashes on a desolate planet, and has to survive. If you are a story person then there may not be much to it. That being said the artist does a good job of world building in a very few pages.

The thing that sold me on the book from the previews is the art, and it does not disappoint. It reminds me a lot of a european/Heavy Metal comics.

Agreed. This is a nice sci-fi book, it's been added to my pull list.