Duh nuh nuh NUH nuh nuh, duh nuh nuh NUH nuh nuh, duh nuh nuh Nuh nuh NUH, nuh nuh, nuh NUH. Duh nuh nuh NUH nuh nuh, duh nuh nuh NUH nuh nuh, duh nuh nuh NUH nuh NUH, nuh nuh, nuh NUH. Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun DUH NUH NUH NUHHHH. Duh nuh nuh NUH nuh NUH, DUN nuh, NUH NUH.
- Grant Morrison continues his body horror fun* on New X-Men, with John Sublime wanting to cut up mutants and re-install their parts in regular humans.
- Sublime and his U-Men are gross, and their desire to take what’s special from mutants for their own makes them perfect X-villians.
- Meanwhile, the Professor’s public revelations about the nature of his school have Jean and company dealing with angry mobs and PR nightmares.
- There’s also a silent issue in which Jean and Emma go spelunking in Charles’s mind.
- Even with three artists across four issues, this arc remains visually solid; it’s grotesque and gnarled and highlights how horrifying Morrison’s version of this world is.
I considered pushing into the next arc and talking about it too—that’s how much I enjoy this run. Instead, I decided to savor it. I still don’t think it’s necessarily going to be everyone’s cup of tea as far as X-Men stories go, but it is mine.
* I meant to type “run” but this typo made the prose better.
Collected in
- New X-Men, Vol. 2: Imperial (#118-126)
- New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection, Book 1 (#114-126, Annual 2001)
Credits
Writer: Grant Morrison | Penciller: Ethan Van Sciver (118), Igor Kordey (119-120), Frank Quitely (121) | Inker: Prentis Rollins w/ Hanna & Florea (118) | Letterer: Comicraft’s Saida T., Richard Starkings | Colorist: Hi-Fi | Assistant Editor: Pete Franco | Editor: Mark Powers