Mystique, Vol. 3: Unnatural

Mystique

by Sean McKeever (Writer), Manuel García (Artist)

When everyone's favorite shape-shifting secret agent is sent to Europe to investigate a biotech company rumored to be using mutants as guinea pigs, she discovers a mystery far greater than anything she'd imagined As Mystique and Shortpack get closer to their objective, they must confront a new revelation: that someone is selling transient mutants as guinea pigs, slaves and worse Will Mystique go after this mutant-selling scum, or will she allow her personal crisis to tear her apart first?

Collecting: Mystique 14-18

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

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2005

About the author

After writing indie comics (such as the ensemble teen-drama The Waiting Place) for six years, Sean got his big break writing an issue of The Incredible Hulk for Marvel Comics in 2001. Since then, Sean has written hundreds of comics for Marvel, DC Comics and other publishers, including notable runs on Sentinel, Inhumans, Mystique, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, Gravity, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Birds of Prey and Teen Titans.

Best known for delivering introspective, character-driven work, Sean also wrote several weeks of the Funky Winkerbean syndicated comic strip, much of which has been reprinted in the celebrated collection, Lisa's story: the other shoe.

In 2005, Sean won the Eisner Award for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition.

Sean continues to write comic books; he also writes for the videogame and animation industries.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marvel Reload sees Sean McKeever take over the writing chores, sending Mystique and Shortpack after a Pharma company that has been using mutants as test subjects! A middling read that doesn't really expand on this series that was to expand the Mystique mythos. 4 out of 12 Two Stars is all.

2018 read

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole premise of a comic series where Mystique gets to be a super spy sounded good in theory but even this far into the series it never quite feels right. And maybe the writer just didn't quite hit the sort of espionage, full-on tradecraft-style stories I wanted.

It's not a bad series and this particular arc has some interesting ups and downs. But largely it relies on beating the dead horse that Mystique is not a great agent in terms of the parameters that Xavier has set for her, especially the whole no-killing bit. There's a big setup for the next arc with a better look at one of the big villains behind the larger plot, but I totally see why we're entering the final chapter of this comic series run.

[TR Naus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystique's next mission for Professor Xavier takes her to Europe to investigate rumors that a large biotech firm is illegally using mutants to test experimental cosmetics. Tensions continue to grow between Mystique and Shortpack, her field handler, as the trail leads to a deeper conspiracy that includes mutant trafficking and an unsettling revelation that hits close to home for the shape-shifting mutant terrorist turned reluctant spy.

Sean McKeever takes over the title and keeps the tone and stories consistent with Brian K. Vaughan. I think he does a slightly better job portraying Mystique's more unpredictable and nonconformist side (rather than as a roguish anti-hero), but his portrayal of Shortpack seems to shift direction without much explanation. As for the plot, mutant slave trades and corporate exploitation are not new material in the X-Men books, but I appreciated that this one was a little more grounded. I was also intrigued by the Quiet Man storyline that is slowly played out in the background.

While this was not an especially memorable run, it was a fun read.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing from Brian K Vaughan's run, this volume focuses on Mystique infilitrating a skin company that's using mutants as guinea pigs. It's a fairly basic setup, but McKeever's take on these characters, while occasionally uneven, is both more fun and better conceptualized than Vaughan's.

Manuel García's art is a perfect match for this espionage/adventure book.

I recommend it for anyone looking for a mutant spy book that manages to thread really nicely into Marvel's mutant continuity.

[Valery · Rating 2 out of 5]

этот том поскучнее

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate writing reviews for graphic novels because I never know what to say.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing the x-citing x-book read of 2017...


I was disappointed to see that Vaughan had moved on by this volume but once I started reading, that disappointment faded fast. My favorite volume of the series so far, it is exciting and well-written. McKeever picked up the plotlines from Vaughan without breaking a sweat and rocketed off. Looking forward to seeing where this goes next.

I do wish there was more Forge, but that is my only nitpick.

Edit: reread February 2021. I was knocked on my butt sick yesterday and wanted some comfort literature so I reread all four volumes of this series. And man, do I still love it. I even broke one of my (loose) rules and changed the rating from 3 to 4 stars on volume 1. I have to say that I like the nuance of Vaughan's writing a little more than McKeever's (which is interesting since I seemed to feel the opposite on first reading) this time around. Overall, I thought the series was really great (and luckily since my memory is crap, there were still a few surprises for me) although I will say that I felt that the ending was a little bit of a letdown. Still, this remains one of my absolute favorite X-men spinoff series and I wish more writers of Mystique would read it. (Don't get me started on how poorly she is often written after this series...) Oh, and where is shortpack? I can't remember him ever showing up anywhere else.

[Fugo Feedback]

Si no me equivoco, tengo el equivalente a este tomo USA en revistas de Panini: Mística #7 al 9. No sé si me lo leeré salteando la primera saga o qué, pero queda to-readeada hasta nuevo aviso.