More first issues reviewed.

ALICE EVER AFTER #1 by Dan Panosian, Giorgio Spalletta and Fabiana Mascolo.  I picked this up on a whim thanks to a pretty amazing J. Scott Campbell variant cover. Set in Victorian England, we find that dear sweet Alice is a drug addict and, when she takes her pills, she drifts off into Wonderand. But when her dealer gets murdered, it appears she must now deal with the Red Queen. This book is so cool! And when Alice goes to Wonderland, Mascolo takes over the art chores and you go from very muted art to vibrant, well defined colored art. I love the plot and can’t wait to see where it goes next.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 by Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. So, here’s the setup. We begin with Peter in a smoking crater outside York, Pennsylvania. Now six months after this and apparently he has pissed off everyone he knows. Aunt May is pissed that he keeps lying to her and now she is living together in a small apartment. Randy is pissed at him because he’s still on the hook for Peter’s apartment which Randy does not live in anymore.  And MJ is asking Peter to stop bothering her. She has a new guy in her life now and to kids that call her Mommy. Throw in some classic villains, Tombstone looking for a Spider-Man team-up and  more stuff than I can cover here. Yeah…new #1 ones suck! Just go back to full-on Legacy numbering and be done with it! Other than that-great fun!

ARCHIE MEETS RIVERDALE #1 by Daniel Kibblesmith, Pat Kennedy and Tim Kennedy. Classic Archie Riverdale intersects with CW's RIVERDALE, recently cancelled, in this wild and wacky tale thanks to Dilton screwing around. Just a bunch of dumb fun here, so don’t expect any earth-shattering stuff. Just sit back, read and enjoy.

A TOWN CALLED TERROR #1 by Steve Niles and Simon Kudranski. Looking for a crazy tale with vampires, possibly zombies and some creepy Black Ops guys? Yeah…this is it. It’s a slow moving first issue, but that’s what I’ve come to expect from Niles. And Kudranski’s art is beautifully twisted. This was a fun first take despite the sluggish speed.

AVENGERS/X-MEN #1(FCBD) by Keiron Gillen, Danny Lore, Dustin Weaver and Karen S. Darboe.  It’s that time of year for another epic Marvel crossover. This time, it’s the X-Men versus the Eternals with the Avengers caught in the middle. Now that the mutants have conquered death, they may be viewed as immortals but not Eternals in the eyes of the Eternals. So they must be Deviants and that means trouble for our mutant heroes. In the second tale, he meet Brielle-daughter of Blade. This short tale leads into the forthcoming BLOODLINE series coming in the Fall. In the second backup, Mary Jane Watson is going out as a spokeswoman for the Krakoa meds that are relieving Aunt Anna’s dementia and gets invited to the Hellfire Gala. But she doesn’t get there because it will be a certain Moira McTaggert going instead. If you are going to follow any of these stories in the coming months, this book is essential!

BLOOD STAINED TEETH #1 by Christian Ward and Patric Reynolds.Atticus Sloane finds himself trapped in a world of vampires and crazy drugs. By the way: he’s a vampire too! This is one weird reading, crazy looking book! Horror elements, social commentary and just some eye-popping visuals.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #0 by Tochi Onyebuchi, Jacson Lanzing, Colin Kelly and Mattia De Lulis. Yep…another Cap reboot. But this time, it results in two titles instead on just one. Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson team up to fight Arnin Zola. Sounds simple enough, but plot points are dropped that will lead into the two new series. While the story is a fun ride with two classic characters teaming together, the highlight is De Lulis beautiful painted art throughout. Pick this one up. It’s got a nice old school feel to it and has some nice GREEN ARROW/GREEN LANTERN elements to it.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: SYMBOL OF TRUTH #1 by Tochi Onyebuchi and R.B. Silva. Sam Wilson is now one of two Captain Americas and he has his own sidekick with him in the form of the new Falcon. Together they find themselves taking on human traffickers, anti-immigration politicians, a possible rekindling of his relationship with Misty Knight and maybe even Crossbones. Fun start to the series and the addition of a new Falcon is kind of fun and curious to see where he will ultimately fit into this. And Silva’s art, as always, is crisp and clean. If you want a Cap that seems like he is going to be handling less super baddies, then this looks like it could be the book for you.

THE CLOSET #1 by James Tynion IV and Gavin Fullerton. Thom, his wife and son are moving and Thom is having issues with his wife. His son is having issues too, from the monster in his closet. Of course, we all know it’s not real, right? Until that monster shows up and decides to accompany the faily on their trip. A creepy first issue filled with a lot of exposition as Thom fights with his wife and tries to reassure his son that everything will be fine. Pat psychological drama, part horror story, Tynion does a great job laying the framework for what is to come.

DEVIL’S HIGHWAY VOLUME 2 #1 by Benjamin Percy and Brent Schoonover. Hot on the heels of Volume 1, Sharon and disgraced agent Skinner are back investigating a series of human trafficking cases and ritual murders that seem connected to the snake worshipping cult from Volume 1. How deep into the government does this go? The first series was a wonderful horror/grindhouse romp and this looks to be following in its’ footsteps. Grim and gritty, it’s another inner from AWA.

