Comic Book Review - Sabertooth #1

Rob reviews Sabertooth #1...

Following up from the events seen within House of X/Powers of X, seasoned writer, Victor LaValle heads into the mind of the island nations most brutal resident - Sabertooth.

Ever since Xavier cast Sabertooth into "The Pit" we've been left questioning what exactly is this mythical place. So what exactly is this strange null space that's a part of Krakoa? Well, Sabertooth #1 does little to shed light on the subject. What we do get is a display of Sabertooth being a brutal and ruthless predator as he spends eternity within a prison he can't escape - his own mind. 

LaValle gives us a glimpse into what lies behind the eyes of the monster, and much like the outside - its a horrid place. Much like the events seen within X Lives of Wolverine, Sabertooth flashes between locations as we see the character continue his fruitless mission. 

This mission continues until he realises that while he can't escape, he can bend this underworld to his whim. And as the only inhabitant of this "world" Creed builds it within his own image. However things soon take a darker tone as five more mutants get thrown into the Pit and become tangled up in Sabertooth's plans! 

Victor LaValle is perfectly suited to writing Sabertooth. LaValle has a knack of building his stories by creating a believable world around them. Much like that seen within Eve (which LaValle wrote for BOOM! Studios), Sabertooth is as much a story about this strange location, as it is of the actual person. As this "hell scape" takes shape we simultaneously delve into the psyche of one Victor Creed. The character has always been a pretty brutal one and here we see what really drives the monster. There's a lot of bloody brutal action as Creed quite literally ploughs through the majority of those who he blames for his mistakes. This then leads to a pretty amazing full page spread as Creed "escapes" Earth with his Starjammers, to take the fight to the Sh'ir and the other planetary races. 

Art comes from Leonard Kirk who draws a pretty impressive Sabertooth. There isn't any illusions here as to what Victor Creed is capable of as Kirk highlights his ferocity, and touches upon his own sanity.  Each scene is a pretty brutal display of blood and gore with Kirk getting very creative with each subsequent death - poor Iron Fist!

After finishing this opening issue I'm filled with a sense of intrigue. Sabertooth is normally a character I'd stay clear of, but seeing LaValle attached to this - and having enjoyed Eve - I decided to give it a read. And I'm glad I did. As I mentioned earlier in this review, this opening issue is as much a look into Victor Creed mind than it is about expanding our understanding of Krakoa.

While LaValle keeps a lot of the overarching narrative light on the ground, we do get a fascinating insight into the mind of Victor Creed.

Creed makes for a fascinating narrator, and I personally can not wait for what could come next!

Rating 8/10 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev