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.
To call this week’s crop of #1s a mixed bag would be a disservice to mixed bags, whatever they are. Reading this week’s books was like digging through the bottom of Halloween candy about ten days after the big event. All the good stuff is gone and you’re left with the “meh” candy, perfectly fine but not outstanding in any way. For example, the much anticipated return of Neil Gaiman to his master creation had the Twitterverse buzzing. However, The Sandman Overture #1 from Vertigo proved to be just acceptable. While the art from the genius J.H. Williams III is beautiful and complex, the tale leaves something to be desired, especially if you aren’t a regular reader of the series. (I admit I am not.) The book is quite convoluted for new readers, and the dreamy aesthetic, while pretty to look at, made it hard to follow or to keep my attention.
A return to things we’ve seen before was a common theme this week. Red Circle Comics debuted The Fox #1, a retread of a superhero from the ‘40s. Paul Patton is a photo journalist who created his super alter ego The Fox to drum up a story rather than fight crime, and all he wants to do is give it up and live a normal life. In fact, he never shuts up about it, and the character appears disingenuous and ultimately selfish.
Big Dog Ink bring Rex: Zombie Killer #1, the story of a handful of animals trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. Rex the dog and Kenji the gorilla were part of an animal intelligence experiment, and are now trying to get back to Rex’s human after zombies have taken control. There is some backstory from a previous one shot comic that makes the reader feel a touch lost early on, but the story is endearing as it progresses. Sadly, for a zombie book, it’s not all that scary, but it’s a decent read for the younger set.
Dynamite Comics go back to the classics with an unfortunately stale revisit, with Ash and the Army of Darkness #1. Ash is working in a supermarket, having returned from 1300 AD, and he’s a bit bored. Thankfully, the super market is inexplicably right in the middle of a Deadite wasteland and apparently ALSO still stuck in 1300 AD. Confused? Yeah, me too. Ash has only glimpses of the charm of the original character, not even as much as he did in the Hack/Slash crossover, and the book is really only for the most dedicated Evil Dead fans.
A pair of one shots this week don’t fare much better. Marvel’s Thor: Crown of Fools is a rather simple story of Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three on an adventure in Asgard, possibly meant to fill us in on what they’ve been doing since the last film. It’s clearly set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not either of the Marvel Comic universes, and it feels childish and simplistic in tone. Sif holds her own in this book, which hopefully might mean more development for her character in the upcoming film. Sadly, the whole thing feels like a marketing gimmick rather than a good comic.
Dark Horse Comics’ The Raven and The Red Death presents Richard Corben’s adaptations of the classic horror tales, and his distinctive artistic style is evident throughout. (His character Mag the Hag even appears as the traveler from The Masque of the Red Death). It’s an entertaining read for Poe fans and a nice Halloween one shot, but there’s little more to it beyond the rightful homage to Poe.
In the world of the Big Two, things weren’t that much more exciting. DC’s latest in their “Forever Evil” event, A.R.G.U.S. #1. , is the story of the DC-verse equivalent of S.H.I.E.L.D., an agency tasked with liaising with the superhuman population of the New 52 universe. Led by Colonel Steve Trevor (Wonder Woman’s first love interest), the group must pick up the pieces when the inter-dimensional Crime Syndicate destroys most of their bases. It’s an action story in the midst of a crossover so vast it took over every single DC title during Villains Month, and it’s just getting exhausting trying to keep up. DC’s second bite at the apple is Damian: Son of Batman #1, which thankfully (and by necessity) occurs in an alternate DC timeline. DC used to call these “Elseworlds”, and this one postulates that Damian (the cloned son of Bruce and Talia al Ghul who serves as the fifth Robin) wasn’t recently killed. Rather, it’s the Dark Knight himself who has fallen, and Damian is on a bloody streak of vengeance through Gotham’s criminals. The book takes a look at Batman’s oath to never sink to murder in his war on crime, contrasted with his son’s easy willingness to do so, a theme prevalent in Damian’s story from the beginning. Writer and artist Andy Kubert doesn’t bring the depth of anger to Damian that Grant Morrison did in his epic Batman run, and this one off series suffers from it, as well as from the all too predictable and quick return of Batman from the dead. That’s comics for you: no one dies for long.
Marvel tests that old proverb with Ultimate Comics Cataclysm #1. Here, the Ultimate Vision is a female android designed for one purpose – to detect and stop Ultimate Gah-Lak-Tus. When the mainstream Marvel Universe’s World Eater Galactus comes through a rift in reality, she is no match for him, and this spells doom for the Ultimate Universe. This has been coming for quite some time, as Marvel begins to phase out the Ultimate titles altogether, having decided to keep one or two of the best and move them into their mainstream line. Who will survive the end of the Ultimate Universe? That’s yet to be seen, though most know it’s going to be Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales and not many others. This book gives us few answers beyond the fate of The Vision herself, and it’s a bummer this gender swapped version of the classic Avengers character might not make the cut.
All in all, there’s nothing wrong with a good comic full of action adventure and universe destruction, of course. I suppose we can’t expect groundbreaking and relevant social change week in and week out. That’s a lot to ask of any medium, to be constantly pushing boundaries, presenting positive role models and depicting alternative viewpoints every single week. But at the end of a lackluster week like this, it certainly leaves me hoping for a bit more in weeks to come.
