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!
While X-23's Wolverine, Synch and Darwin aren't the X-Men's biggest stars, their mission into the strange, hyper-evolved world of the Children of the Vault has been one of the most compelling plotlines since House of X kicked off a new age for Marvel's mutants. And with X-Men #19, Jonathan Hickman, Mahmud Asrar, Sunny Gho, VC's Clayton Cowles and Tom Muller have delivered a thrilling, heart-wrenching tale that stands as one of the best single X-Men issues in recent memory.
The Generation X veteran Synch emerges as the star of this issue, as the team survives for decades in the Vault, where time moves at a hyper-accelerated pace. Years of adventures are reduced to well-drawn, evocative snapshot panels, and the issue builds one of the best mutant romances in recent memory over the course of a few pages. With a creative team firing on all cylinders all around, this comic delivers fully on the promise of the Krakoa era.
John Ridley, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Cucchi, Jose Villarrubia and Steve Wands' The Other History of the DC Universe #3 isn't like most other comic books. However, this dense, thoughtful comic offers a dazzling portrait of Katana, the Outsiders and Suicide Squad hero, and her experiences in the DC Universe.
This book follows a slightly rearranged version of DC history that ranges from 1983 to 1996, roughly the lifespan of Batman's original Outsiders team. This thoughtful reflection casts Katana's adventures, even the forgettable ones, in a complex, lived-in light. At times, it reads more like an illustrated essay than a superhero comic, but that novelistic nature allows for a great deal of personal insight. Paired with well-designed pages, this compelling tale is nothing short of revelatory.
The alien Korbinite Beta Ray Bill is one of the strangest heroes to ever lift Thor's hammer Mjolnir, and the Walt Simonson creation is still one of Marvel's most beloved Asgardian heroes. After playing a supporting role around the Marvel Universe for the last several years, the alien hero steps out on his own in Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer and Joe Sabino's Beta Ray Bill #1.
Last year, Johnson's brutal storytelling and fluid art shined on Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, and those qualities are still very much present in this energetic debut issue. While Beta Ray Bill still has the visceral fights that made Dead Earth a highlight of 2020, this issue of very much of this moment in the Marvel Universe, with a weakened, battle-weary Bill reacting to and reckoning with recent events in King in Black and Donny Cates and Nic Klein's Thor. And with the premise set forth in the book's final pages, it seems like the sky is the limit for Marvel's strangest Mjolnir-wielder.
As the mainline DC Universe steps in the Infinite Frontier era, Wally West steps back into his role as the Flash in The Flash #768, by Jeremy Adams, Brandon Peterson, Marco Santucci, David Lafuente, Mike Atiyeh, Arif Prianto, Luis Guerrero and Steve Wands. Even by the standards of the DC Universe, Wally West's life has been one of near-constant torture and suffering for the last several years. While this issue doesn't run away from those ideas completely, it injects some overdue levity back into Wally's world.
After years of torment, this issue starts with Wally ready to hang up his boots for good But before he can do that, this issue sends the Flash on a time-tossed adventure that takes him to familiar faces and bizarre locations. While the quirks of Anderson's style lead to an odd panel or two, the art team works well together, with the change between primary artists being well-placed. Although Wally spends a surprising amount of the issue out of costume, this is still a solid, welcome return to classic speedster action for Wally West.
Dramatically overshadowed by DC's resident swamp monster, Man-Thing is one of the odder characters in the Marvel Universe. However, Steve Orlando, Francesco Mobili, Guru-eFX and VC's Clayton Cowles' Avengers: Curse of the Man-Thing #1 breathes new life into the beast by making him the center of an Avengers level crisis.
As Man-Thing's powers are weaponized in attacks all over the world, the Avengers arrive to save the day, while Captain America spends some one-on-one time with Ted Sallis, the man underneath the Man-Thing. The art mixes superhero action with the genuine menace of the moment well, and the story is a smart, if somewhat obvious, way to raise Man-Thing's profile within the Marvel Universe.
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