The New Warriors #1

   I was a fan of the original incarnation of The New Warriors and was not at all happy when the team was made the scapegoat of the explosion that killed a school full of children and incited Marvel's execrable Civil War.

   That same event (apparently) killed the lovely Namorita, one of Bill Everett's last creations, and drove the lighthearted character Speedball (co-created by the great Steve Ditko) to the edge of insanity.

   So I wasn't crazy about that.

   This reboot (of sorts) is an attempt to combine the original team with new "kid" heroes (and at a couple of more experienced characters).

   And while the mix is an interesting one - sadly - the first issue doesn't do much to hook the reader.

   We see Justice and Speedball (now returned to his more lighthearted self, somehow) fighting generic bad guys. We meet heroes new (the delightfully upbeat Sun Girl), familiar (the Spider-Man clone known as Kaine) and unknown (at least to me), like Hummingbird.

   The new version of Nova is also included, and the issue includes a new undersea warrior woman, and brings back a classic opponent whose henchmen have a new look.

   The art by Marcus To is quite good, with a fresh, breezy look that hearkens back to classic Marvel tales.

   But the story by Christopher Yost doesn't hold up its end of the deal. The first issue of a team comic is usually the "gather the team" story, but we only get part of that here. There's more ground to be covered, and it's possible the story will pick up once the gang is together - but so far, it's not holding my attention.

Grade: B

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