Broken Frontier

New Mutants is the latest X-book to get the Forever treatment. But does it deserve it? Will it sell any better than the ones before? And was Chris Claremont the best choice to write it?

Unlike other comic fans of my generation, I didn’t become introduced to Marvel’s line of mutant books through the Uncanny X-Men. My doorway was New Mutants. The cast was closer to my age at the time, so I found them easier to identify with than the more adult X-Men.

It was also a series that started with a fresh number one just as I started collecting comics. It was a series that I felt I could grow up with collecting. I picked up each one of the 100 issues, quickly picking up the back issue of any new issue I missed.

So, suffice it to say, I am pretty much the target audience for New Mutants Forever, Marvel’s latest entry into its Forever line of books.

This line allows creators to return to a comic they left—or were forced to leave—to pick up any dangling plot lines and continue the series as if they never left.

The first of these books was X-Men Forever. Chris Claremont was able to go back to the 1990’s and resume plot threads he left behind after creative differences made him leave X-Men after issue number three. After that came X-Factor Forever, where Louise Simonson was allowed to return to the book she left to work on the Superman titles over at DC.

The titles should have been custom made for the nostalgia market that drives comic books today. But each of the titles have been averaging about 15,000 copies sold, ranking outside the Diamond Top 100. X-Factor Forever went from being an ongoing series to a miniseries. X-Men Forever went from being a bi-weekly ongoing to a series of miniseries.

New Mutants Forever starts out as a miniseries from the get go, but it does have something going for it that the other Forever books didn’t. Both of the series creators are back on the series, Claremont, obviously and original artist Bob McLeod is back inking new penciller Al Rio. Another legendary New Mutants artist, Bill Sienkiewicz, will be providing variant covers for the series. The other Forever books didn’t have this kind of participation from the original creators.

Of course, having the original writer of the series back on the Forever miniseries is good, but is Claremont really the one who should have been tasked for this series? Claremont left the title willingly with issue #54 (which this series will pick up right after). However, Louise Simonson was pretty much forced off the title starting with issue #98 due to creative differences with then popular artist Rob Liefeld (a situation strangely similar to one that lead to X-Men Forever). Simonson would seem to be the more obvious choice to write the series for this reason. Claremont had the opportunity to tell these stories back when he was writing the series, if he had only stayed on a little longer.

Maybe if this series is successful, we’ll get a sequel which will allow Simonson to carry on any story ideas she had when she was booted from the series back in the 1990s. Of course, as we have seen above, odds are that this series will not be that kind of success. 

Also out this week:

Magnus, Robot Fighter #1:

The concept behind this book is simple—it’s about a man who fights robots. Whether they are robots that have gone off their programming and turned evil or robots that have enslaved all humanity, Magnus will fight them. Basically, you really don’t need a plot. You can just have Magnus fight robots from page one to page 22 with no reason at all.

However, not everyone thinks that way. So the latest revamp of the franchise features a new reason for Magnus to fight those robots. This time around, mobsters have co-opted the world’s robots to work for them. With the power of these machines on their side, there is no one who can stop them from doing whatever they want. No one except Magnus, that is.

Jim Shooter (W), Bill Reinhold (A), Dark Horse Comics, $3.50. Four-Issue Miniseries.

Deadpool #1,000:

I am of two minds about this book. First off, when they came out with a Deadpool #900 a couple of months ago, I thought it was a little lame as gags go. When they started a series that would run 900 backward after the release, I was annoyed by the obvious cash grab. Those feelings apply even more to this one.

But then again, there is quite the line-up of all-star creators working on this issue. These are creators you really wouldn’t expect to see on a Deadpool book. These are creators such as Peter Bagge, Howard Chaykin, and Dave Lapham.  These are the kind of people who can make any concept good. So, it might be a blatant marketing ploy, but at least it will be a good marketing ploy.

Various (W), Various (A), Marvel Comics, $4.99. One-Shot.

Murderland #1:

Baltimore has become the go-to setting for crime stories, thanks to Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire. Now, the Baltimore crime story is coming to comic books with this new series, with the Maryland city providing a backdrop for many tales of murder and betrayal.

First up is the tale of a young couple. The Arabber, a reformed killer looking to clean up the Baltimore streets, loves Method. Method loves The Arabber. She also loves doing all the things he has in his sights to clean up the city. Eventually, their differences will set them on a collision course with each other. When that happens, it won’t be a question of if their love will survive, but rather if they will survive. 

Stephen Scott (W), David Hahn (A), Image Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

Baltimore: The Plague Ships #1:

And now we come to a different kind of Baltimore. Set in Europe after the end of World War I, the attempts to return to peace are shattered by an infestation. The continent is not besieged by rodents or insects, but rather vampires. A soldier by the name of Lord Henry Baltimore has set out to destroy the plague at the source. But the horrors of war aren’t anything like the horrors he’s about to face now.

Of course Dark Horse would be the company to adapt Mike Mignola’s novel he wrote with Christopher Golden. They are joined by Mignola’s art partner from the Witchfinder, Ben Stenbeck. If you are a Hellboy fan and haven’t picked up the novel, here is the perfect opportunity to support your favorite creator.

Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden (W), Ben Stenbeck (A), Dark Horse Comics, $3.50. Five-Issue Miniseries.

Superman: The Last Family of Krypton #1:

If there is a legendary writer from Superman’s Bronze Age, it would be Cary Bates. From the late 1960s to the John Byrne revamp of the mid-1980s, Bates was the most prominent writer who shaped and molded the Man of Steel during this period. For a whole generation of Superman fans, he is the definitive Superman writer.

Those fans are probably overjoyed this week, as Bates makes his return to the Superman universe, albeit not in an in-continuity way. He is writing a new series set in the Elseworlds universe, which details DC’s alternate realities. In Bates’ story, Kal-El wasn’t the only Kryptonian sent to Earth when his home planet exploded. In this reality, mom and dad were in the capsule with him.
 
Cary Bates (W), Renato Arlem (A), DC Comics, $4.99. Three-Issue Miniseries.

###

William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer and daughter Vanessa. He also is a comic reviewer for PopMatters, has written for Comic Foundry magazine and is the comic book movie editor for Film Buff Online. Links to his writing can be found at his website, www.williamgatevackes.com.