Episode 43 - A Review of #1 Issues of 100 Bullets: Brother Lono, Astro City, Six-Gun Gorilla, and Lazarus

This week on The Comics Alternative, the Two Guys with PhDs review several #1 issues that have come out in the past couple of weeks. First, they discuss two Vertigo titles, Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso’s 100 Bullets: Brother Lono, and Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson’s Astro City. Andy and Derek spend a bit of time discussing the earlier series that these new comics are based on, but they also point out how both of these #1 issues are good jumping on points and accessible to readers unfamiliar with 100 Bullets and the earlier Astro City works. In addition, they argue that these two titles are just another indication that earlier worries about Vertigo’s fate might have been misplaced. Next they move on to Six-Gun Gorilla (Boom! Studios), written by Simon Spurrier with art by Jeff Stokely. The guys note the unique atmosphere of this title, science fiction in what appears to be a late-nineteen-century-like setting, and of course allude to the original pulp story, serialized in the UK magazine Wizard in 1939, that this comic is based on. Next, Andy and Derek look at another kind of science fiction mashup, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark’s Lazarus (Image Comics). This new ongoing series has a lot of promise, and the guys point out how the creators do an incredible job of setting up their premise in this first issue.  If these are the kind of #1 issues we can expect to see this summer, then hold onto your sunscreen…the fun is just beginning!