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Generation X (2017) (Collected Editions)
Generation X, Vol. 1: Natural Selection
The Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach has opened its doors, and is ready to foster the next generation of heroes and diplomats! But this time around, the X-Men recognize an unfortunate truth: not all mutants are created equal. Some mutants are just not made to fight Sentinels or serve as ambassadors on behalf of their kind. Some mutants will be lucky just to survive another day in a world that hates and fears them. These are the students who should be kept out of harm's way when the Purifiers target the campus! And who better to mentor mutantkind's lovable losers through life out of the limelight...than perpetual sidekick Jubilee! But will her Generation X survive the experience?!
COLLECTING: GENERATION X 1-6
COLLECTING: GENERATION X 1-6
155 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 2017
12 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Christina Strain
109 books16 followersChristina Strain (born April 27, 1981) is an American comic book colorist, writer and screenwriter. Strain formerly worked for Marvel Comics as a colorist before pursuing a career as a writer. Strain's notable works include; the award-winning Marvel series Runaways, Marvel's Generation-X, the Syfy TV show, The Magicians, and the Netflix series Shadow and Bone.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
September 24, 2019
I have fairly fond memories of the original “90’s Generation X title – Emma Frost has a group of wacky Gen-X teens that she mentors through the perils of mutant superhero-teen-aged-hood. It was a slight, but fun, book which I enjoyed reading back in the day.
So thanks, Marvel for kicking those memories in the proverbial nutsack!
This!! This is horrid. For phony continuity and such, Marvel brings back an original Gen-Xer to lead the group – Jubilee, with her kid in tow. Chamber, the dude with the toxic dump where his mouth is supposed to be, is here too. They even fight an old GenXer foe/friend.
The group of GenXers – there’s Antler Head Girl, Copy That Boy, Eyeball Lad, Stone Lass, Kid Séance ( Are these the actual names? No, because I don’t care!) and my least favorite mutant ever (okay, there’s Gambit) Quentin Quire, the most obnoxious character ever created. I’d say kill him off, but Marvel would find some sort of jerk-ass way of bringing him back.
It has that same insufferable featherweight “youthful” tone that I can’t quite put my finger on, but like Chief Justice’s Potter Stewart’s summation of pornography – “I know it when I see it”.
Bottom Line: What’s next? Heroes Reborn reborn?
P.S. - The art is wretched.
So thanks, Marvel for kicking those memories in the proverbial nutsack!
This!! This is horrid. For phony continuity and such, Marvel brings back an original Gen-Xer to lead the group – Jubilee, with her kid in tow. Chamber, the dude with the toxic dump where his mouth is supposed to be, is here too. They even fight an old GenXer foe/friend.
The group of GenXers – there’s Antler Head Girl, Copy That Boy, Eyeball Lad, Stone Lass, Kid Séance ( Are these the actual names? No, because I don’t care!) and my least favorite mutant ever (okay, there’s Gambit) Quentin Quire, the most obnoxious character ever created. I’d say kill him off, but Marvel would find some sort of jerk-ass way of bringing him back.
It has that same insufferable featherweight “youthful” tone that I can’t quite put my finger on, but like Chief Justice’s Potter Stewart’s summation of pornography – “I know it when I see it”.
Bottom Line: What’s next? Heroes Reborn reborn?
P.S. - The art is wretched.
March 18, 2018
It took me a little while to get over a mild sense of disappointment that the original Generation X crew weren't the stars of this new Gen X book but once I'd adjusted to the fact that this was Generation X in name only I found myself really enjoying it.
I'm looking forward to volume 2, where I'm hoping the dangling plot threads from this book will be resolved.
I'm looking forward to volume 2, where I'm hoping the dangling plot threads from this book will be resolved.
August 13, 2022
Teenage mutant shenanigans with a hint of tired adult mutant antics. This series is quite reminiscent to X-Men: Evolution, with a focus on the younger, school-aged mutants navigating life as a student, a teenager, and part-time heroes depending on the day. The new crowd will never be as iconic as the OGs, however, they do have an interesting dynamic, and there are some standout members. It's fun, it's quirky, but it's not very memorable or special.
April 5, 2018
A continuation of Wolverine and the X-Men without the fun. The title could have also used those banners Matt Fraction used to use to identify all the characters. The opening story has a lot of X-Men in it. Amilcar Pinna's art is not good. He needs to learn how to use perspective on people's faces, especially when their heads are partially turned.
Look at the size of that forehead!
Look at the size of that forehead!
July 28, 2019
This was okay. It's actually a fun idea to focus on the kids/teens in the X-Men family. However, none of it is very interesting behind some fun moments. Not awful but just okay. Like most X-Men stuff after Bendis.
February 5, 2019
Introducing the 'remedial' young X-Men as well as Quentin Quire, there's Bling! (now that doesn't make sense), Hindsight Nature Girl and Morph(!). Taking the Generation X name and just slapping it on this series is a bit grimy. Jubilee and Chamber do co-star though. It's the bottom rung team in the dying X-book franchise. Man o man. 5 out of 12.
November 13, 2017
The X-Men have been missing a good comic about the school for three years now, since Wolverine and the X-Men fizzled out after Aaron's departure. This one is finally a worthy replacement (though on a smaller scale, focusing on just one of the groups of students at the newest school).
