Reviews (3)

Fabulous
What makes this book so good is the collection of characters. Probably the best X-Men team ever (perhaps for the exception of Rachel instead of Jean). Besides that: Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Shadowcat, Storm, and Wolverine. The story is very compelling, and the New Mutants play a key role as well. This is a *MUST HAVE* for any New Mutant fans as it is a pivotal point in the character developments of Mirage (Dani Moonstar) as well as Karma. Additionally, we get a very good glimpse of the different mutants personalities as each one has a miniature solo adventure as the plot begins to tie together. The storytelling is great, and the art is superb (especially for the era). I will note that the genre is more fantasy/mythology than typical superhero "street level" fare, but perhaps this is what makes it so alluring. My highest praises.

This was one of the best X-men stories i've read.
This story ranks right up there with "DARK PHOENIX" and the "Mutant Massacre". It feature beautiful art by Arthur Adams, (whose art has never looked as good since)and Paul Smith, and an intricate story by Chris Claremont. It features two stories, one with the X-men and Alpha Flight going up against the Asgardian god of lies Loki, and one featuring the X-men and New Mutants trying to rescue Their leader Storm from Loki (who intends to turn her into his wife and use her to conquer Asgard). I highly recommend this story for anyone who is a fan of the X-men. This is one of the high points of Claremonts long run as X-men writer.

Arthur Adams best work!
For any fan of comic art, this book is a must have. Arthur Adams attention to detail started a revolution in the mid-80's, and the medium has never been the same since. For X-men fans, this series of annuals showcases some facinating character development. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

not the best
This isn't the best of the X-Men I've been reading lately. Claremont has produced some of the greatest X-Men stories of all time, but here he falls short. Their time in the Savage Land gives an okay story, maybe one that would be really good if it were someone other than Claremont. The other X-Treme X-Men that I've read are pretty good though.

definitely not claremont's best
it's not surprising that so many people are looking to sell their copy of this tpb, which collects the entire x-treme x-men savage land limited series. claremont's tired plot concerns the x-treme x-men's group adventure in the savage land in which they help an ancient dinosaur-like race called the saurids enter the savage land and then fight against an old savage land enemy brainchild to preserve the peace there. yawn. the saurids look way too much like the shi'ar race and the writing jumps around so much that it takes an effort to follow what's supposed to be going on. no character development, storm gets transformed into a primal state and then back (zzz), and threads that get brought up never get pursued (e.g. rogue's mental turmoil). kevin sharpe's artwork is competent, even though it pretty much just looks like slightly less slick versions of larocca's. this was one of the few tpbs i've read that i really had to make an effort to finish. this storyline is def. weaker than the first x-treme books, but i'm not much of a fan of either of those either for the same reasons: claremont just seems to be rehashing the same old plot devices with none of the emotional depth he used to reach. the story is a standalone, so you can avoid this one unless, like me, you just want to see sage in action, although she doesn't get to do much here.

Nice trip to the Savage Land
Teh problem with Uncanny is that its Xmen leftovers. Angel?---the most dangerous XMan ever next to Iceman and Nightcrawler, with WOlverine thrown in to make sure someone will buy this book. Stacey X, the mutant prostitute with the heart of gold?...I mean really. Teh interestign part of adding the Jugegrnaut to the team is a nice touch, something original darting it's head in. But this book lacks direction. New X-Men seems to be about the future of teh Xmen and Xtreme seems to follow the theme of self-manifestation and determination and Uncanny seems to be about all the Xmen you would never call on to save theworld. Now if that were followed up on and this was the B team that no one had much faith in that would be cool. Adding some New Mutants,, XForce members, Generation X (they chose Husk over Jubilee and Monet---ugh! and here she's proven to be rather dunderclass). There's no spark here. Its Xmen drudgery. Against Black Tom and his amazing plant powers. Then Lobo wolf men with the most assinine, self-pontificating write overs about evolution. Thsi should be the dirty team, teh schizos, the mess ups, the forgottens doing dirty work, the stealth team, instead it's the yellow bus, reject Xmen. The addiiton of Northstar is a nice twist in the right direction but the whoel team needs to be those kinds of twists. Throw in some villains, some humans (you know I've always wondered about that part----for all their co-existence, peaceful harmony talk there are no human members of the team---this would be a good place to experiement with that concept. We keep getting the human perspective from Xmen, we shoudl get it from humans. They need a token memeber.)
Though this review is for New XMen, I have to say that Uncanny and Extreme average overall into my rating of 4 stars. I know there's been a lot of hullabaloo about Morrison's work on New X-Men---new directions, excitement, blah blah. However I'm not so sure much has changed so radically. By measuring change I mean if Morrison didn't write anymore issues would there be a vast change in the X-Men. Ok, Emma Frost as a member is fun and a good twist, however I think that the creation of new characters and the wholesale tossing out of others (like the New Mutants, who're comign back in yet another series to run 50-100 issues and be cancelled along the lines of New Mutants, Generation X and X-Force) rather than integrating them eventually into the team. I think this is the main deficit of teh XMen. Characters created that are likeable, taht are durable, eventually can't be changed in any significant way.
Prof. X having a twin sister who is wholesale evil was nice, though from the first panel Cassandra appeared in, I knew who and what she was. Maybe I've been reading comics too long to be surprised too deeply..........
There was a HUGE, I mean HUGE storyline buildup to Cassandra stealing the Prof.'s body and returning with the Shiar to wax the Xmen out. And teh fight was.........ehhhhh....not that scary. I mean everyone pretty much stayed status quo. Morrison is twisting but not changing. At least in Xtreme, Psylocke is dead, dead, dead. Jean is having Phoenix trips again, Beats is upset because he's hideous, Wolverine is all violence talk and menace and Emma is a nice bit of relief as someone who's been there, done that. Cyclops, easily teh most boring person at a party is purposefully written as stiff, which is interesting and his affair with Emma, another interesting point but will he and Jean divorce over this? Nope. Status quo.
My measure of a great writer is that when you look back on the 20-50 issues they've done is it an entirely new playing field? Is anything of consequence changing?
Ok, the school is out and officially a mutant academy, which has possibilities but in many ways over the years it has been outted, just not as crowded. A lot of teh X-Men's main stable of enemies are either gone, dead or well........X-Men. So it makes you wonder what a real threat is going to be. This book dialogue wise and visually is sometimes good, even great and the overall plottin gof a maturing X-Men being more present in the world is interesting but I don't feel a sense of danger, a sense of forboding. I mean my big question is when a threat arrives, honestly, does anyone reading this book feel like someone might not survive? That Cyclops and Phoenix will break up? That Beast really might be gay? There are playful twists, stunts, but not true change going on.
Cassandra, a serious threat was defeated too easily, and by easily, I mean there was very little collateral damage that we got to see. Supposedly she rendered tne Shiar empire to rubble, that should've been part of what the readers SEE not just were told. Good writing shows you not just tells you. Essentially compressing Cassandra into a mental file inside of a metamorph was unique but somehow too easy. Then again, I have to wonder why Emma, Phoenix and Prof. X together couldn't fight her? Morrison is a good writer, I agree and I'm sure a lot of the things he's done have been uphill battles, unfortunately the XMen are stuck in their own quaqmire of history and static characterizations. It would have been really interesting to see this new Cyclops who had been part of Apocalypse. That theme was explored for two minutes but not truly cracked open.
Also is it just me or has anyone ever considered that these young people are the Prof's puppets? Wouldn't someone so telepathically formidable leak his desires to those around him? That would be an excellent area to be explored.

