X-Men Outback #1: I Come From A Land Down Under

In the immortal words of Minnie Riperton, I saw a photograph, it kind of made me laugh, it took me way back, back down memory lane, and that’s what Steve Orlando and Stephen (we got the two Steves!) Segovia has given us. X-Men Outback is finally here, and the crew is taking us on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, by giving us this retro in continuity story that takes us the story in between the pages, to a bygone year, where the X-Men were thought dead by the world, roughing it up in the Outback of Australia. Hence the name of the series, so let’s get on with the story…

The Outback era of the X-Men is a fan-favorite status quo that took place almost immediately following the events of the Fall of the Mutants storyline, where the X-Men were thought to be dead by the rest of the world, hoping that if their enemies thought they were dead, then they’d leave their allies alone…in retrospect that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it was the ’80s! It was this kind of nostalgic irreverence for this period that Steve and Stephen had brought with them this issue. It’s quite evident that these two have a deep respect and love for Claremont and Silvestri, who were the two main architects for the title at this time (shoutout to Rick Leonardi who was also doing Uncanny issues during this time), and you can feel it with every panel and line of dialogue you read this issue, and it’s the love that shines through.

Its a fun little ditty that’s full of some fun, yet formulaic story beats that dictates the flow of the issue. ’80s style of clothing? Check! Personal infighting amongst the team? Check! A scene where we get a brooding, and introspective Colossus? Check! Wolverine is a consummate badass? Check! A killer fight featuring one of the worst of the worst of the X-Men baddies? Check! (It’s Sabretooth in case you haven’t read it yet). Plus a killer final page with an open ended what happens next teaser? Check! Even when I think I found a mistake, where I’d become a proud owner of the oft-coveted No-Prize, Steve turned around and fixed that non-existent plot hole to begin with! This issue checks all the boxes of what you can expect from a story about this era of X-Men comics. Unfortunately not everything is aces with this issue.

Some of the moments here feels like afterthoughts, or just crammed into the book to show that the creators know what they’re doing. Like the scene with Rogue, Dazzler, and Longshot. Unless you’re an encyclopedia on all things X-Men continuity, like I am, you won’t understand the scene. Rogue and Dazzler don’t care for each other, and that’s because back in the early ’80s, when Dazzler had her own solo title, and Rogue was a villain, the two fought, and Rogue tried to kill her. So Dazzler joined the X-Men, because she had nowhere else to go after she outed herself to the world, saying there was bad blood between the two would be an understatement. Unfortunately the scene here showcasing that animosity feels lost compared to everything else going on.

Stephen Segovia’s art here is pure…Segovia. His art is energetic, and fast paced. He’s going 100 miles a minute, and it’s seen in every panel. His work here is an affectionate nod to the late 80’s, without becoming too bogged down with a bevy of retro tech/styles. The action sequences here are by far the best scenes visually, and he’s very good at depicting them as seen in the big fight against Sabretooth, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the title looks like a mess. Far from it. It’s a superhero comic, and Segovia’s giving us that in spades. These two aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, and they’re not trying to just rehash the older stories from this era. It’s somewhere in between a nostalgic fever dream, and a love letter to 1988. Really stellar stuff.

It’s just a few nuggets, and I’m genuinely shocked that I’m saying this, to past continuity that seem to be the biggest problems with the issue. Newer fans won’t really get what’s going on here, and it could serve the book, and the narrative better had it happened in the next issue, or the one after that. Regardless of the very few minor missteps, this book was enjoyable to read, and the first time in a long time that I haven’t felt ambivalent to what comes next. This book looks to give us something new, and fun, without trying to be deeper than what this is: a retro series that’s intent on giving us a further look into a fan favorite era that didn’t last long enough.