With issue 44, we’re in the Jeph Loeb and Adam Pollina era
of the team. As I will continue to say as I do these reviews, I’m absolutely
floored at the level of artistic talent that transitioned through this book.
Any editor would dream of a bullpen of artists coming through.
Adam Pollina’s superstar status isn’t quite earned in
this debut issue. The characters are all a bit on the cartoony side, and there
are times when the anatomy shifts a tad. But the seeds are here. The top-notch
facial expressions. The unique takes on costumes and civilian clothes. He also
uses geometric shapes to fill in panel backgrounds, which Liefeld did for a
short while back in issue #1. It’s a neat effect, one I’d like to see used more
today. Pollina doesn’t shy away from making his male characters just as
attractive as his women. (I just read on Wikipedia that Pollina worked for an
adult comics publisher before Marvel, so I guess I see how that happened!)
I
also love his big, dopey Caliban. This is my favorite take on the character for
sure.
Jeph Loeb’s story picks up with the team hanging out at the
X-Mansion as Cable and Cyclops debate what to do with the team. I like the
respect the team holds for Cyclops. These days, Scott Summers is so close to a
villain that I find myself remembering his old status fondly. Loeb has the
characters all doubting themselves quite a bit. They are definitely in the “student”
aspect of their personalities, totally going along with Cable and Domino’s
leadership.
It is pretty fun, considering how established the X-Force
roster is after 44 issues. There has been a fair amount of turnover, but the
core of the New Mutants team is still here. Cable, Domino, Warpath, Sunspot,
Rictor, Shatterstar, and Boom Boom are all still hanging around. Sabretooth is
in his mindless animal state, kept safely locked away in the Danger Room. So
basically, the issue is all talking, with the team debating what Cable is going
to do with them. In the end, it is pretty much status quo with one big change;
Cannonball is off to join the X-Men. The cover gives it away a little bit, but
that’s OK. I remember thinking it was a big deal when Sam Guthrie made the
grade to full X-status. Now that he’s an Avenger, it is crazy seeing how far
the character has come.
I’m pretty intrigued to see what was going on in the next
issues, though! The issue ends with Siryn (mouth clamped, of course) being
taken into a mental institution. I don’t remember what happens there at all!
This is a pretty GOOD comic, covering an interesting era in
X-history. The best part? Pollina’s fantastic Sunspot!
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