We’re No. 1! is a weekly feature looking at first issues in new comic series, as well as one-offs and special releases. In his reviews, Jeff highlights stories with diverse characters and plot lines Geekquality readers can care about, as well as points out comics that miss the mark.
Diversity in comics is always nice to see, as long as characters of color aren’t plugged into racial sterotypes. IDW’s The Illegitimates #1 so far neatly sidesteps falling into those traps. Co-written by SNL’s Taran Killam and Eisner nominated writer Marc Andreyko, The Illegitimates are the children produced by the dalliance’s of the world’s “greatest” superspy Jack Steele, an obvious James Bond analogue. Steele, like Bond, showed a great deal of diversity in his promiscuity, and thus several of his children share mixed heritage, including a European African woman named Saalinge M’Chumba, a half-Spanish MMA fighter and martial artist Leandros Caliestas, and master mechanic Kiken Kaze of Japan. However, the #1 issue is mostly background setup, with each character introduced by the narrator (this book’s version of M, I suppose), and none of them see any real action so far. It remains to be seen how the various cultural backgrounds and their heritage will be treated in the future. The book has a lighthearted feel, with touches of dry comedy that suggest an adventurous romp more than a serious statement about diversity. Whether the story pans out is yet to be seen, and the first issue isn’t doing much more than selling the premise.
Boom! Studios’ The Midas Touch #1 is an odd tale written by Ryan North, with art by Braden Lamb and Shelli Paroline. With the Federation hot on their tales, three interplanetary adventurers have returned to man’s ancestral home, the long abandoned planet Earth. The team consists of two young women, Joey and Fatima and an intelligent dinosaur named Cooper. Somehow, the long abandoned planet has been turned to gold as part of the curse of King Midas, though how Midas destroyed the world with his gifts and man still escaped to the stars is an unexplained part of the mystery. Still, it’s nice to see characters of color represented, again without them resorting to stereotypes. Young Fatima in particular is rambunctious and outgoing, and speaks like a modern day American teenager, perhaps too much so for someone who lives far in the future. While the diversity is nice to see, especially since the differences between the characters are so vast (did we mention one is a talking dinosaur?) the plot and dialogue are a bit amateurish in feel. Ultimately, the story feels like something for a younger audience. Lamb and Paroline’s artistic style lends itself to that simpler look as well, making the book very accessible for young and old readers alike.
We’d call Kelly Sue DeConnick a feminist powerhouse writer, but we’d be repeating ourselves. She’s certainly that, and one of the best in her field, returning this week with Ghost #1. This is the first chapter in the next miniseries featuring the character from Dark Horse Comics, and it might be tough for new readers to pick up the story. That said, the book is quite engaging, with snappy dialogue that does more than just guide the narrative. Ryan Sook’s art is both delightfully gruesome and simply realistic. Chicago’s EL looks great, as do the monstrous demons Ghost is battling on it. Elisa Cameron, the Ghost, is still a woman in search of her former identity before being trapped between two worlds, but she’s come into a sense of confidence that mirrors DeConnick’s work on Captain Marvel: a hero convinced more of her ability that her identity. In this case it’s more literal, as Cameron has little memory of her “life” before becoming Ghost, and thus far she’s relied on her otherworldly powers for a sense of purpose. When she finds a possible connection to her past, she pursues it with a fervor that implies a woman in pain seeking relief more than a lost soul looking for answers. As always, DeConnick’s story is emotionally complex, even more so than in her mainstream Marvel book, and Ghost is a perfect fit for her talents.
Two more hotshot writers take on a well known lady in comics, in this week’s awaited Harley Quinn #1 by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. We talked about the Issue #0 here before, but now the book has arrived, and the full story begins in earnest. Harley has relocated to Coney Island after inheriting some property, and all the trials, tribulations and crushing debt that come with it. She is now thrust firmly into the real world, forced to find gainful employment to pay her taxes. Not exactly super-anti-hero fare, this, and it misses the chance for interesting insights into the character. Harley seeks out full time work as a therapist, reassuming her identity as Dr. Harleen Quinzel. But this original version of who Harley was is now merely a façade, and the lighter, more irreverent Harley has taken over. Ultimately, the character is little more than caricature, cracking wise and violently acting out as she takes a second gig as a roller girl and fends off assassination attempts with the help of her new neighbor, a little person who calls himself Big Tony. Few writers choose to explore the darker side of a woman both emotionally and literally rendered into a violent madman’s own image, and Conner and Palmiotti don’t approach that aspect of Harley. While the lighter roller-riot-grrl side of Harley can be good for a lark, it’s not a particularly interesting exploration of a complex character.
