#IReadsYou Review: X-MEN: FIRST CLASS - Tomorrow's Brightest

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS – TOMORROW’S BRIGHTEST

MARVEL COMICS

STORY: Jeff Parker

PENCILS: Roger Cruz with Paul Smith

INKS: Victor Olazaba & Roger Cruz with Paul Smith

COLORS: Val Staples

LETTERS: Nate Piekos

COVER: Marko Djurdjevic

ISBN: 978-0-7851-2426-8; hardcover (January 1, 2007)

192pp, Color, $24.99 U.S.

Recently, I posted a review of Zootopia Volume 1 #1, the first issue of Dynamite Entertainment's new comic book series based on Disney's Oscar-winning, animated film, Zootopia (2016).  The comic book is written by Jeff Parker, and because I enjoyed the first issue, I started thinking about other comics by Parker that I have read and reviewed.

One of them is the hardcover trade collection of Marvel Comic's 2006 miniseries, X-Men: First Class.  I wrote a review of it back in 2007 or 2008 for a website run by an ungrateful asshole.  So I'm reclaiming the review for my own blog, “I Reads You.”

Here, it is with some recent edits. - Leroy Douresseaux:

When I first started reading the 2007 Marvel Comics hardcover collection, X-Men: First Class – Tomorrow’s Brightest, I initially thought, “Marvel doesn’t make comics like this anymore.”  Then, I realized that they do – under the “Marvel Adventures” line for young readers – and if you like that line, then, this fantastic, old school-style X-Men comic book collection is just for you.

X-Men: First Class – Tomorrow's Brightest collects X-Men: First Class #1-8, an eight-issue miniseries originally published in 2006.  The series is set during the early years of the X-Men when the team still consisted on the original X-Men: Cyclops (Scott Summers), Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Angel (Warren Worthington, III), Beast (Hank McCoy), and Iceman (Bobby Drake).  These young people are mutants, genetic anomalies born with superhuman abilities that usually manifest themselves at puberty.

This quintet attended Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, where Professor Charles Xavier a.k.a. “Professor X” taught them to use their powers.  However, this school is also something of a military academy, as the students are taught to use their powers to protect humans from evil mutants and other forces that seek to harm humanity.  Like superheroes, the X-Men wear special costumes and masks (to hide their identities).

In X-Men: First Class, the X-Men seem to be college age.  In Marvel Comics continuity, these stories apparently take place after X-Men #18 (cover date: March 1966) when Magneto was spirited off-world by a mysterious character knows as “The Stranger.”  [This incident is mentioned in X-Men: First Class #7, which is reprinted as “Chapter 7” in this collection.]

X-Men: First Class is basically a modernization of stories and plots found in the run of X-Men comic books published in the 1960s.  Writer Jeff Parker takes the same characters, stories, and concepts and sets them in the 21st century.  Like the original X-Men comics, X-Men: First Class is basically a comic book series meant for young readers – especially ‘tweens (8 to 12-years-old or 9 to 14).  X-Men: First Class is nothing like the main X-Men comics, especially the flagship Uncanny X-Men, which are much darker, even fatalistic in tone, and have been for some time.  These stories tend towards science fiction, and are like a mix of juvenile sci-fi and fantasy.

These stories feature guest appearances by a number of Marvel Comics characters, including The Lizard (a Spider-Man villain), Doctor Strange, Thor, and a young team of Skrulls (an adversarial race from the Fantastic Four comics).  There are also appearances by Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch (brother and sister mutants who were once X-Men adversaries) and Gorilla-Man (an obscure Silver Age character).

THE LOWDOWN:  While Jeff Parker’s writing will not shatter or transform the X-Men the way Grant Morrison did in New X-Men about 8 earlier, it is closer in spirit to the X-Men stories that provided the foundation for writers like Morrison to come along and do their trashing, rebuilding, and/or re-imagining.  These X-Men” First Class comic books feature the kind of highly enjoyable stories that once served the industry well – superhero comics that could be casually read.

Now, it seems that to read any one Marvel or DC Comics’ series requires a sizable investment of time and money and a major investment in either of these publishers’ labyrinthine continuities and myriad universes and timelines.  We also may not mistake Jeff Parker's comic book writing for that of Alan Moore, whose shadow has loomed large over American comic book writing, beginning with his landmark work on DC’s Swamp Thing series.  Then again, no one will mistake Moore for Parker.  Parker tells the kind of imaginative and luminous stories that not only capture the spirit of what made and what still makes the X-Men attractive to readers, but also, he can capture our sense of wonder by transporting us to incredible adventures in far away places.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  For any readers who yearn for the X-Men comic books of the 1960s and 70s or for anyone who wants to introduce the X-Men to new readers, X-Men: First Class: Tomorrow's Brightest is for them.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

EDITED:  Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://x.com/Marvel

https://www.marvel.com/

https://www.marvel.com/comics

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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IDW PUBLISHING

FEB140371 24 #1 $3.99
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I Reads You Review: THE INCREDIBLE HULK AND WOLVERINE #1