The savage land just got more savage.
The x-treme x-men( storm rouge bishop beast and others) go to the savage land to investigate some strange happenings. ... Read more

Book Description

Magneto -- the X-Men's arch enemy and mankind's greatest foe --has dramatically raised the stakes in the life and death struggle to find a cure for the mutant-killing Legacy Virus. Magneto has created a vast arsenal of Legacy Virus bombs that he's having his cohorts plant around the world. When he detonates the bombs, all of humanity will be quickly infected and soon die unless they receive the cure -- a cure that only he has! The X-Men must stop Magneto before he can activate his insane plan. But when it comes to Magneto, theacknowledged legitimate ruler of the island nation Genosha, stopping him will not only be difficult...it may be impossible! Meanwhile, Sebastian Shaw, the Black King of the Hellfire Club and anembittered, now cast-aside pawn in Magneto's mad scheme, isforming a terrible plan of revenge.

... Read more

Reviews (1)

The cataclismic ending!
The ending of the best trilogy of X Books ever! Magneto has the only cure for the Legacy Virus and only our favorite group of muties can stop him. I would give this 5 stars if not for the dissapointing ending. Anyway great book. Buy it!!! ... Read more

Book Description

Hank McCoy -- the X-Men's Beast -- made himself a guinea pig in a desperate attempt to find a cure for the deadly Legacy Virus. His gamble succeeded. Now his blood is a living serum that can save countless lives. Unfortunately, the Beast is also a prisoner of Selene, the dread Black Queen of the New York branch of the Hellfire Club and she is literally bleeding him dry in order to further her own mad quest for power and wealth. The X-Men, and their uneasy ally, Sebastian Shaw, the mutant Black King of the Hong Kong branch of the Hellfire Club, are locked in a race against time to defeat Selene and free the Beast. But Selene has found a way to turn time itself into a weapon against them.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Shaw and the mysterious menace known as Mutant X, pursue a different agenda -- one that if it succeeds, will place the Legacy Virus serum in the hands of the most dangerous mutant in the world!

... Read more

Reviews (1)

Pretty good... Pretty good indeed...
Over all I think it was pretty good. They kind of spent the whole book wasting they're time in some sort of spell but that's pretty easy to overlook since It makes a decent amount of sense. The only thing I was dissapointed with is while they where in the futureI was hoping they would meet older versions of some of the X-men that didn't get stuck in the trap like Pyslocke or Havok or Longshot or someone. One thing that in my opinion could have made the book better is if Gambit was in it. I know this review isn't very informative but that's cause I'm tired and I don't want to give to much of this book away.
Overall it was a very good sequel, The stakes where definetely raised/ ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Some of Claremont's best work
If you already own the original issues from Giant Sized X-Men to X-Men 137 or Essential X-Men Vol. 2, or some other TPB then this collection of stories from Classic X-Men is perfect for you. These collections of vignettes reveal much of the characterizations not revealed in the original issues and provide some key moments in the history of certain characters (especially the Magneto stories).

Otherwise, I suggest trying to collect the original Classic X-Men comic books. If the condition of the comic book doesn't matter to you, and you only care about the stories, you could probably find all the Classic X-Men comics for under a dollar each. It's probably cheaper to do that than to buy all the trade paperbacks, plus I always preferred handling a comic book, than a TPB.

Some Quieter Moments
This volume collects the backstories printed in X-Men Classics from it's beginning through it's reprinting of the Dark Phoenix Saga.

Basically, it's a collection of short stories about what happened "between the lines" of Uncanny at this period of the X-Men's history. Often they're quieter, relationship-driven stories as opposed to the action of the series proper. It helps if you have the stories that the vignettes are backing up in front of you for reference if you don't think you'll remember them - if you don't know what's going on you might be lost.

Some of the vignettes are better than others, and of course your opinion will be colored by which characters you like most. Certainly two of the Nightcrawler stories are essential reading and some of the best material ever written for him. The first is "The Big Dare" - the notorious buddy classic in which Nightcrawler and Wolverine play a famous game of tag that results in Logan getting Kurt a little tipsy and daring him to walk down the street in public undisguised. The second is the beautiful tearjerker "The Gift", in which Kurt bonds with a little boy to whom he self-appoints himself guardian when he sees the child walking down the street alone in the middle of the night.

A good Package, But Pricey.
Vignettes reprints the back-up stories from Classic X-Men #'s 1-13. As usual, Writer Chris Claremont's stories are too wordy, often giving extraneous information that the reader could glean from the art (By John Bolton, making a rare pen and ink appearance, a nice change of pace from his usual painting; The art is just as beautiful, no matter what medium he uses.).

