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foofers1622's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
thaakier_am's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
unladylike's review
3.0
This was definitely better than I'd expected. I was wary of reading old, black and white issues of the X-Men for a variety of reasons, and some of my fears proved true. Most of the team members are highlighted based on whatever token cultural discrimination they represent: "the Russkie," "Irish," "the black woman," "elf" (referring to Wolverine for his stature rather than Nightcrawler, who surprisingly receives almost no grief or verbal abuse) and on and on. I cringed every time one of the male team members refers to any woman - super-powered or not - as "frails," a noun employed frequently. And of course they're all referring to the wisdom of their white, male boss, Cyclops, who has never ceased to frustrate me.
So despite all the sexism and racism that was totally commonplace at the time (in merely more visible and obvious ways than the commonplace racism and sexism of today), Chris Claremont's storytelling kept me interested throughout. I was even able to be less bothered than usual by the constant reintroductions and the cross references to other issues or titles. A lot of the details and back-stories of the characters which are now well-known canon seem to have not been fleshed out at this point. For example, Wolverine doesn't seem to know that his entire skeleton is coated in adamantium - just that he has adamantium claws, that he heals fast, and that "not an animal has been born that could break [his] bones."
Another sign of the times in comics that I'm not fond of but which didn't detract too much from the story is how the action pacing seems to dictate that in every issue the villains reveal themselves almost right away and have an evil vendetta against the X-Men and the world without needing a motive. I much prefer more recent films and books that have portrayed characters such as Magneto as worthy of sympathy or even as anti-heroes more dignified and effective than some of the protagonists.
So despite all the sexism and racism that was totally commonplace at the time (in merely more visible and obvious ways than the commonplace racism and sexism of today), Chris Claremont's storytelling kept me interested throughout. I was even able to be less bothered than usual by the constant reintroductions and the cross references to other issues or titles. A lot of the details and back-stories of the characters which are now well-known canon seem to have not been fleshed out at this point. For example, Wolverine doesn't seem to know that his entire skeleton is coated in adamantium - just that he has adamantium claws, that he heals fast, and that "not an animal has been born that could break [his] bones."
Another sign of the times in comics that I'm not fond of but which didn't detract too much from the story is how the action pacing seems to dictate that in every issue the villains reveal themselves almost right away and have an evil vendetta against the X-Men and the world without needing a motive. I much prefer more recent films and books that have portrayed characters such as Magneto as worthy of sympathy or even as anti-heroes more dignified and effective than some of the protagonists.
dantastic's review
4.0
Essential X-Men, Vol. 1 contains Giant Size X-Men #1 and X-Men #94-119.
The X-Men battle Krakoa, Count Nefaria, Kierrok the Damned, Eric the Red, The Sentinels, Black Tom Cassidy, The Juggernaut, Magneto, Firelord, The Shi'ar Royal Guard, Alpha Flight, Sauron, Warhawk, Mesmero, and Moses Magnum. Thunderbird dies. The Phoenix Force is awakened.
Uncanny X-Men was all reprints of earlier X-Men comics when Giant Size X-Men came out featuring a new team of X-Men, led by Cyclops, to rescue the old X-Men. The next thing you know, The X-Men suddenly become Marvel's A-List players. The multi-national roster of X-Men, penned by Chris Claremont and drawn by John Byrne, was THE comic of its day.
While I wouldn't say it stands the test of time as well as some books, it's easy to see why this book was the dog's bollocks back in the day. So much crazy shit happens! After Len Wein and Dave Cockrum got the ball rolling, Claremont and Byrne took the ball and kicked it into the stratosphere.
Essential X-Men lays the groundwork for the X-Men being Marvel's top franchise for a couple decades afterwords. Jean Grey becomes the Phoenix. Wolverine, Colossus, Storm, and Nightcrawler join the team. We'll just gloss over Banshee at the moment. Magneto re-establishes himself as the top villain. The Juggernaut and Sauron are brought back into the fold. Muir Island is established. Professor X and Lilandra of the Shi'Ar begin their relationship.
