Reviews (5)

A must read
I really liked the way this book is written. its a real page tuner.

sweet
I very much enjoyed the teaming of the Web Slinger and the Uncanny Xmen

great conclusion to great trilogy!
While I was disappointed that we didn't have the Spidey/Bishop team-up of the first two books, I still loved Book 3 of Time's Arrow. It was great seeing the X-Men 1998 fighting the X-Men 2099, and I liked the way they worked in Gambit's personal history in the climactic scene. And I like this version of Spider-Girl even better than the MC2 version!

More like a comic then a novel...
As much as I like comics, sometimes the fast action and rushed storyline that you find in a comic make their way into novels where they do not work very well. That's the same here. Tom DeFalco must have been planning a marvel comic book story rather then a Marvel novel because here he takes the X-Men and Spider-Man, The Guardians of the Galaxy, some of the 2099 heroes, and the rest of Marvel's future heroes and puts all into one book where there is little character development and too many things happening all at once which serves only to confuse the reader as to what's really going on. The climax is boring and uneventful too!

a nice conclusion
well, i must say that this trilogy comes to a nice conclusion. the problem i've noticed with this trilogy is that the authors did not spend enough time character development. This is a great format to dive into the characters, but the authors didn't seem to take advantage of that. oh well, maybe next time. ... Read more

Book Description

The X-Men--mutant protectors of a world that fears and hates them. The Avengers--Earth's mightiest heroes, the greatest super-team ever assembled. Now they must put aside their differences and join forces against the Leader, the gamma-powered evil genius who has already abducted one Avenger and two X-Men as part of his latest plan--with the fate of the entire globe at stake!

*Illustrations by George Perez and cover art by Julie Bell ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Why can't the Avengers have their own trilogy?
After all, the X-Men have several. This is a review of book#1 (the data base tends to mix them all together.) Greg Cox reminds me of Roy Thomas writing Marvel comics in the 60's and 70's. He can take the Marvel characters and advance them a step further while maintaining their original essence and actually improve on them. I never really liked the Hulk and Iron Man that much until I read this book. I also liked his approach to the relationship between the post-divorce Vision and Scarlet Witch. The climax battle at Niagra Falls is awesome; it is as vivid as an actual comic book while supplying details that could only be described in prose. It takes a good writer to do that.

Too Rushed to end the trilogy.
Book two had too much action and not enough character developemt, here in the end of the trilogy, Greg tried to wrap everything up but the final revelation on why the Leader did what he did was unconvinceing. So was the characterization of many of the X-Men and the Avengers, they seemed a bit out of character. I have liked Greg's writing in the Marvel Novels, but this trilogy fell apart midway through and he was not able to finish the story in a good way.

The Action Novel of the Year!
I absolutely loved this book and I will recomend this book series to anyone who reads X-men books. This is pure action with The Hulk and Captain America kickin some real butt. The first book is just as good even though it has a slow start but read it cause this 2nd book is the best. But MY GOD you just have to read this! Thanx for readin!

CLASSIC
I have witnessed some great battles. Like the battle of five armies in the hobbit. The battle at Helms Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The battle between Luke and Darth Vader. The countless battle that took place during the Age of Apocolypse storyline. The battle between the X-men, The Avengers and The Hulk definetly rates among these great battles.

The super skrull is wicked
I was very impressed with the super skrull. Along with having shape shifting abilities, he has the power of all four members of the fantastic four. Those powers coupled with the x-men, avengers, and hulk's powers. There was nothing else to call him but ultimate skrull.

I also really enjoyed in the end how Scarlet Witch and Rogue put aside there differences after all they had been through. Especially since Wanda also remembered that she to had a checkered past. ... Read more

Book Description

BradyGames X-MEN: Next Dimension Official Strategy Guide provides complete move lists that highlight strategy for important attacks. Combos for every character, including the new aerial combat, chain combos, and 8-way movement are also included. Secret characters and cheats revealed!

Reviews (1)

pritty good
this game is pritty easy so you dont really need this guide but I bought it after beating the entire game. I just wanted to have it to see the combo listings. ... Read more

Book Description

Collecting Uncanny X-Men #462-465. ... Read more

Book Description

First, it was Doctor Doom. Then, Magneto. Two men with a common dream: to become absolute master of the Earth. Through the use of the Cosmic Cube-a device whose reality-bending powers allow its possessor to create their own perfect world-they were each able to bring their dreams to life, if only for a short time. Fortunately, the X-Men were able to shatter those dreams before they destroyed the planet. But now the Cube has fallen into the hands of the infamous Red Skull, and unlike his villainous predecessors, the Skull is in complete control of the Chaos energies generated by the Cube! With time running out, the X-Men must make one final, desperate attempt to destroy this "Chaos Engine" and restore Order to the cosmos before their entire reality is wiped from existence by an all-powerful alien race!

