THE NEW MUTANTS - # 32 (oct 1985) to 59 ( jan 1988) + # 68 ( OCT 1988) - TOTAL INVENTORY- 36 COMICS
I have 2 copies each of nos - 39 / 45 / 51 / 52 / 53 / 54 / 55 / 58
Only missing one issue - # 46 (dec 1986)
The New Mutants: are a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics.
They have been the main characters of three successive comic book series, which were spin-offs of the X-Men franchise.
The
first team of New Mutants characters was created by Chris Claremont and
artist Bob McLeod. They first appeared in 1982's Marvel Graphic Novel
#4 and were subsequently featured in their own title from 1983 until
1991. Like its parent title, The New Mutants highlighted interpersonal
and group conflict as well as action and adventure, and featured a
large ensemble cast. With the end of the first series, the characters
were relaunched as X-Force in a new, eponymous series.
The
second New Mutants series, launched in 2003, featured a new group of
teenage mutants; unlike the original New Mutants, they were part of a
huge cast of students at the Xavier Institute. In 2004, it was
relaunched as New X-Men: Academy X, after which the central group was
formally dubbed the "New Mutants." In the aftermath of the "M-Day"
crossover storyline in late 2005, the remaining students were merged
into one junior team, the New X-Men.
The third New Mutants series, reuniting most of the original team, launched in May 2009.
The New Mutants, vol. 1
By
the early 1980s, Uncanny X-Men (under the authorship of Chris
Claremont) had become one of the comic book industry's most successful
titles, prompting Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter to launch The New
Mutants, the first of several X-Men spin-offs. X-Men editor Louise
Simonson recalled "Neither Chris [Claremont] or I really wanted to do
it. We wanted X-Men to be special and by itself, but Shooter told us
that if we didn't come up with a new 'mutant' book, someone else
would."[1] The name was a modification of Stan Lee's original name for
the X-Men, "The Mutants".[1]
The New Mutants were teenaged
students of Professor Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters,
much like the original X-Men, who had since grown into adulthood. These
students, however, rather resembled the "All-New, All-Different X-Men"
in terms of ethnic diversity. The original team consisted of:
- Karma
(Xi'an Coy Manh), a 19-year-old Vietnamese girl and the team's original
leader, who could mentally possess other people's bodies.
- Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair), a Scot who could transform into a wolf-like creature.
- Mirage
(Danielle Moonstar, originally codenamed Psyche), a Cheyenne and
eventual co-leader after Karma's "death," who could create visual
empathic three-dimensional illusions.
- Sunspot (Roberto da Costa), a
Brazilian who gained superhuman strength fueled by sunlight and could
store solar energy in his body to use his super strength during the
night.
- Cannonball (Samuel Guthrie), a mild-mannered Kentuckian and
eventual co-leader, who became nigh-invulnerable when rocketing through
the air.
The team was intended to debut in their own series.
However, as the first issue was nearing completion, Shooter ordered it
to be reworked into a graphic novel so that Marvel Graphic Novel could
make its deadline for the next issue. Thus, the New Mutants debuted in
Marvel Graphic Novel #4 (December 1982), which continued a plotline
from Uncanny X-Men. (Despite Shooter's wheeling and dealing, however,
the graphic novel missed its shipping slot by two weeks due to artist
Bob McLeod's honeymoon.)[1]
The series was originally written by
Claremont and illustrated by McLeod, the team's co-creators, but McLeod
soon passed artistic duties on to Sal Buscema. Claremont gave the
series an oddly dark tone, which was heightened with the arrival of
artist Bill Sienkiewicz. In addition to very serious depictions of
teenage angst and growing pains, the series featured themes of
mysticism and psychic boundaries. The stories also relied on wilder,
more far-fetched premises than were typical of X-Men at the time;
locales included demonic dimensions, alternate futures, and an ancient
Roman civilization hidden within the Amazon Rainforest. The New Mutants
also encountered a secret society called the Hellfire Club, and began a
rivalry with their young apprentices, the Hellions.
After the apparent death of Karma, Cannonball and Dani Moonstar were appointed co-leaders. New recruits included:
- Magma
(Amara Aquila/Alison Crestmere), a fiercely tempered native of a secret
Roman society in the Amazon who could control lava.
- Magik (Illyana
Rasputin), sister of the Russian X-Man Colossus and long-time resident
of the X-Mansion, an accomplished mystic who could open "teleportation
discs" allowing travel to Limbo and from there, any point on Earth.
- Warlock, an extraterrestrial of the techno-organic race known as the Technarchy.
- Cypher
(Douglas Ramsey), an otherwise ordinary young man who could learn any
language, spoken or written, at an exponential rate, whether it was
human, alien, or machine, making him an unmatched computer expert.
In
1986, Professor X was written out of the series. Before he left, he
made the X-Men's one-time nemesis, Magneto, headmaster of his school.
Not trusted by his students, Magneto struggled in his new role and
eventually joined the Hellfire Club.
With Claremont taking on
Wolverine and Excalibur, he left The New Mutants and the series was
turned over to writer Louise Simonson and illustrator Bret Blevins with
issue #55 (Sept. 1987). Simonson was intended to be only a fill-in
writer for the six months Claremont needed to get the two new series
launched, but he ultimately remained with his new projects, and
Simonson ended up writing the series for over three years.[1] During
her controversial[citation needed] run, Magma was written out of the
book, new characters Bird-Brain and Gosamyr were added to the team, and
Magik was de-aged back to childhood. Due to his unpopularity with New
Mutants readers and artists, Cypher was killed off. Simonson recalled,
"He wasn't fun to draw. He just stood around and hid behind a tree
during a fight... Every artist who ever did him said 'Can't we kill
this guy?' We would get letters from fans about how much they hated
him."[1] Simonson also folded the X-Terminators, a group of young wards
from X-Factor, into the New Mutants. The X-Terminators added to the team were:
- Rictor (Julio Richter), a young Mexican who could create shock waves.
- Rusty Collins, a pyrokinetic wanted by the U.S. government.
- Skids (Sally Blevins), a former Morlock who could project a frictionless force field around her body.
- Boom-Boom (Tabitha Smith), a teen runaway who could create "plasma bombs."
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