Customer Reviews

New Mutants Vol. 1: Back to School (X-Men)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The lower rating on this grpahic novel, is due completely to the art, which I found to be so poor and distracting that it significantly detracted from my enjoyment of the book. The first 5 pages tell a minor story about Mirage, where the art is excellent. However, it then descends into a poorly executed manga-esque art style, that has lots of stiff awkward limbs sticking out, and a very unnatural feel on every page. Characters are often shown with unbelieveably thick necks that shoot up and down from panel to panel like the old He-Man character Meckaneck. The covers included are amazing, but these only work to demonstrate the slip-shodiness of the rest of the art.

On the other hand, the story is interesting and made me want to read more. It revolves around several of the New Mutants showing up to work as teachers in the, now openly mutant, Xavier Academy. Of the old New Mutants who turn up, the actions centers around Dani Moonstar (Mirage), and Xain Coy (Karma), who begin to recruit various new members to the academy. As an overview it may not sound like much, but the characterization is very good. As a story alone I would give it 4 stars.

Not the -Ultimate X-Men Vol 8-. Danielle Moonstar returns, a reluctant but willing helper to Professor X ... only to be offered a job as a teacher as the Xavier Institute. Well worth the cost, this tale reunites her w/Karma & [tangentially] Magma, & showcases her essential humanity.

Danielle is a reluctant co-worker-to-Prof-er-Charles, unconvinced of her effectiveness even as she talks a toxic teen into coming w/her to Xavier's. The new thrust of Xavier's, as a training/teaching facilty for young outcasts rather than a "next X-men prep" is a bold move, & Dani is a natural ... & Karma, as a triple threat [she's a mutant! she's an Asain! Oooh, gods, she's *GAY*!] addition is charming [if generically drawn; i'm not a big fan of the artist]. Highly recommended!

I had actually picked this book up AFTER reading the New X-Men: Academy X storylines where these featured characters had already returned. The art and story-telling in this compilation were an excellent mesh! I'm actually at work otherwise, i'd go into specifics. Buy this book and find out what I'm talking about.