If there's a group of the superhero genre that I have absolutely zero interest in or knowledge of, it'd be the X-Men. It's a group that I've just never found to be appealing or to have particularly compelling stories. I understand that might seen a bit strange given I'm now reading a comic based on one of the characters, but I found that interest in the character specifically rather than the group itself. I had never actually heard of Psylocke prior to this, and I stumbled across the comic by browsing through some of the recent releases from Marvel. This is something I do relatively often to just see if something does manage to stand out from either Marvel or DC, despite not really being much of a fan of most things the two giants release. For the most part, I think I do prefer comics that are more about individual characters, or telling stories that do actually come to an end rather than trying to be part of a larger universe that just never seems to have any weight nor an ending. It's the universe side of things that certainly keeps me from reading some of the other comics from the two publishers. When I read a comic, I like when they have a start and a finish. And when those stories feel like they've resulted in telling a story that has resulted in some sort of growth for the character(s) featured. I don't have high expectations for Psylocke, particularly in this regard. But despite the preferences I have, if I have little else lined up, I'm more than happy to try giving something a bit out of my general preference a chance.
I felt some of that massive universe stuff reading through the firs volume of Psylocke, and while it had some pretty cool action sequences and cool art to it, it insisted on reminding me that there was another X-Men lineup that I should read to follow up on certain aspects of the story that get mentioned. It's a bit annoying to see that in comics, where the comic directly takes a moment to inform you that one slight word in a discussion could have a deeper meaning and that you're meant to run off to read the rest to catch up on context. Sudden mentions of things that don't really have much weight on the comic you're actually reading, but hey go and read the rest! I tried to overlook that aspect of things, and read on. I mentioned the art a moment ago, and that was something I found quite cool. It had a lot of unique perspectives and went quite heavy on actions sequences quite early on. And it portrayed the character of Psylocke as a bit of a loose cannon, someone that shouldn't be messed with and often just pursues their own direction even without caring for authority. Protagonists like this tend to be more interesting to follow, though I did have a bit of an eye rolling moment when Psylocke casually informs a criminal that everyone she just used her powers on wasn't actually dead and would just wake up later with no memory of what had happened. If only comics would feature characters with no cares of killing the criminals!
Some of the violence later on in the volume picked up, and it was a volume that felt like it had constant motion. The story followed Psylocke into her deep dive to infiltrate the elites that had been bragging about a new drug that would give people temporary powers similar to that of the X-Men. This new drug was similar to a previous one, but its effects lasted significantly longer making it instantly the better product. During the party, Psylocke is faced with darker horrors as it's clear that the elites were also engaged in child trafficking, selling off children with abilities. Now, my knowledge of the X-Men isn't that great, but from what I know of many of the were children experimented on and given abilities as a series of tests. Providing I'm right, Psylocke's reaction to all of this seemed to reflect her past and instantly bring out a fury that couldn't hold back the anger and trauma of her own past. No longer could she maintain her undercover status. Seeing the character ranging from a trained killer to someone that certainly does have their own emotional weaknesses was an interesting exploration; Psylocke's character is introduced as one that doesn't really play by the rules and seems ruthless, but I guess everyone has that one thing that they can relate to and feel something towards. This push and pull between her coldness and sensitivity is something I don't think needs much more attention however, and I suspect that a later volume will give more focus to it to spread things out.
From a character standpoint I think there's potential here, it doesn't feel too similar to the rest of the superhero world and that's a major positive. But it's clear that there is an attempt to bridge things together to larger universes. I think it would perform best if she was just left alone, ignoring the rest of the big universe of other characters as we just see her day-to-day actions and getting caught up in her various pursuits. I tend to feel this way with most comics I read that are of this nature though, where the other characters are more just advertisements rather than adding something vital to the story. Just giving us another reminder of the greater scheme of things which removes some of the seriousness of individual stories and struggles.
I enjoyed the art style a lot in this one. The colours are vibrant and the panels aren't too out there in your face. There's texture in a lot of the panels that gives them a bit more weight. It's certainly one of the better looking recent comics I've stumbled across. I'll be keeping an eye on each new volume for sure, it did enough to keep me engaged. But my expectations remain relatively low, somewhat expecting something to be wrong that just doesn't really connect with me in a later volume.