Ben 10 #1
Marcell Hines
Recap
A fresh take on a 21st Century classic! Fan favorite BEN 10 returns in an all-new series that will appeal to longtime fans and new readers alike. When a mysterious meteor crashes to Earth, 10-year-old Ben Tennyson discovers the Omnitrix, a high-tech alien gauntlet of incredible power and potential. With this device on his wrist, Ben has the power to transform into incredible alien forms. But can he control this power? If the story sounds familiar, think again!
This is the modern, definitive take on Ben 10 from the team that created him – Man of Action – kicking off with writer Joe Casey, joined by amazing artist Robert Carey, with covers by Carey, Man of Action member Duncan Rouleau, Dustin Nguyen, Sebastian Piriz, and a special MYSTERY VARIANT BLIND BAG containing one limited edition of the issue selected randomly from a range of covers exclusive to this offering! Please The number of Blind Bags is limited, and allocations may occur.
Review
Ben Tennyson is your average kid with average problems, that is until an alien super weapon falls from space and attaches itself to his wrist while on a family camping trip. Now a target of the military and a super powerful alien warrior, Ben is going to find out that his destiny is much grander than finding a golden Super Sumo Slammer card.
Ben 10 is something of an institution for elder-millenials like myself. It came along during the action cartoon boom of the mid-2000s along with classics like Teen Titans, Justice League Unlimited, Spectacular Spider-Man, and others. Ben 10 was a unique show that took all the recognizable elements of superhero comics, and distilled them down into a fun and energetic show that pre-teens could enjoy. It enjoyed a long-run on Cartoon Network, spanning multiple sequels, two live-action films, video games, and a reboot show that lasted until 2021. After being relatively dormant for the past five years, most of the original Man of Action team (consisting of Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau, and Steven T. Seagle) have returned to bring this story into a new age.
This first issue is a retelling of the original first episode of the first Ben 10 series “An Then There Were Ten” but there are some key differences that the creative team makes here. Vilgax searching for the Omnitrix instead of battling the shit carrying it, the military(?) arriving at the crash site that was originally remote, and Ben using his new powers to defend himself from a cybernetic bear instead of accidentally starting a forest fire. Outside of that the rest of the elements Joe Casey presents here narratively fit with the original series, minus some light swearing just to showcase the darker tone of this book, since it was touted as being the “Absolute” version of Ben 10.
Robert Carey’s art is fine, but some of the paneling and illustrations can be a bit off model, making for a bit of a rough read at times. Some of the new character designs are solid though, with Vilgax and Heatblast being the notable changes. There are also subtle bits of body horror to Ben’s transformations that weren’t there in the original.
Final Thoughts
Ben 10 #1 is a brand new start with a familiar story. With it’s tight narrative and updated designs, there is sure to be plenty more to explore as the story gets rolling along.
Ben 10 #1: It Started With An Alien Device…
- Writing - 7/107/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 6.5/106.5/10
- Color - 7/107/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10
