Fantastic, sci-fi/action with brilliant visuals. Read Full Review

What if YOU could take over the consciousness of someone to save the world? Welcome to HARDCORE #1, where Agent Drake will be someone else to save himself. Alessandro Vitti's art uses action to jump off the page. Read Full Review

If you enjoy reading about military and government espionage then I would suggest Hardcore, as it is amazing! Even though it does end on the note of a cliffhanger, it will leave you with a thirst for more. Sadly, the next issue doesn't release until January 23, 2019, and I personally cannot wait to get my hands on it to see where the story goes from here! Read Full Review

To what extent do the ends justify the means? Is one man's homeland security another man's extreme police state? Hardcore #1 doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but if relevant themes, intense action, and a well-paced narrative are your thing, you've come to the right place. Read Full Review

And it really is a mano-a-mano showdown, since Pierce killed everyone in the Hardcore Program and Markus killed her because of one mistake"at least, that's what we're led to believe. Read Full Review

It's always difficult to recommend a book like this based on its first issue. I've read great first issues from books I've gone on to dislike, and I've disliked #1s of books that I've gone on to enjoy very much. It's difficult to projects its future, but Hardcore is in capable hands and it's off to a good start. Read Full Review

A fantastic execution of an unsurprisingly solid idea for a new comic, Hardcore is one of those first issues that expertly drops off all the needed exposition as it hops along its perfect pacing. The overall quality of this comic, however, will be determined by where it goes now that its foundation has been laid. Read Full Review

While some fans might demand a more iconoclastic spin on a book, Kirkman, Diggle and Vitti show us there’s nothing wrong with a good, old-fashioned blockbuster with Hardcore. If I have any reservations about this series — which otherwise seems destined for a feature film — it’s a nagging worry that the cliffhanger of this book might veer Kirkman and company away from their real hook, subbing out the potentials for body-hijacking with the more tried (and tired) Freaky Friday scenarios. But if this creative team can keep showing us different avenues for the fun technology they’ve cooked up, Hardcore could make a killing in more ways than one. Read Full Review

What I see is some hand wavy sci-fi tech used to drive a good idea into a great comic. Sure theres some deeper questions of ethics and morals in posthumanity, but sometimes you just want to be entertained, right? And in that respect, Hardcore is proper blockbuster stuff. Read Full Review

Perhaps because of their incredible scope or their shocking prevalence, data breaches and insider threats are creating a lot of buzz right now. It seems that a new event happens every week, and even though companies rightly fear an attack from an external source, internal threats pose a hidden risk, accounting for a substantial number of data breaches. That is why I think that HARDCORE could be an enduring series but also has a real shot at the being adapted for a screenplay. Read Full Review

Hardcore #1 fails to offer much and quickly limits the central premise. Read Full Review

Basically, if you're a fan of action movies that take clever sci-fi concepts and do basically nothing with them concoct increasingly ridiculous action pieces, then Hardcore might be your jam. Otherwise, not so much. Read Full Review

An exciting first issue. The story moves at pace, and the end of the issue left me much more interested than I was at the outset. That is no bad thing at all! I finished the issue eager to read the next - that is a fairly strong recommendation as to the potential within this title. Where this goes next will really decide whether this is a must-read comic-book, or not, but the potential is there.

Comic Book Review Scale (0-10)

0 -1 Story must keep me engaged
Story first page I was confused wasn't sure what was going on then boom next page and wow action that I didn't see coming all the way to the end of the first issue
definitely want to grab the next issue

1-2 Must be able to Understand the Story to me at least a new story never heard of a storyline like this and I think I understand everything that's going on and looking forward to more issues!

2-3 Visuals/Artwork must make sense and be consistent
visuals looked consistent throughout the story and made sense

3-4 Visuals/Art work must be able to tell the story
Visualy would be hard to tell the story but art workflows well with the story

4-5 Visuals/Art work must be pleasing
art work is pleasing, enjoyed on page 6 2nd to last panel the gunshot how they are this diamond yellow shape very cool

5-6 Cover Art work
The cover looks good you see the main character and the bottom right the last characters but not sure why the woman in the center and the man/woman with glasses
also there is the 2nd cover not too many people know about kinda wish there was a cool variant

6-7 Keep the reader wanting more
The story does keep you wanting more and considering a pull list

7-8 Catches me off guard (story/art)
the story is enjoyable and does catch me off guard a few times and that ending is like man wonder how he's gonna get out of this one

8-9 Makes me want to talk about it ( to people outside the comic community)
it does and doesn't definitely and my comic shop and maybe to a few friends

9-10 Re-readability
Don't think I will reread this book more

Cool stuff, but I'm a bit hesitant when it comes to Diggle. He's Lenny Zero stuff in the megazine was amazing, but there wasn't enough of it. Losers, started off awesome ended with a whimper. Daredevil, pretty much the same. I know there's other stuff, but I can't think of it right now.

The concept isn't new or original (even when it was introduced in Pilot Season 2012) but the execution is decent, with hope that the plot takes an interesting direction. As long as other creators are running with the ideas introduced in Pilot Season, this is me saying I'd like to see Stealth made into a short series.

Kirkman establishes an edgy premise and capitalizes on it with the narrative. But that dialog is...rough. Don't try and be Joss Whedon when you're not, you know, Joss Whedon.

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Synthozoid - Jan 3, 2019

Robert Kirkman did not write this issue.

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I remember the original from back in the day, it was OK, much like this is just OK. The concept is pretty decent but the execution has two major problems for me:
(1) It is covered in 90s-esque EXTREEEEME stank
(2) It reads like a treatment for film or television, this story, the way they are telling it, does not need to be in comics