More first issues

AMERICA CHAVEZ: MADE IN AMERICA #1 by Kalina Vazquez and Carlos Gomez. America’s mothers sacrificed themselves on the Utopian Planet she came from. Since landing on our Earth, she’s been a Young Avenger, an Ultimate and a west Coast Avenger. In this tale, she finds out she can go home again…even if it’s her second home. The story is a great introduction if you don’t know the characters. But Gomez’ art is the star here. A good first issue that just has a nice feel to it.

ARIA: HEAVENLY CREATURE #1 by Brian Holguin and Jay Anacleto. When the original ARIA series came out back in the day, I as blown away by this Anacleto guy. Flash forward all these ears later and I’m thrilled to see this character back and these creators back on it. This is probably the most amazing looking boo you will see this year. Every panel on every page just explodes with life. And the story is great too!

BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE #1 by James Tynion IV, J. H. Williams III, G. Willow Wilson, Emma Ríos, Paul Dini, Tradd Moore, Andy Kubert and Greg Smallwood. DC relaunches this classic series with 5 short stories in different style and during different places in the life of the Dark Knight. The stories are fun, the artwork is amazingly different from tale to tale and it’s a great call back t the previous series. I personally can’t wait for the next issue.

BLACK CAT #1 by Jed MacKay and C.F. Villa. Felicia Hardy is back in action in the second series in a little over a year since the last one ended. Knull has arrived (see later for my reviews of the KING IN BLACK titles) and Black Cat takes advantage of New York City being evacuated to rob SHIELD stashes. But that also gets her in the middle of things and maybe she should steal something from Knull. The story is fun, even if Hardy’s character tends to fall a little flat. She’s bad but she’s good…maybe. Villa’s artwork is bold and a nice enhancement to the tale. It’s an okay distraction from lots of stuff out there.

CHILDREN OF THE ATOM #1 by Vita Ayala and Bernard Chang. The X-universe continues to expand. Here we have a team of “mutants” who seem to pattern themselves after the classic X-Men. But are they really mutants and how did they get those powers? That is the mystery which isn’t answered in this first issue. The story is nice but containing enough holes to keep the reader guessing. The art is quite good and fits the hole X-Universe’ feel. It’s a good start, but we’ll see where it goes from here.

THE COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF ANIMATION #1 by Fred Van Lenta and Ryan Dunlavey. The team behind THE COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS is back with their take on the history of animation. Starting with the Victorian Era and moving up to the earliest days of Walt Disney, it is a factual tale not overly loaded with so many details that it bogs things down. The use of funny animals to represent the real life characters also contributes to the fun.

DEADPOOL: NERDY 30 YEARS #1 by Joe Kelly, Skottie Young, Kelly Thompson, Fabian Nicieza, Gail Simone, Daniel Way, Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn, Rob Liefeld, Chad Bowers, Gerado Sandoval, Aaron Conley, Kevin Libranda, Bob Quinn, Patch Zircher, Michael Shelfer, Paco Medina, and Scott Koblish. Deadpool turns 30 and Marvel celebrates with this collection of eight stories featuring the Merc with a Mouth and a whole host of his various incarnations. Hey: it’s Deadpool! Nothing here to take seriously!

DRACULA MOTHERF**KER by Alex DeCami and Erica Henderson. I love Alex DeCampi’s writing style on such diverse projects as ARCHIE VS PREDATOR and GRINDHOUSE. So this is right up her alley and totally in her wheelhouse. Erica Henderson’s art is cool and quirky and totally fits. It’s a modern Dracula story with a few twists and is such a fun, quick ride! I would love to see a sequel.

ETERNALS #1 by Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribić. Kirby’s Classic ETERNALS is one of my favorite comics of the era. With word of an ETERNALS film, Marvel has decided to bring these characters into the 21^st Century. And we start with a murder mystery, as Zuras has been killed and Ikaris, along with a recently freed Sprite, must find the killer. That’s the basic story here. The story prances around and surely drifts from existing history of Eternals and Deviants. Sprite apparently has been the one responsible for killing most of The Eternals over time, so there’s that. But Ribic’ art is the true mind-blower here. Oh yeah: Thanos shows up too!

