Before getting to the review proper, there’s something people picking up Creator Owned Heroes for the first time need to understand: it’s not a comic book in the traditional sense, at least not completely. Yes, it has two awesome ongoing stories in comic form, but at ten pages each they only make up about half the book’s material. (Keep in mind that just those twenty pages are about what you get for the same $3.99 price tag with some other companies.) The other half is full of interviews with creative professionals, advice on publishing (in the case of issue 2, how to run a successful campaign on Kickstarter), and articles about the state of the comics industry. In short, Creator Owned Heroes is as much a book about comics as it is a comic book. While I feel that there’s definitely a need for a magazine about comic creators, I also want people to be aware of what they’re getting. Here’s how Image describes it:

“TRIGGERGIRL 6,” Part Two 
by JIMMY PALMIOTTI, JUSTIN GRAY & PHIL NOTO
In this sci-fi thriller, Triggergirl hits the ground running, fighting her way to the White House to assassinate the President of the United States. Can nothing stop this one woman killing machine?

“AMERICAN MUSCLE,” Part Two 
by STEVE NILES & KEVIN MELLON
Facing the realization that he has led the gang to a dead end, Gil takes matters into his own hands. Unfortunately, heading into a mutant infested desert my yourself leads to big, nast trouble. 

PLUS! An interview with PAUL POPE, a PHIL NOTO art gallery, con photos, and original articles all celebrating the creator-owned spirit!

I’ll just be focusing on the story portions of COH #2 here, as discussing the rest of the material is really beyond the scope of this review.

Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (who I’m considering referring to collectively as “GrayPalm”) deliver a super fast ten pages of “Triggergirl 6”. The uninitiated, myself included, may be confused once or twice, like when TG vomits acid, but that really doesn’t hinder one’s enjoyment of watching her airdrop into Washington DC to break into the oval office without pausing for breath. The same newbies will be just as appreciative of the final twist as readers who picked up issue 1. On the art front, Phil Noto‘s stellar work is a great combination of precision and impressionism, and his colors were one of my favorite elements of the whole book.

Steve Niles  gives us the second chapter of “American Muscle,” which seems like your standard zombie apocalypse. It’s serviceable, but not fantastic. The “zombies” may not be exactly that, but they are more disgusting than usual. For me the most intriguing element was that one of walkers/undead/whatever was over one hundred years old (they found his drivers license) which creates an interesting setting where humanity has survived beyond the initial post-end-of-the-world chaos. As with the story, Kevin Mellon‘s art is serviceable. I particularly like the line shading. However, all the characters seem particularly well-dressed, considering it’s the far future. Who can even find clean clothes, car parts and gasoline a hundred years after everything goes to hell? Maybe I missed something in issue 1.

Creator Owned Heroes has some great stories to offer. Some of the other material feels like filler, but overall it’s cool to take a backstage look at the industry we all love. While the story/publishing info combination may not appeal to everyone, I recommend you give it a shot.

4/5