In the world of comics, January 2021 was home to a vast amount of excellent titles. We didn’t even have enough room to cover all the best books in our column this month! “X-Men” #17 brought insight into the most recent developments of the team. “The Other History of the DC Universe” #2 told a sobering story about Karen Beecher-Duncan and Mal Duncan-even. The tension was incredibly high in this month’s installment of “The Department of Truth.” BOOM! Studios new “Firefly” ongoing series celebrated a milestone of issue #25 in January. Join us as we recap January 2021’s most important titles in the space of comic books!
Most dissapointing event finale in January: “Dark Nights: Death Metal”
Marvel and DC’s event titles each shipped important entries in January. DC released the “Dark Nights: Death Metal” finale on the same month that saw the debut of the huge ‘Future State’ initiative (which we will be addressing later in the article.) The creative team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo finished the sequel to “Dark Nights: Metal” with mixed results. While the overall story was solid and there were a few engaging revelations, the amount of momentum that the event is supposed to have is not emotionally potent for me. I believe this is because of the large number of crossover events DC is publishing without leaving breathing room for readers to get truly engaged in the storytelling. While the moments that called back to continuity will leave devoted readers fascinated, that same audience will likely be exhausted by huge, monotonous battles. When readers are done marveling at the odd mixture of characters in the series it can be hard to find other elements of the narrative to immerse yourself in. The irony is that I see a big improvement in Snyder and Capullo’s storytelling in “Dark Nights: Death Metal” over “Dark Nights: Metal.” Unfortunately, the relaunches, continuity changes and unfocused DC publishing schedule deflated the momentum Snyder and Capullo were building.
Marvel’s Worst Event in Recent Memory: King in Black
The flip side of the same token of bad events was capitalized on with Marvel in “King in Black.” This event mini-series focuses on the Symbiote God Knull fighting against The Marvel Universe. Knull is a scary villain but repackaging him for an entire event may not be the right call. Something needs to be said about the creative team Marvel has assembled for this event. Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman both have a solid outlook on these characters that honors the past but doesn’t drive the characters in new directions. We have seen Eddie Brock resort to forced emotion that doesn’t ring true in past Venom titles. The overall production and colors for “King in Black” by Frank Martin and inks by JP Mayer do not represent the best of Stegman’s ability as a penciller. The hyper-bleak outlook of a hero like Venom is also not a good pair for the pencils of Stegman. I hope to see better work from Cates and Stegman very soon.
There’s been a ton of great ‘Future State’ comics so far but just picking one is going to be challenging. After looking through each title two books earned my top spot: “Future State: Swamp Thing” #1 and “Future State: Superman Vs. Imperious Lex” #1. Read on for a glimpse at each of my favorite titles.
Best Future State title(s) – Part 1: “Future State: Swamp Thing” #1
Ram V’s story about the world turning post-apocalyptic is a sight to behold. The cliffhanger in issue one is so delightfully obtuse. The cliffhanger offers a change for an important DC hero. V’s Swamp Thing voice is incredibly unique and the supporting characters he brings to the series are great. Picking “Future State: Swamp Thing” is almost a cheat considering that Ram V is set to resume his series after ‘Future State’ as an ongoing. This ‘cheat’ is a benefit to the reader as we now have a perfect entry point into an incredibly promising new run. I can’t stress enough how great the tone is in this series. There are elements of humor, intrigue, and a deep respect for DC continuity. The art from Mike Perkins goes a long way towards bringing readers into the title with the artistic chances he took in these issues. The intro pages echo some of the harrowing moments that kicked off Alan Moore, John Totleben and Steve Bissette’s legendary “Swamp Thing” comic book run.
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Best Future State title(s) – Part 2: “Future State: Superman Vs. Imperious Lex” #1
I was incredibly excited for the debut of “Future State: Superman Vs. Imperious Lex” #1 but I didn’t know how great it was going to turn out until I read it. This issue is an excellent introduction to the potential of Future State and a wonderful take on one of DC’s most popular villains. The level of humor and satire Mark Russell crafts for this book lives up to his signature reputation. It is really impressive to consider how well this style suits Superman in particular. The lighter tone of the issue represents important themes with Clark Kent that effortlessly dovetail into the modern-day political world. Steve Pugh is great at capturing emotion in comics and has a wonderful track record working with Russell to make great comic book series. Not every title in ‘Future State’ has been able to work with the future-based setting of the premise. Setting the world slightly in the future allows for Rusell to be a little more satirical without having to depict Superman as cold or mean-spirited. The premise of Superman not sharing everything he knows and making others around him frustrated is a great example of the satire. There’s plenty of political moments where politicians aren’t granted the time to say everything on their mind.
Best Artist: Esad Ribic
Esad Ribic is a wonderful comic book artist that has a style so unique I can identify his work by quickly glancing at his art. Ribic’s work is so immersive that it works best for bigger Marvel titles relegated to the fringes of the line. As you can imagine, “Eternals” #1 is one of the best outlets at Marvel for Ribic. I’m always tempted to gush about the excellent writing on “Eternals” from Gillen, but today I want to step back and let the art do the talking here. When Ikaris first emerges from his chamber Ribic makes sure that his expressions are pronounced and deadly. When Ribic pulls back the camera and shows the expansive world Ikaris is in known as The Exclusion my jaw nearly dropped. On one page Ribic is able to establish the conflict between Ikaris and Zuras. The last panel on their first exchange here cloaks Zuras in shadow. The visual tricks and oddities continue when Sprite is introduced to the cast as well. Sprite flutters about the page with a costume design that clashes with Ikaris in a fascinating manner.
Best Late January Gimmick: Voting on the Last X-Men Team Member
The polls to vote on the last member of Marvel’s newest X-Men team are now live on Marvel.com. You know what that means! Boom-Boom or bust.
