X-Men Reviews - Page 0

"Mutants -- feared and hated by the world they have sworn to protect. These are the strangest heroes of all!"

Cyclops: Retribution 1994 (SC TPB) 64 pages

Written by Bob Harras. Pencils by Ron Lim. Inks by Jeff Albrecht, Carol Riem, Bruce Patterson.
Colours: Andy Yanchus. Letters: Augustin Mas. Editor: Terry Kavanagh.

Reprinting: the Cyclops story serialized in Marvel Comics Presents #17-24 (1989-1990)

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

X-Man Cyclops is summoned to Moira MacTaggert's research lab on Muir Island by Moira's lover (and ex-X-Man) Sean Cassidy because Moria's been acting oddly. Arriving at night, instantly Cyclops is attacked by mysterious forces. But he can find no evidence of the fight the next morning. Strange things are afoot, and soon a foe is revealed whose goal is to unleash a genetically bred virus to wipe out all mutants.

Having just read the highbrow, The Sandman: The Doll's House, a reader can always wonder whether they can go back to simple super hero adventures, or whether it will just seem trite and childish. But the long and the short of it is, Retribution was quite enjoyable.

Originally serialized in eight page instalments in the anthology comic, Marvel Comics Presents, the story is a tightly-paced thriller. I'm not sure I've read much by Harras before (I guy who briefly ascended to the position of editor-in-chief at Marvel, or something like that) but this is a well told tale, beginning with the spooky opening few chapters, establishing that strange things are occurring, then moving into the more traditional X-Men terrain of battling robots and trapped in secret bases. Actually, I would've liked to see the opening stretched out a bit more, since there was an effective generation of tension and suspense precisely because the reader didn't know what was going on (I skimmed over the back cover description). But even once the who and what is established, the story remains interesting, with a few twists and turns, and even some character development, particularly a nicely detailed evolution of a supporting character's shifting ideology which gives the story some added weight and emotional dimension.

Harras also plays around with the usual X-Men staple of anti-mutant prejudice, but keeps it from seeming too much like rote. He tackles the bigotry in a way that seems sincere and thoughtful.

Because of the eight page chapter format (not that the break between the chapters is clearly identified in this collection), the story remains focused and breathlessly-paced, while still cramming enough into it that the end result actually feels as though it's longer than just 64 pages. Although billed as a Cyclops story, other characters share (some of) the action, including Moira MacTaggert, Calisto, and Sean Cassidy (a.k.a. Banshee) -- though the latter not as much as his presence on the cover would imply.

Ron Lim's art nicely serves the tale. Although there are some extraordinary artists working today, and comics employ multi-tone computer colouring and other novel effects, there's something rather appealing about this older, more straight forward art style. It's not that Lim's handling of faces or figures is particularly exceptional -- it's not. But it's good, telling the story with confidence and clarity, allowing the focus to be on the contents (the plot, the characters, the action) rather than the presentation.

I picked this up on a whim (and because I've always liked Cyclops in the main X-Men comics), but not expecting too much, and found it a nice, rewarding thriller instead.

Original cover price: $8.05 CDN./ $5.95 USA. 

Giant-Size Gambit 1998 (SC TPB) 96 pages

Written by Fabian Nicieza, Scott Lobdell. Pencils by Andy Kubert, Ron Garney, Bryan Hitch, Joe Madureira. Inks by Matt Ryan, Cam Smith, Tim Townsend.
Colors/letters: various. Editor: Bob Harras

Reprinting: X-Men #33, 41, Uncanny X-Men #323, 326 (1994-1995) - with covers

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

O.K., this isn't really a TPB -- though I picked it up in the discount TPB bin. It does have a square spine -- but also a few ads, and Marvel's usual bullpen bulletin. Still, the point of my site is to provide information and opinions for those thinking of picking something up. So why not?

Giant-Size Gambit -- the title is a throwback to the 1970s when Marvel used to release Giant-Size issues of regular titles, sometimes featuring original stories, sometimes reprints. Here, the cover proclaims it's "classic" tales of the X-Man Gambit. I picked this up, not really because I cared one way or the other about Gambit, but because I figured it would be a convenient grab bag of X-Men stories.