... Read more

Book Description

One week: That was all the time given to the X-Men to correct a universe-threatening flaw after Roma, Supreme Guardian of the Omniverse, discovered that unknown forces had severely altered the structure of the heroes' home dimension. It hadn't taken them long to track down the source of the disruption: the tyrannical Doctor Doom, in possession of the Cosmic Cube -- a device that allows its owner to twist reality and create their personal vision of a perfect world.

The X-Men failed in their mission, though, and now the Cosmic Cube is in the hands of their longtime enemy Magneto, the Master of Magnetism. Like his former friend Professor Xavier, Magneto has a dream for all mutant-kind -- but his is of a day when Homo Superior freely walk the Earth, not as equals to the human race, but as their masters.

Now that day has come, and the only hope the world has to survive the mutant overlord's reign is in the hands of Professor Xavier and the one X-Man not affected by the reality-changing powers of the Cube: Betsy Braddock -- the ninja-trained telekinetic known as Psylocke.

But unknown to any of the players in this cosmic chess match there is one final participant waiting in the wings, and he is about to make his first move.... ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Awesome book
This book is extremely well written, and exciting.A major character dies (not telling which one!) in a creepy and emotional way.I would recommend the entire set of books to any reader who is a fan of the X-Men.

Also, is it just me or does the author put a lot of the locations in the DC/Metro area?I guess he is from there!

loved this book
I came into this series with this first novel.It wasn't hard to gather what happened at all with the wonderfull writing of roman.He brought you up to speed quickly and enveloped you in the book.It was very creative.I had to buy the third installment the day after I finished this one, because i had to know what happened next.There wasn't a whole lot of action, but it was enough to be percieved as a novel and not a comic book.I think that if the movie studios got a hold of this series, it would make a ton. I loved it!

This was better than the first!
This book was so cool because it showed how smart Dr. Doom really is (smarter than that cretin Reed Richards)Even in a place where no weapons can be fired Doom still makes a weapon and eliminates Roma the omniversal majestrix(The supposed protector of the omniverse) The Red Skull also one of my favorite villains defeats the highly over-rated Magneto and Prof. X and gets the Cosmic Cube! In the third one The Red Skull and Dr. Doom (my favorites) will have to fight and The Red Skull has an advantage with the Cosmic Cube, but as we've all seen Dr. Doom has a trick up his sleeve.

cant wait for the third book
I've probably read all of the X-men novels out and this trilogy is looking to be as good as the mutant empire one.THe first book set up a dictatorship with Doom and this one shows how Magneto's dream could work and shows sympathy for magneto because he only fight's for his dream. I have no idea how Roman will fix this situation because of the bleak ending.This isn't as action packed as the mutant empire trilogy but the intrigue and suspense is better.

I hope the second X-Men movie is better then this book.
Second book in the trilogy kind of falls apart about two chapters in with Magneto being the leader of this new world, Betsy trying to save Warren from dying again, and the other X-Men added solely for second hand drama, the kind you find on the day time soaps.This actually reads more like a poorly written Star Trek novel with numerious techno babble added here and there and the writer falling back on time travel/alternate future storylines to salavage a book that is beyound recovery.One can only hope that these characters are used much more effectively and in a more "Down to Earth" story with the next X-Men movie. ... Read more

Book Description

Hank McCoy-Beast of the X-Men-is on a quest to find a cure for the deadly Legacy virus that has been striking mutants all over the world, destroying their mutant powers...or killing them outright. But Beast, and Moira MacTaggart-the only known infected human-find themselves becoming pawns in a power struggle pitting Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club against Selene the Black Queen. And above it all, waiting to strike and put the threat of the Legacy virus to his own diabolical use, is Magneto, the most dangerous mutant in the world. ... Read more

Book Description

First Mass-Market Edition!

X-MEN/MAGNETO: THE CHAOS ENGINE, BOOK 2

By Steven A. Roman

One week: That was all the time given to the X-Men to correct a universe-threatening flaw after it was discovered that unknown forces had severely altered the structure of the heroes' home dimension. It hadn't taken them long to track down the source of the disruption: the tyrannical Doctor Doom, in possession of the Cosmic Cube -- a device that allows its owner to twist reality and create their personal vision of a perfect world. But now their old enemy Magneto has the Cube, and the danger has only gotten worse...

• X-Men is the most successful comic book series ever published.

• X-Men: The Movie grossed over $400 million worldwide.

