Reviews (3)

Average as a stand alone, but essential for an AoA collectio
Welcome to hell on earth. North America is ruled by an evil mutant called Apocalypse. His kingdom only lives by one rule: Survivial of the fittest. Humans are regarded as the lower class and even not all mutants will be survive in this world. This all happened because Professor Charles Xavier never existed. Thus he never got to form the X-Men to appose the self-appointed ruler Apocalypse.

Remy LeBeau (aka Gambit), the modern Robin Hood of this timeline, leads his team called the X-Ternals, to steal from the rich and give to the poor. They're the best thieves there are.

And on assignment of the X-Men, they go after the biggest jewel of them all: the M'Kraan Crystal. This crystal is a way, perhaps the only way, to stop the horrible graps that Apocalypse has on America. But it will be dangerous as there are a lot of obstacles in the way, like the Imperial Guard who serve the Shi'ar empire by protecting it and the crystal.

The art is average and the story is okay. There is an intersting plot twist though. So this is quite an average TPB as a stand alone. But essential if you're collecting the rest of the AoA books. But you can also do without. You find out they get the crystal in the other books anywayz.

What? There are more? Yessiree. These stories won't mean much if you haven't read this AoA storyline from the start. If you get this, I recommend you get all the other AoA TPBs too. For a complete reading list of it, see my X-Men: LegionQuest review.

The Robin Hood of the Age of Apocalypse!
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. In such a world, the Externals led by Gambit make unexpected attacks on Apocalypse's empire. They steal supplies of food and other items to give to the humans. After revelation of another timeline that should have been, Magneto sends Gambit and the Externals on a Journey to the Shiar Empire to steal a shard of the Mkraan crystal so that they can repair the fractured continium. The action comes faster than ever and the ending is very shocking. 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!

The rise of a most unlikely hero.
What can be said about this book. Well, first Gambit is one of my favorite X-men and that is because he is a mystery. It was so good to see a Gambit story told without ruining a degree of this mystery. This book tells the story of the Age of Apocalype's alternate universe Gambit's rise from the ranks of a lowly sewer dwelling theif to an enter galactic hero. In the begining, Gambit has never made it away from his past as theif, which he has in the real X-men universe. However, Gambit still has his heart gold which he does in the regular continuaty. He leads a small rebelion of theives through the sewers that strikes at Apocalype's bases, steeling from the mutants giving to the refugee humans. Our Robin Hood like hero's life is flipped up side down when Magneto, leader of the renegade mutant outlaws, the X-men, comes to him with a mission that could save all of exsistence. He presents him with the greatest jewel hiest ever. To steal the M'krran crystal from the Shi'ar empire before it consumes the universe. From here we witness Gambit's rise from a small time theif to a man. The universe is placed in his hands and he must rise to the occasion or have the blood of every being who has evern lived on his consious. Fabian Niciez tells the epic struggle of the most unlikely of hero's rise to greatness. We see Gambit struggle to keep his X-ternal's moral up while on the inside he struggling not to give into his own fear that he is ultimately unworthy of such a great responsibilty. Mr. Niceaz presents Gambit's epic struggle with style, grace and a story full of deeper meaning. Why should Gambit fight so hard and risk himself for a universe that has rejected him and forced him to hide in the sewers? The simple answer hits him like a brick wall - for a love he lost a long time ago. Through the almost non stop action, we see a struggle for a man to become what the is destined to be, an attemp to make past wrongs right, and the betrayal at the hands of a close friend that could mean the end of the universe as we know it. I recommed this book and encourage X-men fans to e-mail me. I love to hear others opinion and views on the characters I love. ... Read more

Book Description

Juggernaut is on a rampage!Since bonding with the ruby of Cyttorak, Cain Marko became the unstoppable force known as the Juggernaut-and one of the X-Men's most vicious foes! But an archeological dig reveals a fragment of the one thing that might be able to stop the Juggernaut: an emerald from the same lost city of Cyttorak.Now a ruthless billionaire named Service intends to gather all the fragments of the emerald, which will grant him absolute power-unless the X-Men stop him.If that wasn't bad enough, each use of the emerald causes the Juggernaut pain...and he won't stand for it! ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Up There
This was the first X-men book that I read, and since I know them from books and have never read a comic, that's something. It's still one of my favourite. It doesn't have as much action as others I have read, but it is still an excellent read and a good, solid book. I do reccomend it.

