A&A: The One Percent #1

[BugsySig]

Great little story. It really sets up the 1% as a legit threat and their leader as a legit villain in the VU. Plus I thought most of it was really *SQUEE* funny.

[the1captain]

Gotta be honest. It didn't do much for me. Many other groups in the sect more interesting than this group. Liked them at the beginning of A & A. But not enough to feel they warranted a one shot.

[David_Cody]

I've never been a fan of this rendition of A&A. Read most of this at my LCS and thought it was a most-bizarre issue. Can't for the life of me figure out who this would appeal to. VEI should close the books on both A&A and Q&W and focus its efforts to material that appeals to more than the 1% fringe.

[Ramses818]

This was not my favorite book.

[hunter_peterson]

I've never been a fan of this rendition of A&A. Read most of this at my LCS and thought it was a most-bizarre issue. Can't for the life of me figure out who this would appeal to. VEI should close the books on both A&A and Q&W and focus its efforts to material that appeals to more than the 1% fringe.

Well, I think sales would indicate that those books aren't by any means fringe books. And the fan reaction to them both has been very positive, Q&W more so on other forums. So that may be a little bit of confirmation bias there. Just saying in a hopefully friendly manner.

I really enjoyed this issue. It took the concept of the 1% and attached a figurehead with a personality to it, elevating that group a lot. And they seem more malevolent now, which is good. I hope we see them pop up somewhere interesting later, maybe even Imperium. I could see this new 1% getting up in Harada's face. Cool one shot.

[QUARTZ]

I really enjoyed this issue. It took the concept of the 1% and attached a figurehead with a personality to it, elevating that group a lot. And they seem more malevolent now, which is good. I hope we see them pop up somewhere interesting later, maybe even Imperium. I could see this new 1% getting up in Harada's face. Cool one shot.

I agree. It was a nice setup for a future conflict with the 1% and the rest of Valiant. I liked how ruthless the next generation was. A real villain wears a suit.

[Captain Craig]

Overall I felt this kept the tone of the 1% while essentially giving us a figurehead to focus on.
His bravado and arrogance should make for some interesting interactions in the future. His side deal with the demon Mammon that protects him from being shot is interesting...but what about knives or explosive devices?

I liked the issue.

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

Was a cool issue. I dug it. I like that Joe Eisma and Steve Lieber have both done Valiant work. Could that mean that Nick Spencer isn't far behind?
It was a cool issue, not the best, not the worst. But entertaining, and most likely will be leading to something bigger, not just a throwaway issue. Expect more.

[Donovan]

This issue was great, and is *exactly* the kind of stuff I'm expecting from VEI.

Sorry.

Really enjoyed it - Fawkes has me on board!

[kjjohanson]

Usually a book gets more than 9 posts when it's been out a week. I'm guessing that means that many, like me, were underwhelmed.

[chriskay99]

Usually a book gets more than 9 posts when it's been out a week. I'm guessing that means that many, like me, were underwhelmed.

As a fan of VEI A&A, I had no interest in picking up this book. Same goes for me with Punk Mambo. A&A/Shadowman are essentially on hiatus and I see these as filler issues, but not "key" for me to pick up. Judging from the comments, everyone has said it's been good, but not great so...still no motivation to get it.

[kjjohanson]

Usually a book gets more than 9 posts when it's been out a week. I'm guessing that means that many, like me, were underwhelmed.

As a fan of VEI A&A, I had no interest in picking up this book. Same goes for me with Punk Mambo. A&A/Shadowman are essentially on hiatus and I see these as filler issues, but not "key" for me to pick up. Judging from the comments, everyone has said it's been good, but not great so...still no motivation to get it.

I'm guessing that this issue is mostly setup for when/if A&A gets a new series, where the 1% will be the main baddies. The events would have worked better as cutaway scenes over the course of a larger story, as I don't think there was really enough meat there for a standalone.

[Captain Craig]

Usually a book gets more than 9 posts when it's been out a week. I'm guessing that means that many, like me, were underwhelmed.

As a fan of VEI A&A, I had no interest in picking up this book. Same goes for me with Punk Mambo. A&A/Shadowman are essentially on hiatus and I see these as filler issues, but not "key" for me to pick up. Judging from the comments, everyone has said it's been good, but not great so...still no motivation to get it.

I'm guessing that this issue is mostly setup for when/if A&A gets a new series, where the 1% will be the main baddies. The events would have worked better as cutaway scenes over the course of a larger story, as I don't think there was really enough meat there for a standalone.

Possibly. Of course what do you subtitle an A&A book? I'm a broken record I know but I'm good with #26 should they want to bring A&A back...it's just on hiatus.

[erwinrafael]

With the Delinquents and this...I cant help but wonder why other writers seem to miss the point of FVL's take on A&A. They always go for the comedic and the absurd elements, and leave out the heart, the intelligence, and the philosophical musings that were equally (if not moreso) important in FVL's run.

[grendeljd]

Usually a book gets more than 9 posts when it's been out a week. I'm guessing that means that many, like me, were underwhelmed.

As a fan of VEI A&A, I had no interest in picking up this book. Same goes for me with Punk Mambo. A&A/Shadowman are essentially on hiatus and I see these as filler issues, but not "key" for me to pick up. Judging from the comments, everyone has said it's been good, but not great so...still no motivation to get it.

I'm guessing that this issue is mostly setup for when/if A&A gets a new series, where the 1% will be the main baddies. The events would have worked better as cutaway scenes over the course of a larger story, as I don't think there was really enough meat there for a standalone.

