My interest in Marvel's first New Mutants series was negligible throughout its run, but I was looking forward to this relaunch. I don't have much of an attachment to the characters, but when a story is penned by the writing team behind Skinwalker and Three Strikes, there's bound to be strong characterization and engaging plotting. DeFilippis and Weir open this new series on a quiet, focused note, introducing a new character, and through her, the premise as well.
Sofia Mantega is a mutant. Air currents are hers to control, and the Venezuelan girl rarely uses them for more than helping her friend to fly a kite. Her life is thrown into chaos, though, when her mother is accidentally killed, and fearful relatives send the girl to America to live with the father she never knew. He's a retail magnate with an eye for profit and no interest in fatherhood, and his cruelty is matched by the unforgiving and vindictive children at her new school.
Grant's artwork tends to run hot and cold for me, and fortunately, I'm warming up to his efforts on this book. He usually boasts a harsh, angular and exaggerated style, but here, there's a softer quality that's in keeping with the more grounded tone of the story and the gentle nature of the main character. He captures Sofia's youth and her open nature quite well. My only qualm with the artwork is that the opening sequence -- in which Sofia's mother is killed -- could have been clearer and more intense so as to reinforce the ugliness of the tragedy that robbed a young girl of a parent.
Not surprisingly, the greatest strength of the story is the central character and how vivid her soul shines through. Sofia's patience and willingness to adapt stand out as her greatest strengths, and they get the reader on her side in a hurry. She's intelligent, but I like how the writers craft plausible dialogue that shows her awkwardness with a new language. That language barrier is a symbol of the social obstacles Sofia encounters, but the writers point out through Derek, Sofia's father's majordomo, that such obstacles are unnecessary.
Walter Barret, Sofia's father, is a rather over-the-top character when it comes to his cold, callous reactions to his daughter. While he's a one-dimensional figure, though, his behaviour serves to allow Sofia's greater depth to really shine. The entire story would be a thorough tragedy if it weren't for Derek, and I'm pleased that he's able to bring a small measure of light into Sofia's life as a small reward for her strength of spirit.
