NYX: Wannabe

NYX (Collected Editions) #1

by Joe Quesada, Joshua Middleton (Illustrator)

Say hello to a pack of New York City gutterpunks, the likes of which the Marvel Universe has never seen! The X-Men's dream has always been one of creating hope from despair - in a young mutant's darkest hour Charles Xavier will always be just around the corner, ready with open arms and a helping hand. But Xavier can't be everywhere at once. What becomes of a group of young mutants that have to rely on themselves for everything from food to shelter to love? Wayward angels with dirty faces who, instead of preparing for Magneto's next big assault, must learn to survive in the cold, harsh world of the city that never sleeps. The world of the X-Men is brought to the streets, and the struggle for survival has never been more uncertain... Collects NYX #1-7.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Joseph "Joe" Quesada (born January 12, 1962)is an American comic book editor, writer and artist.

He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom.

He later worked on numerous books for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, such as Batman: Sword of Azrael and X-Factor, before forming his own company, Event Comics, where he published his creator-owned character, Ash.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Quesada, the (at the time) President of Marvel created this amazing gutterpunk piece featuring the likes of Kiden and X-23 (her debut!) in the underbelly of NY and District X. An adult and dark tale of how teenage mutants cope, when the likes of the X-Men are nowhere to be found. One of the most impressive X-Book Limited Series ever produced! An easy 9 out of 12 from me :)

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I originally grabbed this (and NYX: No Way Home), because I had been enjoying X-23's character. And supposedly this covered her time on the streets.
Yeah, she's in it, and her story plays an important role in things, but she doesn't really say much. Or act much like herself. Just...don't make the mistake I did, and read this for Laura's story. The cliffnotes version of her 'missing time' will do just as well as this.



Supposedly, Nyx is a runaway living on the Tough Streets, because she's a mutant who has Nowhere Else To Go...right?
I mean, that's what the blurb led me to believe.
What becomes of a group of young mutants that have to rely on themselves for everything?
Yeah.
Thing is, Nyx had no reason to be 'on the streets'. She had a home. And as far as I could tell, a mother who cared about her! Sure, her brother was a douchecanoe, but he was just an ass...not dangerous.
One of the things that pissed me off about this was that Nyx was disrespectful to her mother, stole from her, and mocked her efforts to have a relationship with her. Then, as soon as the mutant shit hit the fan, she took off. Never once really thinking about what she was putting her family through by disappearing for 6 months! When she finally did decide to make contact, she believed her idiot brother who told her that her mother was 'happier without her'.
First, she knows her brother is a scumbag. Why would she believe him? That made no sense.
Second, even if she did sort of believe him, you would think she would have poked her head in the house...just to make sure. I mean, her mother had never given her any reason to doubt that she loved her!
There were tons of ridiculous things like that smattered throughout the book that defied logic.

Ok, so {stuff happens}, and (apparently) the ghost of Nyx's dead father leads her all over the place, showing her people who need to be saved or helped. All of these kids (plus her teacher) form a group that *cough*eventually have a showdown with X-23's pimp, Zebra Daddy.
Really.

Ok. Even though I knew going in that this is a Mature title, I was still a bit skeeved out by the art, and way some of the girls were portrayed.
Just check out the cover art...







Bottom line?
It's creepy, and seems a bit like porn for pedos.
If you don't believe me, Google some of the cover art, and check out how the last cover has been altered. There's one with X-23 in panties and nothing else that I found especially disheartening...considering she's only supposed to be in her early teens (13-15ish).

So. No, I wouldn't particularly recommend this. The characters could have been extremely interesting, but with the ridiculously pervy setting and giant gaping plot holes, it's just not worth the time.
At least, in my opinion.

[Murat Dural · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marmara Çizgi'den çıkan "Nyx - Özenti" alabildiğine sert bir paralel, sert ergen gerçekliklerle sokaklarda yaşanan bir kaçma - kovalama öyküsü. Marvel'ın X-23'ü ilk defa lanse ettiği ve sonradan müthiş "Logan" filmindeki karaktere dönüşecek. Bu açıdan bile önemli, özel bir kitap "Özenti" Ayrıca X-23'ün öncül hayatının şaşırtıcı içeriği enteresan. Tuğçe Ertan çevirisini beğendim. Vermek istediği hava sebebi ile daha günümüze yakın, genel, klişe X-Man ciltlerinden farklı bir dili var. Yeni nesil kahraman, Marvel evreni anlatısı seviyorsanız tavsiye ederim.

[anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The things I read for X-23.

This was...boring.
And Laura was just there.
And I felt like sleeping on my feet.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first appearance of Laura (x23) and honestly, it has little to do with her.

Instead the story focuses around Kiden, a mutant who can basically stop time and then hurt people really bad by touching them. After a incident at school leading to her favorite teacher getting shot she goes on the run. Around half way meet Laura and then a bunch of other mutant kids who are basically the "street kids".

The thing is, some of it works. The art for the most part is great. Especially the coloring. By at the same time the artist (or could be the writer who wanted this) liked to get odd shots of girls panties and such, which since we're talking about 15 or 16 year olds is weird. But then some of the dialogue is pretty good, then some is really cringy street lingo that doesn't work. Then got some interesting characters like Kiden and Laura, and then some really bad ones. I mean for every good there's a bad, and that's the problem with the book. It's a decent read and get to see Laura when she first comes on the scene but nothing beyond that.

A 2.5 out of 5.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://youtu.be/NSH-6Fyjd3M

[Metin Yılmaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Belki Logan tadı vardır, az biraz keyif alınır dedim. Yanıldım. Hem Hollywood hem ergen hem de Marvel karışınca ortaya sadece çöp çıkıyormuş. Zaten bu üçlüden daha fazlasını beklemek hataydı.

[Norman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find this one to be as horrible as I thought it would be. I mean ok, the art was so inconsistent, the storytelling was haphazard to the point of confusion, and the characters were really very one-dimensional. BUT I thought there was a lot of potential with the story. The characters would have been more compelling with a better development, but the ideas were fresh and exciting.

Kiden acting out (fights, drugs, stealing cigarettes, running away) and lashing out at her mother all seem overdramatic, but I don't actually think it's all that unrealistic. In the tough neighborhood she's from with the childhood trauma of seeing her father murdered as well as her probably continually weakening single mother's grasp on controlling both her own and her children's sad lives, she's got some serious issues. There are teens living this life daily even without the trauma; life just sucks sometimes. As much as I wanted to hate her character for just ruining everything, at the end of the day she's just a kid, and kids make mistakes. Though it has an adult rating, I find the ages of all the characters generally necessary for a compelling storyline (minus X-23 who I thought is pretty useless.. which is a bummer because she's the only reason I read this thing).

I did notice some stupid points, or maybe I wasn't quite following correctly. Is Cameron's husband who left her's name Sam? Or Frank? What's up with Kiden's friend from high school? Is she just nobody? Can't X-23 just kill everybody? Why does she have to be a teenage prostitute? Is the mutant hate SO strong in NY that a mutant like Tatiana who changes into an animal mid-class is worth chasing down the streets? Wouldn't fear come before anger when it comes to the unknown?

So much potential. Unfortunately a pretty meek performance on the creators' part.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

NYX: Wannabe is kind of a mess. The story is jumbled in a way that I think is supposed to be realistic and edgy, but it just ends up being confusing and underdeveloped. For example, I have absolutely no idea what Felon's mutant abilty is (He can possess people? But his physical body comes along?), and the scene that introduces him makes no sense at all (He raped a pop star? Or killed her? Isn't he supposed to be reformed at that point?).

I kind of liked the series, anyway.

Josh Middleton's art on the first four issues is sweet candy gorgeous and packed with nice character bits... in spite of a couple weird crotch shots of the 16-year-old heroines that are completely gratutious and ridiculous. Then Rob Teranishi takes over for the last three issues. There's a lot to like about his energetic indie style, but his layouts don't help clarify the already confusing narrative, and the four main female characters often end up looking like the same person with several slightly different hairstyles.

So why did I like it? The set-up in the first couple issues is pretty effective. I LIKED Kiden, who is troubled and tough and - refreshingly - not usually the smartest girl in the room. The supporting cast is interesting, too, even though none of them seem to really serve any purpose, plot-wise.

I can't recommend it, and aside from the fact that it technically introduces X-23 (as a very different type of character than she will soon become), it's a completely disposable Marvel footnote. Still, intriguingly offbeat, and I'd like to see these kids again.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kiden Nixon is a troubled high school girl, whose life is compounded when she discovers her latent mutant ability to slow time. She teams up with were-girl Tatiana, astral-projecting Bobby, her former teacher Cameron, and an unnamed former child prostitute (who will become known as X-23) in order to protect each other on the streets.

