Jersey Gods #1

This was actually kind of fun! I love the New Gods, and this is basically a look at those types of characters in their interaction with normal folks in New Jersey. There is something pretty amusing about this, since there was a lot of that initial contact in the early Kirby Fourth World books, but there was never an approach like this. The issue opens with a focus on a human woman, Zoe, and her struggles in her love life, and moves along to involve cosmic factions of New Gods-types and their complex confrontations putting Earth in the middle. The main heroes seem to be Barock (an Orion type who loves fighting and isn't the most handsome) and Helius. Helius is a pretty fun second banana more concerned with how he looks and what he's wearing than fighting the good fight, so he's not exactly Lightray. Zoe is initially drawn to him, but quickly realizes he's a bozo when he won't sully himself to help out his friend. So Zoe moves over to Barock. I think I read a preview where Zoe and Barock are married, so I know how this will end up, and it does seem like a fun premise. Glen Brunswick seems to be using a lot of classic comic elements that I enjoy.

The Mike Allred cover makes everything coming later look weaker by comparison, but by no means bad. Dan McDaid's art is almost a mix of his Kirby influence and what seems to be a Darwyn Cooke vibe. It's not as good as either of those guys, but I can see what he's going for. I like his character designs and he handles the action well enough too.

Fair (almost Good)