I’m a bit late to the party with this one, considering we’re almost at issue 5 on the release schedule. However, with the first few issues having been printed multiple times and a 1990 Stephen King’s It homage cover for issue 4, I was sufficiently intrigued to pick up the currently available issues of Dynamite’s new Ben 10 series.

This issue begins with the Tennyson family (Grandpa and his grandchildren, Ben and Gwen) camping in the woods. Before long, something weird has dropped to Earth,  and Ben is affected in a big way…

Though I’m pretty unfamiliar with Ben 10 as a whole, being the super absorbent pop culture sponge that I am, I seem to have acquired tons of knowledge on it regardless. I was well into adulthood when the original Ben 10 show debuted, so never watched it, but this issue and the origin seemed very familiar to me.

The original creators (the brilliantly named and prolific creative collective, Man of Action) are on board with this reboot too, so that undoubtedly helps to give it an authentic, familiar feel.

Yet at the same time, this does feel like a somewhat grittier and more mature retelling of Ben’s origin. There’s definitely a detailed, realistic feel to the artwork, and even some body horror elements (albeit not too drastic). The bear that Ben encounters in the woods is superbly realised in a way that makes it very scary indeed, and the looming military response to the situation is handled in a way that makes them seem serious too.

Numerous pop culture references bring it bang up to date as well (though of course, these will date the reboot just as much in the future!). It’s a really impressive start, and you can see why this run has garnered so much positive attention so far.

That said, I have seen numerous fans of the original show complaining about certain elements here, including the design of the aliens, Ben’s various forms and the pacing. I personally thought all of those things were spot on, and the aliens being as grotesque as they are really worked for me.

In any case, I thought this was great, and it seems like Dynamite are an incredibly safe home for so many nostalgic properties right now. It feels like this is a reboot that could just run and run, seeing as how there’s so much material to draw from, and the original creators are rebuilding everything themselves here, seemingly building a grittier, almost Absolute-esque universe for Ben and friends.

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