The first story (X-Men #33) starts things off well. Though bracketed by on-going sub-plots, it's an out-of-continuity flashback tale of Gambit's pre-X-Men criminal past, when he butted heads with psychotic Canadian super-villain, Sabretooth, in Paris. It's both self-contained, focused on Gambit, and provides background to the character.

After that, things get dodgy. The next story features the team battling a time-travelling villain called Legion and is billed as chapter four of a four chapter story...but like a lot of comics sagas, that turns out to be a bit of a lie. In fact, the issue ends on the ultimate cliffhanger: the X-Men, and the universe, die! Obviously, they got better, but it means you end up with a story with no beginning and a not very satisfying ending. Stranger still, Gambit only appears in a couple of panels.

The next selection is likewise curious: it builds to an unresolved cliffhanger, and Gambit only has a small part. But one begins to sense a pattern. In the previous story, in their small appearance, Gambit and Rogue kiss. In this issue, Rogue's gone off for a road trip, clearly wigged out by their kiss and the insight it gave her into Gambit's hidden past (Rogue can absorb a person's memories with touch). So you figure, ah hah, the editor's are piecing together a subplot involving Gambit's dark secret by selecting these issues.

So then comes the final issue (Uncanny X-Men #326). It's a bit better than the last two, in that, being more of a talky, character issue, it doesn't end on a cliffhanger -- but neither does it resolve much about Gambit's mysterious secret. It relates to the events depicted in the first story in this collection...but that can't be his secret, because Rogue learned about that before she kissed him! There's some good stuff with other X-Men -- as mentioned, I bought this as much for an X-Men collection as a Gambit collection -- though relating to an on-going story involving something called the Legacy Virus. Surprisingly, I liked the art by Joe Madueira more than I expected. An artist with a slightly cartoony, Manga-inspired style, I'm not usually a big fan of that. But it was clear and moody and told the scenes well. I guess, as I get older, I'm not a big fan of art that seems too busy or cluttered, a problem with some of the other artists herein.

This collection seems almost as much about Sabretooth as it is Gambit (the former appearing in three stories, during a time when Prof. X was trying to rehabilitate him), but ultimately it's a strange assemblage. The first story is a good read, and easy to follow. The final story is enjoyable for its low-key character focus. But the middle two issues are plucked from the middle of longer stories and incomplete. This isn't even a snapshot of different creative periods of the X-Men, since the stories were selected from only a two year period.

So as a grab bag of X-tales, it is that. As a satisfying collection of stories, it's more uneven.

Original cover price: $5.99 CDN./ $3.99 USA 

Magneto Ascendant 1999 (SC TPB) 96 pages

Written by Stan Lee, Chris Claremont, Bill Mantlo. Pencils by Jack Kirby, Werner Roth, Dave Cockrum, Rick Leonardi. Inks by various.
Colors/letters: various.

Reprinting: X-Men #11, 18 Uncanny X-Men #104, Vision & the Scarlet Witch (vol. 1) #4 (1964-1981)

Rating: * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: various

Like Giant-Size Gambit (reviewed above), this probably doesn't really qualify as a TPB -- but what the heck. Magneto Ascendant reprints four stories focusing on the X- Men's arch foe, Magneto, Master of Magnetism, from different stages in the character's career.

The first, by X-Men creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, has the original X- Men battling Magneto when he was still allied with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, allowing fans to see this earlier roster of that nefarious group (including soon to be heroes, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver). Actually, this story chronicles the dissolution of the Brotherhood, as well as involving the Collector (one of those perennial "cosmic" beings Marvel employs). It's a decent enough romp.

The next story is still by Lee, this time teamed with Werner Roth, who has an appealingly realist, understated style. This story is probably the best of the bunch. Although technically the second part of a two part tale, it's easy enough to pick up the story, and is a surprisingly effective nail-biter, as the Iceman -- the team's youngest and, therefore, seeming most vulnerable member -- must confront Magneto alone in the X-Men's own home, while the X-Men themselves must struggle to escape Magneto's death trap...a balloon that is whisking them up toward the stratosphere.

