the New Mutants Forever #1 , #2 and #3 - Marvel

The story in this series begins back when Magneto was the Headmaster of the school. It starts shortly after he's been chosen, and asked, to become the White King of the Hellfire Club. And, to his surprise, urged to take the position by Ororo. He and the New Mutants are at the Hellfire club's mansion. I assume for protection . . body-guards, of a sort. That's when, from their room, the New Mutants hear gunfire in Central Park. Of course, being the heroes that they are, they go rushing to the unknown victim's aid. And they find it to be Amama's dad . . the Senator. He and his bodyguards are being attacked by a para-military type group. Anyways, they end up saving the Senator. He's still armed, but not captured. But it appears that pretty much everyone else, on both sides, is gone. This of course quickly brings Selene into the mix, as the Senator is not only her son, but from Nova Roma . . as well as herself and Amara. Her resolve is even furthered when the para-military group attacks again, but this time they hit the mansion. Their attack seems better organized this time as they attack on several different fronts. The result of which is . . they abscond with Amara and Doug. After which, all attackers have been killed, or taken their own life when Emma tries to probe them. Well, all except the one that Illyana sent to Limbo. Through him, Selene learns where her granddaughter has been taken, as well as who is behind all of this. It turns out, which we discover at the end of issue #1, Amara has been returned to Nova Roma, and . . this is all the plan of the Red Skull. In issue #2, Roberto and Warlock are dragged into the mix. They were separate from the group, and vacationing in Rio de Janeiro, Roberto's home. It appears that his mother . . archaeologist Nina de Costa . . was in Nova Roma when it became enslaved by the Red Skull. When the Senator took off for New York, to ask the X-Men for help, she decided to return home and use their family's influence to garner some support. But she, as well as the Senator, were quickly set upon the the Skull's forces. Which is where Bobby and Warlock come in, when she calls for help. We then find Doug and Amara locked in a cell in Nova Roma. As well as a boy called Tiberius. We don't know what his story is exactly, but . . there's something different about him. I guess we'll learn his story later. For now he seems to be part of the Red Skull's entourage, when he uses some sort of drug to enable their allegiance. After the painful injection, they all seem to follow the Skull without question. But Doug's formula seems to be different as it also transforms him into the Skull's image . . Jr Skull, or Son of Skull . . as it were. Anyways, Selene and her group have join up with Bobby and Warlock when they all make seem to make their way to Nova Roma simultaneously. It isn't long before they're beset by the Skull's forces. And by the end of issue #2, they come face to face with their transformed team-mates. Although I think Amara is the only one they really seem to recognize. Issue #3 starts out with them fighting their friends. But they don't make much headway. Doug and Amara take down Warlock, burning him with lava and encasing him in molten rock. And, when it appears that they don't have the fortitude to stand up to the Skull's forces, Selene is also injected with the drug that transformed Doug. She seems to be fighting it, but due to their defeat, and Selene's fate, Illyana transports them all to Limbo before the full effects can take place. Since Illyana's magic can't do anything against science, it seems that Selene is fighting this drug's affect on sheer willpower. That is until they return to Nova Roma and she takes the life-force of one of her loyal followers. We also see that Doug seems to be fully embracing his transformation, and we finally get a bit of emotion from Tiberius when the Red Skull makes an advance on Amara and kisses her. He seems jealous. We also find out that somehow Warlock has not perished, and is instead keeping an eye on his friends while remaining hidden. By the end of issue #3 there seems to be a turn in the tide. Selene has successfully fought her transformation. And somehow Doug's mind has returned to him. The physical transformation is irreversible, but . . at least he's thinking on his own again. The problem is . . he can't let anyone know. He fears that the skull may be watching him. And on the final page of the issue, Warlock comes to confront him. He's mad about the termination of his friend Doug. He doesn't know yet that this is him. So far . . I think this is an ok story. I'm not overly thrilled with it, but . . it is great to see another story with all of these great characters. My problem is . . for the theme of this book, it doesn't seem like all that much is different. Yes Selene is working in concert with the New Mutants, but . . I don't think it's that big of a leap. Plus, I'm not real big on the Red Skull's character. The guy is pretty single minded in his mission and endeavors, so . . to me, it seems kind of obvious as to the way this story will go. I'm sure we'll see some things changed . . as is the theme of these 'Forever' titles. But I don't see that it'll be that dramatic. Of course we've seen more changes in the X-Men Forever books . . it's gone 30 or so issues by now. I don't know how much can change in a 5 issues series. But, having said that . . I do find the book and story entertaining. Chris Claremont is writing it, with Al Rio and Bob McLeod doing the art. I like Al and Bob's art because it's kind of nostalgic. It kind of feels like we've gone right back to this book . . back then. They also seem to be using former New Mutant artists on the covers . . Bill Sienkiewicz, Art Adams and Bob McLeod. Overall . . I think it's ok. But if you haven't picked it up yet . . I'd wait for the TPB. Then you can read it all together.

