And we’re back! Marvel absolutely blew out this week, so I’m back in action with the most full week of new releases since the pandemic shut comics down. Let’s get to all those and more in another edition of The Pull, looking at my buys, recommendations and curiosities from the week of comics, led by a…free comic?

Book of the Week: X-Men #1 FCBD Edition

The road to X of Swords begins here, as the X-Men Free Comic Book Day release is finally released, revealing…something! What it will reveal is uncertain, but here’s one thing I know: in the hands of Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and Marte Gracia, we know it will be a great comic. We’ve seen that in House of X already, and where that crew goes, greatness is the result. It’s just what happens.

But it will be interesting to see if this free comic helps reestablish the heat from the X-Men line in the Hickman era, as I can’t help but feel that no aspect of the superhero realm has seen its momentum more affected by the pandemic than this line. Before COVID-19 hit, the X-Men line was the hottest game in town, even if it had seen a bit of a downturn as titles ramped up. Now? Between the enormity of X of Swords and the absentee nature of the line – besides a smattering of releases, we haven’t seen much of the X-Men since March – I wonder if the heat will still be there. While a free comic is hardly an indicator, given the bizarro setup of Free Comic Book Summer, it might be a good guide to whether or not people are still hot for it.

Regardless, good comics are good, and free comics are even better! Huzzah!