An epic list of first issues

 

ALL-NEW SPIDER-GWEN GHOST-SPIDER #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Paolo Villanelli. If you haven’t been following, Gwen Stacy . . . yeah: not the dead one . . . has permanently relocated to Earth 616, where she has made new friends and also new enemies. And started a new band. What was once a bit of a lighter feeling title has gotten really dark. I still like the character and supporting cast but am not a fan of the new grim tone. I’ll see how this goes before I decide if it’s worth keeping.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: TORN #1 by J. Michael Straczynski and Pere Perez. Straczynski steps back into a character that he once wrote and, depending on who you listen to, ruined with his run. Peter is still in college, gwen is still alive and it’s all about a mysterious artifact. It looks great and it’s not a bad read, once you realize this is not a canon story. But it is kind of fun and not such a bad read. But it’s only for true fans of the author and the character.

AMAZING X-MEN #1 by Jed McKay and Mahmud Asrar. Another AGE OF REVELATION title.You will see a lot of these unusual X-Men themed titles here this time around as the newest crossover “event” has begun. In this alternate timeline, Doug Ramsey has become revelation and, with the X-Virus sweeping across the United States, the world has changed and Revelation runs the show. In this one, Cyclop’s and Beast’s minds have ended up in their future selves bodies and they must negotiate the future as Revelation has killed Magneto, Forge and Archangel and the surviving team members have to escape from Revelation’s Angel of death-Wolverine. As with all of these AGE OF REVELATION titles, it will only appeal to fans of the mutants. That said, I’m curious to see where it goes in future issues, especially after an interesting cliffhanger ending!

ARTIFICIAL #1 by Maria Llovet. I have become a huge fan of Maria Llovet’s work in the last year or so. From CRAVE to VIOLENT FLOWERS and ALL THE THINGS WE DIDN’T DO LAST NIGHT. In this story, a girl ends up in a relationship with an artificial man from a company called Date-X. As the press piece on it calls it, it truly is 9 ½ WEEKS meets THE TERMINATOR. It’s a love story, kind of, that hits the right emotional buttons. Llovet’s art is captivating and her dialogue is crisp and fun.

BATMAN: SECOND KNIGHT BOOK ONE by Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins. DC’s newest oversized Black Label titles follows directly out of the amazing FIRST KNIGHT. It’s 1940 and their influence of the Nazis are being felt. But there are also underworld thugs and enhanced villains, like Scarecrow. And when a reporter from Metropolis arrives in town, we all know Lois Lane will be in the thick of it all. This is a proper sequel and I’m curious to see if we get a certain man from Krypton by the end.

BATTLEWORLD #1 by Christos Gage and Marcus To. Just like happened during SECRET WARS, heroes have been plucked from the timeline and sent to a place where survival is the key. The highlight of this, if there is one, is the surprise ending and who is behind it all. I was never a fan of the original BATTLEWORLD and I’m probably less of a fan of this, although the art is nice.

BIG RIG #1 by Post Malone, Adrian Wassel, and Nathan Gooden. I don’t exactly know how to describe this one. We have monks, Satanist, crazy monsters, demons…and a big f*cking truck! When our ‘hero’ gets in that truck, he becomes Trucker: Deliverer of Vengeance. And it just gets crazier from there as he teams up with the granddaughter of a legendary witch. The art is AMAZING and the story ain’t half bad either. Expensive as comics go(at $7.00 for the ‘standard version’) but filled to the brim with a ton of fun! 

BINARY #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Giada Belviso. Here’s another AGE OF REVELATION title. In this future, Carol Danvers, possessing the Phoenix force, defends the town where she has been elected as mayor. Is it an uphill battle? This title may be as it’s a lot of Carol whining and having self-doubt.

BLACK CAT #1 by G. Willow Wilson and Gleb Melnikov. Felicia Hardy gets her own series and it starts with a bang as she is sitting in Night Nurse’s office with heroes and villains. And the story goes from there, with her tangling with The Lizard and deciding to be a crime fighter. It’s fun, Wilson’s dialogue is snappy and the plot has potential. Loving it!