EVER by Terry Moore. Terry Moore writes some of the best, most believable dialogue in comics. I have said that ever since I read the very first issue of STRANGERS IN PARADISE so many years ago. Up until now, all of Terry’s works, SIP, ECHO, RACHEL RISING, MOTOR GIRL, FIVE, YEARS, and SERIAL, are all set in the same universe with the characters inter-connected. This is not…to our knowledge. But the story of a girl and an angel, is wonderful. The only drawback was the $18 cover price for what is essentially a paperback 72-page graphic novel. But it’s a great read that has nothing to do with heroes in tights!

FANTASTIC FOUR: ROAD TRIP #1 by Christopher Cantwell and Filipe Andrade. If memory serves me correctly, this book was supposed to be out last year, which explains the editor’s note that this story takes place before current events happening in the monthly book. The team goes to the Grand Canyon in what feels more like NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION than a Fantastic Four story, complete with Reed behaving like Chevy Chase. While the art is fine, the rest of the story is an insult to the legacy of these characters. As satire, it would work, but this isn’t supposed to be satire…I think.

GHOST RIDER: RETURN OF VENGEANCE #1 by Howard Mackie and Javier Saltares. The best thing about this book? JAVIER SALTARES. Fans of 90’s comics will remember Saltares for his work on GHOST RIDER and his style is still relevant today. So, as the title implies, this is the return of Vengeance: a 90’s incarnation of the Spirit of Vengeance who has escaped the pits of Hell to seek revenge on another one of Mephisto’s followers. It’s 90’s fun, which Mackie was so good at delivering back in the day. Need a bit of nostalgia? Then pick this up.

HELLBLAZER: RISE AND FALL #1 by Tom Taylor and Darick Robertson. A billionaire with angel wings falls from the sky and dies atop a church spire in the first death of many. Time for Detective Aisha Bukhari to call on childhood friend John Constantine to be on the case. It’s a crazy ride with guest appearances galore and, since it’s Constantine, you know it’s going to get weird. Fun story, great art and a guest appearance by Satan himself!

I BREATHED A BODY #1 by Zac Thompson and Andy MacDonald. A horror story for the Internet age. It is totally twisted, says a whole lot about social media and is one of the creepiest reads since GIDEON FALLS. While there are lots of plot points dropped with little answers, this is the perfect book to lead you back in for more. And the cover is disgusting enough to draw you in.

THE IMMORTAL HULK: FLATLINE #1 by Declan Shalvey. A very weird book which seems to be set before the current IMMORTAL HULK run and focuses on the continuing deaths of Bruce Banner. And, if you’re not reading the current book, you’ll appreciate the continuing references to the Green Door. The book reads great and while Shalvey’s art isn’t in the same category as Joe Bennett’s, it works with the concept. Yeah…it’s an essential part of the legend of The Hulk.

IRON FIST: HEAT OF THE DRAGON #1 by Larry Hama and David Wachter. Danny Rand and his faithful companion Fooh are ready for a tour of the Seven Heavenly Cities. But things don’t go as planned, leading to a fun filled romp that totally cried for Fooh to get his own series. Throw in Luke Cage, Lady Bullseye and a host of other cameos and this book is a winner. And, to be honest, after the debacle that was SHANG-CHI, I wasn’t expecting much and only jumped in because of Larry Hama. Good choice!

KING IN BLACK #1 by Nick Spencer and Ryan Stegman. Here’s Marvel’s next big crossover event. And it’s been slowly building in VENOM and the miscellaneous WEB OF VENOM one-shots over the past year. Symbiote god Knull is coming to take over the universe and our world. And it’s up to the heroes of our planet to save us. Unfortunately, many of them are finding themselves taken over by these creatures and it looks like Venom’s host Eddie Brock won’t survive it. This is a mega-event book with crossovers into many, many titles and several one-shots and mini-series including CAPTAIN AMERICA, GWENOM VS. CARNAGE, THE IMMORTAL HULK, IRON MAN/DOCTOR DOOM, NAMOR, PLANET OF THE SYMBIOTES, RETURN OF THE VALKYRIES, WICCAN & HULKLING and THUNDERBOLTS. While some of these feel like money grabs, especially NAMOR, some are really good, especially THUNDERBOLTS which puts together a new team consisting of Taskmaster, Mr. Fear, Rhino, Star, Batroc and others.

