1st issue Challenge

[BobBretall]

I too really like Chuck Dixon, one of my favorite writers. Unfortunately the editor's sales pitch on the last page of this issue made it sound like the two series will be very closely tied. It implied they would be telling the same story from two different points of view.

That would be a mistake on IDW's part for people buying both, though if it's just Van Lente's writing that puts you off, just getting the Dixon POV story and skipping the other series may not be a bad thing.

[abysslord]

Garth Ennis' Red Team #1 (Dynamite) - This was essentially 20 pages of talking heads for $3.99. Ennis seems to me like he really wanted to write a police TV show & did a comic instead. While this may have been good on TV with actors livening it up with their performance, my reading of it in my own head didn't do justice to the material, it came across to me as pretty dry. I also don't like the entire "flashback told from an interrogation room" framing device. At $3.99 for 20 pages I can do a lot better.

I agree with what you said but I enjoyed the narrative and thought the story was pretty good. I didn't mind the framing device because I think it does help you knowing a little of the future for this story to have a twist, so to speak.

[fudd71]

Vibe #1

I read this after a friend recommended it and was pleasantly surprised. While the issue was a lot of set up, it still felt like quite a lot happened (it didn’t just feel like set up). I find that I am interested in the character and what happens to him. I also think the Amanda Waller story line and what is going on behind the scenes at ARGUS is interesting. The cliffhanger at the end also peaked my interest. The art was very solid as well. I will continue to read this book.

[fudd71]

Justice League of America #1

I was slightly disappointed with this issue, the truth is not much really happened. This felt much more like a zero issue then a true first issue. For the most part this issue was just a few talking heads discussing who the members of the team will be, with a few pages dedicated to each character's backstory and powers. All setup and no story. Normally I’m a big fan of David Finch’s art as well, but this simply doesn’t look like Finch to me. I’m not sure if he is experimenting with his style or the colorist just did the artwork no favors, but this didn’t look like Finch to me. I will pick up the next issue or two because I like these characters and want to like the book, but for $3.99 something better start happening quick.

[Perry]

NOVA #1 (Marvel) -

I originally had no interest in this title. There were a couple reasons for that.

For one, I am usually not a fan of Marvel's younger characters (No idea why that is, as I usually enjoy DC's) so having a book featuring a younger Nova was not something I was keen on reading. I enjoyed Nova in the past, but had no draw to reading a title featuring a teenage space voyager.

Another reason, and the bigger of the two, was when I saw that Loeb was the one writing it. I have enjoyed many a Jeph Loeb title in the past, but I have not enjoyed the last 3 or 4 books he has written, at all. They have really left a sour taste in my mouth ... perhaps I should stop licking my comics?

However, with my recent draw towards the cosmic Marvel, a part of me was still kinda curious about this title, so I hit up my boy Dave (who buys about every book out there) to see if I can scope out this issue.

I just finished. I just added it to my pull.

I think this is, perhaps, the best book Loeb has written in years. It is certainly the best in the last 3 or 4 titles I have read. And while it isn't grand in scope and it doesn't blow other books out of the water with its depth, it does harken back to his SUPERMAN/BATMAN run in that its a really fun read. And sometimes, that is plenty.

[HassanT]

Justice League of America #1 - I thought this book rocked. The introduced the entire team in this issue with some great character moments. It has shades of John's JSA run and classic Suicide Squad. This could be the best team book out there.

[dbm]

Five Weapons #1: Jimmie Robinson's new book. Loved it! Much different than Bomb Queen; this one is about a kid starting at new high school for assassin's, and is in the PG realm. Great art, GREAT characters, and an fun story with a nice twist. The main character (a young Sherlock type) is cool, and there were plenty of little hints as to future developments to make it very intriguing. Great first issue. Fun stuff. 5/5.

[BobBretall]

Justice League of America #1 - I thought this book rocked. The introduced the entire team in this issue with some great character moments. It has shades of John's JSA run and classic Suicide Squad. This could be the best team book out there.

Justice League of America #1 - I thought this title suffered from Bendis-Johns Syndrome, a sad affliction that causes once great writers to become incapable of telling a satisfying chunk of story in a single issue & instead feel the need to drag everything out far too long. I won't be back for #2, I can see the "introduction of the team" story dragging on for 5-6 issues just like in the main Justice League title.

