Do the Evolution: On House of X #1 and the Power of Reinvention

By David Harper

July 27, 2019

This piece is about House of X #1.

But it’s also not about House of X #1.

There are plenty of things to say about the first issue of Jonathan Hickman’s new direction for the X-Men, almost all of which would be positive. It’s a comic I loved, and one that has me more excited about the direction of a franchise I adore than at, well, pretty much any point in my adult life.

But the interesting thing about that first issue from Hickman, artist Pepe Larraz, colorist Marte Gracia, letterer Clayton Cowles and designer Tom Muller isn’t anything qualitative. That’s not notable. Comics are good and bad each and every week. That’s ordinary, and for a storytelling medium that’s often rather decompressed, it can even be a fluid idea.

It’s that it’s doing something new with a concept built on the idea of evolution for the first time since at least Grant Morrison’s run, and how it’s forcing one of the most rigid structures in the world of comics – what a superhero comic is – to be something different.

Those ideas to me are where things get very interesting indeed. 8

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As a heads up, no spoilers are discussed in specific from House of X #1. However, art from throughout the issue is used, so tread lightly.↩
As a heads up, no spoilers are discussed in specific from House of X #1. However, art from throughout the issue is used, so tread lightly.↩
Truth be told, this whole section could just be Miller reinventing characters.↩
I may have talked to her a time or two about my comic loves.↩
I read the issue the first time and wrote this piece while listening to Johann Johannson’s score to Arrival, and I highly recommend it as a partner to the comic. It’s very on point to the vibe of this issue.↩
Ironically, right after he said this, he also said he’s excited for House of X and Powers of X, but he was uncertain how they would do anything to move the needle in that way.↩
Note: Please don’t increase the price of future issues because of that statement, Marvel.↩
As a heads up, no spoilers are discussed in specific from House of X #1. However, art from throughout the issue is used, so tread lightly.↩

Notable Replies

blank99 says:

July 27, 2019

I, too, loved it, for all the reasons you mentioned. I’m so excited about this. Something new! Hooray!

FYI - I would move the " Start the discussion at [community.sktchd.com]" to above the “Read More for Sktchd” links.

I think more people will see and click.
SKTCHD says:

July 27, 2019

That’s a very good suggestion! Thanks for that idea, Scott. I certainly want more people to route onto the forum, so I will work with my developer on that. And yeah, I’m obviously on the House of X hype train. It’s going to be so good!
Prince3PO says:

July 27, 2019

I love the point about price point. I mean, I’m not dying to pay $20 for HoXPoX next month, but it’s completely worth it and I’d probably buy more Marvel comics if they were worth their price.
levi says:

July 28, 2019

It’s sort of remarkable to me, in retrospect, that Marvel hasn’t embraced this level of graphic design and data pages before this point.

Whenever I talk to people about Silver Age Marvel - or listen to podcasts about the same subject - the blueprints of the Baxter Building or the detailed breakdown of the web shooters design are the kinds of things that really stick out to people and that we most geek out about.

What’s one of the most beloved 80s series? Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, of course.

Marvel, in particular, has a lineage of this sort of thing. It’s sort of baked into their DNA.
actualtotoro says:

July 28, 2019

I was thinking about Stu’s comments as well, especially the fact that the bulk of his customers who had expressed interest in HoX were Hickman readers, not X-readers, as the latter had lapsed almost entirely after years of getting burned. And I really wonder, short of an outright apology from Marvel (which, never gonna happen), what would get the attention of those lapsed readers enough to get them to come back right now.

Sure, store owners can attempt to handsell it – though the onus shouldn’t be on THEM to bend over backwards on Marvel’s behalf. And that doesn’t address X-readers who stopped coming in, period, because they felt like the thing that had once gotten them most excited about comics had stopped existing years ago.

I am pretty confident that any even minor fan of X-Men would be pleased with this book and with the direction it signals… I just wonder how hard it will be to get those folks to open said book.