The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: February 5 – 11, 2020

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• January 29 – February 4 , 2020
• January 22 – 28, 2020
• January 15 – 21, 2020
• January 8 – 14, 2020

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was X-Men/Fantastic Four #1

Writer: Chip Zdarsky

Artist: Terry Dodson

Is there anything Marvel Comics is not currently doing exactly right with their X-Men re-imagining? I cannot think of one thing. They have allowed one of the greatest living comic writers to redefine the universe in a sweeping expansive way. They have involved other creators – writers and artists- to find corners of the world in which to play. They have slowly rolled out a comprehensive and exciting new status quo.

Now they produce a cross over by fan favorite Chip Zdarsky and all time legend Terry Dodson. Zdarsky knows what he’s doing with the characters ; he knows how to write them. Dodson is one of the greats and his work his does not disappoint.

And it’s terrific.

X-Men/Fantastic Four feels like a perfect story – a logical outgrowth of both titles and an unavoidable clash between two franchises.

The book itself is pitch perfect. Every character’s voice is spot on. The story is compelling. The arc feels essential.

About how many crossovers can one say that?

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 31 – February 4, 2020

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 22 – 28, 2020
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 15 – 21, 2020
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 8 – 14, 2020
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 1 – 7, 2020

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was Justice League #39

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Jorge Jimenez, Daniel Sampere

The tandem art team of Jorge Jimenez and Daniel Sampere is so very much up to the challenge for the final issue of this arc of Justice League that, as excited as I am for the next team to take over, I know that I am going to miss what they – especially Jimenez – brings to the book. He has a truly amazing ability, not unlike writer Scott Snyder, to weave giant action, lean into strum und drang while making each member of the Justice League distinct and unique, both in and out of costume. His work here had rocketed him to super stardom and this is an well deserved orbit. I will miss his work here.

I’ve written about Snyder many, many times in the past. He is one of my favorite writers, and I am not just talking about comic book writers. His ability to weave themes – to seed them and bring them to fruition sometimes issues, sometimes arcs, sometimes years later – is unparalleled and his grasp of character – making each hero speak with her or his own voice, is a remarkable skill. His Justice League has been about big action, big themes, big arcs, to be sure, but it has thrived because of his understanding of what makes these people tick.

This has been an incredible, mind-bending journey and, while I am sorry to see it end, I am thrilled with how it came together. DC let Snyder (and co-writer/collaborator James Tynion IV) swing for the fences.

They didn’t just clear them. They broke through them.

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 22 – 28, 2020

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 15 – 21, 2020
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 8 – 14, 2020
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 1 – 7, 2020
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 25 – 31, 2019

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was Wonder Woman #750

Writer: Various

Artist: Various

Though I haven’t been a regular reader of the title of late, Wonder Woman #750 was a must purchase because of the historic nature of the issue. I am very, very glad I picked this up not only because of the importance achievement but because this book is beautifully realized by writers and artists who know and care about Diana and who understand her place in the world – both the fictional world of comic books and the real world in which we live.

Story-after-story illustrates this fact and each one takes a different spin on Wonder Woman and each one occupies a little corner of her broad universe and vast history.

One of the best parts of books like this one is the combinations of writers and artists that come together on occasions such as this and Wonder Woman #750 features some amazing work. There are three particularly affecting tales, written by Gail Simone, Marguerite Bennett and Greg Rucka that are as good as any ongoing comic on the stands today and the artwork that supports this book – drawn by the likes of Colleen Doran, Phil Hester and the criminally underrated Nicola Scott is breathtaking and bold.

The issue only has one problem and it’s not the issue’s fault. George Perez, who revitalized and redefined Wonder Woman in the 1980s has retired from the business and is, therefore, absent from these proceedings. This is a real shame and his absence is felt.

Wonder Woman #750 is a fitting tribute to one of the most important characters in the history of comic books. Here’s to 750 more issues!

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 15 – 21, 2020

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 8 – 14, 2020
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 1 – 7, 2020
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 25 – 31, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 18 – 24, 2019

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was Undiscovered Country #3

Writer: Scott Snyder, Charles Soule

Artist: Giuseppe Camuncolli

I loved the first issue of Undiscovered Country. I disliked the second so much I thought of dropping the title. Now, I’ve selected the third as the best book I read last week. I don’t know what that really says except that I hope the fourth issue is more like the third!