New Mutants #15 - Marvel

I really liked this issue because the team is all back together. And . . unlike the issues of Second Coming, this issue focus' on this books characters. Instead of the entire spectrum of the X-Men. These characters are who I buy this book for . . it's who I want to see. Unfortunately, I don't know how long all of this is going to last. When the New Mutants went to limbo to find Illyana, the US Government, with some nudging from Bastion, I'm sure . . they sent a team of soldiers in after the mutants. They included General Ulysses and Doctor Noc. The problem is . . things in Limbo don't work the same as they do here. Including the passage of time. So, not only were these soldiers changed . . we don't know if they were given powers, or if they just picked up some magical influence along the way, but . . they were gone from Earth for 2 years, but to them they were in there for 20 years fighting and trying to survive. And the General especially seems to have a very big chip on his shoulder when it comes to Illyana. So, while the New Mutants are trying to recover from all the things that have happened to them over the previous few months, General Ulysses is forming a plan to get Illyana into his custody. Sam takes everyone away for a weekend get-away. They need to talk, and relax, and just be together. But we also see the General taking action. We think he's coming after Illyana, but really . . he's gone straight after Pixie. I guess he thought he's pick off the one that's by herself. But Illyana can tell that somethings wrong. She just doesn't know what it is . . yet. The issue ends with the General and his team capturing Pixie. He's got Pixie's blade. 'You're right . . it's not the soul sword. But . . it will do.' Like I said, it's good to see the whole team all back together, but . . I don't think they're going to be coming out of this one the same way they go in to it. I have a feeling that this is going to change the team irrevocably. Zeb Wells does a great job with the story on this one. I know they're bad guys, but . . I really like this group, Delta Black. They're some very interesting characters. Plus, really . . they're just reacting to everything that they experienced in Limbo . . for 20 years. Leonard Kirk does a great job with the art. And the amazing cover is by Dave Wilkins. I can't wait to see what happens next.

New Mutants #14 - Marvel

Finally, I get to read the next chapter here. The problem is . . it doesn't move the story along very much. They only have 3 chapters to go, so . . they have to be wrapping things up pretty soon. But, we do have a few important events that happen this issue. First of all . . we don't actually see the New Mutants. Not as a group . . per se. We just see some of the individual members as they interact with the other X-Men who are trying to stay alive. Since they've all been targeted for extinction, I don't think team status really matters right now. Plus, since the future Nimrods are coming through the portal at a rate of 5 every 5 minutes . . they have a lot more to worry about than necessarily who they'll be fighting along side of. There's a couple of neat developments though. Charles has gone to Legion to ask for his help. The Nimrods adapt to whatever mutant power is thrown at them, so . . it's pretty tough to kill them the same way twice. However, with Legion's involvement in the fight, he can kill one, switch personalities, and then turn and kill another. It's actually a good thing he shows up when he does because Peter is trying to hold them off on the bridge, but they gang up on him and crack his armor shell like an egg. I don't recall that's ever been done, so who knows what kind of effect that's going to have on him. Also Hope has decided that she's not going to sit back and let other people die for her. So she'll be fighting along side of Rogue. Magneto also decides that he can't lie on his back and watch another race get exterminated. So he'll be getting into the fight. And in the future, X-Force has been taking down Nimrods, trying to get to their base, but they also face 2 gigantic Master-molds. One appears operational, but the other doesn't. However, when they decide to attack, the first seems to come to life. They definitely have their work cut out for them here. Zeb Wells wrote this story. With Ibraim Roberson, Lan Medina and Nathan Fox doing the art. Overall, I thought it was a pretty cool issue. Like I said, we did get some insights. We just didn't get a lot, or any, resolution. But there's still 3 chapters to go. A lot can happen between now and then.

New Mutants #13 - Marvel

The only thing bad about this big mega cross-overs is that . . I bought this book because I like the New Mutants. Yeah, they're in here . . kind of. And the ones that aren't, they explain where they are, but . . for the most part this was just another chapter of the Second Coming storyline. Which is fine, because . . that's what going on right now. But . . I really wanted to catch up with the New Mutants. So, to that end . . here's what going on with the kids right now . . Warlock is grieving because he promised, quite a few years ago, that he would never absorb another sentient life. However, in their fight against Hodge last issue, Doug had read the situation . . with his understanding of all languages, spoken and unspoken . . Doug's assessment of the situation was that the only chance they had of surviving the situation was for Warlock to absorb Cameron Hodge. He had to be coaxed quite a bit, and even then he was reluctant, but . . in the end he did it for his teammates. Now . . he's living in shame. Also during that fight Shan lost a leg. Illyana's been taken to Limbo. Apparently because of something Bastion's team hit her with, but . . we don't have the specifics of that yet. Also Sam is gone because he's leading the rescue team in their search of Limbo. And Danielle picks a fight with Hope this issue. I think it's the frustration, really, that everybody is feeling. Because of all the hits, and loses, the X-Men have suffered . . everyone is on edge right now. Also, right now, all of this is going on Scott's faith that Hope is the salvation of the mutant race. And, other than his faith, they don't really have anything to base that off of. So everybody, I think, is on edge. Danielle just decides to let some of it out. Also, this issue . . in Bastion's attempt to disable the X-Men's means of transportation . . any means . . he takes out the Vanisher. And Donald Pierce finally makes himself known . . he's been wandering around the X-Men facility for a little while now . . by blowing up the X-Men's hanger and everything in it. His reward? Scott incinerates him with his optic blast. And the X-Club have gone to one of Bastion's oil rigs. At first they don't understand what's going on. Everything looks normal. But then they find one of his towers . . camouflaged. But it appears they've also activated a self-destruct sequence. Their fate will be seen in the Blind Science one shot. And finally Hope admits to Cable . . 'Coming here was a mistake. I was sick of running. I was tired of fighting . . I was tired of eating rats. When I said I was ready . . I lied.' Well . . that's not a good thing. I thought Zeb Wells did a great job with this issue. Yes I would've liked to have seen a bit more of the New Mutants, but . . it is what it is. It was still an exciting story, and another chapter in the Second Coming story-line.There was some great art this issue by Ibraim Roberson and Lan Medina. And some fantastic covers by Adi Granov and David Finch. I really hope this whole thing pays off for the X-Men, because they've gone through an awful lot on this journey. It would be a shame if they didn't get any rewards.

