X-Men Reviews - Page 2

The Essential X-Men, vol. 1 1996 (SC TPB) 530 pgs.

Wtitten by Chris Claremont, with Len Wein, Bill Mantlo. Pencils by Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, with Tony DeZuniga, Bob Brown, Werner Roth. Inks by various.
Black and White. Letters: various. Editors: various.

Reprinting: Giant-Size X-Men #1, Uncanny X-Men #94-119 (1975-1978)

Rating: * * * out of five

Number of readings: 1 (some issues more)

I first discovered the X-Men, many, many years ago, as a wee lad, when the issues were numbering in the 120s (original series) and the Claremont-Byrne-Austin team was in full swing. In fact, I started reading the X-Men just in time for the classic Dark Phoenix saga...and, shortly after that, came the departure of Byrne and Austin. For a long time I had wanted to read the early issues of the "new" X-Men, the stories that established the new characters, the new relationships, the stories that were often referenced in annotations and footnotes in the comics I did have, the stories that set the ground work for the Dark Phoenix saga and more.

I had wanted to get a hold of this -- Essential X-Men Vol. 1 -- for a while, but had to content myself with Vol 2 initially. Vol 2 reprinted most of the comics I had (but filled in a few gaps), and was still well worth the price.

Finally, at long, long last I got a hold of Essential X-Men Vol. 1 -- and, I'll admit, I was disappointed.

This reprints the new X-Men stories from the beginning, when they were introduced by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum in Giant-Size X-Men #1. I had read this story before (ironically, also in a black and white reprint format) but it's still a reasonably good tale, with Prof. X forced to recruit new heroes to help rescue the original team. There's an edginess to Wein's handling of characters that Claremont doesn't always have, and though the story is mainly an action piece, Wein manages to throw in a nice twist part way through. Giant-Size X-Men #1 also reprinted a few, brief back up features detailing some of the original characters' powers (drawn by Werner Roth), that are included here as well -- yeah, reprints of reprints.

Claremont immediately takes over the writing (still with Cockrum as artist) and immediately prunes the group, having most of the original team quit, save Cyclops.

And it gets kind of bumpy from then on. For every issue -- or batch of issues -- I (moderately) enjooyed, there were others that were just kind of blah. Still, there are plenty of key X-Men elements: Magneto, Sentinels, old and new team, Ka-Zar and the Savage Land and more. We first meet the new X-Men here, and bits and pieces of their background are worked in. Moira McTaggert is introduced, as is Vindicator/Guardian of Alpha Flight (here identified as Weapon Alpha, and a very different personality than he would later have -- brasher and more of a bad guy).

But this is clearly a Chris Claremont who is evolving as a writer. By the time of the stories published in Essential X-Men Vol. 2, Claremont will have a pretty good grasp on his whole character/angst thing, and will produce some memorably plotted tales. But here, too often the plots run to just kind of blah, extended fight scenes, and the characterization is uneven, even inconsistent. Cyclops' brother, Alex, who quit the team, shows up, clearly brainwashed by a villain, attacks them, then disappears for many issues, with no one knowing where he is or why. And though Cyclops is somewhat perturbed, he doesn't really seem all that worked up about it. I mean, this is his brother for crying out loud!

The whole soap opera-y aspect of the X-Men, the thing that made the series fun (and, its detractors might argue, self-indulgent) isn't as pronounced, with Claremont just throwing in sudden character developments (Banshee meeting Moira McTaggert, and instantly falling in love, or Wolverine being in love with Jean Grey) that don't really seem to have been built up to, and other such sub-plots that, just as quickly, are dropped unceremoniously.

Perhaps more frustrating is that I read this figuring I'd finally learn the background to the Dark Phoenix saga. All those flashbacks and footnotes about how Jean Grey went from Marvel Girl to Phoneix, would finally make sense. Except, I'll admit, they didn't entirely, with the stuff often seeming kind of abrupt, or undeveloped, or just plain too metaphysical for me to quite get my brain around.

Too much of the time, Claremont seems to be rushing through things -- character and story -- as if he's in a hurry to get somewhere else; except the somewhere else doesn't always prove that interesting, and it would've been better to develop what he had.

Also, the art by Dave Cockrum just didn't send me. I'm not a huge fan of Cockrum, but I've liked his stuff from time to time. But here, like Claremont's prose, his art can seem a bit rushed, with little beauty or care applied to the panels. It doesn't help that many of his issues are inked by Sam Grainger -- no slight against Grainger, but the combination of the two is often coarse. John Byrne and Terry Austin eventually arrive on the scene, and though I appreciated the change, they're still not yet at peak form.

O.K., so once again I've gone on about what's wrong. But this collection isn't without its strengths. For one, the whole appeal to these Essential books is that, because they collect a vast, unbroken stream of issues, you can better appreciate sub-plots, or multi-part stories because it all unfolds before you. And that's kind of important here, because there's a lot of issues bleeding into one another, and sub-plots that don't bear fruit for many issues (though, as noted, some of those sub-plots aren't developed especially carefully). There are some reasonably memorable multi-part tales, like a good fight with a revived Sentinels, or a tussle with the Juggernaut and Black Tom at an Irish Castle that isn't especially deep, but is a fun, action-adventure. There's a kind eerie tale involving a strange carnival, though it sort of peters out as it segues into another storyline.

