Emma wakes up after passing out - in front of the entire school, no less - and tries to pass it off as nothing more than skipping breakfast. Realizing that she can hear other people's thoughts and scared that her father will have her committed, Emma begs her brother Christian not to reveal anything about her headaches or the voices she hears. However, her outlook begins to change when she not only aces a mid-term, but also bests her rival Matilda in fencing, and quite easily for that matter…

While I still have an issue with references like an MTV Movie Award popping up in the story, Karl Bollers takes a step in the right direction as he slowly starts showing us the White Queen we all know and love (or hate). Despite the fact that this is an origin story, the added mystery of who Emma's teacher - Ian Kendall - is and what his true intentions with the student are really beefs up the story. I'm starting to think it's not as simple as a teacher having a crush on a student.

The writing isn't the only aspect of the issue that improved. Randy Green's pencils seem to have really found their groove, and it shows. Everything from the page layouts to the characterizations is better, and I especially like the different sides of young Emma we see here. She flips from mousy-Emma to Emma-bitch in a flash (as seen in the fencing scenes), and it makes sense for this story since even she doesn't know what's happening.

Things are picking up as the "higher education" of Emma Frost continues to shape one of the most complex characters Marvel currently has in its stables.

8.0/10

Collected In:
Emma Frost, Vol 1: Higher Learning (2004) TPB

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