X-Men Red

X-Men Red was an eleven-issue comic book series published by Marvel Comics in monthly installments between February and December 2018. It was written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Mahmud A. Asrar. The book followed a new team of X-Men led by Jean Grey following her return in Phoenix Resurrection.

X-Men Red
Cover to X-Men Red #1, art by Travis Charest
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Publication dateFebruary-December 2018[1]
No. of issues11
Main character(s)Jean Grey
Nightcrawler
Storm
Namor
Wolverine
Gambit
Gentle
Honey Badger
Trinary
Creative team
Written byTom Taylor
Artist(s)Mahmud Asrar

Publication history

X-Men Red is part of the X-Men franchise and a sister book to X-Men Gold and X-Men Blue, which began ten months earlier. It follows events from the December 2017 miniseries Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey written by Matthew Rosenberg and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu.[2] The first issue, released February 7, 2018, was written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Mahmud Asrar. It was available in ten different variant covers.[3] Taylor's initial plans for the series did not involve any crossovers with other comic series.[4]

The series was promoted as part of Marvel's "Fresh Start", a full company relaunch of publications.[5] An annual is scheduled for May 2018 to detail the events between Phoenix Resurrection and X-Men Red #1.[4]

Plot

Jean Grey, a character recently resurrected after being dead for over a decade, assembles a new team with the intent to create a mutant nation.[6] Her initial allies are Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Honey Badger, Gentle, Trinary, and Namor.[4][7] They use Atlantis as their headquarters.[8] After she attempts to convince the UN to recognize the mutant race as a nation with full human rights, Jean is framed for murder of an English congresswoman who is psychically murdered by a resurfaced Cassandra Nova, who uses this to alienate Jean in the public eye and label her a fugitive. Jean's team is thereby forced to act in secret as she continues in her goal to "heal the world".

Reception

Prior to publication, the series generated interest for starring Grey, a character who was killed nearly 15 years earlier in New X-Men #150.[8][9][10]

According to review aggregator Comic Book Roundup, the debut issue received an average score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 33 critical reviews.[11]

In a review for Newsarama, David Pepose praised the plot of the book for its focus on the coexistence of humans and mutants, which he said was the main premise of the X-Men franchise.[12] IGN reviewer Jesse Shedeen agreed, saying the "franchise has a bad habit of ... losing sight of the mutant metaphor and its allegorical power", but was glad X-Men Red makes it a primary focus.[13]

Although they found Asrar's art to be flawed but adequate, both of them liked Taylor's portrayal of Grey and her supporting cast.[12][13] Pepose specifically liked that Grey was a leader instead of a symbol, love interest, or target.[12]

Prints
Issue Publication date Writer Artist Colorist Comic Book Roundup rating[14] Estimated sales to North American retailers (first month)
#1 February 7, 2018 Tom Taylor Mahmud Asrar Ive Svorcina 8.1 by 34 professional critics 98,468[15]
#2 March 7, 2018 8.0 by 15 professional critics 49,084[16]
#3 April 11, 2018 8.1 by 10 professional critics 56,531[17]
#4 May 16, 2018 Rain Beredo 8.2 by 13 professional critics 44,607[18]
Annual #1 May 30, 2018 Pascal Alixe Chris Sotomayor 7.5 by 16 professional critics 38,444[18]

Collected editions
# Title Material collected Pages Publication date ISBN
1 The Hate Machine X-Men Red #1–5, Annual #1 144 September 18, 2018 978-1302911676
2 Waging Peace X-Men Red #6-11 136 March 19, 2019 978-1302911683

References
  1. "It's Official: X-Men Red Stealth-Canceled with December's X-Men Red #11". Bleeding Cool. October 16, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  2. Moore, Trent (September 13, 2017). "Marvel Comics bringing the original Jean Grey back to life, like a phoenix". SyFy. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  3. Babos, John (January 30, 2018), "Marvel Comics Legacy Spoilers: All 10 X-Men Red Covers Including Variants!," Inside Pulse. Retrieved March 1, 2018
  4. George Marston (February 16, 2019). "X-MEN: RED ANNUAL #1 to Fill in Gaps After JEAN GREY's RESURRECTION". Newsarama. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  5. Jamie Lovett (February 20, 2018). "Marvel Announces "Fresh Start"". ComicBook.com. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  6. Dave Richards (February 26, 2018). "Tom Taylor Explains Why Jean Grey Sets Out to Change the World in X-Men Red". CBR. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  7. X-Men Red #1
  8. Polo, Susana (February 8, 2018), "X-Men: Red #1 brings back a powerful villain and a terrible pun," Polygon. Retrieved March 1, 2018
  9. (December 8, 2017), "Phoenix Resurrection: Jean Grey's Return is an All-Hands on Deck," Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 1, 2018
  10. Yehl, Joshua (September 18, 2018), "Original Jean Grey Returns in Marvel's Phoenix Resurrection," IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2018
  11. "X-Men Red #1," Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved March 1, 2018
  12. David Pepose (February 1, 2018). "Advance Review: X-Men – Red #1 Brings 'Compassion, Warmth, & Clear Purpose to JEAN GREY's Mission' (8/10)". Newsarama. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  13. Shedeen, Jesse (February 7, 2018), "X-Men Red #1 Review," IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2018
  14. "X-Men Red Comic Series Reviews at ComicBookRoundUp.com". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  15. "February 2018 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  16. "March 2018 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  17. "April 2018 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. "May 2018 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
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