New Mutants Classic Vol. 3

The New Mutants Classic

by Chris Claremont, Bill Sienkiewicz (Illustrator), Bob McLeod (Illustrator)

Collects New Mutants #18-25 and Annual #1.

The New Mutants face a demon menace and befriend an alien misfit! A rock concert pulls them into the orbit of a multi-galaxy music star, then the team, with Cloak and Dagger, is drawn into a deadly exchange program...of super-powers! Plus: Hellfire Club intrigue and early steps on the path of reformation by Magneto! Action, romance, family reunions and a fairy tale! Anything else? Oh, right, guest-starring the X-Men!

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

245 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2008

About the author

Chris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.

Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.

Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featuring the supreme art of Bill Sienkiewicz with the truly classic 'The New Mutants: The Demon Bear Saga' tale - and the debuts of Warlock, (teenage) Magik & Doug Ramsay. Bill Sienkiewicz's sketching and inks, and Chris Claremont's art assisted storytelling almost reinvents comic book story telling. You had to apply effort to really read and grasp each issue, you couldn't skim read these books, as every panel told a story! 8 out of 12. This volume collects The New Mutants #18 to #25 & Annual #1. Seriously look:

And he even reworked the figure boxes in the top left hand corners!!!

One of my favourite Marvel covers of all-time!

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

At last, Bill Sienkiewicz becomes the mainstay illustrator of New Mutants and it becomes a great must-read title.

It's still overly wordy in that Claremont way, and Sienkiewicz's art is so complex that it gets hard to follow the storytelling at times. But it still stands out so much, and was so different than anything else out at the time, that this run has earned its legendary status. There is the haunting Demon Bear storyline, and then the introduction of the profoundly weird Warlock techno-organic character joining the New Mutants who could not have been designed by anyone else.

This was the peak of the New Mutants, in my humble opinion.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far this volume is the best early run of New Mutant books in large part because of artist Bill Sienkiewicz. His collaboration with Chris Claremont elevates this comic from the average start it had to something more intriguing and Claremont’s writing while still a bit heavy handed responds with a depth of character and storytelling missing from some of the earlier stories.

The book is worth it for the Demon Bear saga alone. This is high comic book art! I love the exploration of Dani Moonstar’s character and it isn’t situated in a typical fight with mega bad guys, but a mystical demon bear that represents primal fears.

As a side note, I do wish that Sienkiewicz had left the feather out of Moonstar’s hair, it feels like a stereotypical flattening of this otherwise powerful Cheyenne character that has depth and heart.

The stories beyond the Demon Bear saga are less engrossing to this reader, but Sienkiewicz’s art is still fresh and exciting even 30 years later. In addition, the story related to Cloak and Dagger and their powers being given to Sunspot and Wolfsbane temporarily has some intriguing elements related to exploration of dark/ light dichotomies and facing fears, it ultimately feels half baked without any clear reason for any of the random things that happen in that story.

Over all a fun read with stellar artwork.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the first 17 issues (and a graphic novel) this series was a good, solid and reliable read every month. There certainly was nothing wrong with the series, but there also wasn't anything that made it stand out. And then came Bill Sienkiewicz and things were never the same. I first discovered this guy while he was working on Moon Knight with Doug Moench, which just kept getting better and better with every issue. I hadn't been particularly fond of the Moench/Sienkiewicz run on the Fantastic Four, but that had more to do with the stories and characterizations than the art by itself. But the New Mutants by Claremont/Sienkiewicz absolutely blew me away with the very first issue, included in this collection. Coupling Claremont's soap opera storytelling style with Sienkiewicz's surreal, avant garde art was a stroke of genius. Claremont grounded Sienkiewicz and Sienkiewicz pushed Claremont out of his shell of complacency that the success of the X-Men under his pen had stuck him in. The Demon Bear arc inaugurates what would become the very best run of the New Mutants. But also included is sort of a Rahne version of the classic Kitty's Fairy Tale, from the pages of Uncanny X-Men, which leads into a team-up between the team and Cloak & Dagger, with guest appearances by Nightcrawler, Colossus and Rogue, and then there's the added bonus of the first appearance of Lila Cheney. Lots of wonderful mutant fueled adventure and teenage shenanigans fill these pages. Oh, and I didn't even mention Slumber Party which introduces the alien Warlock. Wait, now I have. It almost seems like this volume has something for every kind of fan.

[Bonnie G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a masterpiece.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's astonishing how much Bill Sienkiewicz elevates the New Mutants and defines their identity when he comes on as artist. Sure, the writing's still the same, but his expressionist, sharp, explosive artwork gives all these characters a dimension of angst and confusion that is a beauty to behold. Simply one of the best to ever do it.

[ShamNoop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Sienkiewicz please marry me

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great stories and classic comic art. I really enjoyed the Demon Bear Saga. It was one of the most exciting and unique stories that I've read in a long time.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Sienkiewicz was on another level! He predicted the Vertigo house style and it rules. The demon bear stuff is super cool and I like how weird Warlock looks. A great time at the comics.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooh, now things are getting crazy. I can't decide if the writing changed to meet the weird art, or if the art is so powerful that it makes everything else seems weird. Whatever it is, it's working.

I guest hosted the New Mutants ep of Previously on X-Men. Find it here: https://previously-on-x-men.libsyn.co...

[Sam Poole · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Demon Bear Saga" is as good as "Dark Phoenix Saga". This is honestly one of the best, most visceral pieces of comics I've ever read. Bill Sinkiewiecz's art is jarring and expressive yet fits the mood of the stories within perfectly. Claremont has finally found his stride with these characters- they feel and act like real teenagers, with petty drama, insecurities and moments of boisterous joyfulness that stand as some of his best characterization ever. The final story in the volume is a crossover with Cloak & Dagger, a fascinating duo in their own right,

The New Mutants shine when the fantastic & cosmic feel like externalized teen angst. So far, this has been a mixed bag in the series. Demon Bear is the first time where all of the pieces coalesce. Regardless of its supernatural context, this is really what growing up feels like. When the environment mirrors their struggles, the tone of the dialogue and Sinkiewiecz's art form a tapestry that is near-unmatched in the X-Men canon.

Dani Moonstar is a compelling figure in these stories because while she ostensibly mirrors Scott Summers (down to the hazy trauma surrounding the death of her parents), her method of leadership is decisively different from Scott's. Dani is neither a megaphone for Professor X nor an obstinate capital L Leader. She, Kitty and Sam are the protagonists, by virtue of being the oldest, and are required to show the most maturity and personal growth. Growing up is hard as hell, and having to grow up fast is especially hard. We see the pain and pure joy in these characters. You may not think abstract, free flowing art wouldn't work with a teen superhero drama, but here it is undeniable. This is an incredible volume that feels like the very beginning of Claremont hitting his stride with these characters.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best volume yet in the New Mutants run, and that's largely due to the awesome, experimental art by Bill Sienkiewicz. Heavy inks and thickly scrawled lines intensify everything from the "Demon Bear" stalking these young mutants to Warlock, the alien shapeshifter who's just landed from the stars. Sienkiewcz's art here is rightfully lauded as classic, and it's definitely worth checking out the collection on its merits alone.

The storylines are pretty solid too, although the sequencing is a bit fragmented, making me feel like I missed developments between issues. The team hops dimensions to face down the mystical Demon Bear that killed Dani Moonstar's parents, welcomes an alien into its midst and hosts a slumber party with kids from a local high school, in what was probably my favorite story in the arc.

It closes with a spin-off of an old Cloak and Dagger storyline that has its roots in an issue of Marvel Team-Up I hadn't read, and I frankly didn't care about the issues that had team members Sunspot and Wolfsbane fighting to stave off the powers that had overtaken them. (Indeed, I had deja vu back to the meaningless motorcycle-riding Team America dudes who'd disrupted earlier issues.) There's also a bananas Annual issue where Cannonball starts dating a dimension-hopping rock star who tries to steal the entire Earth just to show that she can. Hey, why not go big?

The art throughout is great, though, and writer Chris Claremont is doing a good job exploring the kids' personalities, even if the plotting wavers sometimes. Worth checking out for the art alone--and especially if you're an X-men fan.

Read digital issues

[Carl Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sienkiewicz! That's really all you gotta say. Maybe it's just me but I like the mix of "traditional" comics writing and more "out there" comics art, sometimes more than a fully "out there" combination, I guess.

Be warned that by this point in the run of New Mutants, Clarmeont is starting to interweave plots between here and parent title Uncanny X-Men, so you will notice that occasional threads come out of nowhere, or don't really go anywhere. There's also a ton of reference to the Cloak and Dagger miniseries and in particular an annual issue of Marvel Team-Up that probably should've been included in the damn collection, considering how critical it is to the last story! (As it is, I still need to hunt it down somewhere) But in some cases that is just because Claremont is always juggling too many subplots! Overall this collection can be enjoyed on its own for the most part, and the art, yeah it's pretty great.

[Kelly McCubbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is hard to deny the impact of this run. The combination of Claremont and Sienkievich seemed to bring out the best in both artists and a book that was a solid character plotter suddenly jacked into 5th gear and began to try to completely deconstruct and reinvent comics as a form.
It doesn't always succeed, but the sheer willingness to try everything is exhilarating in a way that comics rarely were in that period.

[Lulu (the library leopard)]

X-Men fans might kill me for this but uh…the Demon Bear Saga was underwhelming. Dani didn't even get to kill it! And there was that weird unnecessary racism of white people getting turned into Native Americans???

