J.R.'s Picks:

X-Factor #1 – Whelp. Marauders now has some stiff competition for my favorite X-book. X-Factor opens with an extremely solid first issue that manages to capture and presentation the character of each mutant featured. Northstar senses the death of Aurora, his mutant twin, and rushes to The Five in order to have her resurrected. Unfortunately, they need proof of death which hinges on more than “special twin sense”. As it turns out, this is a rather large issue they’re facing. Distraught, Northstar heads to Blob’s bar (BLOB HAS A BAR) where he meets up with Polaris who knows exactly what needs to be done: start an investigation crew. Utterly fantastic, I can’t wait to see where this series leads.

Cable #2 – A strange to follow up to last issue but fraught with enjoyable scenes. A mutant baby is abducted in Philadelphia so Cable takes his weirdly young self there to investigate. The Philly cops tell him to budge off in the most Philly way ever but Cable persists along with Esme of the Stepford Cuckoos. Yeah, he’s also dating all of the Cuckoos right now…you know, the sisters? Beyond weird and weirder when it cuts to the other four all making fun of him and plotting to break his heart. Cable and Esme break into the house the baby was in for no obvious reason when they’re ambushed from the sky. Come for the action, stay for Cyclops eating a cheesesteak while having a telepathic convo with Emma Frost.

X-Men #10 – A somber issue spotlighting the former emperor and genocidal murderer, Vulcan! With the events of Empyre going on, this is a lot happening on the moon. The Summers’s residence lies one mile outside of the Cotati main base and Vulcan accidentally stumbles on it during a brood walk. The Cotati capture him and use all their plant-based technology in an effort to interrogate him. Some very strange things are brought to light in his mind, the majority of it being that he was experimented on and ripped apart by a currently unknown race of aliens during his time as emperor. As this is revealed, he shrugs off his would-be captors and incinerates them in a blaze of power only he is capable of. An Empyre tie-in expertly interwoven into the current Dawn of X events with a ripple effect sure to start a story tsunami.

Empyre #3 – This event continues to be damn entertaining and is only just ramping up. Reed and Tony end up working together to find a flaw in the Cotati’s invasion plan but Tony is currently less than helpful. He is planning the beleaguered super-genius act after being duped by the Cotati leadership. Meanwhile the Earth is being ravaged on multiple fronts. In Wakanda, the Thing learns some Xhosa from Shuri as the two of them and the Agents of Wakanda g=fight back the plant forces. Black Panther, called the most dangerous man in the world by Cotati’s leaders, figures out heir plan but the Avengers with the help of the FF are going to have a helluva time trying to stop it. Don’t miss out on such a great event.

Diarra's Picks:

The Boys: Dear Becky #3 - A new team of “supes” has grabbed The Boys’ attention. The Skorchers are a superhero team developed by Vought’s media division. Based on their personas, they seem like they’ll cause quite the media frenzy. Billy has some dirt on a hero in the organization named Vikor, so he decides to rough him up a bit just to knock the supe down a few pegs and show him who is in charge. No one likes getting pushed around and Vikor gathers some of his supe friends to show Billy who has all the power. This isn’t his first time battling people who abuse their strength so I’m sure he’ll find his was out. Meanwhile, Huey and Annie are trying to lay low and be a normal couple. While Billy is still getting haunted by ghosts of his past.

Empyre: X-Men #1 - Scarlet Witch is trying to atone for her actions in House of M. Maybe it’s the new hope and life eternal that the Krakoa plant has now given mutants, and Scarlet goes to Doctor Strange for help. Lose it a bit and murder some mutant comrades? No biggie, mystic man Doctor Strange can do a little timey wimey switcheroo and fix it all. Unfortunately, Strange refuses and Scarlet decides to find other means of resurrection and heads to Genosha. She succeeds...kinda. That’s when the X council discovers the Krakoa gate in Genosha is on the fritz and send a team to check it out. That’s when they discover Scarlet’s resurrection worked, and they are met by a beach full of undead mutants. We comic fans know what can happen when you play around with life and death. Now we have some zombie mutants and newly fixed Krakoa gate open to anyone, or anything with the X genes. SN: Gardening has been my newest quarantine hobby and this book nailed because plants really do require “a whoooole lotta bulllll@#$%”!

That Texas Blood #2 - Joe Bob is having a pretty rough week. First, a traffic stop/Tupperware exchange turns to a suicide/worst birthday ever and now he gets a call about a murder. When local bad boy, Travis, is found dead in the desert, Joe knows he has solve this fast to keep the towns folk feeling safe. They decide to call Travis’s brother Randell in to get some answers. Randell is reluctant to return to his home town. The brothers were know for being trouble makers, and when Randell moved away to turn a new leaf Travis stayed to keep the bad boy legacy. Randell’s girlfriend doesn’t understand why he doesn’t want company on his trip, but after seeing the welcome Randell gets from some locals, you can see why. Ghost from Randell and Travis’s past are all around, and more are sure to arise as the investigation begins.

Stone's Picks:

Darth Vader #3 – Vader and the woman named Sabe travel together to Naboo in order to reveal who killed queen Padme. After arriving on the planet, they make their way to a lake retreat where they are ambushed causing Vader to spring into action. The attackers are no match for Lord Vader, but do to a certain someone interfering, Vader does not handle this problem with his usual style. The search for the answer’s travels from the surface to the depths of the sea as they push closer to the truth. When the answers they seek are revealed, those who thought they could be trusted will show their true colors and eyes will be opened to what really happened to Padme.

Spider-Man Noir #2 – Its 1939 and Spider-Man is on his way to Nazi Germany. Trying to solve both the mysteries of the cicada stone and the murder of Huma’s sister, Peter and Huma search for more information about the stone. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones. They travel from London to Sicily in search of a pilot that will be able to fly them into Berlin so they can meet with a man named Heinrich. When they discover Heinrich, they are also greeted by a man with an affinity for electricity who will stop at nothing to retrieve the cicada stone.

Empyre #3 – Following the attack by the Cotati forces, the Kree/Skrull armada AND the Avengers & Fantastic Four are defending Earth from the escalating invasion of the Cotati. As Captain America fights with the heroes on Earth, Thor is in search of powers only found with gods. Tony Stark has buried himself in his work to look for a solution and is frustrated with himself for believing that the Cotati were only looking for peace. This fight is only growing fiercer and while others would throw caution to the wind and attack with wanton fury, there are those who would seek more diplomatic means.