The Weekly Pull: Uncanny Avengers, Knight Terrors: Catwoman, Godzilla: War for Humanity, and More
This week's best new comics also include Dark X-Men and a new Dark Spaces series.
Dark Spaces: The Hollywood Special #1
- Written by Jeremy Lambert
- Art by Claire Roe
- Colors by Jordie Bellaire
- Letters by Becca Carey
- Published by IDW Publishing
On paper, any aspect of The Hollywood Special could have grabbed my attention — its spooky premise, its Old Hollywood setting, or its already-excellent creative team including Jeremy Lambert, Claire Roe, and Dani. But the thing that drew me to it is its central heroine: Vivian Drake, a blonde bombshell actress in the waning years of her career, who seems to bear a clever resemblance to one of my all-time favorite actresses, Veronica Lake. I'm impossibly excited to see how this creative team tackles The Hollywood Special and to see what remix of film history we might get within the story's central protagonist. — Jenna Anderson
Dark X-Men #1
- Written by Steve Foxe
- Art by Jonas Scharf
- Colors by Frank Martin
- Letters by Clayton Cowles
- Published by Marvel Comics
Even if X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 was a stone-cold bummer, the series coming out of it provide some of the most exciting creative teams and concepts of the X-line since its 2019 relaunch. Dark X-Men #1 is an excellent example of that "from the ashes" promise, building upon some of the most intriguing characters and concepts from the past several years. It features a team of mutants under the protection of Madelyne Pryor and Limbo with personalities and histories that mark them as being well-suited to this hellish new setting. What was originally established in the outstanding Hellions series and "Dark Web" summons another team of B-list characters capable of delivering the most unpredictable and energizing stories in a radically new status quo. Writer Steve Foxe has shown a deep appreciation for X-Men lore in the pages of X-Men '92 and a brilliant imagination for horror in the just-finished Dark Horse series All Eight Eyes. Between Dark X-Men and Spider-Woman, later this year, Foxe is preparing to be Marvel's next star writer. And he's accompanied on the series by a team of reliable artists with plenty of opportunities to showcase daunting new settings, twisted characters, and terrifying action. Dark X-Men #1 seeks to live up to its title and remind readers that when things look their worst, X-Men comics are often at their best. -- Chase Magnett
Godzilla; War for Humanity #1
- Written by Andrew MacLean
- Art by Jake Smith
- Colors by Jake Smith
- Letters by Rus Wooton
- Published by IDW Publishing
Godzilla: War for Humanity prepares to take readers to Monster Island in a showcase of Godzilla's enormous pantheon of monsters presented by two incredibly accomplished modern cartoonists. Writer Andrew MacLean is best known for his work on Head Lopper, the most satisfying sword-and-sorcery comic available today. MacLean has a great instinct for applying fantasy tropes and developing immediate adventures predicated upon deep lore bound to lend itself to Godzilla's towering stature. MacLean is joined by artist and collaborator Jake Smith whose exaggerated style fits with MacLean's approach splendidly and guarantees readers spectacular new takes on some of the greatest kaiju to ever appear. Godzilla comics rarely guarantee great feats, except for when paired with exceptional talent. The War for Humanity is just such a pairing and with two incredibly talented cartoonists driving the story, it may come to rival even the likes of The Half-Century War. Any series that even aims for such heights is certainly worth reading. -- Chase Magnett
A Guest in the House
- Created by Emily Carroll
- Published by First Second Books
Emily Carroll is a treasure. The award-winning cartoonist's work on titles such as Through the Woods and When I Arrived at the Castle is as sublime as it is surreal, and any news of a new project from her should be cause for celebration. This week, Frist Second Books is publishing Carroll's latest graphic novel, A Guest in the House. The story follows a woman, Abby, who recently married an older man, a widower with a daughter from his first marriage. As she struggles to come to terms with living as a part of a family still grappling with the memory of a lost member she never met, she wonders if her husband's story about her predecessor's death truly makes sense. Things get stranger as the memory of that deceased first life seems to take a new and startingly present life. Is Abby imagining things, or is something very wrong? It's the kind of blend of psychological and supernatural horror that Carroll excels at depicting, and we can't wait to sink our teeth into it. -- Jamie Lovett
