The Creators – Christopher Cantwell – Writer, Sean Izaakse – Artist, Romulo Fajardo Jr. – Colours, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou – Letters

The Players – Walter Haley, June Robbins, Ace Morgan, Matthew Ryan, Leslie Davis, Mr. Terrific, Superman, Ms. Martian

The Story – Darkseid is gone but all is not well in the universe. There are things that need explaining which is where the Challengers of the Unknown come in.

The Take – Christopher Cantwell and Sean Izaakse team up to take on the latest iteration of the Challengers of the Unknown, the latest property from DC’s past to make a comeback after several years away from the spotlight. For a first issue, they do a good job at setting things up for this first storyline. There is a bit of mystery in the air thanks to Mr. Terrific, the man believing that Darkseid who has recently ‘passed on’ may not have actually done so. Being a god, Terrific does not believe that Darkseid can die so easily and that it is only a matter of time before the monster makes a return. As a result of that loss though, there have been some strange incidents in the universe, mysterious objects and phenomena that need explaining and as the heroes of the Watchtower needed to deal with bigger things on a more consistent basis, it falls to those not-quite-so-regular human beings known as the Challengers of the Unknown to investigate them. Even at this point, with the enigmas posed by the disappearing Darkseid, there is still a further puzzle. There is a mystery within the team itself and it becomes more apparent as the story evolves. It is not done overtly, but there is something there when Mr. Terrific wants the team to be accompanied by members of the JLA. His reasoning is sound and makes sense, but there is something else there, an undercurrent, and readers soon find out why that is. Cantwell does a great job at setting everything up and despite not featuring all that much action, it is an intriguing story that hooks its readers in right from the start and leaves them wanting more as the riddles the team has pledged to solve become more apparent. As for Darkseid, he will remain far from the book for now. There is no way that DC would bring the villain back this soon, though one can never say never should sales falter. As it is, Cantwell has enough material to last a while given what he has shown here and it should make for good reading with each issue that follows. As for Izaakse, the man does a great job with the pencils and seems well-suited to the book. Though it might have been a little low on the action, it is sure to pick up at some point and it will be good to see the Challengers in action when that does eventually happen.

Worth It? – Yes.