X-Men Relaunch to Feature All Female Cast

Comics News
X-Men Relaunch to Feature All Female Cast
By J. Skyler
January 14, 2013 - 23:57

Marvel Comics

Last week, Marvel Comics released a teaser for an upcoming title penned by Brian Wood and illustrated by Olivier Coipel with the only indicator to its subject matter being "XX." Since "xx" is the chromosomal pairing which determines the female sex, it was widely speculated that the teaser was meant to indicate a new X-Men title featuring the women of X-Men... and not surprisingly, everyone was right.

Geek Girls of the world rejoice. Not only will this be one of a select few female-lead books (not to mention all-female ensembles), it will feature some of the most iconic characters in Marvel's publication history, including Storm, Rogue, Shadowcat, Psylocke, and one of my all-time personal favorites, Jubilee. Moreover, with Storm in the primary cast (and having led the X-Men in the past), it's likely she will be the one to lead this new incarnation, which would make her one of the relatively few black female characters not only to have a starring role in a major monthly publication, but also to be placed in a position of authority.

Except for Batgirl, I don't believe I've ever been quite as excited about the relaunch of a monthly title. Brian Wood boasts an impressive resume of critically acclaimed works, including Demo, DMZ, Northlanders, Local and Ultimate X-Men. Given the X-Men publication history of covering contemporary social-political issues, hopefully Wood will incorporate a little feminist theory into the new X-Men, especially in light of the War on Women that has captivated American politics over the last few years.