By Zack Quaintance — In some ways, New Mutants #1 might be the most surprising debut issue within the Dawn of X, which is the six-comic line-wide X-Men relaunch that’s now one book away from complete. Sure, some of the other comics have bigger plot twists (see X-Force) or wilder concepts (see Excalibur), but New Mutants is a rarer thing — it’s a comic that’s being co-written by Jonathan Hickman, that deals more in individual moments than it does high-concept sci-fi ideas.

Let’s cut back for a moment to San Diego Comic Con in July, wherein Hickman went (cheekily against his will, he said) to the show to promote both his House of X / Powers of X new status quo for Marvel’s mutants, as well as the first wave of new X-Men titles (Dawn of X). At one point (I think it was during his spotlight panel), Hickman told the frothing crowd of X-Fans two key things about himself...one, he’d never felt so in control and competent with his comics work as he did during his new work on X-Men...and two, he loved these characters so much, that he was now going to work each day with an actual smile on his face.

Whether those reveals were promotional embellishment or not (Hickman is amazingly adept at promoting his work without ever tipping into blatant marketing schtick or speak), both of those things are very much evident in the pages of New Mutants #1. I hate to describe this comic as fun — because I find it to be an overused and reductive phrase when applied to a monthly comic — but this series is really fun. It moves as rapidly as the spaceship that our titular team boards in the beginning, with little regard for pacing. Sometimes, this can create a disjointed effect within an issue, but the action sequences and one-liners between characters here are so good, that it powers right through all of that. 

A big part of the credit is, of course, due to artist Rod Reis, who was perhaps the most idiosyncratic of the artists tapped to illustrate these new Dawn of X books, which is just fine because this is also the most idiosyncratic of these new titles. Reis just has just a distinctive way of illustrating stories, one that uses a number of different perspectives and panel setups. They’re all interesting though, whether it be two talking heads set against an all-white background, or the space pirate (and Cyclops progenitor) Corsair, bracing in the foreground for combat. Essentially, this book is illustrated with the same sense of adventure and whimsy with which it is written, and that kind of synergy does wonders for a comic where the creative team is clearly having a rip-roaring good time.

If I have a knock on this book, it’s that the events aren’t all that heavily connected to the new status quo or Krakoa, but, as I said in my review of Excalibur #1, as more and more of these new X-Titles are announced and rolled out, a bit of separation from the rest of the pack will likely do wonders for making these books distinct. I think that’s already evident in what is just an utter blast of a first issue.

Overall: New Mutants #1 is just a blast, one in which high-concept sci-fi ideas take a backseat to the kinetic space adventure artwork and pithy one-liners. This is a comic you will read with a big smile on your face throughout. 9.5/10

New Mutants #1
Writer: Ed Brisson & Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Rod Reis
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99

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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.