The First v. 1: Two Houses Divided

The First (collected editions) #1

by Barbara Randall Kesel, Bart Sears (Illustrator), Andy Smith (Illustrator)

The First is a race of godlike beings that believe they formed themselves in a passion of creation. Their past lost in a fog of myth, their present is a comfortable routine – until a new power emerges that could topple their preeminence. Faced with its first true threat, their society begins to fall apart, and soon the mystery of the Sigil-Bearers threatens to plunge The First into civil war. The First is a story of beautiful, powerful beings with feet of clay. Larger than life, they’re portrayed with an over-the-top vigor and vitality. Like The Real World set on Mount Olympus, THE FIRST boils over with intrigues great and small and with the fate of the universe hanging in the balance.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Barbara Randall Kesel is an American writer and editor of comic books; her bibliography includes work for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, CrossGen, Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics. Kesel is a very outspoken opponent of sexism in the comic book industry. She is known for her strong female characters, influencing her then husband Karl's work on Lois Lane in the Superman titles and creating Grace, the ruler of the Golden City location in Comics' Greatest World.

Kesel initially came into the comics world after writing a 10-page letter to editor Dick Giordano regarding the portrayal of female comic book characters. At Dark Horse, Kesel was part of Team CGW, responsible for most of the design and creation of the setting and characters in the Golden City location. She is currently part of book packaging company The Pack, alongside Lee Nordling, Brian Augustyn, Gordon Kent and Dave Olbrich.

Kesel has been nominated for the 1991 "Best Editor" Eisner Award for Badlands, Aliens: Genocide and Star Wars. In 1995, she was nominated for "Best Anthology" and "Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Material" Harvey Awards for, respectively, Instant Piano and Hellboy: Seed of Destruction. She won the 1996 "Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work" Harvey Award, for Hellboy: The Wolves of St. August.

Reviews

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long long long ago I got the single issues of The First as they were published, now I came back to them and it was an experience beyond belief.
It was a slow read since we did it at home and I read it out loud describing the graphics so the one of us with low vision could enjoy it as well. It was a shared experience and also a fantastic trip. We talked about all the intrigues, amazing powers, and the mind-blowing concepts.
Oh, and the art was beyond this world. Bart Sears' character design is over the top, exaggerated, whatever you like, and it fits perfectly these God-like characters.
The large cast and the intelligent plot is also a warning that this book is not for everyone. It's not simple and it was never planned that way. It goes way beyond stories where everything gets solved with fists. it's a tale for the mind.
Oh, and if anyone is going crazy trying to figure out which single issues this trade contains, well, here's the list: The First 1-7, plus a 6-page story of The First that appeared in Scion 4, Mystic 4, Meridian 4, and Sigil 4.

[Estiven Mora Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t have experience with comics.

I really loved The First and Cross Jen a lot.

I can’t wait to continue.

[Daryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was terrible. Bart Sears' art, which he (laughably) describes as "ultra-realistic" is so exaggerated and grotesque that it makes the book that much harder to read. Not that it needed the help. There might be a good story lurking herein, but it's so convoluted and so weighted down with a zillion undefined characters that it's hard to find. (In the back of the trade is a "poster image" of 124 members of the First and a name chart to help identify them. This should tell you what a mess this book is.)