For an iconic X-Men read, this is it. This is where the X-Men join the A-list, where they break out of the pack and become Marvel's meal ticket for decades to come. Four out of five stars.
The X-Men battle Krakoa, Count Nefaria, Kierrok the Damned, Eric the Red, The Sentinels, Black Tom Cassidy, The Juggernaut, Magneto, Firelord, The Shi'ar Royal Guard, Alpha Flight, Sauron, Warhawk, Mesmero, and Moses Magnum. Thunderbird dies. The Phoenix Force is awakened.
Uncanny X-Men was all reprints of earlier X-Men comics when Giant Size X-Men came out featuring a new team of X-Men, led by Cyclops, to rescue the old X-Men. The next thing you know, The X-Men suddenly become Marvel's A-List players. The multi-national roster of X-Men, penned by Chris Claremont and drawn by John Byrne, was THE comic of its day.
While I wouldn't say it stands the test of time as well as some books, it's easy to see why this book was the dog's bollocks back in the day. So much crazy shit happens! After Len Wein and Dave Cockrum got the ball rolling, Claremont and Byrne took the ball and kicked it into the stratosphere.
Essential X-Men lays the groundwork for the X-Men being Marvel's top franchise for a couple decades afterwords. Jean Grey becomes the Phoenix. Wolverine, Colossus, Storm, and Nightcrawler join the team. We'll just gloss over Banshee at the moment. Magneto re-establishes himself as the top villain. The Juggernaut and Sauron are brought back into the fold. Muir Island is established. Professor X and Lilandra of the Shi'Ar begin their relationship.
For an iconic X-Men read, this is it. This is where the X-Men join the A-list, where they break out of the pack and become Marvel's meal ticket for decades to come. Four out of five stars.
theshadowplay's review
3.0
30 years ago this stuff was groundbreaking. Today it shows a good beginning to a more modern style of storytelling. The book greatly improves with John Byrne's artwork. I wasn't a big fan of the sci-fi space stuff but the Savage Land Storyline was pretty good. It's fun to read Wolverine before he was a huge deal and he was only given a few panels here and there.
mtmdays's review
2.0
eh...this 70s writing is kind of for the birds. sexist, borderline racist (even though x-men is this allegory for race relations), and the omni-present narrator is the most annoying thing ever. Why do all the x-men refer to themselves in the third person? oh well - at least you get to read the Phoenix origin story, which is pretty much the best part of this volume.
plaidbrarian's review
4.0
As the franchise expanded in the late 80s and 90s, the X-Men franchise grew pretty bloated, but back in the early days, when there was just the one book to follow, it was really something. The exposition gets a little heavy-handed... okay, fine, you're basically beaten over the head with information that is clearly already being displayed for you in the artwork... but if you can get past that, what you're left with is probably the best soap opera to never be televised. The X-Men were originally considered the one great failure of the original Marvel Age, but the path to their phenomenondom (phenomenonhood?) starts here in the hands of Len Wein, Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, and John Byrne. A bit slow to start, but you can tell they're already building to something fun.
art_cart_ron's review
4.0
What you may not know, true believers, is that the X-Men are the most widely read and profitable characters in the history of the medium - and it's all due to the efforts of Chris Claremont. For 17 years he nurtured this garden, and several that sprang from the same seeds - only to culminate in selling the (still!) best selling issue of a comic in all time, and to be unceremoniously dumped by the company less than two months later. His creations, their lives, loves, histories, and potential left in the hands of a few artists and an editor in chief who played solely to the stockholders.
Within 5 years, Marvel went bankrupt.
The whole scene is a tragic stranger-than-fiction drama with no happy ending, and an ongoing struggle to bring the characters back to their former glory. There have been really good runs - but nothing that compares to the intricate world-building Claremont nurtured. Today, possibly - with the return of multi-media rights, and with Marvel investing in one of their best writers to handle the line (it's not a comic, it's a family of comics) - good things are happening, but you need about 60.00 a month to follow it fully.
