Broken Frontier

Reunited and it feels so good!  The New Mutants are back, and boy, are we going to need them! 

In New Mutants #1, Zeb Wells brings us up to date with the last several years of the old gang.  Cannonball, Sunspot, Magma, Karma and Dani Moonstar have all become teachers at the X-Men headquarters in Main Headlands, CA.  Illyana Rasputin’s reputation appears to have left a much more negative impact on the younger generation of mutants than those who fought alongside her so many years ago.  It seems time doesn’t heal all wounds. 

In this episode, we find our heroes picking up where they left off, locating and honing young mutant talent while in the confines of a secure (Professor X-approved) environment.  Of course, this only applies to the students, as we quickly realize the old guard is compelled to aid in a search and rescue of two of its own.  Xi’an (Karma) and Dani are discovered missing only after Magik returns through a portal from the recent future to warn the team.  Cannonball emerges as the leader of these New Mutants as they suit up and set out to locate their endangered friends.  Guided by Illyana’s extremely realistic “vision”, the team find themselves in an anti-mutant establishment, lay a beat-down, and release something evil.

Wells resurrects the New Mutants with a bang, right from the opening frame.  He is able to create a past with the characters in thirteen frames while building a suspenseful and compelling storyline throughout the book.  Wells has a gift as a tie-in story writer, as we witnessed in Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways, and he doesn’t disappoint here either.  Wells is able to capture the angst and rebellion of youth in minimal dialogue, and develops a well-structured cliffhanger of a story in only thirty-four pages.

A perfect complement to Wells' story can be found in Diogenes Neves’ artistic vision.  Each frame seems to flow easily with the dialogue of Wells.  Neves’ work is very action-oriented, but extremely clean.  Some artists can allow their work to get convoluted, but Neves highlights the focal points in each frame which allows the reader to move through the story effortlessly.  Neves has some experience drawing for the X-Men family, with art credits in X-Men: Worlds Apart #1-4.  While I wouldn’t say the artwork stands alone, it definitely works with what Wells has developed. 

The artwork is just as vibrant and colorful as the dialogue in New Mutants #1.  Wells and Neves have set up a great story to bring the New Mutants back, and readers should look forward to seeing where they go from here.  The shock-ending is only the beginning for these New Mutants!