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Renown romance author Marjorie Liu has been writing a six-part continuation of a small group of mutant teenagers for Marvel Comics (home of the equally-renown group of mutant teens; The X-Men). The only thing about this group of teen mutants is that none of them wear colorful spandex (or even black leather), solve their problems by immediately punching out the other guy, or even fight criminals or world-threatening baddies.

Nope, they are really just a bunch of street kids cut adrift in a harsh world that (mostly) doesn’t give a right, royal damn about them. The are tough and street-wise, but still, they are kids in a grown-up world with grown up problems. Someone is chasing them and they really aren’t sure why, only that they must stick together and fend for each other, because each other is all that they have.

Sure, sure, the circumstances of their collective lives is not so much the cut-and-dried issues that real-world street teens must deal with in the world in which we live, but still, the set of circumstances are truly not so much different if you think about it all. They still must put up a brave front against a cruel, uncaring world, and make it through each day relying on their own wits and all.

So yea they have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, but the story is truly well-written and the fact that they do possess these extraordinary powers becomes transparent to the story being told. They must work their way through to the conclusion of events set in motion both at the beginning of this series as well left over from the previous series. So if you are a fan of either the X-Men, Heroes or (Stan know shy) Push, you should enjoy this well-written series.

As a matter of fact, you should enjoy this series even if you are not a fan of the above-mentioned material, because Liu is a most-excellent writer and brings these characters to life in a wining way that will bring you right into their tale and make it completely believable, even given their fantastic powers and abilities.

The last issue of the six-issue series just came out recently, so if you missed any of the issues you could either search for them at a comics shop or on-line, or simply wait a bit more as the entire set is being collected and bound in a hardcover volume and will be available at a book story near you. Each of the individual issues came with “extra” material packed in with it, so the bound volume is sure to also contain like material. I believe that if you haven't read a comic in a while you will be pleasantly surprised by this story.

The Perfessor

A lawyer by training, an author by choice Marjorie M. Liu has studied and traveled extensively through Taiwan and China, and spent some time working at the US Embassy in Beijing. She loves to read and poodles. A couple of the books she has authored include, The Wild Road, (August 2008 — Dirk & Steele #8), The Iron Hunt, (July 2008 — Hunter Kiss #1), Hotter Than Hell, (July 2008); and of course NYX.

According to Liu, she got the chance to write an X-Men book during a lunch with her agent, and mentioned that it was a long-time dream of hers to write something for Marvel comics. As, she happened to know a Marvel editor who was active seeking proposals for X-Men novels she sat down and brainstormed a couple of ideas. As it turned out, even though her first couple ideas were rejected, the last one took, and well, the rest is NYX.

As for the story of isue #four, Kiden and her mutant friends are trying to find their missing mentor, the adult teacher Cameron Palmer. Unfortunately that was before Tatiana was shot and now the cops are hunting for them. With this limited series (two more issues are left) Liu has crafted a very believable (human) story about these extraordinary youths, and somehow managed to do so in a world where everyone has big muscles and wears spandex.

This is a rather remarkable feat of no small proportions considering that the male-dominated comicbook industry is powered by people wrapping I-Beams around each other’s skulls. This story really draws you in to learn about the lives of these kids. You really want to know who they are and discover more about their lives. as the story twists and turns you are treated to a solid story that makes full use of the words and pictures aspect of this unique medium (in fact, even as a first-timer, she is better than some folk who have been doing it for years.

If you mised out on the first couple of issues, and don't want to jump into the closing chapters of the story, then you are in luck. Marvel will be reprinting this story in a graphic album form that is sure to be at a book store near you.

The Perfessor

I’m used to reading comicbooks where people in tight-fitting costumes resolve their differences by hitting each other over and over again. I’m used to reading comicbooks where people who have been born with their powers and abilities (rather than have acquired them by having been exposed to radiation, building a special suit or rocketed to earth from an alien world), are called “Mutants”. These mutants then put on yellow and blue spandex and beat the living crap out of each other.

I’ve been reading comicbooks for a very long time, and in most of them, guys in costume try to take over the world (or the First Federal Bank of Somesuch) and then have the crap kicked out of them by other guys (and gals) in colorful spandex.

I am an open-minded, free-thinking modern guy who reads and supports Indie comics, and still I am not wholly not used to the kind of under-stated elegance that I have found in Marjorie M. Liu’s lyrical writing that I am finding in NYX. The first couple of issues seemed to re-establish who these characters were and setting up the story that is to come. With issue #3, that is now done and, well the excitement begins.

I was prepared for the pacing of the first two issues (I had not read the first series) so I was not entirely sure what to expect as far as a storyline was concerned, but I knew right for the get-go that this was not going to be a funnybook where people were going to put on spandex and hit each other.

