This was my first encounter with the new Marvel novels from Aconyte, and I admit to being dubious. Novelisations of past Marvel properties haven't been great - sort of like '80s fantasy and superhero movies - and I had my mental fingers crossed that this would be more on a level with the original 'X-Men' movie.

It's better.

I was familiar with (Doctor) Robbie MacNiven from his Warhammer 40K books, but this stands on its own as original fiction within an OP. I had to look up some of the characters, although the book does an excellent job of introducing them and their personalities/powers, so I never felt lost. If this had been one of the recent 'First Class' movies, I'd have been very happy!

The tale takes the constant themes of X-Men comicbooks and runs with them right from the off. Themes of sexuality, gender and politics are undercurrents throughout, and while it's impossible to miss them, it feels as natural as such viewpoints are in daily life for most people. The superpowers seemed almost incidental sometimes - these are just everyday kids, trying to find their way in life. Until they're sent on missions or are forced to protect their families from mobs incited to violence.

And this was written before the storming of the Capitol Building.

At the time of reading, I was really struck by how much the author had nailed the current politics of the United States, and looking back now, it seems almost prophetic. I felt for these characters (even though I'm not a superhero!), and that's the real treasure here. Clever, insightful writing with a message that we can all understand. I'm sure young people in particular will find this book resonates with them.

Very impressed and looking forward to what comes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I am not very knowledgeable of X-Men stories and characters. I have watched the movies, read a few comics but I haven't deepened the facts I know with more material. This didn't keep me from really enjoying to book. Action packed, twists, it made me gasp and I was surprised by a lot of the things that happened. This might also be due to the fact that I really didn't know what to expect. Maybe knowing the comics would've helped but nevertheless this book was the right kind of supernatural/mutant action story that you'll enjoy if you like the genre.

I was surprised how much I liked First Team, especially since I had requested it for my younger sibling who loves Anole. Despite having little knowledge of Anole, Cipher, Graymalkin and Rockslide, I ended up really liking all of their characters and am considering trying to read them in comics at some point.

The story is written in third person and switches perspectives across most of the characters in the story, both the teens on the team, and the villains as well. It was action packed and a quick read, once I started I didn't want to stop. I did feel a bit distanced from the characters compared to what I usually prefer, but that tends to happen a lot in the IP novels I've read, so take that with a grain of salt. Overall, it was a fun, diverse superhero story that I'd definitely recommend for libraries and anyone who loves superheroes.

A new X-men story. I enjoyed reading it. It took me a while to get into it. Its been years since I've read a X-men story but I liked this. It was fun, fast paced and kept me interested.

I really liked there was a LGBTQ aspect to the story. X-men story have always been about being accepted and identity. LGBTQ stories fit so perfectly with the X-men.

I need read more X-men stories again!

First time reading a Marvel/X-Men novel and it was fun!

I enjoyed this short book very much, it really kept me engaged the whole time. Even though I have little knowledge of the X-Men universe beyond the movies, this book was able to set up the scene and the characters without making me feel like I should have read anything else to understand the situation. I've read in other reviews that there are some fun cameos and references for the real X-Men fans, but not knowing about them didn't make me feel lost at any point in this story.

The protagonist Vic was an interesting mutant, and his description reminded me of my favorite X-Men character: Nightcrawler; with different powers obviously. Him and his friends were an entertaining group of young mutants. Finally, it was also great to see LGBTQ+ representation in the X-Men Universe and in a Young Adult novel.

Between the characters, the plot and the writing style, this was a very enjoable book to read, and would recommend to X-Men fans of all levels, Marvel or other superheroes enthusiasts or anyone looking for a fun quick read about teenagers with super-powers.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the author, the publishers and the NetGalley team for providing me with an Advanced copy. I cherished this opportunity to read it in exchange for an honest review.

This may have been the best prose Marvel novel by Aconyte yet. It follows one of the younger X-Men, Anole, and his friends Cipher, Graymalkin, and Rockslide as they are menaced by the Purifiers. The Purifiers are basically the KKK, but they hate mutants as well, and have advanced weaponry. After starting a bit slow, the book is action packed. I had a lot of fun with it.
MacNiven's handling of Anole is great. I especially liked how unlike most mutants his family and small town has always been supportive of him. The book is LGBTQ+ as two of the characters are gay.

The story is not canon as some things happen to Anole that already happened years before this. The story is rooted though in X-Men lore. Anole, Cipher, and Graymalken's friendship did begin in Young X-Men and events from that comic are referenced frequently. The book is set at Cyclop's school in Canada which would set the book during the time Brian Michael Bendis wrote Uncanny X-Men.

A Xavier’s Institute novel

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

When a mutant-hating cult attacks his hometown and takes his father hostage, X Man-in-training Anole (Victor Borkowski) has to rely on his friends to help him rescue his dad and survive. I’ve been a fan of prove superhero novels since the 1990s and I’m so glad and Marvel and Aconyte Books are issuing more of this type of book. I’m not a close follower of the X-Men because there are so many different teams and so many mutant students to populate them, but I’m glad that I chose to try this one out.

The book focuses on four current or former students at Xavier’s Institute: Anole, who possesses the camouflage abilities of a chameleon along with a prehensile tongue and lizard-like climbing ability; Cipher, who can phase through solid matter and prevent herself from being seen or heard; Graymalkin, who gains incredible powers in darkness; and Rockslide, a being of solid rock who can also use his willpower to manipulate solid rock.

The villains include the Purifiers, a religious cult wanting to eliminate mutant-kind; cult leader Xodus; and Lobe, a corporate hot-shot who funds the cult so he can develop a serum giving mutant powers to whoever will pay top dollar for it.

I gave First Team five stars. Sometimes I thought there were too many gaps without action, but when the action occurred it was worth the wait.

DNF at about 10% in. I unfortunately found this writing style hard to get into and not very interesting. I usually like marvel's novels but This one was just not for me.

DRC provided by Aconyte Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Representation: gay protagonist. Black deuteragonist, gay deuteragonist, Latine deuteragonist.

Content Warning: violence, homophobia, vivisepulture, death, fanaticism.

First Team: A Marvel: Xavier’s Institute Novel by Robbie MacNiven is an adventure-packed, superhero novel, starring three spectacular and gifted young heroes.

Victor Borowski, also known as Anole, is one of students at the Xavier’s Institute, where they are trained physically and mentally to become the next generation of X-Men. His life is disrupted when his hometown is attacked by a small horde of anti-mutant fanatics called the Purifiers. Unbeknownst to him, though, the cultists are only puppets in the hands of evil secret puppeteer.

I have to say I expected something more from the novel. I was really excited to read about Anole and Graymalkin and Cipher, characters who are usually found in the background in the comics, but I found the novel lacking both in substance and in the writing, which was sometime repetitive.

Nonetheless, it was not what one would call a train-wreck. The trio of young mutants are exceptionally loveable and every scene between Graymalkin and Anole moved me to tears. The ending did as well, even though I frankly expected as much. Moreover, the novel maintains the same level of action one would expect from a comic, which is definitely a positive.

In conclusion, I wish it had been more, but I still enjoyed it.

"Overall I think that First Team is an excellent first book in this Xavier's Institute series, and I'm hoping to read more of it as they come out!"

This review is presented in full in the youtube link attached!

I've been reading comics for years. I love YouTube channels like Comic Drake, Variant, and Comics Explained. But the X-Men? I couldn't really get into them. It was something about the whole saga, how X-Men ruled the 90s comic landscape and changed everything. I couldn't really get into the movies, I loved Evan Peters as Quicksilver, and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, but I just couldn't understand the whole idea of mutantkind, or the time-travel shenanigans, the deaths and the resurrections, or... Deadpool. Comic-fan blasphemy, I know! I just couldn't get into Deadpool for the life of me!

I needed something that was a palate cleanser, an introduction that was easy to follow, easy to know. The idea of Xavier's Institute is such a cool one, it's like Harry Potter; a school full of powered individuals, with powerful teachers, learning how to hone their skills to be helpful in the rest of the world. First Team by Robbie MacNiven fulfills that desire and need.

We follow Victor Borkowski, a mutant with Lizard abilities. His hero alter-ego? Anole. With scaly skin, an expandable tongue, camouflage abilities, and wall climbing similar to Spider-Man, Anole wants to join the ranks of the X-Men, and he's already one step ahead by attending Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

Victor is obviously a step out of normal, thanks in part to his green skin and the fact that his parents are bother middle class, working, powerless humans. So, when the Purifiers - a cultist group bent on eradicating mutant-kind - attempt to subdue Anole, kidnapping his father in the process, Victor must figure out how to put a stop to this, all the while working with his friends Cipher and Graymalkin, fellow mutants while he travels to take down the Purifiers and rescue his father.

I have to say, I loved this story. It was a quick read, simply because the style and pacing was amazing. MacNiven really understands these characters, and when we jump from perspectives, it is seamless as the powers are set, they're never really augmented to fit the standards, and we get a good feel of what these characters feel. Even in prose, a comic novel reads like a comic, and that is, in no way, a bad thing. Comics are GREAT with dialogue, and the great things about comics is the writer typically does this thing where the character's thoughts are shown in a little thought bubble. Here, however, those thoughts are told in an energetic, quick way. It doesn't intrude or interrupt on action or dialogue, it's naturally said.

I honestly think that's why it was such a fun read. It was engaging and to the point, and the perspective changes kept the suspense up, as we may learn the villain's motives in one chapter, and in the next we have Victor trying to track him down, or Cipher trying to help a character in the Institute. It keeps you on your toes.

This feels like Harry Potter, Superheroes, and the road-trip excitement of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," wrapped into one, and man was it engaging. I couldn't put it down when I really got into the thick of it!

That's the issue I have, however. The pacing was really good, but it had a slower start than normal in the beginning. Of course, I'm glad it was a lot more character-driven, and we got a feel of Vic and his friends, his family, and the looming threat of the Purifiers, but around the forty percent mark it started to get exciting, and didn't really slow down in it's pacing until the end. I like comics (and now prose based around superheroes... maybe more than comics itself) because you can go one minute with character-expanding dialogue, and the next is an epic battle. I just was left wondering when it would happen, and I felt a little on edge waiting for it as I flipped from page-to-page.

And my-oh-my am I left with questions about what universe this is supposed to be! As a comic geek, placing the correct universe something is in is important to me. Anole has been a staple of X-Men comics since his first appearance in "New Mutants" back in 2003. So, is this story in the main marvel universe (Earth-616)? Or does the Aconyte set of novels have it's own, separate universe with all of their different superhero novels, such as The Harrowing of Doom and Domino: Strays to, most recently, this and Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest? It keeps me thinking, but man, is this version of the Marvel Universe interesting! There's minor references here that I'm sure fans will get a kick out of, and I'm not going to spoil any of them, but the keen reading eye will surely have no trouble catching them.

I think the villain is an interesting one, I've loved "evil bloodlust cult" as a main antagonist since Far Cry 5's Joseph Seed and the Project at Eden's Gate, and Xodus and his crew is a really engaging group that I want to know more about.

All-in-all, I think besides the pacing issues at the beginning with the whole buildup of the conflict, this novel is a 4 stars out of 5 in my book. I REALLY Recommend this as an introduction to what the X-Men is as a group. It was what I needed, especially with the rumors of them eventually entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe soon.

Once again, SPECIAL THANKS to the people at Aconyte and Marvel for giving me a copy of this! It was truly a joy.

First Team, by Robbie MacNiven is the latest X-Men Novel from Aconyte, and I’ll admit that it’s one that passed me by. Literally. I’d failed to spot it on the upcoming releases sheet, and only realised that I had a digital review copy after the US eBook had been released! Looking into it, none of the characters were ones that I was particularly familiar with either, so I was tempted to skip it, but in the interests of due diligence I decided to read it, and I’m glad that I did.