• X-Men 2 is scheduled for May 2003 release. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Better than the first
I enjoyed this book much more than the first one.I didn't like the first novel (Doctor Doom), because the villain was written just like a madman.(Dr. Doom's behavior was very illogical and abrupt.It bothered me a lot.)
In this book, Magneto's personality was portrayed very carefully and thoroughly.In his new world, Magneto was written as a person with a noble soul and ideal and I could understand him better than in any other novelization.I was touched by his conversation with Professor X.

This book is above the average and definitely worth to read.But as a person who read both Legacy Quest and Chaos Engine trilogies, I will recommend the Legacy Quest trilogy over this one.Legacy Quest has more interesting plots and character development.

roman rocks
x-geeks, this is for you. nice job of putting lee/byrne cast into chaos.

best series of books I've ever read
I thought that the third installment of the chaos series was probibly the best that Roman wrote.His back and fourth sequence of events made you feel like you were right there in the story.Please read the first two before reading the third, or at least the second one first (that's actually what I did) because after reading the 2nd, you'll HAVE to buy the last installment to find out what happened.It was beautifully written and I loved every moment of it

Amazing
Ok, before I start, read the first two before you read this one, as they were excellent books as well, and you really have to read the other two just to get the story in this one.

This book was amazing.Roman finds a way to perfectly balance out all the different characters in the book and it is well written...simply put.

This part of the trilogy takes you to the version of earth where the Red Skull comes upon the cosmic cube, bringing about the Fourth Reich where the nazis had defeated the allied forces in World War 2.Mutants are considered the scum of the earth and the Skull goes by means of special task forces, and sentinels to apprehend these genetic impurities. Cyclops (who's secret as a mutant isn't discovered until mid-story) and his wife (Frau Sommers) are the poster-couple of the empire, Storm presides in Africa where all colored humans and mutants were sent to- her powers deactivated genosha-style, Magneto is in a concentration camp, Nightcrawler is on the Lightning Force strike team of the empire (though he is still considered scum, he only gets to be on the team because he is a true german), rogue is a tool of the empire, gambit is a collared worker, professor x is a traitor to the mutant race, leaving Psylocke and Warren the only 2 X-Men left unaffected by the cube.The story has 2 plots really that are going on.Betsy and Warren are up in the citadel where Doom is ascending to god-hood (won't tel you how), and of course you have the cube/Red Skull storyline.Definitely a 2 thumbs up!!! ... Read more

Book Description

BradyGAMES X-Men:Mutant Acedemy Official Strategy Guide Features--Game Secrets from Activision.Complete list of every character's unique moves, combos, and finishing moves.In-depth fighting tactics will help players defeat all the competition they face. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Thank you nice people!
This book is cool! I'm glad I got it becuse I have hard times beating it sometimes but not anymore. Save up your allowances and buy this book.

Sort Of Helpful
This Book Is Helpful Becouse it shhows you how to win every battle. which is kind of bad becous than youdont have to think. Thats the bad part the good part is it it shows you how to do almost every super move. All and all this is a fairly good product. ... Read more

Book Description

The all-new team-up trilogy.
Spiderman: Marvel's most popular hero
X-Men: Marvel's most popular super-team ... Read more

Reviews (12)

A must read for Marvel comics fans!!!!!!
The book was great. Even though it did drag on at times, they went to different parts of Marvel history and combined them with current, yet classic heroes like the X-Men and Spider-Man!!!!

Ok plot, but not so great dialouge
Okay, the premise of the book was good, the whole time travel thing that DeFalco had going, but the dialouge between the characters left alot to be desired. But besides this, it was a rather enjoyable read.

Mostly for the series
I don't really remember enough about the books individually but I loved the series. I'm a BIG Gambit/Rogue fan, and there was one section in the third book I LOVED. But mostly I liked meeting some of the characters I rarely read about. The guy who's searching through time to find one where his wife lives. Or Spiderman and Bishop bonding (Now there's something odd!) I really liked the series, it said a lot about the not-so-common characters and their connection with the main characters.

Fair
When you actually read the book, it's not as good as you think it'll be. Half the book is trying to understand a machine that if one has seen the 'toon or the comics they already understand. Could have been better.

One actual good thing, IMO was the cliff-hanger in the end. I won't say what it was so as not to spoil it for others.

Well balanced adventure
This first part of the trilogy has a good balance of story, characters and cameos. Yes, it is a story involving time travel and thus all the classic time travel elements are in the story. Some might see it as cliched - but I see it as consistent. The pairings of the heroes as well as the characters they encounter in the various time periods are well done.