There is a compelling story being told here. I am not sure I understand it all at this point, but I am very drawn in and invested. The plotting of the third issue was spot on, interlacing the present and the past brilliantly. I was also very impressed by the deeper character development this issue. And there were nuances added to all the cast that ratcheted up the suspense and the tension. I was lost in the second issue. I am hooked now.

Giuseppe Camuncolli is developed into a terrific artist. Leaving behind some of the more kinetic panels with which he approached Spider-Man, a character for whom kinetics are key, Camuncolli has given weight to each creation here and clearly was involved in their inception. The little details are well rendered and the backgrounds are filled with detail.

The entire book is filled with the kind of detail that I know will be important… I just have to figure out why. Undiscovered Country is a bit out of my comfort zone for comic reading and I am really enjoying it.

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 8 – 14, 2020

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 1 – 7, 2020
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 25 – 31, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 18 – 24, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 11 – 17, 2019

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was Batman #86

Writer: James Tynion, IV

Artist: Tony S. Daniel

Talk about your tough acts to follow…

James Tynion, IV takes over Batman after a truly epic and inspiring run by Tom King – a run that reset Batman continuity, redefined relationships for the character and redirected the course of history for the Dark Knight and he knocks his debut issue out of the park.

Making a decision that had to be conscious not to mimic the style of King, Tynion instead takes the situations with which King left him and spins the beginnings of a new Batman story that has all the makings of being just as epic while seeming tonally and pleasing different as King’s run.

And there the comparisons should cease.

Over his years at DC, Tynion has proven himself a deft writer of small beats and big moments, a writer who understands the history of those he’s writing without being slavish to that history. He is setting up at a new angle to Gotham City and to Batman and clearly has his own, grand-scale plans in mind. It will be exciting to watch.

Providing the pencils in one of the most under appreciated artists of recent memory – Tony S. Daniel. His work across the DC Universe has been stunning for years and he is in top form in Batman #86. I believe his command of this character and his world makes him one of the defining Batman artists and he will eventually be mentioned in the same breath as Aparo and Adams. He should be. His work here is tremendous and I hope we have issue-after-issue of Daniel to come.

It’s also worth noting that the coda written by Tynion and illustrated by Guillem March is engaging, chilling and a terrific hook.

Amazing start here, gentlemen. Looking forward to the run!

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: January 1 – 7, 2020

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 25 – 31, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 18 – 24, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 11 – 17, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 4 – 10, 2019

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was X-Men #4

Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Artist: Leinil Francis Yu

I have been digging if not completely understanding Jonathan Hickman’s take on the X-Men. And that’s okay. There are many things I don’t understand that I like… Frankly, I like when an author is smarter than I am (not that that is a particularly mean feat). When the story is more complex or unpredictable than I can write yet holds together with a clear internal logic, I am all in.

Hickman has changed almost everything about the X-Men. It feels to me almost like a Moore/Gibbons treatment of the Charlton characters than a reboot of a classic Marvel team. Though I happened to enjoy much of the X-Men mythos before this reboot, I have been all in on this X-Men relaunch.

And this has been my favorite issue of the bunch. What a tour de force of force. In changing the character’s relationships and societal status, Hickman is giving readers an utterly off-the-wall and unpredictable corner of the Marvel Universe.

Give me more… though I am very anxious to see what happens when this flavor of X-Men interacts with the more traditional characters populating Marvel Comics. That should be very interesting, indeed.

One surprising reaction I am having is to the normally distinctive work of Leinil Francis Yu. It seems he is pulling back from an earlier style – or developing as an artist from it – and that is obviously his call. His work, though – for me – has lost something of the uniqueness it had. It is not that it’s not solid, it’s just that is is simply solid.

That being said, a solid and monthly Yu is better than most artists in the business and X-Men is better than most books.