FABLES #151 by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham. Not really a first issue but picking up from where FABLES #150 left off over five years ago. Fabletown has been revealed to have been sharing space with the real world for over two thousand years and now the townsfolks are displaced. The intrigue is the same as Bigby Wolf, Snow White and their family head out to explore the Black Forest. This was such a fun series that, as far as I’m concerned inspired ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME. His writing is clever and Buckingham’s art, with inks from legendary Steve Leialoha, gives this such a beautiful fairy tale feel. If you have never picked up an issue before, now is the time and this is the perfect jumping on point.

THE FOX FAMILY VALUES #1 by Dean Haspiel, Vito Delsante, Alex Toth and Richard Ortiz. The strange Archie Comics superhero is back in a pair of short stories and a classic Alex Toth reprint from 1983. The Fox defines himself as a “freak magnet” and that just messes with his family, including his superhero wife and son. Nothing great here…just a fun, little read which you can blast through in 20 minutes of less.

G.I.L.T. #1 by Alisa Kwitney and Mauricet. G.I.L.T.  stands for the Guild of Independent Lady Temporalists. Basically, time travelers. And that’s where the fun begins as Hildy and her home health aid end up bouncing to places in Hildy’s younger life without totally making a mess of it. Yeah: you know how that works out! This was a ton of fun and I can’t wait to see where issue #2 takes us. Truly a book which does not take itself seriously as there are a bunch of inside jokes and wink-wink-nudge-nudge inside jokes.

HULK GRAND DESIGN #1 by Jim Rugg. Rugg caught everyone’s attention with his X-MEN GRAND DESIGN mini-series which used a Pop Art approach to telling the complete history of the X-Men. Well, he’s done it again with the Incredible Hulk. The first issue from his beginnings to the late 1990’s plus the addition of the FUTURE IMPERFECT story. It feels like old school Marvel and sure looks like it. Plus, he has a detailed list of where all of his references came from, so it’s perfect for completists trying to decipher the Green Guy’s tangled history.

HULK VS. THOR: BANNER OF WAR ALPHA by Donny Cates and Martin Coccolo. Donny Cates is currently writing a very weird HULK run. Donny Cates is also writing THOR. So why not have a massive five-issue crossover that begins here. Thor goes after the spaceship known as Hulk(don’t even dare try to get me to explain that!) and that leads to a battle for supremacy. Very weird and trippy, but it’s Cates and I would expect no less.

IMMORTAL X-MEN #1 by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck. It’s a new year and that means that it’s time for Marvel to reboot and renumber their books. Seems like a truly annual event, doesn’t it? So, Mr. Sinister continues to plot and Magneto decides to resign from the Quiet Council and go to Arakko. That means there needs to be a vote to see who replaces him. After much debate and many potential candidates, Hope ends up on the Council, leaving Selene pretty pissed and Sinister upset, as his pans have gone sideways. But he always has a backup plan. Basically, this is just a continuation of existing storylines with a new number one issue.

LEGION OF X #1 by Si Spurrier and Jan Bazaldua. Another Mutant series, this time a team led by Nightcrawer. He basically leads a mutant police force, so he has built a headquarters within a reality constructed by Legion. It’s a team comprising Juggernaut, Pixie, Doctor Nemesis, Forgetmenot, Lost and Fabian Cortez. It’s a bit of a mellower version of X-Force. Story is okay and the art is too. Just another X book for you fans.

MARAUDERS #1 by Steve Orlando and Eleonora Carlini.  Oh look: another mutant themed Number One issue! What a surprise! With Kitty Pryde leading the way, as she did in the last MARAUDERS series, they have a new mission: save mutants and offer them safe haven on Karkoa. Along the way, Kitty decides to add a new member: Cassandra Nova, who previously was a very evil villain but now appears to have reformed. Their first mission sends them into space where they run into Erik the Red. I’m unsure of this at the moment, especially because I’m not a huge fan of Orlando’s writing and really not a fan of Carlini’s anime inspired art.

MIDNIGHT ROSE #1 by Jim Starlin and Nikkol Jelenic.. Rose is a young woman who may have had her DNA manipulated on the night she was conceived, resulting in her having plant powers. Over the course of her life, she uses these powers to gain revenge on anyway who has wronged her. Picture a much more violent female Swamp Thing. Starlin’s story is truly horrific and Jelenic delivers some incredibly gory visuals throughout. This was a cool, horror tinged graphic novel by a legend.

NAUGHTY LIST #1 by Nick Santora and Lee Ferguson. A long time ago, a man named Nicholas Sinter-Klass wished upon a star and soon started whittling and delivering toys to the impoverished children in his town. But he soon found out he could not die, so he continued to do as the star demanded throughout the centuries. One day reindeers arrived. At another time, little drunk men showed up. Eventually a machine arrived with a list of bad people. So, we get it: he’s Santa Claus. But someone has stolen the machine that makes the naughty list and that brings out the worst in Nicholas. This is a totally crazy Santa Claus origin story that soon becomes The Punisher. One of my absolute favorite new releases of the last few months.