One of the better novels involving super-heroes that I have read. ... Read more

Book Description

Feared by a world unwilling to accept those who are different. Led by their teacher, Professor Charles Xavier, the X-Men are dedicated to protecting humanity from the forces of chaos, hoping to one day rid the world of an even greater darkness?theprejudice that has made them outcasts.

Returning from another dimension, the X-Men discover that Earth is now ruled by one of the most notorious tyrants the world has ever known?Doctor Doom. Far more disturbing than the police state in which they find themselves, however, is the fact that some of the world?s greatest Super Heroes?including theX-Men?s closest friends?have allied themselves with the legendary villain.

Searching for answers, hunted by old enemies and former allies, the mutant adventurers face their greatest challenge: deposing an armor-clad madman with an entire world against them.

Standing between them and victory, though, is their deadliest enemy?the malevolent Magneto, who has his own plans for dominating the world? ... Read more

Reviews (6)

dissapointing
This is what happens when you take a good idea, stretch it over too many media forms, and attempt to milk it for all its worth. This pathetic excuse for a novel lowered my faith in Marvel. The storyline is slow, ridiculous, and frankly boring. Fine to read if you have nothing else to do. But really, bunny, stick with the comix.

difficult not to read
I cant seem to put it down. when i do, i switch the lights back on and read more. it's pact with action and energy. the xmen after a mission on another earth returned to find out no one remembers them even their friends. their mansion became a death camp, Doom was the emperor of everyone and ororo is his empress. read the book, its more than worth reading.

Good Book
This Book was great. I recomended it to any X-Men fan. It has alot of action and a good story. My only warning is once you start this book you won't be able to put it down!!

My thoughts on the book
This book ruled!. The only part that suprised me greater than Gambit's death was the ending. Get this book if you like Dr. Doom

What an awesome book
This is an awesome book. Once you finish the first chapter, you just want to read more. Once you read the first page, you become captivated to read the book. The first page is totally awesome. ... Read more

Book Description

This marvelous gift set holds hardcover editions of both Spider-Man™ and X-Men™.That's two books starring every kid’s favorite superheroes — based on characters created by Stan Lee. A perfect gift for comic fans, collectors and children of all ages. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

One Gem in Tom Dejas work
A random collection of stories, three are no better than the fan-fic you find on the net - the rest are relatively good - the star is Steel Dogs and Englishmen.

Maybe try a library instead of forking out.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
...are three probable titles to the X-Men related short stories featured within. This anthology book is one of the better ones I've read, with some talented writers adding their voice to the X-Men history. It has some really excellently written battle sequences and the stories primarily take place in the X-Men's past. It also has those stories that have you groaning in pure agony. (How do some of these people get published?! Good Grief! Don't ruin my favorite character! Did you even *read* the comics?!) Without taking away the suspense, one such story is about how Jubilation Lee goes ga-ga over an Olympic ice skater and saves him from certain death while sporting a red velvet skating costume. Jean and Rogue sparked the interest while poring together over the recent championship footage on tape. How often do Rogue and Jean hang out together like cooing girlfriends and chit-chat about the wide world of figure skating? It was an inept excuse to write about figure skating and get published in an X-Men anthology.

Despite the rough spots, the book has more good tales than bad, and certainly fairs better than most comic anthologies published. It is worth it for a rabid fan who wants more history, more insight, and more attention on their favorite characters.

Mixed bag of treats.
This is a collection of 13 short separate stories. They each feature a different team member as the main character and the stories vary in focus. From action to tears, from humor to courage and self examination. Some are well written,(Peace Offering and Once a Thief come to mind) and others are quite forgetable,(The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of was very dissapointing). To this mix add the wonderful introduction written by Stan Lee telling how the idea for the Xmen was concieved and you get a book worth buying.

Great Anthologly
I read this book and I thought it was pretty good.At first I didn't read some of the stories like One Night Only,Diary of a False Man,Once A Thief,A Fine Line,and Steel Dogs and Englishmen.After I finally read the whole book it was a pretty good anthology. My favorite stories were Chasing Hairy and Ice Prince.

