Writer: Ed Brisson

Art: Flaviano, Carlos Lopez, VC’s Travis Lanham, Tom Muller, and Rod Reis

Release Date: Wednesday, June 10th, 2020

Price: $3.99

To those who’ve been reading NEW MUTANTS, it’s been a series that’s had two writers interchange stories, styles, and even characters too a degree. If I’m being honest, one of the writers happens to be my homeboy Jonathan Hickman. Maybe you’ve heard of him? And the other writer is Ed Brisson, who’s done some pretty good work of his own recently too. However, as the series goes, Hickman’s portions have just been more entertaining, ambitious, humorous, and interesting. Brisson’s prior narrative saw the NEW MUTANTS B-Team head to Nebraska to visit/help some old friends. Now, this time around, Brisson takes readers on another rescue mission in Russia in hopes to save a little girl trapped in her own nightmares, as well as the preliminary NEW MUTANTS team that got entangled within this “black hole” of terrors. Will the team be able to save their friends, as well as this little girl? And, can Brisson keep pace with the special spice that makes Hickman issues so dang captivating? Let’s check out NEW MUTANTS #10 by Ed Brisson and find out!

Guys, I was really digging the space opera. I was thoroughly enjoying NEW MUTANTS in a galaxy far far away. Brisson’s sprinkled in cornhusker story was a bit too real and timely for someone who oftentimes reads comics for the escape and not the metaphorical connections to society. That said, this issue feels like Brisson is bridging the gap between meta and escape with this black hole nightmare that’s almost reminiscent of the upside-down and waffles. The story feels unique and different yet has this sense of familiarity that blends the expanded team together in an intimate way. While reading the issue, there were moments where I felt like I was genuinely working on solutions with Cypher and the rest of the team. Brisson really did an amazing job drawing this reader (periodically) deeper into the story.

Additionally, I’ve really been digging Brisson’s take on Boom-Boom. She’s got a special type of savagery to her that’s humorous, direct, but ultimately caring. He’s really getting the character to grow on me more as his stories unfold. However, there were some elements of the issue overall that were a bit frustrating. For example, an entire page dedicated to a Laksa recipe, regardless of my take on laksa, was pure wasted space and utterly pointless. I’m not buying an issue for a black and white recipe. Plus, the online DOX article felt the exact same way. Whether it’s Brisson or Tom Muller who’s responsible for these inserts, as clever as they may seem at times, I’m actually just beginning to feel like it’s wasted space doing more harm than good at this point.

Furthermore, I completely understand the artistic style, angle, and perspective that Flaviano is orchestrating throughout this issue but the “nightmare” portions of the story were extremely difficult to follow and occasionally threw me out of a narrative where I was truly beginning to feel apart of the team. The idea makes total sense however I don’t know if the premise could have been executed with a bit more clarity, realism, and crispness that could have driven the point home with more transparency.

Lastly, and this is a total nitpick, Cypher’s idea to “save the day” was sound and made sense for a rescue mission… until I realized that Wildside would need to physically touch the child through Armor’s shield covering, mind you, without breaking her armor in the process. Sure, they may be able to slash or cut the girl inside the nightmare BUT Wildside wouldn’t be able to “infect” her with anything unless the armor was broken or cracked too. Plus, the ending seemed rather obvious as soon as the plan was formulated. I suppose this reviewer was just looking for a bit more especially after how encapsulated I felt as the issue began.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In an issue that really brought me into the story and made me feel like one of the team, I still left disappointed with the lack of action, the simplicity of the plan, and confusing artistic style that periodically pulled me out of the narrative. There really is so much potential sprinkled throughout this issue and this reviewer really does feel like Brisson is finally starting to get to a good place with his portion of this comic series. As much as it sounds like I’m a bit unfulfilled with my expectations in his weeks NEW MUTANTS #10, I sincerely feel like the series is on the rise and things are really looking up for Ed Brisson and his team. I’m absolutely excited to see what’s in store next however, I left this issue a bit dissatisfied after it began with more promise than anticipated.

7.7/10

If you want to get your hands on this week’s issue of NEW MUTANTS, click the Amazon link HERE. Additionally, if the DAWN OF X titles are your jam, click HERE to grab the latest issues. And finally, if you’re looking for something else to read, check out my Amazon Online Comic Shop by clicking HERE. Thank you all for the read and continued support. Stay safe and stay healthy.