As a longtime Marvel fan, I found the stories complimented the older X-Men stories perfectly, giving me new insight into the old stories. The problem is, without the old stories, a new reader would be totally lost with most of these stories. The book is also over-priced for the scant 175 pages. Older X-Men fans will find a lot to cheer about, but readers who aren't up on their Mutant history will probably want to take a pass....

Character-driven X-Men Stories
If you enjoy character-driven stories about the X-Men of Marvel comics, if you like the X-Men stories of the 70s and 80s, or if you're a fan of Chris Claremont's writing, pick this up. Also, if you really like the Dark Phoenix Saga, you'll probably enjoy some of the Phoenix back-stories here.

The baker's dozen of stories in this trade paperback are reprints of some of the early back-up stories from Classic X-Men. All are written by Claremont and illustrated (in color) by Jon Bolton. His style is less super-hero/comic book and more akin to illustration. The lines are softer and the emphasis is on storytelling and facial expressions.

The stories show some of life behind the scenes of Uncanny X-Men stories from Giant-Sized X-Men #1/Uncanny 94 to about the Uncanny 120s. (I being specific for the rabid collectors). This book would be a great companion to Essential X-Men #1 (and #2 as well). It would also accompany The Dark Phoenix Saga book very well.

The stories cover the aftermath of the battle against Krakoa, the impact of Thunderbird's death, the beginning of friendship between Jean and Storm, Nightcrawler's struggles with his appearance, Colossus' first love, the politics of the Hellfire Club, etc.

I think the most powerful pieces are the ones about Jean/Phoenix. The idea is this: what if you were 24, in love, a hero, and one day you gained nearly unlimited power? How would you live life as a human once you became a god? The pieces here show Jean before her trip to space, during her transformation, and later, dealing with the effects. And they are beautiful.

Buy yourself a treat: Get the first 2 Essential collections (or the DP Saga) and this collection and indulge your deep abiding love of the classic X-Men comics. Yes, they're about super heroes, but at heart they're about what kind of people we are and what kind of world we want to make.

Then get Claremont's X-Men: Visionaries collection and be indulged further. ... Read more

Book Description

From the pages of New X-Men: Academy X come the resident bad boys (and girls) of Xavier's!The Hellions spend the summer in California, where they'll discover the dirty secrets from one of their pasts and will face a temptation that will determine whether these kids will be heroes or villains. Collects New X-Men: Hellions #1-4. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An X-MEN fans answer to How it all began?
This was truly a well written book.It gave the readers a chance to look at an adventure through the eyes of the greatest superhero team of all time, the X-MEN.Each X-Man had their on personality and for me this madethe story more believable.Different X-MEN adventures in one book, a musthave for X-MEN fans.

The Xavier Files

As a huge fan of the X-Men, I have read many novelizations and many comics.But the X-Men themselves remain mostly a mystery.Where do they come from?Why did Xavier choose them?What did they do in their pasts that made them such prime candidates for a team in which trust is everything?All the questions are answered here.

It gives you a real insider's view of the X-Men.You journy to the heart of Cerebro, the X-Men's super advanced computer used mainly for the detection of powerful mutants, and see for yourself how it used to be. Each X-Man entered a tale of thier past, something really big that changed their lives.For Jubilee, it was the death of her parents, and then her foster parents, within a year. For Rogue, it was discovering that she wasn't as invincible as she thought. For Xavier himself, (the X-Men's mentor, teacher, and all around best friend) it was his step-brother, Cain Marko, aka the Unstoppable Juggernaut. This is a must-have for any X-Men fan.To find more answers to the questions you've had for years, order your copy today! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Reinventing the X-Men as teenagers for younger readers
The Marvel Ultimate volumes reinvented Spider-Man, the X-Men, and other superheroes for the 21st century by going back to the beginning and starting over. These new versions have been fully cognizant of the history of these comic books and made a point of now having key characters, such as Mary Jane Watson and Wolverine, there from the beginning. However, "Ultimate X-Men" is clearly intended for adults and not for young readers, which is why we have "X-Men: Evolution."

This first trade paperback collection has issues #1-4, written by Devin Grayson ("Ghost Rider: The Hammer Lane," "Black Widow") and illustrated by Udon with Long Vo, Charles Park and Saka of Studio XD ("Deadpool," "Taskmaster"). The story begins with Professor Charles Xavier persuading the first mutants to join him. In #1 "Lines in the Sand" these first mutants turn out to be first Ororo (Storm) and then Logan (Wolverine), although Magneto tries to recruit the latter as well (the Mutant Master of Magnetism already has Mystique). Magneto congratulated Xavier on his success, but wants to know what Charles is building with his recruits if not an army? The answer, of course, is going to be a school for "gifted youngsters" (a.k.a. mutants) but Grayson is clearly taking a different approach.

In #2 "Seeing Clearly" Scott Summers (Cyclops) is brought into the fold and goes on his first mission with Wolverine, while in #3 "Hearing Things" Jean Grey is brought by her parents to the school so that Xavier can help her stop hearing everything everybody is think. At this point it is clear how things are going to be different and you can pretty much explain it all in terms of Scott Summers. No longer is he the first X-Men; that honor know goes to Ororo, who is clearly established as the mother figure in the new X-Men (with Logan as the Dutch Uncle apparently). But Scott, who was always one of the most reticent of heroes, is now talking a blue streak. Of course he is still smitten with Jean, but it is a totally different vibe this time around, more in the grand tradition of a geeky teenager. This leads to the other big difference, which is that Scott, Jean, and the other teenage X-Men are not attending classes at Xavier's institute but at nearby Bayville High.

Scott and Jean are already going to Bayville in #3, which is the point in "X-Men: Evolution" where the prologue is over. That is because in #4 "Am I Blue" we are suddenly done with Xavier collecting new students and Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler), Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), and Rogue (Rouge) are already in residence at the Xavier Institute and heading off to school at Bayville. At this point there are no evil mutants to fight and the biggest problem facing our young heroes is an English Composition Essay "What I am at home that I can't be at school?" Kurt is especially perplexed by this one, which is understandable since he is the only one of the kids who has to use an image inducer to go to class.

