New Mutants #34

History

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning had taken over writing duties on the third volume of New Mutants with issue #25, and by #34 they were steering the title through Marvel's Regenesis publishing initiative — the line-wide reorganization that followed X-Men: Schism. The Regenesis context meant each X-book was expected to show where its cast stood after the Cyclops/Wolverine split, giving Abnett and Lanning room to pivot the series' 'unfinished business' mandate toward Blink, whose complicated post-Necrosha status had been teased as far back as the Schism event itself. Artist David Lopez joined the creative team beginning with the preceding issue (#33) as part of that Regenesis refresh, with Álvaro López on inks, Val Staples on colors, and Joe Caramagna lettering, under editors Sebastian Girner and Nick Lowe, with Axel Alonso serving as editor-in-chief.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; penciled by David Lopez; inked by Álvaro López; cover by Jorge Molina; published with a January 2012 cover date (on sale November 23, 2011).
• Part 1 of a 3-part story arc titled 'Blink,' collecting storyline later titled 'And You Miss Her' — the opening chapter of the arc that runs through issues #34–36.
• The issue is a tie-in to the X-Men: Regenesis event, positioned as the New Mutants' chapter of the post-Schism Marvel mutant line reorganization.
• Features Earth-616 Clarice Ferguson (Blink) — the mainstream-universe counterpart of the more widely published Age of Apocalypse/Exiles version — in her most prominent ongoing-series role since her 1994 debut and death in the 'Phalanx Covenant' storyline.
• The core New Mutants team present includes Dani Moonstar (Mirage), Sunspot (Roberto Da Costa), Warlock, Magik (Illyana Rasputina), and Nate Grey (X-Man), operating under Cyclops's direction from the Utopia base.
• The premise — Cyclops dispatching the New Mutants to track Blink, who is repeatedly found near sites of natural disaster — sets up the central mystery of whether she is causing destruction or fleeing something worse.
• Reprinted in the trade paperback 'New Mutants Vol. 5: A Date With the Devil' (2012), collecting issues #33–37, and also in 'New Mutants by Abnett & Lanning: The Complete Collection Vol. 1.'
• The 616 Blink's original appearance (Uncanny X-Men #317, 1994) and her subsequent Age of Apocalypse reinvention were created by Scott Lobdell and Joe Madureira; her reintegration into the main Marvel universe continuity through Necrosha and then this New Mutants arc represents the character's first sustained team membership in the 616 universe.

Cast · 11 characters

Full credits