Buy this book
This is a great book. I especially liked the stories about Rogue and Gambit. Jennifer Heddle's Rogue/Carol Danvers shared diary story was an especially fun read. Great characterization. It's a must own for X-Men fans. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The prelude to the Age of Apocalypse
Collecting Uncanny X-Men #320 and #321 and X-Men #40 and #41, this TPB serves as a plot progressing set up of the Age of Apocalypse storyline. Professor Xavier's son Legion travels back in time to kill a young Erik Lensherr (Magneto) in hopes of making his father's dream of peace come true. Not far behind him are Bishop, Iceman, Psylocke, and Storm who are trying to stop him. In the meantime, a displacement with the M'Krann Crystal is slowly causing the world in the present to come to an end. Here we see Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X, Gambit, Beast, Rogue, Archangel, and Cable await the end of the world. The ending is tragic in scope, and with Xavier dead in the past there was never a team of X-Men to stop Apocalypse from taking over North America and most of the world. This is the beginning of the Age of Apocalypse storyline which would have a four month run on all the X-titles; showing us Magneto forming his X-Men to stop Apocalypse, along with a time displaced and older Bishop trying to restore the right reality. The AoA storyline was bashed by many a reader, but I for one loved it, and X-Men: Legionquest collects the entire prelude to the cataclysmic event. If your going to start reading the AoA storyline, this is the best place to start.

Fantastic
Well, I have to say, this is one of my favourite X-Comics. It leads up to the Age of Apocolypse series (one of my favourite series in the X-Genre), and I was chewing my nails from the suspense at times. The artwork was excellent, with a good storyline. I won't spoil this for any people who may consider buying and reading this, but I'll admit that I personally was nearly in tears at the end. (If you've read the comic, you'll know why. And it's not 'cause I'm a Xavier fan either!) This is a great comic, and I'd reccomend it to all who love X-Men. Just a warning- it may seem a bit confusing to those who have seen the movie alone.

A good start to the Age of Apocalypse - Spoiler alert!!
This TPB collects Uncanny X-Men #320, #321 and X-Men #40, #41.

This is where the Age of Apocalypse storyline kicks off. Charles Xavier's son, Legion, travels back in time with the purpose of killing Magneto, to make the present day easier for his dad. But then things go horribly wrong and he accidentally kills the young Charles Xavier. What follows is an alternate timeline: Hell on earth. Apocalypse won't get any resistance from the X-Men and so he ends up ruling the US.

This storyline covers a lot of other issues, which have been reprinted in TPBs too. Some are still available but others are quite hard to find nowadays - or you can get the separate issues. It's best to read them in this order: 1. Legionquest 2. Dawn of the Age of Apocalypse 3. Generation NeXt 4. Amazing X-Men 5. X-Calibre 6. Astonishing X-Men 7. Gambit & the X-Ternals 8. Weapon X 9. X-Man 10. Factor X 11. Twilight of the Age of Apocalypse.

No. 3 till 10 are TPBs collecting the first four issues of those titles. They also have the same gold coloured foil cover, but they're not done as well as the other 3 TPBs. I think the second one has the best cover, but this TPB (LegionQuest) looks very good on the inside.

The artwork is very good - as good as the writing. The story switches between the present and the past. You see the early years of Erik and Xavier's friendship. Legion really comes off as a kid who just wants his dad to have more time for him - but they do treat him like a menace...

Some people hate this storyline and others love it. I love it. If you're considering to start reading X-Men stories after seeing the film and the wicked cartoon series - this is not such a bad start. I would recommend the older classics however, like the Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. Then move on to this one. It's best to start with this one when you know the characters already.

Awesome!!!!I am in love with Logan A.K.A Wolverine
I really got excited when I read this comic...It was excellent. I would recomend it to anyone who likes spawn or starwars or the simpsons. Luke skywalker is exceptional. I have a lightsabor.

Great story, great art! For true X-fans.
This book was captivating from cover to cover. You get priceless background info concerning Magneto and Charles Xavier - their friendship, rivalry, etc. You also get a good historical snapshot of Prof. X's love life and early family life. I was also impressed with the unfolding of Legion's (David Haller) powers - truly amazing what he is capable of. Storm, Bishop, Iceman, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, and Cyclops add to the overlying and underlying transgression. This is fine storytelling - uncompromising and untarnished. Get this book! ... Read more

Book Description

This Level 4 book for proficient readers takes you behind-the-scenes to see how authors, illustrators and layout artists create one of the most popular comic books ever. From concept stage to arrival in stores, find out what it takes to create an X-Men comic book. These 48-page books about fascinating subjects like pirates, mummies, and volcanoes are for proficient readers who can understand a rich vocabulary and challenging sentence structure. In addition to the stunning photographs, informative sidebars, and glossary, readers will find archival photographs and paintings. Averaging 4,500 to 5,000 words in length, Level 4 books are 40 percent pictures and 40 percent text.The Dorling Kindersley Readers combine an enticing visual layout with high-interest, easy-to-read stories to captivate and delight young bookworms who are just getting started. Written by leading children's authors and compiled in consultation with literacy experts, these engaging books build reader confidence along with a lifelong appreciation for nonfiction, classic stories, and biographies. There is a DK Reader to interest every child at every level, from preschool to grade 4. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Interesting
This wonderful little book (of about 44 pages) is designed for younger readers in the Level 4 - "Proficient" category. This is not a comic book, though it does contain a number of wonderful pictures. Instead, this book is about making comic books. It talks about the artists behind the comics, and how they go about designing and creating comics, the X-Men in particular.