X-Men - The Jewels of Cyttorak
This book was one of the best books I've read. I liked all the characters and the scenes in the book. Who ever likes superstition or adventure books, this is the one you got to read. This book is about Juggernaunt and the emerald. This emerald gives Juggernaunt strong powers. Since there is another emerald in the same dimension, who ever wears it will make Juggernaunt weak. It is up to the X-Men to stop Steve Service who has the emerald. I liked the characters in the book. Gambit was good at sneaking in the office of the big boss. This book gives lots of suspense. This book also teaches teamwork. If the X-Men did not have team work in this book, they would have been defeated. I would rate this book an 8 between 1 to 10. It has lots of adventure and action. I loved this book and I hope you enjoy or enjoyed this book too.

Borrrrrrrrring
This was definitely one of the most boring books I've everread. I liked the character Gary Service, but that's about it. Therewas a few (very few) good parts, but overall I just coulndn't get intothe book. I agree with the reader from Uniontown PA [about the coverart. The only character that even looked decent was Bishop. Unlessyou're a big Juggernaut fan or just want to be able to say 'I readevery X-Men novel wriiten', I would recomend you pass on buying thisbook. Save your money and rent it from a library if you really want toread it.

A great Masterpiece indeed!!
An interesting piece of novel done by Dean Wesley Smith. Very imaginative and powerfully addictive. In just less than one day i spent a serene afternoon reading this wonderful novel amazed at the beautifully written comic literature. A joy to read, a story to be unforgettable, this book is a best by for me!

aka: Proteus

a boring story
This is one of the worst X-Men novels I have ever read, and I would suggest you not buy it unless you need it for your collection. The story was boring and slow. Many of the X-Men were out of character. Some showed unexpectedly weak personalities in the story. The ending was predictable and none of the characters changed or had much resolved. Overall, I wish I had not wasted my time on this. ... Read more

Book Description

Mutants are being born with strange powers. Afraid and intolerant, governments build gigantic robots to detect and destroy them. The evil Magneto is convinced that normal humans must die. His brother, Professor Charles Xavier, believes mutants and normal humans can live in peace. Struggling with loyalty, ideals and their strange powers, the X-Men™ must fight to save the world for all of humanity. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

And it only got the one star for being hilarious
I don't think I've ever laughed this hard. This book is so delightfully rediculous that it HURTS. Please buy it and share it with friends -- I guarentee a good time will be had by all.

An exciting collectible for X-Men fans of all ages
X-Men Ultimate Picture Book is a wonderfully illustrated storybook based derived from the live-action X-Men movies (which are in turn based upon the popular comic book series) about mutant human beings with amazing power who are struggling to find a place for themselves in a world filled with often paranoid, powerless fellow humans -- and their evil mutant counterparts to whom human life is worthless. Stunning full-color, cinema-quality photography superbly illustrates the story, which is relatively straightforward, yet at a reading level eminently suitable for young readers who are just about ready to make the transition from picturebooks to young adult novels. The X-Men Ultimate Picture Book is recommended for its strong, mature story and would make an exciting collectible for X-Men fans of all ages. ... Read more

Book Description

The first book in a trilogy starring the X-Men, the most popular super hero team in the world!

Hank McCoy -- the X-Men's Beast -- has been working to find a cure for the deadly Legacy Virus that has been sweeping through the world's mutant population. But the Beast is not alone in this quest for a cure: Sebastian Shaw, the Black King of the dread Hellfire Club, is using the vast resources of his sinister secret organization to develop a cure as well. Together with a mysterious partner, Shaw has set up a research facility on a remote Pacific island in an abandoned scientific base that once belonged to the alien star-spanning warrior race, the Kree. When the X-Men's friend, Moira McTaggart -- the only human infected by the Legacy Virus -- is captured by Shaw's men, the X-Men embark on a mission to rescue her and break forever the power of the Hellfire Club.

First Mass-Market Edition! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

HELLFIRE CLUBBY
This book is great. It was fairly easy to get into unless you have add or something or youve been living in a spider hole with saddam. The battles were a little too far spread out and a little too fast and furious. A battle that could of lasted a whole comic book was told in 3 or 4 pages. This book is just the start of the best trilogy of books ive ever read besides LOTR. The plot is The Beast and Moiria MacTaggert are trying to find a cure for the mutant plague, The Legacy Virus. Mpiria is captured and the x-men try to find her. It turns out she was captured be Sebastion Shaw and da Hellfire Club. I wont give away anymore of the plot but lets just say a certain red and puple clad mutant is involved. We wont see HIM till book 3 though...

