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!
BATMAN: THE KNIGHT #1 (DC)
Thanks to Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s “Batman: Year One” and its many imitators, the early days of the Dark Knight have been chronicled in excruciating detail. But with Batman: The Knight #1, Chip Zdarsky, Carmine di Giandomenico, Ivan Plascencia and Pat Brosseau offer a compelling new take on Batman’s evolution by focusing on his extensive early training.
In the spirit of Batman Begins, this comic dives into the gritty details of how a traumatized Bruce Wayne became the Dark Knight under the disapproving eyes of Alfred. Although The Knight sees Wayne face one of his future villains, the book’s sharp script leans into the latent horror baked into Wayne’s transformation. The art team amplifies that feeling even more by keeping the young Wayne covered in shadow or otherwise isolated from the world around him. While the era around “Year One” has been exhaustively mined, The Knight‘s nimble debut presents Batman’s evolution in a clever new light that's worth a look, even for the most seasoned Batman fans.
THE X LIVES OF WOLVERINE #1 (MARVEL)
Wolverine might be the X-Men’s most popular hero, but he’s only felt intermittently important to the grand design of the franchise’s Krakoa era. However, Benjamin Percy, Joshua Cassara, Frank Martin and Cory Petit push Logan back into the center of the X-Men’s world with the X Lives of Wolverine #1. Building off of plot points from X-Force and Wolverine, X Lives of Wolverine sees Logan take on a time-traveling mission to stop Omega Red from changing a crucial moment in X-Men history.
While this issue leaves plenty of mystery around Wolverine’s mission, it is still an approachable, action-packed jumping-on point that echoes of X-Men: Days of Future Past. While Percy’s thoughtful Logan is as compelling as ever, Cassara and Martin steal the show with brutal action scenes and some stand-out pages that recall Logan’s personal history. Although there's not too much to separate it from Wolverine's standard adventures with a slightly grander focus, X Lives of Wolverine still does a solid job of kicking off Marvel’s next X-Men epic.
SHE-HULK #1 (MARVEL)
Ahead of the debut of her live-action Disney+ series, She-Hulk jumps back into her own solo comic series with She-Hulk #1 by Rainbow Rowell, Roge Antonio, Rico Renzi and Joe Caramagna. After her recent stint as a rampaging member of the Avengers, She-Hulk returns to form here as she reassembles the pieces of her legal career and rebuilds her life as a solo hero.
With a healthy dose of the character’s signature humor, She-Hulk #1 is mostly concerned with establishing the put-upon Jennifer Walters’ new status quo and a supporting cast that includes her old rivals Mallory Brook and Titania. The art team keeps the book’s joyous, breezy spirit alive with solid storytelling that finds the perfect balance of action and visual humor. With the surprising return of a Marvel character in its final pages, She-Hulk #1 is a sensational introduction to the upcoming MCU hero and her new series.
ARROWSMITH: BEHIND ENEMY LINES #1 (IMAGE)
Almost 20 years after its debut, Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco’s fantasy series Arrowsmith returns with Arrowsmith: Behind Enemy Lines #1. With Jose Villarrubia, Comicraft’s Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt, Busiek and Pacheco revisit their magic-filled alternate history where World War I was more about the powers of wizards and dragons instead of poison gas and machine guns. This debut issue catches up with the young Fletcher Arrowsmith as he meets an old friend and finds his magical powers tested in enemy territory.
Despite the time since the last Arrowsmith issue, Busiek and Pacheco haven’t missed a step, with both veteran creators bringing their best to this long-gestating passion project. Busiek’s impressive script serves as an approachable reintroduction to Arrowsmith’s world that still finds room for a riveting description of taking flight. Likewise, Pacheco and the art team deliver elegant lines and timeless classical style. Even with Arrowsmith’s extended absence, Behind Enemy Lines proves that the series is still as magical as ever.
BEN REILLY: SPIDER-MAN #1 (MARVEL)
While Spider-Man’s “Clone Saga” is one of Marvel’s most infamously drawn-out tales, J.M. DeMatteis, David Baldeón, Israel Silva and Joe Caramagna add a new chapter to that ‘90s epic with Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1. While Reilly may currently be serving as the current, corporately-controlled Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man, this flashback tale returns to the era when Ben took over the Spider-Man mantle during Peter Parker’s brief retirement.
Although it may be surrounded by the complex plot machinations of the Clone Saga, Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1 paints a compelling psychological portrait of its lead and similarly humanizes the villain Carrion. Without shying away from the heft of the material, the lightly stylized art of Baldeón and Silva keeps the comic from getting lost in its heavy themes, and it really comes alive when Ben is in action as Spider-Man. Despite the legacy of the “Clone Saga,” Ben Reilly makes a surprisingly strong case for revisiting the era.
SILVER SURFER: REBIRTH #1 (MARVEL)
In another ‘90s Marvel flashback series, Ron Marz and Ron Lim return to Silver Surfer, the character they defined for the decade, with Don Ho, Israel Salva and Joe Sabino in Silver Surfer: Rebirth #1. This issue finds Silver Surfer teaming up with Genis-Vell -- the son of Marvel’s first Captain Marvel -- as history starts rewriting itself around him and throwing him next to Marvel's classic cosmic heavyweights.
Set long before Annihilation and the modern Guardians of the Galaxy reshaped Marvel’s cosmic order, this flashback tale feels like a lost dispatch from a time when Marvel’s lingering ‘70s cosmic oddities were reconfigured into the fuel for the action-epics of the ‘90s. While Lim’s style is noticeably lighter and more cartoony than it used to be, Silver Surfer: Rebirth is remarkably in-line with the rest of Marz and Lim’s previous run. While there’s nothing ground-breaking here, Silver Surfer: Rebirth has a distinct retro charm that harkens back to an underappreciated run from one of Marvel’s most beloved eras.
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