X-Men: Second Coming Revelations - Hellbound #1 - Marvel

Since this is the opening chapter of this miniseries we don't even see Illyana this time. But . . most of our time is spent with Sam as he puts his team together to go after her. Even though he's the leader of the New Mutants, he doesn't really use any of those team-mates. As with the first trip into this realm, most of the team is made up of the Young X-Men . . the kids. First of all they want the heavy hitters left on Utopia, just in case Bastion does attack. And secondly, I think . . these kids were actually successful the first time. Yeah they took a few hits, but overall they made it through relatively unscathed. Maybe Sam is hoping that they'll get just as lucky the second time. But just in case, he's bringing Gambit along. 'I need someone to keep their eye on the prize, no matter what happens down there. I need a thief. She could be hurt, Remy. She could be dying.' So they finally enter the realm. And they're pretty much overwhelmed by what they're faced with. This is a dimension that is constantly in change. It's basically at the whim of it's master. But apparently Belasco and S'ym also doesn't know where Illyana is located. However, Belasco seems happy when S'ym tells him that the X-Men have come looking for their team-mate. Especially when he finds out that Pixie is among them. 'She will lead me to Magik. And then Magik will die. And Limbo will be mine, forever. The rest of the mutants . . kill them!' I'm guessing whatever it was that Bastion's men hit her with . . trying to stop her teleportation powers, also affected her magic. Because that's when the hole between her and Limbo opened and she was snatched. She seemed just as surprised about it as everybody else. And a little bit afraid. Because she knew where she was heading. We've had a couple of mini-series about Illyana in the past. I'm interested to see how Chris Yost is going to make this one different. Harvey Tolibao did a good job with the art. Well . . we're off on another excursion to Limbo. And it looks like Remy is going to be the first one affected. 'Remy's not home right now.'

New Mutants #12 - Marvel

In this third chapter of Second Coming, X-Force is still trying to help Cable and Hope make their way to Utopia. However, when they found them last issue, Bastion had already found them and Stryker and his Purifiers were on the scene trying to capture them. Meanwhile, Sam has been ordered to attack a manufacturing facility . . run by Bastion and Cameron Hodge, to try to prevent Bastion from getting any more ordinance. But it's a lucky thing they're there . . although I'm sure they don't feel so, they're outnumbered about 100 to 1 . . when X-Force starts applying the heat to the Purifiers, they call to Cameron Hodge for back-up. But, since the New Mutants have them otherwise involved . . there won't be any back-up coming. During the course of all this, the Purifiers fire something at Illyana that disrupts her abilities. Sensing her weakness . . something from the other side reaches out and pulls her in. I think there's definitely going to be a division between the X-Men when this is all over. We've been watching X-Force and their extreme methods for the last 2 years. But the rest of the X-Men haven't known what they've been up to. Seeing them in action, I think, is definitely going to cause a division in the rest of the team. They'll either agree with what X-Force is trying to accomplish, or . . they'll completely disagree with their methods. And right now Nate doesn't know who to trust. He's not sure how Bastion found him so quickly, and he thinks he may have a man on the inside of the X-Men. He hasn't figured out yet that they're tracking him through his techno-organic virus. Although there is someone inside the X-Men. Just not in the way we'd think. Damage and Rogue are watching over some of their captives, but . . I think Donald Pierce is only feigning capture. I think he's trying to manipulate things from within. The issue ends when Karma tries to take over Cameron Hodge and she then becomes his primary target. Things don't look good for her on the final page. I think Zeb Wells did a great job with this part of the story. And Ibraim Roberson's pencils looked spectacular. I know this issue wasn't entirely about the New Mutants, but . . I think this has been my favorite issue to date. Not to mention that Second Coming is getting really exciting.

New Mutants #11 - Marvel

This issue we finally learn what Dani had promised Hela so that she could have her Valkyrie powers back for a day. 'Hel has no Valkyrie. They are of Asgard, to bring the victorious mortal dead to Valhalla's blessed halls. What would a Valkyrie of Hel do? Bring the dead of the immortals to me. Asgard lies under siege. Many have fallen. Worse, as it is in midgard, I do not trust the ancient ways to gather the soul-harvest. They need a guide.' Which is where Dani comes in. She doesn't want to do it, but Hela threatens to take away the powers that were given to her, so that the events of that day would be as if they never happened. But what Hela fails to tell her is that there are wraiths out there, D'isir . . cursed Valkyrie's that can only feed upon the passing souls of immortals. But since they are always either in Valhalla or Hel . . it's very rare that they get the chance to feed. Which is why Dani's mission is so important. But since Hela fails to tell her that, she gets wrapped up in the battle of Asgard and wants to help her sister Valkyries. But in doing so . . she leaves the fallen souls, looking for her guidance, to the appetites of the D'isir. A mistake that she quickly remedies, but still has to deal with the consequences of her poor choice. Some of the fallen warriors are gone now. For good. And because she feels guilty, it looks like she's going to pull away from the rest of her team-mates. She got rid of one burden . . her favor owed to Hela, only to be saddled with another. This poor girl just can't catch a break. I love this book. Mostly because I love these characters. I thought it was a pretty decent issue. But again . . it's kind of a fill-in before Second Coming! starts up across the X-Men universe. This one was by Kieron Gillen and Niko Henrichon. I can't wait to see what happens next month, when the X-Men get back to the X-Men universe . . finally!