The heart of the comic is wonderful characterization. We get some old favorites, like many of the survivors from the original Generation X, Quintin Quire from the Morrison run, and a few others from more recent runs, plus a few originals. They're not necessarily the characters I wanted to see in a new Young X-Men book, but I quickly came to like them. At just one or two issues long each, the various stories within this volume do a great job of spotlighting them, telling us who they are, and (already) giving them a chance to grow. (Though I have some qualms with Quintin's story, which seems to ignore his graduation.)
I felt like the run had really hit its stride by the final issue. It's got an unfortunate cliffhanger that makes me think that it should have been pushed off into the next volume, but maybe it was included just to show how strong the characterization and interactions would be by the end.
Sadly, this newest reboot of the X-Men line has been as mediocre as all the reboots since Secret Wars ... but Generation X is the one standout I've seen among the group titles (joining the standouts from the previous run: Wolverine and Old Man Logan, which survived into All-All-All-New or whatever it's called).
The heart of the comic is wonderful characterization. We get some old favorites, like many of the survivors from the original Generation X, Quintin Quire from the Morrison run, and a few others from more recent runs, plus a few originals. They're not necessarily the characters I wanted to see in a new Young X-Men book, but I quickly came to like them. At just one or two issues long each, the various stories within this volume do a great job of spotlighting them, telling us who they are, and (already) giving them a chance to grow. (Though I have some qualms with Quintin's story, which seems to ignore his graduation.)
I felt like the run had really hit its stride by the final issue. It's got an unfortunate cliffhanger that makes me think that it should have been pushed off into the next volume, but maybe it was included just to show how strong the characterization and interactions would be by the end.
Sadly, this newest reboot of the X-Men line has been as mediocre as all the reboots since Secret Wars ... but Generation X is the one standout I've seen among the group titles (joining the standouts from the previous run: Wolverine and Old Man Logan, which survived into All-All-All-New or whatever it's called).
September 7, 2017
I was hesitant about liking this series because I'm not a huge fan of any of the characters chosen for the main cast, but it's actually super fun! While I wish we could have included other characters like Dust, Hellion, and Elixir, these other kids have grown on me! Quentin is fun, Benjamin is super cute, and I ship them super hard! All the other characters are fun too! Silly powers, for the most part, but their interactions are what makes this series work! 5/5 stars! I can't wait to see where this goes! And maybe it'll show that there's a market for other young X-Men stories!
January 11, 2018
A really fun throwback to the days of Claremont, and Lobdell's better work.
Strain tosses in lots of little info drops so you don't need to have followed years of convoluted X-history to know what's up. Several times I'd read a reference to a character or event and go "Ugh, now I'm gonna have to look that up" and somewhere on the same page, Strain would get you up to speed in matter of two word balloons.
Short, character-driven story arcs, are the rule here and there's plenty of time for the teens to do teen stuff, not just jump from one battle to the next. All in all a great title for teen readers and lapsed fans alike.
Strain tosses in lots of little info drops so you don't need to have followed years of convoluted X-history to know what's up. Several times I'd read a reference to a character or event and go "Ugh, now I'm gonna have to look that up" and somewhere on the same page, Strain would get you up to speed in matter of two word balloons.
Short, character-driven story arcs, are the rule here and there's plenty of time for the teens to do teen stuff, not just jump from one battle to the next. All in all a great title for teen readers and lapsed fans alike.
December 21, 2017
This is a lot of fun, and a surprisingly thoughtful book. It feels inherently X-Men, and focuses on C-list characters, deserving of some spotlight. The art isn't consistently great, but there are high points, and it's never downright offensive. Christina Strain is writing a solid comic here, with reverence to the old Generation X books. Everything feels warm, and just lighthearted enough to not actually detract from a set of genuinely powerful character moments. This is one of my favorite X-books in a while, I'll be sticking around to see where it goes.
December 12, 2017
Just didn't like anything about this one. Pinna's art is no better than it was on All-New Ultimates. Characters look like they have lazy eyes or are cross eyed when they really aren't supposed to, for example.
May 1, 2018
Nevím zda za to může moje slabost pro příběhy o mladistvých na univerzitě, ale takhle se má dělat super-hrdinský komiks.Akce je tu málo a většinou se to soustředí na hlavní hrdiny a jejich osobní problémy či strasti. Dialogy spolu s charaktery jsou dobře napsány a hluchých míst je minimum.
Někomu ale zase může vadit že příběh není celistvý, ale spíše se jedná o takové jednotlivé epizody ze života hlavních hrdinů, což mě nevadilo protože díky tomu je čtenář schopný všechny pořádně poznat. Kresba na druhou stranu je lehce meh ale v pozdějších číslech se znatelně zlepší, i když kresba Alburquerqueho u mě vyhrává, škoda že nakreslil jen jedno číslo.
Pokud hledáte fajn oddychovku která ale není tupá jako X-Men: Nová Třída a která nabízí dobré charaktery, humor i nějaké zajímavé linky příběhové tak to určitě zkuste, chybu neuděláte.
Někomu ale zase může vadit že příběh není celistvý, ale spíše se jedná o takové jednotlivé epizody ze života hlavních hrdinů, což mě nevadilo protože díky tomu je čtenář schopný všechny pořádně poznat. Kresba na druhou stranu je lehce meh ale v pozdějších číslech se znatelně zlepší, i když kresba Alburquerqueho u mě vyhrává, škoda že nakreslil jen jedno číslo.
Pokud hledáte fajn oddychovku která ale není tupá jako X-Men: Nová Třída a která nabízí dobré charaktery, humor i nějaké zajímavé linky příběhové tak to určitě zkuste, chybu neuděláte.