This is an interesting book. My eight-year-old son got this book, and enjoyed it, though I don't believe that he understood everything in it. Overall, though, he did like the book. So, we do recommend this book.

atlast,info on x-men behind the scenes
It always eluded me as to how the X-men were on and off a sizzling bestselling comic book for the past twenty years.So what fuels this book is actually curiousity.'Cause it was always a wonder to me what was it that made x-men so diferent than other comics.Well,i still don't see what makes this a phenomenal chart-scorcher,but it will be a bit useful for aspiring artists and writers trying to break into the comic field. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Claremont for Today
Chris Claremont, as you may have heard, is known in the comic-reading circle as "Mr. X-Men". That's not difficult to understand seeing how the man has been involved with the X-books for close to 30 years or so (his very public exit in the 1992 notwithstanding). Here in the "X-treme X-Men" title is Claremont Updated for Today. And here, he teams with his art-partner from his run on Fantastic Four, the hyper-talented Salvador Larroca, to give us a very modern, very hip and very sexy X-Men team.

The premise of the story is this: the X-Treme team gets away from the rest of the X-Men to embark on a mission of their own. Their objective: to obtain the diaries of the late mutant precog, Irene Adler/Destiny, who supposedly records the future of the world. The main reason they are the "away" team is because they are also trying their best to prevent the diaries from falling into the hands of their mentor, Charles Xavier! Claremont does some fine explanation that in some way Xavier is as dangerous as Magneto (Magneto is a fanatic and Xavier is an idealist). Along the way, they meet a new villain called Vargas who did major damage to the team (even killing one of them).

As usual, Claremont's writing is very, very wordy and expositional. But for long time readers like me, that is exactly why we love the man. Today's readers seem to like the "wide-screen" storytelling of writers like Mark Millar and Warren Ellis. Claremont is old-school compared to them, having served under the editorships of men like Len Wein and Jim Shooter. And that's why he works for me - I always feel like having READ something after one of his issues. Furthermore, his scripts have this mesmerizing quality in them that can get pretty addictive after a while - you'll know what I mean if you talk to any 1970s/80s comic reader.

Salvador Larroca's pencils are beautiful. I especially like how he draws facial expressions. He is equally adept at large-scale action scenes as he is with the quieter, more introspective moments. As a bonus, his pencils are un-INKED in X-treme X-Men. The overall effect is a somewhat dream-like comic experience. The only downside is that some panels come off rather blur in this first volume. But rest assured, his pencils are more legible in the second and third volume of this series.

Classic Claremont
If you aren't familiar with the evolution, history and norms of X-men over the last decade, this book just looks like a particularly good looking set of cliches with a somewhat confusing story. However, X-men folowers will recognize that there's almost no such thing as clighes with Claremont as he created all of them. Back in the eighties and early nineties, Claremont reinvented the X-men from the nerdy, high school rejects that Stan Lee created, into snazzy looking heroes that were feared by a non-mutant familiar society. Claremont is also credited with the creation of Rogue. In this series, the southern belle with voices in her head has gone from sassy tomboy with a streaked mane of teased hair, to a quiet loner with a cropped look that betrays a certain feeling of repentance. This reinvention of Rogue isn't 100% though, as Rogue smiles when she and Gambit are kicking Triad [behind] in Australia. The plot is a little hard to follow, and Claremont has a proclivity towards 'down-time' issues. 'Dreamtime seranade' is one of these issues, and while it gives artist Salvador Larrocca a chance to stretch his legs (an incredible visual pay-off), Claremont lays back and the plot starts to disappear. One thing that's interesting about Claremont's style is how he multi-tasks. In Australia, the team investigates charges that Gambit killed veteran X-men badguy Viceroy. To accomplish this Storm and Thunderbird go in search of Viceroy's rumored children as (if they exist) would be targets for whoever killed Viceroy. Bishop looks into the killing, pretending to be an Australian federal investigator. Bishop manages to offend Rogue who runs off, finds Gambit and the two of them search for Viceroy's real killer. Sage all the while gets into a fight with Lady Mastermind and the Hellfire Club. The stories are interesting, but can be confusing at times since they don't tie together. My real complaints, though, lie in the formatting. Claremont takes into consideration that his book may be the first X-men story ever read by someone, so he takes precautions not to lose the virgins, but the constant message boxes reiderating stuff you read two pages ago (though on original release was a month ago) can get annoying. But between Claremont's classic storytelling and Larroca's gorgeous artwork (one of the book's gimicks is a lack of an inker), the book is really a terrific read.
Something to note is that this book runs parrallel to New X-men, so buying this alongside one of 'X-men: E is for Extinction' is recommended.

