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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!
FANTASTIC FOUR: RECKONING WAR ALPHA (MARVEL)
COMIXOLOGY
After over a decade of teases, Marvel’s Reckoning War event finally kicks off in Fantastic Four: Reckoning War Alpha, by Dan Slott, Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Fonteriz, Carlos Magno, Guru e-FX and Joe Caramagna. In the wake of a massive attack that reshapes Marvel’s cosmos, this one-shot follows the Fantastic Four and their allies as they investigate an ancient threat that‘s brought the entire Marvel Universe to the brink.
In the style of classic crossovers like The Infinity Gauntlet and 2020’s Empyre, Reckoning War Alpha embraces epic cosmic storytelling that draws wisely and deeply from Marvel history. Pacheco’s classical style is a perfect fit for the story’s earnest sensibilities, and the art team captures the superhero spectacle of the story well. While this is very much a Fantastic Four story at the outset, the start of Reckoning War boasts a huge supporting cast that gives it an earth-shaking grandeur that eludes some modern Marvel crossovers.
SABRETOOTH #1 (MARVEL)
COMIXOLOGY
Although Sabretooth is one of Marvel’s most iconic X-Men villains, Wolverine’s nemesis has been a notable absence since being imprisoned in the early days of the mutant nation Krakoa. And in Sabretooth #1, Victor LaValle, Leonard Kirk, Rain Beredo and Cory Petit catch up with Marvel’s most ferocious mutant in a surprisingly thoughtful first issue. This comic offers a psychedelic dive into Victor Creed’s psyche as he endures exile inside of Krakoa before assigning himself an unsettling new role.
Sabretooth has starred in a fair number of comics over the years, but few have ever embraced the villain’s innate brutality with the vigor as Sabretooth #1. Kirk and the art team bring the bloody spectacle of Sabretooth’s twisted fantasies to life well. While this is still a comic where Sabretooth literally rips the limbs off of several Marvel heroes, it also interrogates the nature of incarceration through the more esoteric aspects of Krakoa. With an ambitious and potentially transformative story at its core, Sabretooth #1 is one of the most surprising X-Men series in recent memory.
MONKEY PRINCE #1 (DC)
COMIXOLOGY
With Monkey Prince #1, Gene Luen Yang, Bernard Chang, Sebastian Cheng and Janice Chiang give DC’s newest teen hero a compelling solo series that gives him a distinctive place in the DC Universe. Building on the foundational Chinese story Journey to the West in the same way that Wonder Woman and Shazam! use Greco-Roman mythology, Monkey Prince #1 sees Marcus Sun discover his supernatural heritage as he navigates life in the DC Universe.
With a charming, deeply human lead at its core, Monkey Prince #1 is an effortlessly approachable debut issue with dynamic art that brilliantly realizes its supernatural elements. And although it’s hardly the main focus of the issue, Monkey Prince also casts Batman in an intriguing light that hints at the fascinating larger implications of his relentless war on crime.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #88 (MARVEL)
COMIXOLOGY
For the last few months, Ben Reilly, Peter Parker’s clone, has served as Marvel’s primary web-slinger in Amazing Spider-Man. And in Amazing Spider-Man #88, Zeb Wells, Michael Dowling, Bryan Valenza and Joe Caramagna give Reilly his most memorable villain yet with the Queen Goblin. This issue is almost entirely dedicated to building up the menace of the new villain and the continuing threat of the Beyond Corporation that controls Reilly, and it sells both of those ideas equally well.
Although the first half of the comic is noticeably light on action, the debut of Queen Goblin and a revelation about Beyond’s true goals give Amazing Spider-Man #88 a thrilling conclusion. With sharp choreography, the art team gives Queen Goblin an impressive showing, with a few panels that make her look as menacing as any Goblin in the Marvel Universe. While the comic downplays the mystery behind Queen Goblin’s identity, offers a subtle but sharp commentary on the corrosive nature of Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin legacy.
NOCTERRA #7 (IMAGE)
COMIXOLOGY
After a brief hiatus and a villain-focused special earlier this year, Nocterra #7 brings Scott Snyder, Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea, Marcelo Maiolo and Andworld Design’s propulsive post-apocalyptic series back with a propulsive bang. As Val Riggs speeds through a world consumed by darkness, she and her convoy learn more about the monstrous Shades created by the dark as another threat looms on the horizon.
Like a high-octane cousin of The Walking Dead, Nocterra continues to deliver the dark, post-apocalyptic action that made it one of CBR’s best comics of 2021. With a bold vision of the end of the world and a macabre sense of fun, Nocterra #7 sets up the next arc of the series with some clever ideas that Daniel and the art team turn into jaw-dropping splash pages.
X-CELLENT #1 (MARVEL)
COMIXOLOGY
In the early 2000s, X-Statix rocked the Marvel Universe with a team of celebrity mutants who served as a scathing commentary on pop stars and the reality TV era. Now, Peter Milligan, Mike Allred, Laura Allred and Nate Piekos have updated that series for the live-streaming age with X-Cellent #1. Following up on 2019’s Giant-Size X-Statix special, this comic sees the surviving original X-Statix members team up with the children of their former teammates to face the X-Cellent, a rival group of celebrity mutants led by the acid-spewing Zeitgeist.
While X-Statix’s mix of cultural commentary and hyper-violence may be something of an acquired taste, the charms of that cult-classic series are as strong as ever in X-Cellent #1. Although the technology involved may have changed, the book’s biting take on celebrity rings ever truer in the modern media landscape. As always, the Allreds’ timeless art gives X-Cellent a retro pop-art appeal, even at its goriest moments. While X-Cellent #1 only really works with an understanding of X-Statix, it’s a testament to how durable one of Marvel’s most underrated series is.
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