Agreed. I enjoyed the issue well enough, but right off the bat I knew it was coming down to all that chaos & a coup being orchestrated by the son, so it was kind of a chore to trundle through all the set up to get to the reveal at the very end. I think it would have read better if it hadn't been structured that way - the reveal could have come sooner without ruining the story.

[erwinrafael]

I tried to give this another chance again last night. Sadly, I kept on thinking that I have seen this story executed in another book before, and I finally figured out what. This is just like a poorer version of what Jason Aaron did to the Hellfire Club with Kade Kilgore.

[bygranddesign]

I finally read this - and i was pleasantly surprised. Nothing earth shattering but it was a solid read with some good art.

I think the new status quo for the 1% is interesting and look forward to seeing more.

[jmatt]

I read this last night and was mulling it over from time to time since. My comment is a question: Was there a story here?

I am a comic book simpleton, in a way. If I read a comic and am not displeased with the art or action within, I am usually content with it. And I was okay with this book until I started thinking about it.

This book can be summed up in few sentences:

"Son, you're a horrible person, I'm so disappointed in you."
"Eff you Dad, you never loved mom. Now I'm taking over!"

I recently purchase and read SA Marvel FF #29, It Started on Yancy Street. Using nine panel pages, the comic covered so much territory and so many characters, it's hard to believe. Battles on Earth, a trip to the Baxter Building, multiple battles on a spaceship, a trip to the moon, an escape to the the Moon's blue zone with Thing tunneling through rock as their air supply dwindled, more battles and interaction therein, an appearance by the Watcher, action and technology in his Moon base and on and on.

If Stan Lee wrote the AA 1% book in 1964, all of the action we saw in this issue would have taken up no more than a single page; maybe two. Instead, this issue covered no more than maybe two hours of activity spread over 22 pages: a heated boardroom and a mad dash car ride to the airport.

This issue should have had so much more. It's like we saw the first eight minutes of a movie. We need more story in every issue of every title.

[Baramos]

I think anyone taking this too seriously is reading too much into it.

It was supposed to be hilariously off-the-wall, with the premise of what would happen if a James Bond villain was an immature early 20-something with a taste for partying. I think this new villain is actually going to quite interesting because he has the sensibilities of Armstrong but with a few trillion dollars backing it. And he's not even that "evil"--he offs a bunch of other evil folks and takes over their empire, true, but his outlook on the world is much more "modern", and while he appears to be self-centered and egotistical, hey, at least he's paying gimp barista's college loans off. Still very twisted, but he's aware that the way to control people is through flash, pizzazz, charisma, and not economics (well, real economics, that is). He's about the cult of personality, not backroom deals. So the world is about to get far more wacky because an A-1 nutcase is in charge of the asylum now.

[NapoleonBlownapart]

If Stan Lee wrote the AA 1% book in 1964, all of the action we saw in this issue would have taken up no more than a single page; maybe two. Instead, this issue covered no more than maybe two hours of activity spread over 22 pages: a heated boardroom and a mad dash car ride to the airport.

That's not just VEI, though. Almost every comic since The Ultimates uses a similar decompressed "cinematic" style.

I actually really enjoyed this issue, and I'd love to see a 1% ongoing as a comedy series similar to A&A and Q&W.

[mkb28]

Usually a book gets more than 9 posts when it's been out a week. I'm guessing that means that many, like me, were underwhelmed.

As a fan of VEI A&A, I had no interest in picking up this book. Same goes for me with Punk Mambo. A&A/Shadowman are essentially on hiatus and I see these as filler issues, but not "key" for me to pick up. Judging from the comments, everyone has said it's been good, but not great so...still no motivation to get it.

Yeah, I was underwhelmed by this issue too.

Mkb28

[leonmallett]

With the Delinquents and this...I cant help but wonder why other writers seem to miss the point of FVL's take on A&A. They always go for the comedic and the absurd elements, and leave out the heart, the intelligence, and the philosophical musings that were equally (if not moreso) important in FVL's run.

Totally agreed.

This raised the spectre of a more threatening 1%, which was good, although with only allusions about Mannon rather than clear delineations of Mannon's power.

This felt more in the mode of Quantum and Woody and therefore reaching too far over the top for my tastes, with a nod to the excesses of the Wolf of Wall Street along the way. FVL strikes such a nice balance between humour and more thought-provoking elements, and I hope Fawkes looks to that model more than say the Asmus approach.

I also did not really buy into the coup; I accepted the rationale, but not the execution, it seemed too easy all things considered.

[jmatt]

If Stan Lee wrote the AA 1% book in 1964, all of the action we saw in this issue would have taken up no more than a single page; maybe two. Instead, this issue covered no more than maybe two hours of activity spread over 22 pages: a heated boardroom and a mad dash car ride to the airport.

That's not just VEI, though. Almost every comic since The Ultimates uses a similar decompressed "cinematic" style.

Maybe the next issue will be 24 pages of them discussing whether they should still wear the Bull and Bear headpieces. Cinematically, of course.

[lorddunlow]

I enjoyed it. Not great, but better than Quantum and Woody.

Embarking on my huge backlog of books. Started with this as it is the oldest that I haven't read. I'm skipping Quantum and Woody stuff for now...

[jmatt]

I enjoyed it. Not great, but better than Quantum and Woody.

Embarking on my huge backlog of books. Started with this as it is the oldest that I haven't read. I'm skipping Quantum and Woody stuff for now...

Jeez, you are behind.