Beau Tidwell
May 10, 2008, 11:17 am
<a href=" http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0508/YNGXM002_col.jpg" target="_blank"><img src=" http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0508/YNGXM002_colt.jpg" alt="Young X-Men #2" hspace=10 align=left></a> Reviewer: Beau Tidwell, comixfanbeau@gmail.com
Story Title: New Mutants
“Since when are the original New Mutants evil and since when do the X-Men use lethal force?”
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Penciler: Yanick Paquette
Inker: Ray Snyder
Colorist: Rob Schwager
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson
Assistant Editors: Daniel Ketchum and Will Panzo
Editor: Nick Lowe
Executive Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com)
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, and I have a lingering and stubborn hope that maybe it’s not.
Marc Guggenheim, who had an excellent run on Wolverine during Civil War, seems to be setting us up. I really hope that’s what he’s doing, and I hope the payoff delivers in spades--- because otherwise this is a terrible book. And honestly, the talent involved is too good for that to be the case. That’s a long-term view of where the book is headed though. In the short term, in this single issue--- no dice yet.
Despite the story’s title (see above), and what was apparently the original title of the series (“New Mutants”), this is a far cry from the return of the classic New Mutants team. The possibility of their return as an active group in the mainstream of the X-Men universe has been the tease this entire launch hinged upon, and so far … I’m a little concerned.
Take a good look at that cover. My fondest wish as an X-Fan has long been to see Mirage and Magma back in true form and represented in the big-time X-books again--- and there they are. Sure, Magma got some decent time towards the end of Chris Claremont’s X-Treme X-Men run, and Mirage has popped on and off the radar sporadically since just after the big Fatal Attractions crossover, but as a group, my favorite generation of Xavier’s students has never really recovered from the slash-and-burn overhaul that turned the original title into X-Force all those years ago.
(To be clear--- I absolutely loved the original X-Force. Say what you will about the man now, but at the time Rob Liefeld was like a jolt of Red Bull for the team, which had largely languished since Claremont left the book some forty issues prior.)
History and fanboy nostalgia aside, this issue doesn’t get any better than the cover. In fact, it never really delivers on the implicit promise of the Dodsons’ striking cover image at all. Rather than give us any panel-time with Mirage and Amara together again and back in action, Guggenheim spends the bulk of the issue dwelling glumly on the frankly uninspired line-up of “Young X-Men” and teasing us with old-school New Mutants references without apparent payoff. When Magma and Danielle do actually show up, it’s to get in the obligatory pointless brawl with the new kids. And Dani, maybe my favorite character in the entire cannon, comes off like a chump.
What about the actual cast then? Rockslide and Dust, the two recruits with arguably the highest profile and strongest pedigree going into the launch, both come across alright. Dust in particular is a great character, with the potential for a lot of stories that most mainstream superbooks aren’t likely to touch. Still, she’s there--- and it’s a start. Guggenheim handles her well, neither falling prey to easy stereotyping nor allowing her to drift into the background until somebody needs their skin sandblasted off, as was often the case in her former title, New X-Men. (Incidentally, who else was psyched to see her cameo in the trailer for the new X-Men cartoon?) Likewise, Guggenheim seems to have a great handle on Santo “Rockslide” Vaccarro, who became a star comedic character in the same book.
As to the rest? Wolf Cub and Blindfold are pretty terrible, with the former serving so far as a place-holder for “generic furry clawed guy” (since the rest are tied up in the new X-Force), and the later falling far short of the kind of quirky, cryptic genius she achieved under Astonishing X-Men writer Joss Whedon. And Ink? Well… he’s apparently a new mutant that no one ever heard of, with a kind of all-purpose plot device power grafted onto a gimmick that wouldn’t have been out of place in the old Lobdell/Bachelo Generation X.
All is not as it seems, however--- with Ink’s origins or with Cyclops’ blatantly out-of-character motives, and Guggenheim gives readers just enough glimmering clues to suggest this might be a much more interesting, much more credible, story than we’ve been led to believe thus far. Taken as a whole, the opening arc may well deliver on the promise of the series’ launch and the innumerable New Mutants references and teases, but thus far he’s given us precious little to go on.
On the art side, Yanick Paquette does a solid job laying out what may well end up to be an extended wild goose chase. His draftsmanship is strong, his layouts are sturdy and accessible, and his line work suggests Jeff Johnson during his Wonder Man days. It’s quality stuff, but lacking the kind of intensely stylized, high-energy crackle of the book’s immediate predecessor, New X-Men.
Ultimately, I can only recommend this issue to die-hard New Mutants fanatics like myself, and even then--- we may all be better off waiting for the inevitable trade. As things stand now, I’m completely unconvinced that this title and this group of characters is in any way stronger or more engaging than the title that got axed to replace it. While I hold out stubborn hope that the big pay-off for this story will be more satisfying, the second issue taken on its own terms is extremely disappointing.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xhalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xnone.jpg
Story Title: New Mutants
“Since when are the original New Mutants evil and since when do the X-Men use lethal force?”
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Penciler: Yanick Paquette
Inker: Ray Snyder
Colorist: Rob Schwager
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson
Assistant Editors: Daniel Ketchum and Will Panzo
Editor: Nick Lowe
Executive Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published by: Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com)
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, and I have a lingering and stubborn hope that maybe it’s not.
Marc Guggenheim, who had an excellent run on Wolverine during Civil War, seems to be setting us up. I really hope that’s what he’s doing, and I hope the payoff delivers in spades--- because otherwise this is a terrible book. And honestly, the talent involved is too good for that to be the case. That’s a long-term view of where the book is headed though. In the short term, in this single issue--- no dice yet.
Despite the story’s title (see above), and what was apparently the original title of the series (“New Mutants”), this is a far cry from the return of the classic New Mutants team. The possibility of their return as an active group in the mainstream of the X-Men universe has been the tease this entire launch hinged upon, and so far … I’m a little concerned.
Take a good look at that cover. My fondest wish as an X-Fan has long been to see Mirage and Magma back in true form and represented in the big-time X-books again--- and there they are. Sure, Magma got some decent time towards the end of Chris Claremont’s X-Treme X-Men run, and Mirage has popped on and off the radar sporadically since just after the big Fatal Attractions crossover, but as a group, my favorite generation of Xavier’s students has never really recovered from the slash-and-burn overhaul that turned the original title into X-Force all those years ago.
(To be clear--- I absolutely loved the original X-Force. Say what you will about the man now, but at the time Rob Liefeld was like a jolt of Red Bull for the team, which had largely languished since Claremont left the book some forty issues prior.)
History and fanboy nostalgia aside, this issue doesn’t get any better than the cover. In fact, it never really delivers on the implicit promise of the Dodsons’ striking cover image at all. Rather than give us any panel-time with Mirage and Amara together again and back in action, Guggenheim spends the bulk of the issue dwelling glumly on the frankly uninspired line-up of “Young X-Men” and teasing us with old-school New Mutants references without apparent payoff. When Magma and Danielle do actually show up, it’s to get in the obligatory pointless brawl with the new kids. And Dani, maybe my favorite character in the entire cannon, comes off like a chump.
What about the actual cast then? Rockslide and Dust, the two recruits with arguably the highest profile and strongest pedigree going into the launch, both come across alright. Dust in particular is a great character, with the potential for a lot of stories that most mainstream superbooks aren’t likely to touch. Still, she’s there--- and it’s a start. Guggenheim handles her well, neither falling prey to easy stereotyping nor allowing her to drift into the background until somebody needs their skin sandblasted off, as was often the case in her former title, New X-Men. (Incidentally, who else was psyched to see her cameo in the trailer for the new X-Men cartoon?) Likewise, Guggenheim seems to have a great handle on Santo “Rockslide” Vaccarro, who became a star comedic character in the same book.
As to the rest? Wolf Cub and Blindfold are pretty terrible, with the former serving so far as a place-holder for “generic furry clawed guy” (since the rest are tied up in the new X-Force), and the later falling far short of the kind of quirky, cryptic genius she achieved under Astonishing X-Men writer Joss Whedon. And Ink? Well… he’s apparently a new mutant that no one ever heard of, with a kind of all-purpose plot device power grafted onto a gimmick that wouldn’t have been out of place in the old Lobdell/Bachelo Generation X.
All is not as it seems, however--- with Ink’s origins or with Cyclops’ blatantly out-of-character motives, and Guggenheim gives readers just enough glimmering clues to suggest this might be a much more interesting, much more credible, story than we’ve been led to believe thus far. Taken as a whole, the opening arc may well deliver on the promise of the series’ launch and the innumerable New Mutants references and teases, but thus far he’s given us precious little to go on.
On the art side, Yanick Paquette does a solid job laying out what may well end up to be an extended wild goose chase. His draftsmanship is strong, his layouts are sturdy and accessible, and his line work suggests Jeff Johnson during his Wonder Man days. It’s quality stuff, but lacking the kind of intensely stylized, high-energy crackle of the book’s immediate predecessor, New X-Men.
Ultimately, I can only recommend this issue to die-hard New Mutants fanatics like myself, and even then--- we may all be better off waiting for the inevitable trade. As things stand now, I’m completely unconvinced that this title and this group of characters is in any way stronger or more engaging than the title that got axed to replace it. While I hold out stubborn hope that the big pay-off for this story will be more satisfying, the second issue taken on its own terms is extremely disappointing.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xhalf.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xnone.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/xnone.jpg