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 25 – 31, 2019

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 18 – 24, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 11 – 17, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 4 – 10, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: November 27 – December 3, 2019

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was Incoming #1

Writer: Various

Artist: Various

This preview for upcoming Marvel events was also the only comic I read last week, so…

It was fine. There were a few story threads to which I am looking forward, a few to which I am not and a few that made no sense to me at all.

It was fine.

I read many, many better comics last week… and I am sure I’ll have many, many more better comics this week. This is what happens when Christmas falls on a Wednesday it seems.

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: November 20 – 26, 2019

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: November 13 – 19, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: November 6 – 12, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 30 – November 5, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 23 – 29, 2019

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was Batman #83

Writer: Tom King

Artist: Mikel Janin

I need to stop choosing Batman as the best read of the week. I have tried. I need to give someone other than Tom King and Mikel Janin (or whatever other, stunning artist with whom King is working) a chance in my heart.

But I cannot. Not until further notice.

The King run is coming to an end and I am very sorry to see that, but the achievement is truly amazing. What he has done – the threads he has woven together in these last issues, the story he has told – it should be and will be a defining run on the character, the type of run comic fans talk about for decades.

I will miss it.

Not as much as I will miss Alfred, though… 

 

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: November 13 – 19, 2019

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: November 6 – 12, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 30 – November 5, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 23 – 29, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 16 – 22, 2019

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was Superman #17

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Kevin Maguire

If ever an issue was building to something big, shouting “hey, something gigantic is coming and this is a little breather before it hits!”, it’s Superman #17. It is a bit of a sadness that in today’s world, major story lines are often revealed long before they play out, but writer Brian Michael Bendis is smart enough to embrace this reality and use it to his advantage here. Crafting an issue where nothing really happens, but so much ground is covered, Bendis weaves together plot lines and characters whose payoff is surely issues away but whose interplay is tight and compelling.

And, if you’re going to have an issue that is really all talk, perhaps it’s a good idea to lasso one of the best artists in the business to assist. Any book that features interiors by Kevin Maguire is worth a look and Superman #17 is no exception. I believe Maguire’s towering abilities as a comic book artist are often overlooked because of a very understandable focus on his unique ability to render expression, but it’s that very ability that is so on display here. Maguire, as much as any other artist working today, illustrates that as much can be conveyed by a silent panel as one filled with words. Perhaps more. This pairing of writer and artist seems to bring out the best in Bendis, who can sometimes be justifiably critiqued for overwriting stories.

Not here. In Superman #17 we see a writer and artist whose comfort with the characters with whom they are working and with each other makes for a tremendous example of sequential art. What a terrific read!

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: November 6 – 12, 2019

Related Content from And There Came A Day:

• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 30 – November 5, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 23 – 29, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 16 – 22, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 8 – 15, 2019

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was Legion of Superheroes #1

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Ryan Sook

Bold, visionary, audacious and, yes, inspiring, Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook’s Legion of Superheroes is a terrific re-imagining of one of the most underrated brands in the DC Universe. The expectations for this book were very high, primarily because DC generally and Bendis specifically built them up to ridiculous proportions over the course of the last few years. It has seemed that, with each reinvention of the DC Universe, a new take on The Legion was floated and was not realized. But the hints were there. The images. The moments.

When Bendis came to DC and took over the Superman universe, his passion for The Legion became readily clear and his story telling choices began laying the groundwork that was realized in Legion of Superheroes #1.

What a fun, hope filled and joyous comic book it is.

Ryan Sook was the perfect choice to design this new version of The Legion, one that looks like an idyllic future representation of a world and universe in which many would like to like. His take on the classic characters – their costumes, their powers and their look – is a tremendous counterpart to the words Bendis is putting in their mouths. After only one issue, it is hard to see anyone else illustrating the series. I trust Sook is around for the long haul.

Bursting with plot lines and jam packed with easter eggs and action, Legion of Superheroes #1 is an almost perfect pilot episode. There are ideas here that will surely propel the book for years to come. This is a great beginning.

The reader gets the sense of the universe and of the characters in a story that is unexpected, engaging and exciting. The reader encounters a Legion that is populated by a fascinating mix of kids who really love what they are doing. The reader experiences a creative team that feels much the same way.

What more could anyone want from a Legion of Superheroes comic? Nothing except issue number 2. Immediately.