The X-Men started out as a group of teenager superheroes, the best counterpart to Peter Parker's teenage angst in "Spider-Man," but when the new and improved international X-Men were put together by Claremont and Cockrum they were clearly a lot older. With "X-Men: Evolution" the goal is clearly to get back to the original vision but with more realism in terms of the contemporary teenage experience. After all, what high school student cannot relate to the concern over being considered a "freak" by their peers? This approach also has the advantage that, at least to begin with, Wolverine is in the background and not even close to dominating the series the way he is in "The Ultimate X-Men." The result should be interesting to younger readers, but the true test will come with these X-Men have to actually start battling Magneto and his Evil Mutants. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The beginning of the Age of Apocalypse
Beginning with Cable #20, this TPB is the beginning of the Age of Apocalypse storyline which ran the X-books for four months. After that story is the X-Men Alpha one shot which gives us the first glance of this alternate timeline in which Charles Xavier never lived long enough to form the X-Men; thus there was no one to stop Apocalypse from taking over North America. We are introduced to Magneto's group of X-Men: his wife Rogue, his son Quicksilver, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Morph, Blink, Storm, Sabretooth, and Wild Child. We are also introduced to characters who would continue to appear in the various X-books including the deranged genius Dark Beast and Apocalypse's "son" Holocaust. Also seen are the villianous versions of Cyclops and his insane brother Havok; plus the theif for hire and ex X-Man Gambit, plus the couple of Logan and Jean Grey. Dawn of the Age of Apocalypse is good on it's own, but to fully appreciate it you need to read all the other AoA storylines which had a four issue run while the original titles were put on hold. They are (in order of which are the better):

The Astonishing X-Men (Uncanny X-Men)
Generation Next (Generation X)
X-Man (Cable)
The Amazing X-Men (X-Men)
Weapon X (Wolverine)
Factor X (X-Factor)
X-Calibre (Excalibur)
Gambit & The X-Ternals (X-Force)

Nice overall introduction to the AoA storyline
This TPB is a reprinting of Cable #20, "X-Men Alpha" and "Age of Apocalypse: the Chosen".

It's part of the Age of Apocalypse storyline, where Charles Xavier has accidentally been murdered in the past - so the X-Men never came to exist and Apocalypse rules the US in the present.

The artwork is excellent. The writing can be touching at times. I like the Cable part (the first book) - they do nothing but talk, but it's just a preparation of what is about to come: The nearing end of their existence. What follows is the Age of Apocalypse and a little introduction through the "new" characters.

This book doesn't contain the complete story - so it's as useless as a vegetarian steak dinner without the other TPBs of this particular storyline. There are ten more. But there are also spin-offs like "Tales from the Age of Apocalypse" and the mini-series of Blink.

For a complete reading list of this storyline, read my X-Men: LegionQuest review.

FAR better than the OTHER X-Men stuff
Most of the, well, almost all of the X-Men things are, let's face it, purile crap with no true redeeming features and only the occasional rare flashes of briliance.

But this was different. This and the entire age of apocalypse saga are different. They are good, DAMN good! It's like they stored up all the good bits and true characters and plot from 30 years, sucking it out of the rest of the series like some vampire, then hurled it all into one twist.

The only thing that bugs me is that this, the ONLY worthy thing to come out of marvel in years (INCLUDING Todd McFarlane!) has been buiried and forgotten!

If they would just scrap the xmen as they are NOW, and bring this back, they would have a real comic book!

This is pure dross
The entire X-Men history of thirty years has been destroyed in one pathetically constructed alternate reality.

Yes!!!!
This book is the gold foil collection of three comics that lead up to AOA: Hour of last things (Cable 20), X-men Alpha, and AOA the Chosen. I looked all over the place trying to find these in single issues and here they are all in one book!

AOA is an example of Marvel can put out when it really trys, an alternate universe in which we can see what would have happened if Xavier had died before the X-men had been formed. Apocalypse has taken over the world and the series is the story of the fight against him. I highly recomend this book and all of the rest of AOA! ... Read more

Book Description

This Collector's Value Guide to the well-known comic book series features color photos and values for the popular comic books, an overview of the new X-Men collectible card game, features on other X-Men collectibles including action figures and trading cards.It also features a spotlight on the new movie and animated television series.Be sure to check out our other great titles such as: Pokemon, Hot Wheels, Digimon and more! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

enter the world of X-Men
For any beginner in the X-Men universe collecting, this book is definitely worth buying. Now, the main problem with any collector's value guide is to become obsolete within the year it is published. Nevertheless, this first edition achieve to be pleasant to read, informative, and full of pictures. Still, ALL X-Men books are not displayed Although I have been a fan of X-Men a few years ago, this guide was helpful to catch what I missed. I can't ask for more, except to expect more for the second edition. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Fun, if "average" stories of Marvel's "Hard-Luck" Heroes
Writer Roy Thomas & artist Werner Roth had a tough act to follow when they became the regular creative team on X-MEN in the mid-60's (following Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and-- at times-- Chic Stone). These early stories may come as a shock to anyone used to the overly-complex, darkly angst-ridden nightmare world that the ever-growing number of X-books have become over the last 25 years. They tend to finish in 1 or 2 issues, and Roth's art is almost refreshingly "clean", light and upbeat! With most of Marvel's books getting more visually "spectacular", X-MEN may have seemed an "outsider" to the rest of the line at the time. (Next to art by Jack Kirby on FANTASTIC FOUR, THOR & CAPTAIN AMERICA, Gene Colan on IRON MAN and DAREDEVIL, John Romita on SPIDER-MAN and Jim Steranko on S.H.I.E.L.D., these X-MEN stories have a Saturday-morning cartoon look by comparison!)

Between X-MEN and THE AVENGERS, Roy was learning how to write comics on-the-job! His dialogue is something I can only take in small doses here, as he tries to cram every available space with word balloons, whether it's called for or not. Without Stan's sense of humor, Roy's plots have to stand on their own-- at times it feels like someone imitating a Marvel Comic more than an actual one. Roy improved over time, as his later work on this series with Neal Adams proved.

