Yumi: 00EX #1 debuts the latest mini-series from creator and writer Doug Wagner. Wagner has delivered a lot of great mini-series in the past. One of my favorites was Wagner’s Klik Klik Boom from back in 2023. So, when I heard that Wagner will be teaming up with creator and artist Hoyt Silva for a new spy comic book, Yumi: 00EX, I made sure to keep an eye out for when it would be released. Image Comics provided us with an early copy of the first issue. Find out how it turned out with our advance review of Yumi: 00EX #1.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Doug Wagner
Artist: Hoyt Silva
Colorist: Kevin Lennertz
Letterer: Frank Cvetkovic
YUMI: 00EX #1 SOLICITATION
“MINISERIES PREMIERE! Yumi is in love. Yumi is lethal. When her MI6 boyfriend disappears, Yumi storms the agency – hacking their network, dismantling their operatives, and setting everything on fire. There she finds her first ally… a fully AI Lamborghini that’s built less like a car and more like a WMD. The anti-spy thriller begins here. From the writer of NARCO, PLASTIC, and I WAS A FASHION SCHOOL SERIAL KILLER.” – Image Comics
REVIEW
The best first issues are ones that get right into the selling point of the comic book. In the case of Yumi: 00EX #1 it is the titular lead going to war against MI6 after her boyfriend disappears. There is absolutely no time wasted in getting right into what makes this series cool. By creating this immediate buy in the more experimental things that is done with the narrative from both the writing and artwork.
There is so much personality shown in the five pages of Yumi: 00EX #1. You do feel like you are getting everything you need to know about Yumi as a lead character and the world she exists in. Doug Wagner and Hoyt Silva doing so with a kick ass action sequence makes the opening have such high-octane energy behind it. The way this opening is framed has so much packed into it that after you read the entire issue you want to go immediately back to read what you may have missed from the quick pace.
Creating a feeling that you keep moving forward with the story is the greatest strength of the magic that Wagner and Silva are able to create. You want to see how Yumi charges ahead with her revenge story against the spy industry. She holds nothing back in how she goes about things, adding to how her fighting style feel unique to her character.
While Yumi: 00EX #1 is a revenge story it does not mean that it is consumed by a dark tone. It certainly helps that Silva’s artwork is very animated with colorist Kevin Lennertz adding vibrance to the world. But Wagner’s writing should not be overlooked. Wagner does a lot of great character work to make sure Yumi’s personality shines through. While she is motivated by revenge she isn’t losing who she is because of it. Establishing Yumi in this way makes her journey throughout the story much more interesting.
Yumi, being such a compelling lead makes the world of this series much better. There is a feeling created that there are many things going on in the world that don’t necessarily involve Yumi. But now because of what Yumi’s mission is she is getting involved in a world that has many things going on. Now she is just in the middle of it all.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Yumi: 00EX #1 knocks it out of the park creating a fascinating spy world that you want to continue reading about. Yumi is as charming as she is deadly, something immediately established by the incredible opening scene of this issue. The high octane momentum created by the opening creates a great pace to the story that is thrilling from the beginning to the end.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
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