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tani's review
3.0
Definitely an improvement over the preceding volumes! Still, pretty unrepentantly corny, with not a lot of continuity.
sqeeker's review against another edition
3.0
- What has happened to the paperback versions of these? It is like they never existed! Now my comics won't match!! Grrrrr!
- This one wasn't as good as others. The plots weren't so great.
- Learning more about Sauron was cool. I love that he wanted to take on a Tolkien name. Sauron has been in previous issues, but it was like they were introducing him for the first time.
- The art is getting better. There is more definition.
- Angel changes his outfit about 3 times in this volume. I like the last one the best.
- This one wasn't as good as others. The plots weren't so great.
- Learning more about Sauron was cool. I love that he wanted to take on a Tolkien name. Sauron has been in previous issues, but it was like they were introducing him for the first time.
- The art is getting better. There is more definition.
- Angel changes his outfit about 3 times in this volume. I like the last one the best.
ulrikworm's review against another edition
4.0
Har endelig fået læst alle afsnit af den første omgang X-men fra 1960-erne hvilket for det meste var ret skidt. Men dette sidste bind var faktisk rigtig god især takket være især en fænomenal Sentinel-saga af Roy Thomas og Neil Adams. Sauron- og Magneto-historierne er også rigtig gode men bogen er stadig plaget af nogle få problematiske issues i begge ender af bogen. Ekstra ros også til Roy Thomas der har skrevet en meget interessant introduktion som til gengæld er omkring 3 gange længere end de sædvanlige man finder i masterworks.
vroodles's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
rayaan54's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bmaackreadscomics's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The Problematic
Honestly nothing outside of the all-WASP protagonists. But issue #55 had a great DBZ “Lend me your power” moment and we get to see people of all sorts of different ethnic backgrounds. Very refreshing.
The Bad
The main bad things about this trade were the unnecessary Hulk crossover issue (#66), the fact that Lorna was heavily underutilized, and the classic over-chattiness of some characters. Other than the Hulk crossover, the weakest story in here was the Sauron story. It ended sadly and the villain got a lot more screen time than most, but the fact that his powers turned him into a pterodactyl was a little weird and I wasn’t a fan of the problematic Princess/Pauper romance.
The Good
2-page spreads make their first appearance in X-Men within the later chunk of these issues. Art occasionally gets stylized or trippy when mind powers are in use. Really nuanced panelling and page layouts as the issues increase in number. The plots are more grandiose and complex in a good way:
The return of the Sentinels story really steals the show here with some all-time high stakes regarding mutantkind and their future—and even gives us the birth of Havok! Larry Trask (Bolivar’s son) turning out to be a mutant himself was some classic poetic justice. The Sunfire one-off issue was pretty good too with a heartbreaking ending. And I was even surprised by the Ka-Zar story in that Magneto turned out to be behind everything.
Overall
It had all started coming together right up to the bitter end unfortunately. You can really feel how the storytelling has greatly evolved since 1963. It’s not yet perfect, and the art could certainly be better at times, but a lot of cool things were done in these issues.
Honestly nothing outside of the all-WASP protagonists. But issue #55 had a great DBZ “Lend me your power” moment and we get to see people of all sorts of different ethnic backgrounds. Very refreshing.
The Bad
The main bad things about this trade were the unnecessary Hulk crossover issue (#66), the fact that Lorna was heavily underutilized, and the classic over-chattiness of some characters. Other than the Hulk crossover, the weakest story in here was the Sauron story. It ended sadly and the villain got a lot more screen time than most, but the fact that his powers turned him into a pterodactyl was a little weird and I wasn’t a fan of the problematic Princess/Pauper romance.
The Good
2-page spreads make their first appearance in X-Men within the later chunk of these issues. Art occasionally gets stylized or trippy when mind powers are in use. Really nuanced panelling and page layouts as the issues increase in number. The plots are more grandiose and complex in a good way:
The return of the Sentinels story really steals the show here with some all-time high stakes regarding mutantkind and their future—and even gives us the birth of Havok! Larry Trask (Bolivar’s son) turning out to be a mutant himself was some classic poetic justice. The Sunfire one-off issue was pretty good too with a heartbreaking ending. And I was even surprised by the Ka-Zar story in that Magneto turned out to be behind everything.
Overall
It had all started coming together right up to the bitter end unfortunately. You can really feel how the storytelling has greatly evolved since 1963. It’s not yet perfect, and the art could certainly be better at times, but a lot of cool things were done in these issues.
jamberg's review
5.0
Neal Adams is amazing. I would recommend this book to anyone learning to draw sequentially (I am trying to learn a bit of the art and plan to dig these up right away). Psychedelic and dramatic, this was a great departure from what had gone before and I would have to say the first essential X-Men story. This is the first time in X-Men that the pages really jump to life, but really, these pages outdo much of the art that comes after it in vision and execution.
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