Manga Review: X-Men Misfits Give Marvel's Mutants a Makeover

When Del Rey Manga and Marvel Comics first announced at New York Anime Festival 2007 that they were teaming up to create Japanese manga-style remakes of American superhero comics, fans greeted the news with a mix of excitement and skepticism. Could it work and be an exciting synthesis of two very different types of comics, or would it be hopelessly lame? The shonen manga version of Wolverine came out earlier this spring -- and now in stores is the long-awaited shojo manga remix of The X-Men, X-Men: Misfits by Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman and Anzu.

The basic premise here is simple -- take teenage X-Men Kitty Pryde, and plop her in a very different version of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters -- one where she's the only female student surrounded by a student body filled with lots of hunky (mutant) boys. Imagine Ouran High School Host Club with superpowered students and a little more angst and you have X-Men: Misfits.

But when an American superhero story gets thrown into the manga blender and given a hefty dose of romance, bishonen (pretty boys) and sparkles, is the result something fresh and fun, or does it fall short of both X-Men and shojo manga fans' expectations? Check out my review of X-Men: Misfits Volume 1 and see if this unconventional collaboration has brought together the best of both worlds, or is just another comics culture clash.

Also, if you're in the New York City area, you can meet Telgemeier and Roman at tonight's X-Men Misfits launch party at Rocketship in Brooklyn. The event is free and open to all, from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm at 208 Smith Street.

You can also check out a transcript of excerpts from Roman and Telgemeier's online chat about X-Men: Misfits from Suvudu.com.

Image credit: © Marvel Entertainment, Inc.