How To Make A Successful First Issue

Recently I criticised Chaos War #1 as a very ‘by the numbers’ start to a major crossover, but this weeks comic crop has shown that the series indeed has the ability to meet its potential. Having the death of Nightmare give the Chaos King the power to (in effect) kidnap the minds of the living even as he rampages through the various realms of the dead certainly raises the stakes (and makes the series far simpler to deal with).

I similarly criticised the relaunch of Magnus Robot Fighter when it came out, but Dark Horse has scored two masterstrokes this week. The first being the third Valiant/Acclaim character to receive the revamp treatment, Turok, Son Of Stone.

Revamp is maybe too strong a word, as all of the essential qualities of Turok are present. In the course of this issue, we discover the origin of his weapons (yes, even though they are a tomahawk and a knife, that is important) and then his entry into what I assume to be the Lost Land deals with all the further anachronisms we know and love. More importantly, he is genuinely likable, demonstrated by the foil of two supporting characters. Okay, one of them doesn’t make it, slain by Turok’s hand, but this was due to his sense of honor, which did not always come through with such clarity in the Valiant series. Turok is not suited for shades of grey, and there are no shades of grey in this establishing issue. I shall be picking up #2.

Another recommendation (and second masterstroke) is the graphic novel Fallout New Vegas: All Roads that I recently obtained. A companion to the role-playing video game Fallout New Vegas that has been released across America and Europe in the past week, this novel explores the environment to the game. Not being a gamer this is my first exposure to the world of Fallout, as this is the fourth game in the series, but I confess, it has whetted my appetite for more, a change from the usual fare of adaptions from computer games which can appear bland and formulaic. So, can we see more of the Fallout world please?

Finally, it’s time to vote. For the first time in my life, I have voted for the leadership of the Legion Of Super-Heroes, and my life is now complete. The current LSH is going from strength to strength as seen with last weeks #6, so let’s make this the best attended election in comics history. After all, it’s not as if we are voting whether the current Robin will live or die (unfortunately). Simply head to legionelection.com and place your vote. Long Live The Legion!