District X, Volume 1: Mr. M

District X (Collected Editions)

by David Hine, David Yardin (Artist)

Welcome to Mutant Town, the dark corner of New York City where the long arm of the law has been severed clean. Here, the mutant population doesn't sport GQ style or champagne dreams. They eke out each day in squalid tenement rows and filthy streets where only one man and one law can be the X-Man Bishop.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, X Men, Superheroes, Crime, Comix

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 2005

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up for two bucks, so I didn't expect much of it. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the story. Sorry to see the series didn't go for more than two trades...

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. It's basically cops going around a mutant only city and solving crimes. It reminds me of Gotham Central maybe? Or like a TV they'd put on FOX that relates to Marvel but not too much. I didn't hate it, didn't love it. I'd go with a 2.5.

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, fresh look at the X world.

District X is about a New York neighborhood mostly full of, you guessed it, mutants.
Our perspective for this 6 issue run is through the eyes of two cops: aspiring detective Ismael and FBI baddie Bishop.

This is such a great arc: exploring themes of segregation, policing, and child exploitation in the drug trade with Toad Boy.
Mr M in his hat and suit feels like a carbon copy or Dr Manhattan and I hope they do more with him later.

A stunning addition to the X-verse.

[TR Naus · Rating 4 out of 5]

While District X appears to star the X-Man Bishop, this is really an on-the-streets drama focused on a regular cop Izzy Ortega. With the recent boom in the mutant population, New York City finds itself with a new and dangerous neighborhood called District X. Incredible powers and no opportunities due to rampant discrimination make Mutant Town a dangerous percent to patrol for normal humans. A gang war over the production and distribution of a new street drug escalates the violence and forces the FBI to ask Bishop for help.

I love that this story is completely told from the perspective of the normal cop who must deal with his bigoted colleagues, a resentful and marginalized community, and a wife who is also a mutant. He is dealing with a lot while at the same time assisting the FBI (Bishop) in trying to get to the bottom of a mutant drug war that is killing normal humans.

Marvel Knights was an imprint that concentrated on stand-alone (and often grittier) stories of underselling yet iconic characters (Black Panther, Punisher, Daredevil, and the Inhumans). The brainchild of future Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti, Marvel Knights grew to include other titles such as Bishop's District X. The creative team of David Hine (writer) and David Yardin (penciler) captured the feel of the police procedurals with a mutant flare. Both crime bosses are mutants with relatively minor powers but maintain a strong grip on a territory filled with outcasts. I particularly like the many examples of their casual exploration of fellow mutants and the subtle nod that raw power alone is not enough to escape poverty.

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

District X had a very interesting premise and some great reviews so I went in expecting a pretty interesting story. That's not really what I got though...

This story is very generic and inconsequential. The "mutant" element is negligible and the story beats barely kept my attention. Unless you are really hard up for an X-Story I'd say just give this one a miss.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most interesting successors to Morrison's New X-Men. Morrison created a neighbourhood in New York called Mutant Town, populated by impoverished mutants who can't blend in with humans.

This comic is a police detective set in Mutant Town and starring Bishop. It's a unique and really fun look at a side of the X-Men universe we rarely see.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would’ve given this a 4/5 but the last issue took a drastic turn that to me made zero sense.

One of the characters just decided after saving someone that he had “seen the light” and has now decided to end all life in Mutant Town. Pretty obvious conclusion to come to after doing a good deed. Nothing wrong with that…

Some people really don’t know how to write out a proper plot.

[PulpMonkey (Chompa) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised at this one. I hadn't intended to read the book, but the boys brought it home from the library. Seeing it was a Marvel Knights title, I told them that they couldn't read it until I checked it out.

I'd heard of District X a while back and knew it was a crime drama in the X-men setting with Bishop as a main character. Nothing about that really appealed to me.

On reading it? Bishop was a secondary character and the story largely focused on a Cuban police officer whose wife is a mutant.

The story and the characters were very interesting and the setting turned out to be a big part of why it was so good. I'd recommend this one.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cops who just happen to be hunting mutant criminals. Excellent.

[47Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story features regular policemen working in District X, a place inhabited mostly by mutants. Later on, an X-Man is featured, but most of the focus is on the drama on the streets. Really, it's a police drama with mutants - more exotic, but no less human. Too bad it got rushed by the end. Everything seemed to be not only out of the human policeman's hands, but out of the mutant's as well. So why does the story even feature these useless characters? That was a wasted potential.