April 15, 2018
IDK. It's not what you'd call new and exciting. Feels very much like going over old ground with a few new faces.
Also, Kitty looks less Jewish every time I see her these days.
Also, Kitty looks less Jewish every time I see her these days.
Read
May 8, 2021I like when X-Men comics are about teenagers coping with bizarre superpowers, so this was up my alley. Good cast of characters (other than Quentin Quire, who gets on my nerves).
July 6, 2018
65/100.
Buena introducción a los personajes. Conocemos a todos ellos un poquito mejor y parecen bastante interesantes.
Buena introducción a los personajes. Conocemos a todos ellos un poquito mejor y parecen bastante interesantes.
June 26, 2018
Just because you put Jubilee, Chamber an Spoiler against Spoiler in a book, doesn't turn it to Generation X.
This book feel more like a take on the "Young X-Men" short lived series than Generation X.
The plot is silly, the art is meh, I am not sorry this one got canceled
This book feel more like a take on the "Young X-Men" short lived series than Generation X.
The plot is silly, the art is meh, I am not sorry this one got canceled
December 30, 2017
If you've ever heard me go on about comics, you know that I consider the original volume of Generation X to be My Book, and woe betide the poor soul who doesn't appropriately appreciate the Lobdell/Bachalo and Ellis/Wood/Pugh runs. (The less said about the Larry Hama run, the better.) When I heard they were rebooting the series I was a little "!!!!!!!!" Lots of excitement and lots of trepidation. Obviously it wasn't going to be the same, but would they be able to recapture the spirit of of the original? Thankfully, the answer is yes. While it lacks some of the zaniness of it's predecessor so far and the plot is a bit jumpy, Strain and company are successfully able to put to paper the hopes, fears, and wtfery of being a teenage mutant who hasn't yet found where they fit into a world that hates and fears them. It's a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to the next volume.
February 23, 2018
GENERATION X #2 REVIEW:
The Pacifiers attack on The Xavier Institute is in full effect, with the school banding together to protect each other. Quinten repairs the trashed classroom, then displays a very aggressive method in dealing with The Pacifiers. Offbeat former team members make an appearance in dealing with the assault, and Jubilee gives us a taste of what kind of leader she is capable of being.
It’s very captivating see this series continue to come out swinging; issue #2 picks up right where #1 left off, throwing the reader right in to the frying pan of an unexpected battle. Broo, Chamber, Shark-Girl, Graymalkin, Gentle, and Trance all make fitting appearances, and their presence was very exciting. The vibe from #1 turns a little darker in terms of action, yet remains fun and thrilling for the reader to absorb. This helps set the tone that even though this is a team of students, the threats they face are still very real and tangible. Blending a sense of realism and fantasy with ease, #2 does awesome work in developing of every character in the team’s roster, rounding out their introductions while diving deeper in to their individual abilities and perspectives. Quinten’s whimsically aggressive nature, Bling’s protective instinct and drive, Benjamin’s capabilities, and Nathaniel’s reason to stay at the school, all open many doors for what the future of this series can be. Issue #1 pondered a sense of worry in Jubilee’s aptitude for leadership, but in moments of pressure and tension within the pages of issue #2, her clarity, critical thinking, caring nature, and proactive mentality prove her to be exactly the kind of leader this team may need.
Overall:
Strain’s writing and dialogue is virtually uncanny - she captures the voice and essence of these characters with valuable precision. Pinna’s art feels perfectly in sync and really drives home the intent of every panel. From tangible dialogue to unique design, everything about Generation X feels ON POINT! This creative team embodies the spirit of Generation X, and in turn is stepping up to show that they too are a force to be reckoned with. Presenting young misfits full of potential and facing a real threat felt very nostalgic, already making Generation X a creatively unique beacon for what the ResurrXion line is intended to mean.
9/10
I wrote this review in partnership with Columbus Comics Corner.
CCC review Tumblr Link: https://columbuscomicscorner.tumblr.c...
CCC on Twitter: /twitter.com/comicscornerpod
My personal Twitter: twitter.com/Antwonito1021
My "Daily X-Men Facts" Twitter: twitter.com/DailyXMenFacts
The Pacifiers attack on The Xavier Institute is in full effect, with the school banding together to protect each other. Quinten repairs the trashed classroom, then displays a very aggressive method in dealing with The Pacifiers. Offbeat former team members make an appearance in dealing with the assault, and Jubilee gives us a taste of what kind of leader she is capable of being.
It’s very captivating see this series continue to come out swinging; issue #2 picks up right where #1 left off, throwing the reader right in to the frying pan of an unexpected battle. Broo, Chamber, Shark-Girl, Graymalkin, Gentle, and Trance all make fitting appearances, and their presence was very exciting. The vibe from #1 turns a little darker in terms of action, yet remains fun and thrilling for the reader to absorb. This helps set the tone that even though this is a team of students, the threats they face are still very real and tangible. Blending a sense of realism and fantasy with ease, #2 does awesome work in developing of every character in the team’s roster, rounding out their introductions while diving deeper in to their individual abilities and perspectives. Quinten’s whimsically aggressive nature, Bling’s protective instinct and drive, Benjamin’s capabilities, and Nathaniel’s reason to stay at the school, all open many doors for what the future of this series can be. Issue #1 pondered a sense of worry in Jubilee’s aptitude for leadership, but in moments of pressure and tension within the pages of issue #2, her clarity, critical thinking, caring nature, and proactive mentality prove her to be exactly the kind of leader this team may need.
