(Marvel Comics)
By now every comic collector knows that Ultimate Spider-Man was an instant hit. It didn't exactly come out of nowhere, Marvel hyped it heavily for months before it hit the stands. Shorty after its' release, copies of Ultimate Spider-Man #1 were selling for some pretty heafty prices on the internet. So, even if they hadn't already been planning an Ultimate X-Men book, it was inevitable that one would happen. Most likely, however, this book won't sneak up on anybody. Visions of "hot" books dancing in collectors heads has made this book highly anticipated long before it was even on the shelves. Marvel sold out of its print run weeks before its release date. So here it is, finally in our hands (well, mine, anyway). With the creative team of Mark Miller and Andy Kubert, it certainly seems to be as much of a "can't miss" book as any we have seen in a long time.
What Marvel is doing with the Ultimate books is to reboot characters for a new audience. In both cases, the origin is tweaked a little and the characters are brought up to date. In other words, we get an all new Peter Parker, with no back story, no tangled continuety. With this issue, we spend most of our time meeting the various characters who will make up the X-Men. Mutants are feared and hunted. We meet Beast, Iceman, Colossus and Storm as they are recruited to join Cyclops and Jean Grey under Professor X's guidance. After all, he tells them, a war is coming and he needs them to stop the evil Magneto from destroying humankind. Meanwhile, mankind is working on its own defense, but the Sentinels aren't too picky about what mutants they "terminate". Magneto is aided by The Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and a surly mutant who is instantly recognizable to X-Men fans.
If all of this sounds awfully familiar, you're really not the target audience of this book. It makes a comic of this sort difficult to review because, while it is entertaining enough, there is virtually nothing new to hold a long time comic fans interest. Taken strictly on its own merits, the book is well paced and has enough plot to warrent a little patience. Of course, the main objective with this first issue is to introduce the cast, which it does reasonably well. There are still some minor quibbles, however. Seeing Jean Grey with a short, punky haircut may be too much for long time X-Fans and the dialog was occasionally straight out of the Book of Comic Cliches. I really expect more out of Mark Miller as a writer. Peerhaps he will get more comfortible with teh characters as the book progresses. Adam Kuberts art was much cleaner than his usual style, especially in the straightforward layouts. Instead of his usual cluttered layouts that burst all over the page, here we get simple, usually rectangular panels. He does experiment in a few panels with different techniques such as color washes and color pencils. Overall, though, his style here is stripped down to its most basic. Even the most comic illiterate will have no trouble follwing the story here. It all adds up to a package that is designed for complete comic book novices.
Character reboots are far from a new idea. DC has reintroduced its cast of characters over and over again. In this case, I find the need for an introductory X-Men book hard to justify. It might catch some of the viewers who saw the movie but were afraid to jump into a comic with such a long history to sort out. It is basically the same principle as doing a remake of a familiar movie. It might be more contemporary, but it will in most cases suffer in comparison to the original. If new fans discover comics due to these new books, then they have served their purpose, and I really have to give Marvel a high grade for the effort. For anyone who is not new to a comic shop, they will find nothing here that is not mearly a glossy rehash of elements that are as familiar as the staples in the center of the book.
Reviewed December 18th, 2000
