For one reason or the other, I didn’t read John Byrne’s NEXT MEN during its initial run back in the early 90’s- after reading both his West Coast Avengers and Namor The Sub Mariner run, I was pretty much overkilled on Byrne, and didn’t feel like taking up what looked like nothing more than a vanity project copying the X-MEN…
Boy, how misguided can a guy get?
It was only after Byrne started up his X-Men: The Hidden Years comic that I felt enthusiastic enough about picking up his NEXT MEN series that was, by then, dead and gone (or, infinitely postponed, according to Byrne) and I was able to buy almost the complete 31 issue run in the $1.00 bins at the local comic store! (at least, all except issue 21 which featured Hellboy)
I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I began reading the strip, but I tell you this: After reading just issue #0, I knew this comic was special. Something about the characters made me care for them the very first time I laid eyes one them!
We get introduced to the central players, who we later find are living in a virtual world plugged into their subconscious, and it’s only after they’ve woken up in the “real” world, do their powers manifest, shocking them and subsequently overtaking their humanity with its raw power. The team must set out to find “the truth” about themselves all the while dodging government and political enemies, trying to sort out friends from enemies.
One thing I really loved about the Next Men was how GREAT they looked as a group, one scene that really stood out for me was when the gang has been hauled in for mass murder… I remember thinking, wow,this is really a pretty awesome team Byrne’s created here…they’re all fully developed and work SO well together, whether on the battlefield or playing against each other.
This one particular shot says it all, each member’s personality is clearly evident here when they get the “Guilty” verdict handed down to them:
Nathan, the most perceptive of the bunch, is unflinchingly somber, as if to say “Of COURSE they voted against us.”
Danny, the wide-eyed guy who readily trusts people and thinks of himself as a true hero, is shocked at the verdict.
Jasmine, the sensitive one of the group, is both worried and crushed by the news…
Jack, who has overwhelming remorse over the carnage they’ve been involved in, is ashamed of himself, and truly believes he is guilty.
…and Bethany is PISSED AS HELL!!!
Oh How I LOVED Bethany! Tuff and Sassy, she was immediately my favorite member, among all the interesting characters in this strip! (More on her in the following post) In fact, along with Federal Agent Toni Murchenson, I'd say that it's the characters that are the driving force behind the strip WAY MORE than the storyline itself!
Sadly, when the series came to an end, I felt extremely unsatisfied, as far as the story went. Although Byrne stated in the editorial that this was the CONCLUSION of the Next Men story arc, they left so many plotlines and characters’ stories in limbo as to feel abruptly chopped off rather than any kind of real “ending”. I thought, “Wow, that ending was really disappointing”
However…
That night after finishing reading the final comic in a one week marathon of John Byrne Next Men reading, I had this huge, empty feeling in my heart- I MISSED the characters!
It saddened me to sit there not knowing the fates of my now beloved characters. I wanted to see all their problems solved, and I wanted to see them at peace!
Now, part of me knows that even if Byrne DID take up the series again, It probably would’ve unfolded in a different direction than I wanted (I wanted more about the interplay and personalities of the original five members, less of the politics & endless introduction of new characters) and it seemed like the strip was turning its direction more into a story about creating new characters with new super powers & secret agendas than the original five characters even before the series ended…
But, who am I kidding? Good or bad, If Byrne actually decided to get off his duff and restart Next Men up again, I will be the FIRST one to run out and grab a copy! Cause I can’t just have those characters suspended forever in comic limbo- I need to have CLOSURE!