What I got in the third issue was a subtly powerful story about runaway teens who were on their own living in New York City. Teens who already had tragic lives. Teens without the benefit of caring parents (they do have an adult who looks out for them, a teacher who has taken them in, but that’s not quit the same thing). Still, the events of this issue are powerful. The teacher (Cameron Palmer) was kidnapped last issue and the kids walked into their apartment to see it splattered with blood.

The kids are now on the run, trying to make sense of a world suddenly gone mad. The violence is underplayed and overwhelming, while the histrionics of the events swirling around them flow smoothly to support the characters and the storyline itself. It is a wonderful piece of work, and if you are not picking up this comic you still can (this is only the third issue). Plus when it is all don (there will be a total of six issues) it will be collected in a graphic album that will be available both online and at brick-and-mortar bookstores.

In case you are unfamiliar with Marjorie M. Liu, she is an attorney and a writer (The Wild Road,
Tiger Eye, The Last Twilight, The Iron Hunt). She has traveled throughout Asia, and when not writing, she tends to enjoy reading comicbooks, designing websites, and watching movies from a long time ago and far, far away that involve light sabers, various applications of the Force, and small green men with pointy ears.

I’m going to keep reading this series. I like when my preferred choice of reading material surprises me.

The Perfessor

The second issue of NYX — the new entry of teen mutants in the Marvel Universe. In this second issue:

Kiden, Tatiana, Bobby Soul, and Lil' Bro (our young heroes) have never had an easy life, but when someone kidnaps their would-be mentor — the only person who ever lifted a finger on their behalf — for this is when the NYX kids learn what they’re really made of. Will they stand together…or fall apart?

Well, that’s the way the Marvel catalog describes it. for me, it is a different kind of comic, for as a reader of the four-color literary periodicals for the past 45 years or so, I am used to people in gaudily-colored spandex kicking the crap out of each other for little if any reason.

This comic is vastly different than most main-stream hero comics that I have ever read. It is not so much about heroes in costumes (in fact, no one appears in costumes, and really, no one refers to anyone by wicked-cool handles, but their actual names). No, here the story seems to be an actual story, that revolves around characters and their motivations.

(This is not to say that all comics are cheap, badly-written stories centered around violent content, I’m just playing to type here. Actually there are quite a few well-written comics that feature real characters, honest-to-Homer stories, and meaty content. It is just that I’m often surprised when I find such in mainstream comics from one of the major publishers int he field.)

Anyway, for what it is worth, Marjorie Liu has delivered the second chapter in what can only be described as an interesting, off-beat story that will have people sitting up and taking notice of her, and that sort of writing is always good, no matter the medium.

The Perfessor

A few weeks back, Walt told me that New York Times bestselling author Marjorie M. Liu was taking over the writing chores to the Marvel comicbook, NYX. For those of you who are uninsulated in the lore of Marvel Mutants, NYX is about a group of street-wise teens living off their wits on the mean streets of New York. As stated, these kids all have mutant (or extra-normal) powers and abilities.

Personally, I was not that familiar with the first run of the title, but told him that I’d check out the new series. According to the Marvel line, the new series picks up some time after the conclusion of the initial run:

There’s no place like home—just ask young mutant KIDEN NIXON. She’s survived the hard streets of Manhattan, and she’s built a home—and a family—for herself, with her friends TATIANA, BOBBY SOUL and his LI’L BRO. But with fewer than 200 mutants left on the planet, Kiden’s become a target—and when somebody strikes at one of her friends, Kiden’s going to find out just how much farther she can fall!

As this series opens up, we witness a young girl in a hospital johnny coat chained down to what appears to be an operating table. She has obviously been captured by someone, but we don't see her captor. From here we head out into the heart of the story, where we are re-introduced to the cast of kids.

Kiden and Tatiana are foraging through a dumpster for a present for their friend, Bobby. Returning to their apartment, they find Bobby and Lil' Bro having breakfast. From her we go thought he rest of their day and move into their adventure.

Let me be clear here, if you are looking for standard comicbook spandex-and-testosterone punching and histrionics, this is going to be the wrong comic for you. These are not superheroes, and the fact that they are super-powered people is secondary to the story. This is a day-to-day drama of a bunch of street kids trying to get along in a life that has been quite tough to them.

I am not familiar with Liu’s work — from her bio I learned that she was born around Philadelphia, spent her formative years in Seattle, and now reside in the Midwest. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin and was admitted to the bar, only she didn’t wind up as a lawyer, but decided to become a writer instead.

This first chapter is quite good, and — because it is so different from most of the superhero comics that I do read — proved to be very intriguing, and thus I’m going to continue reading it. The new issue should be due out soon, and I’ll get back to you with it after I’ve acquired and read it.

The Perfessor