THE INCREDIBLE HULK AND WOLVERINE #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITERS: Len Wein, Mary Jo Duffy
PENCILS: Herb Trimpe, Ken Landgraf
INKS: Jack Abel, George Perez
COLORS: Christie Scheele
LETTERS: Artie Simek, Michael Higgins
EDITOR: Roy Thomas, Jim Shooter
EIC: Jim Shooter
COVER: John Byrne and Jack Abel with George Roussos
48pp, Color, $2.00 (October 1986)

In the summer of 1986, Marvel Comics published The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1.  This was a one-shot, single-issue comic book that reprinted The Incredible Hulk #180 and #181 (cover-dated November 1974).  Issue #180 (cover-dated October 1974) contained the first appearance of Wolverine, as a cameo in the final panel of the last page.  Issue #181 features the first full appearance of Wolverine.  Of course, Wolverine is a member of the X-Men and one of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters.

The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1 also includes the short story, “Wolverine and Hercules,” which originally appeared in Marvel Treasury Edition #26 (1980).  “Wolverine: The Evolution of a Character” is an essay at the back of this comic book.  It is written by former Marvel writer and editor, Peter Sanderson, and details the creation of Wolverine and also provides a fictional biography of the character.  This text piece includes spot illustrations and other art drawn by John Romita, Paul Smith and Joe Rubinstein; John Byrne and Terry Austin; John Romita, Jr. and Dan Green; and Frank Miller and Joe Rubinstein.

The Incredible Hulk #180 finds the Hulk returning to Canada.  There, deep in the Canadian woods, the emerald behemoth finds himself caught in a conspiracy involving Marie Cartier and Georges Baptiste.  Marie’s brother, Paul Cartier, bears the curse that transforms him into “the hideous cannibal beast,” known as the Wendigo.

Marie has devised a plan to transfer the Wendigo’s form to the Hulk.  Events don’t follow her planning once Hulk and Wendigo engage in an epic battle.  Meanwhile, at a top secret Royal Canadian Air Force Tracking Installation, military authorities are not about to allow the Hulk to rampage through Canada again.  They’re sending something called “Weapon X” to take care of the green giant.

The Incredible Hulk #181 begins with Wolverine revealing himself to the Hulk and the Wendigo and launching himself into their battle.  This three-way fight devolves into a death match between the Hulk and the Wolverine.  Meanwhile, Georges Baptiste makes a fateful decision about him and Marie Cartier’s plan to save her brother from the curse of the Wendigo.

When The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1 arrived on newsstands and in comic book shops, it gave me a chance to read the story in which Wolverine made his first appearance, and I was ecstatic about that opportunity.  I would read the story again in a single-issue facsimile reprint of The Incredible Hulk #181.

I long ago lost or sold my original copy of The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1, but a recent at sale at super comics retailer Mile High Comics’ website allowed me to get another copy.  I had forgotten that even with a $2.00 cover price, The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1 was just a cheapie reprint.  At a time when comic book publishers, large and small, were moving to heavier and whiter paper stocks, Marvel Comics printed The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1 on newsprint.  The print quality ranges from mediocre to tolerable, and the colors don’t “pop” off the page the way they do today.  With newsprint, things like details, borders, and lettering can fade or even not fully print.

I think that at the time this was originally published Marvel Comics was printing anything that would help with their market share and that could make a lot of money with little investment.  The Hulk stories here were bought and paid for over a decade earlier, and who knows if the creators got any royalty payments from this reprinting.  Like I said, high return on low investment.

That aside, I like these old Hulk comics.  Writer Len Wein’s ability to create a compelling story out of monster comics and supernatural melodrama is a sign of the skill that made him a standout comic book creator and editor in the 1970s and 1980s.  Penciller Herb Trimpe, one of my favorites, mixes the dynamism and fury of Jack Kirby (who was obviously an influence on Trimpe) with the cartoon mysticism of Steve Ditko.  This is classic comic book art and graphical storytelling – monster comics and mystic mumbo-jumbo.

It is also fun to look at this early Wolverine-in-the-raw, which is practically nothing like what the character would become in the decades that followed his first appearance.  So I grade this comic book not on the cheap newsprint reproduction, but on the fun old comics.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: THE ROCKETEER/THE SPIRIT: Pulp Friction #2

THE ROCKETEER/THE SPIRIT: PULP FRICTION #2
IDW PUBLISHING with DC Entertainment – @IDWPublishing and @DCComics

WRITER:  Mark Waid
PENCILS: Loston Wallace
INKS: Bob Wiacek
COLORS: Hi Fi Designs
LETTERS: Tom B. Long
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
COVER: Paul Smith with Jordie Bellaire
SUBSCRIPTION VARIANT COVER: Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2013)

Artist and illustrator, Dave Stevens (who died in March of 2008), created the comic book character, The Rocketeer.  Cliff Secord is a stunt pilot who discovers a mysterious jet pack.  Donning the jet pack and a helmet, Secord becomes “The Rocketeer,” and begins a series of adventures set mainly in Los Angeles, beginning in the year 1938.

