Graphic Novel Review - 'X-Men Vol. 1: Primer' by Brian Wood (Writer), Olivier Coipel (Artist), David López (Artist), Various Inkers and Colourists

I've been flipflopping over whether to buy and read this comic for a while, because of the mixed reviews and my lack of knowledge and experience when it comes to 'X-Men' comics. But it kept grabbing at my attention, it wouldn't leave my mind, so I thought, what the heck, I'll get it already. I mean, it stars six female X-Men - including Kitty Pryde! - in their own adventure, how could I resist?

'X-Men Vol. 1: Primer' - yeah, it is a flawed superhero comic. Most character arcs and baggage, side storylines, and even the main storyline, do not flow very well together, and in the end they are either unresolved or are rushed (or are a combination of both). Some for the dialogue doesn't make sense, and doesn't match what is going on at that exact instant and panel. Such is the trickiness of writing and drawing serialised comic issues on a deadline, I suppose. Darn you, big publishers Marvel and DC.

I get the feeling that a lot of 'X-Men' comics are like this: dumb fun, often rushed dumb fun, even when it is trying to be smart and clever. It is the best way to describe 'Primer' positively: dumb fun.

It's six badass ladies on missions together - Storm, Rogue (oh yeah, this Southern babe kicks arse and takes names and quite literally has a blast doing it! and it's nice to see her as a positive ray of sunshine for a change), Kitty Pryde (needs no introduction, and the comic showcases her personal, leadership, and mutant strengths - bravo), Jubilee (who has kidnapped rescued a baby, so she's a mum now, but wait, how old is she? and is she a bloody vampire?! I heard that'd happened to her but it's not mentioned here - wait wait, is that why she never uses her mutant powers in this series?), Psylocke (she's a good guy? Okay then), and Rachel Grey (whom I know practically nothing about, and seriously, how many telepathic female X-Men are there?!). Though the main thing to focus on is the X-Women - as they should be called, but whatever - saving the world from vengeful, warring microbe siblings, who possess human host bodies, bent on the extinction of the human race (you can roll with it, because fun), and the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning being taken over and in lockdown...seeing super women and girls working together and fighting evil - that alone scores big points for me.

I didn't say anything about Storm/Ororo Monroe above in long and incoherent parentheses because I'm rather confused about her character nowadays. I want to really like her; I've wanted to for years. However, perhaps it's because she's one of the very few prominently used and recognisably mainstream female X-Men in the franchise, and so her characterisation receives the most changes and inconsistencies over the decades, and it's why I have trouble connecting with her, ironically enough. A double-whammy combination of misogyny and racism in all of comics' history certainly wouldn't have helped matters.

I admit my knowledge of Storm is limited to cartoons, movies, and a few 'X-Men' comics here and there, both classic and contemporary, but is she normally so grumpy and cold? Is she normally prone to quick, unnecessary, and contradictory violence? Not that she's a bad character in 'Primer', but as an X-Men leader, she comes close to Cyclops levels of callousness and thoughtlessness towards her own teammates who are also supposed to be her friends - she never goes there, but it's hard for me not to think of that comparison. I can't even imagine her smiling anymore; I think she does once or twice in 'Primer', but just barely. Her permanently pissed-off face in 'Storm, Vol. 1: Make it Rain' is far worse, at any rate. Has she always had cat eyes, too, seemingly appearing whenever she's extra angry? I never noticed until now! Like Jubilee, Storm doesn't use her cool powers in this comic, except flight.

Other characters/cameos: Beast, Wolverine/Logan (of course, when isn't he in an 'X-Men' book, including one with a chiefly all-female lead cast), Pixie, and other X-Men I've never heard of, like Karima Shapandar, Bling, Hellion, and Primer (no relation to the trade title. Wow that's confusing, and incompetent - his inclusion is tiny and he doesn't do anything).

'Primer' ends on a classic 'The Uncanny X-Men' issue, which was the first appearance of Jubilee, and in another parallel to the modern 'X-Men' comic proceeding it, it stars only female X-Men. I'll confess, I had fun reading the campy blast from the past. It's funny, light in tone, OTT, and one of the women is Dazzler. It's marvellous seeing an optimistic and scrappy Jubilee. On the downside, Rogue is back to being angsty and tortured - this is when she'd switched from villainy (remember that about her?) and had accidently absorbed Carol Danvers's mind into her own. There's a 'Jekyll and Hyde' situation going on, with Carol occasionally taking over Rogue's body without her consent. It's Marvel superhero comics in the 80s, what could anyone have expected?

SO.

In conclusion, if 'Crush & Lobo' is my guilty pleasure DC comic read of this year, then 'X-Men Vol. 1: Primer' is my Marvel comic equivalent. It may be objectively crap, but darn it, it's my crap. Women kicking arse, working as a team, and highlighting how human they are in this terrible, terrifying world full of moral grey areas they live in - that is what I came for, and it is what I got. It has its thoughtful moments to go with its actions. Despite its problems, I adore it.

Final Score: 3/5