Like the previous instalment in the Xavier’s Academy series, Liberty & Justice For All, First Team begins in the New Charles Xavier School for Mutants, at a point in the X-Men timeline when they have uprooted from Xavier’s grand home in Westchester, and relocated to the old Weapon X facility in Canada. Aconyte’s Marvel books are set in their own Earth-618 setting, which allows for a few tweaks to the main timeline, personally I’m not convinced that the main cast for this story are a group who were actually at the school when it was in this particular form/location, but it’s a small enough detail that it doesn’t break any of the immersion.

Chief protagonist for this story is Vic Borkowski, aka Anole, with a supporting cast of Alisa Tager, Jonas Graymalkin, and Santo Vaccarro, aka Cipher, Graymalkin, and Rockslide respectively.


L: Cipher, AKA Alisa Tager. R; Cypher, AKA Doug Ramsay, AKA Sir-not-appearing-in-this-book
I’d say that most of these characters are fairly deep cuts – certainly none of them were characters that I was particularly familiar with, and I spent a few pages thinking that Cipher was a typo for better-known New Mutant and X-Man, Cypher. However, even if you’re not familiar with the characters going in, I think that MacNiven does a good job of giving you a strong sense of Anole in particular, allowing you to really empathise with the characters, and get properly invested in their struggle by the end.

As the novel opens, the presenting villains are the Purifiers, a fanatical cult with masks, robes, and automatic rifles. Despite having been around for a long time, the Purifiers have suddenly flared up like a rash, holding hostile rallies across the US, packed with violent and racist rhetoric. There’s something particularly topical about the idea of self-appointed white human supremacist militia deciding to take the law into their own hands, threatening and attacking ordinary members of the public, but it is more-or-less impossible to sympathise with The Purifiers. At various points in the story, we are given insights into the thoughts of Xodus, their leader, but this isn’t going to be a window into a complex soul, merely the rantings of a repulsive zealot. Given how noxious the Purifier message is, it’s probably a good thing that MacNiven doesn’t give you any real reason to feel ambivalent about the villains, but I generally prefer stories with greyer villains.

I don’t think that it’s too much of a spoiler to say that the Purifiers aren’t exactly working alone in their current evil schemes and, whilst it’s their attacks which launch the main thrust of the story, it soon becomes apparent that there are other forces acting behind the scenes, forces which have taken a particular interest in Anole and whose motivations and aims are a lot more complex. As for exactly who they are, and what they want, you’ll have to read and find out.


One of the biggest overarching themes of First Team is that of family, and I really appreciated the way that Vic/Anole’s family are shown: they have the standard sort of disagreements that families have: dad leaving junk from work all over the house and things like that, but fundamentally they are shown as a healthy, happy, supportive unit, and so much of Vic’s identity stems from that loving upbringing. It’s an easy cliché to fall into for protagonists to come from broken homes in order to drive them, so seeing the opposite for once is a real positive. The only aspect I found slightly jarring was in the chapters narrated from Vic’s perspective where his parents are referred to as “Dan” and “Martha,” rather than “mum” and “dad,” but it’s a very minor quibble.

I was also a fan of the way First Team depicts the friendship between Anole and Graymalkin. It’s not an insignificant fact that both are gay, and they are used to present a contrast between the acceptance Vic found from his own family, versus Jonas being buried alive by his father for his ‘transgressions (for anyone unfamiliar with Graymalkin’s backstory, he spent several hundred years buried underground, only surviving thanks to a previously-unknown mutant power which is powered by darkness). Acceptance of those who are different has always been a big theme in X-Men stories, and I felt it was done really well here.

