Original X-Men #1 - Preview

[Hakka84]

Disclaimer: I don't read credits so I tend to recognize only few artist with a very specific style (Land, Larocca, Lee).

I admit I liked (and partially still like) his art. I didn't know about the whole tracing thing, I discovered it... I think two years ago lurking here. So yes, that has a bit soured Land to me. But, being not involved in the "artists drama" (I recall another A-list cover artist, I think Italian, who traced or made covers using other people's art as reference but without crediting them as "homage"? So you always have to keep your eyes open on comic arts, sad), I tend to just look at art and go "Oh, dig it! / Nah, don't like this, I'm sure the artist has studied and I should respect it but damn ugly / Not bad but doesn't fit for the theme/mood of this title".
Of Land, I agree that often the (women) faces reactions are wrong for the mood/scene, but I still prefer his o-faces with women screaming all the times that other artists in which the mouth is just a line and you can barely make out the traits (looking at some issues of Excalibur and following minis). I like how he renders the bodies - not only (duh) women but men as well. I think he draws handsome men and goes for the kind of (perfect bordering on too much muscles) bodies I want to see in comics. Yes, I'm that old-minded, sorry for that.
Also, he uses thick border lines, they work for me. Sure, the colorists help: I don't think Land's art would work in a Marvel Essential format.

What I mean to say is. I like what I see in the previews, actually.

[Askani's Flame]

So... The premise of this series is that the 616 O5 are brought to another reality/universe by an AU Purple Phoenix to go to a different AU because those AU X-Men and Phoenix are dictators and seeing a teenage version of themselves will set them straight? And Purple Phoenix can't get involved because she's afraid she'll be eaten up by that other Phoenix (a la the Goblin Force from Earth 1298) so she won't get involved but will send another reality's teenage X-Men to do the dirty work?

Did they spin a wheel of previous story lines and this was the mashup they got with three spins of the wheel?
How did this greenlit? Also I love Gage, but the dialogue is cringe already...

Update, it's even worse. I've seen some of the spoilers. If anyone was looking forward to this I don't know what to say to you...

[PhoenixStudies]

Update, it's even worse. I've seen some of the spoilers. If anyone was looking forward to this I don't know what to say to you...

Yeah, its a mess.

spoilers:

Quite convoluted with the good purple Phoenix and the bad purple Phoenix who didn't actually have the Phoenix, but was just possessed by Onslaught. Onslaught says the Phoenix never came near that reality so how did he know to mimic the Phoenix after possessing Jean? There were some good/interesting moments such as Teen Jean being able to hurt Onslaught. And bad Purple Jean-gone-good destroying that world trying to get Onslaught. When good purple Phoenix tells Teen Jean that there are other realities where she mindwiped Magneto and things went bad it seemed to be a nod to Jean Grey #1 and Gage's notes at the end confirm that it was. Seems to confirm Jean really was affecting other realities from the White Hot Room in the Jean Grey solo just as she had done way back in New X-Men 154.

end of spoilers

[Mercury]

Yeah, its a mess.

spoilers:

Quite convoluted with the good purple Phoenix and the bad purple Phoenix who didn't actually have the Phoenix, but was just possessed by Onslaught. Onslaught says the Phoenix never came near that reality so how did he know to mimic the Phoenix after possessing Jean? There were some good/interesting moments such as Teen Jean being able to hurt Onslaught. And bad Purple Jean-gone-good destroying that world trying to get Onslaught. When good purple Phoenix tells Teen Jean that there are other realities where she mindwiped Magneto and things went bad it seemed to be a nod to Jean Grey #1 and Gage's notes at the end confirm that it was. Seems to confirm Jean really was affecting other realities from the White Hot Room in the Jean Grey solo just as she had done way back in New X-Men 154.

end of spoilers

I actually loved it, especially the bookend hints substantiating what I previously posted in this thread:

spoilers:

Older Jean from an alternate timeline referring to herself and younger Jean from yet another timeline as “WE” when talking about what supposedly only younger Jean had done (”…where WE—did just that”) and referring to younger Jean as “my old self”… She’s truly transcending spacetime, gradually gathering herself—her pieces—and becoming whole. And after the big bad’s reveal, it makes total sense why Jean was afraid. She's truly facing “the worst parts” of herself.

end of spoilers

[SugarMan]

The ending was questionable, but the story was actually pretty good. Good representation of both generations of X-men. Maybe they tried too hard the first time around, but this felt more natural.