BLOOD HONEY #1 by Sean Peacock. Two people at Manderlay Academy have a strained relationship. And they soon find out that they hate each other and are each scheming to kill each other. From there, it’s a riotous look at ideal love versus lust. The art is a bit rough and reminds me of some of the cheap Horror titles of the Fifties. And the dialogue is a mixed bag. But the concept is pretty cool and something new.

BLUE FALCON AND DYNOMUTT #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti and Pasquale Qualand. Dynamite continues to dig into the world of old school Pop Culture television, having already taken deep dives into THUNDERCATS, JONNY QUEST, SPACE GHOST, HERCULOIDS, and more. Not much to say here as we meet out hero and his dog and a horrible thing happens before the end of issue #1. I was a fan of this cartoon and loved the take on him on HARVEY BIRDMAN ATTORNEY AT LAW. However, not a huge fan of this as it tries to be dark and fails.

CLOSER #1 by Kieron Gillen and Steve Lieber. This is such an incredibly weird one shot. A woman takes part in a research project and, apparently, birds appear when she is near. Okay…see where this might be going? Well, it gets wilder as we get angels, devils, hell and multiple Burt Bacharach references. If you liked Gillen’s PHONOGRAM, you will love this. It’s not action packed and very thought provoking.

DEATH TO PACHUCO #1 by Henry Barajas and Rachel Merrill. The hook for me was David Lapham turning in a beautiful cover and that it’s a period book set in the 1940’s However, the story is kind of sparse and the art even more so. It’s a mystery tale and it’s a mystery to me how this will be a hit. Personally, I’m one and done as I didn’t really embrace the characters and part of that is because I don’t know Spanish, so maybe that’s on me.

DISAVOWED #1 by Josh Blaylock and Pop Mhan. It’s 1997 and, while playing with a friend, a kid finds his father’s gun. That leads to a flashback to 1989 when his father was a part of a military team. Basically, this is G.I. Joe amped to 11! And I’m sure there is a lot of tongue in cheek with this one, complete with ninjas in black and a villain named Mantis…because Cobra was taken. For someone who grew up with the original Marvel series and has even dipped his toe into what has come since, I love it! It’s fun in a nostalgic kind of way. And a lot more blood and guts!

ESCAPE #1 by Rick Rememder and Daniel Acuna. Here’s the pitch: it’s World War II and the Allies are out on a bombing run against the Nazis. Things go badly and the sole survivor finds himself hiding out behind enemy lines. The difference? It’s an anthropomorphic tale and the Nazis are biped bats. The story is engaging and the art is incredible. This may be one of my new favorite titles!

EVERYTHING DEAD & DYING #1 by Tate Brombal and Jacob Phillips. Holy moley! This is weird and dark and somewhat twisted. A farmer is all about taking care of his husband and family and loves his farming and his connections to his neighbors. But he is also troubled by visions. Guess what(SPOILER): everything IS dead and dying. To say more, would be bad. Just know the story will hold you up until the last page when you realize the world is a bit different now.

FLOW #1 by Paula Sevenbergen and Claudia Balboni. Here is a book that will certainly hit hard with one section of the audience but not all. Coming from Mad Cave, who has been turning out some amazing works as of late, it’s set in both the past and the present. In the past, a girl named Dara Lund goes to camp and experiences her first period, leading to her fellow camp goers being cruel and making her do all sorts of horrible things to free her from the curse. But in the present, something happens that reminds those other campers of it and tends to reveal that maybe things ended badly and, many years later, is coming back to haunt them. Such an engaging read and find it with the truly horrifying Colleen Doran variant cover!

GOOD AS DEAD #1 by David and Maria Lapham. I have been a long-time fan of the Lapham’s work, going back to issue #1 of STRAY BULLETS. What they do is write some incredibly engaging crime stories. And here is another one. When a scientists blows himself up along with some important documents and files, the sheriff gets involved and it may have something to do with where it happened and the various families involved in the town’s history. So, in true Lapham fashion, you get just little bits of information that will eventually play out, although it may take many, MANY issues to do that. The story is great and the art is that which we have all gotten accustomed to.

IMMORTAL LEGEND BATMAN#1 by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom. DC unloads a new Elseworlds title and this one takes Batman into the future and turns everything sideways. There’s a Batman on the loose and this one is apparently filled with vengeance. And when you get the back story of how many Batman’s there have been and who has been in the suit, you will be captivated. While I am not a fan of the art, I LOVE the story and where it can go.