Cipher and Rockslide are 2 characters in First Team who I’d have liked to have seen a bit more time given to – Cipher in particular was a completely unknown character to me (I think I’d read one comic where she was briefly on-panel, but hadn’t identified her), but she has a fairly cool mutant power – Kitty Pryde-style phasing coupled with full-on invisibility. I really enjoyed the few sections of the book that were told from her perspective, so would have appreciated getting a bit more into her backstory in the way we did with Anole and Graymalkin, especially considering that she’s the only female character to get more than a fleeting appearance. That said, MacNiven has mentioned in interviews that her “mysterious past” is a fairly key aspect of the character, so it doesn’t seem like this was accidental. Rocky has the same issue in an even more extreme form – I had at least heard of him, and enjoyed the elder-brother-type relationship that he had to Anole, but again, his character gets slightly squeezed out, presumably for reasons of space above anything else.

Overall, I enjoyed First Team quite a bit, despite having essentially nothing invested in the characters to begin with. In some ways, it felt a bit odd that none of the “big names” of the X-Men appeared much, but based on last year’s Liberty and Justice for All, this seems to be the direction that they’re taking with the Xavier’s Academy series: you might get Kitty Pryde showing up to invigilate an exam, or Cyclops doing the ‘talk in the principal’s office,’ but these stories seem to be all about giving the younger figures more time to shine. Even if your knowledge of the X-Men isn’t encyclopaedic enough to be familiar with these characters already, then I’d recommend giving this one a read.

I went into this thinking I might be a little lost, since the world of X-Men is relatively new to me. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the author includes a good amount of backstory and information for all the characters so that you can easily get a sense of the mutant world. Victor was a delight! My teenage students will love this book.

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Xavier’s Institute book First Team by Robbie MacNiven, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

Secondly I am a friend of Robbie on Facebook, and whilst we aren’t best buds, we do interact with each other on occasion and I consider him a class person.

I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

What is Marvel
Look at this point I would bore you with a bit of background to the game/universe, but lets not, you all know the Marvel Universe, if you don’t have you been living under a rock!

The Xavier’s Institute novel series is focued on the heroes that attend this school and their adventures and the two books in the series thus far (disclaimer I never actually read the first one yet) have focuses on what would very much be considered b-list heroes, which is good because it allows the authors to do a lot more with the characters than they would be able to do with more established heroes.

The Story
This is not an origin story, but you aren’t gonna need to know the background, you do get a decent explanation of the characters. Speaking of which the main character is Victor Borkowski, aka Anole, a lizard type mutant who had a really good upbringing compared to other mutants, and this story sees his dad kidnaped by anti-mutant extremists known as the Purifiers.

Pretty much this whole book is about the b-list X-Men with a little bit of Cyclops and a cameo by Kitty Pryde (The best of all X-Men and I will die on that hill), with Greymalkin, Cipher and Rockside forming the titular First Team. All of these are fan favourites but haven’t really had the exposure to the wider public before.

The story is one about family, a theme familar to those who are X-Men fans, family that is biological, adopted, genetic and forged of friendship. Mutants have often been shown to be more likely to suffer abandonment, being made orphaned or just plain abused, and this really delves into that in the unusualness of Anole having had a normal loving upbringing in an acepting community, despite being both a mutant and gay.

The family bonds we have are so often more than simple blood, they are forged in love and friendship, and this book really gets to the core of that, family is more than blood, and looks at what we would give up when our families are under threat.

Conclusion
This book is a real page turner and is to me seemingly a story in four parts almost, don’t know if that’s important but it felt like the book had four acts almost in which the feeling of the book changed quite a bit, which worked for me.

The featured X-Men are well rounded, you get a good feeling for who they are and what their motivations are, except perhaps Cipher, but I think that is intentional as she is a rather caged and guarded character.

Anole is a fan favourite and for good reason, we know that he was originally intended to commit suicide in the comics whilst struggling to come to terms with his sexuality, but just like the comics quickly realised that this would be a crass and awful thing to do, Anole here is at peace with his secuality and very happy with that part of himself, which was very warming to read.

I also liked that fact that although there were two gay blokes in this story, there was no automatic coupling, they were friends and often in comics and books, where there are two gay characters, they are often forced into a relationship by the writer, but here is a rare example of two gay men, who just enjoy each others company in a non-romantic way, and that to me makes their bond all that much stronger.

