It's easy to tell what the real emphasis and appeal of NYX is. Unlike most Marvel comics -- and comics in general -- it's the artist, Joshua Middleton, not the writer who gets top billing in the credits. And it's easy to see why. Don't get me wrong... Joe Quesada delivers a strong script. Sure, the plot is a little on the predictable side; we've seen similar scenarios as recently as the early issues of the relaunched New Mutants book. But there's a genuine quality in the dialogue and in the rebellion that's such an integral part of the main character.
Kiden Nixon was a vision of innocence. She was Daddy's little girl, the dutiful daughter... until one day, her father died. Years later, in her teens, Kiden is attitude personified. She and her mother clash continually, it seems, and she's more interesting in smoking and dropping ecstasy at a rave than her future and her studies. Kiden's friend Kara warns her that she's thrown her attitude in the face of the wrong classmate, though, and it doesn't take long before she's proven right.
Middleton's artwork here is stunning. A dreamlike haze hovers over the entire book, giving the reader a sense of the isolated and disjointed feelings that Kiden must be experiencing. Middleton is more closely associated with fantasy artwork -- even his covers for New Mutants boast a fantasy flair. But there's a far more realistic, down-to-earth quality at play in his artwork here as well.
One of the most hotly debated reviews I ever wrote -- not on this website, but on a previous venture with which Randy and I were involved -- was one in which I argued that Middleton's art sexualized a character -- a young girl -- unnecessarily. I'm not looking to revive the debate, believe me. I make the point because this book boasts a young girl as its main character as well, and her sexuality comes into play in this book. Middleton does an incredible job of walking the fine line of the portrayal of a modern adolescent here. It's clear from Kiden's form that she's still a girl, but her behavior and sometimes her clothing point to a blossoming woman. The character tries to immerse herself in rebellion and pleasure, and her sexuality comes into play, not so much in the plot but visually as well. Middleton's portrayal of this character is a credible one. He doesn't shy away from her sexuality, but he doesn't focus on it unnecessarily either.
Quesada's script features familiar elements of the emerging-mutant formula we've seen in Marvel titles time and time again, but fortunately, there are elements that set it apart as well. I'm in my 30s, living in suburban Canada. I am about as hip to teen obsessions and 21st century high-school violence as Gilligan is informed about nuclear thermodynamics, but there's a believable tone in Quesada's script. These seem like real kids, engaging in real risks. Furthermore, the writer doesn't preach about teenage drug use or rebellion; he just presents a story. This isn't "a very special episode of Blossom." This is more like Thirteen than Sixteen Candles.
