This new Exiles series is nothing but fun. Even though, as is thus far revealed, it has only a tangential relationship with the old series, Jeff Parker has successfully captured all of the fun that made it great. In this issue, the Exiles infiltrate Genosha, which is under the complete and total control of Magneto and his two daughers, the Scarlet Witch and Polaris. Naturally, the Exiles’ own Witch and Polaris end up dressing up as their alternate universe counterparts, and Blink and Black Panther (revealed to be T’Challa’s son, T’Chaka) go with them to mingle at a party. Naturally, they’re discovered, due to Jean Grey’s telepathy, and the Exiles are now in another pickle. Mm… pickles…
All of the new characters are just chalk-full of goodness. They’re each well-defined and completely unique. Black Panther is sort of the Spider-Man/comedic relief for the series, and he’s absolutely adorable. I can’t wait to see what happens when Blink and Morph drop the act and reveal who they really are. Nonetheless, this is a superb series. Salvador Espin is the perfect kind of artist for this series, as he’s got that kind of playfulness that the Exiles need. More serious artists, like Tom Grummett for New Exiles, just don’t fit the tone of the series. I’m just so glad that someone finally got it out of the quagmire that Chris Claremont put it in.
Plot: 8.6 Art: 8.8 Dialogue: 8.8 Overall: 8.7
