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!
X OF SWORDS: CREATION #1 (MARVEL)
In X of Swords: Creation #1, the first major X-Men event since House of X gets underway in a truly epic fashion, courtesy of Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia and Clayton Cowles. Over the course of this mammoth, almost 66-page issue, battle lines are drawn between the X-Men and a long-lost group of ancient mutants with a close connection to Apocalypse.
With a mix of ancient mutant magic and mayhem, this issue is practically overflowing with new ideas and characters, and it throws readers into the deep end, to some extent. Although the comic reads better with knowledge of recent events in Excalibur and X-Men, it does a solid job of laying out the stakes and relevant history, and it does so in style with stunning art from Larraz and Gracia. While X of Swords' 22-part length might be too daunting for some, this first chapter hints sets the stage for a trip worth taking.
THE FLASH #762 (DC)
Writer Joshua Williamson's four-year tenure on The Flash comes to an end with The Flash #762, by Williamson, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi and Steve Wands. With the extended Flash Family having dealt with the Legion of Zoom in the last issue, this story focuses on what might truly be Barry Allen's last race against his nemesis, the Reverse-Flash, and its immediate fallout.
While the race that features some career-best work from Porter and the art team, this comic is a fitting capstone to one of the defining DC runs of the modern age. The Flash's rivalry with Reverse-Flash has been a defining conflict for the character for years, and this finale takes it into a legitimately surprising place. The second half of the issue is something of a victory lap, but it's a well-earned one that brings one of the longest stories of the DC Rebirth era to a satisfying end.
DARK NIGHTS - DEATH METAL SPEED METAL #1 (DC)
The main Flashes of the DC Universe also take center stage in Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas, Steve Wands' Dark Nights – Death Metal Speed Metal. With a focus on Barry Allen, Wally West, Jay Garrick and Kid Flash's race to save all of existence and recover the all-powerful Mobius Chair from the Batman Who Laughs.
This issue serves as a sort of coda to Williamson's run on The Flash, focused on the relationship between Barry Allen and Wally West, DC's two most famous speedsters. As the comic's title implies, there's plenty of impressive, high-velocity action with poster-worthy splash pages, but it's just as much about reaffirming Wally West's place in the Flash mythology.
JUGGERNAUT #1 (MARVEL)
While Cain Marko might be one of Marvel's strongest characters, the Juggernaut has only occasionally ventured out as the star of his own solo adventures. However, the powerhouse antihero is stepping out on his own once again in Fabian Nicieza, Ron Garney, Matt Milla, and VC's Joe Sabino's Juggernaut #1.
This first issue tells a surprisingly grounded story about Juggernaut, and it focuses more on the human side of Cain Marko than super-powered slugfests. Against the muted palette of the world, the Juggernaut's signature ruby red costume jumps off the page. Garney makes the Juggernaut look more menacing than ever at times on some pages, and highlights the fragility of Cain Marko on others in a debut that also sets up some intriguing mysteries about the longtime X-Men villain.
THE IMMORTAL SHE-HULK #1 (MARVEL)
After She-Hulk's recent brush with death in Marvel's Empyre crossover, Al Ewing, Jon-Davis Hunt, Marcio Menyz and VC's Cory Petit takes a deep dive into She-Hulk's psychology with The Immortal She-Hulk #1. As the title of this special implies, this one-shot follows up directly on some of the horrific ideas Ewing and Joe Bennett have explored in-depth to great acclaim in The Immortal Hulk.
For a character who was once almost as comedic as Deadpool, the turn into a story that's almost outright horror might seem jarring, but this incredibly sharp, smart script highlights the horrors that quietly always defined She-Hulk's life. Similarly, Hunt's underscores the eeriness of all of these moments. While it's not entirely clear where this aspect of She-Hulk's story will continue or how She-Hulk will play into the larger Immortal Hulk narrative, this is a stand-out tale of gamma-irradiated creepiness.
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