The theme of family, is infused into this book so naturally and so well, that it really makes you realise exactly how talented a writer Robbie is, it would be so easy to shove it in your face point to it and make it so obvious that its painful. But instead he has written a book that does this in a subtle way that you don’t realise how much focus the book places on the concept until you get to the epilogue, in that respect its a very well crafted book.

But thats not to say its a perfect book, and my biggest critisism is the villans, although we get some chapters from thier point of view, they feel very one dimensional, they are there, there is no background, they just exist as an obsticle with no real motivation other than hate and greed.

The big bad of the book, is sort of implied to be a mutant, but this is then forgotten about and we don’t actually have an explantaion about him. I know who he is and what his background is, but its not very well explained or expanded upon, which is a shame as the concept of him is, interesting in the comics.

To be frank, he could have been any generic bad guy and it wouldn’t have made a difference to the story which is what annoyed me about this, I feel in that respect Robbie did the character a disservice.

Same with the Purifiers, an existing organisation in the 616 continuity that honestly could have been any generic anti-mutant religious group.

All I am saying is that I think that original creations would have been better, because it really felt like the baddies were sort of not really well served in the story, and that’s not a bad thing, because the focus is and should have been the protagonists.

So in conclusion I am giving this a solid 4 out of 5

The eBook is out now and the paperback hits the shelves on 27th May.

Robbie MacNiven’s First Team is the second instalment of Aconyte Books’ Marvel: Xavier’s Institute series of X-Men prose novels, and it perfectly blends the powerful darkness of a world in which young mutants are surrounded by hate and oppression, with a warm sense of friendship and family. Compared with many of his peers at the Xavier Institute, Anole – otherwise known as Victor Borkowski – knows that he’s had a remarkably comfortable life for a mutant. When his parents are threatened by the anti-mutant extremist group known as the Purifiers, however, he gets first-hand experience of the hatred that many mutants suffer under, and finds himself relying upon his found family at the Institute – particularly close friends Cipher and Greymalkin – for support in his mission to track down and stop the Purifiers.

Much like the first book in the Xavier’s Institute series – Carrie Harris’ Liberty and Justice for All – this is very much a tale of young mutants coming of age and recognising the family that they’ve built around themselves. First Team takes a slightly different approach, however, focusing primarily on a character in Vic who’s comfortable in his own skin – as comfortable being a mutant as he is with being gay – but who has to learn to rely on others for support when he simply can’t achieve everything he needs to on his own. Whether in the familiar surroundings of his quiet and sleepy home town of Fairbury or the bustling streets of New York, battling robed and masket zealots or negotiating the security measures of the Institute, he gradually gets accustomed to working alongside Cipher and Greymalkin, sharing problems, identifying solutions and generally looking out for each other.

The three friends make for a really strong group of characters, all of whom are young but very capable, with a great combination of skills and powers, and feel entirely believable as prospective X-Men (or an actual X-Men in the case of Vic’s ex-roommate Rockslide, who plays a small but important part too). While this is primarily Vic’s story MacNiven pays enough attention to the rest of the cast for them to feel like fully realised and developed characters, in particular using Vic’s viewpoint to offer a sympathetic illustration of Greymalkin’s PTSD and the strength that their friendship provides. They’re all driven by personal worries over Vic and his family of course, but also broader concerns over the growing wave of anti-mutant propaganda and the implications of the (deeply sinister) Purifiers’ public presence and mysterious financial backing, questions which drive the narrative as the book progresses.

