Advance Review: Sabretooth #1

Just when you thought that there was enough X-books on the rack, Marvel have decided to give a long dangling plot point, and a once fearsome character, a new lease of life, or after life or “it’s life Jim, but not as we know it” in a new Sabretooth book.

Now, if you have been around since Hickman rebooted the X-franchise with House of and Powers of books, there has been something of a loose thread; what ever happened to Sabretooth when he was thrown into the pit? Did he manage to Bobo Fett his way out or is he stuck there? Well, the answer may actually surprise you and probably confuse you!

Novelist Victor LaValle has taken a slightly different approach to this book than other writers across the X-books. True, there is still a shed load of dialogue and not a huge amount of classic action scenes, though in its place there are situations that are both laughable and downright uncomfortable. LaValle writes a multiple personality Sabretooth; is the plural Sabreteeth?; allowing the various version a sense of legitimacy. There is also a ton of savagery that feels refreshing in the character; too long has Creed seemingly been neutered. Along the way, LaValle also gets to draw on homage like ideas from variosu sources, including one particular one panel appearance that made this Ol’ Timer smile. Creed also gets to interact with a couple of other characters, which kind of reminded me of the Loki show, especially when Loki was at the Time Variance Authority. Ironically, despite the lack of obvious action in this issue, there is a lot going on!

The art is provided by comic veteran Leonard Kirk. Kirk’s work first crossed my reading pile in JSA and the Supergirl book written by Peter David. Since then, Kirk has been a tad sporadic in places. For me, this book feels like a return to form. With the inherent darkness in the setting and the character of the book, Kirk has allowed his horror vibe to be turned too maximum. In doing so, he has created some truly outstanding and shocking art; this book is not for the faint-hearted. as with the script, Kirk has fun drawing the many elements of Sabretooth’s past lives. Colors are supplied by Rain Beredo who goes for, practicaly, adark on dark scheme, which is evocative of underneath Krakoa. VC’sCort Petit get to pull “using the x-font” duties on this book, though dealing well with the various unique and odd page / panel layouts is no mean feet. As you would expect, there are a variety of covers to choose from; cover A from Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer and Frank Martin is as good as any of the others.

I wasn’t quite sure what to to expect when I picked this up. I can see that both LaValle and Kirk are channeling the influences from the recently cancelled (and re-started) Hulk book; the horror vibe is there for all to see! Yet, by using a a character like Creed, we have a character that seems more in control of his own destiny than the Hulk. What I mean by that, is that Banner’s alter ego is a reflection of third party influence on banner, where as Sabretooth is usually the person that is doing the affecting. Given that difference in approach, it is interesting to see Creed react, yet still trying to control his fate.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Victor LaValle
Art by; Leonard Kirk
Colors by; Rain Beredo
Letters by; VC’s Cory Petit
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network