A strange thought hit me by the end of the volume-- many of the featured villains were "borrowed" from other heroes' series! This is evident in my favorite story here, the 2-parter with Count Nefaria and a group of hired super-villains. You've got The Plantman and The Eel (Human Torch baddies from STRANGE TALES), The Scarecrow & The Unicorn (Iron Man foes from SUSPENSE) and The Porcupine (an Ant-Man & Wasp villain from ASTONISH, for cryin' out loud!). They're all pretty much 2nd-stringers, yet it's fun seeing them almost act like a "team"!

One story has Jack Sparling art in such a different style it looks really odd in here-- all the rest are by Werner Roth. Judging from some of the "off-duty" scenes it appears Roth may have been more comfortable with romance than superheroics (a trait he shared with Iron Man artist Don Heck). One thing caught my attention reading this book-- Werner Roth's version of Jean Grey (Marvel Girl) bears an UNCANNY resemblance to actress Famke Janssen, who played the character in the recent X-MEN movie! It was as though he'd used her for his model-- I wonder if the producers used Roth's art as reference while casting the film?

A review ...
Just so it's clear to people what they are buying with this book, Uncanny X-Men Masterworks Vol. 3 reprints issues #22-31 of the 1960's series. These are ten issues of comics from July 1966 to April 1967, printed in a hardcover book with dust jacket, on full-color pages. ... ... Read more

Book Description

A cosmic adventure with the fate of the galaxy at stake! Shi'ar scientists have learned of a creature that devours galaxies and is heading towards Shi'ar space.Beset by panicked people and several assassination attempts, Empress Lilandra must call upon the X-Men for their assistance--for the galaxy eater will target Earth next.

But the price for stopping the creature may be higher than the X-Men expect.They must use a device that increases their powers a thousand-fold to drive the creature back.A process that could destroy them...or make them insane with power!

Based on the Marvel characters the X-Men ... Read more

Reviews (9)

it's not bad, but...
Well, she made an effort.And she raised interesting issues, though she never really resolved them.But I think Diane Duane works better with a smaller cast.Her original novels are fine; they have much smaller casts.Her Spiderman trilogy is fine; it has only three main characters.Even her Star Trek novels are fine; she tends not to use more than five major characters per book.In "Empire's End," she's dealing with Professor X, Beast, Gambit, Wolverine, Storm, Bishop, Iceman, Cyclops, Jean, Lillandra, a Shi'ar lord, etc.There are simply too many characters, and though each gets a few scenes or "moments," they all seem shallow.

The plot is as follows: the Shi'ar discover that a mysterious creature, which destabilizes galaxies by eating their cores, is heading their way.They enlist the X-Men to stop the creature.This totally unequal confrontation is made "plausible" by a strange device that enhances the X-Men's powers.Gosh, how convenient.Meanwhile, Lillandra's council is pressuring her to marry a Shi'ar noble and produce an heir, instead of continuing her relationship with Charles.Ooh, look, a romantic subplot.

There are some interesting discussions about the effects of absolute power, and the enhancement of the X-Men's powers at the expense of the more human aspects of their personalities, but when they finally save the day (you never seriously thought they wouldn't, did you?) those issues vanish like mist, never fully confronted.The power-enhancing device also conveniently disappears; I sense an author avoiding the implications of a bad concept.

Also, I'd really like to know exactly what the huge, ghostly X-Men-shaped constructs are.They are first described as psychic projections, or something along those lines, but later seem to become real.They seem to be a device for avoiding the idiocy of pitting the X-Men against a creature larger than Manhattan.I say, if you're using the X-Men, give them an adversary they can confront as is.But if you lack the foresight to do that, the least you can do is remain honest to your original premise, and keep the relative sizes of the space creature and the X-Men as is.(Actually, the ghost figures aren't needed for the final victory, which makes me wonder even more why they were there in the first place.I sense more bad concepts.)

The story is fast and fun, and Duane's style is quite readable, but "Empire's End" feels like a rush job by an author not quite familiar with her world and characters, who tried to make up for the gap by shoving them into Star Trek.

Not for those who fondly remember their youth...
If you are looking to recapture your youth through X-Men novels, skip this one. You won't like the way this book treats its characters.

If you are looking for an afternoon read; occasionally enjoy a bubblegum-for-the-brain space story; are more interested in plot than characters; and most importantly, didn't put down good money for the book but got it from the library, you might like it.

That's worth two stars.

More about Xavier's sex life than I wanted to know
First of all, let me just say Charles is not supposed to behave like a hormonal teenager.But that's exactly how he comes off in this book.A crisis hits, some new diffuculty in killing this Bug Eyed Monster of theWeek, and Charles and Lilandra hop in the bed!Honestly, it got old afterthe first two chapters.Also, the writer completely forgot Charles ISLilandra's acknowledged consort, according to the comics.An annoyingerror to be sure.

She wastes the other characters as well.Beast is onlyhere for snappy one liners.Gambit (without Rogue - BORING!) has powersutterly unlike his in the comics.Even Scott and Jean come across as ageneric couple.She could have used the exact same plot and just changedthe names to Spock, Kirk and McCoy.I doubt we would have noticed adifference.

I was hoping these books would get better with moreestablished writers.Looks like I still will have to hope.

An OK read
Diane Duane, in my opinion, did a great job on the Spider-Man novels.But this book was a major letdown.First of all, I have always found the Shi'ar, even in the comics, to be quite boring and dull.Sadly, this isalso the case with this book.I read this book, and then I re-read a fewissues of Uncanny X-Men, and I have to say that the characterization in thecomics is leaps and bounds over that in this book.The characters in thisbook are undeveloped, and seem just "off" from their normalselves.Some of them don't even have that many lines, which is always aproblem with so many characters being sqeezed into one book (at least inthe comics, they can alternate character focus each issue).

However, thisaside, I found myself not even enjoying the plot.The main villain (thatbeing the galaxy-devouring creature) was completely and utterablyuninteresting and static.And the idea of the X-Men fighting it with a"device that increases their powers a thousandfold" is justcorny, and even more "comic booky" than the comic itself.Itdidn't sit right with me from the beginning, and it still doesn't evennow.