Knight Terrors: Catwoman #2
- Written by Tini Howard
- Art by Leila Leiz
- Colors by Marissa Louise
- Letters by Josh Reed
- Published by DC
Before the two-month Knight Terrors event reaches its conclusion, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the Catwoman tie-ins. The first issue took Selina Kyle's personal insecurities as a woman and a superhero and magnified them on a brilliant and surreal backdrop. While other Knight Terrors installments have just felt like throwing a character into a thinly-terrifying dream, this Catwoman premise has come across like a fully-fledged world, and it'll be fascinating to see how that reaches its conclusion. — Jenna Anderson
Uncanny Avengers #1
- Written by Gerry Duggan
- Art by Javier Garron
- Colors by Morry Hollowell
- Letters by Travis Lanham
- Published by Marvel Comics
Some people don't like it when the X-Men and the Avengers mingle too much. Some even prefer it when the two Marvel teams are at war. Those people are wrong. Uncanny Avengers has been one of the best new concepts from Marvel in the past decade. It puts heroes from different worlds together and forces them to work together for a shared goal, offering interactions readers are unlikely to see in more familiar settings. It also presents opportunities for characters crowded out of their usual team books to shine in new ways, with Rogue being a prime example. While the original Rick Remender-written run was a sci-fi epic, Gerry Duggan's tenure surprised readers with how well it defined its characters and made newcomers and veterans alike compelling. Even Deadpool felt like he had a role beyond comic relief. Duggan is returning to Uncanny Avengers to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the X-Men and the Avengers. However, as Duggan told us in an interview, the series being part of the Fall of X means this is a very different Unity Squad working under extreme circumstances. While this Uncanny Avengers may be darker than Duggan's previous run, it's likely to be no less delightful. -- Jamie Lovett
X-Factor Epic Collection: Judgment War
- Written by Louise Simonson
- Art by Walt Simonson
- Published by Marvel Comics
X-Men fans often overlook the first era of X-Factor for several reasons. Among them, it's the one X-book of its time not written by the legendary Chris Claremont, the retooled version of X-Factor that would launch in the 1990s with a new lineup under writer Peter David's pen overshadows it, and it's sometimes mistakenly thought of as a throwback to the Silver Age X-Men because it reunites the original five students of Charles Xavier. In truth, while X-Men #1 gets all the credit for launching Marvel's first dual flagship era of X-Men, the original X-Factor was a second X-Men ongoing series in all but name. As evidence, look at what happened with the "Mutant Genesis" relaunch: it scooped up the X-Factor cast, put them back with the X-Men, then quickly brought back Apocalypse, who debuted in X-Factor's pages, as a prime player. To get to the point of this rant, Marvel has also overlooked X-Factor for reprints and accessibility. Despite having legends like Walter and Louise (née Jones) Simonson at the helm, crafting epic superhero stories featuring Marvel's senior-most X-people, those first 70-ish issues of X-Factor haven't ever gotten the omnibus treatment, and many of its stories are even missing from Marvel Unlimited's vast catalog. Luckily, Marvel's Epic Collection line is slowly filling that void. In addition to X-Factor's chapters of the "Inferno" crossover, this volume also collects "Judgement War," an epic, space-faring adventure that begins with a Celestial kidnapping the team. The story serves as an ersatz finale to X-Factor as it was before it began transitioning into its new form, but "Judgement War" is still unavailable on Marvel Unlimited. While this printing may, hopefully, signal that will soon change, this Epic Collection is currently the easiest way to read the saga, and fans who have slept on X-Factor until now should give it a look. -- Jamie Lovett
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