Kaboom (1999) #1
Back in 1997, I had heard some really good things about Kaboom, but it was one of those books that I never quite got around to reading. Enough so that I didn't actually realize that when I picked up the #1 for the 1999 series, that I wasn't picking up the original #1 (from the 1997 series). So I may have been working at a disadvantage right there, but it really shouldn't be that way.
It's not unusual for a new story to start in the middle of the action. It's a good trick. It gives the reader the sense that there's something more to these characters - that their existence didn't start on the first page of the first issue. So here's Kyra Knight, outrunning three guys on motorcycles, on her skateboard. At first, she's quipping with them like she knows them, but we quickly find out that she has no idea why they're chasing her, nor does she know Zang, who steps in to help her.
This issue goes way too fast from there. We meet Geof Sunrise, from the first series, Scarlett, and by the end, Scarlett's boss, the Magistrate. Somewhere in there, Zang tells Kyra that Geoff used to wear both gloves of the Kaboom Cycle, but now wears only the right one, while she wears the left one. Zang says he's never told Geof about Kyra, and Geof seems a bit peeved about that.
And that's it - that was the whole issue in a nutshell. No summary of the previous series. Just an extended fight scene, and very little in the way of explanation. But hey, they did manage to do nine different covers for this issue, so at least they tried to start a collector frenzy (please feel the sarcasm there). I wasn't too impressed with this issue, and since it only went three issues, I'd assume that a lot of other people weren't either. Kind of a shame, because I could see some slight potential in it.
Rating's a tough call here, but it ain't gonna be high. Decent art, intro'd a new character, a concept with potential. That's all good, but this is the second series, so I feel like this issue should have delivered more. I am way, way unimpressed, so I'm giving it one-and-a-half stars.
(12/1/14) Update: The site has changed the rules, disallowing half-stars. So, I couldn't quite bring myself to give it a 2, so it gets 1 star now. -cb
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