Comics : Comic Reviews : Marvel Comics

Last Updated: Oct 20, 2009 - 7:25:21 AM

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New X-Men #42 By Zak Edwards Sep 26, 2007 - 13:52:38 PM Publisher(s): Marvel Comics Writer(s): Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost Penciller(s): Skottie Young Inker(s): Skottie Young Cover Artist(s): Skottie Young

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Since about issue #14 of New X-Men, the kids have been fighting and dying non-stop.  After every battle the youngest X-Men have thrust immediately into another without any time to rally.  Now, after all this time, the kids finally get a break.  Kyle and Yost (Yost in particular) have now given readers a chance to see the kids deal with some of the stuff that has been going on since personal reflection has not been on their schedule, which is a good thing.  Last story arc involving the kids going to hell had brought many of the students in the background into the limelight.  This issue focuses on all of the kids after last arc and what their teachers, the X-Men, are doing to help them.  The effects of M-Day are still on their mind.  With all these elements put into this issue, New X-Men continues to play with the big leagues as one of the strongest X-Men titles going.

This issue has everything a book about teen super-heroes should have; teen drama, teen angst, and lots of humour spread about.  All of the main kids have their own roles to play, it’s surprising that Yost fit it all in.  While difficult to talk about each one without ruining things and droning on, I can say this:  Kyle and Yost have developed some great characters to use.  The whole cast is well put together, with a familiarity with all of them.  These kids deal with the problems they have and are going through like teenagers: they don’t all get along, some annoy others, some antagonize others for no reason, but they are united together by tragedy.  There is a bond there.  One of the best parts is the fact that not all the characters are easy to like, either.  Pixie is fairly annoying and Julian is still his usual arrogant bully.  The comic is enjoyable for this downtime, it reminds me of the “Date Night” arc in Ultimate X-Men.  While not high on the action, the characters were strong enough to carry a story that was a little different, not relying on the “meet villain, get beat by villain, rally and defeat villain” story-lines.  Too bad it’s only for two issues.

The first thing that catches the eye is how different the art is.  I had to check the credits to make sure the art team had not changed, it hasn’t.  The team is the exact same as before, proving how different artwork can be in the hands of a versatile team.  Where the last arc was clean with a bold colour palette, it has been replaced by a rougher style with a more bland colour scheme.  It still looks great.  I was concerned that once the setting had changed from the crazy landscapes and characters of Belasco’s realm to the normal world, that Young’s art would be too crazy for any believability.  These concerns have been addressed.  While some things do look a little over the top, like Wolverine and Colossus.  Overall the characters are animated just enough to convey how mellodramatic the characters are without crossing the line into saturday morning cartoon.  Young’s panels look great.

8/10   Great story, strong characters, and really cool art.  All-round solid issue.

As always, let me know what you think by e-mailing me at zak@comicbookbin.com

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