With the big reveal at the end, you get a small feeling at what Bendis is attempting to do with Naomi. Predictably unpredictable. From what I've learned from Bendis joining DC is that you can't assume where he's going to be taking these characters. What you can clearly see though, is that Naomi has a past that not even she knows about, and a small connection to her favorite superhero just got a little bigger. Read Full Review

I believe in this book 100%. The creative team have a solid grasp on the character. If Naomi is this interesting when nothing much is happening, it will be amazing once things get going. Read Full Review

Naomi #1 is such an important comic that is so relatable. Naomi's journey in starting to find herself and what makes her special will be exciting for readers discovering comics and readers who have been enjoying comics for years. Everyone wants to see themselves in a superhero, it's why we love superheroes. I am so excited for everyone, including myself, who gets to see themselves in Naomi. Read Full Review

This is a nice start to a new title and character. It's an easily accessible book that just works on all front. The story and art are great but it goes beyond even that. The whole thing just feels fresh. Read Full Review

The series is going to have to be really careful and thoughtful about letting bits of the mystery become revealed in future issues. Reveal too much at once and the series is going to lose even more of its appeal. As an opening, though, Naomi's first issue feels like it could be a part of something special. Read Full Review

Naomi #1 captures a sense of wonder that is sometimes lost in superhero comics. Bendis and Walker do a fantastic job bringing Naomi to life, and Jamal Campbell's artwork is simply stunning. Read Full Review

Im not sure what Walker and Bendis have in store for Naomi and her friends, but this latest addition to the Wonder subset of books lives up to the billing. Consider my interest piqued for what could be another stellar character-driven Bendis book. Read Full Review

This is one of the best comics Bendis has put out since his arrival at DC. Read Full Review

Naomi is an excellent change of pace for Brian Michael Bendis, giving him a whole town to explore and develop; along with Jamal Campbell, Bendis is laying the groundwork for both a unique and exciting mystery series. Read Full Review

Naomi herself receives the most attention, and it shows. Her expressions and the detail Campbell devotes to her makes her the heart of the story. What is also interesting is the use of half-tone, something this reviewer is normally more used to seeing in manga. While some art is re-used in a few places, mostly character models re-imposed here or there, Campbells work seems to be at the top of his game. Read Full Review

NAOMI #1 is a brilliant comic, full of mystery and humor. Visually, the artwork is vibrant and refreshing. The lead character is an inquisitive young girl with a possible connection to Superman. Definitely worth checking out! Read Full Review

Jamal Campbell's art is great. There are some really great panels in this issue and all of the characters look beautifully detailed. Read Full Review

Aside from theaction sequence at thetop, this is a low-key series - and a refreshing change of pace. Recommended! Read Full Review

"Naomi" knows what it wants to be and the message it wants to deliver. By focusing on creating such a compelling new character and letting the story unravel around her, the creative team hit gold. Read Full Review

I cannot resist a mystery, and Naomi #1 draws me in. We know a little about the title character, but hardly everything. Why did she develop a Superman Complex? Why does this mean so much to her? Is there really any chance she could be special? Isn't there more to life than that, really? I'm already looking forward to what will unfold next. Read Full Review

The series is off to a good start because it is just the start. We have no idea where this will lead but what we do know is that even small towns have their own secret. Things happen all the time, and Naomi is on a path to discovering something that is going to have some serious ramifications for the DC Universe. We don't know how big the secret is but Bendis, Walker, and Campbell are hitting the ground running to make this journey memorable. Read Full Review

Naomi #1 is another solid release for this Wonder Comics imprint. The characters are well done and the mystery is actually pretty intriguing. The art, while the style is not my personal favorite, looks great and fits the series perfectly. I did not know anything about Naomi #1 coming into it but it has me hooked for the second issue. Read Full Review

Naomi #1 is definitely the moat ambitious story that DC will tackle for the Wonder Comics imprint. A story about the lengths that one girl will go to uncover the truth about her adoption and if she is actually special. Who doesn't want to believe this in the face of the impossible? For all the hype being put into this mystery, let's hope that this creative team delivers as they take us down the rabbit hole. Read Full Review

The series leads me to believe this will start out as a mystery of one identity. Read Full Review

In its opening installment, Jamal Campbell's artwork is the draw for the book. The story isn't bad by any stretch but it's the first couple of pages of the prologue, quite honestly. So it's got some minor foundational aspects to it and it handles the basic introductions, accomplishing what it needs to. I liked the view of Superman that people has and connecting on that level is always welcome. Naomi has enough brought in about her to make her interesting and wanting to see more of what's involved in her past is a given. I'm definitely going to check out a few more issues at least but half the draw if not more at the moment is the artwork over the story and character. All of it has potential but it needs to be tapped as quickly as possible. Read Full Review