This felt very real in a way that, say, Spider-Man's teenage origin definitely did not feel. It was violent, disturbing, and sad; I'm sure a huge number of kids deal with these kinds of events every day - trouble staying in school, trouble with parents, trouble with bullies, trouble with gangs - though without the added complication of mutant powers cropping up. As the description says, this is what happens to teen mutants when they don't have Charles Xavier to guide them, and it's a hard life. I liked Nyx (from Kiden's last name and also District X in New York) and the overall story, but the plot was thin and the conclusion was unclear.

I checked this one out to see the first comics appearance of X-23. She seems to be popular, but I know virtually nothing about other than she is a female clone of Wolverine and has a different set of claws. I discovered that she originated in X-Men: Evolution, which I'm guessing doesn't cover her background of child prostitution. She's a fairly minor character here, so I think I'll need to press on to find a better example of her.

[aliasrogue · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a word: Meh.

Like many other's I did come for X-23 (reading this directly after reading lost innocence and target x was a mistake) but I kept an open mind knowing this was not her own title, I didn't expect too much but even the expectations I did have weren’t really met either. From the second Laura appeared I knew it wasn't going to be great. Her client saying she was "the best at what she did" left me with this bad taste in my mouth, that only seemed to grow with the weird upskirt shots. It felt like they were aiming for edgy and landed on gross. Thankfully those died down a lot and the story seemed to take a refocus on the dynamic of the girls however, by the time it started to take this direction it was already over. The shift in direction, Tatiana’s adorableness, X-23’s compassion, and Kiden’s desire to be better saved this from a one star rating but it wasn’t enough to save it all.

[Christopher Mclean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like many others I came to this looking for more X-23, Nyx does not deliver on that front. Unfortunately it doesn't deliver on any other front either.

I think I can see what Quesada was going for here, looking at mutants who rather than instantly becoming perfect costumed superheroes are actually worse off and forced onto the street. It's not a bad idea but it's not explored interestingly at all.

None of the characters have any depth, development or even just unique qualities. Life on the street is as cliched as possible, with school shootings, drugs and prostitution all showing up in force. Top it off with a story that doesn't really go anywhere and art which crosses the line between sexy and porn far too often (particularly with a cast of young teens).

Not one I would recommend

[Albert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nyx: Wannabe is a wannabe edgy comic. In the hands of DC's Vertigo line or even Dark Horse, this one may have been interesting. But with Marvel it just falls flat in all phases. Had they known X-23 would become such a fan favorite, they might have treated her better. Well maybe not, this is Marvel.

[Trevor · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst X-Men comic I've read. Worse even than Chuck Austen. It's trying to be dark and gritty YA but it's just disgusting trash.

The main characters are Kidon Nixon, a teenage runaway with the ability to slow time who recieves advice from visions of her murdered father; Ms. Palmer, Kidon's suicidal jaded former high school teacher; Tatiana, another teenage runaway who turns into animals when they bleed on her; and X-23, an underage prostitute with adamantium claws who self-harms and rarely speaks. Together they're trying to survive while running from Zebra Daddy, X-23's pimp, and his henchman Felon.