MAESTRO: WAR & PAX #1 by Peter David and Javier Pina. Following up on David’s last MAESTRO mini-series, the Maestro is back, having killed Hercules and now looking to rule what is left of the planet. Well, he has his work cut out for him because there are other immortals looking to stand in his way, not to mention Machine Man and Doctor Doom. If you were a fan of the last series, you will love to see where this is going.

MARVELS SNAPSHOTS: CAPTAIN MARVEL  #1 by Mark Waid and Claire Roe. Another month, another MARVELS SNAPSHOT title which, as they all do, focuses on people in the real world as opposed to the heroes. Sure, Captain Marvel is in it…so is Ms. Marvel. But they are only stage props for the main story. Yeah…it’s Waid and his dialogue is great. But I found the whole piece a little too forced for my taste.

M.O.D.O.K. HEAD GAMES #1 by Jordan Blum, Patton Oswalt and Scott Hepburn. M.O.D.O.K. is not dead and now he remembers his previous life as George Tarleton. In the process, Monica Rappaccini makes it her goal to turn all of A.I.M. against him and that may lead to M.O.D.O.K. enlisting help from Tony Stark. A great story with the wildest fight scene you have ever read. This was a total surprise and could be the sleeper of the year.

MORBIUS: BOND OF BLOOD #1 by Ralph Macchio and Tom Reilly. Hey-Marvel is making a Morbius film which we may see…someday. So we trot out this one shot which kind of retells Morbius’ history and that plays into the current story. But I don’t feel te character love I expected. It feels like this was just an inventory story that Marvel decided to put out to raise interest. Unfortunately, it didn’t do a lot for me.

NOCTERRA #1 by Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel. Snyder steps out with this creator owned series and hits the ground running. The sun has gone out and that leads to a semi post-apocalyptic tale which has elements of good sci-fi meeting MAD MAX. The tale is intriguing, with enough breadcrumbs left for the reader to follow. I wanted this to be a weekly, as I really wanted to see where it went next. And Daniel’s art is simply more of his best. This is a tremendous first issue and should be on everyone’s pull list!

NON-STOP SPIDER-MAN #1 by Joe Kelly and Chris Bachalo. Do we really need another Spider-Man title? Really?! I guess the answer is yes! This is truly a non-stop action ride. Kelly knows how to write great action sequences and Bachalo’s art is…well…you either love it or hate it and I totally love his style and always have. And it literally begins with a bang, as the credits for the book don’t even appear until you hit page 21. This actually may be the best Spider-Man book on the market.

THE OTHER HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE BOOK ONE by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli. John Ridley has become a very hot comic book property, following the success of 12 YEARS A SLAVE. He’s written the Future State Batman series and now this. Consider it an illustrated history of Black Lightning, from Jefferson Pierce’ perspective. Long delayed, it’s a refreshing take on the full career of Black Lightning and feels more like a novel with pictures than a comic. Book Two focuses on Mal and Karen Duncan and is just as powerful, tying together there various incarnations through Titans history. Highly recommended!

THE PERHAPANAUTS FIRST BLOOD #1 by Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau. What more could you ask for in a cool Indy comic? The Perhapanauts are a team of secret agents whose mission is to investigate the strange creatures that walk our earth. We get Big Foot, Mothman and Chupacabra and a host of other creatures as the team investigates the case of the Kelly Goblins. This book is so much fun, bringing in the mysteries that shows like MOUNTAIN MONSTERS and HELLIER but with a superhero feel. So much fun!!!

