There are a lot of comics out there, but some stand out head and shoulders above the pack. With “Don’t Miss This,” we want to spotlight those series we think need to be on your pull list. This week, we’re spotlighting the new roster and series for Marvel’s premiere mutants, the X-Men! The new line-up featuring Rogue, Jean Grey, Synch, Polaris, Laura Kinney as Wolverine, Cyclops and Sunfire has already led to solid storytelling. Writer Gerry Duggan is heading over to the series switching from “Marauders” to Marvel’s core “X-Men” series. Fan favorite “House of X” artist Pepe Larraz returns to “X-Men” as the artist on the series. With so much change currently happening in the X-Men line of comics, it is remarkable that Duggan and Larraz are able to stay focused on this new title to tell great stories. This week, we’re here to say why you can’t miss “X-Men” by Gerry Duggan and Pepe Larraz!
Who is this by?
“X-Men” is written by Gerry Duggan. Duggan has a very long history over at Marvel which started in 2012. According to Marvel’s website, Duggan colored “Hulk Smash Avengers” #4 before making his writing debut with Brian Posehn and artist Tony Moore for “Deadpool” #1. Duggan was associated with lots of the tie-ins for Marvel’s “Secret Wars” event which was also written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Esad Ribic. Duggan wrote “Deadpool” for a long time before switching over to “Guardians of the Galaxy” with Aaron Kuder. Duggan eventually spearheaded the “Infinity Wars” event with Mike Deodato. These projects led Duggan to “Savage Avengers” also with Mike Deodato. The next project for Duggan just happened to be “Marauders” with Matteo Lolli.
Larraz’s first work for Marvel is cited as “New Avengers: Luke Cage” #2 written by John Arcudi and also drawn by Eric Canete. Larraz took on a few one-off projects like Spider-Man tie-ins before he joined Matt Fraction and Pasqual Ferry for “The Mighty Thor” #9 in 2011. Larraz has even been working on the X-Men titles prior to “House of X” with “Wolverine & the X-Men” #38 from 2011 with writer Jason Aaron. Since then, Larraz has worked on numerous spin-off titles for the X-Men including “Extermination” with Ed Brisson in 2018.
What’s it all about?
This “X-Men” series focuses on the new team of heroes assembled during The Hellfire Gala. The group operates out of their Treehouse located in New York when they are not in Krakoa. These X-Men seem to primarily be focused on subverting galactic threats that keep coming to Earth.
Gerry Duggan has been known to inject his work with several left-field plot twists that readers would never see coming. The first big twist is the scene at the end of the first issue. Duggan reveals that players like Cordyceps Jones are working in the background to ensure the X-Men continue to run into intergalactic threats. This dangerous bounty hunter-esque plot twist is absurd and a little horrifying. On top of domestic threats in Krakoa, the X-Men now have to deal with space aliens! Duggan’s card game kicking off issue two evokes a sense of whimsy that is honestly lacking from Marvel these days. It’s fitting that Duggan would use The Thing for this scene who happened to be in those light-hearted issues of the “Fantastic Four.” Duggan’s tone is all over the place in this series but there’s a sort of order to the chaos that you can locate if you read the title really closely.
The second issue of “X-Men” follows up on the threat that came before the card game. Duggan’s plot is deceptively well-paced here. Duggan is using some elements from the recent “Thor” titles by having regular people of New York City accidentally collide with dangerous space aliens. These sequences are hilarious but also incredibly bleak. Issue two’s truck drivers in Iola, Kansas stop to witness an alien. It appears the alien claims their poor lives with a massive explosion. This is a very sad but darkly humorous way to break up the flow of the story.
Continued belowDuggan has a lot of plot that he is exploring throughout this series. Instead of just getting into one groove and focusing on characters and story only, Duggan even blends a sense of action into the series. Issue #3 features a bold fight sequence that adds a juvenile element to the comic blending effortlessly with the complicated plot subtext. Somehow Duggan is able to bring a classic noir element to the book as well with the addition of Ben Urich to the cast list. Duggan is juggling so many different plot threads here and I can tell this “X-Men” comic book series is going to be a slow burn.
Pepe Larraz’s art pulls every single stop he possibly could. The first issue features a beautiful design of The Treehouse that is really in-depth and shows how impressive the architecture is. The opening battle in the debut issue evokes a staggering sense of scale with a large machine and tiny depiction of Rogue. When the heroes save the day after defeating the robot the X-Men strike a beautiful pose in the scene afterward. Larraz also gives his figures great expressions that look different from one another. Larraz seems to give a lot of thought to the design of the characters on the page. In the victory pose from “X-Men” #1, Jean Grey has her hands on her hips while Polaris is waiving to the bystanders watching the X-Men.
Larraz’s pages are incredibly detailed. There’s a page in issue #2 where Jones is converging with Grey for a page. Duggan and Larraz are trying to communicate subtext to readers by the design of the page alone. Larraz will adapt to the setting and tone changing at a moment’s notice. Larraz’s timing is perfect when he is revealing the cliffhangers. Larraz will make you believe you are witnessing a normal scene and then throw an alien in the mix to make sure that you aren’t feeling comfortable for too long. Issue #3’s giant fight sequence takes a lot of great elements from Larraz’s art. The page where Luminous throws a punch at Polaris is vivid. The color from colorist Marte Gracia and expressions from Synch throughout the series are yet another visual treat. The manifestation of Synch using other mutant powers always takes a visual twist that captures my imagination.
It is just remarkable to see how much Duggan and Larraz have accomplished in just a few issues of “X-Men.” This new series is able to evoke so many different tones and feelings while holding true to Krakoa. In some ways, the new “X-Men” feels even more focused than Hickman’s initial X-Men issues.
How can you read it?
You can read “X-Men” monthly from Marvel Comics. The collected “X-Men” includes issues #1-6 and will be published on 2/22/22. The newest “X-Men” issue, #4 comes out this Wednesday 10/13.