New Mutants #10 - Marvel

I absolutely loved this issue. It was about the New Mutants, but . . it kind of wasn't also. You'll see what I mean later. Some of the Mutants from the Savage Land have made their way to Japanese waters and attack one of their ships. It turns out that Amphibius, having heard of the recent resurrection of Asteroid-M, gets it in his head that their savior, Magneto, has also returned. So basically he wants to reunite with his master. Anyways, Shan talks to him and lets him look inside of her head. She show him the recent events in Utopia, and the circumstances surrounding Magneto's return. After that it's easy to talk them into returning home, and Scott convinces the Japanese government to drop charges and let them leave. After all, they just want them out of their waters also. Anyways, that was interesting and all, but the best part of the story to me was the dialogue between Scott and Emma while all of this is going on. He could've sent a group of X-Men to help them, and Emma argues that they need to be split up between various X-teams. She doesn't understand why Scott is keeping them together. But Scott keeps telling her that he's looking towards the X-Men's future. 'Xavier's dream has taken a back seat the last few years . . it's had to. But we've got to think about the future. The baby's going to come back . . our world won't be this dark forever. These kids we've raised in Xavier's dream. We'll need that dream again someday. I need someone who can lead.' Basically . . Scott is grooming his replacement. And Scott keeps pretty tight-lipped when Emma tries to figure out who he's working with. Although Emma is convince it's Sam. And throughout the story, we kind of get the same feeling. But we also see Shan and Mirage both step up this issue. It isn't until the final page that Scott tells Emma, 'I'm gathering data. That's why this team's important, Emma. I'm looking for the next leader of the X-Men . . I never said it had to be Sam.' And that's why I liked this issue so much. Like I said, it was about the New Mutants, but . . it was actually more about Scott watching and assessing their abilities. And it showed us that this team, and it's characters are vitally important to the future of the X-Men. I really liked the way that this issue was set up. Zeb Wells did a great job with the story. And the art was split up between Paul Davidson and David Lopez. I thought they both did a good job.

New Mutants #9 - Marvel

The threat of Selene, and Necrosha, seems to be consuming the X-Universe right now. However, with this issue . . there may be a new threat looming on the horizon. I have to give you some background though, in order to put what's going on into perspective. Selene absorbed Doug Ramsey into her techno-organic virus assault. But in doing so she made a mistake. Doug had already been infected with Warlock's T/O, and between that and his powers over language he seems to have overwritten her code. Although he claims, he asked it to retreat . . 'nicely'. However, I don't think it was entirely his own effort. I think he was making progress, but it was the reemergence of Warlock and their connection that actually tipped the scales. During Doug's attack on Amara he cut off Warlock's head and sent it out deep into the ocean. But . . he adapted and found his way back. They're both in Jeffries and Dr Nemesis' lab now going through analysis. Both by machines and by Scott and Emma. Doug seems to have been drastically altered by his death and resurrection. He can now read all forms of language, including body language. 'I used to translate words . . but everything we touch, every movement we make creates information. Everything is a language, and I translate it all.' And Warlock? Warlock just says whatever crosses his mind. And he's got a few revelations. Most importantly are his observations of Illyana. Scott and Emma are talking when Warlock interrupts. 'Query. Are you referring to Illyana V2.0? Magik is not the original. In friendlanguage she is a pirated copy.' Which leads us to Illyana and Emma talking, and we get the real story of how she came back to be with this team. It seems she's actually Darkchilde from the future. In that future she saw everything destroyed by Legion. So she's come back to confront him. Basically, she's Illyana but without her soul. Which is why she's also looking for the blood-stones. Those are the stones that her soul has been fractured and put in to. During that time when the Young X-Men had gone into Limbo, they were actually being attacked by . .'The Elder Gods. The end of the world.' So while she's come back to try to save the world, these Elder Gods have also come back to end it. In the beginning of the issue we see some type of military installation that seems to have a portal to Hell in it. It becomes active and a General Ulysses and his troop come back through it. It seems that they've been in Hell for a few years. Their presence has been altered because of this ordeal, as I'm sure has been their souls. When Illyana is talking about the Elder Gods, at the end of the issue, it becomes clear to us that she's talking about General Ulysses and his men. There may be a threat worse than Selene on the horizon. I thought Zeb Wells did a great job with this issue. He's continuing the Necrosha story-line, but he's also planted the seed for this new one. I thought he did a great job of handling all of these characters. And I'm glad that the New Mutants are such an integral part of the X-Universe now. This issue we have a new artist on the scene . . Paul Davidson. At the beginning of the issue I wasn't sure about his style, but . . over the course of the book it really grew on me. These characters have always been one of my favorite parts of the X-Men mythos. I'm glad that they're back in the spotlight.