Overall:
Strain’s writing and dialogue is virtually uncanny - she captures the voice and essence of these characters with valuable precision. Pinna’s art feels perfectly in sync and really drives home the intent of every panel. From tangible dialogue to unique design, everything about Generation X feels ON POINT! This creative team embodies the spirit of Generation X, and in turn is stepping up to show that they too are a force to be reckoned with. Presenting young misfits full of potential and facing a real threat felt very nostalgic, already making Generation X a creatively unique beacon for what the ResurrXion line is intended to mean.
9/10
I wrote this review in partnership with Columbus Comics Corner.
CCC review Tumblr Link: https://columbuscomicscorner.tumblr.c...
CCC on Twitter: /twitter.com/comicscornerpod
My personal Twitter: twitter.com/Antwonito1021
My "Daily X-Men Facts" Twitter: twitter.com/DailyXMenFacts
September 8, 2024
My expectations for this series were low which might account for the big surprise I got when I ended up loving it.
I love the cast. It is filled with original characters that I have never seen before outside of Jubilee. An unknown cast is something that instantly grabbed my attention as I begun to see the characters reveal themselves issue by issue. The group also has a diverse set of powers that showcase creativity and versatility. I love the decision to make Jubilee the head of the group and teacher, although I would have been happier if she was more present in this volume but I hope we get to see her be more interactive with the students in the future.
From the new set of characters I can tell right off the bat I don't particularly like Quinten but I suspect that that is the intention. He is not a likable person but the writer seems to have plans to soften him up in the future. I did not like Nathan at all at first but he grew on me and through him, we will be been able to learn about the rest of the characters thanks to his powers. He will be essential for character development in the future. I really like Eye Boy, he has a unique power and is a really nice guy, his relationship with Nature Girl is sweet. I like Bling, she seems interesting, hopes we see more from her and more from Morph who didn't get any characterization at all.
The art is hands down phenomenal, it is so pretty, at points it does look weird, especially with the dimensions of the characters and environment. The covers are truly amazing and so colorful. I love the whole vibe and atmosphere of the volume. It is just chill of kids just going to school. The focus is not on saving the world every two seconds or fighting some huge villain. It is just kids and drama. I love that.
I love the cast. It is filled with original characters that I have never seen before outside of Jubilee. An unknown cast is something that instantly grabbed my attention as I begun to see the characters reveal themselves issue by issue. The group also has a diverse set of powers that showcase creativity and versatility. I love the decision to make Jubilee the head of the group and teacher, although I would have been happier if she was more present in this volume but I hope we get to see her be more interactive with the students in the future.
From the new set of characters I can tell right off the bat I don't particularly like Quinten but I suspect that that is the intention. He is not a likable person but the writer seems to have plans to soften him up in the future. I did not like Nathan at all at first but he grew on me and through him, we will be been able to learn about the rest of the characters thanks to his powers. He will be essential for character development in the future. I really like Eye Boy, he has a unique power and is a really nice guy, his relationship with Nature Girl is sweet. I like Bling, she seems interesting, hopes we see more from her and more from Morph who didn't get any characterization at all.
The art is hands down phenomenal, it is so pretty, at points it does look weird, especially with the dimensions of the characters and environment. The covers are truly amazing and so colorful. I love the whole vibe and atmosphere of the volume. It is just chill of kids just going to school. The focus is not on saving the world every two seconds or fighting some huge villain. It is just kids and drama. I love that.
February 24, 2018
Of course they would cancel a series I just decided to pick up a few months ago. Oh, well. At least it will be easy to collect those... two volumes.
Still makes me pretty sad though, because it's been ages since I got invested in a comic and I thought this would be a nice, fresh start with characters I didn't know yet and which didn't have as much history attached to them as the original team and their friends.
And I did get attached to this team. I thought the story was maybe a but rushed in this first part, but had lots of potential. The characters were charming and the humor just right. I thought they became friends rather quickly, but I also have to admit that I don't know if some of them knew each other before and also that sometimes comics... are just like that.
(Not so sure if I liked seeing a member of my favorite X-Factor team used as a villain, after I found out about the Rictor/Shatterstar thing recently... which I'm actually 100% ignoring till they reverse it. But. Comics. I guess.)
The only thing that I honestly didn't like here was the drawing style.
The outlines were fine.
The coloring was fine.
But sadly they didn't fit together at all. I had the urge to grab a pen and correct ALL OF THEIR MOUTHS all the time myself. Seriously, their lips looked like worms sometimes, it was kind of weird?
And since this is a comic book and art is kind of sorta important when it comes to them, it's only 3 stars. I'd have loved to give it more and am looking forward to the second volume to see if it still bothers me as much. The characters are certainly charming enough to distract them given the right story.
Still makes me pretty sad though, because it's been ages since I got invested in a comic and I thought this would be a nice, fresh start with characters I didn't know yet and which didn't have as much history attached to them as the original team and their friends.
And I did get attached to this team. I thought the story was maybe a but rushed in this first part, but had lots of potential. The characters were charming and the humor just right. I thought they became friends rather quickly, but I also have to admit that I don't know if some of them knew each other before and also that sometimes comics... are just like that.
(Not so sure if I liked seeing a member of my favorite X-Factor team used as a villain, after I found out about the Rictor/Shatterstar thing recently... which I'm actually 100% ignoring till they reverse it. But. Comics. I guess.)
The only thing that I honestly didn't like here was the drawing style.