Good Read, Especially for an X-Men Fan
This book was a little difficult to get into at first, but after the first chapter, was even harder to put down. The story is easy-to-follow and entertaining and Lyons does a good job of giving those who don't follow the comics a detailed background story for the events in the book. Gives a very good look at the X-Men's personalities and weaknesses as individuals and has very believable villians. All in all, a great opening to a trilogy. ... Read more

Book Description

Wolverine. Sabretooth. Silver Fox. Wraith. Maverick. Together, they were Team X, the best covert-ops team NATO had to offer. But a mission to retrieve a disk from a pair of Soviet agents proved to be more trouble than they bargained for. A Soviet agent codenamed the Black Widow, a mutant Interpol agent named Sean Cassidy, and shape-changing freelance spy Mystique were all after the disk as well.Years later, Wolverine is a valued member of the uncanny X-Men. The Black Widow is now a respected American super hero. Cassidy is mentor to the next generation of young mutants. Mystique and Sabretooth are reluctant members of

X-Factor, the government strike force. Wraith is still a covert-ops agent. Silver Fox is dead, and Maverick is dying of the Legacy Virus.Each of them is kidnapped, one by one--starting with Sabretooth, by far the deadliest member of the former Team X. Wolverine must uncover the terrible secret from that old mission--a secret that has remained hidden for years, and could spell death for all of them! ... Read more

Reviews (27)

About as good as it gets....
I will admitt--I'm a huge comic book fan. Even now, as I enter into adulthood, I've yet to shake my addiction to them. Since I'm such a fan, I've read a few of these novels that Marvel churns out. Some range from absolute trash (The Fantastic Four: Countdown to Chaos comes to mind) to average (Duane's Spider-Man books), but Codename: Wolverine is perhaps one of the best of the whole bunch.

Kudos to Christopher Golden for writing an entertaining novel that manages to come across well without being silly (let's be honest: It's a little hard to write a "serious" novel when your characters are called "Wolverine" and "Sabretooth"). The book is broken into two sections, "Now" and "Then", and Golden switches back and forth between the two perspectives.

The "Then" section serves to explain the events occurring in the "Now" section. Personally, I found the early story about Wolverine and Team X to be the better of the two. Golden manages to create a pretty interesting narrative about Team X as they fight behind the Iron Curtain to retrieve a computer disk filled with spy info from the KGB's best operative, the beautiful but deadly Black Widow. Throw in on-the-edge Interpol agent Sean Cassidy (aka Banshee), who bears a supreme grudge against the Widow, and the mysterious shapeshifter Mystique, and the action intensifies. Golden does some pretty good work with this story, weaving in lots of espionage, backstabbing, inter-team conflict, and some pretty entertaining fight scenes. He seems to have a good grasp of each character's personality, and I liked the development he did with certain characters such as the Widow (for example, by the end of the "then" portion, she begins to question her role as a KGB spy, which foreshadows her eventual defection). There is a surplus of characters in this book as well, but overall I think Golden did each of them justice. One thing that I was surprised with was the level of violence in the book. It's not overly graphic--no one will be confusing this book with a Tarantino film--but it is a realistic look at the harsh work of a black ops unit. After dealing for so long with the soft-shoe approach of the comics (where every character is seemingly immortal), I found it refreshing that Golden would actually show the lethal consequences of the character's actions.

Unfortunately, I was not so impressed with the "now" section of this book. It started off promising, with Sabretooth being kidnapped by a government agency for some nefarious purpose. It seems as if the government is systematically using their new, elite black ops unit, "Team Alpha", to kidnap and imprison all the old members of Team X as well as those individuals who took part in the op in the "then" section (basically: Banshee, Widow, and Mystique). Mystique escapes capture herself, and is able to warn Wolverine, but the two are too late to save the others. The author promises a payoff, explaining exactly why these superheroes and villains are being captured, but when the true motive for the crime is revealed, it's terribly anti-climactic. The whole thing was some sort of silly revenge scheme to placate a senator who's vote is more important than the lives of Team X? A disappointing ending, indeed. More thought could have been put into this part of the book.

Overall, though, I think this book is worth owning. If you a fan of the comic, and Wolverine especially, you'll enjoy the novel. In my opinion, the "then" section is worth the price of the book alone.

