Top Cow’s one shot comic, First Born: Aftermath, came out today—Wednesday, new comics release day. So how was it, and is it worth your precious moola?

First Born: Aftermath One Shot
Writers: Phil Hester, Ron Marz
Artists: Stjepan Sejic, Ryan Sook, and Lee Moder
Colors: Larry Molinar and Dave McCaig
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Design: Chaz Riggs
Editor: Rob Levin
Covers: Stjepan Sejic and Ryan Sook
Summary: “You only thought First Born was over! Coinciding with the release of the First Born collected edition, a pair of all-star creative teams joins forces for two tales that pick up very literally from the ashes of First Born, and set the stage for coming events in the Top Cow Universe in this oversized special. Witchblade scribe Ron Marz (Samurai: Heaven & Earth) and artist Ryan Sook (X-Factor) team for a Magdalena story, while The Darkness author Phil Hester (Superman Confidential) joins with Lee Moder (Red Sonja, Painkiller Jane) to introduce a powerful new villain. Add to that a painted sequence by original artist Stjepan Sejic (Witchblade), and this book is ideal for new fans jumping into Witchblade, The Darkness, or the rest of the Top Cow Universe.”

Yes! Man, am I happy to say this comic was fantastic!

After a disappointing run-through with the last comic I reviewed—Genius #1—First Born put me in a much better mood.

This comic consists of three stories: “Stragglers,” “Armies of the Night,” and “Crisis of Faith.” There are three covers for this comic (my favorite—from which the header of this post comes from—is a Limited Convention Exclusive of the San Diego Comic-Con, Wizard, and Wizard World Chicago), and they’re all cool.

“Stragglers” is about three friends who decide to go exploring a mysterious cave—a cave that just happens to contain minions of the Darkness; is the only bad part about the whole comic. Frankly I found this first part (which is the shortest of the three) to be a little boring, although in all honesty it wasn’t that bad. But I’m not a fan of the artwork, either, which was done by Stjepan Sejic. Sejic did the art for the cover featured here (Cover A), however—and the detail on it is amazing.

Thankfully things really pick up with the second story, which gets VERY interesting. Focusing on a tale regarding the Darkness, this segment ties nicely in with the first, which was mainly included to set up the comic—which works, even though I didn’t like the first part much. The third part is just as cool (which deals with the Magdalena, Patience), and by this point I was already itching for more. The art in “Armies of the Night” (by Lee Moder) and “Crisis of Faith” (Ryan Sook) is simply great, and it felt more like a comic book to me.

I’m pretty new to Witchblade, The Darkness, and The Magdalena. So you know how the summary for this comic (see above) says it’s “ideal for new fans”? They really mean it. This comic was incredibly helpful, and I’m actually more intrigued now that I have some background under my belt.

Definitely pick this comic book up, especially if you’re already a fan of either of these three series. It makes for a handy reference and worthy addition to your collection; it’s good all-around. Because the first section was a little lacking, I’m giving this comic a 4 out of 5. What an awesome release! Thank you, Top Cow, for the early copy! I loved it.

Want a preview? Head over to Top Cow, where you can also see all three covers as well.