Issue(s): New Mutants #55
Cover Date: Sep 87
Title: "Flying wild!"
Credits:
Louise Simonson - Writer
Bret Blevins - Penciler
Tery Austin - Inker
Ann Nocenti - Editor

Review/plot:
Louise Simonson has replaced Chris Claremont on New Mutants, and probably an even bigger contributor to the new tone of the book is Bret Blevins, who really emphasizes the fact that we're dealing with teenagers. Under Bob McLeod, the Mutants looked like kids, but it didn't always remain that way. I've mentioned before that my first New Mutants issue was during the Sienkiewicz era, and a scene of Cannonball walking in on Mirage while she was changing convinced me that the book might have been too adult for me. When i picked up the book again during the Blevins era, i wasn't sure that i was even looking at the same characters.

The story here is very much teen focused, too. As you can see, the kids are going to a party, specifically a album launch part for Lila Cheney.

Sam is not confident about himself and his looks...

...and a group of alien teens use peer pressure to get him to take amphetamines...

...which end up making him hallucinate. The aliens were trying to get Sam out of the way so they could convince Lila to help with some cosmic thievery scheme, but the New Mutants stop them.

We saw Doug get shot during the fight with Viper's goons last issue, and he's shot again here. He's fine, but it's called telegraphing.

Doug is also showing an interest in Rahne.

Magik just banishes all the alien thieves to Limbo. No one seems to mind.

The alien teens are a bit throwaway and out of place, and the implications of Magik's actions seem to not have been thought out, but i like Blevin's hyper art. If the New Mutants are going to be perpetually teenagers, let them look the part. Louise Simonson's first issue is just fine.

However, ominously, in the background, news reports tell of a "Bird Boy" quarantined on Governors Island off Manhattan. The New Mutants wonder if he might be a mutant, but they don't investigate this issue.

Quality Rating: B-

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - Louise Simonson takes over the New Mutants

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• The kids are looking to unwind after "all the worrying we've done about Bobby and Warlock" who ran away to the Fallen Angels.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I could not believe the way that Louise Simonson kept having Illyana banish villains to Limbo. Claremont had Illyana take villains to Limbo on occasion when she was in control but it was always temporary and Illyana could just order the demons not to hurt the villains. Now she's basically sending the villains to be tortured for the rest of their lives. And Simonson does this repeatedly, and presents it as morally superior and not as corrupting to Illyana as killing them quickly and painlessly. And none of the other characters have a problem with it.

Blevins' art didn't go over too well with readers. Letters started coming in complaining that the characters looked way too cartoony, and that Illyana constantly looked like she was puckering up to kiss somebody.

Yeah, I was one of those readers. I hated it. Still hate it. Also, I was 12 at the time and thought to myself "what the hell are the girls wearing? That's hideous!"

I also wasn't thrilled with the writing in this issue - it was like Simonson hadn't bothered to read #42, where Sam deals with all the angst about Lila. Here he acts more like a 15 year old than a 19 year old.

To at least counter-balance my negativity a little, I was very pleased with the developing relationship between Doug and Rahne (which just pissed me off more when they kill off Doug just a few issues from now), and I was glad to see Illyana's reaction to Doug being shot - if anyone on the team is going to react like that, it's her. Good to see her sticking up for Doug as well, since she'll soon be referring to him as a baby.

I remember in Marvel Age before this came out, it was supposed to be Louise on the book for six months. Which, if you add 3 years to six months is correct. But I was obvious for several issues thinking Chris will come back and fix the book.