Is it a good idea or bad idea to buy an apartment complex as your first real estate purchase?

As always the answer is it depends. Is it categorically a bad idea? Absolutely not, it's a great idea. But if you're not prepared, have inadequate reserves, underestimate repairs, don't have a good team, and so forth, it'll be a lot tougher.

Partnerships are a great way to help reduce your risk by leveraging the experience of others. Are you planning to partner with someone more experienced?

Be prepared to learn a lot and make sure you have a great team in place! Your first deal might not be a homerun but the knowledge you gain will be worth 100 times more. 

It is not a bad idea but it is better to partner with someone who already have experience in that asset class. This will lower the risk of doing mistakes that could have been avoided if you have someone who has more experience and can give advice along the way.