A great book for fans of Logan, codename Wolverine
I recently purchased this novel and read it in about a day and half. I have always been a fan of Logan/Wolverine and I found this book rather enjoyable. Before this novel I had little knowledge of Team X. I knew Sabretooth and Wolverine were in it but that was about it. This novel is cut up into "Now" sections and "Then" sections. I enjoyed mainly the "Now" portion, a tale about Logan and Mystique trying to find kidnapped members of Team X along with the Black Widow and Sean "Banshee" Cassidy with a little help from Nick Fury (Mystique in disguise). I know a lot of people that prefer the "Then" portions that revolves around a Team X mission in Germany involving the KGB. Althogh the "Then" portions reveals a little history about Team X and the grudge between Sabretooth and Wolverine, I definetly liked the Logan/Mystique tale. This novel, which every chapter begins with a good illustration, is a definite must for any fan of Wolverine. Which there are many now that the X-Men movie has been out for a good while.

Pretty slow
After reading Golden's great 'Predator's Smile' Daredevil novel, I was excited to see what he would do with Wolverine. While not
a bad book, the pacing is slow and the action is kind of far
between for a Wolverine tale. All the characters seemed a little
too two dimensional unlike 'Predator' which brought out the best
in all the cast. While I hate to do this, as I am a Golden fan,
you should pass on this one and read 'Predator'. (If you like
DD anyway)

This was so ZZZZZZZZZ! BORING!
I got half way threw the book and I was falling asleep. There is no action or adventure in this book and I suggest not buying it. It is a waist of time and money. Go by the old saying and "DON'T JUDGE THE BOOK BY IT'S COVER!"

Great Story, Would Love to see it in a comic form though!!
This is a great story of Wolverine and the rest of the project X team. It was very well written, but I'm a comic lover and I love to see the beautiful artwork that most illustrators come out with. I think this story would be great if it were in a comic form, what can I say I love pictures!! ... Read more

Book Description

Once the youngest member of the X-Men, Kitty Pryde has made the decision to leave her former super hero life after experiencing the tragic loss of friends and family as a costumed hero.Unfortunately, the same bigotry and hatred that killed her loved ones continues to haunt her, threatening new and old friends alike. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Kitty goes to college
The story line and the artwork are superb. Kitty Pryde has been and will always be the heart of the X-Men. This series is great both in terms of growth on her part as a character and the storyline itself is very interesting. If you like the character you'll like this series.

good old-fashioned claremont, his best x-treme yet
collects mekanix 1-6 limited series + the kitty story in x-men unlimited 36. i had been really disappointed in claremont's x-treme books thus far (including the terrible savage land limited series), but this book has redeemed the whole series. in general it has all the action and adventure of claremont's best x-men stories, although it may be a little too old-fashioned for some and the artwork isn't particularly distinctive (larroca does the short story but the rest is bobillo/sosa).

the first short story shows kitty at college studying nuclear engineering while working as a bartender at night. having turned her back on the superhero life, kitty tries to find meaning in her father's death (he died on genosha). the story is nicely continued in the mekanix series which has kitty seeing a psychiatrist and standing up against an anti-mutant group on campus. the series begins with a huge explosion in her lab, while the rest of the series concentrates on the return of cassandra nova's modern day sentinel robots from south america who, as a nice twist, are machines who can evolve and thus are pretty much unbeatable. xian (aka karma) makes her reappearance early on and it's great to see the two of them kicking ass, along with a new mutant w/ TK. a bit too much of the same anti-mutant stuff, but lots of good old-fashioned claremont action.

The life of a mutant
The book is not all out action, with super heroes running around fighting the super villans. This book goes more into what living life as mutant is like. the hatered, the mistrust, the anger, it's all here. though the action is lacking, the story is interesting through and through. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Sarasota Herald Tribune, published by Sarasota Herald-Tribune on May 2, 2003. The length of the article is 589 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: 'X-Men' is the year's best whiz-bang thrill ride.(TICKET)(Review)
Publication: Sarasota Herald Tribune (Newspaper)
Date: May 2, 2003
Publisher: Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Page: 30

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Washington Times, published by News World Communications, Inc. on July 22, 2000. The length of the article is 935 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: X-Men: Mutant Academy X-ceptionally well done.(Saturday)(Zadzooks!Collecting Comics)
Author: Joe Szadkowski
Publication: The Washington Times (Newspaper)
Date: July 22, 2000
Publisher: News World Communications, Inc.
Page: 2