Another thing that bothered me was Duane's apparent misunderstandingof Gambit's mutant abilities.Throughout the book, she seemed to beoperating under the assumption that his abilities involved the charging ofEXISTING kinetic energy.However, Gambit's abilities actually deal withconverting an objects potential energy INTO explosive kinetic energy.Thebook never gave any evidence that Duane realized this to be the case.Ofcourse, maybe I was too bored to notice if she did...

One last thing: shereally seemed to be writing this the way she would a Star Trek novel.Thisbook was absolutely cluttered with space jargon, from mini blackholes toblue and red shifting to galactic cores going quasar.It just reallyseemed to take up a lot of space without really saying much at all.

Diane Duane is a good writer, however...
I mean that.She did outstanding work on the Spider-Man Novels, but this X-Men; Empire's End book kind of falls way short of expectations.I kept waiting for the really exciteing chapters to begin and they never took place.I think Diane would do great books on other Marvel Characters likethe Fantastic Four or the Avengers, maybe Spidey again also.But not theX-Men.It just was not good. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Fabian Necieza¿s darker AOA book
In January of 1995, the writers, artists and editors of Marvel's X-men-related books embarked on the Age of Apocalypse storyline, in which, due to a catastrophic time-travel venture of the psychotic mutant, Legion, Professor Xavier is killed several years before he forms the X-men. In the twenty years following Xavier's death, North America, bereft of Xavier's X-men's protection, is conquered by the nefarious super-mutant, Apocalypse, who turns the country into a breeding ground of genetic warfare and survival of the fittest. The atrocious sovereign is opposed only by Magneto and his ragtag version of the X-men. The resulting comics were some of the most interesting X-books of the 1990s. Readers were given a chance to see how their favorite characters would behave under an entire different set of circumstance. Relationships that were once impossible blossomed; characters that were once combative lightweights reached their full potential; and the apparent omnipotence of an ultimate evil caused some heroes to succumb to the dark side (Havok, Beast, Cannonball) while it caused some villains to realize the merit of valor and justice (Magneto, Sabretooth, Juggernaut).

While Scott Lobdell, the more emotive and romantic of the two writers assigned to the two core X-men books, was granted somewhat ingenuous characters such as Morph, Blink, Rogue and a dramatically different Sabretooth for his AOA book, Astonishing X-men, the more dismal and calculating Fabian Necieza's Amazing X-men included such heroes as a dour and dejected Banshee, a timid and quiet Storm, a cold and cunning Quicksilver, and a cynical and sarcastic Iceman. Likewise, Amazing X-men was not the triumphant tale of good triumphing over evil despite impossible odds that was Mr. Lobdell's book, but something much darker. More often than a feeling of achievement, the Amazing X-men walked away from their missions with a feeling of disgust. The weak and helpless are used as bargaining chips. Heroes, such as Banshee and Jamie Madrox, desolate about the state of their situations, consider sacrificing their hopeless lives if it will cause an iota of progress. Villains, such as Abyss and Apocalypse, engulfed by power and bloodlust become religious fanatics of murder and wickedness. Mr. Necieza used this opportunity to completely rearrange the X-men to shock and disturb readers and thoroughly explore the darker sides of a few characters. The result is one of the most interesting and pungent storylines of his stint on the X-books.

X-tremely Brilliant
I initially got into X-MEN by watching the TV series. This inspired me to read more and more X-Comics and I got to say, this has been one of the very best! This story occurs in a timeline where Professor X is no more and America is being ruled by the evil mutant Apocalypse. Humans are being destroyed in countless thousands by his ruthless infinites and there isn't a living soul to stop this genocide. The only hope for this world are the X-Men. Led by Magneto the X-Men fight for a better tommorrow to rid themselves of this nightmare their world has become.

This features: - Half of the X-Men lead by Quicksilver to help evacuate the humans from the East Coast. - Magneto vs. Apocalypse. If you are are definitely going to buy this, I recommend you to get all the other Age of Apocalypse ones as well. They are absolutely brilliant! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The Digest-Size novel is NOT a graphic novel
I've returned to the X-Men after a near 20 year absence and I've been trying to catch up. This is a illustrated novelization of the comics, not a reprint of the comics themselves. Because I still haven't seen the comics, I don't know how well this version compares to the original. Assuming that the book is accurate, I feel that I got the story and it wasn't exciting enough to make me want to get the comics. As it says on the back, the Phalanx is a techno-organic alien life form. It's here to take over the world. It can assimilate animals and regular humans, but [so far], not mutants. Characters appearing: Gambit, Professor X, Psylocke, Bishop, Dr. Moira McTaggart, Jubilee, Wolverine, Storm, Iceman, Archangel, Beast, Rogue, Banshee, Emma Frost, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Cable, Sabretooth, [and as yet untrained mutants whom I gather became Generation X] Monet, Husk, Everett Thomas [whoever he is], Skin, and Clarice [Blink?].

Phalanx Covenant
The Phalanx Covenant was one of the major reasons that I originally quit buying all the X-Men titles (I recently began again). The villains were uninteresting, the art was below average, and the writing for the most part was horrid. The X-Men and Uncanny X-Men sections were decent but the rest was absolutely worthless. Marvel was putting hideous foil covers on every other issue at that time, which annoyed me to no end. The foil strip running up each of these covers added nothing whatsoever to the comic accept for over a dollar on the cover price. This cross-over was nothing more than an attempt by Marvel to make the most possible money with the least possible effort. The five or so issues of Uncanny that led up to the crossover were all subpar. The new Generation X members could have been introduced in a much better way. I have yet to read an issue of Generation X that was not better than these. The Phalanx were completely incompatable with the Marvel model of the tragic villain tortured by a horrible past and fighting to survive (like Magneto). They had no basis in any past storyline do not inspire readers to buy any future Phalanx story. If you are looking for a great X-Men story to read, especially if you are a new reader to the X-titles, do not start with this crossover. Read X-Tinction Agenda, Mutant Massacre, Dark Phoenix Saga, or the X-Cutioner's Song.

