After delay and quite a wait, the first series from Bad Idea is here! And, after such a long time, it lives up to the anticipation and hype. ENIAC #1 is the first series from the new publisher bringing with it some pressure to deliver. Thankfully, it does that and then some with two solid stories and a solid presentation.

Written by Matt Kindt, ENIAC #1 is an interesting use of real events and history delivering an alternate take on our world. In World War II, a powerful computer was created. Now, decades later, that computer is still active, on the run, and it has a mission of its own. This is the story of the team tasked with taking the computer down.

The story is an interesting one with a familiarity like it’s been seen before but also something new. ENIAC #1 is a bit of Wargames but with an action spin to it. That action is delivered by two special ops members tasked with their mission. Our introduction to the duo is the type of sequence that hooks you as the comic opens with a mission for them to figure out who’s paying to get American soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

There’s an interesting political awareness in that opening, and the comic as a whole has that running underneath. While it could easily be a braindead action comic, ENIAC #1 instead has a bit of intelligence throughout. There’s use of real history, geopolitical reality, and a bit of grounded aspects about it as well. Kindt seems to extend that thought to his two protagonists, two women tasked with stopping a machine created by a man. It’s hard to not think of the symbolism in that or the fact that one woman is White while the other is Black. It feels like there’s some deeper meaning to Kindt’s choices like that.

The art is top-notch. Doug Braithwaite delivers a beautiful comic helped by the colors of Diego Rodriguez and lettering of Dave Sharpe. The comic looks fantastic in every aspect. It handles the action beautifully and can pivot from that to a mission brief in a desert. Every visual detail adds a little something to the story and helps breath life into the world.

ENIAC #1 is the main draw and within readers get a treat in the B-Side story of Kindt and artist Doug Lapham‘s Hero Trade. The story is vastly different than the main one, in both content and look. So, there’s a bit of a jarring aspect to it as if it’s an anthology without much thought into a theme. But, the story is a trippy science fiction story that’s worthy of the Twilight Zone. It got me sucked in and had me laughing at its end. As an addition to the main story, it’s the cherry on top.

ENIAC #1 is a solid debut in both a comic series and for a publisher. Bad Idea has delivered quality after a lot of hype and build-up, so pressure is off, they’ve succeeded. The comic has an intriguing plot, interesting characters, fantastic art, it’s a big budget film in comic form. It might be hard to find the issue with Bad Idea’s limited release plan but it’s absolutely worth it. Order online if you have to and pressure your local shop if they’re not on the Bad Idea train. This is one that’s going to go over big.

Story: Matt Kindt Art: Doug Braithwaite, Doug Lapham
Color: Diego Rodriguez Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

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