It’s the final From the House of Ideas of 2022, and seeing as how I took off a week for the holidays, I want to kick it off with the first volume of Captain America: Symbol of Truth, titled Homeland. Written by Tochi Onyebuchi and illustrated by R.B. Silvia, it’s one of two Cap series currently running, this one featuring Sam Wilson in the stars and stripes.
Collects Captain America (2022) #0 and Captain America: Symbol Of Truth #1-6. Captain America soars again in a new era for truth and liberty! The world is finally ready for two Caps, so Sam Wilson picks up a shield once more – and enters a world of trouble! Following a lead from Misty Knight, Sam intercepts a mysterious group hijacking what appears to be an empty train. But as Sam and his partner, the new Falcon, dig deeper, they discover that this plot may be connected to a crucial piece of Captain America history – and, surprisingly, to the nation of Wakanda! But how is Deadpool involved?! To find answers, Sam Wilson and Wade Wilson must team up in Latveria – and you know what that means! When Doctor Doom learns of the interlopers in his midst, can Cap escape with his life?
New this week is Murderworld: Spider-Man, the second installment in the Murderworld event series that writers Jim Zub and Ray Fawkes have come up with. Murderworld is definitely going to be loved by fans of Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, though it’s definitely more than just a survival of the fittest type story with Arcade as the big bad. Zub and Fawkes have an uncanny ability to make you quickly care about the new characters they’re introducing, a skill not every writer can lay claim to. This issue is illustrated by artist Farid Karami.
The Murderworld stream will not be stopped and, as its dwindling contestants grow more desperate, the wall-crawling web of death surrounding them begins to tighten – Thwip, thwip…Murderworld is a chaotic contest filled with treachery and tragedy from the minds of Ray Fawkes (One Soul, Constantine) and Jim Zub (Conan the Barbarian, Avengers: No Surrender) illustrated by Farid Karami. Arcade and his schemes have been a punchline in the past, but this game is no laughing matter. Each issue ups the ante and will keep readers guessing right up until the end. Don’t miss it!
Finally, X-Treme X-Men #2 is definitely worth picking up for fans of old school X-Men, especially those of us who grew up on the singular work of the legendary Chris Claremont. This series, out of regular continuity, is some of the best writing Claremont has done in years, in my humble opinion, and the artwork of Salvador Larroca compliments that work. It certainly helps that Claremont is playing in a familiar sandbox of his own creation, that of the conflict between Kitty Pryde, Wolverine, and Ogun, the antagonist from the beloved Kitty Pryde and Wolverine mini series from the 1980s.
The X-Treme X-Men have reunited to aid their comrade Kitty Pryde, but as Wolverine leads the hunt for their mutual enemy Ogun, Rachel uncovers a dark secret! And what does Purity hope to gain in the chaos of the mutants’ battle? Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca take X-Treme to the next level in this issue!