The Phalanx are an organism that are like the Borg.
The Phalanx Covenant stars some of Generation X mutants. The Phalanx adapt quickly to anything. If you shot it with a machine gun you could probably kill 1 before they adapt. They are all linked so what one knows they all know. ... Read more

Book Description

The action-packed adventure continues as simmering tensions explode with a vengeance.

X-MEN 2

They live among us, each possessing special superhuman abilities—sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse. Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence, they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, and often hatred. Across the planet, the debate rages: Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain or simply a new species of humanity, fighting for their share of the world?

Either way, one fact remains: Sharing the world has never been humanity’s defining trait.

There are two sects of mutants: One aims to coexist peacefully with a world that despises them; the other group strikes at intolerance with a relentless, often murderous force. But now there is a new insidious enemy, and no one will be safe. . . . ... Read more

Reviews (20)

More intriguing insights about these beloved characters.
As an old school fan of comic books in general, and the X-universe in particular, this book was a kick. I'm usually leery of movie tie-ins, like anyone who grew up reading novelizations of certain popular films. Some are just fun, they stay true to the spirit of the source material and convey some details you might miss while watching it. Others... uuugh. They're like having the movie described for you by a lobotomy patient, and quite often, there are one or two scenes included that may have been in the screenplay, but didn't make it into the actual theatrical release. I bought this solely because Claremont wrote it. I've yet to be proven wrong that no one knows these characters like he does; he actually does take them from the realm of fiction and makes the reader feel these are living, breathing people. It's a relatively quick read, the action rocks right along, but most of the time it's pure fun. This is a return to great form for this writer and it makes you want to see more new material from him.

A good buy for X-fans.
Released almost two full months before the debut of the film upon which it is based, X-MEN 2 is substantial adaptation of a fairly lean screenplay by longtime X-MEN comics scribe, Chris Claremont. Weighing in at over four hundred pages of fairly dense text, the first impression one gets is of a real book, and not the usual movie tie-in dreck with a slim page count, large print and generous margins. Unfortunately, the promise is only partly kept, and by the end readers may very well wish the work was just a bit shorter.

Since plot is half the fun when it comes to the X-Men, perhaps it's best not to delve too deeply into that aspect of the book. Suffice it to say that all the heroes from X-MEN, 2000's hit film that breathed life into the moribund superhero genre, return for more action. They're joined by fan-favorites from the comic. Some, like the midnight blue and tailed teleporter Nightcrawler, have a significant role to play in the course of the story. Others, like Jubilation Lee, who adventured with Wolverine in his long-running solo comic as Jubilee, have far less to do.

Two of the original film's quartet of villains return, as well. Magneto begins the novel still imprisoned in his plastic cell, and the shape-changing Mystique continues to impersonate X-MEN baddie Senator Robert Kelly. But X-MEN 2 isn't just a rehash of old battles. The new storyline expands the roster of enemies to include mutant-hater William Stryker, a covert operative for the government, and his implacable bodyguard Yuriko. Stryker's force of well-trained soldiers figure heavily in the set pieces in the book, providing ample fodder for the likes of Wolverine, who really gets to cut loose with his adamantium claws in a way that might surprise some readers.

Claremont does his best to put meat on X-MEN 2's bones. With seventeen years of experience writing various X-Men comics, he certainly knows the characters and their universe. Regrettably, because X-MEN 2 is a movie tie-in, he's not free to take the story in new directions. This translates into a great deal of interior monologue on the part of the characters and large chunks of exposition that sometimes repeat themselves at different points during the novel. The story of how Rogue got the white streak in her hair, an incident from X-MEN, is re-told on three separate occasions. Needless to say, this kind of thing can grow annoying very quickly. Claremont also displays a tendency to want to include too much of the comics' background. The filmic X-Men are a reasonably pared-down affair without too much baggage, and Claremont's cameos by many peripheral X-comic characters serve merely to pad out the length of the book.

In the end, one must make a decision how best to judge X-MEN 2. As a movie tie-in, the book succeeds very well, despite the occasional editorial mishap and Claremont's sometimes dense style. Taken as an original work, X-MEN 2 would be considered only an average entry, too dependent on other media to stand as a strong work on its own terms. Die-hard X-fans who can't get enough of the films or the characters should not hesitate to grab this volume, as it's well worth their time. Others may wish to consider before plunking down the bucks.

A perfect book for vacations
I liked this book mostly because of its length, but also because it simply was told in a good way. Not too fast, not too slow. (Well, occasionally it was too slow, but that happened very rarely.) The end differs a little from how the movie ends, though, which is pretty hard to comment. After all, this isn't the movie - this is a book. And so, it seems stupid to say it is bad because it differs from the film, since people reading this book might not have seen the film. But, let's face it: They are likely to have seen it. Still, I think this book does deserve a four - After all, the new ending was more of the kind of ending that I like than the one in the movie. And since it's 400 pages long, it's perfect for vacations. And other occasions, as well.

About the story: It's pretty nice, and introduces many new mutants. In fact, this book features mutants never shown in the film, giving you a nice feeling of reading deleted scenes from the film.

Not a novelization...literature!
This film novelization is (a) much superior to the film and (b) able to stand alone as a piece of literature. It simply is a good summer read that bogs down mainly when it is trying to describe in detail the slam-bang-blowupthedam pyrotechnics at the end of the film. Jean Grey, Logan, Scott Summers, Rogue, Eric Lehnsherr, Mystique, and the tragic Kurt Wagner are all fully-developed characters to the author Claremont, and the length of narrative and detailed dialogue that he offers is necessary to the reader's understanding of the complex people behind the superpowers. This is why there is such a thing as a 55-year-old X-Man fan, and why I'm not embarrassed to have enjoyed this book far more than the noisy but pedestrian film. Of course, it's not GREAT literature...a previous critic notes that Claremont tends to overuse metaphors and similes...but it's still a pleasure to read, and isn't that part of the literary experience?

Excellent, one of the best movie novelizations I've read!
I'm a really big movie fan and because I also love to read, I love to read movie novelizations. If a novelization is written well, it's such a pleasure to read more about your favorite movie characters, how the were feeling during certain parts of the movie, plus get to find out lots of extra trivia. And I must say, "X-Men 2" was written exceptionally well!

