I’ve been waiting for The Incredibles comic book since I first heard about Boom’s new line of comics for kids last year. Originally given the working title of Zoom, the line’s been branded now with a proper line-extending imprint, Boom! Kids and the results for the launch are spectacular.

The Incredibles: Family Matters #1 kicks off the first of Boom! Kids Disney • Pixar books. The 4-issue mini-series is an original adventure by writer Mark Waid and artist Marcio Takara. Waid takes a classic super-hero storyline - I won’t give it away because it spoils the whole cliffhanger ending kind of thing – and templates it over The Incredibles and walks away a winner. He makes the characters’ transition from animated feature to comic books feel seamless and gets right into the all-new adventure without doling out unnecessary backstory. He packs a lot into 22 pages, and it’s all clear, crisp and fun. Never seen the movie? Not a problem, there’s enough here to fill in the gaps without feeling left out. Love the movie? Your love can easily transfer to these pages and satisfy you until the movie’s sequel comes out. Waid has captured the very essence of the movie and what’s here is nothing short of a Master Class in how-to-do-it right. Takara’s artwork is spot on and he packs each page with visual playfulness.

There are 4 variant covers by Michael Avon Oeming, and a special one by Mike Mignola, if that’s your kind of thing. Less than 24 hours after the first issue hit the stands, my LCS only had two copies left out of over 20 ordered (I asked). The cover to your right is the one I bought. With The Muppet Show #1 already sold out, and the first issue of The Incredibles: Family Matters following suit, it looks like Boom! Kids is off to a great start. Now here’s a tip – feel free to enjoy The Incredibles comic in the privacy of your own Fan Cave, but if you have kids and you want to grow the next generation of funny book fanatics, sit down with them and read it together. You won’t be sorry.

If you want to preview some interior pages from the first issue, you can click here.

[Disclosure #1: Mark Waid and I have known each other for years and during our awkward not-quite teenage years, had many lunches together at an awful Hollywood restaurant called New York George.]

[Disclosure #2: I used to work with Boom toppers Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby at Malibu Comics.]

[Disclosure #3: At Book Expo America (LA 2008) I asked Boom Marketing and Sales Director Chip Mosher if he knew where Ross was. He did.]

(artwork @ 2009 Disney/Pixar)

One of the next Boom! Kids releases is the comic book version of Disney•Pixar’s Cars, starring Lightning McQueen. I talked about it earlier in this post.