It’s one of the greatest hero and villain relationships in comics, Wolverine and Sabertooth. These characters have been at it longer than I’ve been alive. And here writers Victor LaValle and Benjamin Percy alongside pencilers Geoff Shaw and Cory Smith tell their own saga in this most epic of comic book rivalries. 

I’m a huge fan of Percy’s Wolverine, I think he has one of the best voices for the character ever and really understands Logan. LaValle has told two Sabertooth stories before, the eponymously named Sabertooth and Sabertooth And The Exiles. Both of which are steller comics that take the character of Sabertooth in unexpectedly narratively rich places and explore issues like the carceral system and institutional medical abuse of minority groups. In the first part of the Sabertooth War epic Percy and LaValle mix their peanut butter and chocolate into a oh so great flavor. 

Sabertooth And The Exiles left off with Sabertooth meeting up with a multiversal cohort of his variants, after raiding a collection of Orchis bases. Wolverine and X-Force left off with Wolverine meeting back up with X-Force, his biological, and found family in the arctic. Here they collide on Wolverine’s birthday just in time for Sabertooth to tear it all down. 

The cover of the title purports to be “The most violent Wolverine story ever told”, while that’s a high bar to match — and maybe not even a worthy challenge to even attempt — Sabertooth war takes a valiant swing at it with some truly brutal moments. Only time will tell if those moments eclipse pure shock value or not, at times they were pretty hard to read, but it’s a great way to show the brutality of Sabertooth.  

On the art front I was a little disappointed to hear that the artist on the past two Sabertooth series Leonard Kirk wouldn’t be returning. That being said pencilers Geoff Shaw and Cory Smith alongside colorist Alex Sinclair and inker Oren Junior do a fantastic job of telling this gorey tale. Shaw’s pencils and inks remind me much more of Kirk’s but Smith and Junior’s work is by no means a slouch either. 

The first chapter in Sabertooth War is a very promising start. It’s appropriately violent while also having some surprisingly tender moments before all hell breaks loose. The title is an easy recommendation. 

Story: Victor LaValle & Benjamin Percy Art: Geoff Shaw & Cory Smith
Color: Alex Sinclair Inker: Oren Junior Letterer: Cory Petit Design: Stacie Zucker with Tom Muller & Jay Bowen
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.0 Overall: 10.0 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle