New Mutants

New Mutants 1-13

Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir bring back some of the original team members as mentors for the new class of students at Professor X’s school.  It’s a wonderfully executed conceit. The old New Mutants have grown out of my main complaint about the original title yesterday, that they were too stupid to enjoy reading about.  (Though to be fair to Dani and Xi’an, they weren’t the ones I had problems with.) The idiocy of youth has mostly been transferred to the next batch of kids, and it’s somehow less annoying with these students.  

I really like how the writers portray Dani, Xi’an, and Rahne here.  They’ve clearly matured from their days as students, but are still young enough to remain open to changes in their life direction.  There’s a freshness to it, depicting a time in one’s life that’s clearly recognizable and all too rarely shown in comics, what with all the fighting and action.  

DeFilippis and Weir are particularly strong at making these characters people.  The whole first issue is spent on Sofia’s origin, and by the end, I was really rooting for her to succeed.  The tragedy of her mother’s death, the pure assholery of her father, her inability to fit in despite her positive attitude, and her sweet relationship with her dad’s assistant all combined to create someone that I was eager to read more about.  

As more and more students are introduced, cliques are formed and adjusted, friendships are made and broken.  I love the focus on interpersonal relationships instead of superheroics, especially when done this adroitly.

Some additional notes:

The writing’s good enough to overcome some questionable interior art.  Carlo Barberi is the only one to distinguish himself, with a Humberto Ramos-looking style.  

On the one hand, I like how the writers got rid of Rahne’s accent.  On the other, it’s a little weird seeing her talk with a ‘normal’ voice.  It’d be the same with Rogue or Gambit.

Right?  Very Ramos-like.

The covers by Joshua Middleton are astounding in their craft, but also a little disturbing in their content.  All the women look scarily waifish and underage, like they’re out of an American Apparel ad.

Ugh.  Makes me feel squicky.

Chris Bachalo follows Middleton on cover duty, and while I’m never going to complain about his art, it strikes me as an odd editorial decision to lead your title with eleven straight issues and no men on the front.  Normally, I’m all for more female representation, but I don’t think they’re dominating the covers in a statement of equality, especially on a team with a number of guys.

The series ends with issue thirteen, to be continued in New X-Men.  Same writing crew, I can’t remember if it stays as good with the focus moved off of Dani and her old teammates.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good