FIRST IMPRESSIONS
A quick look at various 'first' issues of the last month.

Reviewed by Christian Adams, Brian Domingos, Scott Grunewald, Francis Lord, Pindaros, and Andrew Wheeler

GENERATION X #63

Writers: Warren Ellis, Brian Wood
Artists: Steve Pugh, Sandu Florea
Colorist: Kevin Tinsley
Letterer: Comicraft
Published by Marvel, March 2000
$1.99

Granted, this isn’t an issue #1, but it might as well be. Warren Ellis has tossed just about everything wrong with this X-book out and left only those elements with potential. Just like every X-spin-off, GENERATION X suffered from an inability to figure out exactly what it was supposed to be. A Jr. X-MEN book? A DAWSON'S CREEK in spandex? Warren has boiled it down to its essence. A group of teenagers lost in a world that resents their youth, doesn’t really want them, and is unwilling to tolerate them. Steve Pugh adds some much needed grit to the book, and Brian Wood manages to make them sound like, gasp, real people. Good stuff, and that means it’s sure to piss off an X-fan or two. And when it comes down to it, isn’t that worth the changes alone? SG

Quite possibly an excellent new direction for the book. I like Pugh's style, but his art is marked by an incoherence that leads to trouble. It works well in the action scenes, suggesting a manga-esque energy, but is a mess in the talking head scenes. Near the end, Emma Frost and Paige Guthrie sort of pout past each other, while they are supposedly conversing. Ellis seems to want to do to GEN X what he did for STORMWATCH a few years ago: take an obviously second-string franchise superhero team and find a unique and significant niche for them. The question is whether his co-writer Brian Wood is able to pick up the ball when Ellis moves on. Just to make it clear, Ellis is turning GEN X into superheroic defenders of a youth culture under siege. I sure hope he keeps doing superhero books, as he's the only writer today that understands that the greatness of superheroes comes from their embodiment of real New Deal, Great Society, revolutions of 1848 Liberalism. Crank up Beethoven's ‘Ode to Joy’ and get these comics rocking! P

X-MEN #100

Writer: Chris Claremont
Artists: Lenil Francis Yu, Mark Morales
Colorist: Liquid!
Letterer: Comicraft
Published by Marvel, March 2000
$2.99

Claremont does a decent job of setting up the situation and explaining the characters and their relationships. In true Claremont style, the issue is verbose, and at times, over-written. One example is the beautiful splash page of Nightcrawler, but it contains 19 thought balloons. The story itself was well-paced, with enough plot to keep the story moving. The art by Yu was nothing short of terrific. Expressive characters, good action sequences and detailed artwork make Yu arguably the best X-MEN penciler since Jim Lee. If one can stand wordy comics, this is the book for you. And if you do pick up this issue, be prepared for the long-haul. You’ll be sucked in thanks to Claremont’s trademark soap opera and drawn-out story arcs. FL

Let's face it, it could have been a lot worse. The world was divided between expecting great things of the definitive X-MEN writer, and expecting the worst; an old man, well past his prime, desperately scraping to pull his shit together and put everything back the way it was in an effort to recapture his glory days. In the end, it was neither, and both. Claremont does know how to write distinctive characters, even if his dialogue is a little taxing at times, and what we get in this 100th issue is a strong story with an engaging cast of characters. At the same time, there's still that nagging feeling that Claremont sees all this as his baby, and he's willing to throw out everything he doesn't like about the characters, rather than do the decent thing by trying to work it all in. Still, with the six month gap, at least he has an excuse for the changes. The artwork from Leinil Francis Yu is generally dynamic and impressive, but at times it turns a little ugly (Colossus, apparently, has been eating all the pies), and Claremont may be too wordy a writer for Yu's sense of visual flair. It's a promising kickstart. Then again, X-MEN fans have seen a few too many of those in recent years. AW

Mutants looking for love in a POKEMON world. As promised, the X-MEN reboot is old-school writing with new-school art. Good points: Claremont is back, bringing his trademark mix of sci-fi action and superbeing soap opera. He's already bringing new life to the stagnating X-family. For the first time in a while the characters feel like people with exciting lives, instead of maudlin whiners bemoaning lost possibilities. Plus the real action happens on the pages instead of being referred to in footnotes. Bad points: Claremont is back, so the plot is our basically well-meaning funsters vs. the latest gang of maladjusted mutants on the block, with some novel bed-hopping to engage the interest of long-time fans. Of course the real question is whether by this time next year this title will have a firm hold on new fans brought in by a potentially good X-movie this summer. Claremont seems to still have his chops, so it might happen. P

X-MAN #63

Writers: Warren Ellis, Steven Grant
Artist: Ariel Olivetti
Colors: Christie Scheele
Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Published by Marvel Comics March 2000
$1.99

