Generation M #1 (of 5)

Writer: Paul Jenkins
Pencils: Ramon Bachs
Inks: John Lucas
Colors: Art Lyon

In the aftermath of House of M almost ninety-nine percent of the mutant population has lost their powers. Down and out reporter Sally Floyd attempts to revive her column, The Mutant Diaries, in an effort to inform people about the devastating effects of what has now been labeled “M-Day”. The column meets with enormous success and Sally soon finds herself an overnight celebrity. But she also discovers a terrible plot against mutants, even those without powers.

This is one of the first books to spin out of Marvel’s House of M event that I actually enjoyed reading. It takes a more real world look at how the mutant population has been effected and how humans and mutants alike are dealing with the aftermath. We get to see how regular people, not superheroes, are reacting. We also get to see just how deeply rooted some people’s hatred of mutants is. Even without their strange mutations, a number of former mutants are still hated and feared.

Paul Jenkins does a great job of exploring the lives of several former mutants, revealing that they are every bit as human on the inside as the rest of us. He also creates an interesting and engaging central character in Sally Floyd, a tortured and rebellious reporter on the verge of a huge comeback after a devastating loss. Ramon Bachs art is good, though a little rough in places. The inks are a little heavy and contribute somewhat to the overall roughness of the artwork. But it’s the coloring that really put me off. The colors are way too muddy, too gritty and washed out. I’m sure that the colorist was going for some sort of real world look, but to me it just seems messy and ugly. Still, it’s a good story, probably the best one to come out of House of M and the one I’m most likely to keep reading.


Special thanks go out to Jeremy Shorr, owner of Titan Comics for allowing us to use his advance preview books for review purposes.
 

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