Bear in mind
I'm coming at this not only as a fan, but as the animation industry
professional I became because of the show, not to mention my direct dealings
with World Events Productions over the years.
I suggest you put on a mental seatbelt for this, and be aware I have a
few minor spoilers...
One thing I absolutely must give Devil's Due credit for is their ability to get this past the top brass at World Events Productions. I don't know if certain executives just assumed 'comics are for kids' and took it on faith without script approval, or World Events just was happy to license the name without caring how their property was treated, or what. Based on my own personal experiences over the years, I find it extremely difficult to believe World Events went into the comic project approving of this story. I'd love to learn that it would be true, because it would show a great deal of growth on their part to break out of the thought that they must be geared solely to kids 6-11. Kids first has always been their mantra, and in fact heavily dictated the storytelling of the recent VOLTRON 3D revival despite the knowledge that a large adult fan base bred in the 1980s also exists, a limitation that many argue (and part of me agrees) ultimately hurt the storytelling abilities of the series.
The VOLTRON #1 comic from Devil's Due is the ultimate backlash (or at least it seems so!) to the 'only for kids' mantra. Welcome to an alternate universe where our five heroes are the bottom of the barrel, given the mission to Arus as a last chance to redeem themselves. Lance just got out of prison and its implied he has a long record, instead of being the jaded farmboy who grew up with a rebel streak, his 'James Dean'-like appeal reduced to a common criminal. Sven has just barely missed ending up in jail after killing someone what was ruled self-defense, instead of the 'honor above all,' near-priestly man who must let go of his ideals to find himself after nearly dying and being found by Romelle in the Pit of Skulls. There are changes with Hunk and Pidge as well; Keith is the closest to the one that TV audiences came to know. However, to Devil's Due's credit, they're all at their proper age of being in their 20s except Pidge at 16. (Producer Peter Keefe once insisted they were all around 16 during an interview on Sally Jessy Raphael, with Pidge being 14, I found that laughable even as a teen...)
The change in characters isn't necessarily bad in that this is an alternate universe and we are starting from scratch. But nothing endears me to these versions like the qualities I detailed above in the TV versions. The one thing that I find is lost on many people analyzing VOLTRON's success is that VOLTRON's strength is as much in the characters as in the mighty robot. These comic characters do not have equal or superior characterizations to their television counterparts; they almost all sound alike, with Sven talking far too much (he's a man of few words in the TV series and such a character doesn't exist here). Lance sounds the most like his TV version with his quips but in other places is using language that seems too big for what we know him to use. Bearing in mind that most of the pages of VOLTRON #1 don't rely on battle sequences, but character interaction, nearly identical-sounding characters with minimal background history make this story a little more than a passing curiosity.
(I could not get my hands on VOLTRON #0, which may have included more detailed character bios. But this book should have been written so that the other, harder to find book, was not a required companion if that is the case. Especially when trying to get older fans to accept a totally revised world).
I won't spoil the plot too much, but this is definitely an alternate history in many ways. Episode #1 of the original series basically never happens, and other events are tinkered from there. The creation, and destruction, of VOLTRON also have major differences -- and I'm not even counting the VOLTRON 3D revelations when I say that. Zarkon also has better relations with the Drule Empire as a whole, versus being the renegade the Drules can't control in the TV series.
Oh yes... and there is no Galaxy Alliance in this one, it's the Galactic Union. Another hint we're not in the same universe. I'm just surprised, especially with the problems that a VOLTRON 3D episode ("Consider the Alternatives," which ultimately was all a dream of Lance's!) had in not really being able to be allowed to be an alternate VOLTRON universe, that an alternate universe would even be allowed to be published.
However, I have to say, I really do like the art style on this and most of the character redesigns. Sven's is the only one I don't like. Good shadows and linework, and vibrant color.
I just wish the story and characters could live up to the trouble they gave the artwork. I might buy #2 out of curiosity to see if the quality remains the same, but I don't plan on going out of my way for this series. Now, had this been a series that picked up where VOLTRON 3D left off -- or even dealt as a bridge of the 5 years between the two series -- and told a quality story that appealed to adults and kids alike, true to the characters that I came to know and love, I might go out of my way to get it.
I also acknowledge my direct involvement with this series has been higher than most fans, including having my take on the Denubian Galaxy Starmap being licensed by World Events Productions, deeply rooted in a passion beyond explanation. This comic's VOLTRON retelling may appeal to you, and I certainly wouldn't stand in your way. You might want to think twice about giving the comics to your kids, since these are not the same characters as you knew them (especially because we don't know what Lance's rap sheet is, petty theft or much worse? What kind of role model is that for kids?). But that's also your call.
Devil's Due has a right to do what they want as long as World Events continues to authorize it. I, in turn, have the right to buy it or not. And so do you.