Legendary cartoonist Will Eisner (who died in January of 2005) created The Spirit, a comic book character that first appeared on June 2, 1940 in what readers called “The Spirit Section.”  This was a 16-page, Sunday newspaper supplement or insert that was carried in various newspapers from the 1940s and to the early 1950s.  Once known as Detective Denny Colt (believed by some to be dead), The Spirit is a masked vigilante who fights crime in Central City.

IDW Publishing (in association with DC Comics) brings the two characters together in a new comic book miniseries entitled, The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction.  The series is written by Mark Waid and drawn by various artists.  Pulp Friction unites the two characters, as they try to solve a murder case.  The corpse of Alderman Tommy Cunningham, Central City politician, is found in Los Angeles, which is impossible, because he should not be in L.A.

The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction #2 opens with the Central City contingent:  The Spirit, Commissioner Dolan, and Ellen (the Commissioner’s daughter), at odds with our L.A.-based friends: The Rocketeer, actress Betty (Cliff Secord’s lady), and airplane mechanic Peevy (Cliff’s friend and partner).  The girls are using their feminine wiles to both agitate and excite.

Meanwhile, The Spirit’s mysterious nemesis, the Octopus, plots with Benedict Trask, who seems to be trying to become the first of what we now call a media mogul.  Their plotting involves a surprise attack on our heroes.

Having Mark Waid write the first ever team up of The Rocketeer and The Spirit, as is the idea of uniting them in the first place, is a no-brainer.  Waid is good with Golden Age characters, of which both these classic comics characters are.  Here, Waid’s comics script is a nice brew of fisticuffs, high-flying derring-do, and pulp crime fiction with an occasional bit of innuendo.  Is that a rabbit in your pocket, Mr. Second?...

I thought Paul Smith was going to be the series artist, but that seems not to be the case, as this second issue and the third are drawn by different artists.  Loston Wallace, who provides the pencil art (which Bob Wiacek inks), is good enough.  His style is acceptable for this kind of story, and his storytelling is good.  The most important thing is that he does not make the transition from Paul Smith a disaster.

I’m ready for the next issue of The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction.  Tune in tomorrow.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

THE ROCKETEER/THE SPIRIT: Pulp Friction #1

THE ROCKETEER/THE SPIRIT: PULP FRICTION #1
IDW PUBLISHING with DC Entertainment – @IDWPublishing and @DCComics

WRITER:  Mark Waid
ARTIST: Paul Smith
COLORS: Jordie Bellaire
LETTERS: Tom B. Long
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
COVER: Paul Smith with Jordie Bellaire
SUBSCRIPTION VARIANT COVER: Darwyn Cooke and J Bone
CONVENTION EXCLUSIVE COVER: Darwyn Cooke
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2013)

The Rocketeer is a comic book character created by artist and illustrator, Dave Stevens (who died in March of 2008).  Cliff Secord is a stunt pilot who discovers a mysterious jet pack.  Donning the jet pack and a helmet, Secord becomes “The Rocketeer,” and begins a series of adventures set mainly in Los Angeles and beginning in the year 1938.

The Spirit is a comic book character created by cartoonist Will Eisner (who died in January 2005).  The Spirit first appeared on June 2, 1940 in what readers called “The Spirit Section,” a 16-page, Sunday newspaper supplement or insert that was carried in various newspapers from the 1940s and into the early 1950s.  Once known as Detective Denny Colt (believed by some to be dead), The Spirit is a masked vigilante who fights crime in Central City.

Now, the two characters come together in a new comic book miniseries entitled, The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction.  Written by Mark Waid and drawn by Paul Smith, Pulp Friction unites the two characters to solve the murder of a Central City politician whose corpse is found in Los Angeles.

The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction #1 opens in Central City in February 1941.  It is cold and snowy outside, but inside City Hall, it is quite heated.  The story moves to the following morning, three thousand miles west.  Betty, Cliff Secord’s lady, is doing a modeling shoot on a beach when she makes a grisly discovery.

When they learn that a denizen of Central City has been found dead L.A., The Spirit, Commissioner Dolan, and Ellen (the Commissioner’s daughter) head to Cali.  And The Rocketeer is ready to greet them.

Uniting The Rocketeer and The Spirit seems like such a no-brainer that I’m surprised that it’s just happening now.  The Spirit is a character from the “Golden Age” of American comic books, and The Rocketeer, who first appeared in the 1980s, harkens back to the “Golden Age” of both comic books and Hollywood.

The creative team of writer Mark Waid and artist Paul Smith is an excellent choice to chronicle the team-up of two beloved “old-timey” characters.  When Waid is at his best, his comic books are pure fun, and as a fan of and expert on Golden Age comic books, Waid can write stories that capture the spirit of the 1930s and 40s, but tell them in a modern idiom.  Best known in the 1980s for his elegant and animation-influenced drawing style, Paul Smith engaged comic book readers with his storytelling that hit on all points:  character, plot, and setting.  That serves him well in this series, which will mix adventure and action with mystery and suspense.  I must note, however, that Smith’s work in Pulp Friction is closer to Dave Stevens’ in nature than to Will Eisner’s – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction looks to be one of the good things we will get this year.  It’s that wild ride comic book fans want.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.