Claremont does it again
Claremont takes some of our favorite X-Men characters and gives them a make over. What he creates is a fresh story for us. Remember, the X-Men have been around, in various forms, for quite a while and they need a shake up every now again. Great story, great art. Read it.

Nicely done!
First off, I'll say that the script isn't the best Claremont's done, but he's still one hell of a writer. He's written the X-Men so well through the years and this plot is definitely proof of that. The dialogue, at times, doesn't fit too well, but the fast-paced, exciting story definitely makes up for that. I simply can't believe that anyone could say that the artwork is lousy or is poor. It's not inked, which may not suit some people's tastes, but the pencils are gorgeous. The colors and graphics are also splendid, adding to an already beautiful collection. The first volume of X-Treme X-Men, collecting issues 1 through 9, is wonderful and is a great addition to any comic fan's collection, but the stories and art in volumes 2 and 3, are even better! X-Treme is a title that you CANNOT miss!

New Stories from one of Comic's Greatest
Chris Claremont's writing kept the X-Men viable for over a decade, and his latest effort is no exception. He pushes the team in a new direction, and takes characters to unexpected new levels. If you're a fan of Chris's work, or new to the world of the X-Men, this book will not dissapoint. ... Read more

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Quiz-time kids! What is The Green Lantern Oath? What does Superman's real name (Kal-El) mean in Kryptonese? What movie did Bruce Wayne's parents take him to see on the night that the thug Joe Cahill shot them to death? Test your Comics knowledgewith these and 1,098 other comic trivia questions about comic heroes from the Atom to the X-Men. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

More color complaints
Seriously, what were they thinking when they gave the coloring job on this the green light? For those who love great artwork in comics, this short run by Neal Adams on X-Men in the late 60's is really one of the highlights. So why would Marvel treat it so poorly? One reviewer mentioned the previous print job as being worse but I disagree. This is a mess; costumes change color from page to page, some pages are flat, saturated color while others are dot printed (which looks far worse on high grade paper than on newsprint!). I also hope they give this a third, improved printing. For those of you who can't wait, the great artwork is still there, it's just buried under an inept rush-job. Personally, I would've prefered the thing in b&w.

Neal Adam's brilliant nine-issue run on 'The X-Men" 1969-70
You have to remember before issue #56 of the "X-Men" came out in 1969 that the comic book was hurtling towards oblivion (which meant it would became a reprint title for Marvel). Jim Steranko had come in and done a few wonderful issues but then we had issue #53, which we all thought was the worst drawn comic in the history of the world. The artist was some young kid off the boat from England named Barry Smith who was clearly trying to imitate Jack Kirby (what we did not know was that Smith had literally drawn the pages sitting on benches in Central Park. In what was clearly a final but big time effort to save the X-Men, Neal Adams was brought in as the artist, the pages inked by Tom Palmer, the stories written by Roy Thomas and then Dennis O'Neil. For those who had suffered through issues drawn by the competent but uninspiring Don Heck, the nine issues drawn by Adams raised the bar for what the art in a comic book could look like. Whereas Steranko was the master of style, Adams provided a realism that was just great, as he went on to show while drawing Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow for DC.

Collected in "X-Men: Visionaries - Neal Adams" are issues #56-63, and 65 of "X-Men," published originally in 1969-1970, and since all of them run for over $100 in proverbial near mint condition, this is a nice way of enjoying these great comic book stories. Issue #56 has the Living Pharaoh, #57 the start of an awesome Sentinel trilogy, #58 offers the first appearance of Havok, #59 has Cyclops as the last X-Man standing against the Sentinels, Issues #60-62 offers the Sauron trilogy, which gets the X-Men back to the Savage Land and a meeting with Ka-Zar, #63 is a nice Magneto story (picking up on the Steranko bit of the devil having a daughter), and #64 is admittedly a lame monster story. These were just above well above average stories with the longer storylines working to the advantage of the characters and the artwork. I did not understand the importance of using the name "Sauron" as a villain, since I was still a few years away from reading the Lord of the Rings, but it was cool to have a monster that was a flying dinosaur. The Havoc costume was pretty cool too and I still remember the way Adams introduced Magneto without his helmet in one of the great reveals of all time. There was one more original issue after the run by Adams and then the title started reprinting issues #12-45. Granted, the run by Chris Claremont and John Bryne when the X-Men were brought back as an international gang of merry mutants in 1975 is the highpoint of the series, but the issues by Adams comes in a strong second.

