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!
For much of the year, Marvel's corner of the Star Wars Universe will be consumed by the crossover even "War of the Bounty Hunters," which kicks off in Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, Laura Martin and VC's Travis Lanham's Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha. Set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi focuses on Boba Fett as he tries to bring a Carbonite-encased Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt.
This Mandalorian-esque tale is an engaging jumping-on point that makes a good entryway for casual Star Wars fans. With pages of brutal, visceral bounty hunter action, McNiven and Martin's art shines throughout the issue as it brings a colorful, hyper-detailed grit to the galaxy. While Soule's script has a few clever turns that make smart connections to the franchise's films, McNiven's art really steals the show here and is more than worth the price of admission.
Under James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles, Batman has become a showcase for the next generation of Gotham City's villains. And with Batman #108, the charismatic young tech revolutionary Miracle Molly takes center stage, as she offers Batman her view of Gotham. While she's still coming into full view, Molly seems like another worthy member of Batman's rogues' gallery, with an intriguing set of goals that makes her more than another murderous outlaw.
Jimenez and Morey's Gotham City is a real highlight, with its stereotypical dark skylines outshined by eye-catching designs accented by sharp neon greens, sky blues and bubblegum pinks that pop off the page, especially digitally. This issue also includes a short story about Batman's new partner, Ghost-Maker, by Tynion, Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Morey and Cowles that's a delightfully pulpy romp.
Even though Green Lantern #2 isn't a first issue, it feels like it should be. Following up on the Green Lantern Corps being accepted into the United Planets, Geoffrey Thorne, Dexter Soy, Marco Santucci, Alex Sinclair and Rob Leigh's comic sets up a new status quo for all of DC's Green Lanterns before taking a sharp turn into another status quo shift.
This is a densely packed book with a smart script that deftly juggles its large cast while leaving plenty of room for the plot's explosive events. While recent glimpses of DC's future have tipped off the events of the book, its big reveal still comes as a shock, and the art team captures the shock and horror of that pivotal moment quite well.
After years of build-up, writer Jason Aaron's Avengers run finally reaches its crescendo with Heroes Reborn #1, by Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Matthew Wilson and VC's Cory Petit. In a world where the Avengers never formed and most Marvel heroes never emerged, this event sees the Squadron Supreme of America serve as Earth's Mightiest Heroes, with Blade as the only figure trying to find the rest of Marvel's heroes.
While the issue works best as the payoff to several ongoing Avengers plotlines, it still stands alone as an intriguing alternate reality tale that remixes the Marvel Universe in some clever ways. While this issue is largely dedicated to establishing this strange world, McGuinness, Morales and Wilson's kinetic, cartoony artwork works well, particularly in the book's ample action scenes.
By his nature, the mystical muck monster Man-Thing usually exists on the outskirts of the Marvel Universe. However, three Curse of the Man-Thing issues have reaffirmed his place as part of the wider world of the Avengers, Spider-Man and the X-Men. With the final, X-Men-centric chapter of the event, Steve Orlando, Andrea Broccardo, Guru-eFX and Clayton Cowles effectively add a healthy touch of mutant mysticism to the Man-Thing's world, thanks to the presence of Magik and her brutal new team.
As it has throughout this event, Orlando's script finds natural ways to tie an odd bunch of characters together, making them all feel like necessary parts of the story's whole. Beyond the solid art -- including an especially nice take on the demonic Belasco -- and the smart script, the meaningful presence of fan-favorite X-Men characters like Marrow and Forearm alone make this worth a look for die-hard X-fans.
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