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R.E.B.E.L.S. #1 (DC) : I LOVED IT! Best #1 issue from DC in years, IMO. I loved many of the character moments with Vril Dox, loved the use of Supergirl, and I'm really looking forward to seeing Dox put a new team together.

Batman & The Outsider Special #1 (DC) : Outside of the really nice scene of the video that Batman left for Alfred, this issue just sucked. Even that scene, I liked the dialogue only, the are & camera angles did not convey even a fraction of what that scene had the potential of bringing across.
If the "re-launch" of the series is like this issue, I'll be dropping it.

Batman & the Outsiders Special #1 - I thought this was an ok issue, but not a strong first issue.In fact, I would say it was hit or miss within the issue as the heroes were gathered to form the Outsiders. Since I have seen such strong first issues (Dark Avengers, Agent of Atlas, REBELS) that this felt a bit weak to me. And honestly, I just read the next part and it still seems that the book is still in the "introduction phase" of the book without any real action.

I didn't mind Batman & The Outsiders at all, in that it was exactly as I expected. A relaunch "special" issue had me expecting this would be the formation of the new team. The fact it ties into Batman RIP and has Alfred assembling the team hearkened back to many of the action/kung fu/military movies I loved as a kid [it's always about assembling the team], and while this wasn't a strong issue plotwise, it established exactly what we can expect in the new series.

I am definitely on board for the relaunch, and have faith in Tomasi who is quickly rising up the pantheon of DC writers not named Geoff Johns IMHO.

Bad Dog #1 (Image) I loved this! Thanks to Wood & spid for pointing me at this one. A skip-tracer werewolf with a foul-mouthed height-challenged sidekick. I'm adding the rest of this series to my pull list.

Masquerade #1 (Dynamite) Saw this on the shelf and decided to try it out since I was in the LCS picking up Bad Dog.
What is it with all the titles that don't have the story/character/setting they are pitching as central to the series in the #1 issue? This whole story revolves around the golden age Masquerade, and I'm assuming that (eventually) this series is supposed to be covering her in the present day. The GA costume she is wearing is not the same as the one on any of the ads or on the cover of this issue. It was an OK story, but nothing spectacular, and certainly not compelling enough to get me to come back for any more. I think they would have been better served for getting us going right out of the gate with some present day action featuring the heroine as described on the cover, and left the GA sto9ry for a backup, or flashback in a later issue.

The Great Unknown #1 (Image) I think I'm not the right audience for this title, it totally failed to "click" with me. The first 3 pages were really off-putting and it didn't get any better after that. It was not just the language (there was plenty of foul language in Bad Dog & I loved that), maybe it was just that the language & main character in this book just did not "ring true" to me, which could just be because I'm not the right audience for the book (I think I'm experientially challenged to be able to relate to this book).

Hotwire #1 I thought this was a solid opening issue. The issue felt sort of like Ghostbusters mixed with Bones (the television show). The overall pitch is we have a forensic scientist who deals with ghosts who in this reality exist. The lead character seems to be a perfect match for the female lead in Bones. The funny part for me was they even threw in an opening "theme song" page ala Buffy or Dark Angel.

Given this is a Warren Ellis concept I could not help compare it to Anna Mercury which seemed to take two or three issues to explain its premise while this issue did it well in one.

The Zombies That Ate the World #1 (Devil's Due) This is a story of (mostly) benevolent zombies that live among us as the "life impaired". But what do you do when your father-in-law dies and he still wants to hang around the house in your favorite chair? Call a zombie wrangler to get rid of him, of course. Kind of interesting take, but the writing was pretty weak. Format of 2 short stories instead of a continuing narrative was not working for me. Very nice Guy Davis art, though.

BobBretall wrote:The Zombies That Ate the World #1 (Devil's Due) This is a story of (mostly) benevolent zombies that live among us as the "life impaired". But what do you do when your father-in-law dies and he still wants to hang around the house in your favorite chair? Call a zombie wrangler to get rid of him, of course. Kind of interesting take, but the writing was pretty weak. Format of 2 short stories instead of a continuing narrative was not working for me. Very nice Guy Davis art, though.

I almost bought this b/c of the Guy Davis art, but then I asked myself if I really would find a zombie slice of life book entertaining for more than a few pages. Ultimately, I passed and sounds like I made the right choice.

Masquarade #1 - I thought I was going to like this issue but there was really not a heck of a lot there for me to like except the Alex Ross cover. Giving this at least 2 more issues to decide.

R.E.B.E.L.S #1 - I am a huge fan of the previous incarnations and I really do enjoy Vril Dox. This issue was a start to something that can be great.

The Phantom The Ghost Who Walks #0 - An ok origin story about the legacy of the Phantom. It was ok.

Soul Kiss #1 - Hooked me with the first issue. A girl who sells her soul to the devil to save her. The story and art really clicked with me.

