New Mutants #61 (Fall of the Mutants)

New Mutants #61 (March 1988)
Rating:  ★★★★★★
Our Way!
Writer:  Louise Simonson
Artist:  Bret Blevins
Inker:  Terry Austin

Most of this issue was a fantastic read and a great follow up to the first death of one of the New Mutants.  Cypher's death hit them all hard.  Rahne and Warlock were an emotional mess.  Rahne simply because of the guilt she felt and Warlock because he couldn't process the concept.  I love the emotional gambit that runs through the mutants.  You've got sorrow/depression (the aforementioned Warlock and Rahne).  You've got anger from both Illyana and Sunspot.  And lastly you have the two oldest mutants, Sam and Dani, who are a little more accepting of death and just trying to find a way to deal with it in a healthier manner.

You've even got bargaining.  Sam, who feels guilty over not watching over Doug (Sam's the oldest and always takes responsibility for everybody on his team), makes a pact with Rahne to consider her a sister.  Sam is missing his siblings and Rahne never had any, so it fills a gap in both their lives.  Sunspot and Dani clash when they try to call Magneto, both feeling guilt (which is a running theme throughout this issue).

You've also got Magneto who has no idea how to handle these children and Doug's death finally pushes him over the edge.  The X-Men's supposed death in Dallas after helping humans and the start of the Mutant Registration Act begins his reverting to old form.  Doug's death shook him badly.  So his response is to use his powers to try to bind the mutants in chains.  They of course fight back.  Illyana most of all.  Not only did she lose Doug, but her brother is now dead.  She once defended Magneto because he had once fought to defend her from S'ym.  Now, she sought to kill him.  The mutants pull her back and they flee, leaving Magneto alone with Doug's body.

This leads the mutants to decide to follow their own edicts.  They won't follow Magneto and Professor Xavier is gone.  So they grab some new costumes from the various clothes in the attic.  Then, and only then, do they truly look like dorks.

Okay, so maybe that was a bit extreme, but I really hated their new costumes.  I don't know if Bret Blevins had anything to do with the designs, but I'm sure he did.

The issue had some glaring issues which keep it from being a great issue.  Blevins' art is just bad.  As always, most of the characters are misshapen and distorted.  But some of the scenes are just especially bad.  As I mentioned already, the costumes were bad.  And I thought the final scene with them in their costumes was just corny.  There should have been a better way to end the issue.

Still, overall, I love the reactions to Doug's death and the emotions that play out.  Again, Simonson demonstrates her mastery of understanding teenage emotion.  This is definitely a good issue.  Too bad it couldn't be great.