Image Firsts: Compendium

by Various (Contributor)

Firsts 2014 Compendium

The first issues of nine of comics' most compelling new titles are collected in this shelf-busting compendium for only $5.99!

Discover new horror, drama, fantasy, and science fiction by some of comics' top talent-writers and artists who will draw readers into their worlds and hook them in a single issue.

Included are:

Wytches by Scott Snyder and Jock

Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta by Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta

Nailbiter by Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson

Southern Bastards by Jason Aaron and Jason Latour

The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie

Low by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini

Shutter by Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca

C.O.W.L. by Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel, and Rod Reis

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this from my library, and I enjoyed reading most of these.

Wytches #1: 3/5 (will continue eventually)
Outcast #1: 4/5 (will continue soon)
Nailbiter #1: 4/5 (will continue soon)
Southern Bastards #1: 5/5 (will continue as soon as possible)
The Fade Out #1: 3.5/5 (will read volume 1 eventually)
The Wicked + The Divine #1: 2/5 (will read volume 1 eventually)
Low #1: 1/5 (will not continue)
Shutter #1: 2/5 (probably won't continue)
C.O.W.L. #1: 1.5/5 (will not continue)

[Kris Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

Image Comics has done one of the best brand turnarounds in the history of comics. A dozen years ago this company was an also-ran, home to a few moribund properties and endless failed concepts. That changed around the turn of this decade. Comics were enjoying renewed attention due to the glut of movies and creators were looking to pimp their “IP” to get it optioned for movies or television. Creator owned comics are where the new ideas are these days.

This book collects the first issue of nine different titles. There was a second volume the following year, but I don't have that one. I'll review each first issue collected in this book in pellet review format.

Wytches makes a great first impression but falls short. I checked out the first trade from the library and couldn't even be bothered to finish it. The first issue is a strong hook but the subsequent ones couldn't sustain my interest, even for free.

Outcast is an interesting Exorcist riff recycled enough times where it might fool youngsters. It's interesting enough as its own thing and might be worth checking out.

Nailbiter is a solid concept that I would pick up if I were still buying boatloads of books all the time.

Southern Bastards is worthy, a real deal concept that seems like it would go over great as a Netflix series.

The Fade Out- Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips can do no wrong. This is another one of their five star concepts. I read the first trade some time ago but need to go back and finish reading the series. There is so much going on in comics that things get lost in the shuffle, even when they shouldn't.

The Wicked + The Divine is a spit shined Cadillac firing on all cylinders. It's available only as a digitial checkout from the library. While I am loath to reading comic books on a screen, I am even more loath to spending money on still more comic books these days.

Low is complete and utter garbage.

Shutter is a forgettable concept told in an unconvincing manner.

C.O.W.L. is regurgitated pretentious crap, a “smart” post-superhero dystopian sort of thing that should be avoided at all costs. Buying comics like this shows the terrorists that they can win or something like that.

So there you have it. While I buy very few new comics series these days I have to take a peek at newer stuff once in a while. I'll never be a “all new comics suck” kind of guy, but I am also not a seeker in the respect of being like the fans who jump from new thing to new thing. I can't do it all. Lord knows that I've tried.

[Mitch Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Image Firsts: Compendium Volume One (2014) is a great read with great illustrations.

The book contains nine stories from Image Comics: Wytches by Scott Snyder and Jock, Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta by Robert Kirkman and Paul Azaceta, Nailbiter by Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson, Southern Bastards by Jason Aaron and Jason Latour, The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, Low by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini, Shutter by Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca and C.O.W.L. by Kyle Higgins, Alec Siegel, and Rod Reis.

I found it really interesting. There is a great variety of stories with a lot of interesting topics and storylines. It is a really excellent collaboration. I don’t read comics very often so it was a nice change and I would like to read more stories in a comic format in the future. I think the pictures worked very well with the text and creating the atmosphere for the stories. I think it would be really cool if someone turned stories of mine into comics. 🙂 It would be interesting to see how that would turn out.

Very creative and jam-packed. A really great collaboration. Visually stunning with great writing.

[Michelle Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of ups and downs. While I normally would spend time thinking over these, I truly enjoyed about half, and I already knew I loved the wicked and the divine. However, the rest like men trying to be edge-lords. Perhaps I'm an outlier, but dark doesn't equal emotional depth. At least for me. So okay to Nailbiter and even Southern Bastards. Yay for Wicked, Low and Shutter. And the art for Cowl is nice.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

I was given this over a year ago and finally got around to reading it. Due to its nature, it's a mixed bag, most not to my taste, and the only issue that had me curious was the first called "Wytches".