The outlines were fine.
The coloring was fine.
But sadly they didn't fit together at all. I had the urge to grab a pen and correct ALL OF THEIR MOUTHS all the time myself. Seriously, their lips looked like worms sometimes, it was kind of weird?
And since this is a comic book and art is kind of sorta important when it comes to them, it's only 3 stars. I'd have loved to give it more and am looking forward to the second volume to see if it still bothers me as much. The characters are certainly charming enough to distract them given the right story.
December 4, 2017
Not bad. This was probably one of the new X-Titles I was not as excited about. This book proves how flexible and special the X-men are to the Marvel Comics universe. This book works a bit different form the other X-men books in that it highlights the school life of the younger mutants at the Xavier School for the gifted who are not quite X-men yet. It has always been a bit hard to sell comic readers on new characters but for those looking for something a bit different from the other X-titles there is a lot to like about the series. For those Generation X fans looking for a bit of the nostalgia you get to catch up with former young X-men like Jubilee and Chamber. Both of the mention were once students but now are teachers at the school. Christina Strain's writing of the young mutants is not bad. The artwork is also pretty good as well. This volume works more as an introduction to our main cast and gets the new reader ready for the tone of the series. If I wanted to compare it to other comic series I'd recommend like: Gotham Academy, Vol. 1: Welcome to Gotham Academy & Wolverine and the X-Men, Volume 1.
November 7, 2018
Continuing the great X-read of 2017/18...
Okay. Now here is a new x-book that I can dig my teeth into. And one that at least vaguely remembers the x-history, the vast number of characters out there that exist and have been forgotten. It has a fun mix of characters, fun stories. It's just... fun. (And of course, I already know that it was cancelled after only two volumes so I shouldn't get attached but right now it stands as my favorite volume 1 of this new era in mutant history... I always fall in love with the books that Marvel cancels. Not sure if that speaks more to my tastes or Marvel's cutthroat desire to not allow books their time to grow readership or what. But the x-books constantly break my heart.)
But back to this volume... I enjoyed its connection back to the original Generation X books. It was fun to see Jono and Jubilee having to be the adults. (Time so rarely passes in Marvel books that when it does it is kind of strange and kind of lovely.) We get to see a couple of new characters but many are familiar for those of us who love the x-books with the younger students (which is apparently a small group since they keep getting cancelled but I digress again...). A lot of characters that have been forgotten for awhile get the chance to show up at least for a few panels. (There are notable exceptions. Surge, Dust, Hellion, Mercury... Probably quite a few that I am missing. It seems like there may have been a companion book planned at some point for the other students - the ones who were closer to being X-Men. They were mentioned a lot but never shown... I may be wrong but it seemed to be setup for another book.) It's a veritable who's who of the background characters of the X-books. And I admit to loving it a bit just for showing me these characters again. I know that I am in the minority, but I wish the X-books would actually move ahead, retire the older characters and have these young X-Men finally just be X-Men. But sales speak louder than story in mainstream comics, I know, and as I come to the end of my great x-read it's something that is bothering me more and more...
The story takes a bit of time to get going, to make you care about these characters and their journeys this time around. But once it does, you are sold. At least I was. By the end of this volume, I just wanted to skip ahead to the next, to see what happens next. It made me like characters that I previously was ambivalent towards (eye boy in particular), sets up a few mysteries and has some excellent character moments. I really loved this book.
One weird thing: Didn't Quire graduate from the school in Wolverine and the X-Men? I'm not sure why he is once again a student. I think it would have been more fun and interesting seeing him as part of the teaching staff...
Okay. Now here is a new x-book that I can dig my teeth into. And one that at least vaguely remembers the x-history, the vast number of characters out there that exist and have been forgotten. It has a fun mix of characters, fun stories. It's just... fun. (And of course, I already know that it was cancelled after only two volumes so I shouldn't get attached but right now it stands as my favorite volume 1 of this new era in mutant history... I always fall in love with the books that Marvel cancels. Not sure if that speaks more to my tastes or Marvel's cutthroat desire to not allow books their time to grow readership or what. But the x-books constantly break my heart.)
But back to this volume... I enjoyed its connection back to the original Generation X books. It was fun to see Jono and Jubilee having to be the adults. (Time so rarely passes in Marvel books that when it does it is kind of strange and kind of lovely.) We get to see a couple of new characters but many are familiar for those of us who love the x-books with the younger students (which is apparently a small group since they keep getting cancelled but I digress again...). A lot of characters that have been forgotten for awhile get the chance to show up at least for a few panels. (There are notable exceptions. Surge, Dust, Hellion, Mercury... Probably quite a few that I am missing. It seems like there may have been a companion book planned at some point for the other students - the ones who were closer to being X-Men. They were mentioned a lot but never shown... I may be wrong but it seemed to be setup for another book.) It's a veritable who's who of the background characters of the X-books. And I admit to loving it a bit just for showing me these characters again. I know that I am in the minority, but I wish the X-books would actually move ahead, retire the older characters and have these young X-Men finally just be X-Men. But sales speak louder than story in mainstream comics, I know, and as I come to the end of my great x-read it's something that is bothering me more and more...
The story takes a bit of time to get going, to make you care about these characters and their journeys this time around. But once it does, you are sold. At least I was. By the end of this volume, I just wanted to skip ahead to the next, to see what happens next. It made me like characters that I previously was ambivalent towards (eye boy in particular), sets up a few mysteries and has some excellent character moments. I really loved this book.
