I have to hand it to Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch, they took a concept that didn’t intrigue me at all (a world where kids with powers are forced to fight on a reality TV show) and both wrote and drew it well enough that it’s one of the books I most look forward to reading.

Ross has a great ear and pen for dialog, and Hitch’s art is actually better in the interiors than it is on the cover.

There is a point in this issue where they threaten to introduce an incredibly cliche story angle, and while Ross doesn’t come up with a brand new, never conceived of twist, he does manage to push the story in a way I wasn’t expecting.

Were this an ongoing series, I might be leary of how far this particular story could go. But with just six issues planned, I’m excited to see where they take this.