New Mutants in the House of Mystery

The original splash page that I was working from required a bit of tweaking before I could add in the New Mutants.  Here's a look at the behind the scenes progress:

The New Mutants and Cyborg

 

The New Mutants was exciting for readers of my age because here was an X-team that we could start collecting and following as soon as they began.  Well, not exactly, for me anyway.  While I was able to get the series off of the stands from issue #1, the first appearance of the team was in one of Marvel's new graphic novels.  Those were only available in comics shops, none of which were nearby my home, certainly not in bike riding distance.  It would be years before I was able to get my hands on a copy.

Warlock and Lieutenant Uhura

 

I remembered when Warlock was first introduced in The New Mutants, and thinking he was an odd fit for the team.  He quickly became a favorite of mine however.  No other artist has been able to quite capture his alien nature the way that Bill Sienkevitch did.  Art Adams was one that was able to provide a pretty cool interpretation, though, as is seen on this cover. 

Warlock Vs. Brainiac

I always loved the design that Bill Sienkiewicz gave to Warlock of the New Mutants.  It truly evoked a feeling of an alien technology that is constantly in flux.  I've seen other artists try to tackle the character, but none have been able to present him as effectively as Sienkiewicz (Art Adams came the closest in my opinion).

Warlock and Cyborg

Back in STF #950, which featured a New Mutants/ New Teen Titans team up, I included a back up story that starred Warlock and Cyborg.  I had always meant to flesh out that tale for a cover all its own, and now I have finally gotten around to it.  It's interesting to me that both Warlock from the New Mutants and Adam Warlock each have arch enemies named The Magus.

The Ugly Bunch

Ever since Ban Grimm was transformed into a rock creature but maintained his heart, determination and humor as The Thing, I have always been attracted to non-human looking comic characters.  I think the fact that their appearances are so extreme allows readers of all kinds to somehow identify with them in a way they might not with a standard good-looking superhero. Plus, the just look really cool!

The formation of this team was gradual - Kilowog met Wonder Wart-Hog in STF #511... who then wete joined by Metamorpho and Warlock in the next issue...   Kilowog met Beta Ray Bill in STF #1059... and Death's Head joins them all this very issue!

Metamorpho and Warlock

I wanted to include a couple more of my favorite ugly characters, so I made this adventure a two parter.  I could have extended it even more though, because the list of hideous yet heroic characters is quite long,  I have always liked the concept, I think it speaks to the outcast in all of us - that outward appearances matter only so much, it's what's in your heart and your actions that truly make up who you are. Plus, most of them just look so darn cool!  Of course, Rex is a victim of the New 52, and hasn't appeared since the reboot.  Not in the comics anyway, he did appear on an episode of "Beware the Batman", which gave me a spark of hope that DC is not done with "the freak who never fails" yet...