The art for this volume was good, though!

[Michael Emond · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the first 3 volumes of the Classic New Mutants I am reminded why I never read it the first time around when it was originally printed. This is a team that lacks any likeable or well developed personalities. The stories are confusing or blah and the personal interactions between teammates seem to change from comic to comic. You have Mirage - who could be interesting but isn't developed. You have Wolfsbane who is painful to see - her main trait seems to be she hates anything that doesn't conform with the Church so she hates a lot of her fellow members. You have Magma a new member who has never been exposed to modern society but that is never even explored - and her lack of controlling her powers seems forgotten. You have Cannonball whose has a weird S and M story (Chris Claremont really has a kink about S&M) and whose main trait seems to be "I can't turn when I fly!" You have Sunspot who really doesn't have much of a personality other than hitting on women or having a fiery temper. And you have Magik - who is the most interesting new member but her powers are not really defined.
The thing that saves this from a 2 star review is Bill Sienkiewicz takes up the art chores and adds at least some interesting visuals to the comic. He was experimenting and transitioning from drawing like Neal Adams to his really distinctive but odd angular style. At times it is beautiful and every panel is a work of art. It doesn't always work and sometimes looks like a 5 year old with a temper tantrum BUT at the very least it was visually interesting - unlike the bland art that came before him.
We have the introduction of Warlock a circuit being from another world. We have the Demon Bear Saga where Mirage is fighting for her life on the operating table while her teammates fight for her soul in a magic realm against a demon bear. We have a weird one shot Wolfsbane fairy tale that goes nowhere. And we have a Cloak and Dagger crossover which is okay.
The intro of Warlock points out two things - here is a character only Bill Sienkiewicz could draw and here is a character who is introduced and immediately pushed to the side. There should be a story developed with him immediately - who is he? How does he adjust to being on this world? What are his powers? But no...that is for an issue 10 comics from now. I don't mind Chris thinking long term but he often does it by sacrificing narrative drive and logic. Another example is Professor X's kid was revealed many, many issues ago (if you were collecting the issues at the time it would have been a year) and it won't be until the next volume we see where that story goes.
Overall, reading these volumes reminds me why I will NOT be buying the New Mutant Omnibus that comes out later this year. They were NOT good stories and this team had no interesting characters on it and even Bill Sienkiewicz's art can't fully save them.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The initial storyline in this collection, The Demon Bear Saga, is one of the best New Mutants stories. Much of this is the arrival of Bill Sienkiewicz as artist. Through a 2024 lens, his artwork is odd, anatomically jarring, a little sharp angled, and with a bit of a DC Vertigo or mid-90s MTV cartoon edge. But when it debuted in the 80s it was revelatory. I imagine traditionalists hated it but as a kid, I wanted more.

It does help that his first story is when the series pivoted from The Next Young Group Of Mutants Tries To Find Their Way In The World to a collection of stories that explore the effect of trauma on minority youth.

There is a noticeable dip in quality of story (but not art) as we transition to the arrival of Warlock, and then the fallout of a Cloak and Dagger story. The stories are fine, and do an admirable job of pushing the characters in new directions but they feel scattered after the focused and brilliant Demon Bear Saga.

Even if you're not a New Mutants fan, I would recommend reading the updated version of this collection: New Mutants Epic Collection, Vol. 2: The Demon Bear Saga, as it also includes the first Legion story, which is probably the second best ever New Mutants story.

[Devero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Con questo volume si documenta il cambio di rotta artistico sulla serie.
L'arrivo di Bill Sienkiewicz porta la serie da ottima ad imperdibile. Ancora oggi il suo stile tendente all'astratto è d'impatto, anche se non sempre di facile lettura in alcune tavole. Le storie di Claremont restano ottime, portando avanti sottotrame che s'intersecano con le storie degli X-Men e continuando ad esplorare ed evolvere le relazioni tra i protagonisti.
Tra le storie abbiamo la Saga del Demone Orso, che costerà quasi la vita a Danielle Moonstar ed in cui vengono introdotti i personaggi di supporto di Tom Corsi e Sharon Friedlander. Tra le sottotrame vediamo la fuga di Warlock, l'alieno tecnorganico, dal Magus, suo genitore; vediamo il nascere del rapporto tra Aleytis Forrester e Magneto sull'isola nel triangolo delle Bermuda.
Poi c'è quel piccolo capolavoro di Pigiama Party, con l'arrivo sulla Terra di Warlock, seguito dal primo annual della testata, con l'apparizione di Lyla Chaney. Si termina con la lunga storia che approfondisce le ripercussioni dell'avventura letta su Marvel Team-Up, quando Rhane e Roberto finirono a fare le cavie involontarie per la droga che diede a Cloack & Dagger i loro poteri.
A volte Sienkiewicz è perfino stucchevole con la sua arte.
5 stelle.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 5 out of 5]