Ultimately, this may have been a disappointment in part because of my eager expectations. More than once I've given a harsh review to something which I've, then, softened after a subsequent reading. Not because my initial assessment was wrong, but more because I might have over-emphasized the bad. The whole glass half full/half empty scenario. Not as strong as Vol. 2, nonetheless this book has its moments and certainly provides a look at a lot of key and seminal X-stories.

Cover price: $21.95 CDN./ $14.95 USA.

The Essential X-Men, vol. 2 1997 (SC TPB), 504 pgs.

Written by Chris Claremont. Illustrated by John Byrne/Terry Austin.
Black & White. Letters: Tom Orzechowski

Reprints: Uncanny X-Men #120-144 (1979-1981)

Rating: * * * * * out of five

Number of readings: many times over the years

While DC (and Marvel) generally package collections and graphic novels as expensive items, designed to milk the reader of as much moola as possible, Marvel, at least, also offers the opposite end of the spectrum with their "Essential" books. These massive trade paperback's reprint the seminal issues of various popular Marvel titles, in chronological sequence, with the only down-side being that they're reprinted in black & white. That's too bad, but when you realize that the cost (around 20 bucks Canadian) comes out to less than a dollar per issue, at a time when most new comics cost almost 3 bucks (Canadian) and "classic" back issues like these might run you 20 or 30 bucks per issue, I think it's well worth it.

They're hyped as being in "glorious" black & white, which I just took as Marvel's usual tongue-in-cheek hyperbole. But, curiously, reading this I found there is something appealing about the crisp, hard, black on white images. I still miss Glynis Oliver Wein's colour, but for the sake of frugality, I'm willing to give it a miss.

The Essential X-Men volumes, since they focus on the beginning of the "new" team, are also the only one of the "Essential" books to feature more contemporary story and art styles. Essential X-Men Volume 2 reprints Uncanny X-Men #120-144, complete with covers, (though no annuals, I'm afraid), giving you no less than two Alpha Flight stories (including their inaugural appearance), the first appearances of Dazzler, Kitty Pryde, and Rachel Summers; the classic Dark Phoenix saga; and other goodies, like the excellent four part Proteus storyline and the haunting "Days of Future Past/Mind Out of Time" story. The Man-Thing also crops up for an issue.

I already had many of these issues, but got this to fill in gaps in my collection (figuring it would be cheaper than back issues)...and I still think I got my money's worth.

All these issues had been reprinted in the on-going Classic X-Men series, but that comic stuck in new scenes and dialogue, essentially ruining the point of reading the formative issues of something. That'd be like re-releasing Star Wars with new scenes and special f/x, thereby distorting the historical and artistic significance of the original -- say, wait a minute.

A couple of the early stories are underwhelming: the first Alpha Flight story starts out great and moody, then degenerates into a lengthy brawl, while the Arcade story is all action with very little story. But overall, these are some great issues featuring the legendary art team of John Bryne and Terry Austin, with both men (I think) at their peak. Brent Anderson also supplies an issue.

There are a couple of weaknesses: the final page/epilogue to "Days of Future Past/Mind Out of Time" is missing (ironically, giving the story a more upbeat ending) -- click here to see the "lost" epilogue. Some of the stories are obviously reproduced from the Classic X-Men comic (you can tell because the footnotes refer back to Classic X-Men issue numbers, not Uncanny X-Men ones) but the material seems to be exclusively from the original issues (I checked the stories against the issues I have), so at least there are no anachronistic "new" scenes. And, sloppily, some character profiles at the end, included as an added bonus, end in mid-sentence (????).

In the end, Essential X-Men is definitely a must for those who don't figure they'll ever have the time, or money, to collect the originals...or just as an economic way for collectors who keep their originals in a box, but want to be able to read the issues again.

Now, if only Marvel would reprint stuff from the late '60s and on-ward...and if only DC Comics would follow suit with similarly economic accretions.

Some of these stories (The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past) are available in their own TPBs.

Original over price: $18.20 CDN./ $12.99 USA

The Essential Uncanny X-Men  1999 (SC TPB) 528 pages

Written by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas. Pencils by Jack Kirby, Werner Roth (billed as Jay Gavin) with Alex Toth. Inks by Paul Reinman, Chic Stone, Dick Ayers.
Black & WhiteLetters: various

Reprinting: The X-Men (1st series) #1-24 (1963-1966)

Rating: * * * * out of five

Number of readings: 1

Following the two Essential X-Men volumes reprinting X-Men stories from the mid-1970s onward, there comes the Essential Uncanny X-Men (yeah, that'll make it real easy to distinguish them) which takes us all the way back to the 1960s, reprinting in black and white the earliest adventures of the first incarnation of the merry mutants in an unbroken, chronology.

