New Mutants #1
The New Mutants are looking for one of their own in New Mutants #1, by writers Jonathan Hickman and Ed Brisson, artist Rod Reis, and letterer Travis Lanham. The team needs to get to the capital of the Shi’ar Empire and hitch a ride with Corsair, but things get a little crazy, as sometimes happen when riding with intergalactic pirates.
Wolfsbane and Mirage discuss Wolfsbane’s resurrection and new life in Krakoa. Shan is worried about her friend, but Rahne is happy for the first time in a long time. Cypher has Mondo absorb a part of Krakoa, which speaks through him but cuts off the link quickly. Sunspot and Dani Moonstone admire their new home and meet up with the rest of the team. Sunspot decides something missing, though- Sam Guthrie, Cannonball. Sam is off in the Shi’ar Empire with his family, though, but luckily they can get a ride out there with the Starjammers, who are led by Cyclops’ dad. The team spends time on their ship before they get to a space station on the edge of the Empire. Corsair tells them to stay put because the station is run by religious extremists who torture innocent people so he and his crew can steal something for them. However, the team disobeys him, and Magik teleports them aboard only to find out that things aren’t at all what Corsair said they were.
First and foremost, this is a fun book. There’s been a lot of seriousness since Hickman took over the X books, but there’s none of that here. The New Mutants have always been fundamentally different from other X-Men teams in that they aren’t just a superhero unit, but a bunch of teenagers who grew up together and became friends. It gives them a fascinating dynamic to play with, and it helps that they are all on the youngish side. They’ve been through a lot, but they don’t let it ruin their lives. They still have a bit of idealism, which is why they teleport onto the space station to save lives, only to find out that Corsair lied to them. Their youth plays into this- instead of thinking things through, they jump in blindly, and it costs them in the long run, but it’s not played in a dour way. They just have to figure a way out of the situation. They’ll need a space lawyer.
Seriously, a space lawyer. It’s awesome.
Hickman and Brisson, though, also know how to do a little world-building between all of this fun as well. The scene where Mondo absorbs a piece of Krakoa, allowing the island to speak through him, is creepy. Not just because of the island but because it doesn’t like being linked with him. Why wouldn’t it like it? What does it have to hide? Later on the Starjammer’s ship, Mondo and Cypher visit the ship’s garden and remark on how different they feel when they’re off Krakoa. They’ve brought a gateway flower with them, and there’s already one at the Summer’s House on the ship (given to them by Cyclops in X-Men #1). The two flowers are communicating and changing the gas content of the garden to such an extent that some of Ch’od’s plants are dying. There’s something vaguely sinister about this, and it reveals that maybe Krakoa isn’t as benevolent as everyone assumes it is.
Rod Reis’ art is great. His linework is thin in some places, but it doesn’t detract from the detail of the art. His coloring has a watercolor-esque feel to them, and it looks great. He does a wonderful job illustrating faces, as well. He especially does a good job with Sunspot. Hickman and Brisson write him as a very impish character, and Reis sells that with his great facial expressions. There’s also a scene where Raza and Magik spar while the New Mutants and the Starjammers look on that’s very cool.
New Mutants #1 is such a fun book. Hickman and Brisson set the right tone immediately. There’s something hopeful and cheerful about this book that really impresses upon the reader. The characters are fun and play off each other well. Having them go on an adventure to Shi’ar space is a wonderful plot, allowing the book to branch out for their first story arc. Shi’ar stuff is still very much in the X-Men wheelhouse, but it’s just outside the box enough to work for this team, who have a very unorthodox feel to them. Rod Reis’ art is the icing on the cake. His characters are expressive, and his linework is simple yet detailed. If this first issue is any indication, this is going to be a great book.