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Each week, CBR has your guide to navigating Wednesday’s new and recent comic releases, specials, collected editions and reissues, and we’re committed to helping you choose those that are worth your hard-earned cash. It’s a little slice of CBR we like to call Major Issues.
If you feel so inclined, you can buy our recommendations directly on comiXology with the links provided. We’ll even supply links to the books we’re not so hot on, just in case you don’t want to take our word for it. Don’t forget to let us know what you think of the books this week in the comments! And as always, SPOILERS AHEAD!
THE FLASH ANNUAL 2021 (DC)
COMIXOLOGY
For the past several years, Wally West has been dealing with the extended fallout from the Heroes in Crisis crossover, where he inadvertently killed several heroes. While DC has incrementally absolved Wally in recent months, Jeremy Adams, Fernando Pasarin, Brandon Peterson, Hi-Fi, Michael Atiyeh and Steve Wands finally give Wally the closure and absolution he needs in The Flash Annual 2021.
Along with finishing up the time-travel plot that’s been running through The Flash, this annual primarily seems to function as a final statement on the ramifications of Heroes in Crisis, and it does so ably. Although it does essentially turn the introspective crossover into a more standard superhero story, it does so with an earnestness that respects the seriousness of the event and some well-drawn action sequences.
SINISTER WAR #1 (MARVEL)
COMIXOLOGY
With the next era of Amazing Spider-Man on the horizon, writer Nick Spencer’s run on the wall-crawler hits its crescendo with Sinister War #1, by Spencer, Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy, John Dell, Andy Owens, Brian Reber and Joe Caramagna. Over the past few months, Amazing Spider-Man has introduced a flurry of storylines in quick succession that all have led to here.
While this issue noticeably carries that narrative baggage, it’s still a fittingly epic start to the end of an era for Spider-Man. Veteran Spider-Man artist Bagley delivers his typically strong work with his classic style making the book’s ample group shots and crowded fight scenes look dynamic. It’s not necessarily new-reader friendly, but Sinister War offers an intriguing conclusion to what’s come before.
WAY OF X #4 (MARVEL)
COMIXOLOGY
With a focus on Nightcrawler’s attempts to grasp with the spiritual ramifications of the island nation Krakoa, Way of X began with one of the most obtuse premises in the current X-Men era. But by effectively making Legion a co-lead and reintroducing the threat of Onslaught, the book has ventured into delightfully thoughtful and strange territory, as Si Spurrier, Bob Quinn, Hava Tartaglia and Clayton Cowles’s Way of X #4 attests to.
While Nightcrawler faces a moral dilemma presented by a ‘90s X-Men villain, Legion confronts Onslaught in a literal way for the first time. Throughout both of these plots, the script poses interesting questions and offers even more intriguing answers, as the art team keeps the dialogue-heavy proceedings moving.
ALIENS: AFTERMATH #1 (MARVEL)
COMIXOLOGY
Set apart from Marvel’s main Alien comic, Aliens: Aftermath is a one-shot by Benjamin Percy, Dave Watcher, Christopher Sotomayor and Ariana Maher. This issue delivers Xenomorph thrills and cosmic terror is classic Aliens manner, although it’s not entirely clear how of it this will have any greater bearing on the franchise.
Still, this tale of a group of anti-corporate activists returning to Hadley’s Hope, the site of Aliens’ action, is a terse, tense affair. While there are easily enough ideas here to fuel a longer story, this book jumps right into the action and gives the art team room to shine. The bioluminescent Xenomorph that haunts this story has a striking design that leaps off the page, and this comic’s best pages send it on the attack. While this might just be a solid, short Aliens story, that’s all this really needs to be.
THE JOKER #5 (DC)
COMIXOLOGY
Despite its title, The Joker has found some unexpectedly fertile ground in digging into the decades-long rivalry between the titular villain and Commissioner Gordon. And with the stand-alone story in The Joker #5, Matthew Rosenberg, James Tynion IV, Francesco Francavilla and Tom Napolitano deliver a gorgeous, haunting tale of the Joker’s first night as a resident of Arkham Asylum.
Between the setting and Francavilla’s brilliant moody art, this story reads like a lost companion to Batman: Year One. Even though the ending seems like a forgone conclusion, the script and art work together to rachet up the tension expertly before a heartbreaking final reveal that makes this one-off issue well worth picking up.
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