Review: Ben 10 #1

I have always had this yearning to watch Ben 10, but like most things, I never got around to it. When the comic came up, I thought it could be a good jumping off place. If you don’t know who Ben 10 is let me refresh. Pretty much all you need to know is that Ben is a boy who obtains this watch which is called the Omnitrix. The watch morphs him into different aliens in order to save the world. Typical superhero stuff. I love the idea of young superheroes, and find their struggles with balancing two worlds more difficult than most adult life. Now this is all I know about Ben, so now we are all at a fresh start. The first issue is strange because Ben and his crew are going on vacation. Not very exciting and an odd way to introduce Ben 10 comic. I’ll roll with it for now. I like how we don’t get some huge backstory here too. Like me, you probably know the gist of Ben and just want to dive right in. That is exactly what we do. The action was a tad weak for its first issue. Right away Sunder is on the plane, and Ben must stop him in order to fully enjoy his vacation. There was some action, but for being a kid superhero, I was ready for more.

Ben10-01-pr_Page_1Ben seems like the smartest member of his crew. He is sensible and his partner Rook is even more so. The journeys these two take together should be fun to see unravel. I am not sure who Rook is yet, and why he looks the way he does. I am guessing he is some sort of robot or alien himself. Although these two seem like a strong team, the issue focused more on Ben and his struggle with being well known and lonely at the same time. He meets this chick, Lorelai, who wants to move this hideous ice sculpture off into the ocean. Ben has no idea why, but he helps her because she is pretty. He clearly wants this girl to like him, because he is feeling lonely on the trip.

Some crazy snake dude comes into the picture, and we also learn more about Lorelai’s role. The issue did seem a tad rushed. Clearly, this rush feeling is what happens when you read young readers’ comics. I would have loved some more detail, but I think kids dig the fast pace and don’t care about the nitty-gritty.

All and all, the audience for this comic is a little younger than I accepted. It may be that cutoff point where it isn’t fun for me to read anymore. I dig more creative routes when speaking to the younger generation. I did like how Ben 10 offered something I just harked about in my TMNT Animated Adventures review though; the story is ongoing through multiple issues. This is a smart move, giving kids the opportunity to beg for more the next title having to know what happens next. I’ll have to give it some more tries to really see if the comic gets cleverer, but for now it just seemed like more merchandise being pushed out.

Score: 3/5

Writer: Jason Henderson Artist: Gordon Purcell Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 11/20/13