Editor's Note: X-Men Origins: Jean Grey arrives in stores tomorrow, August 13.

Plot: Jean Grey's origin, in more detail than ever before.

Comments: What an enjoyable issue this is. McKeever and Mayhew have two main challenges in this story: to capture a teenage Jean Grey who is recognizably different from the adult warrior who fought so valiantly in the X-Men, and to make an oft-told story fresh again. They succeed admirably on both counts. Mayhew brings a compelling realism (which is still a far cry from anything resembling photo-realism) to the initial introduction of Professor Xavier to the Grey family (who are both wary and desperate concerning the condition of their traumatized daughter after the shocking initial manifestation of her powers). And McKeever's dialogue has everyone talking like real people would.

Jean witnessed a friend die in a car accident, and due to her psychic ability, she felt the girl's death to the last instant. Xavier's aim is to let Jean know she's not alone, that her abilities can be mastered, and that she can return to a normal, functioning life if she chooses. His own powers help him unbelievably to make strides with her psychology where other doctors failed, because he knows exactly what she feels and how functional her mental faculties are.

Mayhew comes up with many masterful views into Jean's private turmoil, in a delicate and straightforward watercolor style that foregoes heavy inks but still manages a full range of value. Jean's red hair unites page after page, as do her signature green eyes. But everything else looks great, too: from the icy landscape of her nightmares to the shimmering metallic blue of her first X-Men costume, this is a visually rich and satisfying look into the mutant superhero world. It's one of the prettiest painted comics I've ever read, but Mayhew's style is far from delicate or frilly.

The scenes where Xavier discusses his plans with Jean's parents recall the scenes with Angel's parents from X-Men #2. Professor Grey's affiliation with Bard College is recalled, and throughout he and Mrs. Grey are every inch the concerned, caring, worried parents, good people who obviously contributed to Jean the basis for a stable and nurturing core personality. That nurturing instinct is there on her part in her first trauma, as she wants to save her friend and comfort her in her final moments.

And it's here in this story in a crucial scene where Jean plays hooky from Xavier's first Academy and ends up embroiled in another car accident in Westchester Center, where she uses her considerable telekinetic gifts to save the day. Mayhew probably uses a fair amount of photo reference for some of these unique faces and figures, but he integrates everything quite seamlessly into his whole vision for the story. Jean looks like Jean throughout, and in this nuanced and detailed exploration of her psyche in her early adolescence, McKeever too has painted a fascinating portrait of one of Marvel's major mutant stars in her formative years.

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