Comic Book Review: Hell Yeah #1, Image Comics

Hell Yeah: The Last Generation of Heroes, Issue 1
Image Comics
Writer: Joe Keatinge,  Art: Andre Szymanowicz

Joe Keatinge doesn't really break any new ground with this first issue of Hell Yeah.  Overall the angry youth living in the shadow of parental accomplishments is something we've been through with young characters. I didn't expect big things to happen in this issue since most first issues of a series are to set up the scene, set the stage for the rest of the comic or at least the initial story arc. Unfortunately instead of telling one story, it seems like this issue started and stopped a lot of different smaller stories at once. This shift between was a little forced and awkward. I appreciate little cliffhangers in a story, but I don't know if it worked to build curiosity in my case with this book.

Andre Szymanowicz's artwork was solid. Unfortunately at the beginning of the book in the first couple of pages, the linework looks rather jagged and pixelated. I don't know if there was an after illustration shifting of the panel order that required a reduction or increase in the size of the artwork. Either way the rough quality of image was even more evident when we got further into the book to see much smoother lines. Actually the artist star of this book for me colorist, Jason Lewis. Lewis' use of colors added so much to the environments and scene. Just bright and clean choices makes me want to see how these panels look on a computer screen. From the purple/pink glow of club lights and neon to the strong oranges associated with a panels featuring an explosion.

I picked this title up on a whim, and I'm glad I did. While it didn't blow me totally away, I'll stick with it for a couple more issues at least to see where this is going. There are some interesting concepts that I'd like to see come to fruition.

3.5 out of 5 domino masks