Policemen Ortega and his partner Gus receive a call about a disturbance between a husband and wife. The wife is a mutant with the power to bewitch men with her voice alone and her husband is allegedly gagging and tying her up. Gus hears one word from her and goes on a shooting spree - he kills both husband and wife, then aims to shoot himself. His partner tries to stop Gus which saves his life, but puts him in the hospital. Ortega lies to Internal Affairs to cover for Gus, but while his partner is recovering, he has to work with Bishop to prevent a mutant gang war.

There is a new drug on the streets called Toad Tabs. It's made from the secretions of a mutant who becomes highly desirable by the city's gangs led by Frankie Zapruder and his rival Daniel Kaufman. The plot twist comes when Toad Tabs are used by a non-mutant who develops fatal mutations in her body. Then a bunch of non-humans use Toad Tabs during a party, with the same outcome. The source of the Toad Tabs is mutated back into human form by the man who also threatens to reveal Gus's secret.

Bishop and Ortega are surprisingly useless throughout. They don't prevent the gang war, they wrongfully accuse another mutant of causing some stuff in the end. It's simply bad story telling.

[Mickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good (if Goodreads let me I'd give it a 3.5), but not great. The first two issues are so strong and do such an excellent job of introducing you to this world and investing you in a flawed central character, Ismael Ortega. Ismael is such a strong central character, every good thing about him and his life has a negative flipside. He's loyal (to a fault), loves his wife and family (but his job and his wife's mutation keep them separate from him), and most of all he loves his community (and fears it).

My immediate reaction was excitement. This guy rules, if he's the main character this book could really be going somewhere. Plus, he gets paired with Bishop, who is kind of cool so that's nice.

But then, we get into the procedural aspect of this "cop show, Marvel style." It's not terrible, honestly. It's entertaining the whole way through. But there's nothing special about it except for the tonal whiplash it gives you. Seriously, one minute we're dealing with hate crimes and existential body horror, the next we're bounced back to the gaggle of mob bosses that pass for our antagonists with threatening features like "stutters" and "smells like farts." I'm not making that up, that's in the book. Either idea in isolation might work, at least if they weren't played for weird gags every third page, but together they just feel so off kilter.

The ending almost brings this back to a 4 because it brings the story back to Ismael and his family. But it's so rushed (an issue of a lot of Marvel of this era, frankly), that it steps on a lot of its own landings. It's a fun read, if a little lighter on its feet than I thought it might be. Maybe the next storyline will deliver.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing the x-read of 2017...

And wow. This one shocked the heck out of me. So good. So unlike other Marvel titles that I have read. A good plot with some great twists and a lot of social statements that aren't made easily or in an offhand manner. Honestly, this is one of the best X-comics that I have ever read (though it hardly counts as an X-comic in a lot of ways...). Maybe it was just the right time, but I really really dug this story. Interested to see what the next volume brings.

[DanielBelluš · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expected nothing from the book, pick it only becouse symbolical price in our e-store and Bishop’s apperance.. And got a wonderful story about mutants mixed with suburbs and as a whole, it worked perfectly :)

[Stephan van Velzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored this one!

[Klaus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't expect to like this as much as I did. A good yarn, similar feeling to good Wolverine vol 3 stories.

[Josema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante historia policial en un distrito de NY repleto de mutantes. Bishop y un poli humano resolviendo una situación complicada.
Guión repleto de acción e inventigacion y un buen dibujo y color.

[TK · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite part of this era of X-Men/Mutants is the exploration of poverty and social marginalization. Books like this make mutants a believable part of this world.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay if you like cop stories.
Gritty, drugs, sex workers and gangster.

The only known mutant is Bishop.

[Bruce Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is actually dope! I love the whole setting of District X and seeing all the crazy mayhem that happens on the daily.

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part, I'm enjoying the experimental time in the early 2000s, where they started putting X-characters in books that bend the superhero genre. Brian K Vaughan's Mystique by Brian K. Vaughan: Ultimate Collection was a fun little aside into espionage, and this is a decent attempt at a police procedural in Mutant Town (a fictional area in Manhattan...I'm not sure how close it is to Fabletown in the DC Vertigo Universe, but I imagine they're neighbors).

The story focuses mostly on non X-Men characters, which works. Bishop's appearance is in-line with his role in the latter half of Chris Claremont's X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 6: Intifada run, as well as his appearance in New X-Men, where he tries to solve the non-murder of Emma Frost.

The melodrama is on-par with your average Law & Order episode but with the bonus of most of the characters having mutant powers.

It's also interesting that they chose to include the use of a new drug for mutants, Juice, rather than relying on Kick, which factored into Grant Morrison's New X-Men run.