PEARL #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos. Not a true first issue as this is now the THIRD PEARL series, this time from Dark Horse.  And it picks up from where we last left off with Pearl Tanaka dealing with repercussions from burning don the Endo Twins porn business and pissing off lots of Yakuzas. If you read the earlier volumes, you’ll love this. If not, do yourself a favor and pick up those first 12 issues. It’s a great looking crime themed drama that hits all the right notes. Certainly a  far cry from Bendis’ superhero work. and

THE ROCKETEER #1 by Stephen Mooney. I have been a huge Rocketeer fan ever since I saw the first promo art piece way back on the back cover of STARSLAYER #1. Dave Stevens was a tremendous artist and one of the best inkers of my generation, along with Mark Schultz. So even though Stevens is gone, his legacy lives on in this character, even if Disney did make a mess of the movie. It has that wonderful nostalgic look, great good girl art and a fun story. The Variant cover is by Mooney and would make Stevens proud! While I recommend going back and finding the Stevens issues, this is a great introduction to the whole cast and adventure.

SAVAGE AVENGERS #1 by David Pepose and Carlos Magnos. Didn’t we just CANCEL a SAVAGE AVENGERS title? Yeah, they did. But now they’re back with a modified lineup. What starts with a Deathlok coming into our era to eradicate Conan from the timeline continues on with a gathering of heroes to take on a Deathlok and hopefully stop a mad cult from setting off a MadBomb. And what a lineup it is: Daredevil(Elektra), Weapon H, Anti-Venom, The Black Knight and Cloak and Dagger. This one goes to the top of my pull list just by putting those heroes together and doing something  with them. It’s a fun story with great art and some classic characters!

THE SHAOLIN COWBOY: CRUEL TO BE KIN #1 by Geoff Darrow. It’s another amazing Darrow romp featuring the legendary cowboy. Beautiful and strange landscapes, weird creatures and dynamic action. If you haven’t read any of his appearances, you need to jump in. It’s a wild Japanese action film meets classic John Ford Western inspired tale and you need to sign up for this seven issue series.

SPIDER-MAN 2099: EXODUS ALPHA by Steve Orlando and Paul Fry. Miguel O’Hara is back in what was once New York City. And he teams up with Ghost Rider 2099. And it looks like Norman Osborn may have a had in it. Osborn? How is that possible? It’s a crazy tale that you will either like or hate, depending on how you feel about the character. The story is okay and so is the art. Your mileage will vary depending on your interest level.

STAR WARS: OBI-WAN #1 by Christopher Cantwell and Ario Anindito. Just in time for the Disney+ mini-series, Old Obi-Wan recalls a tale of his youth. His early youth and training days. Because the whole story is a flashback, we get a shift in art style, going from classically illustrated Obi-Wan to something looking Anime inspired. Personally, I found that a bit jarring. I lost interest in the story early on because of that. Honestly, I was not a fan of this at all.

UNLIMITED X-MEN: LATITUDE #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Declan Shalvey. Marvel releases another in a series of anthology books set at different times in the X-Men Universe. Just like X-MEN LEGENDS, this series promises to give exciting tales from various eras with a host of classic mutant characters. The biggest thing is that we’ll get them at sporadic times, as they will appear online digitally first and eventually be collected into print volumes. Sorry: while I like the idea of these stories, I am not a fan of the whole digital first thing. Just give me the stores instead of waiting months for the next chapter. So who knows when the next collection will drop and I don’t know if I really ant to wait for it.

VAMPIRELLA STRIKES #1 by Thomas Sniegoski and Jonathan Lau. Picking up fifteen years after VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA ended, the world is changed as humans and supernatural are adjusting to living together. But there is still weird and creepy stuff going on so it’s time for Vampirella to swing back into action again. I liked the previous run, although I felt it ran a few issues too long, so this was a no brainer for me. The story thus far is concise and looks like it could be fun. If you didn’t read the previous book, this will leave you a bit in the dark, so go find those issues. Sniegowski has been writing Vampi on and off for decades, so he knows her well.

WEST OF SUNDOWN #1 by Tim Seeley and Aaron Campbell. Another impulse purchase spurred on by the amazing cover. A soldier in the Civil War saves a woman who had been buried, only to find out she is a vampire. This leads to a long term relationship and eventually leads to a cross country trek to return her to the soil of her ancestors. It’s part vampire story, part Western adventure and good fun. The art style is nice, but the story is the thing. It’s a wild ride for sure!

X-MEN RED #1 by Al Ewing and Stefano Caselli. Wow: another X-Men first issue! In this one, set on Arakko, Magneto is trying to get himself together after leaving the Quiet Council and Storm is dealing with being the Queen of Arakko. There are the usual anger issues between team members, including Sunspot ho has set up his own bar on the planet, and John Proudstar who is dealing with internal stuff after being resurrected from his death way back in GIANT SIZED X-MEN #1. In the end, Storm has a new look, similar to a classic look and a new attitude. Truly a fan service book.