X-Men: Gold/ X-Men: Blue

released OUT NOW! Publisher Marvel Comics

Writers Marc Guggenheim, Cullen Bunn

Artists ardian syaf, rB silva, Jorge Molina, Julian lopez

While the monikers are derived from early ’90s incarnations, the latest two-book reboot of the Merry Mutants’ core titles actually harks back even further into X-history – but with a few nods to contemporary expectations, as both teams are, refreshingly, headed up by women, with Kitty Pryde leading the Gold team and Jean Grey commanding the Blue.

Boasting a line-up largely made up of classic New X-Men stalwarts Kitty, Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus, X-Men: Gold sees Marc Guggenheim bringing the X-Mansion back to New York. Featuring the return of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the first four issues neatly balance frequent fight scenes with some relatable concerns, namely an onerous tax bill.

Adopting a lighter tone, X-Men: Blue takes the time-displaced original X-Men and turns them into a black-ops group. They’re still very much out of their element in the present day, and further tension is created by their uneasy alliance with former archenemy Magneto. Cullen Bunn’s boisterous script also pits them against some other old adversaries, in the shape of Sentinels and Bastion. Ideal for both seasoned and new readers, these are fine entry points into the X-Verse. Stephen Jewell