Courtesy of Marvel’s Legacy Previews, because it seems quite a few folk didn’t get them, here’s a preview of the first issue of Phoenix Resurrection #1, with the Return Of Jean Grey by Matthew Rosenberg and Leinil Francis Yu.
Just so you know, for this review I will be remaining spoiler-free, so don’t expect to learn anything about the actual events of this book. But I will answer the question that many will want to know: is it any good?
The series brings together the various groups of X-Men as a bizarre mystery brings them all together — one that brings a troubling air of familiarity to some longer standing members of the mutant superhero team.
What Rosenberg does here is bring just the right amount of nostalgia so that it feels familiar and brings excitement for long-standing fans, while also not feeling like a retread. It helps as well that just as many characters seem at a loss for what the others seem to recognise in the situation, so newer readers can feel connected through those characters, too.
There’s a very Grant Morrison feel to the mystery that Rosenberg sets up, and it’s a lot of fun in the intrigue that it sets up, giving away just enough information to keep the reader hooked without telling them everything. And towards the end, you also get a somewhat Twin Peaks vibe, with a last page reveal that is sure to leave more than a few readers surprised and scratching their heads for just where this series is going.
Nothing with the Phoenix is ever easy and straightforward, but it is dramatic and fun, and Rosenberg has managed that tight rope expertly in this first issue.
Yu’s artwork is great for the issue, too. There are some really creepy moments, which Yu draws well and manages to make it creepy to look at. We get to see a fairly big number of X-Men, and he gives each their own identity clearly and the story flows well.
Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey #1 is a really great, intriguing and bizarre start for this series, and it certainly has me hooked to see how this series will evolve.