After a 7 month sabbatical, Simon Cooke returns home to Saturn City. Although his staff and attorney are happy for his return, Simon is nonchalant throughout the story.

I bought this issue without knowing anything about it. I have not read any previews, reviews or interviews. I wanted to read it because I wanted to know what is going on in the story that would cause a lot of retailers to not sell the comic in their shops. When I couldn’t find it on the shelf at my local comic shop, I asked the owners if they ordered the book. The book was ordered but it was behind the counter. They said it was due to explicit graphics. But I wonder if any of the retailers read a preview, or if the comic was simply judged by its’ title.

Sex, by Image Comics, is a catchy title. I flipped through the pages before reading it, and didn’t see anything worthy of getting banned. There are a few explicit pages. Simon is in a suite (sitting on a sofa) at a gentlemen’s club. Sliding doors open to reveal two women performing sexual acts on each other. Simon sits and watches quietly. Angry that he’s not masturbating, one of the ladies calls him out on it. The door slams and a woman, who Simon appears to know, walks out and tells Simon the ladies are not allowed to talk to the clients. That’s it for the sex in the story.

With a title like Sex, I thought the comic would mostly consist of sex and crime. Something that would be worth displaying from behind the counter. There is nothing in this issue that needs to be banned from the shelves of comic shops. Maybe in future issues, but definitely not this one.

There is only one curse word in this story. The lady that became angry with Simon called him an asshole. That is the only obscene word I read in the story.

One thing that concerns me is that Sex was behind the counter at my local comic shop. On the other hand, Crossed, a title published by Avatar Press, was not. I walked right into the store and grabbed an issue right off the shelf.  And that is far WORSE than Sex.

I didn’t get much out of this story at all. I know that Simon Cooke took a 7 month sabbatical. He has his own company, The Cooke Company. He was a part of a group called The Armored Saints. A kingpin, who looks old as dirt, shows up at the club with two bodyguards. Overall, I have no idea what this series is about or where it’s going. I will not be reading farther than I already have, issue #1. Although the title grabbed my attention, the story did not.

The story is written by Joe Casey. The art team consists of Piotr Kowalski (artist) and Brad Simpson (colorist). I have no complaints at all about the artwork. Kowalski and Simpson did a great job.

VERDICT (drum roll please)

I do not recommend this title.