Collecting every issue of Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men.
Writer: Grant Morrison
Various Artists
Publisher: Marvel
This oversized hardcover omnibus collects Grant Morrison's entire run on New X-Men, comprising three years and 42 issues' worth of work on the title. Taken as a whole, it's an epic story which sees the core team of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Wolverine, Emma Frost and Professor X put through the wringer as they deal with the vicious attacks of Cassandra Nova, the immoral exploits of John Sublime, the mysterious machinations of 'Xorn', and the climactic all-out assault of Magneto. If some of those names mean nothing to you, don't worry, as it's all explained within the comic itself rather than assuming any level of pre-existing familiarity with the X-Men universe. This is a canny move by the writer, as - rather than finding himself shackled with the decades of messy continuity which can be so off-putting to new readers - Morrison manages to bring a lot of new ideas to the table, at the same time streamlining the book to produce an accessible sci-fi superhero story which can be enjoyed by X-Men enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
Morrison kicks proceedings off with a bang, setting events for his entire run in motion with the destruction of the mutant nation of Genosha at the hands of the X-Men's newest nemesis, Cassandra Nova. Putting immediate pressure on the team, Morrison contrives several threats at once: Nova herself (essentially Charles Xavier's evil twin sister), an army of wild sentinels bent on genocide, the mutant-organ-harvesting U-Men, a mysterious illness which is bringing the team down, and the collapse of the Shi'ar empire, deftly tying all of these elements into a single over-arching year-long story arc which is possibly the most successful of the run, also introducing the mysterious Xorn - who proves to be a key character throughout Morrison's tenure. Later developments see Xavier's school falling prey to a revolution from within, Wolverine learning more about the Weapon Plus project that turned him into Weapon X, an increasing focus on public image and brand identity of the X-Men in the modern world, and a new brotherhood of mutants forming to challenge the team. The climactic final revelations of the "Planet X" storyline still hold up today, even though most people coming to this material for the first time will have already learned Xorn's secret, and even if Magneto's comeback feels a little short-lived considering the dramatic weight of his return, it's an ambitious and compelling story which doesn't shy away from depicting the horrific yet logical outcome of the character's long-held beliefs about how to deal with humankind.
Just as with All-Star Superman, the Grant Morrison of New X-Men is an ideas factory, and although he introduces new sci-fi concepts and character relationships left right and centre, it never feels like it sits uneasily with the X-Men's rich history or past characterisation - in fact, many of Morrison's story ideas are imaginative updates of pre-existing X-Men conceits for a modern, more sophisticated audience. This is the X-Men written for adults, and Morrison's idiosyncratic approach to the material gives a satisfying impression that the writer has a strong vision for the book; it's telling that these stories still continue to exert an influence over the X-Men titles today (notably Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, which owes a huge debt to Morrison's run for many of its story ideas). The writer also captures the soap-opera of the intra-team relationships well, adding depth and humanity to elements such as the Emma Frost/Jean Grey/Scott Summers love triangle, which is handled in as mature a manner as you could hope for in a genre which so often falls back on simplicity and melodrama when it comes to romantic subplots. It's everything you could hope for in an X-Men title, and the fact that it never feels inaccessible for new readers (bar a couple of references to previous storylines, which aren't essential in the grand scheme of things) is the icing on the cake.
However, there are one or two problems which do threaten to take the shine off the collection. Firstly, the format itself: In some ways, it's great to have Morrison's entire run on the book collected in one volume, and those readers who enjoy filling their shelves with neat and tidy collected editions rather than multiple-volume series will probably appreciate the trouble that Marvel have gone to in order to put this huge package together. All of the extras from the original hardcovers are included (most noteworthy is Morrison's original in-depth manifesto for the series, which set out his proposal to make the X-Men cool and relevant again in the wake of the high-profile movie adaptations), and the comics do get a great presentation on high-quality paper and in a size which really makes the artwork sing. However, the book is too unwieldy and bulky to really be comfortable to read, and despite the quality of the binding, there's still a sense that occasional images or words are lost in the central crease between the pages. Big, chunky volumes like this might be fine for coffee table art books, but for a story that actually requires reading, the original three hardcovers (or indeed the seven softcover TPBs) are far easier to handle.
The second problem is that the book sometimes struggles to overcome the difficulties posed by the rotating art team. Frank Quitely kicks things off with an impressive few issues, setting out his stall with some fairly radical character redesigns (including those natty fluorescent jackets) that help to define the new direction of the team, and bringing the keen sense of storytelling that we've come to expect from Morrison's frequent collaborator. The weird and wonderful nature of Morrison's ideas is brought to life vividly by Quitely, whose strong visual sensibilities are never more pronounced than in one almost completely silent issue (a tie-in to Marvel's "Nuff Said" event) which sees Emma Frost and Jean Grey embark on a freaky journey through Xavier's mind. Later issues see Xorn given real expressiveness and character through Quitely's linework (despite his blank, expressionless mask) and a whole new cast of characters - such as the troubled would-be revolutionary Quentin Quire and Xorn's "Special Class" - established quickly thanks to the artist's distinctive characterisation.
However, the book soon starts to show signs of Quitely's inability to meet his deadlines, with artists like Igor Kordey evidently given the thankless task of filling the artists's shoes as quickly as possible, leading to some messy, rushed artwork from early on in the run which clashes terribly with Quitely's clean, crisp style. Later artists do seem to have had more preparation time, however, and some impressive turns from Phil Jiminez and Chris Bachalo are almost enough to make you forget about Quitely's absence. Indeed, as the book continues, the fill-in artists get more and more frequent, with Quitely finally being dropped from the book altogether around halfway through the run. Whilst it would have been great to see Marvel allow Quitely enough time illustrate the whole saga, I get the feeling that we might still be waiting for him to finish if they had - but whilst I'm sure the fill-in artists did the best they could in the circumstances, it does lead to several jarring shifts in visual style, which can't help but undermine the storytelling.
The fact that Marvel has seen fit to put this omnibus together suggests that they have a high opinion of Morrison's run on New X-Men (even if they've done their best to retroactively undo many of the elements that he put in place, leading to the fiasco of botched continuity that still plagues Magneto and Xorn today), and I would agree that it's one of the most significant long runs of any creator to have worked on a Marvel property in recent years. This is the shot in the arm that the franchise needed if it was to remain relevant and develop beyond the mess of continuity that surrounded it for so many years, and even if things have fallen back into a slightly more predictable pattern after Morrison's departure, these stories are worth a read for anyone who wants to see what a modern, visionary writer can bring to an established premise which is in danger of stagnating.
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