New Mutants #36
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Artist: David Lopez and Val Staples
Finally, the conclusion to this series current arc! The New Mutants past few issues have the team trying to locate Blink, under Cyclops’ orders as he’s trying to tie up all loose ends and Blink has been a pretty big loose end since the end of “Necrosha”. Blink has her own vendetta as she attempts to follow a touring metal band, Diskhord, who appear to be causing erratic natural disasters everywhere they play. This time, Diskhord has their eyes on our very own city, Chicago!
This arc has been really slow-moving with a really boring plot to top it off. I was expecting to hold my breath the whole way through, but to my surprise and delight, issue 36 turned out to be a really enjoyable read. We find, within the first few pages, how Diskhord came to have this chaotic power: An alien force living on “chaos energy” has fractured into pieces, spreading all over the universe and it’s attempting to bring itself together by the use of random, chaotic events. This time being… an earthquake in the heart of Chicago! This arc wouldn’t have suffered as much, if this explanation of the alien force was revealed last issue or earlier.
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I’m not too familiar with Abnett and Lanning’s previous work, other than that they revamped Marvel’s “cosmic” titles. Which I find it very possibly that this event of the chaos energy alien breaking apart, possibly happened in a previous issue of another series they handle. That’s just speculation though.
Magma steals the show this issue, though she doesn’t stand in the forefront of battle; instead she sits down and attempts to have a talk with the shifting plates about to bring Chicago down to its knees. This was an incredible show of power and I’m always happy to see a character shine in such a way. Blink was a fun, yet brief, addition to the cast, though it’s possible we won’t be seeing much of her. I was a huge fan of Nate Grey “X-Man” joining the team, but since his arrival he has contributed nothing to the story, nor to the dialogue. Other than his one scene where he’s training with Hope Summers in the danger room, has he really shined. And for the record, I’m very much into the idea of Nate and Hope building a close relationship together, as he is essentially a much younger version of her god-father, Cable.
David Lopez’s art was good and the action was smooth, but his lack of detail on the backgrounds, if there was any attempt at a background at all, was scarce. David’s character’s are always dead on. Facial expressions are always enthusiastic and his big bold eyes are entrancing. I very much enjoy his take on Cypher, as he always seems strung-out and exhausted; with the nature of his power, I find it very appropriate.
So, this arc was slow and I’m glad to be moving on, but this specific issue was very engaging and wrapped the story up nicely. Next issue, Magma must pay the price for the deal made with the devil during “Fear Itself”… date night with Mephisto!
Story: 7.5
Art: 6
Also recommended this week:
Batman #5 – Best Issue Ever…
Uncanny X-Men #5 – Dealing with “Tabula Rasa” a fallout of “The Dark Angel Saga”
Daredevil #8 – “Devil and the Details” pt2 Team-up with Spider-Man and Blackcat!
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