Era #10, Part 19: Back to School (New Mutants)

Grade: B

The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning has been revealed as a school for mutants with a growing student body, but some candidates need help finding their way. New Mutant alumn Dani Moonstar agrees to help recruit the next generation, but it isn't going to be easy with a growing tide of anti-mutant prejudice and violence from the friends, family, the Purity, and Donald Pierce.  

This story is a slow build-up that focuses on introducing teenage characters that must navigate a new school, awkward social anxieties, and strange new powers. The interactions feel more natural, and I appreciate that there are no easy answers. The core team comes together around Dani: David Alleyne (Prodigy), Laurie Collins (Wallflower), Josh Foley (Elixir), Kevin Ford (Wither), and Sofia Mantega (Wind Dancer). Nunzio Defilippis and Christina Weir clearly have a mastery of young adult fiction.

[6-stars] New Mutants (2003) #1
[6-stars] New Mutants (2003) #2
[6-stars] New Mutants (2003) #3
[6-stars] New Mutants (2003) #4
[6-stars] New Mutants (2003) #5
[6-stars] New Mutants (2003) #6

Collected in New Mutants: Back To School - The Complete Collection