Author: Costas Barbatsis

My love for the New Mutants

| Costas Barbatsis

I had started reading comics at the age of 9 because there weren’t enough animations on television and I didn’t like the ones that were already there. I did not expect it but I started to like reading comics, they intrigued my imagination which I expressed through drawing and I advanced my drawing skills by studying the art in the comic books. You can say that out of necessity I got into comics. They were there for studying and to read in my spare time but eventually, I fell in love with them!

 At the age of 13, my eye caught a comic book which had an amazing cover with the most realistic art hanging by a peg next to the entrance of my local corner store. I was transfixed and I was standing there for several seconds studying and building up a story for what I saw on the cover. As I returned home I could not forget it so I went back and bought it!

It was a superhero comic translated from English to Greek and it featured 3 comics from Marvel – the Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants and Alpha Flight! On the cover was the New Mutants and the comic was named X-Men.

I was amazed by how good the creative team of Chris Claremont and John Byrne were so I loved the X-Men, I was fascinated with Alpha Flight this new Canadian superhero team that John Byrne was introducing, but I identified immediately with the New Mutants!


The New Mutants were a bunch of teenagers trying to fit in while feeling moody, awkward and outcasts but they had superpowers! Yes at that age I felt just like that and I wished I had superpowers too but also and mostly I just wanted to have friends just like them!

Chris Claremont had succeeded to build for each and one of them a true personality and Sal Buscema’s art was the type I called “realistic”…they seemed so authentic and real to me and that hooked me. As I grew older I continued to read their stories as they grew up and became X-Force and up to today I’m still following Dani’s, Sam’s, Berto’s, Rahne’s, Amara’s and Xi’an’s adventures wherever they might be featured.

My love for the New Mutants is big and great. They got me hooked on comics and I will always feel fortunate for that. I will always read their stories and it will be like visiting old friends.

If you are fans of the New Mutants I believe you will understand my passion.

For you who are not I strongly suggest to read their stories, I’m sure you will enjoy them as much as the rest of us

Getting a comic book signed

| Costas Barbatsis

Last Sunday l went to the club for friends of comics, because there was an art meeting and l made sure to bring with me a copy of the comic book Brigands, l knew that the comic book artist Panagiotis Tsaousis who did the art was going to be there

So after l did some drawing l approached Panagiotis Tsaousis and asked him if he would like to sign the issue, he kindly said yes.

He did not only sign it but also made a small sketch, l’m such a happy comic book fan!

Finding Comic Books – Kinokuniya Books, Dubai

| Costas Barbatsis

Comic fans in Dubai already must know but whoever is a comic book fan should visit the Dubai Mall not because its the biggest mall in the world but to visit Kinokuniya Books!

It was an unexpected surprise that this Japanese book store had such a big collection of comics of all types from Superheroes to Manga to European comics and in all formats!

Also the statuettes and figurines of comic book characters, animation, movies and games where simply stunning.I was bedazzled for a few moments before I started searching for something to buy which I eventually did

I’m so glad that I found issue one of Guardians of the Galaxy and Young Justice, I’m a big fan of both titles!!​

New Mutants: Dead Souls

| Costas Barbatsis

I’m a big fan of the New Mutants, I was 13 years old when I first read issue 4 of volume one and since then I have been following how their stories progress in different comic book titles. So obviously I had to read the newest limited series about them that came out.

New Mutants: Dead Souls is a 6 issue limited series written by Matthew Rosenberg, penciled & inked by Adam Gorham and coloured by Michael Garland. Issue one came out in May 2018 and issue six which was the final issue of the limited series came out in October 2018.

The limited series focuses on a new set of team members from the New Mutant history. This new roaster consists of Karma, Magik & Wolfsbane three of the original members, Boom Boom & Rictor who joined the original team along the way and are better known as members of X-Force, Strong Guy & Prodigy who are the newest additions. This wasn’t a roaster I was looking forward too especially as I did not see how these characters are linked and how they will interact with each other.

Luckily Rosenberg wove such a story rich with threads of the New Mutant and X-Men history. I was so glad how the characters seemed so true both as to what I knew of them and also in how they have matured and evolved without dismissing the continuity that has defined them.

The art by Gorham was very much to my taste, a bit of gritty/realistic as l like to call it. It has a lot of detail and cool face expressions and what l absolutely enjoyed was that each character had his distinctive look and style which made them different and recognizable. It’s not easy to achieve this.

I really enjoyed this limited series which I did not like at the beginning for the choice of its team roaster but I loved it for the character interaction and for the continuous history and true continuity mentions, it made a good story even better. But l wish it did not end the way it did. It seemed more of a cliffhanger for a next issue then a nearly tied up story.

Its not a comic book series for a jump on point for new readers or a fresh start of reintroducing the New Mutants but I do believe its a great comic book for long-standing fans.

I would definitely suggest it for hardcore New Mutant and X-men fans, you will absolutely enjoy it.

Finding Comic Books – India

| Costas Barbatsis

I’m currently visiting India and was looking forward to find some comics but l did not expect to find them in ElephantaI Island but l did!

It just happened that l noticed a small stool in the market area that had some comics! I browsed the covers and checked quickly the interior of one of them and saw that they were based on Indian mythology!

l decided to buy a couple on my way back, l didn’t want to risk having them snatched by a monkey while visiting the caves. So on my return l chose two “Tales of Shiva” & “Hanuman” l asked the guy who was selling them what he knew of these comics and he replied that they are very old comics, and yes he read comics too.

From a quick check l did later on the ferry the comics that l had chosen were actually reprints which were original published in 1967 and 1971, they are written in English and they have lovely art and published by Amar Chitra Katha.

They reminded me of the “Classic Illustrated” comic series l had read in Greece!

More info when l have read both of them