Jumping ahead of few years, the next story has what was then the "new" X- Men with Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Banshee (though the team's gone through many revisions since then) tackling Magneto. Despite being written by legendary X-scribe Chris Claremont, and drawn by "new" X-Men co-creator Dave Cockrum, it's a largely undistinguished affair (which could be true of Claremont when he got into his "big fight scene" mode). Not terrible, but undistinguished. Still, there's the usual team dynamics and inter-personal conflicts, even if the plot is a bit thin.

The final story is from a Vision and the Scarlet Witch mini-series in which Magneto and siblings Silver Witch and Quicksilver finally learn of their connection to each other. There's some action, of course, but it's a more moody, character-based story, reflecting the more emotionally complex (and morally ambiguous) direction in which Magneto was taken in the 1980s.

Although there's a nice shifting of art styles and tones in the stories, reflecting the wide gap between them (covering about twenty years), I'm not sure this really acts as a good showcase of the evolution and development of Magneto. Basically, he remains the same bombastic, one-dimensional, world conquerer throughout the first three stories, only the final story reflecting the later development and shading of his character. Nothing is shown of the retroactively developed backstory -- that Magneto was once Xavier's friend, and only the last story mentions that he was a survivor of Auschwitz, all of which adds complexity to a guy who started out as just a one-note adversary. And if you aren't going to reprint that material -- what's the point? Other than the final story, it's just a collection of dust ups between Magneto and the X-Men.

Still, it's enjoyable on that level.

Cover price: __

Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, nos. 22-31 2002 (HC) 224 pages

Written by Roy Thomas. Pencils by Werner Roth, and Jack Sparling. Inks by Dick Ayers, John Tartaglione.
Colours: uncredited. Letters: Art Simek, Sam Rosen. Editor: Stan Lee.

Reprinting: The X-Men (1st Marvel series) #22-31 (1960s)

Rating: * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Additional notes: intro by Roy Thomas; covers; brief sketch gallery

Published by Marvel Comics

Western pop culture has evolved quite significantly in the last few decades. When first created, comic books, like their close kin, the pulp magazines, were seen as quick, disposable entertainment. They were printed on cheap paper, sold at cheap prices, and the toilers in the field were paid commensurately low salaries. Comics were seen as nothing more than a passing fancy for kids. It wasn't until, I believe, the 1960s that the pop phenomenon known as "collecting" really took root. Suddenly it wasn't just Ming vases that appreciated in value over time -- nostalgia was a new market force. Initially, that related mainly to select comics, in their original editions. But it established the notion that maybe, just maybe, comics weren't as disposable as people thought.

Eventually this led to trade paperback collections, reprinting comics on sturdy paper and between heavy covers. And today the comics themselves are printed on thicker paper, with more elaborate printing and colouring processess -- clearly, no longer meant to be read once and then tossed out with the week's garbage.

Which then, eventually, led to the rise of the lavish, hardcover collection. Marvel started the ball rolling with their Marvel Masterworks series, and DC quickly followed suit with their Archives Editions. These collect consecutive runs of much older comics between hard covers, on expensive paper, clearly meant to be tomes for the ages -- nothing short of nuclear blast is expected to damage these babies.

Of course, the Marvel Masterworks and Archives series are, frankly, exorbitantly expensive -- moreso than even other hardcover comics collections of more recent comics. Sure, because these reprint older comics, there might be an added expense in tracking down the masters and cleaning them up for the crisp reproductions, and sure, maybe these editions really are just a little sturdier, a little more enduring than other hardcover graphic novels. But one can't shake the feeling that the price is part of the gimmick, to make it seem like -- wow! -- this is precious stuff. After all, these aren't just comics, these are "collectibles", with the original editions even pricier.

And just before you think ye reviewer is made of money, rest assured, I got this at a considerably reduced price (ain't I the bargain hunter?).

So, is it worth it?

Yes and no.

This is the third X-Men collection, compiling early, formative stories from the 1960s. This edition collects X-Men #22-31 (the Marvel Masterworks series is hard to number, since, technically, I think all the Masterworks editions -- including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, etc. -- are considered a series, meaning the numbers jump around a bit; the first two X-Men books were, I think, technically vol.s #3 and #7 of the Masterworks series -- but such numbering may be irrelevant as the cover only lists this as "Marved Masterworks: The X-Men, nos. 22-31").