If you're a fan of police procedurals, check this out. It's also similar in tone to Peter David's second run on X-Factor by Peter David: The Complete Collection, Volume 1, which I can't wait to get to.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reprints District X #1-6 (July 2004-December 2004). Ismael Ortega and his partner run into trouble on a call in Mutant Town where the greatest concentration of mutants are all trying to live together. With his partner hospitalized, Ismael finds himself with a new partner in the mysterious Bishop. A war is breaking out between mutant gangsters Kaufman and Zapruder over the mutant drug Toad Juice. As Bishop and Ismael try to stop the war, a mysterious man known as Mr. M could be the key…or could destroy them all!

Written by David Hine with illustrations by David Yardin, Lan Medina, and Mike Perkins, District X 1: Mr. M was part of Marvel Comics’ Mark Knights line of comics. The comic spun out of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men series and was collected in two volumes (followed by a limited series called Mutopia X).

I actually really liked District X. I’m a big fan of the police drama like Law & Order and in particular, the police portion of the show. This comic combines elements of something like that with Alan Moore’s Top Ten and Powers (which it does steal from).

The concept of a “normal guy” investigating mutants with a mutant isn’t original, but District X is fun. I like characters created by Hine and he shows (in this volume) that even some of the minor characters get a chance to develop. You would think Bishop would be the star of the series, but Hine smartly makes him the costar…allows for a different read than most X-Men comics.

The art for the comic is also strong. It isn’t a comic filled with costumes and goes for a grittier “real” style. I do have a bit of a problem because every character apparently grows root-y looking things when they become mutants. The artist could have had more fun with the art like Top Ten or Powers.

District X 1: Mr. M showed a strong start for the series. Rereading it, I still enjoy it and wish that it had run longer. I think the comic had a ton of potential. I’d love to see Ismael return someday even for a few cameos. District X 1: Mr. M was followed by District X 2: Underworld.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this one on Marvel Unlimited and had never heard of it. I tried this one after thinking, "Oh, look. Marvel's answer for Gotham Central." Of course I figured it would be an epic failure, but let's give it a go, huh? What a pleasant surprise.

A local cop who works in a town filled with mutants is paired up with a new partner working for the feds. The new partner happens to be Lucas Bishop and the two set off to work some death investigations that have their cause rooted in drug sales.

This doesn't have as big a cast as Gotham Central, which had two full shifts of detectives. It has a bit of the same feel though, but is also different enough to feel new.

I enjoyed this one and I'll press on through the next trade.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was certainly an interesting look at the mutants in the X-Men universe. Not all mutants are great superheroes, or endowed with great powers. Some are very ordinary, and some have mutations that are less than desirable. In NYC, Mutant Town is basically the poor mutant ghetto. In goes the X-Men member Bishop, a federal agent, to investigate a rising gang war. And meanwhile, the mysterious Mr. M decides to take action in his hands. Overall, this was a different take, and it was pretty well paced. I will definitely look for others in this series.

[Holden Attradies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read, although I wasn't expecting much. It's one of those Marvel stories that isn't really about the super heroes, but rather about the people on the sidelines. Specifically a cop who frequents the mutant ghetto in New York.

MY only real complaint was that I didn't really get why Bishop needed to be there. Was it just for a character with name recognition? He really only contributed to the plot at one point, and if he wasn't there I'm sure they could have just written it differently.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente comienzo para una serie que se iría desinflando un poquito con el correr de los tomos. Por suerte o por desgracia no duró mucho, así que en ningún momento pasó a ser una serie mala. Pero sin duda alguna a esta altura prometía mucho. Y, al menos en la historia propia de este tomo, cumple bastante. El dibujo no es malo pero tampoco sé si está a la altura del guion. De todos modos, hablo medio de memoria, así que seguramente cuando lo relea lo rerreseñe.

[Mel Georgiou · Rating 4 out of 5]

X-Men sometimes feels a little ham-handed with its political and social messages. (For example, a character explicitly yelling, "Being a Mutant is like being Black!") However, the f***ed up mutant powers and the dark crime dramas that unfold in this book make it a really interesting read for comic fans and X-men fans.

[Sarah]

One of the best Marvel miniseries I've ever read, full of interesting characters and taut storytelling. Great for Marvel fans who like well told stand alone stories.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting characters and a nicely nuanced look at the dark side of Marvel's mutants. It's it a bit too grim at times, however, and the plotting thus far is thin.

[Daniella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was excellent. The art was 5/5, and the story and the setting was incredibly interesting. I look forward to reading the next two volumes.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

It works, but forgettable.