Co-Creator Bob McLeod returns to New Mutants for 40th Anniversary Variant Cover

Posted on June 8, 2022 in Comic News

This September, Marvel are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the New Mutants with NEW MUTANTS #30, a supersized issue featuring an all-star lineup of artists paying tribute to Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod’s fan-favourite creations.

Back in 1982, Claremont and McLeod expanded the mutant mythos with the first of many X-Men spinoff books: NEW MUTANTS. Introducing the next generation of mutantkind with hard-hitting, thrilling coming-of-age adventures, the series represented a profound shift for the franchise and is celebrated for its diverse and layered cast of characters and its influential, and at times experimental, storytelling. Over the last 40 years, NEW MUTANTS has continued to be a timeless yet contemporary voice for the marginalized youth who must grow up in a harsh, cruel world.

As part of NEW MUTANTS #30, McLeod is returning to his creations to deliver a special variant cover, which you can feast your eyes on above.

Speaking about the announcement, McLeod said “So many fans have come up to me at conventions and told me what a huge impact the New Mutants had on them in their teen years, and how relatable they were in all of their diversity. Native Americans, African Americans, Kentuckians, all finally seeing themselves represented in the comics. It’s been very humbling.”

He continued, adding “Our New Mutants have gone through so many changes over the decades that I often didn’t recognize them as the same characters we created. So I was very pleased to get the chance to come full circle and do a variant cover homage to their very first published appearance on the cover of AMAZING HEROES #16. I hope fans continue to enjoy them for another 40 years!”

Written by Vita Ayala and Alyssa Wong, and illustrated by Alex Lins, Jason Loo, Emma Kubert and many more, NEW MUTANTS #30 hits comic shops and digital platforms this September.

The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
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