[HassanT]

Justice League of America #1 - I thought this book rocked. The introduced the entire team in this issue with some great character moments. It has shades of John's JSA run and classic Suicide Squad. This could be the best team book out there.

Justice League of America #1 - I thought this title suffered from Bendis-Johns Syndrome, a sad affliction that causes once great writers to become incapable of telling a satisfying chunk of story in a single issue & instead feel the need to drag everything out far too long. I won't be back for #2, I can see the "introduction of the team" story dragging on for 5-6 issues just like in the main Justice League title.

But...he introduced the whole team in issue 1?

[BobBretall]

But...he introduced the whole team in issue 1?

Bad wording on my part going for the joke.

Technically yes (with the exception of Green Lantern) he did have a scene with each character doing their own thing. He did NOT introduce them in the context of being on the team. It didn't feel like a team book to me in the same way Justice League #1 didn't feel like a team book to me.

Sure, there were a lot of characters in it, but the story totally failed to resonate with me. But, given I'm not buying all the DC books, I think framing it with Steve Trevor & Angela Bassett (oops, I mean the skinny, young version of Amanda Waller) was not a device that worked for me at all since I'm not reading/enjoying the other places these characters appear.

The story was all set up. We'll see how the series does over time. Having 52 covers should help sales of #1, I suspect they'll drop dramatically pretty quick.

BTW, the best team book out there is Harbinger. I won't argue that this could be the best team book at DC, since all their team books are currently not very good.

[fudd71]

given I'm not buying all the DC books, I think framing it with Steve Trevor & Angela Bassett (oops, I mean the skinny, young version of Amanda Waller) was not a device that worked for me at all since I'm not reading/enjoying the other places these characters appear.

As a guy who reads almost all the DC books it makes no difference, the problem wasn't that Trevor & Waller were used the problem was it was two people behind a desk, the identity of those people was almost irrelevant.

The story was all set up. We'll see how the series does over time. Having 52 covers should help sales of #1, I suspect they'll drop dramatically pretty quick.

I will be joining the list of people who don't try issue #2. When I wrote my review a week or more back I still was going to give it another few issues because I wanted to like this series. The more I thought about it this book doesn't deserve a second change, it didn't earn it. For $3.99 I'm out.

I won't argue that this could be the best team book at DC, since all their team books are currently not very good.

While I certainly wouldn't argue that this book was good, I think Justice League Dark, Teen Titans, Red Hood and Ravagers are all pretty good DC team books currently.

[BobBretall]

While I certainly wouldn't argue that this book was good, I think Justice League Dark, Teen Titans, Red Hood and Ravagers are all pretty good DC team books currently.

I stand corrected. While I tried & dropped Teen Titans, Red Hood and Ravagers (the 1st 2 more than 1 time), I quite like JL Dark. It has my vote for best DC team book.

[stardog]

Justice League of America - I liked this book a lot. In this case I felt like the set-up was necessary to justify the existence of this team and separate it from the Justice League and the defunct JLI, and I found the dialogue between Waller and Trevor to be very interesting, giving insight as to why they chose who they chose for the team. There were also great, defining character moments for Catwoman and Martian Manhunter (loved those scenes), and necessary introductions for Katana, Vibe, Hawkman, and Stargirl for new readers. Waller is there as a plot device, but I find Trevor to be quite interesting. I liked the set up for the villain(s) and the book ended with a cool reveal and cliffhanger. Just a lot of interesting things going on here to me.

I liked Justice League #1 (the kick-off issue of the New 52), but it was far from a great read and I understood why people disliked it. It was very basic and just kind of bland. But Justice League of America, while set-up, had a lot more happening and was just far more intriguing.

[fudd71]

G.I. Joe Special Missions

This book I loved. The art was great, the story was interesting and had a lot going on. I can't wait to read the next issue and see where all these plot points are leading. Admittedly this issue had a lot of set up, but it was interesting set up. There was plenty of interesting things going on, and the book left off with many interesting things still to come. I'm not sure a better first issue could have been done.

[abysslord]

Sex #1 (Image) - Not much to take away from this book. To say it's all setup doesn't even begin because it's not even a full setup, it's like three mini-setups if I read it correctly. I guess some people will keep reading until the plot is really revealed, but I have too many other books to read to keep going.

This really could have been helped with either a double-sized issue or a better arranged setup. So it wasn't terrible, just not enough to make me buy #2.