RED SONJA: THE SUPERPOWERS #1 by Dan Abnett and Jonathan Lau. Red Sonja finds herself pursuing the crazy sorcerer Skarab Nor. But suddenly, she finds herself in the path of Captain Future and the Project Superpowers team. Are they friends or foe? It’s all a bit trippy and means next to nothing if you aren’t familiar with the PROJECT SUPERPOWERS titles that came before it. At the same time, Dynamite has released a Vampirella series, featuring the Dark Powers, by Abnett and Paul Davidson, which is actually the title that seems to be a bit more fun. But, to be perfectly honest, neither title holds up on their own unless you’re familiar with Project Superpowers.

SECOND COMING: ONLY BEGOTTEN SON #1 by Mark Russell, Carl Cafarelli, Tyrone Finch, Ed Catto, Daniel Schoeneck and Richard Pace. It’s back: the tale of a superhero and the resurrected Jesus Christ. Yeah…it’s as weird as it sounds. Actually, it’s three tales in this universe, which further enhances the legend…even if our hero’s story has more to do with Kal-El than Christ. It’s truly an acquired taste read!

SERIAL #1 by Terry Moore. Fans of RACHEL RISING and FIVE YEARS rejoice! Zoe is back! And there’s a murder! No, she didn’t commit it, but looks like she’ll be investigating it. It will make little or no sense unless you know the back story. But’s you deserve it! Go get them now! Trust me on this! Terry’s stuff is just so good!

SOLID BLOOD #17 by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley. So how does SOLID BLOOD #17 qualify as a first issue. Because this was a surprise drop by Image of a book that Kirkman has said “shouldn’t exist” but feature characters he and Ottley had discussed using in a title. The comic apparently comes from a parallel Earth where THE WALKING DEAD comic was cancelled during it’s first year. Maybe that explains why a character who certainly appears to be Michonne buys it on page 4. And, because of that, this thing has a wide-ranging value, going from under $10 to over $150 in a 9.8 condition. Is it any good? Well…it’s Kirkman, so let’s go there!

STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTER #1 by Ethan Sacks and Paolo Villanelli. Marvel has latched into the popularity of THE MANDALORIAN and launched another STAR WARS title. It’s supposedly in canon and features a whole host of familiar and new characters. Sure…Bossk is there and Boba Fett makes an appearance too. Even a frozen Han Solo gets shown here, setting up a future multi-title crossover. Great read if you’re a STAR WARS fan.

STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC #1 by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito. Another canon story set in the STAR WARS universe. This one follows Padawan Keeve Trennis and her Jedi master. Guest appearances by Grand Masters Veter and Yoda. It’s okay…probably my least favorite of the current Marvel STAR WARS titles, but my hope is it will get better as it creates a new piece in the STAR WARS legacy.

S.W.O.R.D. #1 by Al Ewing and Valerio Schiti Marte Garcia. Here we go with another X-title. Krakoa has relaunched the Sentient World Observation and Response Directorate. And that means Abigail Brand has her dirty fingers into mutant business. And there’s a whole host of familiar characters who pop in, from Cable and Magneto to Blink and Lila Cheney. It’s king of a disappointing first issue with a lot of seemingly meaningless dialogue and little action. Here’s hoping for better bits as the series progresses.

WOLVERINE: BLACK, WHITE AND RED #1 by Gerry Duggan, Declan Shalvey, and Matthew Rosenberg, Adam Kubert, Joshua Cassara. If you’re a Wolverine fan, this book is for you. It’s a trio of black and white tales with blood red accents-since that seems to be the new thing, as evident by the recent HARLEY QUINN and the forthcoming CARNAGE title. It’s a fun trio without a ton of back stories. Just simple self-contained tales, thus making for a relatively quick read. Again, recommended if you’re a Wolverine fan or a completist.

X-MEN LEGENDS #1 by Fabian Nicieza and Brett Booth. If you feel the current X-titles are too deep and confusing or if you’re feeling a bit nostalgic, here’s the title for you.  This issue, set in the glorious days of the yellow and blue suits, focuses and the Summers brothers and introduces us to Adam-X, who it appears is a THIRD Summers brother. Well, if this turns out to be canon, this could be a game changer and I’m sure will send the speculators in a frenzy! It reads like an 80’s/90’s title with an art style straight from that period. If this series maintains this quality, it may quickly become by favorite x-series.