Review by James Hatton
Title: N/a
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Pencils: Ramon Bachs
Inks: John Lucas
Colors: Art Lyon
Lettering: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Asst. Editor: Sean Ryan
Editor: Nick Lowe
Published by: Marvel Comics
Once upon a time….
There was a woman who seemingly came out of nowhere to become one of the most central figures of the Marvel Universe. That book was Alias which begat The Pulse. The story of Jessica Jones has become ingrained in Marvel comics due to Bendis’ ability to tell a great story, and fit her into the pages of history with only minor bits of retconning here and there.
Well Pulse is changing hands – and its new Lord and Master is Paul Jenkins.
Out goes Jessica Jones.
In comes Sally Floyd.
STORY!
‘Where were you when the world changed?’
That is an angle in which I expected somebody to take, and thank god somebody did. When something like a quarter of the population mutates, or in this case, stops mutating, it should have world repercussions. It should be something that the entire populace takes notice of.
So Generation M is going to be the story of mutants who might otherwise not have their story told… such as this issue’s coverboy, Chamber. Jonothon Starsmore was a man who had the power of a star in his chest. When you remove his mutant power, what is he left with? Let me tell you it’s not pretty.
My only concern with this book is what it is, compared to what I originally viewed it to be. It is not so much about the mutants themselves, but about the world around them changing. It is a telling look from an outside observer how the world is now different, and along the way we will get views of the mutants that have been affected.
Well written as always, Jenkins seemingly blends in this brief telling of the tragedy of Chamber with the introduction of his new flawed reporter. I can’t really vote the book down for not being what I expected, especially when we’re one issue in and I’m already hooked.
ART!
Artistically speaking, this book fits in the new way of comics. If you don’t know what I mean, go look at something from a decade ago. It is alot of computer coloring. Bad computer coloring. It is a lot of muscles. It is big and loud and bloody.
Now look at the work of Ramon Bachs, Jae Lee, or Alex Maleev. It’s real and gritty and makes you slide into this alternate world where superpowers are real and dragons can fall from the sky. It’s excellent, and if it remains the new constant in good storytelling, I’m there.
OVERALL!
Generation M is another spin on the post-House of M world. This spin is one of my favorites due to how real it feels. There is more to just this storyline than the mutants it affects, and Jenkins is going to inform us of the generation of mutants that have changed for the worse. Chamber isn’t doing so hot, and hopefully we’ll get more of his story as the miniseries trudges along. Next month we visit Jubilee and see what everyone’s favorite valleygirl is like, now that she no longer Paffs with the best of them.
