REVIEW: ‘Uncanny X-Men Annual 2026’ Issue 1

Uncanny X-Men Annual 2026 Issue 1 is published by Marvel Comics and written by Gail Simone and Mikki Kendall, art by Francesco Mortarino and Elisabetta D’Amico, colors by Mattia Iacono, and letters by Clayton Cowles.

The Louisiana X-Men weren’t the only mutants to seek shelter in Haven House; it’s been happening for over a century.

Uncanny X-Men Annual 2026 Issue 1 is a trip back in time, well over a hundred years. It’s a continuation of The Dark Artery story arc, which revealed the first time mutants arrived in New Orleans through Lady Henrietta. A gunslinger with an extra set of arms brings a certain angry Canadian with bone claws to the house, after digging him out from a grave.

It’s here that so many of the stories about the house have their roots. The house is a place for living mutants to find refuge, but it’s more than that. It’s also becoming a place where people take their dead to be buried. It makes the land a spiritually powerful place, especially given the god of the dead who resides beneath the house.

The pacing is slow but smooth, with a heap of action across multiple points in time. The story in Uncanny X-Men Annual 2026 Issue 1 also features the present day and the group that currently resides in Haven House. Wolverine bookends and connects the time periods, actually ending a debt that began all those years ago.

It’s a wholesome ending, and the whole book itself has a feeling of community and home. There are those flickers of horror that this entire series has been encased in, and the land itself embodies, with Heaven House always being a beacon for mutant safety.

Simone and Kendall create a new selection of mutants, crafting their own history in the deep south. At the helm of Uncanny X-Men Annual 2026 Issue 1 is Slaughter Freedman, an ex-soldier and Marshall. He’s the one who finds Wolverine half-dead in a grave and takes him to Haven House. Living there are Michael St. Juniors and Mother Witchfire, ancestors of the family that inhabit it in the present day.

The people within this issue are good and welcoming. Wary, blunt, and protective, they will always let in a weary traveler who needs to hide. There are many dangerous people at that time, so it’s very noticeable when you get good Samaritans, too.

Lady Henrietta appears later in Uncanny X-Men Annual 2026 Issue 1, with her obsidian creatures. She’s aggressive in her protection, actively hunting down those who cause harm to mutants. She’s the leader of the whole group, whilst Slaughter serves as the narrator. It’s evident by how Simone writes Slaughter that he’s an influence on Logan. Wolverine is also important to the comic, because of his longevity and current living situation. He shows his very intense sense of honor and gratitude when he searches someone out.

The art is fantastic. A group of mutants is established, and they all look remarkable. Slaughter is a charming gunslinger with a stylish hat and poncho combo. He fits the time period perfectly and is an exciting hero. The poncho hides his extra set of arms, meaning that it’s a surprise when he points four revolvers at his first set of bandits. Wolverine looks relatively identical, but is certainly more feral. He’s also very young, so his claws and bones aren’t coated in adamantium yet. Michael looks much like his descendant, Marcus, if quite a bit older.

Lady Henrietta appears in multiple forms. She and her giant guard dogs are made of obsidian, with Mortarino and D’Amico using very pointed lines to accentuate the jagged stones protruding from them. She’s a protective force, but looks aggressive and scary. But she also has another brilliant design that’s less stony. She has a big hat that hides her face and a flowing dress, while towering over everyone.

Whatever form Lady Henrietta uses, she has an incredible presence. The comparisons with the modern world are terrific. Whilst Haven House, as a building, hasn’t evolved much, the horse and cart has been replaced by football shirts and nightclubs.

The colors are stunning throughout Uncanny X-Men Annual 2026 Issue 1. In the past, Iacono has shrugged off the typical decision to use a sepia filter over the page and has actually given the scenes life. Being able to see the sky gradually grow darker and the other colors turn the historical story into more than just a flashback. The lettering is flawless and always easy to read.

Uncanny X-Men Annual 2026 Issue 1 is a beautiful sojourn inside a unique history. What Gail Simone and Mikki Kendall get right is making the story so intimate. It’s not a plot about a whole town or country. It’s one house. And yet, that home carries so many lives within it, souls that have been laid to rest or protected. The comic can generate feeling and atmosphere without even trying. The dialogue is charming, touching, and welcoming. Even a century ago, the notion of Haven House feeling like a warm campfire that provides sanctuary and safety for mutants remains clear.

Uncanny X-Men Annual 2026 Issue 1 is available where comics are sold.