La dupla Claremont-Sienkiewicz desde luego insufló de nueva y particular vida al grupo de benjamines mutantes que renovaron algo la franquicia tras ya unas buenas décadas de desarrollar a las primeras promociones de la Escuela Xavier. El poderío visual de Sienkiewicz potenciaron en exceso los guiones de Claremont que entraban en derivas más malrolleras, en sintonía con conocidas sagas de terror de la época (totalmente comprensible la relevancia de la saga del Oso Demoníaco que ha llegado a adaptarse al cine) y de la pura efervescencia de estos jóvenes personajes. Mostrando inquietudes y deseos algo más reconocibles que el de sus maduras contrapartes de la Patrulla-X. La cabecera ya llevaba una buena andadura con un estilo más clásico y comercial (se puede ver en el capítulo Anual que puede sentirse como nota discordante gráfica en el recopilatorio), pero con Sienkiwicz y su atípico aporte al comic book, los Nuevos Mutantes se convierten en recomendable lectura de la Marvel Cómics ochentera.

Con ganas de seguir con la lectura y conocer el origen comiquero de David Heller (aka LEGION).

[Kris Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Claremont is one of my all-time favorite writers, except when he gets overly wordy. There are times, like towards the end of this book, where he over explains and over analyzes everything. There is a careful balance that I like, between having a lot of narrative and dialogue vs. modern day decompression. Too much, and the story becomes bogged down. Too little *coughBendiscough* and you have what amounts to little more than a picture book.

Bill Sienkewicz's art leaves me cold, being too scratchy and unfocused. His early stuff of the Moon Knight back-up stories in Rampaging Hulk was brilliant. Hell, his early '80s Moon Knight stuff was brilliant! Maybe his latter-day scratchy style seems better suited to the crime/noir aspect of Moon Knight, or maybe it just looked better when it was printed in black and white in Essential Moon Knight Vol. 2 than it does here in color. He just got overly artsy for my tastes. I prefer photo realism, Ala Neal Adams, John Byrne and Gene Colan. Bob McLeod, the series' original penciler, returns for the annual, and provides a sharp contrast with his smooth, refined artwork. I bought issue 23 off of the stands when it came out.

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reliving my youth again. Collects The New Mutants #18-24 and Annual #1 (August 1984-March 1985).

Never found Chris Claremont's writing quite as compelling on The New Mutants, but one thing I did find fascinating about the early New Mutants issues as a kid was Bill Sienkiewicz's artwork. It is just gorgeous. I'm still surprised they got away with this in a mainstream superhero comic of the time. A really beautiful book overall. The introduction of the character Warlock is perfect for Sienkiewicz's style.

[Matt Aukamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughts:

Sienkiewicz's art slaps
Demon Bear saga rules, even if the end is weirdly racist
Slumber Party/Warlock issue is dope as hell
Lila Cheney is a rad character, even if her introduction issue is pretty dull
Punk Sam is hilarious
Why introduce Magma if he had nothing to do with her and no grasp on her personality?
Cloak/Dagger Sunspot/Wolfsbane arc was pretty forgettable
Nightcrawler training Sam is some top tier sequential art
Claremont's over-narrating is getting very tiresome, 3 volumes in.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Mutants Classic Vol. 3 falls into the same writing pitfalls as previous volumes, but one thing elevates it above everything that came before: the art of Bill Sienkiewicz. Sienkiewicz's drawing and design presented a creative dynamism unseen in comics at the time, allowing New Mutants to transcend most other Marvel titles at the time. Sienkiewicz's tenure represents the golden age of this title.

[André Habet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really dug this book, the first of this team I’ve encountered. Definitely dated in its racist depiction of First Nations people, which include two white folks experiencing a ‘monstrous’ transformation into brown faced versions of themselves, and Sam aka Cannonball repeatedly referring to Dani as ‘chief’.

[Jase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Demon Bear is the best part of this collection. Bill has some in depth "cool" art sucking you in to an abnormal spirit fight. Kudos to Claremont for the imaginative display. Selene has made her way to the Hellfire Club and has Roberto's father to join also. Boring story with Cloak and Dagger but the art is splendid.

[Paula G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

nunca nada mejor que esto la verdad, podríamos cerrar los tebeos aquí

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic artwork; it really stands out. There were some good stories here, some that were just okay. Kinda weird how quickly the team accepted Warlock.

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art really added as lot to this part of the series. It’s definitely different, and I remember it had to grow on me.

Not a fan of warlock :(

[José Márquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

El arco del Demon Bear es lo mejor de este volumen. Los dibujos de Sienkiewicz son algo excepcional.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

why don't they make comic books like this any more