One weird thing: Didn't Quire graduate from the school in Wolverine and the X-Men? I'm not sure why he is once again a student. I think it would have been more fun and interesting seeing him as part of the teaching staff...
April 25, 2020
I could have sworn someone recommended this or said that it was really good. It is not. Edit: just finished volume 2 and it gets significantly better. Not entirely, but worth noting. Your mileage may vary.
The art by Amilcar Pinna is absolutely horrible. From the very first page, there’s a panel of Jubilee with different sized eyes, completely messed up perspective, and it’s just generally ugly. It actually is so bad that there’s another character who was lobotomized and you can’t tell the difference between him and everyone else. There are some times where it actually works almost. The forced, exaggerated perspective seems interesting in a few panels, but for the most part, it just makes everything look like it’s melting or something. Oh, and don’t forget that everyone basically makes Bling look like Bart Simpson and Kitty looks like she’s 80.
I was hopeful with Alberto Albuquerque and Eric Korda coming on for the later issues. I thought I had read another book with Albuquerque before and liked his style, but it still was not much better than Pinna. Though at least by the end, I wasn’t being actively distracted from the story because of the art. One thing, though, DOES NO ONE KNOW HOW TO DRAW NATURE GIRL’S ANTLERS? At first, I thought it was just Pinna being terrible that transformed them into what looked like tree branches coming out of the sides of her head, but then the other two continued drawing them that way. It’s hard to admit, but Terry Dodson did it better on the covers.
The story was actually the one saving grace of the book. I was interested to see what had been happening with Monet since her appearance in Uncanny, and, by the end, I actually wanted to read more of what was going to happen. Luckily for me, the book was cancelled after just 6 more issues, so I only have one more volume to read to get to the end of everything.
The mildly interesting plot is offset by the absolutely horrible characterization. Everyone is just so boring. Quire is back to being awful, completely dismissing all of his growth from previous books. I get that it happens with serialized storytelling that has to just keep going, but it’s frustrating to suddenly hate a character you had grown to enjoy. It’s similar with Eye Boy and some of the others. There had been some development to make them interesting already, but it seems like Christina Strain felt the need to go back to square one and retread all of that ground for herself.
At this point, if you’re not already invested in needing to know what happened with these characters or something, there’s no need to pick this up.
The art by Amilcar Pinna is absolutely horrible. From the very first page, there’s a panel of Jubilee with different sized eyes, completely messed up perspective, and it’s just generally ugly. It actually is so bad that there’s another character who was lobotomized and you can’t tell the difference between him and everyone else. There are some times where it actually works almost. The forced, exaggerated perspective seems interesting in a few panels, but for the most part, it just makes everything look like it’s melting or something. Oh, and don’t forget that everyone basically makes Bling look like Bart Simpson and Kitty looks like she’s 80.
I was hopeful with Alberto Albuquerque and Eric Korda coming on for the later issues. I thought I had read another book with Albuquerque before and liked his style, but it still was not much better than Pinna. Though at least by the end, I wasn’t being actively distracted from the story because of the art. One thing, though, DOES NO ONE KNOW HOW TO DRAW NATURE GIRL’S ANTLERS? At first, I thought it was just Pinna being terrible that transformed them into what looked like tree branches coming out of the sides of her head, but then the other two continued drawing them that way. It’s hard to admit, but Terry Dodson did it better on the covers.
The story was actually the one saving grace of the book. I was interested to see what had been happening with Monet since her appearance in Uncanny, and, by the end, I actually wanted to read more of what was going to happen. Luckily for me, the book was cancelled after just 6 more issues, so I only have one more volume to read to get to the end of everything.
The mildly interesting plot is offset by the absolutely horrible characterization. Everyone is just so boring. Quire is back to being awful, completely dismissing all of his growth from previous books. I get that it happens with serialized storytelling that has to just keep going, but it’s frustrating to suddenly hate a character you had grown to enjoy. It’s similar with Eye Boy and some of the others. There had been some development to make them interesting already, but it seems like Christina Strain felt the need to go back to square one and retread all of that ground for herself.
At this point, if you’re not already invested in needing to know what happened with these characters or something, there’s no need to pick this up.
January 18, 2018
Christina Strain is amazing at writing these characters.
BUT. The art. I wanted to take 2 stars off for the terrible art, but decided to make it only 1 because the color artists did a great job (it’d be 3.5/5 if GoodReads had half stars).
Pinna is the reason I decided not to buy this series (that I was extremely excited for) monthly and bought it in a trade instead. His faces and proportions have improved a lot since his Ultimate All New Avengers or whatever it was called run. But they’re still bad, awkward, and unsightly.
Not into the art on issues 5 or 6 either.
Also please for the love of god, Marvel, hire someone to design fashion for your characters. What is Kitty wearing??? Hideous.
Also, a huge gripe I have with Marvel right now is that these new series need intros for the characters for new readers. I am not a new reader, I’ve been following these characters since their first issues, but even I forgot a lot of their backstories and powers and it’d be less intimidating to new readers to have name labels, power descriptions, etc. included. *Especially* when the first issue dialogue includes backstory tidbits like this one did. You keep making new number ones for new readers so maybe start actually trying to entice new readers within the first few pages instead of launching them into a bunch of characters they definitely don’t know and overwhelming them.
I am not at all surprised that this is getting cancelled for bad sales. The art didn’t have me buying it monthly and I am a huge fan of all of the characters. Christina’s writing and the x-babies deserved better art.