2nd print of tpb a minor improvement
The 2nd print is very close, but no cigar. After the computer coloring hack job of the first print, Marvel redid some of the issues, as there were originally printed 30 years ago. Unfortunately, there are still some pages, here and there, that still have this bad coloring work. On top of it, I now see some colored pages from the 80's special edition reprints making it an inconsistent mess.
Hopefully by the time Marvel releases the 3rd print, ALL of the coloring for this collection will be brought back to its former glory.

Classic tales by a classic team
Just as the Original X-Men's run was hampered by ridiculously low sales, Marvel tried to salvage the title by conscripting two greats -- Roy Thomas and Neal Adams -- to come up with some butt-kicking tales. And this they did! Adams can tell a story by himself, really, with his spectacular pencils. His sense of perspective, lighting and presence is truly phenomenal. Unfortunately, even he and Thomas couldn't prevent X-Men from lowering into the depths of reprints, despite their herculean effort.

In these collected tales you'll witness the Living Monolith, Havoc, the Sentinels, Sauron, Ka-Zar and the civilization-destroying Z'Nox. Overall, this is well worth the $$.

A Great X-Men book! Neal Adams is wonderful!
A Great Collection of Unccany X-Men issues! Neal Adams was a popular comic book artist during the early 1970s. Uncanny X-men#57-65 was his first professional work for Marvel comics. He inspired many of the later artist like John Byrne, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Lee to draw the X-men. Many people do not remember him because he was popular during the Silver Age of X-men. During that time, Many popular characters like Wolerine, Storm, Rouge,Gambit, and Nightcrawler, did not even exits. The X-men's roster was the original team, Cyclops, Jeany Grey, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Havok and Polaris. Buy this book if you were a fan of the X-Men and Neal Adams during the early 1970's! Buy it! Neal Adams inspired many of today's artist like John Byrne and Jim Lee to become the popular comic book artists they are today! ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Best comic-based novel I've read...
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I wouldn't ordinarily read a book based on comics characters (I read the comics for that), but I read this (and a number of similar books) during my big X-Men phase when I couldn't get enough of the mutants. This was by far the best. I think this was due to the fact that fighting was de-emphasized, which was a good choice since fighting doesn't translate well to prose. I enjoyed the team's interaction, and I loved the Ohio Mutant Conspiracy (especially rewind). The ending was surprisingly downbeat, but appropriate. Check this out if you like the X-Men, but are leary of the X-Men novels.

Loved the book, all but the end
I thought Smoke and Mirrors was an excellent book, the characters were well described and the author was able to go into it more than the comics do. It kept me on the edge of my seat and it just left me hanging, I hated the "ending". If you have to have closure in a book, you probably don't want to read it.

A Great Novel for Fans of the Comic
This novel brings the magic of the comic to simple words. While some of the action moments loose from having no pictures, the gains of only words make for great reading.

Proffessor Arnold Bocklin has discovered the specific gene for mutation, and a way to remove it, albeit with a high mortality rate. Now, with the probable passing of a bill that calls for forcing medical procedures, the X-Men have to do something, before they are all forcibly changed to humans or dead. Of course, becoming human isn't such a bad thing to some mutants, especially Rogue, who is torn between desperately wanting to lead a normal life and kiss Gambit, and staying a mutant with the joys of family the X-Men bring. However, the choice is torn from her as a plan to locate the labs goes awry.

An excellent sub-plot follows a group of kids, as they try to escape from agents planning to test the process on them.

This novel is excellent, especially for fans of the Gambit-Rogue romance. Scenes of the two of the together abound, including Remy distraught over his lady-love.

The best of the X-Men novels.
*Note--contains spoilers.*

Eluki Bes Shahar is certainly one of the better writers Marvel has gotten for their novels. Ms. Shahar manages to both do justice to established characters, such as the X-Men and Mr. Sinister, while bringing life to new creations, such as the wonderful "Ohio Mutant Conspiracy." The only flaw I could find was the Wolverine-like woman; it seemed to detract from the rest of the work. Otherwise, highly recommended for Marvel Comics fans.

Not bad
This wasn't a bad book. I for one liked the introduction of the younger kids, but It could have foucoused more on the X-men themselves. Rogue was portrayed fairly well here, all in all not bad. But if your looking for a light read..read elsewhere it's heavy. I'd reccomend it for any X-men collection though. ... Read more