IRON & FROST #1 by Cavan Scott and Avairi Coleman. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. As part of all that has transpired, the X-Men are splintered. Carmella Unuscione has been responsible for the death of Eris’ mother and Marrow has stabbed Emma, forcing her to remain in diamond form, even as the mansion collapsing, taking Emma and Marrow with it. Tony mourns and pines for her. Years later, Eris finds Emma and so does Tony, now known as the Iron King. Crazy stuff here and one of the better titles in this event.

LAURA KINNEY: SABRETOOTH #1 by Erica Schultz and Valentina Pinti. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. Things have change as Laura is now aligned with Revelation while gabby is not. Either way, Laura needs a favor from her kid sister: take her son out of the revelation territories. Well, you know THAT won’t sit well with Revelation and that means he has his people watching her. Like the other books in this run, it depends on how you feel about all of it.

LONGSHOT #1 by Gerry Duggan, Jonathan Hickman, and Alan Robinson. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. And this one is the most fun and I credit Hickman for that! Mojo needs to get his ratings back up so, after conferring with the X-Babies, he tasks Major Domo to find him some talent, resulting in Hellcat, Bishop, Kraven, Rhino, and Wonder Man. It’s a rollicking romp and a bit bloody too! This was so awesome with some incredible wit mixed in! Buy this book, even if you don’t buy any of the others!

MARVEL ALL-ON-ONE #1 by Ryan North and Ed McGuiness. Simple premise executed nicely! The Thing ends up fighting the entire Marvel Universe in a book completely made up of splash pages and two-page spreads! Don’t expect anything earth-shattering here but it looks amazing! So, Marvel puts out what essentially is a pin-up book with a story. McGuiness’s art shines and makes the story palatable.

MARVEL KNIGHTS: THE PUNISHER #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti and Dan Panosian. In the world of Marvel Knights, things are different. Take Frank Castle. He takes his violence to a whole new level. But he gets caught and eventually gets brainwashed into becoming El Zombie. And now he is working for the man whose son Frank killed: taking out whoever he is told. Great, gritty stuff here from Palmiotti and Panosian.

MARVEL/DC: DEADPOOL/BATMAN #1 by Zeb Wells, Greg Capullo, Chip Zdarsky, Terry Dodson, Kelly Thompson, Guruihiru, Kevin Smith, Adam Kubert, Al Ewing, Dike Ruan, Frank Miller, Ryan North and Ryan Stegman. This is the team-up of companies that fans wanted and, now that we’ve got it, did we need it? The Batman/ Desdpool story is fun and Capullo’s art shines. Wonder Woman and Captain America? Could have done without it. Jeff and Krypto? A mostly silent story that left me not wanting more. Kevin Smith on Green Arrow and Daredevil? Well, it was nice to see him return to a pair of characters he loves. Rocket and green Lantern? Two pages of filler, as far as I’m concerned. Batman and Wolverine by Miller? Would have been nice to see this 30 years ago. Now…not so much. And Logo? A Wolverine/Lobo mash-up that is thankfully only three pages long. All in all, I saw it as a bit overpriced for what we got.

MURDER BY PODCAST #1 by Jeremy Haun and Mike Tisserand. Marketing: it’s a beautiful thing. I ended up buying this title because of a gimmick Ignition Press sent to the LCSs. That intrigued me. In the story, people are committing murder because of things being said on a True Crime podcast. The podcast seems innocent but something is obviously underlying in the message, The art is fine enough but the story is the real thing here. I cannot wait to see how this plays out.

NO MAN’S LAND #1 by Szymon Kudranski. The amazing Kudranski, the genius behind SOMETHING EPIC and BLOOD COMMANDMENT, is back with his newest epic. It’s the early 1960’s and an agent of the Department of Justice is ready to retire when his retirement gets put on hold to investigate the death of a woman found frozen in the ice bridge between Alaska and Russia. What happened? How did she die and who is responsible? It’s a mystery that will change the agent and possibly the whole country forever. It looks great and the mystery is fascinating.

ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM: G.O.D.S. #1 by Ryan North and Francesco Mortarino. Further proof that everyone wants to be included in this event. And it only makes sense for those who embraced Hickman’s G.O.D.S. series. Wyn and Mia face off against Doom with predictable results. Again, only essential for fans of the other book. Mostly, you can pass in it, especially because Hickman is not involved.

ORLA #1 by John Lees and Sally Cantirino. Poor Orla. She’s not the prettiest and she certainly is not the thinnest. All she wants is to find a man. But when she finds one, she changes into a man eating monster.  But when someone she actually likes gets involved, will she be able to keep the monster at bay? The story is cool and the art style is very reminiscent of the old school Underground comics.  It’s not for everyone but I like it!

THE PUNISHER RED BAND #1 by Benjamin Percy and Julius Ohta. He’s back! Frank Castle is back in action and he’s giving out bloody justice. There’s only one problem: Frank is injured and doesn’t know who he is.

QUICK STOPS VOLUME #3 #2 by Kevin Smith and Ryan Gajda. Not a first issue but needs to be included. This is a wonderful love letter to the late Shannen Doherty that  reveals a scene from what was supposed to be TWILIGHT OF THE MALLRATS: the sequel that will probably never be made. I say probably but you can never tell. It gets points for Kevin actually using the book to pay tribute to his departed friend.

RACER X #1 by Mark Russell and Nuno Plati. Mad Cave come out with a title connected to their SPEED RACER universe. It gives us a bit of a retelling of Rex Racer’s origin story, complete with having him getting scarred in the accident that “allegedly” killed him and that leads to him hooking up with the Car Acrobatic Team. The art is cartoony and the story shifts so far from cartoon canon that I can’t go here.

RED BOOK #1 by James Tynion IV and Michael Avon Oeming. The likely successor to Tynion’s BLUE BOOK. But this series looks at U.F.O. instances throughout history in the Soviet Union. Fascinating stuff if you are into it. I really like BLUE BOOK a lot and love the art.

RED HOOD #1 by Gretchen Felker-Martin and Jeff Spokes. This was a mini-series and I should be reviewing it over on my DC UNIVERSE page. But author Felker-Martin got themselves in the foot with comments made regarding Charlie Kirk and DC fired them and cancelled this title with issue #1; going as far as offering to take issues back from comic stores. Instead, a collectible was created with prices going between $25 and $100. Now, is it any good? Not really. I was looking forward to a Red Hood Huntress team-up but the story is clunky, with the art being the saving grace.

RETURN TO PLANET HULK #1 by Greg Pak and Carlo Pagulayan. For fans of the PLANET HULK run, this one is for you. Sakaarson is back and he just wants to be left alone. But that isn’t going to happen. Pak knows this character so well and Pagulayan’s art is incredible. I’m not sure if you want to consider it canon or not, but it was a nice return to a classic run.

ROGUE STORM #1 by Murewa Ayodele and Roland Boschi. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. Rogue, Gateway and their allies go in search of Storm, who has been become Mother and is now a target. But, just to confuse things, there are two Rogues, split into two personalities by The Collector. So what happens when Rogue goes after The Last God? A bunch of death and a battle that Rogue, at least one of them, will probably not survive. It’s fine. Nothing fantastic here but it’s a fine read with some unusual hooks.

SINISTER’S SIX #1 by David Marquez and Rafael Loureiro. Misty Knight and Colleen Wing are out doing S.H.I.E.L.D.    work when they end up fighting Black Cat…a greatly different Black Cat than we have seen before. And she didn’t come alone as Omega Red, Lady Fantomex and Domino are with he and led by Havok. They’re not here looking for the girls-they’re hunting Venom. All of this is because Mr. Sinister needs a powerful team to take out Revelation. The art is great and the story is interesting enough. Hopefully, it doesn’t let up from here.

SKINBREAKER #1 by Robert Kirkman and David Finch. This is a barbarian tale that covers some familiar ground: the passing of a torch in a trial by fight. The highlight here is Finch’s art which may be some of his best work ever. Every panels is amazing and I can understand why because this project has been in the work for eight years. And is also available as a treasury-sized edition that further highlights his work. Amazing looking stuff!