BUT. The art. I wanted to take 2 stars off for the terrible art, but decided to make it only 1 because the color artists did a great job (it’d be 3.5/5 if GoodReads had half stars).
Pinna is the reason I decided not to buy this series (that I was extremely excited for) monthly and bought it in a trade instead. His faces and proportions have improved a lot since his Ultimate All New Avengers or whatever it was called run. But they’re still bad, awkward, and unsightly.
Not into the art on issues 5 or 6 either.
Also please for the love of god, Marvel, hire someone to design fashion for your characters. What is Kitty wearing??? Hideous.
Also, a huge gripe I have with Marvel right now is that these new series need intros for the characters for new readers. I am not a new reader, I’ve been following these characters since their first issues, but even I forgot a lot of their backstories and powers and it’d be less intimidating to new readers to have name labels, power descriptions, etc. included. *Especially* when the first issue dialogue includes backstory tidbits like this one did. You keep making new number ones for new readers so maybe start actually trying to entice new readers within the first few pages instead of launching them into a bunch of characters they definitely don’t know and overwhelming them.
I am not at all surprised that this is getting cancelled for bad sales. The art didn’t have me buying it monthly and I am a huge fan of all of the characters. Christina’s writing and the x-babies deserved better art.
Read
March 9, 2022As I noted for the second collection of this series, I remembered Benjamin Deeds as a student of Cyclops after Cyclops had gone evil/Phoenixed up. I was glad to see him again. He was trying to explain how things worked to newbie Nathaniel. After Benji quickly summarized his activities in several issues of that run of Uncanny X-Men, Nathaniel asked, This was a perfectly reasonable question in context. Nathaniel was the person with the fresh perspective who could look at the situations and wonder why no-one else was also feeling like it was all totally bonkers.
I liked that this artwork didn't have the characters with extremely exaggerated feet and noses and such as they did in those issues of Uncanny X-Men. In the art for this series, the Asian characters' eyes had no distinction between iris and pupil, and as other readers noted, the perspectives were off sometimes. But some of the characters did end up looking pretty every so often, which to me was an improvement over the stylized look I referenced above that exaggerated feet and facial features so much.
I liked the characters' personalities as brought out here. Even the characters who don't have much available to them in the way of facial expressions got their feelings and attitudes across pretty vividly.
I liked that this artwork didn't have the characters with extremely exaggerated feet and noses and such as they did in those issues of Uncanny X-Men. In the art for this series, the Asian characters' eyes had no distinction between iris and pupil, and as other readers noted, the perspectives were off sometimes. But some of the characters did end up looking pretty every so often, which to me was an improvement over the stylized look I referenced above that exaggerated feet and facial features so much.
I liked the characters' personalities as brought out here. Even the characters who don't have much available to them in the way of facial expressions got their feelings and attitudes across pretty vividly.
December 19, 2025
A decent, if uneven, first volume of the next next next generation of X-Men.
With some involvement of Jubilee, Dani, Chamber, and Monet from the original Generation X Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Back to School, we see some Academy X and post Academy X students teamed together as another Not Good Enough To Be X-Men Team: Quentin Quire, Bling, Hindsight, Eye Boy, Nature Girl, and Morph. Their initial adventure was fun but when the story moved to the Rat King issue, I lost interest. Luckily, the final issue in the collection is the beginning of a new storyarc with some promise.
It's a weird way to collect this series. #1-5 is clearly a complete arc, with #6 being the beginning of something new. It seems odd to place the sixth issue in this collection but they were perhaps, justifiably, worried that issue #5 was unlikely to inspire someone to keep reading the series.
As it is, I will be moving on directly to volume two to see what lies ahead for this short-term interesting C-level team.
If you enjoy your mutants new or your academy x, this is a decent continuation of those traditions.
With some involvement of Jubilee, Dani, Chamber, and Monet from the original Generation X Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Back to School, we see some Academy X and post Academy X students teamed together as another Not Good Enough To Be X-Men Team: Quentin Quire, Bling, Hindsight, Eye Boy, Nature Girl, and Morph. Their initial adventure was fun but when the story moved to the Rat King issue, I lost interest. Luckily, the final issue in the collection is the beginning of a new storyarc with some promise.
It's a weird way to collect this series. #1-5 is clearly a complete arc, with #6 being the beginning of something new. It seems odd to place the sixth issue in this collection but they were perhaps, justifiably, worried that issue #5 was unlikely to inspire someone to keep reading the series.
As it is, I will be moving on directly to volume two to see what lies ahead for this short-term interesting C-level team.
If you enjoy your mutants new or your academy x, this is a decent continuation of those traditions.
October 25, 2018
Part 1 of "2017 comic series I was reading until Marvel cancelled them all".
I'm ambivalent about this volume. On the one hand, there's some stuff I really like: Jubilee and Jono being kinda adults with a lot of responsibility, but also still struggling is nice to see, and their friendship is amazing. It's also an intriguing idea to have a class of mutants who just have kinda useless, or weird powers, and who shouldn't be trained as soldiers. One of the best lines is Jubilee going "Maybe we shouldn't have been throwing every young mutant at Magneto. Or the sentinels. Definitely not Apocalypse." That said, the execution of the idea is definitely lacking. The plot mostly seems pretty random, and there's so little sense of these people as a team, and as a class that actually receives teaching. Mostly they sneak out and do stuff, and then the group is split and they all have side plots, and then there's supposed to be a connecting story but.... anyway.
Also I actually really dislike all of the art styles.