"X-Men: A Novelization" is a novelization from the 2000 action packed movies starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellan. Genetic mutants are very real in the 'not too distant future'. Made outcasts from societies, these mutants are rejected, feared, and hated for their superhuman powers. Some mutants want to strike out against mankind, these mutants being led by the powerful Magneto. But then again, there are some mutants who uses their special abilities for the greater. They battle against prejudice and agents of intolerance to save mankind, these mutants are the X-Men. But now there is a new enemy whose cunning and evil plan may lead to the destruction of all mutants and until the enemy is stopped, no one is safe...

First off I would like to say that I've never been an X-Men fan, never even have read any of the comics. It was only recently that I saw the movie "X-Men", read the first X-Men novelization, then saw "X-2". I found the movies a totally must-see experience! So naturally I wanted to pick up the novelization. A great read I must say!

Compared to the first movie novelization by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, "X-Men 2" was written with a better style. Instead of focusing on just one main character, Chris Claremont delves into each and every character, from the main X-men characters to the small characters of the soldiers or police involved. The action is put into words with great care, neither hunkering it down with too many details nor shortening the action into boring little incidents.

The only major problem with this book is the ending which I'm sure other reviewers have mentioned. What exactly had happened? It's totally different from the movie! My only question is, what's going to happen when X-3 comes out, which it inevitably will. Since the movie and book endings are different, how is the X-3 movie novelization going to turn out.

Overall, I can highly recommend this book for all "X-Men" or "X-Men 2" movie fans. I'm not sure if "X-Men" comics fans might enjoy this, since I don't know if the characters are very different from the comics. The movie was rated PG-13 so I guess this book is more for older teens and adults because of some swearing, violence, and sexual innuendos. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not half bad
The issues in this book are Uncanny X-Men 279, Wolverine 77 & 78, and X-Men 33. In 279, the Professor and Stevie hunter are on the run from Colossus, who has been possessed by the Shadow king. The only problem is that we don't get a real beginning or a real end to this story because 279 is apparently a "middle of the story" issue. In Wolverine 77 & 78, Logan finds himself pursued by Deathstrike, Cylla, and Bloodscream. Only this time he lacks his adamantium claws and bones, and his healing factor has been reduced. In X-Men 33, Sabretooth is a prisoner of the X-Men and tells Rogue about the first time he met Gambit in Paris, which I found to be an interesting story. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

The comic book of the movie that was based on a comic book
It is always interesting to see the official comic book adaptation of a movie that is based on a comic book in the first place. Ralph Macchio has the honors of adapting the screenplay, with penciler Anthony Williams and inker Andy Lanning handling the artwork. Obviously this is really no place to talk about how the X-Men comic was adapted to the silver screen, but rather how it makes the transition back to its original art form. My criticism boils down to one basic comment: 48-pages is not long enough to tell this story. Macchio gets all the words in but Williams is pretty much handcuffed from turning the movie into a "real" comic book. Entire scenes are crammed into a couple of pages and outside of a few splash panels there is no opportunity to use the medium to the advantage of the story. Look at what the big fight between Sabertooth and Wolverine boils down to. We have seen entire comic books devoted to epic fights between a single superhero and a single supervillain. This is just too crammed into this few pages and despite Williams's efforts you know he could have done better with half again as many pages with which to work.

Also included in this collection are reprints of a pair of X-Men issues focusing on Magneto and arguably their best confrontation, #112 "Magneto Triumphant" and #113 "Showdown" (both illustrated by John Bryne), as well as #171 "Rogue," penciled by Walt Simonson and finished by Bob Wiacek. There are also pages from Marvel Comics Presents #72-75, which was the Weapons X storyline focusing on Wolverine and drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith, who drew the worst looking X-Men comic of all time as one of his first gigs at Marvel (he drew it on benches in the park). Of course, these efforts showcase some of the better examples of comic book storytelling and artwork and you have to wonder what it would be like if the movie adaptation was twice as long and half of the reprints were jettisoned. Final note of curiosity: So how much the credits are only provided for one of the four reprints? Hmmmmm.

good for a x-men newbie, bad for a hardcore x-fan
it offered a brief stint into the past lives of rogue, wolverine, and magneto. Being an x-fan, i can tell you that most of this book is very innacurate. Either the writer didnt do much research, or he meant it to be much unlike the comic book series. I do believe that this book is meant to be a "prequel" for the upcoming movie. But if that is so, the movie will be very innacurate also. For instanct, wolverine and storm joined the x-men at the same time, when in this book, it suggests that storm preceded wolverine in her membership. There are many other innacuracies. But to be positive, all 3 stories are very well written and have excellent plots. the art is good too. If you can look past the inaccuracy of it, you will like this book.

woooooooow!!!!!!!1 this is great!!!
this comics are so great.... i've buy it separatly (the three prequels feat rogue, wolverine et magneto whit is friends Professor charle xavier + the movie adaptation....) all include in this one... darm the ilustration are cool... the storyline superbe... a little bite deferent from the movie but superbe....

It's not a 'book'.
I'm an X-Men fan, and I have been for many years. With slight trepidation and nervousness I went and saw the movie...I LOVED IT!! Stupid me, in my haste to read a written novelization of the movie, I ordered this 'book' with mighty expectations. I expected a written adaptation of the movie...sort of like what Terry Brooks did for SWI: The Phantom Menace.

Nope, this is not a book revealing the innermost thoughts of the characters...It's a glossy comic book...and the art wasn't even that great.

While I love comics, this thing fell flat as far as I'm concerned...I gave it away to a friend...who later threw it into the donation dumpster at Goodwill.

Graphic adaptation not worth it
(First, to answer the other person's [SHOUTED] question about why this book costs twice as much for fewer pages: This is the graphic novel, with the three "Prequel" comics and the Graphical adaptation of the movie. The 233-page book is a normal novelization with words -- no four-color pages.)

The graphic novelizations were disappointing. Rogue's, at least, didn't follow either the movie or the comic book, so it wasn't particularly helpful, and the movie part of the book was by no means complete. I didn't even really like the artwork, because they had to try and make the drawings look like the actors. Just read the comics separately. ... Read more