The No. Ones: In Selling Merchandise Or Protecting The Public

The first thing I thought of upon reading the first issue of "The No. Ones" was the similarity to "The Boys," which I recently watched on TV. Cave Pictures Publishing and Jim Krueger, who created and wrote the book, envision a world where superheroes strive to be the most popular among themselves. Their level of celebrity can be tracked by the sales of their merchandise.

We are introduced to The Bastions, a tight group of superheroes. The Bar is the leader and husband of Muse, who is the illusionist in the group. They display a happy marriage to the public, but their marriage is technically over. Caul is a cigarette-smoking magician. Not to convey a bad message to the kids, he has to be careful as to where he sneaks a puff. Caul is also hearing voices that are telling him how to go about his business. Omen can be invisible most of the time, but when danger is near, everyone can see her. Halfling can separate into many versions of himself in battle, which can really make him more than one member of The Bastions. I am not totally sure what Ripple does, but I believe he can create a ripple effect. And let's not forget Flock, who has control over birds.

In an effort to combat terrorists, an innocent bystander was killed during their fight with the bad guys. Instead of admitting their mistake, The Bar convinced the group to cover it up to protect their image. By the way, they usually call the paparazzi themselves to make sure their events are covered in the news. The book itself contains a quote by Julia Roberts about being a celebrity. This issue ends with the public losing any memory of the existence of The Bastions, which is basically a celebrity's nightmare.

The book was a great read with the artwork done by Well-Bee. This is the type of story that can go in a number of directions and I am very curious as to where Krueger decides to go with it.