Generation X Classic Vol. 2

Collecting Generation X #5-11, Generation X Annual '95.

Generation X #5 is written by Scott Lobdell, with art by Chris Bachalo. The kids take a field trip to New York City, where Jubilee and Synch encounter the monstrous Hemingway.

Jubilee, Skin and Synch are in New York to enrol Artie Maddicks in to the Massachusetts Academy. The idea was to meet up with Emma Frost, but a rogue band of Morlocks calling themselves Gene Nation took Emma instead. Gene Nation are understandably upset about the Morlock Massacre and want vengeance on mankind. Never mind the fact that the people behind the Morlock Massacre were mutants themselves, not baseline humans. I doubt Gene Nation care that much and just want to kill folks.

Generation X #6 is written by Scott Lobdell, with art by Chris Bachalo. Emma Frost is being held hostage by Gene Nation, so it comes down to Jubilee and Synch to save her.

I always found Chris Bachalo's art to be pretty ugly, but I am enjoying the combination of Bachalo on pencils and Mark Buckingham on inks. Buckingham's style is most evident in the cute faces, especially with the girls. Maybe I am being a bit harsh on Bachalo's art. His style definitely messy, but it is an enjoyable sort of messy. It is just that it is difficult to tell what is going on sometimes and the stylised artwork isn't helping.

Generation X #7 is written by Scott Lobdell, with art by Roger Cruz. The kids struggle to cope with living in close quarters with each other while building repairs are made. Meanwhile, Banshee is beset by nightmares from his time as an Interpol agent and Emma Frost is listening in.

At the end of the previous issue, the girls' dormitories were blown up in an explosion that looked suspiciously similar to the energy discharge seen when Chamber uses his powers. It is revealed that Jono lost control of his powers after a drunken Paige kissed him.

I have always liked Chamber because he is one of the few British superheroes. His accent is pretty terrible though. It makes you wonder if the writers have ever heard a real English person. That being said, the X-Men comics have a history of terrible accents. Just take a look at any time Gambit appears in a comic. I suppose that is part of the reason why I like gambit so much, because of his ridiculous accent.

Generation X #8 is written by Scott Lobdell and Jeph Loeb, with art by Roger Cruz. Cassidy Keep has disappeared, so the team has to travel to a mystical dimension to bring it back.

It was nice to see a mystical threat after issues of fighting evil mutants (Emplate, Gene Nation and what have you). It is nice to mix things up and give the characters something that they may not be used to. You don't get more out of the X-Men's comfort zone than elves and leprechauns. I am sure that Banshee is more used to this sort of thing because his family castle is home to all these mythical beasties after all.

Generation X #9 is written by Scott Lobdell, with art by Tom Grummett. The kids have to help the fairies repair their Glamour Machine to save their realm in time to return to Cassidy Keep before it reverts to its proper place.

As if fairies and leprechauns weren't enough, now the kids have to deal with a great big dragon. Banshee and Emma are locked up in the keep itself while Chamber and Synch are fighting English knights. Goodness knows what Penance thinks of the whole thing. The poor love has only been a part of the team for a couple of issues and now she is stuck on a magical world with no way to get home. Jubilee is happy to remind everybody of what it was like back when she was with the X-Men, but even all this magical nonsense is out of her comfort zone. It was never like that hanging around with Wolverine.

Generation X Annual '95 is written by Scott Lobdell and Jeph Loeb, with art by Ashley Wood and Shawn McManus. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters gets a new student by the name of Mondo as Cordelia Frost plots to join the Hellfire Club.

There has been a subplot running through the last few issues with a girl called Cordelia hanging out with a guy only known as Mondo. It is revealed that Cordelia is Emma Frost's younger sister and she is using Mondo in a plot to gain membership of the Hellfire Club. However, present Black King Shinobi Shaw has no intention of letting Cordelia join and kicks her out, keeping Mondo any way. Cordelia's next plan is to find her sister and con her into finding Mondo for her.

Mondo is a member of the latest iteration of the New Mutants, so it was nice to read these early appearances. I have read several issues of Generation X before, but this annual is one of the few that I didn't manage to read.

Generation X #10 is written by Scott Lobdell, with art by Tom Grummett. Banshee is found near death and Emma Frost must enter his mind in an effort to save him.

The kids were having a party to celebrate Mondo's initiation when Monet found a seemingly dead Banshee in his quarters. Emma enetered Sean's mind to try and anchor him while the kids tried to track down the person responsible for attacking him. Emma discovered more about Sean's time as an Interpol agent in the process. It is revealed that somebody looking suspiciously like Magneto was helping Sean on his mission, but nothing further is explained. We never get a clear look at Magneto, he is always seen in shadows but the magnetic powers are a dead giveaway.

Generation X #11 is written by Scott Lobdell and Todd DeZago, with art by Val Semekis. With all the others down for the count, Chamber stands alone against Omega Red.

In a previous issue, it was revealed that Banshee has been having nightmares about an old mission from his Interpol days where he was chasing a serial killer. A mysterious figure has also been stalking him. That figure is revealed to be Omega Red. Omega Red takes out the rest of Generation X, leaving Chamber to take him on alone.

I already said how much I like Chamber, so you can imagine how happy I was to see him get a crack at a villain like Omega Red. I always enjoy it when character I like get a day in the moonlight.

I loved Generation X the first time around, so it was a lot of fun to read these issues again. It was a pity that there wasn't a regular artist on the title, but it seemed like a lot of things were up in the air at Marvel at this time. I don't think anybody stayed on a title for very long. It is a pity that there aren't any more volumes of Generation X collected because I would have really liked to have read more.

My rating: 3.5 stars.

Next time: Justice League International Vol. 2