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Sarasota Herald Tribune, published by Sarasota Herald-Tribune on November 25, 2003. The length of the article is 1008 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: X-Men United' marks a good sequel.(FLORIDA WEST)(DVD Watch)(Column)
Publication: Sarasota Herald Tribune (Newspaper)
Date: November 25, 2003
Publisher: Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Page: E1

Article Type: Column

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Sarasota Herald Tribune, published by Sarasota Herald-Tribune on July 16, 2000. The length of the article is 1066 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: 'X-men' latest comic-book film to make its mark.(ARTS & TRAVEL)(Review)
Author: Bill Kelley
Publication: Sarasota Herald Tribune (Newspaper)
Date: July 16, 2000
Publisher: Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Page: G1

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Sarasota Herald Tribune, published by Sarasota Herald-Tribune on July 14, 2000. The length of the article is 556 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Mutant jihad marks superior 'X-Men'.(TICKET)(Review)
Author: Bill Kelley
Publication: Sarasota Herald Tribune (Newspaper)
Date: July 14, 2000
Publisher: Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Page: 13

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Reviews (2)

Classic X-Stories in an affordable and attractive format
Give credit to Marvel Comics for their aggressive and wide-ranging program of re-printing classic comics: in formats for all ages and budgets, Marvel has released reissues of their groundbreaking comic books in hardcover (Marvel Masterworks), softcover (graphic novel reprints and the b/w "Essentials" collections), comic book format, and now the new "Backpack Marvels": digest-sized collection of 7-8 comic book classics. This book reprints Uncanny X-Men #167-173, featuring top X-Men scribe Chris Claremont's writing and artwork on the book by Paul Smith and a fill-in issue by the great Walt Simonson. Fans of the recent X-Men movie will find this collection easier to get into than the current comic book (most of the characters in this collection appear in the movie: Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, and Storm).

This truly is classic, almost 'primal' X-Men: originally published in the years before there were ten or twelve X-books with complicated and conflicting storylines, month after month Claremont told some of the most entertaining and eloquent tales in the four-color medium. There's such a good range of stories in here: the X-Men's return from battling the Brood, the introduction of the Morlocks and Madeleine Pryor, Rogue's admission into the X-Men--much different than the movie version!--and best of all, a Wolverine/Rogue team-up story that's so well-written, so powerfully drawn (check out the amazing, Frank Miller-inspired silent fight sequence) that the ending leaves a tear in your eye and you hardly notice Wolverine is absent for the first half of this collection. Smith's artwork is clean and crisp and reproduces well in black and white at this slightly reduced size, and even with today's computerized lettering companies, for my money there's still no better letterer in the business than Tom Orzechowski.

Only one complaint: I would have liked to see a "story so far" introduction. The collection starts abruptly, dropping the X-Men into a conflict with the New Mutants after an adventure in outer space (the ramifications of which drastically affect Professor X). A summary of what had gone on before and a brief introduction to the characters would have been useful to the first-time reader.

That said, I'm hoping there *are* plenty of new readers for this book and this format: one of Marvel's challenges in the 21st century is to find a wider and new audience for comic books as a whole. This attractive package, affordable price, and classic collection of stories may be what the industry needs to sell comics outside the traditional comic book store market. I can easily see this attractive little volume being sold at newsstands, airport gift shops, bookstores, and more.

"extended reading" for the lost soul
if you are like me, you read all three of the "essential x-men" books cover to cover. Sure, the third installment was a little weak, but i still enjoyed it. I was pretty sure that an essential x-men 4 was an impossibility due to marvels tight budget so i thought i was doomed at a fate of never reading an issue past issue #161. A month later, i saw "the brood saga" available at amazon.com. I knew that that title directly followed the essentiel x-men 3. But its sole review was a bad one, telling me it was a no-buy. So i didnt buy it. I then saw "x-men from the ashes", which recounted issues about #167 to #173. i ordered it only to find it not available. I then truly thought i was doomed until i found this book, which succesfully reprints 167- 173 in chapter book size. these are good stories that can fit in you pocket. Buy this. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on April 22, 2001. The length of the article is 431 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Mutantes en persona: X-Men.(TT: Mutants in persons: X-Men.)(Rese a)
Author: Gustavo De Prado
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 22, 2001
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Page: 63

Article Type: Rese a

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