Sabretooth is captured by Orchis as the Exiles find the biggest sign of Orchis’s depravity yet in Sabretooth And The Exiles #1, by writer Victor LaValle, artist Leonard Kirk, colorist Rain Beredo, and letterer Cory Petit. The team from Sabretooth returns with another go-around with Victor Creed and the former people of the Pit.

Sabretooth comes to on Orchis Station Six, experimented on by Dr. Barrington, his healing factor still working even though he’s saddled with a power nullifier. Meanwhile, the Exiles make their way to an island where Third-Eye believes Sabretooth to be. Some of them go ashore and find a massive mutant graveyard. Orchis Station Six arrives to dump off some bodies, and the Exiles spring into action. Onboard, Barrington activates her new anti-mutant weapon, the Creation. Sabretooth breaks out and wreaks havoc on Station Six, learning about Barrington and who she’s working for. Realizing he needs help, he gets back to Bling!’s boat. Third-Eye takes down Barrington, who sets the station to self-destruct as the Creation escapes with Widow-Maker. She picks up Barrington, and the three rush off to another Orchis station while Sabretooth offers the Exiles a ride.

Sabretooth was a highlight of the Krakoa era. LaValle, Kirk, Beredo, and Petit created something special, a book that used Krakoa’s Pit to call out the prison-industrial complex in the US. It worked on multiple levels, laying out the metaphor, acting as a character study for multiple characters, and serving as a great superhero story. The comic ended on a cliffhanger, with the Exiles tasked with hunting an escaped Sabretooth, who was captured by Orchis.

This first issue of that sequel starts out with an info page from Mole’s perspective; it spoils the story, telling readers how the whole thing ends, but that’s fine because it sets out LaValle’s mission statement for the series. From there, the book dives into the action, laying out the heroes, the villains, and everything else. It’s a great start, but that’s to be expected from this team and this comic.

Kirk and Beredo are a brilliant team, and that keeps up in this book as well. There’s something about the way Kirk’s pencils and Beredo’s colors work together. There aren’t any big double-page splashes like the last first issue this team worked together on, but the reader can feel how well the two of them gel. Knowing what they’re capable of and seeing what they’ve done in this chapter should excite readers for the future.

Sabretooth And The Exiles #1 is an interesting animal; it’s both a sixth issue and a first issue. LaValle, Kirk, Beredo, and Petit are an excellent team, and this issue should leave readers salivating for what comes next.

Grade: A+