All the great character work is delivered over the course of a plot that starts off slowly, introducing characters, ideas and locations, then explodes into action and never lets up. MacNiven maintains a tone throughout that’s brilliantly appropriate to this world – it really does feel like an X-Men story pulled straight from the Marvel archive – managing to be warm and heartfelt even while exploring the recognisable darkness that X-Men stories all contain, with the expected themes of otherness, prejudice and injustice. There’s a real sense of contrast between Vic’s home life in calm, happy Fairbury and the appalling reality of life for mutants in America, in particular the horrifying behaviour of the Purifiers and the helplessness of watching as they’re left to act virtually unopposed. It all makes for a story that’s dark and emotional in places, but hopeful too and ultimately a lot of fun. Readers of any age are likely to find lots to enjoy hereregardless of how much prior knowledge they have of this setting – if you think the X-Men are cool (which they obviously are) then definitely check this out.

First Team by Robbie MacNiven is an excellent X-Men, high fantasy read.

If you're seeking a fun, fantasy read that brings Marvel characters to life then this book is for you! It's a long read but it is mighty worth it!

I wasn't aware of most of these Marvel characters, but I am sure many comic book fans will be aware of them. Even if you don't know them, Robbie MacNiven gives you enough background and history to help you. You don't need to worry about going into this book blind! The character development and prose of this book is where it really shines. I was honestly amazed at how brilliant the writing was! Add in the incredible word choice and it felt like a book that went above and beyond what I expected of it. I'm truly impressed.

Also: LGBTQ+ Representation! Woo!

Reader beware: I picked up this book because it was marketed to me as a Comic Book/Graphic Novel - it is not. It's a full chapter book. All of my research couldn't find any concrete proof that it was or wasn't a comic book - it's not. Full book!

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aconyte Books for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I've been a fan of the X-Men for as long as I've been reading comics, longer even. I remember sitting down to eat breakfast on a Saturday morning as the 90's X-Men cartoon came on TV and loving every minute of it; whether it was the stories that were fairly complex for a kids show, the brightly costumed heroes, or the absolutely rocking intro music by Ron Wasserman, there was never a dull moment. And that show instilled in me a love for these characters, and that particular part of the Marvel universe.

Over the years I would come to love them even more, especially when I realised I was both queer and trans, and was able to connect to their status as outsiders who are persecuted for who they are. But, as most people who read X-Men stuff will agree, there's a lot of it, and there are parts that I've still not experienced over the years, including the Young X-Men; as such, this book became my first opportunity to get to know some of these younger members of the X-Men.

First Team features several characters, but chiefly follows Victor Borkowski, the young mutant known as Anole, who's been struggling with school thanks to the confined environment of the Xavier Institute, as well as the stressful exam seasons. Luckily, he's given a leave of absence to go back home and visit his family to unwind for a bit. Victor had been lucky enough to grow up with parents who not only accepted his being a mutant, but were immensely proud of him, and made sure that others saw him as a regular person and treated him with kindness and compassion, even though his mutation made him stand out more than most. As such, Victor not only returns home to a welcoming family, but friends, neighbours, and people from across his small town who are proud to have an X-Man amongst them.

With so many characters in the X-Men books having more tragic back stories, of lives where they were never accepted by their loved ones, to see a family stand up for their child this way is incredibly heartwarming. The people of Fairbury treat him with respect and care, for the most part, and to get to see a mutant that's so obviously not human walk down the street and be met with smiles and waves is incredibly jarring, especially as the book had already established that the mutant hating cult The Purifiers were on the rise and causing disturbances across the country.

Unfortunately, Victor's peace is short lived when a group of Purifiers arrive in Fairbury and take his parents hostage in an attempt to lure Victor out. Despite fighting valiantly against them Victor is able to free his mother, but can't help his father, and the cult manage to take him prisoner.

The first third or so of the book covers this part of the story, and we get to see Victor being forced into action in his old hometown with no back-up and no resources, having to rely purely on his training and his own abilities. Not only does this display how adaptable and level headed Victor is, having to resist the urge to just rush to his parents aid and having to actually come up with a plan, but it also feels so different to most X-Men stories. Whilst stories of civilians and innocent mutants being targeted isn't new to the franchise seeing an X-Man with nothing and no one to help them, having to go alone very rarely happens to characters other than Wolverine. And I struggle to think of it really happening to a character as relatively young and inexperienced as Anole.