Jersey Gods #1 - It had a New Gods feel and I think I am really going to enjoy this series. I really thought the artwork worked on this comic. I am looking forward to the next.

Scott Pilgrim Vol 1 (Oni) - I was very curious why there is so much hype surrounding this book. Man was I disappointed. What starts off as a grounded tale about a 23 year old band member who is dating younger women turns out to be like Pokemon. Hated this but may appeal to those who like something really really different.

War of Kings Darkhawk #1 - I am loving the War of Kings and this was no exception. I am looking forward to issue #2. I even enjoyed re-reading Darkhawk #1. I have the original but with all I have to read I probably would not have read this again. So far War of Kings is a must read for me.

Amber Atoms #1 (Image) - The pacing on this story was a bit off. It would have benefited from some editorial advice to reduce the non-Amber setup, add more of our heroine (in this, the crucial fan-grabbing 1st issue), and have her doing something at least vaguely heroic in this, her 1st appearance. That being said, it was an OK issue, but there was the potential for it to have been a great issue that was unrealized.

Johnny Monster #1 (Image) - Excellent 1st issue! The 1st time I recall opening a book to a double page spread utilizing the inside of the front cover, very cool! Good pacing (combination of action and character development), well-done intro & background info on Johnny, and an effective “cliff-hanger” moment to close the issue, leaving the reader wanting to come back for more. I’ll be along for the ride for the remainder of this 3-issue series!

Superman: World of New Krypton #1 : Like others, while I have been a huge fan of the Superman books over the past year (they are the second best line DC has after Green Lantern), I have been nervous about the direction they were heading toward. Well, if the rest of this series is an indication on how good this new direction is going to be be, then my fears are totally gone. This was a very strong first issue. First of all, the series is now co-written by Greg Rucka and James Robinson and they get Superman. In fact, I think I figure out the theme of this book and why Superman is still Superman even with all of these Kryptonians around. They demonstrate that Superman has compassion without making him seemed weak, a trap that most writers fall into. The art by Pete Woods is on par with his work on "Up, Up, and Away" storyline. That is good since I thought that his recent work seemed more rushed. I read over 10 comics this weekend and this was by far the best comic I read. (Better than War of the Kings).

War of the Kings #1 - I thought this was a fun first issue. I didn't enjoy this as much I would have thought, but that is probably because of the use of Vulcan, my second least favorite new Marvel character after Sentry. The art by Paul Pelletier was just awesome. I hope that after this, he is back on GoG.

North World #1 (Oni Press) : This is not a new book (#2 is also out) but I picked it up from the creator (Lars Brown) at WonderCon, so it was "New to me". This appears to be a series of "direct to GN" offerings, this one was about 190 pages for $11.95, but both volumes are available at a discount from In Stock Trades (in the Oni section). Here is the "High concept":

North World wrote:North World really isn't that different from our own... the biggest difference is the presence of mythical monsters, talking bears, arcane arts, and, of course, the heroes who stand ready to defend the innocent and helpless from these extraordinary threats! Conrad is one such hero and he's about to experience something scarier than any of the mighty beasts he's faced down -> his ex-girlfriend's wedding!

I thought this was a pretty cool book. All the trappings of modern life, but people still go around with swords and there are still "monsters". It's like a medieval fantasy world set in modern times. Another thing is that this nicely treads the line of "acceptable slice of life" for me. What I mean by that is that it is not an overly emotional examination of the "human condition", but instead, it concentrates on the hero (Conrad's) life & relationships,but has some action & conflict mixed in to keep the story flowing.
Highly recommended, I'll be picking up #2!

Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys #1 (Viz Media) : I tried this on the strength of the previous manga series I read by Urasawa (Monster) and I'm glad I did. These books are a great example of how you cannot pigeonhole Manga into any one defined genre. Like American comics, there are all different kinds of stories targeted at all different kinds of audiences. These are both examples of the "Psychological thriller" genre, and if you are a fan of these kind of stories, these are definitely worth checking out.

Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium without them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world.

War of the Kings #1 (Marvel) - This book frikkin' rocked!!! Worth the $3.99, I was thoroughly entertained. I'm not a big fan of Vulcan, but I'm guessing that he's going to get his a$$ kicked before the end of this series, so I have something to look forward too. I also always like to see Marvel's LSH knock-off, the Imperial Guard, when used in a good way, which to me is not making them a piece of disposable background in some lame X-Men space opera (and I thought they were used excellently in this issue).


Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel) - Jonathan Hickman did a really nice job of capturing the personalities of the FF & their supporting cast. Some particularly nice dialogue with Valeria. I'm glad I got this book (nice art by Sean Chen, too) and I'll be back for the rest of the series. Also, I'm glad this is a $2.99 mini.