New Mutants #8 - Marvel

This is quickly becoming another great X-Men book. Although I will admit that I wasn't overly thrilled with Diogenes Neves' art . . at first. But after 8 issues, I can really see how he's making this book, and these characters his own. Plus . . I think he's getting better. Zeb Wells is also constructing a very good story here. Last issue the Hellions attacked . . or the Zombie version. They used Doug to hurt Amara. Also Warlock returned. Although his was of his own volition. He tried to help Doug, but Doug took his head off . . and returned it to the deep. Now the team is trying to get Amara down to Dr Nemesis, to cure her. At the same time, they still have hopes of saving Doug. We do find out this issue that Illyana's soul-sword can disrupt the programming influence of Selene's version of this virus. It must have to do with magic. We don't get into the how's and why's just that the team uses it, and Karma's skills to defeat these Hellions. And when Illyana uses the sword to rid Warlock of malicious code upon his return . . he in turn uses it to fix self/friend Doug. By the way, Nemesis does indeed cure Amara. And the final nail in the Hellions coffin is when Warlock calls in some torpedo friends of his to blow them up. So it looks like the team may finally be all back together. Although, more than a few of them are very much the worse for wear. And, you have to ask yourself, how long do we really think this will last? I'm thrilled that this book is back. And I'm glad that we've finally got the original cast back together. Now we just have to wait and see if we can repeat any of that ol' magic. I've got high hopes for this book. I hope it meets them. So far . . I give it an A-. There's got to be room for growth. Right?

New Mutants #7 - Marvel

I have to admit . . I'm liking this story-line. Doug Ramsey was one of my favorite New Mutants . . way back when. He was the little nerdy boy who's only real power was that he could read any language. I like the way they explored that theme last issue by having him read the language of movement as he was fighting his former New Mutant teammates. I thought that was an interesting twist. Then, the first time around, he was infected by the techno-organic virus before he was killed. I always wondered how he could've died if he was mostly a computer program. Anyways, this whole Necrosha thing with Selene has brought him back to life. But seeing as how she's also using a variation of the techno-organic virus to perform her 'miracles', it only seems natural that he appears to be fighting his programming. The only part I don't understand is why Selene is so hell-bent on regaining control of him. The Hellions were sent to attack the X-Men, but now all their effort is focused on retrieving Doug and rebooting him. I mean, other than Selene losing one of her followers, I don't know what the big deal is. The most he can do is tell the X-Men who's behind all of this, but they would've figured that out sooner or later anyways. The only thing I can think of, if Doug does break free of Selene's programming, he may be able to help the X-Men figure out a way to bypass or negate it. Anyways, the Hellions are trying to bring him back in, and Tarot is disciplining him for having any contact with Warlock at all. 'You were to stay away form your friend from the start . . regardless . . you've eaten the apple. The damage is done.' During Doug's fight with Warlock he took his head off and tossed it into the ocean. Doug thinks he's dead, but again . . it's a robot. Who's to say the seat of power is in it's head? But regardless, on the final page we see the head sinking down in the water. It looks like the head is sparking, or something, but as it goes deeper it gets dimmer and dimmer. He's come back from a lot worse than this, so . . I can't imagine that this will slow him down. I thought it was an ok book. I like seeing all these characters back together again, and it looks like eventually Doug and Warlock will also be rejoining the fold. I think Zeb Wells is doing a pretty decent job with the story. Although I'm not overly thrilled with Diogenes Neves pencils. The characters themselves aren't bad . . a little to 'plain' for me. But . . he uses little or no background in most of his panels. I like these character enough that it won't affect my purchase, but . . I really wish they'd get a better artist here. That's just my input.

New Mutants #6 - Marvel

I really liked this book. Doug Ramsey is back, and . . and the end of the book, Warlock finally makes his way to Utopia. But . . let me back up a little bit. First of all, the team comes to Utopia to be with the rest of the X-Men. This is the first time that Charles has seen them all back together again. He knows that they've saved his son, Legion, but he's not being allowed to participate in his recovery. And the team need a little R&R after what they've just been through. Now remember, from the X-Necrosha book, all of this is happening at the same time as Selena is making her move on the island. Doug watches the group through the window for a while before he strikes. I thought it was interesting how everything to him is a language . . the way his eyes perceive the light, the gestures and looks that each of the team-members give each other and Charles, and later when they're fighting he perceives their motions and moves as a language . . telling him how to react and counter. I'm glad they strengthened that aspect of this character. Anyways, eventually he does come busting in, and he goes straight for Amara. He gives her a pretty good beating. We're not really sure exactly how hurt she is. But then when the rest of the team react, as I said, they're having a pretty hard time taking him on. He's literally reading their every nuance. That is until Shan takes them over, possessing them all. Because of her control, and their movements, he can't anticipate their actions. It's all gibberish to him. And that's when Warlock comes in. He recovers Doug, after flying off the balcony, and feels that his team-mates have attacked his 'friend'. However, when he tries to help, he quickly finds out that Doug's TO is quickly trying to over-ride Warlock's own programming. The issue ends with it looking like Doug has ripped his 'friend' apart. Zeb Wells also did Doug's story in X-Necrosha, so it was a smooth transition. I really enjoyed the way the whole thing played out, and the added insight into Doug's character. Several times through this book we're led to believe that the real Doug may be coming through the programming . . that he may realize what he's doing is wrong. But it isn't until the final page that it's drilled into us that that's just not going to happen. Zeb did a great job of taking us through this emotional telecaster. I also enjoyed Diogenes Neves pencils. I think he gets better with every issue. I'm so glad this book is back, and I can't wait to see where this storyline goes.