It sounds terrible but believe me, it's worse. Self-important edgy garbage.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mehrere Rezensenten (auch in andere Foren) haben in ihren Besprechungen den Begriff der „Exploitation“ angeführt und darauf hingewiesen, dass es Panels mit Darstellungen junger Mädchen gebe, die spärlich bekleidet seien; skandalöser Weise könne man sogar einige Male ihren Slip sehen. Aufgrund der Vorwürfe, das muss ich zugeben, habe ich gezögert, mir NYX WANNABE zu bestellen.
Ich bin froh, dass ich es trotzdem gelesen habe, und rückblickend finde ich es interessant, dass derartige Beanstandungen tatsächlich in einigen Fällen offenbar zur Herabstufung der Bewertung geführt haben. Eine ähnliche Diskussion gab es in den 50er Jahren anlässlich des Erscheinens der LOLITA in Amerika; aktuell wird gerade eine Ausstellung von Balthus gecancelt, weil dort Fotos spärlich bekleideter junger Damen zur Schau gestellt werden.
Die Frage, die sich hier aufwirft, ist also die, wo die Grenzen der Kunst liegen und ob die Grenzen der Schicklichkeit oder des guten Geschmacks von Middleton in WANNABE überschritten wurden.
Dazu ein erster Einschub: Joshua Middleton ist Träger eines Eisner-Awards, seine Panels sind fraglos als Comic-ART (letzterer Wortbestandteil bewusst groß geschrieben) einzustufen, es handelt sich also gewiss nicht um schmierige Kritzeleien.
Beim Lesen des Bandes fiel es mir zugegebenermaßen nicht leicht, die partielle Aufregung zu verstehen, die manche Bilder bei tugendhaften Betrachtern verursacht haben. Es stimmt, dass die 16-jährige Kiden auf einem Bild zu sehen ist, wie sie nach berauschter Nacht halb zugedeckt in ihrem Bett liegt, die Bettdecke halb auf den Boden geruschelt. Und: man sieht ihren Slip. Hier wurde nicht beanstandet, dass sie zuvor Drogen genommen hat, sondern dass ihr Höschen zu sehen ist. Dass eine derartige Darstellung in jedem zweiten Hollywoodfilm zu finden ist, scheint irrelevant. Vielleicht hätte uns Middleton glauben machen sollen, Kidden schliefe im Pyjama? Das würde zwar so überhaupt nicht zu ihr passen, aber das ein oder andere empfindsame Gemüt ruhiger schlafen lassen.
Mancher war auch überrascht, dass X-23 ständig in Fishnet-Stockings und mit Corsage dargestellt wird. Aber WANNABE thematisiert die Außenseiterrolle der jungen Mutanten, die eben keine Zuflucht in Xaviers Mutatenschule finden, sondern sich durchs Leben schlagen müssen. Das ist, wie die in dem Buch geschilderten Lebensläufe der Mädchen zeigen, nicht immer einfach, und X-23 verbringt einen Teil ihrer Jugend auf dem Strich, eben in jener beanstandeten Berufsbekleidung. Sweater und Jeans wären eine Konzession an die Prüderie gewiesen, hätten aber wiederum nicht zu einer glaubwürdigen Darstellung beigetragen.
Dient WANNABE Lesern als Vorlage für Tätigkeiten, die aus Gründen des Anstandes nicht beim Namen zu nennen sind? Das müssten arme Individuen sein, ich glaube / hoffe nicht. Macht WANNABE aus den Lesern Pädophile oder Päderasten? Diese Frage kann nicht ernst gemeint sein. Anders gefragt: würden sich Pädophile genau dieses Comic aussuchen, um ihre Gelüste zu befriedigen? Sorry, aber da ist jede dritte Werbeanzeige ergiebiger.
In einer Gesellschaft zu leben, in der Rock´n´Roll-Texte, Filme oder Comics einer scharfen Zensur unterliegen, würde ich mir nicht wünschen. Und WANNABE überschreitet keine Grenze, die zu überschreiten moralisch, geschweige den strafrechtlich, zu beanstanden wäre. Die Sorgen, die ich mir um das Wohlergehen meiner Kinder mache, sind andere, aber das gehört hier nicht hin.
Meine Bewertung: WANNABE ist ein genauso gut gezeichneter wie erzählter und spannender Comic, der gerade indem er die Schwierigkeiten und Leiden der jungen Mutantinnen schildert, sehr lesenswert ist.
Wer gerne Begriffe wie EXPLOITATION in den Mund nimmt, möge sich ein x-beliebiges Cover der X-Men oder der Avengers anschauen (oder eines anderen Magazins mit weiblichen Protagonistinnen). Wie sehen die Kostüme der Superheldinnen aus? Ein gewisses Mass an Exploitation ist genre-immanent, egal, wie man dazu steht. Die männlichen Superhelden sind ja auch alle gut gebaut und zeigen das gerne her. Interessant wäre die Frage, wie groß die Akzeptanz in der Comicgemeinde für einen Zeichner wäre, der mäßig aussehende Durchschnittstypen zu seinen Helden macht. Im Indie-Bereich vorstellbar, bei Marvel oder DC wohl eher nicht.

[Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very meh. Not sure what to think honestly. It was a breezy read, and fun at times. The art looked great for the most part, especially the coloring for the first 4 issues. The street slang ranged from accurate to cringey. The characters had bits of relatability, but that was quickly discarded in favor of forcing the story into what Quesada wanted it to be, to the point where the characters become utterly unbelievable. Their powers, while cool, aren't explored at all. There were bits and pieces of okay writing here and there, but for the most part it was just meh. The plot also suffered from a deus ex machina guiding the characters to where they needed to be for the plot, which really took away from any adversity the characters faced.

One thing that really irked me were the creepy scenes of these underage characters in nearly no clothes and in suggestive poses. I could understand it if these scenes were used to reinforce specific themes, like the depravity of the pimp who serves as the main antagonist, but most of these scenes were voyeuristic and self-indulgent, as if Quesada or the artists just really wanted an excuse to draw suggestive panels of Laura and Kiden. And this is coming from someone who mildly enjoys fanservice in anime and manga. The difference is that the latter plays it straight, while NYX just felt like thinly-veiled wish fulfillment on the creators' part.

If you're reading this for X-23's first comics appearance, you are safe to skip it. Here's all you need to know (spoilers, obviously): she was working as a prostitute for a pimp, she doesn't utter a word the whole time, and she kills some bad guys at the end. It's unclear whether or not she was undercover or was being taken advantage of. Wasn't ever explained.

I'd give this a 4/10. I did enjoy it somewhat, mostly since the art looked pretty good and it included some themes not seen in any other non-Max Marvel book. The problem is that it fell absolutely flat on that front due to Quesada's self-indulgence. For a book that aims to be for mature readers, this felt anything but.

I will give the second mini-series a shot, since it's written by Marjorie Liu and I do see some potential in these characters and themes under a better writer.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

NYX is such a totally weird book. I remember when it was coming out in singles it sort of looked too cool for me to even buy -- like X-Men meets Larry Clark's Kids, or something?

Anyway, after reading it I feel like I wasn't too far off. Not because it is indeed "too cool," (it isn't) but because it's tonally confusing and sort of voyeuristic in its depiction of a group of teen mutant runaways (both of which are very Kids). But the book unintentionally raises some weird narrative questions about the X-verse, namely: how does Charles Xavier decide who's invited to the X-Mansion? I mean, these kids are prime candidates. They're troubled and unsupervised and possessed with some omega-level reality-altering powers. Plus they're living in New York City, the heart of superheroville, but there's no sign of any aspect of the Marvel Universe to be found anywhere.

I'm curious about what the series' long game originally was. I've always thought of NYX as a miniseries, and the story does wrap up (sort of) after seven issues, but most of the entire series is spent on long introductions for each new teen mutant, without really explaining how it all ties together and makes a story. It feels like a first volume for a longer series that ends up calling itself a miniseries for no real reason.

The art for the book is gorgeous, but there's something a little skeezy about all the teenage girl fetishism (Kids, again), and I'm not actually sure if this book is about something specific, or just trying to vibe on aesthetics. I mean, I don't know. It's fine. It's technically X-Men-ish despite not being X-Men at all.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much darker take on marvel's mythos.

Well written, despite a couple of too-easy plot points. Good characterization and mood throughout. Dialogue is sharp...

Art is unbelievable. Just gorgeous and the only complaint I have is a couple of unnecessary fan service up skirt shots.

I haven't yet gotten around to reading many current x-books, but I really hope that the character of kiden appears elsewhere. She is definitely the star here and steals the show. What a great character.

Reread in 2017 as part of my x-read. Still loved this one. Really a few notches above anything else at the time.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty damn good, I was assuming it would be bad for some reason. It was a surprisingly dark tale of mutant kids growing up in bad circumstances. I really enjoyed the protagonist not always making the best decision /being a stupid teenager sometimes. The occasional weird crotch view perspective was jarring and kind of offensive otherwise I would rate this higher. There should not be such a thing in a comic about 16 year olds. I know this was produced in the era when manga had a huge influence on Marvel comics, but that is one element of manga that should not be replicated.

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big comic book reader, but I enjoyed this series. Have reading issues 3, 4 and 5 roughly four/five years ago, I was unable to pick up the rest of the issues until the other day when I bought the hardback collection. It's hard to follow in some places, but after a couple of readings, the storyline makes sense. The cover art is absolutely gorgeous. This series also started my love for the character X-23. I do wish Kiden would appear in other series, too.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a frustrating book; it had good writing and good art (especially the first four with Middleton's art), and it set up the potential for a terrific story but didn't really ever get around to telling much of it. It left more loose threads than Tom Baker's scarf in a room full of Cybercats. I enjoyed reading it but wanted some resolution.

