Deron Generally
Deron Generally
The New Mutants: Dead Souls #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Matthew Rosenberg
Art by Adam Gorham
Colors by Michael Garland
At a disaster relief area in rural Alabama, a man is taking count of the number of dead bodies lined up in the aftermath of a hurricane. His potentially fatal mistake is thinking all of the bodies are actually dead.
18 hours later, Illyana Rasputin and her team composed of Rictor, Boom-Boom, Strong Guy and Wolfsbane have descended on the area and are surveying the damage. After rescuing a group of kids trapped during the storm, Magik takes out a zombie that surprises her and the rest of the team decide to move closer into the area. That’s when they get attacked by the locals.
After Boom-Boom breaks up the fight, Magik decides to get answers. Answers that lead them to the relief camp where a survivor tells the team what happened the day before. As Magik and her team try to process what they’ve learned, the survivors of the zombie attack run back to the camp because a horde of the undead is heading their way. The New Mutants leap into action to help, but as the horde continues to grow and move closer to the camp, it’s upt o Illyana to determine what, if anything, they actually want and she takes some unusual steps in order to get answers.
Most first issues have the unenviable task of having to introduce the audience to the central characters, core idea and potential conflict of the story in less than thirty pages. This one does that in a pretty smooth fashion. It helps that the book isn’t trying to establish new characters. It’s using existing characters in a new way. One that makes for an interesting narrative in this first issue. I like that there is an investigative tone to this mission and that the behind the scenes drama holds its own weight as well.
The dynamics between the characters work as well and they play off each other well verbally. I’m interested to see where this story goes next and what parts of the supernatural side of the Marvel universe they will explore next.