New Mutants #5 - Marvel

This issue is really just the wrap-up for the first story-line in this title. In it our team finds and encounters Legion, David Haller. Karma, while looking for Marci, a small town girl, instead finds David and ends up being absorbed into his psyche. He fights most of the team to a stand-still, until Illyana decides to go in and put an end to all of this. She ends up killing off quite a few of his various personalities with her soul-sword. That helps to scare them a bit, and her and Shan can then find David and Marci. There's also a doll represented in his psyche. Whomever has control of it, also controls the personality reflected by David in the material world. Illyana and Shan are also able to get David back in control of this. We find out this issue that Marci was trapped in David's head because one of his personalities had murdered her and then absorbed her. We also find out that it was Shan that killed him . . punishing him . . not Illyana. Although, Illyana is willing to accept the blame and punishment for it. So now, back on the X-Island the Science Squad is working on separating and isolating all of David's various personalities. So far they're up to 143, and they still have a long way to go. Also Dani and Sam finally have it out. This was a confrontation that had been in the making for quite a while. Suffice it to say . . I think they've worked through most of their issues. Anyways, the reason we're wrapping this story-line up is because we're getting ready to get started on a story revolving around Warlock. Yes he's back! This issue he starts out at the old site of the Xavier Institute. But while there he finds out that his friend, Doug Ramsey's grave seems to have been desecrated. I wonder if that has anything to do with Bastion? I'm just guessing, but . . I think it does. Anyways, I thought Zeb Wells did a great job with this story. I like what he's done with the team so far, and where it seems to be heading. Zachary Baldus does the art this issue. It has moments of brilliance, but . . it's just not consistent. And he spends most of his effort on characters. There's almost no background art. Sometimes that's ok, but when he occurs through pretty much the whole issue, it kind of hampers the story flow. You don't really have a sense of where the characters are, or where they're going. I don't know. Parts of it looked great . . while other parts were just mediocre. The guys definitely got talent, and potential. If he's going to be the regular artist, I'll just have to look forward to seeing how he improves. We do however get a fantastic Adam Kubert cover. Overall I enjoyed the issue. I'm glad that the teams back to it's original line-up . . more or less. And I'm looking forward to seeing where we go. It should be an interesting ride.

New Mutants #4 - Marvel

When the rest of the team doesn't know what to do . . Illyana makes an end-around play and saves the day. Last issue she got pissed about Shan being stuck inside of David's head so she decided to do something about it, and jumped in there herself. She just goes in and starts hacking away at the various personalities. After killing probably a few hundred of them . . remember there's 1000's of them in there now . . she finally gains their cooperation. They open up a path and lead her straight to Shan and Marci. And Marci, who's been there even longer than Shan, leads them straight to 'Davey'. That's when, through her conversations with Marci and David, that they realize that the doll is the key . . it's an anchor of David's, a tie to Moira. They didn't realize it at first because Marci keeps calling it 'Morrie'. Once they have that, and give it back to David . . he's in control again. Meanwhile, Sam, Roberto and Amara are out in the real world fighting Legion, and all his various personalities and powers. Dani wants to help, but since she doesn't have powers anymore Sam's reluctant to put her in the line of fire. She's pissed because Sam sends her away. But, of course, she returns at exactly the right moment and saves Sam's life. However, it appears that they're all about to be undone when Illyana pulls her save and Legion switches back to David. Shortly after, Scott and the X-Men show up. There's a nice scene between Scott and Sam . . who's feeling down about his team getting hurt. It's kind of a 'big-brother' moment. I thought Zeb Wells did a pretty decent job with the story-line through this first arc. We really jumped right back into things with this group. It seems like we're gradually bringing the old team back together. And next issue . . Warlock returns. Diogenes Neves does the art. It's ok. Nothing overly flashy, but a good solid effort. I'm really looking forward to future issues of this title. I loved the first series, and have everything they've been in. I just hope they keep the momentum going and don't put this team through their periods of self-doubt that always seem to plague them. I'm also glad to see Illyana back. Since obviously her story's nowhere near being done. There's a lot of potential with every character in this group. Lots of untapped story-lines.

