New Comics Reviews 1/22/25: Fantastic Four, Metamorpho, Savage Dragon & MORE!
New Comics Reviews for Wednesdays 1/22!
Hello! Here are our new comics reviews for the week of 1/22/25, featuring Fantastic Four, Metamorpho, Savage Dragon, and X-Men: Xavier’s Secret! Be sure to check out Episode #767 if you want to hear our full discussion!
Joe’s Reviews:
Cover by Erik Larsen
Savage Dragon #275
Image Comics
Written by Erik Larsen and Various
Art by Erik Larsen and Various
Colors by Nikos Koutsis
Letters by Jack Morelli
96 pages for $9.99
Solicit: “Prisoner of the Reds!” Malcolm Dragon, SuperPatriot, Battle Girl, and Paul Dragon invade Russia to rescue an American prisoner! But things seldom go as planned! Also featuring the usual assortment of awe-inspiring back-up stories that readers have come to grudgingly tolerate! Comes with our highest possible recommendation!
Review: I used to be a big fan of Savage Dragon, but Erik Larsen’s habit of completely reinventing the series, while admirable, also makes it easy to lose interest. I haven’t checked in with the series in a long while, but Larsen’s boundless creativity is still on full display. It’s still a love letter to artistic titans from the Golden and Silver Ages. Only now it’s punctuated by extreme ultraviolence and outrageous nudity/sexual content. And that’s fine! But it isn’t really my cup of tea. This issue is full of content from Larsen and several collaborators, and even some straight up experimental storytelling styles from Larsen himself. It’s a wild ride, but it just isn’t for me anyore. Your mileage may vary of course!
Rating: SKIM IT
Cover by Joshua Cassara
Fantastic Four #28
Marvel Comics
Written by Ryan North
Pencils by Steven Cummings
Inks by Wayne Faucher
Colors by Jesus Aburtov
Letters by VC’s Joe Caramanga
32 pages for $3.99
Solicit: PROLOGUE TO ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM! It’s been months since Doctor Doom became Sorcerer Supreme – and disappeared. Reed Richards, the smartest man on the planet, has spent that time trying to find a way to understand magic, so he can find and stop Doom…and he’s failed. But when Sue suggests there is another man who holds both a graduate degree in physics and an understanding of magic – Dane Whitman, the Black Knight! – Reed and Sue decide to see if he can offer any insights. Dane’s help sends Reed and Sue’s minds back in time – to possess the bodies of two people in the past, where, without their powers, they search for the one magical item that can cut through Doom’s illusions! But the Black Knight has motivations of his own…and the past isn’t what it used to be.
Review: One World Under Doom is finally (almost) here, which makes this a great time to check back in with Marvel’s First Family. Ryan North is still doing strong work on the title as writer, and this issue is a fun, one-off prologue story that leads into Marvel’s next crossover nicely. Plus it’s always nice to see my man Dane Whitman, who’s in a pretty weird place these days, but I’m glad he’s still out there. I wasn’t overly fond of Steven Cummings’s art. It’s fine, but not very exciting, and his anatomy and facial expressions get kind of awkward at times. Still, I really enjoyed this issue and it has me jazzed to check out One World Under Doom when it finally kicks off for real.
Rating: BUY IT
Matt’s Reviews:
Cover by Steve Lieber
Metamorpho: The Element Man #2
DC Comics
Written by Al Ewing
Art by Steve Lieber
Colors by Lee Loughridge
Letters by Ferran Delgado
32 pages for $3.99
Solicit: Who could win the heart of the most fabulous freak of all? Only one more fabulous still… the switched-on Sapphire Stagg! But when Metamorpho and Element Gal join superstar Sapphire in the spotlight, they find themselves in the gunsights of a deadly rival for her cultural crown — one mendaciously managed by the maliciously malevolent… Mad Mod! But what’s Ol’ Staggsy’s connection to the coolest cat in crime…? Al Ewing and Steve Lieber have the answers — as the New Age of Metamorpho marches on!
Review: Metamorpho #1 got lost in the holiday comic mix so I wanted to be sure to talk about issue 2. Mainly because Al Ewing is writing the most original and fun addition to the DC All in line with this Silver Age homage to their weirdest hero, Metamorpho. Steve Lieber’s art is perfect for this modernized ’60s romp that celebrates the kooky cast that includes a thawed-out caveman bodyguard for a billionaire, his daughter who is also Metamorpho’s love interest, and a Taylor Swift stand-in which gives the story a how did she hook up with Jason Kelce aspect complete with commentary on meme culture and why modern pop music can be so familiar and simultaneously horrible. Comics don’t get much smarter, meta-textual and fun to read than this.
Rating: BUY IT
Cover by Martin Coccolo
X-Men: Xavier’s Secret #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Alex Paknadel
Art by Diogenes Neves
Colors by Arthur Hesli
Letters by VC’s Clayton Cowles
40 pages for $3.99
Solicit: In the wake of the fall of Krakoa, the X-Men are forever changed. As Jean Grey prepares to take her place among the stars, she and Cyclops share a last night together, only to discover a hidden mystery that threatens to pull them apart. Meanwhile, what was supposed to be a mundane article about Charles Xavier’s monstrous acts during the war turns into something far stranger for journalist Sally Floyd. Can the X-Men survive the shadows lurking in their pasts, or will their new era begin in tragedy? Collecting X-MEN: FROM THE ASHES INFINITY COMICS #1-6 for the first time in print!
Review: I’ve been saying this for years but I’ll say it again. Alex Paknadel is an excellent writer who needs higher-profile gigs. I’m sure the Marvel Infinity comics have their readers but this two-part story did more to fill the gaps between Scott and Jean and Professor X’s current status quo than any of the post-Krakoa comics I’ve read. Both stories are filled with little personal touches that add depth to the characters and some big events we saw play out in the X-titles that should leave anyone worried about the three main characters’ status quo feeling a little better. Or at least explain why Scott is so distant (and maybe a terrorist again), Jean is perfectly comfortable as a space god, and Xavier is the X-Men’s next major villain. Now give Paknadel a regular book already Marvel!
Rating: BUY IT
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