SONJA REBORN #1 by Christopher Priest and Alessandro Miracolo. With the exception of the recent RED SONJA VS. MARS ATTACKS, you would not see me buying a Red Sonja comic as most of what I have seen, despite some good writing, has dreadful art. But I jumped on this for one reason: Christopher Priest! His VAMPIRELLA stuff has been amazing and I figured I would give this a shot. Maggie Sutherland has a an to grind and ends up falling into a deep hole in a tunnel. When she wakes, she’s Sonja and may have to save the woman she was going to kill. It’s typical Priest as there are cool little moments throughout. Even the art isn’t that bad. I’m so in for this!

SPEED RACER #1 by David Pepose and Davide Tinto. One of my favorite cartoons as a kid was this one, so I was really excited for it. And it looks great! The story is good too. Just don’t see this as something directly coming from that cartoon. Sure, the characters are there and all but the only thing even reminiscent to the classic story is Pop’s Racer having a heart attack and Speed racing to pay his bills. If you can get around history, kind of like a Marvel or DC film, you’ll be into it.

SPIDER-MAN NOIR #1 by Erik Larsen and Andrea Broccardo. It’s Peter Parker as a P.I. on an Earth where it’s still the Roaring Twenties, but he still has all those Parker problems. He’s in danger of losing his office because he can’t pay the rent. He still has an aunt checking on him who knows his secret. And he gets hired by Gwen Stacy to look into her father’s death. But the highlight is Spider-Man: dressed in black and firing twin pistols. And he fights a Nazi bat…no kidding! Fun, silly stuff that is pure Larsen!

STAKE PRESENTS JESSAMY #1 by David A. Byrne and Francesca Fantini, An unusual vampire tale presented in muted tones of black, white and brown. We’ve got vampires, slaves, and mystery in a beautifully illustrated tale. This was solicited months ago and was worth the wait. The story hits all the right notes in a Gothic sense.

SUPER CREEPSHOW #1 by Dan Watters, Ryan Stegman, Ed Brisson, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Riley Rossmo, and Andrei Bressan. So, we already have CREEPSHOW so what makes this SUPER CREEPSHOW? It’s all about three tales of horror and superheroes. Things go badly for our characters and they all end as we would expect: blood, guts, and our characters suffering throughout.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: JOURNEYS #1 by Peter Laird and Jim Lawson. This is one of those books that hit the right notes. Not only for TMNT fans but comic fans who know their history. Laird returns to write his characters with Lawson coming along to provide very familiar art. Lawson has a history with TMNT and this just feels like classic Eastman/Laird. It tells a fun story and certainly will attract older fans, like me. It isn’t fantastic but it does give you the feels!

THOR #1 by Al Ewing and Pasqual Ferry. For those who have not been following things, Thor is dead. But, in his place, we have Sigurd Jarlson: a Norwegian who has little memory of his life but he knows it involved a hammer. He’s just a guy looking to get a job as a day laborer but also a girl named Lucky, who we basically realize is Loki. While this is NOT Thor, this guy is violent if pushed and that gives us some of the more grisly moments in the book. The concept is cool but I’m not sure how long Marvel can run with this before it gets old hat.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE #1 by Dan Watters and Morgan Beem. I had such high hopes for this as I grew up on and have been a longtime fan of this classic show. But I am highly disappointed and that all falls on Beem’s art. It was just so simplistic that it distracts from Watter’s story. I hate crapping on someone doing something I can’t do but I knew people in my high school who could render art better than this. I realize that the creative teams will shift with each issue and maybe the next one will be better. But I just find it hard to move forward with this title as I don’t see this as a great first step.

ULTIMATE HAWKEYE #1 by Deniz Camp, B. Earl, Taboo, Juan Frigeri, and Michael Sta. Maria. Charli Ramsey has become Hawkeye when the person who was supposed to have that role simply walked away, leaving their bow and arrow behind. Now Charli is working to take down Roxxon and Midas Inc. And, somewhere within this tale, we get Ronin. The first story, as short as it is, has Hawkeye taking on Ulysses Klaue and the longer and more beautiful one, features the eventual Ronin battle. With the Ultimate Universe winding down, it seems like a weird time to introduce a character and a non-binary one at that, Kudos for the character themselves but it’s a bit late in the game as far as I’m concerned.