New Mutants #3 - Marvel

Well, as it turns out, David Haller was actually looking for these kids. He was searching for 'the fixers', the team of New Mutants that put his fractured mind together before. But the various personalities, now in the 1000's, don't want that to happen. If it did, they wouldn't be able to take control and come out anymore. So, while most of the team are more than willing to help him, he, at the same time . . actually, his various personalities . . are trying to kill them. But they have to keep trying because while they were searching for the girl, Marci, Shan discovers that she's also trapped in David's mind, so . . she goes in to get her. Now they're both trapped. Marci was in control for a little while because she was holding the doll. But now that she's not . . they're all taking turns. Basically the kids need to subdue Legion and get him back to San Francisco so that Emma can help them out. However, bringing him in alive may be not be an option anymore. After everything Dani's been through, she's out for blood. Plus she wants to prove her worth. And, Illyana has decided to go in and see what she can do. She's brought her soul-sword along, of course. She's barely entered the fray and she's already taken out 3 of the personalities . . that is if they can die. We have yet to see if they can. So far I think this is an interesting story-line. I love these characters so I'm glad that they're back together again. I do have one question though. In Dark Avengers #7 Emma is visiting the prison that Norman has set up on Alcatraz. When she looks in one of the cells she sees Legion. How is that possible? Is it just a glitch or are the time-lines of our stories not synchronized here? I'm just wondering. Anyways, so far Zeb Wells and Diogenes Neves are presenting an exciting story here. I can't believe that Illyana looks pretty normal. We'll have to get some more on that story after this story-arc. Hopefully!

New Mutants #2 - Marvel

Sorry for the delay on this one. But honestly, I had to read it twice. It was more than a bit confusing. Now that I understand, a little, what's going on, I think Zeb Wells is doing a good job with this story. However, the way it's presented is more than a bit confusing and kind of misrepresented. Basically, Shan and Dani went to look for the little girl, Marci. When they find her she doesn't appear to be in her body. So Shan reaches out psychically and finds her in what she assumes is the astral plane. Actually, she's inside David Haller, Legion's mind. Along with the 'legion' of other characters that he's got living there. Meanwhile, Amara and Illyana find a metal box in Marci's home. It's in the basement and Shan's voice seems to be coming out of it. They open it only to find David's body. Apparently, David came walking back into town but talked and sounded like Marci. So her parents decided to lock him up until they could figure out what was wrong with their daughter. And, Sam and Roberto are in a local diner where they've found Shan's body tied to a chair in the backroom. When she reached out for Marci, her body went limp and into convulsions so the locals tied her in a chair, supposedly for her, and their, safety. They also arrested Dani for disturbing the peace. So, Shan and Marci are running around through David's mind and they're holding this little doll that, 'Davey told me to keep Morrie safe.' It seems whoever has possession of the doll is also in control of David's body. Shan and Marci lose the doll, and through a series of other personalities, David breaks out of Marci's house after killing her parents. He's on his way to find Dani. He wants to kill her. Through all of this, the disparate personalities of David's keep calling the New Mutants the 'fixers'. Apparently they think since the 'fixers' put David's mind back together before, that's why they're here now . . to fix him. But, if 'fixed', they'll no longer have the opportunity to express themselves through David's body. So they can't let that happen. And, even though they're not here right now, they also talk about the other members, "W-w-wolf and the squaw. The robot and the g-g-geek. Can't have them f-f-fixing us again." Although I'm just not sure why they're so hellbent on Dani. She doesn't even have any powers right now. The issue ends with David breaking into the jail and it looks like he's about to go mano-e-mano with Dani. That should be interesting, if not a bit one-sided. Overall, I ended up liking the book. The first time through though, I was just really confused about what was happening where. Adam Kubert does the cover, which is awesome. I thought Diogenes Neves' pencils were ok. Some pages looked pretty good, others . . were a bit questionable. But overall I thought it came together nicely. I'm going to hold back my thoughts on this story-line though until I've read the whole thing. Depending on the resolution of all this, I may like it alot . . or not. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

New Mutants #1 - Marvel

This one had some great covers to it. I've included a few here. The only one I didn't buy was the Bob McLeod one. That one was $25. However, I did buy the $10 Benjamin cover. What can I say. I used to love this group, so . . that's my justification. But 3 copies of a book, even with different covers, is enough for me. I've got to draw the line someplace. Right? The good thing about this first issue though . . considering it now costs $3.99 to enjoy a few of some of my favorite characters, is that it comes with 34 pages of story and art. To me, that's not a bad trade-off for the cover price. This issue, and it appears the series, will be under the creative direction of Zeb Wells and Diogenes Neves. I wasn't sure about Diogenes' art at first, but by the end of the issue . . I was sold. I think his style is definitely going to be a good addition to this title. We start out with the team that we expected, Sam, Roberto, Amara, and Illyana. Xi'an and Dani are also part of the team, but . . they're the ones that are in trouble so basically they were the catalyst for Sam bringing the group back together. Xi'an and Dani went off to Colorado a couple of weeks ago to investigate a little girl that was supposedly endangering a small town. They haven't been heard from since. Then, in the beginning of this issue, Illyana 'ports back in to warn everybody. Basically she says that a year from now Amara scolds her for not being there when Xi'an and Dani needed her. "So . . now I'm here." She says that right now, they still have time to save them. She also has other various bits of knowledge and insight from the future, but . . we'll get into that later. The team ends up in Westcliffe and immediately split in 2. The boys find Dani in the backroom of a bar. She looks beaten and catatonic. And for some reason the locals are very anti-mutant right now. However, the girls also find Dani in the basement of a little girls house who has disappeared. She appears to be locked in a metal box and is asking them for her release. However, when they open it . . they find Legion inside. You know, Xavier and Moira's son. As they open the box and tell her she's free, he says . . "No I'm not, Amara. I wasn't talking about the box . . I'm trapped in here." Apparently, somehow she's trapped in Legion's body. That's an interesting twist of events. I like the way they jumped right into the story this issue. They don't give us a whole lot of build up, or past history, or anything. And this issue appears to take place immediately following the x-infernus mini-series. Illyana disappeared at the end of that one . . after they all fought to bring her back, but now . . now she's back and wants to help. Also Manuel, Empath, is also going to be playing a part in this story, or series, but we don't really know what that's going to be yet. All in all, I really enjoyed this first issue. It'll be interesting to see if any other of the New Mutants show up for this assemblage. There's other characters that I'd really like to see, but . . I guess we'll just have to wait. These characters have been spread out over the various X-books, but . . they've never been quite as effective, or at home, as when they're together. It'll be good to see them together again, in action as a group. "Welcome home, New Mutants family! Welcome home!"