Roy Thomas had assumed the writing chores just two issues previous from Stan Lee, the series' original writer, and artist Werner Roth had only been around a few issues before that, taking over from Jack "King" Kirby. Thomas would go on to become a veritable giant in the field, and was Stan Lee's regular successor at the time (as Lee dropped titles, Thomas would generally take over as scriptwriter) but, here, still a fledgingly talent, Thomas is feeling his way. The issues are admirably busy, with lots of panels, and lots of dialogue crammed into a panel, in a way that would be almost unheard of today. But there are still times when the action can kind of plod, as the megalomanical villains aren't always that interesting, nor their plans very unusual.

Thomas tries to play up a soap opera-y element -- the sort of thing that would come to dominate the title in later years -- but seems fixated on the unrequited love of Jean Grey (Marvel Girl) and Scott Summers (Cyclops), and the love triangle it forms with Warren Worthington III (Angel). But he just kind of belabours it, not seeming to have any direction. Ten issues later, Scott and Jean still haven't expressed their true feelings for each other, and continue to just pine away in thought balloons. And there's little attempt to craft sub-plots for the others. Well, there is the introduction of a cryptic threat, a criminal organization called Factor 3, but it never resolves in these issues, and is pretty vaguely developed as is; again, it seems like Thomas desperately wants to craft sub-plots, but has yet to come up with any.

Except maybe one.

Thomas takes a villain introduced in Lee's last script -- the Mimic, who can adopt the abilities of others -- and has Professor X recruit him to join the X-Men. The Mimic isn't an out-and-out villain, but neither is he a misunderstood sweetie, and his abrasive arrogance creates tension in the team. Thomas threads this through three or four issues, before resolving it in issue #29 that, overall, is one of this collection's better efforts (mixing low-key human interaction of the heroes going ice skating with a battle with a robot, the Super-Adaptoid). Another strong issue is #28 that introduces the Banshee -- a villain who, later fans will recognize, also subsequently joined the team as a good-guy. This issue is almost strongest for its interplay between the villains, evoking some of the early Lee-Kirby issues where recurring foes, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, were sometimes actually more interesting, more colourful, and more complex, than the X-Men themselves.

Werner Roth was a restrained artist, more at home drawing low key series like romance comics, lacking the dynamism of X-Men co-creator Kirby. But there's still an appeal to his art, particularly when it can be contrasted with Kirby (such as in the earlier black and white collection, Essential Uncanny X-Men -- which reprints issues #1-24). Though here, generally on his own (Jack Sparling pinch hits an issue) the lack of flare is more apparent, but, nonetheless, it still has its appeal.

The interesting thing about the addition of Roth to the art chores is that when the X-Men premiered, they did so almost simultaneously with DC Comics' Doom Patrol -- also about misfit heroes and their wheelchair bound mentor. There's long been debate about how much each influenced the other (everyone accepts the Doom Patrol was an attempt by conserative DC to ty a more funky, Marvel-style series), and long time Doom Patrol artist, Bruno Premiani, was also an unusual choice for a super hero series, also more suited to low-key, realist series. In other words, was the selection of Roth as Kirby's successor a coincident...or was it Marvel trying to follow the lead of the Doom Patrol?

Anyway, as a sample of mid-'60s comics, and of early Roy Thomas writing, this collection is okay, with a decent amount of simplistic, Silver Age entertainment, and at least a couple of better-than-average tales. There are some familiar villains (Count Nefaria and a gang of second string felons) as well as foes that may never have appeared again (the Locus). But, all in all, does it really warrant a prestigious, hardcover, very expensive treatment? Probably not for the casual fan. Fortunately, Marvel also provides its much cheaper, mammoth "Essential" books, where, on cheaper paper and in black and white, it collects early runs of its comics (DC may, at last, be getting in on the act with similar volumes called Showcase Presents ...). Unfortunately, to date, most of the issues in this Marvel Masterworks edition aren't likewise represented in a cheaper Essential book (a few are, but not most).

Cover price: $49.95 USA / $76.25 CDN.

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