The recently released "X-Men: Misfits" by Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman, and AnZu is the second book to come out from a deal allowing Del Rey to produce Original English Language manga stories starring Marvel characters. The first, "Wolverine: Prodigal Son," hit shelves last year, and while that book was based around the speed-lines and karate face-kicks of action manga, "Misfits" takes a different route entirely.Yes, this one follows the path of the shojo, or "young girls'" manga, telling the story of a young Kitty Pryde trying to find love as the only girl at the Xavier Academy, and we're not gonna lie: as suckers for stories about high school drama mixed with super-powers, we love it. It's got a fresh take on old characters that includes some highly entertaining redesigns and a story that, while dramatic enough to make even the regular X-Men seem calm, is reallly engaging. What we love most about it, though, is just how darn shojo it is.
With enough wispy, conflicted boys, sparkles and ten-pack abs to give the combined works of Stephenie Meyer and Lisa Frank a run for their money, this thing carries on the traditions and tropes of "young girls'" manga to an extreme so over the top that it almost verges on parody, and had us cracking up through the whole thing.
It's the sort of thing that has to be seen to be believed, so today, we're giving you a look inside at the story's seven most amazingly shojo moments!
#7: Meet Angel

#6. The Joy of Cooking

#5. Kitty Meets Magneto

#4. Holding Hands With Pyro

#3. My Sparkly Dinner With Bondage Sabretooth

#2. This One Pretty Much Speaks For Itself

And finally, the most shojo panel in "X-Men Misfits" (and the entirety of American comics, for that matter)...
#1. Kitty Meets the Hellfire Club


#5. Kitty Meets Magneto

#4. Holding Hands With Pyro

#3. My Sparkly Dinner With Bondage Sabretooth

#2. This One Pretty Much Speaks For Itself

And finally, the most shojo panel in "X-Men Misfits" (and the entirety of American comics, for that matter)...
#1. Kitty Meets the Hellfire Club

Truly, from Angel's flower-print sarong to Longshot's mandolin, this is the picture that keeps on giving the wispy hilarity. Seriously, we cannot wait for the sequel.
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Comments:
(17)Add a comment
Tuesday 02 February
By mandarin
Ugh hate that crap
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Tuesday 02 February
By Gabe
Seems like the artist used every possible tone at their disposal. Yuck.
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Tuesday 02 February
By Daryl Surat
I've never much cared for the "OEL manga" moniker as it's been my long-held position that "comics" is a perfectly valid term to describe these publications, but the images posted here and the comment above remind me of some recent blog posts made about the tendency for those trying to mimic the visual conventions of Japanese boy's/girl's comics to go overboard with screentones, an oddity considering its generally minimal use in manga proper:
http://www.reversethieves.com/2010/02/01/februarys-final-denouement-the-mysterious-use-of-screen-tone-in-oel/
http://ogiuemaniax.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/oel-screentone-revelations/
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Tuesday 02 February
By Eden
I don't know why more people weren't entertained by this book (and disappointed that people seemed to outright dislike it or object to it). I loved it. I loved what they did with it here -- it's such a perfect imagining of the X-Men as a shojo comic. It was done with a lot of heart and fun. I'm sorry that some people couldn't see past what it is to see how well the creators pulled this off.
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Tuesday 02 February
By Metz77
See, the thing you're overlooking is that "a perfect reimagining of the X-Men as a shojo comic" doesn't appeal to everyone. I hate shojo, for the most part. I don't care that this exists -- it isn't hurting ME at all -- but I won't read it because all those sparkles and girly men nauseate me.
Wednesday 03 February
By Dan
@Eden: I'm guessing most of the people that hated it are not in the target audience. As someone that no longer cares what happens to the X-men, and who doesn't read Shojo manga I think this looks hilarious. Not something I'd buy, but something I am thrilled exists.
Tuesday 02 February
By Eden
I was disappointed that more people didn't love this book (and also that some people seemed to outright hate it and object to it). It's so much fun and done with a lot of humor and heart. I know shojo isn't for everyone (I like the art but I tend to get bored with the stories) but I adored at how well the creators pulled this off -- they just went for it and made a dead-on shojo version of the X-Men.
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Tuesday 02 February
By Primewax
I outright hated it because of just that. I hate shojo and I love the X-Men, so this was like an abomination to me. That said, I respect the fact that they made it, and to each his own. I just found it...buh.
Tuesday 02 February
By Abigail
also, the book shows beast looking like a plush totoro toy ( http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/manga/enewsletter/art/May08Newsletterimages/BEAST.jpg ) and colossus is a tin man.
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Tuesday 02 February
By versasovantare
That's rather hilariously cute for the most part.
But why is Kitty panting so hard in that bondage Sabretooth scene?
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