Jemm was always intended to be a separate character, but was planned to be a Martian and a cousin of J'Onn J'Onzz. After the fitst six issues were written, DC told Greg Potter that Jemm couldn't be from Mars because J'Onn was returning in JLA.
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GCD says the inker was Frank Giacoia.

Hey, I love me some Elongated Man!  I love the interaction between him and Sue.  It was actually the reason I read so many Detective Comics from the 60's.

I'm interested to read your impressions on these issues as you re-read them. I'm juggling a couple books that I'm (re-)reading now, so I think I'll slow down the pace at which I read the mutant junior team books. I just hit the Sienkiewicz-drawn issues and I'm quite blown away by the art style. Now it makes sense that Warlock and Legion always felt so otherworldly, since they're Sienkiewicz designs. Very striking visuals on both characters.

I had seen his art before here and there, but never read a full issue drawn by him other than the Dracula issue of X-Men, which is still great, but not as mind-blowing as what he does in this Demon Bear storyline. The covers are very eerie as well.

So I think I'll see it in volume 3, which I've reserved from the library.

I'll probably be alternating as well. Since my last post, I read New Mutants #4-7. But now, I'm reading a TPB of New Gods #1-11, after which I'll probably jump back to NM #8 and read 5-10 more issues. So I may or may not catch up to you.

I'm curious about what made Bob McLeod switch from penciling to inking the series so quickly, although I think of him more as an inker. I do like that the Buscema/McLeod pairing still keeps the McLeod flavor of the first few issues. I mentioned I didn't remember Danielle being as strident as in the GN, and you noted that continues. Well, after seeming not as combative for a little bit, Claremont definitely brought that back as a main element of her character, although it's not so racially tinged as in the GN.

NM #4 is a very different for such an early issue: concerned with a social issue and no supervillain at work. But then, the team is dumped right into the fire facing Viper and the Silver Samurai. Reading individual back issues, sometimes I don't realize the timeframes for appearances of characters. But with the aid of The Newstand at the Mike's Amazing World of Comics website, I know that these villains made the rounds quickly. Viper was in Captain America the same month, then it was basically on to Uncanny X-Men right away for both villains.

Professor Xavier was so protective of the New Mutants at first, but now he goes off with Team America, and it's almost immediate disaster. Granted, he didn't expect the interference from this malevolent psychic entity, but you'd think he'd keep his new students on a tight leash. It's quite the shocking gut punch to see the team get into peril and Karma go missing so quickly, and it's also an interesting choice to see the moment she is lost go undepicted between #6 and #7. But it's a unique approach to a supposed death. Instead of killing Karma off and retconning it, we learn from the get-go that Xavier suspects Karma is still alive. But Claremont is playing the long game; I don't recall if there were even hints by earliest Sienkiewicz issues you've reached.

It kind of sucks that some toy company deal probably foisted Team America on Claremont even after their own series was cancelled, but at least he gets to have Xavier ream them out for putting Danielle in danger for not even knowing how their powers work. Speaking of powers, the current roster doesn't seem to be well-constructed for battle. Danielle power isn't sometimes hard to deploy in a fight, people keep resisting Karma's possession attempts, Rahne gets smacked around a bit. While Sam and Roberto are more equipped for a fight, Sam still has trouble turning & Berto doesn't store enough power. But the more I read, the more I think that this was intentional to dramatize the learning curve of new students than an oversight in planning. Although on the other hand, I'm about to reach Magma's first appearance, which seems a concession to needed someone with powers more easily geared toward fighting. It was interesting to see how Rahne's perceptions as a wolf work in #4.

Mormel, I agree with you that Bill Sienkiewicz starting on this title is quite a trip. Some images really stick in my mind, like the splash page of Danielle under her blanket at the start of the Demon Bear story. Sometimes the chaotic abstraction doesn't work for me. I think his art on the Daredevil Love and War GN, which I read a few months ago, is much less effective. But my recollection is that I mostly like his balance between abstraction and realism in New Mutants. We'll see when I get there. If you want to see the transition in Sienkiewicz's style, check out his Moon Knight work. I think the stories should be in the first Epic Collection or first Essential. In the Hulk magazine back-ups, Sienkiewicz starts out an a Neals Adams imitator before shifting to his more distinctive style.