The Good
THRESHOLD number one has the best back-up of any comic I've ever read, and that is saying a lot since DC has been doing pretty darn well with their back-up stories. It's all about one of my favorite characters, Larfleeze. The story is a ton of fun, and Keith Giffen proves, once again (for like the millionth time), that he is awesome as a comedic writer. He can take B-List characters and put them in some fantastic stories. Giffen is fantastic with lesser known characters, and this issue, and this story, is just more proof of it.
On the Larfleeze story, we see some of Scott Kolins work yet. I've always been a fan of his work, but here, it's looks fantastic. It's a lot more clear and crisp, and it has more of a contemporary animated series feel. Part of the credit also should go to colorist John Kalisz, who makes these characters pop off the page.
Now, onto the main story. I'm really digging on Jediah Caul on the run. We get a great description of what's going on in The Hunted on Glimmernet and the world we're about to dive right into. Jediah is a character new readers won't know much about, but you'll find yourself drawn to him as he's on the run. Pretty fun action sequence here as Jediah fights for his life while people try to collect the bounty on his which is the whole point of the Hunted game that everyone on this planet seems to be involved in, and I'm excited to see the continuation of it.
Super solid art on this part of the book. Tony Raney does the art here and Andrew Dalhouse does the color. While Raney's art is great here, Dalhouse's colors stand far above everything else. The shading and color variants here are fantastic and some of the best I've seen in comics today.
The Bad
While I did read GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS ANNUAL #1, I felt pretty darn lost here. There's lots of characters and concepts that were at one time a part of the DC Universe that I'm just not familiar with. While I really enjoyed the first part of this story with Jediah Caul, I felt so lost when the story jumped over the Ric Starr and Stealth. It felt very out of place.
Brand new readers may feel the same way I do. Some of these characters are established, but you just aren't too sure who we're supposed to focus on.
The Verdict
While THRESHOLD 1 may have been a bit confusing and overwhelming to me, it was still a very good issue. Both the main story and the back-up are great here, even though I think the back-up may be a bit better, and it's something I'm for sure putting on my pull list.
Overall, I recommend this book.