At the end of the day, I enjoyed this book and have liked these first to series from the Wonder imprint. I'm definitely looking forward to more. Read Full Review

Naomi feels very much like a Brian Michael Bendis comic, for all of its strengths and weaknesses. That's probably unfair to co-writer David Walker, who is a fantastic writer, but the comic has all of Bendis' typical scripting hallmarks. Read Full Review

While it seems unlikely that we'll see much action in this comic, Bendis and Walker have sold me on Naomi as a character and the the small thread she now holds to unravel a larger mystery. Worth a look. Read Full Review

Naomi was a fun read introducing a whole set of relatable characters in a gorgeous and intriguing book. Read Full Review

A pretty decent outing for a new character in a new corner of the DC universe. Read Full Review

While it does teeter off in the middle, the opening issue of Naomi properly introduces us to our new teen heroine. Read Full Review

Naomi seeks to carve out its own unique corner in the DC Universe, but despite an intriguing set-up, fails to hit the ground running with anything stronger than a mild trot. Read Full Review

Keep in mind that Naomi #1 costs $4. The reader gets practically nothing at all in return for their hard-earned money. We are in a day and age where $6 can purchase one month of Hulu and $8 can get you one month of Netflix. There is just no way at all to justify spending $4 on a comic book that delivers such little content. You get way more content for your entertainment dollar these days. The competition for readers' entertainment dollars is getting more brutal than ever and comic books like Naomi #1 must offer more value for the dollar if they want to remain relevant. Read Full Review

Naomi kicks off with a very talky issue that did little to make me care about the characters or the story.  The art is fantastic in the beginning but seems to quickly get lost in an avalanche of word balloons.  "The biggest mystery in the DC Universe" indeed! Read Full Review

The art is fantastic and the tone really suits it. This should be a fun and engaging series.

Naomi #1 is a curious comic. I didn't have much to go on other than a name and the beautiful cover by Jamal Campbell. There was a cringy article with the headline that read; "The Newest DC Comics Superhero Is a Girl of Color from Oregon". 

I was on the fence about picking up the comic but the cover won me over and I thought, what the hell?

spoilers

Right out of the gate Jamal's pencil's are amazing. I recognize him from his work on Power Rangers but this is a step above and beyond anything that he's done for Boom Studios. This may be the most natural depiction of an African - American Woman that I've ever seen portrayed in comics without exaggeration. The colors for the series are flawless. There isn't a colorist credited for the issue so I will assume that Jamal pulled double duty and produced a masterpiece for DC. 

The comic is billed as "DC's biggest mystery" I'm not sure how far the rabbit hole will go but the setup is cool. Naomi is from a sleepy town in Oregon. Nothing ever happens there. The big focus of the issue is that Superman shows up for about 17 seconds and the town is completely abuzz. Naomi is disappointed because she misses it. Afterward she looks into the story but there are no actual reports about what happened. 

The next day Superman returns and there is still no news on the event which Naomi finds strange since nothing ever happens there.

While meeting with her Therapist It comes out that Naomi may be obsessed with Superman because they are both adopted.

While meeting with her friends its mentioned that something happened in the past involving superheroes but no one wants to discuss it. Naomi decides to talk to the local mechanic, Dee and asks him about the event. He's reluctant to tell her anything and as he walks off he gives her a date, March 14th. 

Which just happens to be the day she was adopted.


Naomi #1 is a really good first issue. I love the character and the setting. At first glance, everything seems perfectly normal until it doesn't. I kind of feel like whatever the event is that happened in the past should have been revealed in this issue. 

There is a trend in comics to load the first issue up with details but then end without a satisfactory conclusion. We get the cliffhanger but without the reveal, the issue is somewhat lacking. 

I will admit that I am intrigued by this story and I applaud DC for putting out series like this with no obvious connections to any other Superheroes. 

I also feel like the "The Newest DC Comics Superhero Is a Girl of Color from Oregon". tag sales the character short. Naomi is an interesting character. Her race isn't mentioned at all in the comic and truthfully if she was any other race the story would have played out the same. This is similar to "Into the Spiderverse" where Miles ethnicity isn't a plot point. The normalization of Race and ethnicity in these story jumps out at me because too often POC characters are treated as props instead of actual Characters. 

