House of X #1 (of 6)

   I gave up on the X-Men years ago.

   It wasn't easy to do - after all, I've been a fan since I picked up a copy of issue #3 (during its original run). 

   I followed through Lee and Kirby, Thomas, Steranko, Adams, suffered through the long drought when the series was cancelled, and then followed the "new" version through Wein, Cockrum, Claremont, Byrne, Smith, Romita, Jr., (Jim) Lee and so many more.

   I bought the New Mutants and X-Force and X-Factor and on and on...

   But finally, it was just too much. Too many characters, too many titles - the brand was badly diluted. Who could keep up with it all? When they killed Cyclops (after years of character assassination), I dropped all the titles.

   But Marvel has lured me back now that they have turned the whole line over to one of the industry's top writers - Jonathan Hickman, who turned in stellar work (and amazing world-building) on long runs on the Fantastic Four and the Avengers books.

   Hickman obviously has a plan - this first issue back already sees the extended X-Family in a new setting and adjusting to a new existence for mutants on Earth.

   The story is being rolled out slowly, but it's a very clever twist on the original dream by Charles Xavier - and one that promises long-reverberating effects on the rest of the Marvel Universe.

   It's smart, it's well-thought out - and loaded with surprises.

   The artwork is by Pepe Larraz, with color art by Matte Gracia, and it's wonderful, with powerful character designs and lush, exotic environments.

   Is the X-Family "fixed" now? Well, it's much too early to render a final judgment - but the mutants are in a much better place than they've been since those creators I named above built their reputations crafting adventures for the X-Men.

   It's a very promising start, and highly recommended!

Grade: A

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