I have questions rather than recommendations.
How do you plan to keep this knife sharp?
What types of food prep are you thinking, at this point, you're interested in?
What size and of what material will your cutting board be?
Since you said you're brand new, how are your knife skills, and are you wanting to work on developing them?
I would suggest you look at all these questions first and that may lead you to a better choice for first knife. Concerning comfort, if you are truly new to cooking, how you try it out in the store may have little to do with what you want down the road depending on factors from your technique to your height to how you use your knife.
Forschner and Dexters are good light weight and not too expensive knives that don't have a full European style bolster. I would recommend staying away from the full bolsters for 3 reasons: It's easier to use the whole knife blade for a new cook. It's easier to sharpen it. It usually costs less, such as a Dexter or Forschner, not so much with a Japanese knife.
All the previous recommendations have merit. You really won't get a stinker with any of them.