Flash back, now, to the beginning - and the shiny quarter that allowed you to participate every month.
Claremont took over the nearly-dead property after years of stagnation. He had the talents of Dave Cockrum and John Byrne at hand. He didn't single-handedly create the "new" X-Men, but in most senses - he did. Growing their stories and characters from the humble beginnings of Giant-Size X-Men #1 and Lein Wein's thumbnail sketches of the cast.
I didn't go to 5 stars, b/c Marvel's "Essential" line is notoriously sloppy. Thankfully, all the content is there (sans color - a significant absence) - but the design and layout is pretty sad. The cover art is... poor (the choice to not use images by the actual creators is a bizarre one). But it's cheap to buy these newsprint phonebooks - and there's a lot of value in there. I still recommend buying color prints - the best choices being the original process-colored editions. Get Classic X-Men reprints to save some dough - they even have slick back-up stories written fresh for the series by Claremont himself.
Each volume of Essential X-Men really does live up to its name, with Claremont at the helm. The book hits its truest stride halfway through Vol. 2 - but this book doesn't have any duds. Okay - Eric the Red kinda sucks, and there's a filler issue wedged into the works - but for the most part this is 26 solid issues of some of the most important comics there are.
Also - we learn Wolverine's name is Logan from a leprechaun. Praise the comic gods.
Within 5 years, Marvel went bankrupt.
The whole scene is a tragic stranger-than-fiction drama with no happy ending, and an ongoing struggle to bring the characters back to their former glory. There have been really good runs - but nothing that compares to the intricate world-building Claremont nurtured. Today, possibly - with the return of multi-media rights, and with Marvel investing in one of their best writers to handle the line (it's not a comic, it's a family of comics) - good things are happening, but you need about 60.00 a month to follow it fully.
Flash back, now, to the beginning - and the shiny quarter that allowed you to participate every month.
Claremont took over the nearly-dead property after years of stagnation. He had the talents of Dave Cockrum and John Byrne at hand. He didn't single-handedly create the "new" X-Men, but in most senses - he did. Growing their stories and characters from the humble beginnings of Giant-Size X-Men #1 and Lein Wein's thumbnail sketches of the cast.
I didn't go to 5 stars, b/c Marvel's "Essential" line is notoriously sloppy. Thankfully, all the content is there (sans color - a significant absence) - but the design and layout is pretty sad. The cover art is... poor (the choice to not use images by the actual creators is a bizarre one). But it's cheap to buy these newsprint phonebooks - and there's a lot of value in there. I still recommend buying color prints - the best choices being the original process-colored editions. Get Classic X-Men reprints to save some dough - they even have slick back-up stories written fresh for the series by Claremont himself.
Each volume of Essential X-Men really does live up to its name, with Claremont at the helm. The book hits its truest stride halfway through Vol. 2 - but this book doesn't have any duds. Okay - Eric the Red kinda sucks, and there's a filler issue wedged into the works - but for the most part this is 26 solid issues of some of the most important comics there are.
Also - we learn Wolverine's name is Logan from a leprechaun. Praise the comic gods.
sarahbotreads's review
4.0
So I stole this book from my boyfriend and read it in one day. I'm not the best comic book reader (I tend to focus on the words, not the pictures), but I have been an X-Men fan since I watched the cartoons back in the day, so this was really fun. It starts not at the VERY beginning of X-Men, but with the Krakoa story that introduced the "new" X-Men (Storm, Nightcrawler, etc). Some of the language is a little dated, but that just makes it funnier, and I really feel like I got a +3 to my nerd cred now that I have it under my belt.
P.S. Peter bought volumes 2 and 3 today, so I have more mutant adventures to read!
P.S. Peter bought volumes 2 and 3 today, so I have more mutant adventures to read!