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unladylike's review
2.0
1.5 stars - the best stuff being the first and final stories, and their significance in introducing these characters
I started this book because I so thoroughly loved the first two seasons of the show Legion, which springs out of the pages of these Chris Claremont New Mutants comics from the early '80s. Nearly 500 pages in, the Legion character has not surfaced, and his existence only alluded to as the secret son of Professor X.
But I want to use this massive collection to talk about different methods of storytelling in comics. The main drag about getting through this thing is not the fault of Chris Claremont - who is a fine writer - but of the scripting style of most comic books until the last 15 years or so (notable exceptions being some of my first and all-time favorites, from the '80s and '90s, by Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, et al, largely under the editorial guidance of more progressive thinkers within the industry such as Karen Berger, founder of DC's Vertigo imprint).
Specifically, the thing I *most hate* about reading "classic" superhero comics is the retelling of so many plot points OVER. AND OVER. Each issue will have characters awkwardly explain part of their origin, or what their power set is and how it works, in the middle of action, ad nauseum. I believe this is because publishers knew, or assumed, that readers would be picking up random issues of different titles, and needed to be told bits of backstory from the previous issues. That is a valid point, but one that is much better dealt with by having an intro page dedicated to The Story So Far...
Publishers now give readers more credit for being able to follow a storyline from beginning to end without constantly interrupting it with boring exposition, but it's still an issue that crops up from time to time. But something in these stories that makes the retrospective exposition problem even worse is when the writer contradicts themself, thereby drastically changing the canon from one issue to the next.
An example of this I just came across: in one issue of the 4-issue miniseries Magik, the title character, Illyana Rasputin, briefly travels back in time and space to witness [a version of] Storm/Ororo doing battle with a demon lord who has captured them in his Limbo world. Illyana immediately notes that Ororo is at her prime - the peak of her powers as a sorceress - and that the villain stands no chance against her in this state. Skip ahead to the very next issue, Illyana (as narrator) contradicts that real power dynamic by saying, "Ororo ... in her prime, she was no match for him -- doomed from the start." I've seen this happen multiple times while reading this Epic Collection - Claremont, through his characters, drastically changing the events that had happened through retelling them merely for the sake of catching up readers. This goes beyond the "unreliable narrator" technique of storytelling, and is instead misinforming readers through gaslighting. Why show us a character being *absorbed* into another in an interesting way that preserves their living essence and potential influence, if you're just going to flatly claim in subsequent issues that they died? I don't think this serves the purpose of building suspense and shock so much as it reveals inconsistencies within a narrative, claiming that the most recent assertion is "how it's always been."
I started this book because I so thoroughly loved the first two seasons of the show Legion, which springs out of the pages of these Chris Claremont New Mutants comics from the early '80s. Nearly 500 pages in, the Legion character has not surfaced, and his existence only alluded to as the secret son of Professor X.
But I want to use this massive collection to talk about different methods of storytelling in comics. The main drag about getting through this thing is not the fault of Chris Claremont - who is a fine writer - but of the scripting style of most comic books until the last 15 years or so (notable exceptions being some of my first and all-time favorites, from the '80s and '90s, by Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, et al, largely under the editorial guidance of more progressive thinkers within the industry such as Karen Berger, founder of DC's Vertigo imprint).
Specifically, the thing I *most hate* about reading "classic" superhero comics is the retelling of so many plot points OVER. AND OVER. Each issue will have characters awkwardly explain part of their origin, or what their power set is and how it works, in the middle of action, ad nauseum. I believe this is because publishers knew, or assumed, that readers would be picking up random issues of different titles, and needed to be told bits of backstory from the previous issues. That is a valid point, but one that is much better dealt with by having an intro page dedicated to The Story So Far...
Publishers now give readers more credit for being able to follow a storyline from beginning to end without constantly interrupting it with boring exposition, but it's still an issue that crops up from time to time. But something in these stories that makes the retrospective exposition problem even worse is when the writer contradicts themself, thereby drastically changing the canon from one issue to the next.
An example of this I just came across: in one issue of the 4-issue miniseries Magik, the title character, Illyana Rasputin, briefly travels back in time and space to witness [a version of] Storm/Ororo doing battle with a demon lord who has captured them in his Limbo world. Illyana immediately notes that Ororo is at her prime - the peak of her powers as a sorceress - and that the villain stands no chance against her in this state. Skip ahead to the very next issue, Illyana (as narrator) contradicts that real power dynamic by saying, "Ororo ... in her prime, she was no match for him -- doomed from the start." I've seen this happen multiple times while reading this Epic Collection - Claremont, through his characters, drastically changing the events that had happened through retelling them merely for the sake of catching up readers. This goes beyond the "unreliable narrator" technique of storytelling, and is instead misinforming readers through gaslighting. Why show us a character being *absorbed* into another in an interesting way that preserves their living essence and potential influence, if you're just going to flatly claim in subsequent issues that they died? I don't think this serves the purpose of building suspense and shock so much as it reveals inconsistencies within a narrative, claiming that the most recent assertion is "how it's always been."
pastaylor's review
3.0
I wanted to like this more than I did. It just took a weird left turn in the last third. The whole ancient rome in brazil thing made zero sense, and the Magik miniseries tacked on the end was kind of dismal.
rayaan54's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
jammasterjamie's review
4.0
Magnificent Marvel mutant fun that feels as fresh as it did when I first read these as a kid. I love Chris Claremont, but I never realized how much over-exposition he relied on to tell his stories. I get the challenges of writing monthly comics back in the days before anyone thought of releasing them in graphic novel format, bug jeez, Chris! A little more showing and a little less telling maybe?
wolverine's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
3.5
birdmanseven's review against another edition
3.0
What a weird time this was. The characters feel a little thing and tonally I think it's still struggling for an identity.
I guest-hosted the New Mutants episode of Previously On X-Men. Find it here: https://previously-on-x-men.libsyn.com/new-mutants
I guest-hosted the New Mutants episode of Previously On X-Men. Find it here: https://previously-on-x-men.libsyn.com/new-mutants
depreydeprey's review against another edition
4.0
The New Mutants is one of Chris Claremont's best contributions to comics as literature and an art form as well as seamlessly expanding the diversity of the Marvel Universe in a completely organic way. The Marvel Graphic Novel that serves as the first appearance of most of the original new mutants has a gravity to the art and text nearly on the level of Claremont's masterwork God Loves Man Kills and includes the type of team building that usually takes half a dozen issues. Claremont also deserves credit for writing five of the most believable teenagers in the Marvel Universe and giving them real life problems above and beyond the Hellfire Club. My only complaint is that by concluding this collection with the Magik miniseries the collection gets away from the strength and cohesion of the title's ongoing storytelling. The story of Illyana Rasputan is an interesting footnote but in the context of this collection is really a distraction from the first twelve issues of the New Mutants I could have done without.
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