
Marvel Comics 2020
Written by Zeb Wells
Illustrated by Stephen Segovia
Coloured by David Curiel
Lettered by VC's Cory Petit
BAD IS THE NEW GOOD!
When Krakoa opened their doors to all mutants and forgave all past crimes, they might have known they’d have to accept some of their worst foes into the fold… but they didn’t plan for what to do with them. Not to worry—Mister Sinister knows what to do with the troublemakers. Meet his new Hellions: Scalphunter, Wild Child, Empath, Nanny, Orphanmaker, Psylocke…and Havok?! Under Sinister’s direction, they are sure to become productive members of mutant society.
As someone who isn't up on the mutant knowledge I have to say that the real reason that I decided to read this book was Empath. Manuel de la Rocha has always been a very arrogant kid and liked to play fast and loose with his powers and though he and Amara had a thing for a while but there has always been something about him that I wanted to see more of. So that we get a little dossier on him here and we see what they think about him. While I always believed that he should've gone to the New Mutants when the Hellions died and I still think that. Though with the rest of the team back from the dead it would be nice if this were there book but I am good with how this is.
I love Zeb and his storytelling ability, the way that he sees how the characters have possibilities with each other interacting and presenting us with these unknown factors. Though honestly there are times in this where I was fighting with myself about how these folks act in their little council. I do not like this aspect and I do not like them assigning themselves the role of gods. Skipping over that because it really shows what's wrong these folks nowadays. Please, please tell me Alex is possessed by Malice!! It is the only thing that I can think of right now that makes sense for this behaviour and considering how he's been such a good, stalwart leader and stand-up kind of guy. How we see the vignettes for all the characters here actually we get a darn good look why each of them is where they are.
The story & plot development we see with how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is perfectly presented. The character development is absolutely amazing and as they are being fleshed out the reasoning becomes clearer. The pacing is fantastic and as it takes through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way helps to create this really nice ebb & flow to the book.
The interiors here are absolutely incredible. The linework is phenomenal and how we see the varying weights being utilised to showcase this level of attention to detail is superb. Now granted I wish we would see backgrounds being utilised more. When we do see them really bring us this beautiful depth perception, scale and that sense of size and scope to the book. Also we need to see and feel the enclosed spaces and Wild Child's attack didn't feel as dangerous without that confined feeling. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a strong eye for storytelling. The colour work we see is really nicely rendered. How we see the hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work creates some beautiful moments. Though when did Empath go full on blonde?
There are some really interesting things happening here. The least of which is the ending and while I am not sure who exactly the other six are I can't wait to find out. I am excited for this just as I was for the New Mutants book, which hasn't disappointed in the slightest. With a truly unique cast of characters and with Kwannon added to the mix as she tries to find her own place in all this now that she and Betsy are free of one another well the layers of this don't seem to want to end. Forget everything you thought you knew and look out because this is as delightfully unexpected as a Zumbo creation.