But since only 2 volumes of this exist anyway, I'm going to read the second one too.
I'm ambivalent about this volume. On the one hand, there's some stuff I really like: Jubilee and Jono being kinda adults with a lot of responsibility, but also still struggling is nice to see, and their friendship is amazing. It's also an intriguing idea to have a class of mutants who just have kinda useless, or weird powers, and who shouldn't be trained as soldiers. One of the best lines is Jubilee going "Maybe we shouldn't have been throwing every young mutant at Magneto. Or the sentinels. Definitely not Apocalypse." That said, the execution of the idea is definitely lacking. The plot mostly seems pretty random, and there's so little sense of these people as a team, and as a class that actually receives teaching. Mostly they sneak out and do stuff, and then the group is split and they all have side plots, and then there's supposed to be a connecting story but.... anyway.
Also I actually really dislike all of the art styles.
But since only 2 volumes of this exist anyway, I'm going to read the second one too.
April 27, 2023
Generation X has always been a fun way to explore other, more youthful mutants that live in the Xavier mansion. Christina Strain takes this premise and uses a "back to basics" approach to give us the newest generation of mutants.
So first thing is first, this is definitely an introductory volume, so there is a lot of over explaining and a lot of just getting to know the new students. I think it was smart of her to include Kitty Pride in the mix (albeit sparingly) and also Jubilee and Chamber as teachers - as that kind of grounds the older readers, like myself, by using familiar characters who they themselves used to be on the team.
Like I said, there's a lot of just hanging around the new kids and seeing who they are and how they react to each other. The villain turns out to be another old Gen X member in the form of Empath inhabiting the body of M. However, he is kinda easily dealt with and we go back to interpersonal exploration of the characters themselves.
I would say that I will be checking out vol 2 just to see where Strain takes it from here, as this one is basically all setup.
So first thing is first, this is definitely an introductory volume, so there is a lot of over explaining and a lot of just getting to know the new students. I think it was smart of her to include Kitty Pride in the mix (albeit sparingly) and also Jubilee and Chamber as teachers - as that kind of grounds the older readers, like myself, by using familiar characters who they themselves used to be on the team.
Like I said, there's a lot of just hanging around the new kids and seeing who they are and how they react to each other. The villain turns out to be another old Gen X member in the form of Empath inhabiting the body of M. However, he is kinda easily dealt with and we go back to interpersonal exploration of the characters themselves.
I would say that I will be checking out vol 2 just to see where Strain takes it from here, as this one is basically all setup.
August 13, 2018
I think I liked this a little more than I would have expected. This is such an interesting blend of low tier mutants. In a way, I feel just as offended as they do when they are basically told they represent a population of mutants that will never see real X-Men team action. I suppose it is that labeling which encourages Jubilee's team to seek out the mystery plaguing the Xavier School in Central Park. $ of the first 6 issues stick to the main story which is fun as we get to see what happened to Monet at the conclusion of the previous Uncanny X-Men series.
For me the art varies throughout the series. Sometimes I enjoy it and cant help but love the way Jubilee looks. At other times I get kind of creeped out as it makes me think its an ugly knock off of animation that resembles the King of the Hill cartoon.
The last two issues of the volume are a miss for me. Eye Boy becomes the star of one issue. The other starts up a mini arc that will carry over into Volume 2. I will hope for the best.
For me the art varies throughout the series. Sometimes I enjoy it and cant help but love the way Jubilee looks. At other times I get kind of creeped out as it makes me think its an ugly knock off of animation that resembles the King of the Hill cartoon.
The last two issues of the volume are a miss for me. Eye Boy becomes the star of one issue. The other starts up a mini arc that will carry over into Volume 2. I will hope for the best.
January 12, 2018
3.5 Stars.
With the Xavier Institute opening in Central Park, a new generation of students will spend their time learning what it means to become X-Men. Welcome to the new Generation X!
Known Members: Jubilee, Chamber, Phoebe Cuckoo, and Quentin Quire
New Members - Ben AKA Morph (changes body to match others), Roxy AKA Bling (very hard crystalline body), Trevor AKA Eye-Boy (has eyes all over his body and can use them to see many things), Lin AKA Nature Girl (communicates with all nature, plants and animals) and Nathan AKA Hindsight (touching another person can show him their previous experiences and feelings)
This Volume focuses a lot on character development, which is good, but throws in fights with the Purifiers, M-Plate, and the Rat King, only really showing Monet to be a future threat to them. The art leaves a lot to be desired, but it's not horrible.
A reasonable start to what will hopefully be as good as the original. Recommend, especially if you like the younger X-Men.
With the Xavier Institute opening in Central Park, a new generation of students will spend their time learning what it means to become X-Men. Welcome to the new Generation X!
Known Members: Jubilee, Chamber, Phoebe Cuckoo, and Quentin Quire
New Members - Ben AKA Morph (changes body to match others), Roxy AKA Bling (very hard crystalline body), Trevor AKA Eye-Boy (has eyes all over his body and can use them to see many things), Lin AKA Nature Girl (communicates with all nature, plants and animals) and Nathan AKA Hindsight (touching another person can show him their previous experiences and feelings)
This Volume focuses a lot on character development, which is good, but throws in fights with the Purifiers, M-Plate, and the Rat King, only really showing Monet to be a future threat to them. The art leaves a lot to be desired, but it's not horrible.
A reasonable start to what will hopefully be as good as the original. Recommend, especially if you like the younger X-Men.
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