LESSON 1 - MODERN MUTANT HISTORY
This summer past the X-Men had a little in-fight of their very own in the form the SCHISM miniseries. Wolverine and Cyclops got into an ideological falling out, Wolvie saying that the young mutants in the care of the X-Men should be shielded from conflict and Ol' One Eye positing that they should fight for mutant rights. This, obviously, led to a big old fist fight between the two that effectively split the team in two.....hence the title SCHISM....comics!!!!!
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| it's called being epic, you might wanna try it sometime... |
Wolverine decided to re-open the School For Gifted Mutants in Westchester New York to give these young mutants somewhere to learn to live in the hostile world and hone their powers. So yeah basically Wolverine becomes Professor X......Headmaster Logan!
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| (cue Grange Hill theme tune) |
The first three issues focus on the schools opening day, with two school inspectors coming to either pass or (most likely fail) the newly re-opened Jean Grey School of Higher Learning. Beast is frantically trying to fix the holographic Danger Room projectors that make up the bulk of the schools buildings, floors are turning to lava, toilets are trying to kill people. Wolverine is stressing out (which is wonderful to see as his is usually a stoic faced warrior) Kitty, Iceman and Husk are all on hand as teaching staff and fan favourite Doop is seen milling about the school and working the reception.
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| love this guy.... |
Right of the bat this series is so different in tone to any X title I have read for a while. It feels fresh and new but retains lots of little bits of old X-Men continuity that make it feel familiar and welcoming. The young mutant kids that populate the grounds of the school are bratty, angsty, misbehavin' little buggers. My favourite students so far are Idie, a young Nigerian girl with temperature controlling powers, who is convinced she is a monster due to her mutant powers and Quentin Quire a hugely powerful telepath responsible for a riot in the grounds of the school in Grant Morrison's run on the title. My friend Tom said that Wolverine and the X-Men is like a high school manga and I totally agree. The students are all mental, the teachers aren't much saner and the actual school itself is malfunctioning all over the place. You feel the anything could happen in this comic. In the first issue a Shi'ar prince arrives as an exchange student and he is hilarious, Aaron throws everything he has into this story and it is so much fun. It actually made me laugh out loud (or LOL as I believe the kids are calling that nowadays).
LESSON 2 - PHYSICAL EDUCATION
So effectively the first three issues of Wolverine and the X-Men is a massive fight. Like I said above Aaron throws everything into these issues, they are plot heavy and dialogue heavy without being over cluttered and the story clips along with great pace aided greatly, and I mean GREATLY, by Chris Bachalo's pencils. I am a huge Bachalo fan and have been since I started reading comics. His pencils are busy, detailed and chunky. He renders the characters uniquely fitting them to the scenes perfectly. Some of his double page spreads are tear inducing.
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| i'm in tears.....beautiful stuff... |
Pencil duties switched to Nick Bradshaw on issues four and five. I had never seen anything by Bradshaw but he is an able penciller, his panels are detailed and his character designs are smooth and individual. His classroom scenes are a joy, the detail he packs into each panel really draws you in the classroom.
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| love this so much, look at the little misfits in the front row! |
RECESS
This is Jason Aaron:
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| i'm a little bit in love with his beard. |
LESSON 3 - DEBATE CLUB
I cant recommend this comic enough. You don't have to be well versed in the forty year plus history of X-Men lore to enjoy this title, It makes reference to past events sure and it stems directly from the SCHISM mini series (which is well worth a read, it is effectively a prologue to this series) but this should not put you off. So much has happened in the first five issues of this comic that I have to keep re-reading to keep up! At the end of issue five Wolvie and Quentin Quire blast off into space to get more money for the financially crippled school, possibly from some sort of space casino! A GOD DAMN SPACE CASINO PEOPLE!!!!! Bachalo is set to return for an issue in April but i'm more than happy with Bradshaw's detailed art which perfectly compliments Aaron's detailed and polished scripts. The school spirit you feel for Wolvie and his staff and the hormonal little people they are teaching is so strong I want to actually enrol at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning!
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| school spirit mother fucker!!!!! |
This is such a unique title for me. Its up there with Uncanny X-Force as my favourite X-title and one of my favourite Marvel titles full stop. Superhero comics don't have to be all about macho posturing and impossibly skinny huge breast women in leotards, under all the flashy conflict is a well structured intelligently written story with real heart, the mutant students are great and really lends to the unpredictable nature of this comic.
BELL RINGS!!!
Ok settle down! that be is not for you its for me!! file out quietly! and try not to step in any lava!
DETENTION
I want a 500 word essay on my desk on Monday morning about why Chris Bachalo is so awesome!
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| boner |
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