Giant-Sized X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost #1 is out Feb. 26, 2020. — **Giant-Sized X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost #1** is out Feb. 26, 2020.

By Zack Quaintance — So here were are, roughly six months and change into the newest era of X-Men, led by writer Jonathan Hickman, who penned the status quo upending 12-part series HoX/PoX. Since that concluded in early October, Hickman has written (by my quick count) seven issues of the X-Men main title as well as four issues of New Mutants. Within that, it was announced that he would also be writing another book, Giant-Sized X-Men, which would essentially be a series of one-shots looking specifically at certain mutant characters in the context of the new world that Hickman and his collaborators had created.

Well, here we are with the first of those — Giant-Sized X-Men #1: Jean Grey and Emma Frost — and buckle up folks, because we’ve got a structural homage going here! Indeed, this comic is largely a silent story, wherein Jean and Emma delve into the psyche of a damaged comrade of theirs. The homage is to New X-Men #121, written by Grant Morrison and illustrated Frank Quitely, and what these books share in common is two-fold: they both feature Jean and Emma teaming up with a friends psyche, and they both feature next to no dialogue.

The latter is surely the choice by which this comic will be judged, and I found it to yield mixed results, starting with the decision to homage a past story in the first place. Indeed, since Hickman has been at the helm of the X-Men he has pushed aggressively toward the new, openly criticizing past stories that have remixed long-time mutant tropes instead of shaping a modern and more relevant set of stories for these characters...and yet now less than a year in, Hickman himself is strongly borrowing from the past. That’s all fine really — if you’re going to borrow from any mutant thing in recent years, Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run is what you want to borrow from — but I’m not entirely sure silence served the plot in this issue past that.

As I read, I found myself wondering how the presumably substantial portion of the audience with no Morrison familiarity would be experiencing this comic, and I strongly suspected it would be with a slight air of disappointment. I mean, the art here is absolutely incredible. Russell Dauterman (who is colored here by regular collaborator Matt Wilson) is the single best artist who draws superhero comics for Marvel, and it’s not close. The work he puts forth here is stunning and imaginative, and it is at times a blessing that there aren’t funny little captions about what it feels like to read minds or something popping up all over it. It’s not hard to imagine Hickman making the homage decision based on the force with which Dauterman draws these characters.

At the same time, though, there’s really only one major plot point that unfurls here, so what we get is a bunch of art of characters slowly moving toward one thing, and in that context, I’m not sure the silent structure was the best choice to serve this story. It would have likely been more enjoyable for the audience to see these two characters interacting, given their long history which since New X-Men #121 has seen them both at different times dating Cyclops. In fact, from the announcement of this comic, a big part of what seemed to be for sale was the inherent appeal of a Jean-Emma relationship exploration, and the silent structure mostly takes that away, at least it does in any meaningful sense (although, to be fair, the solicit did say this whole series is aimed at showcasing the art, but who pays attention to those before the moment they’re about to post this review?).

All of that said, the artwork and the single plot point within this comic are both enough for me to recommend a purchase, with extra points for anyone who (like me) has been enjoying all of these new X-Men comics with a very small group of exceptions. This is a vital comic to the overarching story being told here, and you’ll want to page through it again immediately upon finishing.

Overall: Giant-Sized X-Men #1 makes a bold narrative choice that is likely to be off-putting to some readers, feeling a bit backwards looking and dependent on a past issue that it homages. Still, with a major plot point and the best art of any new X-Men comic in some time, this is an issue that’s not to be missed for the mutant faithful. 7.0/10

Giant-Sized X-Men #1
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Russell Dauterman
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
The first of five essential X-tales specially designed to showcase some of Marvel's best artists! First up, Russell Dauterman, superstar artist of THOR and WAR OF THE REALMS! When Storm is in danger, it's going to take two of the most powerful telepaths on Earth working together to make things right. Jean Grey and Emma Frost, together again for the good of Krakoa!

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.