UNBREAKABLE X-MEN #1 by Gail Simone and Lucas Werneck. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. Seven years from now, after the X-Gene incident, Rogue leads an X-team that faces off against Galactus. She takes out the eater of worlds but becomes a giant mashed-up statue that sits behind Gambit’s house. But Galactus is not really dead and his body at the bottom of the ocean has recently shown signs of new life. And all Gambit wants to do is die and be with the love of his life. This is a great, heartbreaking story from Simone that also makes me wonder how Rogue can be a giant statue when we have seen that there are TWO Rogues in existence. Is this one of those and, if so, where does ROGUE STORM fall in the timeline?

THE UNDEAD IRON FIST #1 by Jason Loo and Fran Galan. When Luke Cage goes to visit the grave of his friend Danny Rand, he discovers the grave is empty. That’s because Danny is back, having clawed bis way out of the underworld. He is surrounded by creatures that hunt the people connected to K’un Lun and is fighting against them. But they have inhabited themselves into regular folks and that leads him into a face-off with Miles Morales. And he may need help from the Iron Fists of the past to help him out. It’s an okay book that taps into the history of Iron Fist.

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: THE INVISIBLE MAN #1 by James Tynion IV and Dani. Finally, we get to what could be the end of these little mini-series, although we still need a Wolfman run. That having been said, Tynion weaves an interesting take on this classic character whose ulterior motive has to do with not only his experiments but his fascination with killing the father of his lover. And Dani’s art is great, as always!

VAMPIRELLA: ARMAGEDDON #1 by Tom Sniegoski and Kewber Baal. Now, don’t get confused here. This is NOT the Priest timeline but the one established by Sniegoski and follows all the plotlines from his last run. The only thing, in this world, is it has gotten a little crazy and Vampirella finds herself in Hell, which is a massive desert. This is perfect if you have read the previous run(s) but you will be beyond lost if you haven’t.

VOYEUR #1 by Leah Williams and David Baldeon. What happens when the world’s most famous art thief gets caught after becoming mesmerized by a woman who resides near where he is currently staking out a museum? What happens when he wants to get closer to her and finds that she’s been watching things too? And a sexual encounter could result to them working together or just getting what each wants. Williams gives us a good story and Baldeon’s art, some of which is NSFW, rocks!

WOLVERINES AND DEADPOOLS #1 by Cody Ziglar and Roge Antonio. This just simply needed to be the newest issue of the recent DEADPOOL series. Logan and Wade team-up with Laura and Ellie for fun and mayhem. Again, it should have been the next issue and not a mini-series. If you’re a Deadpool fan, you’ll like it.

WORLD OF REVELATION #1 by Al Ewing, Steve Foxe, Ryan North, Augustin Alessio, Jesus Merino, and Adam Szalowski. Another AGE OF REVELATION series. With the world changed, this book has stories from that world. The highlight, for me, is Alessio’s beautifully painted Ewing tale, with a nice surprise ending. But we also get a Wiccan/Hulkling story and Franklin Richards. Basic feelings from all three is heartbreak as there are some truly tragic moments.

X-MEN: AGE OF REVELATION #0 and X-MEN: AGE OF REVELATION: OVERTURE #1 by Jed MacKay, Humberto Ramos and Ryan Stegman. And this is where it starts. Doug Ramsey has become Revelation and now leads the mutants in his own image. And an older Scott Summers awaits the arrival of the consciousness of his younger self and, when he does arrive, he’s in for a major shock. The United States is mostly overgrown and divided into territories. Allies are now enemies as Kid Omega is part of that team and Wolverine is now the Angel of Death. These are the essential reads for this event.

X-MEN OF APOCALYPSE ALPHA #1 by Jeph Loeb and Simone Di Meo. Welcome to the newest crossover/reboot from Marvel. It’s the Age of Apocalypse all over again and it starts with a bang with the death of Havok who, along with his brother Scott, is against this current team. This is a topsy-turvey world as, among other things, Gambit is single and Rogue is married to Magneto. The timeline is screwed up and the current team needs to fix it. But where it takes them is almost as crazy and will lead to a bunch of connected spin-off titles. It’s an interesting read, giving me ABSOLUTE vibes as published by the competition. Loeb knows how to craft a good story and hopefully this will lead to some good tie-in titles and not just cannon fodder for a few moths.