x-infernus #4 - Marvel

I liked this mini-series, and I definitely enjoyed the story by CB Cebulski. Also Giuseppe Camuncoli's art really fit this book perfectly. Not to mention the wrapping of the whole thing with the beautiful David Finch covers. However, this particular issue . . to me didn't really resolve a whole lot. But, I think that was the point. Really, this whole series serves as the prelude to the new New Mutants series coming out next month. Basically, from what I can see, this series has just kind of set up the ground-work for, probably, the first year of stories in that book. Witchfire has taken the 'bloodstones' from Illyana. But even Illyana was missing 1 or 2. So Witchfire got Pixies from her, and then somehow created the final one. This serves as the power-source to open some doorway for some 'elder-gods' to come through. Apparently this could mean the end of all creation. Anyways, of course the X-Men fight back . . Wolverine, Peter, Kurt, Mercury, Pixie and Illyana do all they can to stop the 'gods' incursion, and hold them back while Mercury and Illyana try to deal with Witchfire. Long story short . . they stop the immediate threat, putting a crimp in Witchfire's plans, however . . Witchfire escapes and has Illyana and Pixie's 'bloodstones' with her. Now neither of them feel complete or whole. And before they can really do anything about it, they're all transported back to the Mansion. There they find the X-Men, and a lot of their old team-members waiting for them. And this time, somehow, Pete and Scott end up talking Illyana into sticking around and letting the X-Men . . or maybe the New Mutants, help her deal with all of this craziness. I would imagine that the New Mutants book will pick up immediately thereafter. I'm glad that the New Mutants are coming back, but . . I hope this isn't the end of the road for the Young X-Men. Unless of course they all get incorporated into the various X-teams. Anyways, I'm also glad that Illyana is back. Hopefully with the new title they'll finally be able to wrap up this story-line that's been going on for . . what? . . about 20 or so years now?

x-infernus #3 - Marvel

Ok, so the X-Men go down to Limbo with some of the new kids. Actually, it's Logan, Pete and Kurt who go down there with Pixie, Santo and Megan. They're chasing after Illyana who recently left them behind with Pixie's soulsword. Pixie's also upset because she knows that Illyana has her soul-stone. Well, she had it. That is until Belasco's daughter beats the snot out of her and adds it to the 3 that she already has. That means she only has 1 to go and she'll have all 5. Then, I believe, she'll have complete control over Limbo. Anyways, she has enough power now that she beats Illyana. Also when the rag-tag group of X-Men arrive, she easily possess' and controls the older X-Men . . Pete and Logan. Kurt seems a little more immune to her influence. I guess it's because of his close affinity to magic. And Pixie is also about to fall to her because of her possessing her soul-stone. So it looks like it's going to be left down to Kurt, Santo and Megan to pull everybody's fat out of the fire. However . . I wouldn't count Illyana out just yet. I think Kurt's going to end up freeing her and she's going to be the deciding factor in all of this. So far I've really liked this mini-series. It's kind of intense actually. C B Cebulski is doing a great job with the story. I wasn't sure about Giuseppe Camuncoli's pencils at first but . . they're growing on me pretty fast. Next issue should be a doozy. I can't wait to see how it all wraps up. I'm still not happy about the $3.99 cover price, but . . I made an exception for this one.

x-infernus #2 - Marvel

What a cool book. Illyana's back, and this time . . after she gets her soul-sword back from Pixie . . she appears to be in her human form once again. But just because she looks the part doesn't mean that she's the same lovable sister that disappeared into the depths of Limbo all those years ago. And upon getting her sword back, and she returns to Limbo, she finds out that she's going to have to fight Belasco all over again. Well . . sort of. This time . . it's his daughter. Anyways, Peter, of course, wants to take off right away and try to get his sister back. Plus, during their battle, Pixie saw the Amulet that Illyana was wearing and it's the one that holds the missing piece of her soul. So she's got a pretty vested interest in wanting to get down there also. The issue ends with Scott sending his hand-picked team down to Limbo, and them coming face to face with a bunch of angry demons. The team consists of Nightcrawler (the mission leader), Peter, Pixie, Wolverine (isn't he always involved?), Rockslide and Mercury. It's an interesting choice of team. I actually think that we're going to find out, in Limbo . . . Pixie's the most dangerous one of them all. She's got some bite. C B Cebulski writes it. I actually think he's doing a good job with the characters that he's got involved here. And Giuseppe Camuncoli does the art. It looks fantastic. I think this is going to be a nice little mini-series. I can't wait to see how it all plays out. By the way, this series is adorned by some beautiful David Finch covers. What more could you ask for?