This issue is great and I'm excited to see where the story goes. Hopefully, Bendis doesn't stretch this origin story out too long. more

THE GOOD:

-I thought this was a really fun debut. It was entertaining and it pulled me in.

-The writing for this issue was really good. Bendis' writing has devolved into pure sh*t over in the Superman department. So, I'm guessing this is David Walker's doing. If so, good job Mr. Walker. If not, well done (and surprisingly so) Mr. Bendis.

-I absolutely love the art. I've never heard of Jamal Campbell before, but I hope he gets the recognition he deserves for this. The facial expressions are excellent, and the art is vibrant and energetic, but also unique.

-I really like the small-town setting. It's a nice departure from Gotham and Metropolis.

-I thought they were overselling Naomi. I was wrong, she is a likable character, who people can connect with. Or at least me.

-I thought the ending sets up a really interesting mystery/storyline.

THE BAD:

-My only complaint is that more could've happened. I have a feeling this series is just getting started. Then again, I could be wrong. more

I went into this with the lowest expectations possible. I thought it looked boring, none of the ads or previews even begun to interest me. And I know Bendis can write some boring shit. So yeah, I was dreading having to read this. Luckily, this is actually pretty good. I wasn't bored out of my mind and the characters weren't annoying. I don't really have any sort of opinion on the actual plot, since this issue really didn't have much of one. But they made an entertaining comic, somehow. Maybe David F. Walker is the secret ingredient.

The combined wit and emotion of Bendis and Walker makes for an excellently paced, sharp origin.

Damn that was chatty. And not that interesting. For now we don't learn much.
I know Bendis like that but not me. And for now Naomi didn't seem to have any power, so her focus on superman look weird.

Cover - I take the variant which shows her obsession for Superman. 2/2
Writing - For now it's too slow. It wasn't bad, but bendis is a little miser. 2/3
Arts - Some are awesome and even daring and other aren't that good and feel very empty. 2.5/3
Feeling - Mixed. I have until the third to chose if I keep it or not. 1/2

First impression is what matters the most, especially when you're a new, important character who happens to be just a regular human being with no powers and no big purpose. That's Naomi to you - she's an average young adult living in a small town, one of those where people are born and then die in. Their own private Idaho, to paraphrase The B-52's.

There's barely any action, tense drama or big stakes in this issue, and that's not a bad thing. It's a story set in the same universe as typical superhero world saving series, but it's observed through the eyes of someone normal, like you and me, with some mystery slowly being set up. It's fresh and different from your average western comics, in a way Gotham Academy was as well, to a degree. From the get go it has its own, unique identity, and you can either love it, or hate it because it's just different. And while I, personally, am not sold (yet) on the story itself, I look forward to see where this series goes, especially since Bendis really tries to appeal to completely different demographic with Naomi - those, who may want to pick up DC comics, but at the same time don't feel that regular heroes and villains are close enough to their reality to be relatable. Marvel flirted with that idea in the past (too bad very incompetently), mostly by turning usual super costumes into something cosplay-friendly, but that's merely a cosmetic choice. Here, everything is crafted not to be like Gotham City or Meropolis, and that indeed may encourage new readers to pick up Naomi.

The issue's highlight has to be the art - it's absolutely beautiful and there's not one bad thing I could say about it. It's a feist for those who love to look at all the panels, analyze them and maybe try to dissect and reverse-engineer them to learn a thing or two about drawing. Either way, art alone deserves a praise, and I'd recommend this comic for its sheer looks alone, even if there was nothing backing it up. And there is, meaning there's more reason to give Naomi a try, and see what Bendis is up to. more

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myconius - Jan 24, 2019

Bendis can actually write well when he chooses to. ....or maybe it has something to do with the full moon?

Nihilist - Jan 24, 2019

Maybe. Either that, or my guess would be, he can write his own characters, but can't follow ones created by others without turning them into something on his own.

myconius - Jan 25, 2019

actually your analogy sounds a lot more accurate.

Nihilist - Jan 25, 2019

I guess we'll see where Young Justice goes. Let's hope I'm wrong, because the comic seems promising.

myconius - Jan 26, 2019

can't say just yet, but it'll probably follow the same path his MoS mini did

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"Nothing ever happens here"

Well, hot damn. I wasn't expecting this, but this thing has me intrigued.

We got a good dialogue here, a story that is shaping to be an interesting one and a likable protagonist in Naomi.

But I think the part that sold me the most is the art. Jamal Cambell is great. These pages are soo good looking. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his work, I really do.

The greatest mystery of the DCU is why this comic needed to be made.