No Hero #1 (OF 7)

After picking up No Hero issue 0 and issue 1 this week, I gotta say that I was pleasently surprised.  I wasn't very excited at the prospect of another angsty super hero project by Ellis, but this one seems to be going in the right direction.  This book has a clear goal that's even in its tagline. "How much do you want to be a super human?"

Ellis automatically makes the Front Line interesting by having them be the only super beings on the planet, and establishing very early on that being a super human doesn't stay fun for long.  After leaving the program the "Heroes" become damaged physically and emotionally.  More of that was in issue 0, but I think its important to this issue as well. 

This issue centers around the protaganist Josh Carver trying to get inducted into the Front Line program and the deaths of two Frontliners.  The deaths are dealt with through amazing art and panel breakdowns.  The pacing of this book is spot on.  Ellis also refrains from overusing explicit language.  Something that definitely surprised me coming out of this series.  Ellis' greatest accomplisment in this issue is his great characterization of Carver. Its very obvious that he is wililng to do ANYTHING to become a super human.  His desperate nature is almost haunting.  His nightly patrols end in gruesome situations and he just shrugs them off knowing that they're just bringing him one step closer to his goal of being accepted into the Front Line program. 

The use of historical and legal quotes concerning vigilantism was a great framing device.  It was interesting to see where some of the quotes came from.

The real star of this issue is Juan Jose Ryp.  His art is incredibly detailed, even to the point of having Josh's jeans on the cover be slightly frayed around the cuffs from treading on them.  Just a brilliant piece of detail that I don't think I've seen in another comic.  He really shines during the action sequences with gruesome violence and incredibly energetic movement.  I'm a little confused by the yellow clouds that are used to show extreme action and contact, but they definitely don't detract from the kinetic and dynamic scenes. 

Although I was nervous about this book, I'm definitely looking forward to further issues.