Despite these struggles, Victor is able to keep his head and manages to save his mother, thanks in part to the people of Fairbury, and the two of them are able to return to the Xavier Institute. From here the story expands as Rockslide is sent out on a mission to track down Victor's father. Despite knowing that someone is out there looking for his dad, Victor is unable to just sit around, and with the aid of Cipher and Graymalkin manages to break out of the Institute so that he can begin to search for his father himself.

Despite a lot of the book featuring Victor alone it's ultimately, as the title might suggest, about a tam; or more accurately, a family. It's not the family that Victor was born into that's important in this story, but the one that he's made himself, that comes together here to help him when he's at his most desperate. And you know what, it's so much more heartwarming that it has any right to be. It should feel corny, and I should be jaded to things such as this, but the connections forged between the four young heroes here feel so earnest, and so well earned that it honestly filled my heart with joy to see them come together. There's a moment towards the very end of the book (well, the last scene really) that even brought some tears to my eyes with how wonderfully heartwarming it was.

And that's what I love about the X-Men in general, and this book especially. It tells the stories of people who normally don't have much, who've had terrible lives; people like Graymalkin who were almost killed by his father for being gay and a mutant, or like Cipher who grew up alone and with no one. But instead of letting that fear and pain overwhelm them they come together as a family, they find common connection with each other and that makes them stronger than any hate they'd have to face. The group that forms in this book are of characters I'd not read before, or who had only briefly appeared as minor characters in some stories, but by the end I loved them all so much. I not only wanted to see them win the day and beat up the bad guys, what I wanted most was to see them happy.

It's easy to write an X-Men story filled with popular, powerful characters and have them fight some villains and make a story that wins over the reader thanks to the sheer spectacle of it; but making a story with smaller characters, characters some people might never have encountered before, and making you emotionally invested in their lives is a hell of an achievement. An achievement this book manages.

This is the second Xavier's Institute book that I've read from Aconyte, and the second that's hugely impressed me. Whether we get more of these stories with this group of characters, or something completely new next time I'm definitely looking forward to more.

I really wanted to enjoy this book because I was drawn in by the fact that we have a Marvel book centered on a queer character. But the story lost my attention after a few chapters, as the plot became very contrived and predictable and lost in an unengaging storyline. Victor was an interesting character and I liked his love for his family and the fact that he was one of the few whose home life was happy and content, that he was both a mutant and gay, and yet his parents and neighbors all still loved him. I enjoyed Graymalkin and Cipher were pretty great friends, and I really loved Graymalkin's character and completely died over him. Overall, this was a decent read, but didn't quite meet my expectations.

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About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL

#Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review

*I received a free ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As an X-men fan since I was but a wee one, I was excited to read First Team. Despite being unfamiliar with the X-men it focused on, I more than enjoyed the read and now have an appreciation for a new cast of characters. While I am not sure if those unfamiliar with Marvel’s world would be keen to read this, I think any X-men fan will find it hard not to enjoy.

Robbie MacNiven’s pacing in this novel was fantastic. The initial set-up was great and there was plenty of background story for characters mixed in with the relentless action. The relationship building between the characters and the time spent establishing Anole’s backstory with his family were a pleasure to read. Of course this read comes with a bit of corny dialogue and overly convenient coincidences tucked in here or there, but that is wholly expected with a novel set in this universe.

I’m also impressed with the decision to put not one, but two queer characters front and center in the novel. Anole was so fun to read about and Graymalkin really added a unique perspective to the team and the overall story. I will definitely be looking out for more material featuring them in the Marvel universe.

Overall, this novel is 1 part high-octane thriller, 1 part coming-of-age story, and 1 part heartwarming meditation on the importance of family and friendship (yes, I did say heartwarming- it honestly is). If you are a fan of the X-men or Marvel in general, I think you owe it to yourself to pick this one up!


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About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.
For more information visit marvel.com. © 2020 MARVEL
#Marvel #MarvelEnt #Aconytebooks #review