New Mutants #1

I always liked the idea of Professor Xavier's Academy being a "School for Gifted Students."

It set the X-Men apart from other team books, and established the same idea that the Harry Potter books used to such great effect. Not that I'm suggesting J.K. Rowling stole the idea from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby - I'm sure the idea predates the original X-Men. (Right?)

At any rate, the original X-Men comic moved away from the idea early on, and many years later it was revived in the New Mutants comic, which told the story of a new group of young mutants who needed to be trained in the use of their powers. That comic enjoyed a long run and featured quite a few excellent stories - and a few stinkers.

So now that team is back, and the focus seems to be on "getting the band back together" - and that's fine, although there's some continuity sludge to be dealt with before the creative team can get around to telling their own stories.

This issue features a dramatic return by Magik, who's fresh from the X-Infernus series. She brings a warning for her old teammates, and they go in search of the rest of the team.

I've long since lost track of the original team members, although I remember that the shapeshifting alien Warlock and his friend Doug Ramsey were both killed at some point. But the creative team is on track to reintroduce us to the team members, so all these mysteries should be cleared up soon.

The writer on this comic is Zeb Walls, and he does a solid job of reintroducing the leads and laying clues to future events.

The art is by Diogenes Neves, with Cam Smith and Ed Tadeo inking, and it's quite good. I'd like to see some more variety in panel composition - there are too many medium-range shots. I'd like to see more dramatic shots like Magik's reappearance or the first shot of the team in their new uniforms. But those are minor quibbles.

For now, the book is off to something of a slow start, but the foundation is there for bigger and better things ahead. Here's hoping.

Grade: B-