[S.S. Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good sampler. I'm interested in reading a couple of them. Here are my individual ratings and the links to those specific issues (I did't want to date each one because I don't think individual comic issues should count as a full book on my Reading Challenge):

Wytches
★☆☆☆☆
Not off to a great start. Mostly mood and jump scares, with cookie-cutter-convenient characters and a mythos not grounded in anything other than J-horror aesthetic.

Outcast
★★★☆☆
Kirkman made the Walking Dead compelling, and he's a pretty good storyteller here. Mostly I love the art, it's subtle and high-contrast and moody. This isn't a series I'd go out of my way to read, but I'm intrigued.

Nailbiter
★☆☆☆☆
DUMB. Shitty art, indulgent storyline. Amateur-hour art. Next.

Southern Bastards
★★☆☆☆
Looks like Gran Torino crossed with... Garden State? I dunno, old man has to fight off a bunch of redneck criminals. Looks ridiculous but the frame work is solid and the writing wasn't actively bad.

The Fade Out
★★★★☆
Now this is my jam. A murder mystery noir set in post-WWII McCarthy Hollywood where the detective is a screenwriter connected to the crime. The Big Sleep + The Hangover + Barton Fink. Plus the art is photorealistic-gorgeous on the close-ups. I'm sold, give me more.

The Wicked + The Divine
★★★☆☆
This seems solid. The plot is unique and intriguing, a mix of occult and pop-culture that has the potential to be compelling. Just as long as it doesn't get as self-important as Nowhere Men.

Low
★★★☆☆
Intriguing far-future fantasy sci-fi with some really compelling visuals. This would have a higher rating but the panel framing (the cinematography, to use a film metaphor) is actually really poorly done. It was difficult to tell what was happening on the first read through, both from unclear layout, busy panels, and lack of distinguishing features on main characters. The mother and her 10-year old daughter are wearing the same thing and have the same haircut, and so when shown alone it's impossible to tell who is who from visuals alone. That shouldn't happen. On rereading, however, I found a lot to love once you got past those missteps. I'd be interested to see how this series matures.

Shutter
★☆☆☆☆
What if the Venture Bros. had no sense of humor, or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen had no literary references? Shutter explores this hypothetical world, purposelessly introducing pop-culture mash-ups like ninja-ghosts into a melodramatic sibling rivalry.

C.O.W.L.
★★★☆☆
Speaking of pop-culture mash-ups, here's Watchmen meets... the organized labor movement? COWL is the Chicago Organized Worker's Union, except the workers are a cooperative of organized superheroes. There's bureaucracy and corruption, and inter-workplace drama! Actually the writing here is pretty good, compelling enough to make up for the relatively well-tread subject matter and generic, unexplained superhero powers. Only a muddy palate and lackluster closing scene keep this from getting 4 stars.

[Dawn-Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Image has done a great thing with this book. It's a collection of the first issues of a number of their titles. You get a taste of each title and can determine if you want to continue with it. And the collection is only $5.99... less than the average price of two comics! There's a good variety that includes well-known titles like Outcast and The Wicked & The Divine and lesser known titles like Shutter and Wytches. Image is known for creepy, dramatic comics with great storytelling. So if you (or someone you know) wants to get into some comics but isn't into the superhero variety, you might want to check this out.

[Andrés Canella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Image Firsts is a great idea for those looking to launch into a new comic series, but unsure of where to begin. It collects the first issues of 9 new Image series - who have been on a roll of late publishing some excellent works (Saga, Manhattan Projects, etc.). Regrettably, none of the firsts here were immediate draws. They are heavy on gothic horror and Southern creepiness, and only Kirkman's Outkast has a steady narrative. Some of these may turn out to be good series, but as first issues they are nothing to write home about. Can't go wrong for $6 though, right?

[John Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible collection
Containing the FIRST ISSUES
of many of the hit books
from Image Comics
it is a great introduction
to a publisher that consistently puts out
astounding books.
Among the tittles included here are :
the #1s of
Wytches : Scott Snyder
Outcast : Robert Kirkman
Nailbiter : Joshua Williamson(amazing)
Low : Rick Remender(wow)
The Wicked + The Divine : Kieron Gillen
Bitch Planet : Kelly Sue DeConnick
and many more

Copy provided by IMAGE at the ALA Conference 2016

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compendium of the first volume of nine different Image comics.

I've tried six of them already in graphic novel format and liked three (Wytches, Outcast, Nailbiter) and disliked three (Wicked + The Divine, Low, Shutter). Of the remaining three, I wasn't hooked enough to seek them out - C.O.W.L was the best.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool collection. Love Image. Definitely some titles to pick up. Wytches, Outcast, Shutter and C.O.W.L all intrigued.

[Amy Wainwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good, I'm glad I picked this up at ALA! Even the titles I was less excited about impressed me. I look forward to reading more!