Reinventing Nate Grey is either the hardest or the easiest thing in the world to do. Within the first year of his creation, the character had two different and unrelated episodes of his ongoing series entitled 'Turning Point'. He has been turning ever since, mostly under the direction of one writer - Terry Kavanagh - and has never arrived at a satisfactory destination. That's why, every fourth issue or so, the editors would proclaim 'a dramatic new direction', and every time, poor Nate would just end up lost and lonely again. This time, thanks to the team of Ellis, Grant and Olivetti, with designs by Tim Bradstreet, the new direction really is refreshingly different, and in spite of the issue's title, it finally seems to know where it is going. The plotting seems typical of Ellis, where all the characters manage to be both frustratingly elusive and theatrically bombastic, but the real draw for the book is Olivetti's artwork and Christie Scheele's colours, which combine to create a heavy cartoon of washed-out horrors and muted wonders. The biggest problem with the book is that the central character bears no resemblance to Nate Grey. Then again, perhaps he never really did. AW

With a new look and real meaning, X-MAN has taken a turn for the better. Scene-to-scene, panel to panel, Warren Ellis and Steven Grant have the story's pacing down. The first time we meet the ‘new’ Nate Grey, it’s obvious that everything has changed. Nate’s new attitude is one of global protector. The world is his tribe and he is its shaman. This opens up a whole new area for Nate to work in. He’s more streamlined. More pro-active. Out to do something before it happens to him. Ariel Olivetti draws X-Man better than Bradstreet paints him. Olivetti was the perfect choice for this new direction. His layouts are clean and easy to follow. His realistic style brings a human touch to the characters. They look real, and they feel real. Let’s just hope that he’s here for the long haul. BD

BLUE MONDAY - THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT #1

Writer and Artist: Chynna Clugston-Major
Colors and tones: Guy Major, Staissi Brandt
Letters: Jeromy Cox
Published by Oni Press
$2.95

Everything about the sharp, witty adverts for this Oni series led me to believe I would love it. Everything about the book itself left me cold. Or, nearly everything. The art is fun and attractive. It's the characterisation and the narrative that it falls down on. The advertising made me think it would be a clever and well-observed teen comedy series with a subversive streak. The book itself read more like Porky's on the page. I would imagine BLUE MONDAY is targeted at a much younger audience than myself, and considered for that audience, perhaps the puerile humour works. At the same time, it is obsessed with the 80s, an era that has no meaning to the current high school generation, and I can't imagine 22 pages of black and white manga-style high school antics tearing any teenager away from DAWSON'S CREEK or MTV. I don't know how or where this book expects to find an audience. The worst part of it, though, is the fetishistic Anglophilia. Speaking as an Englishman, I find the hero-worship of Alex and Damon from Blur to be a little disturbing. I'm also quite sure that there was never a time when Blur and Adam Ant were both popular at once. Maybe it's an American thing. AW

CROSSGEN PRIMER

Free guide available in WIZARD

I really wanted to just laugh at this one, because they nailed every single cliché of science fiction and fantasy you ever heard. (One character is described as 'a charming rogue with a checkered past' fer chrissake.) Still, the clichés are clichés for a reason, and even in the 'Primer,' Crossgen is showing signs that it is willing to do the work to pump life into them. You got your world with magic instead of science (thank you St. Gardner!), you got floating cities ripe for Errol Flynn action, you got a sleazy spaceport, you got medieval adventure with superscience. As a fan of Silver-Age DC, Jack Vance and STAR WARS, I have to check them out. I have no choice. P

FRITZ AND PETRA: LUBA'S COMICS AND STORIES #1

Writer and Artist: Gilbert Hernandez
Published by Fantagraphics
$2.95

I’ve been feeling less than fulfilled with Gilbert Hernandez’s last few offerings. They were enjoyable as always, and worth the money that I paid for them, but they just seemed disjointed and rushed. However, Beto is back in fine form with the wonderfully schizophrenic FRITZ AND PETRA series. We finally get to see what childhood was like for Luba’s equally well endowed half sisters, and it’s nothing short of wonderful. Honestly, Beto could draw 23 pages of used napkins as long as he tosses in a back-up story narrated by Petra’s precocious daughter Venus. This is also a good point for new readers to jump on board. SG

J.U.D.G.E. #1

Writer and Artist: Greg Horn
Published By Image Comics
$2.95

I couldn't quite work out if this comic was painted or computer rendedred. It turns out that it's all painted. It worked very well in the opening sequence; a powerful scene of what is the most exciting opening sequence I've read recently. For the first few pages, this comic hooked me. Unfortunately, from there it became MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE meets THE DIRTY DOZEN. Essentially, I'd seen this plot before. Granted, with a lot less cleavage. However, the book ends well enough to warrant purchasing #2. The Website at www.greghornjudge.com which clears up a lot of the things which were missing from the book. CA

Thanks to all our staff and contributors for this month's First Impressions.

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