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a lame story. I was really just here because it was X-23's first appearance in the comic verse.

What I got was an unnecessary amount of teenage upskirt shots. Serious pedophile moments.

I don't really know what was the point. It was a story with new characters that went nowhere.

[Bobsome · Rating 2 out of 5]

Edgey tripe poorly written with bad, gross, and borderline pedophillic art.

[Stan G ☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

An *actively* miserable reading experience. I checked this out to read the first appearance of Laura Kinney (aka Wolverine/X-23), and wow I wish I hadn’t.

Creepy, gross depiction of minors (wtf Marvel?). A plot that goes nowhere. Characters that say and do things that defy logic. Plot holes galore. Avoid avoid avoid.

[Selin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gördüğüm en iyi renklendirme paletine sahip çizgi romandı. Konusu da x-men ve tabii ki kadın kahramanlar zaten okunası benim için.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Not the best introduction to X-23/Laura. I'm wondering what the next run will focus on, but overall this one was lackluster.

[Richard Stephens · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not love it

[João Pedro Vale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kiden is not a interesting character and the art doesnt convey the emotion the story needs. There's so much better comic books with similar stories

[Caitlyn Dill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most forms of art, comics are often a direct reflection of their time. This can be said of NYX, but not in a good way. When I say that this is a reflection of its time, I mean that it is a lolling, unclear romp through the cultural wasteland which was the early 2000s.
The concept: a group of teen mutants, unreached by the helping hands of Professor X, surviving in the "chew 'em up, spit 'em out" streets of NYC. That really isn't the problem here. The potential for relevant discourse on legitimate issues is high. BUT when these huge cultural issues are brought up, they are handled tactlessly and seem more like a grab for edginess rather than a thoughtful discussion. We see teen drug abuse, domestic abuse, gang violence, suicide, self-harm, and child prostitution thrown into these comics haphazardly in an attempt to make the story seem relevant and "cool". However, because they are never properly addressed, or even addressed at all in some cases, it leaves the reader reeling. What does the writer think of these things? Are they as morally neutral as he is portraying them? What do the characters think of them? Who knows!?
The story line itself seems to be a mottled mix of concepts mashed together so that there is an excuse to introduce the desired characters. Fan favorite X-23 is introduced in this series but gets, in my opinion, little of the focus her complex character deserves. The other characters which are brought in have some interesting aspects but for the most part have very little bang for their buck. Each character feels like they have been given about 60% of the focus they deserved.
I don't know how to reconcile this collection of comics with the tactful, heartbreaking, brutal origin comics of X-23, or her later stand-alone series either. The other characters introduced here, Kiden, Tatiana, Bobby, and Li'l Bro, have some intriguing qualities. Their powers are interesting and complicated and their lives are twisty and complicated as well. But I found myself having a hard time connecting with them because they are introduced suddenly and only explored partially.
To be honest, I am not sure how to end this review. I had very little interest in continuing onto the second volume of this title and moved on to bigger and better things. I'm sorry, 2003 but I cannot come to terms with you or the comics you produced. And, in case you were going to ask, it's not me, it's you.

[Adam Bogert · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, to be fair, I'd much rather give this a 3.5, but in light of other reviews of mine I just couldn't quite go all the way to the 4. The hover-over description Goodreads provides for 3 stars is "I liked it," and I think that's fitting.

I suppose many people are like me when it comes to NYX: picking it up because of X-23. I won't say you'll be disappointed, but it's worth noting that she doesn't play the hugest role in the majority of the book. Well, not personally, anyway (though I suppose without her you'd be missing the driving force of the second half).

This is more a book about Kiden Nixon, a girl who can't seem to catch a break. It's also a book about people living in a bad place, which is in stark contrast with typical comic book fare. I can't say for sure whether this depiction of urban depravity is true-to-life or stereotypical, but it has a feel of real to it, and that dark, almost (but NOT) hopeless tone pervades the whole volume.

If you're tired of the spoiled rich kids yucking it up in Westchester, then this gritty look at mutants without the benefit of love or acceptance may be right up your alley. Coupled with some ever-relevant commentary on tolerance and change, this may not be the best Marvel book you pick up, but it's certainly one of the more memorable ones.