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jesse_post's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
crookedtreehouse's review
4.0
This is a nostalgia recommendation.
The Muir Island Saga, which shows up about a third of the way through the collection, was one of the first comics I ever read, and I've wished for it to be collected in a trade papeback for years. It isn't something I'd recommend for a first X-Men comic, particularly in this massive format, where it's combined with the beginning of the 1991 X-men relaunch, the final issues of X-Factor before they switched to a completely different cast, and some cool material from X-men related annuals.
If you're not familiar with the X-Men, Don't Start Here. There are about fifty important mutant characters inthis book, all with complex backstories that are important to know before reading the first half of the book.
I think most of the first half would be incomprehensible to people who haven't already read a ton of X-Men. Who is Freedom Force? Who are The Riders On The Storm? Who are The Desert Sword? Who's The Askani? Who are The Acolytes? What's Genosha? And who are The Magistrates? You're constantly flipping between three main casts of X-Factor, X-Force, and Freedom Force, and suddenly The Inhumans are involved, after a cameo from some of The Avengers. And then there's an X-Men story featuring over thirty X-Men. It's dizzying.
But if you read X-Men in the 90s, it's also great. This volume is Claremont, tying up most of his storylines, as he prepares to hand off all of his X-titles. Fabien Nicenza also plots some of these stories, and, if you already know the characters, it's not too convoluted to follow.
The art is....very 1990s. There's much grimacing. Imagine Cyclops at dinner, baring his teeth as he asks Jean to pass him the salt, or Beast's face looking as though he is taking a painful dump while he's merely asking if anyone has seen his glasses. It's...much.
But it's fun. And the final three issues are the Claremont/Lee relaunch of X-Men #1-3, which would be a great Jumping On Point for new readers. Iconic X-Men art that influenced the X-Men Animated series of the 1990s, and Claremont at the peak of his writing.
The Muir Island Saga, which shows up about a third of the way through the collection, was one of the first comics I ever read, and I've wished for it to be collected in a trade papeback for years. It isn't something I'd recommend for a first X-Men comic, particularly in this massive format, where it's combined with the beginning of the 1991 X-men relaunch, the final issues of X-Factor before they switched to a completely different cast, and some cool material from X-men related annuals.
If you're not familiar with the X-Men, Don't Start Here. There are about fifty important mutant characters inthis book, all with complex backstories that are important to know before reading the first half of the book.
I think most of the first half would be incomprehensible to people who haven't already read a ton of X-Men. Who is Freedom Force? Who are The Riders On The Storm? Who are The Desert Sword? Who's The Askani? Who are The Acolytes? What's Genosha? And who are The Magistrates? You're constantly flipping between three main casts of X-Factor, X-Force, and Freedom Force, and suddenly The Inhumans are involved, after a cameo from some of The Avengers. And then there's an X-Men story featuring over thirty X-Men. It's dizzying.
But if you read X-Men in the 90s, it's also great. This volume is Claremont, tying up most of his storylines, as he prepares to hand off all of his X-titles. Fabien Nicenza also plots some of these stories, and, if you already know the characters, it's not too convoluted to follow.
The art is....very 1990s. There's much grimacing. Imagine Cyclops at dinner, baring his teeth as he asks Jean to pass him the salt, or Beast's face looking as though he is taking a painful dump while he's merely asking if anyone has seen his glasses. It's...much.
But it's fun. And the final three issues are the Claremont/Lee relaunch of X-Men #1-3, which would be a great Jumping On Point for new readers. Iconic X-Men art that influenced the X-Men Animated series of the 1990s, and Claremont at the peak of his writing.
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