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.
With Christmas fast approaching, Image Comics have given us an early multi-cultural present with Krampus! #1. The Krampus, an old part of the Christmas legend in alpine areas of Europe, is a beastly figure who travels with the various regional versions of Santa Claus, dispensing spankings to naughty children. In this new comic from Brian Joines and Dean Kotz, the Secret Society of Santa Clauses – made up of the many global iterations of Santa, including England’s Father Christmas, the Afghan Baba Chaghaloo and the Japanese Hoteiosho – are in trouble. Under the leadership of the Dutch Sinterklaas, they imprisoned the Krampus over 60 years ago, and did away with this dark shadow of the Holidays. Now, an unknown villain has stolen the source of the Society’s magic, the bones of St. Nicholas himself! To restore the remains and (wait for it) save Christmas, the Santas must turn to the only being whose magic is still strong – The Krampus. The book is lighthearted and fun, but thankfully also informative. In a time of rampant commercialization it’s nice to remind us that even the secular celebration of the holidays ties many cultures together. There’s even a “User’s Guide to the Secret Society of Santa Clauses,” meant to inspire kids and adults alike to look a little more broadly at the folklore of the holiday season.
For more international flavor, Amigo comics brings Lunita #1 to America. Lunita is a witch and the actual Daughter of The Moon, and she was formerly a member of a European team of experts who investigated and opposed supernatural forces. (Series creator Xavier Morell’s original comic to feature Lunita, G.E.I., had several American distributors who went out of business before the book ever hit the shelves, with Morell joking it was “cursed”.) Now Lunita is teamed up DEA Agent Summer Fillion to track down some drug dealers who are selling diluted Mermaid tears on the black market. Lunita is an interesting woman, upset at the loss of her previous job and suffering from real world financial problems despite being a witch. Agent Fillion is a rather forward lesbian, and makes repeated efforts to woo many of the women she meets in Spain, including Lunita herself. The mermaid in question is also being tortured by being forced to watch footage of the wreck of the oil tanker “The Prestige”, the worst environmental disaster in the history of Spain and Portugal, and a source of continued Spanish political turmoil. Morell is not shy about the political message, and thankfully not afraid to bring both multi-cultural and open views on sexual identity to the forefront of his comic, making it more than just a good adventure book.
Teenage angst over sexuality, peer pressure and social media is front in center in one of Marvel’s newest, Inhumanity: Awakening #1. Written by Matt Kidnt with art by Paul Davidson, it’s the story of several teenage members of both the Avengers Academy and the X-Men’s Jean Grey School, in the aftermath of the events of Marvel’s latest big-bang crossover. A bomb set off by Black Bolt has spread Terrigen Mist across the earth, and everywhere people with latent Inhuman genes are becoming super powered after bursting from cocoons. As you might expect, in the modern life of a teenager this can be a traumatic experience. Suddenly realizing you aren’t who you thought you were can be rough for anyone, but in an era where young people live much of their lives online, and are subjected to brutal bullying in the digital space, it can be even worse. These young heroes take it as their mission to protect one young girl on the verge of suicide. This is some of the best and most honest teen writing in mainstream (i.e. Big 2) comics since Kieron Gillen’s recent run on Young Avengers (which is sadly ending) and we hope there will be more of it in this, albeit limited, series. Artistic representations of social media are used in a fresh way to provide insight and narrative, something that’s been appearing more frequently in comics. They are used to wonderful effect here, with credit due to artist Paul Davidson and letterer Joe Caramagna. It just goes to show you, never underestimate a great letterer.
There were also some not 
so great #1’s this week, and we’ll get through them quickly. Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera’s Dead Body Road #1 from Image is a very violent story of robbery and revenge that’s very male-centric, and at one point very confusing. (There appear to be two different torture scenes featuring the same character, chronologically out of place, making the plot difficult to follow.) DC Comics brings us a new take on old heroes with Justice League 3000, about a far flung future in which the Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and the Green Lantern have been cloned to fight a great evil. The new Justice League have all of their powers but very little of their original memories, making each a frightening version of their former selves, mostly arrogant and obnoxious. Wonder Woman is translated into an almost monstrous brute, described as “too close to pure Amazon,” and this aggressive and angry Diana isn’t’t afforded much respect. Meanwhile, new imprint Darby Pop paired up with IDW for Indestructible #1, created and written by Jeff Kline. It’s a story about a young man in a world of super heroes who is anything but indestructible. The book generally features women in a poor light, from a video store clerk who is nothing more than a frightened damsel in distress, to a superhero fan who is willing to be physically harmed to get closer to a so-called superhero who, “doesn’t like to be told No.” It’s not worth your time, trust me.
And lastly (I love leaving the worst for last) it’s the usual garbage from Zenescope Comics in their latest, Code Red #1. This time around they managed to keep the covers fairly tame (by their usual standards) in this story of “Agent” Red Riding Hood fighting demonic monsters. This means at worst, the main character is depicted only in her underwear dealing blackjack to what we presume are lecherous old men. Sadly, this time their sexist attitudes have bled heavily into the comic. Red, a capable secret agent, is routinely commented on and drooled over as a sexual object by nearly every man she meets, and she comments that one of her worst struggles as a super hero is getting her skin tight leather costume on. I’ve mentioned before that Zenescope’s women are usually strong, determined characters who almost get treated with respect, until the pornographers at the company decide to paint them nude on their covers, but this time around the book itself finds ways to be offensive and treat its heroine like a piece of meat, and it’s yet another sad example of comics from this company.