These early issues introduce the "most unusual teen-agers of all time": Cyclops, Marvel Girl, The Beast, Angel, Iceman, and their mentor, Professor Xavier. It establishes many of the concepts and themes that continue with the series to this day, from training sessions in the Danger Room, to arch foe Magneto (lacking the dimension he would later develop). There're first appearances of villains the Blob, Unus, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Juggernaut, the Sentinels and more, plus, as the stories progress, some of the angst that would come to define the "Marvel Age" of comics. All this and the Silver Age debut of Ka-Zar and the Savage Land, plus guest appearances by the Avengers and the Human Torch.

Having grown up with the "new" team, particularly the Claremont-Byrne-Austin issues, the original X-Men used to strike me as second stringers, particularly as I'd read reprints of the first few issues which, though not bad, were kind of bland. What I never realized was that Lee and Kirby just needed to build some momentum.

Once they get going, there's a lot to enjoy, from the crammed-to-the-point-of- bursting plots (single issue stories that, nowadays, a writer would spread out over three or four isses...and still show half as much imagination), the gradually evolving characterization of our heroes, and the escalating emphasis on mutants-as-metaphor for a persecuted minority. It's unclear if Lee and Kirby intended that from the get-go; the earliest issues use the mutant angle as just a gimmick -- mutant superheroes battling mutant menaces -- with Professor X even having a contact in the F.B.I. But then the bigotry metaphor starts to creep in and the series develops more voice, more edge. A scene with the X-Men getting dirty looks from subway commuters is unsettling precisely because it's so understated: no screaming mobs, none of the hysterical Senate committees that marks the books now, just dirty looks and Cyclops' remark "We paid our fare just like anyone else." Pretty frank stuff for a medium regarded as kids' stuff.

Magneto is introduced in the first issue and, with his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, for a while seems like a co-star, they appear in so many issues. It threatens to get monotonous...but it also lends the series its own voice, chronicling the on-going skirmishes between the two opposing groups. At times the Brotherhood threatens to be more interesting than the heroes thanks to its colourful membership, both visually and personality-wise, from the sycophantic Toad, almost poignant in his worship of the callous Magneto, the craven Mastermind, and soon-to-be heroes Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch who add an extra drama to the group because, right from the beginning, it's obvious these two are on the wrong side and they know it. Even here, Lee avoids the easy route, 'cause Quicksilver is just as obnoxious as ever -- he's a good guy with a bad attitude. When the Brotherhood eventually falls apart...you actually miss 'em.

But by then the X-Men have emerged as interesting people in their own right, and there are some especially nice stories, like the team's two-part tussle with the Juggernaut which actually manages to create surprising tension, or the epic battle with the robotic Sentinels.

Jack Kirby illustrates the first half, with his raw, craggy, kinetic style, inked often by Chic Stone. Ironically, I was ambivalent towards Stone's inks over Kirby's pencils in Essential Fantastic Four 2, but here they mesh quite nicely. Then the reins are handed over to Werner Roth (originally billed as Jay Gavin, presumably 'cause he was working for a rival company at the same time, or something). Roth's style is cleaner, more realistic, and actually takes to the black and white presentation better. The appeal here is that both artists bring something good to the stories, but different things.

The final few issues see Lee hand over the writing to Roy Thomas, his chief successor in those days, and Thomas cranks up the character angst and delivers some clever plots, though his pacing isn't quite as good as Lee's -- that's not a criticism of Thomas in general, merely a feeling he might've been getting his sea legs. Thomas also starts relying, unfotunately, more on pre-existing stories: there're more footnotes refering to other comics in his issues than all of Lee's combined! The age of the comicbook "universe" has truly begun.

My one complaint about the book is that, after previous Essential books were just in black and white, this one throws in a few grey shadings. It's not nearly as elaborate as DC did in, say, Jack Kirby's New Gods TPB -- just occasionally darkening a suit or a piece of furniture -- but it adds a lot, creating a sense of depth to the images. My quibble? The shading stops half way through, as if they just got bored!!!

Arguably more serious than Lee and Kirby were doing on the Fantastic Four at the time (though still with plenty of wisecracks), rooted in the time and place of Greenwich Village coffee shops and the New York milieu (inbetween the globe hopping and visits to asteroids), and reflecting a more blatant narrative maturing than other Essential books by virtue of the fact that, for a time, it was bi-monthly, meaning these issues cover a greater period of time. These stories are surprisingly engrossing. Surprising 'cause of my "new" X-Men snobbery. But after reading this, and the TPB X-Men Visionaries: The Neal Adams Collection (featuring other stories of the original team) I've developed a lot of affection for these characters. The recent monthly series revival X-Men: The Hidden Years was O.K., but doesn't match the real stuff.

Now DC should release a collection of the 1960s Doom Patrol, the staggeringly similar series that started a couple of months before the X-Men, and fandom can re-start the debate over who ripped off what from whom. (And DC has...albeit, as an expensive, hardcover: The Doom Patrol Archives)

Cover price: $21.95 CDN. / $14.95 USA.

Ultimate X-Men, vol. 6: Return of the King 2003 (SC TPB)

Written by Mark Millar. Pencils by David Finch, Adam Kubert and Ben & Ray Lai. Inks by Andy Thibert, Danny Miki, Ben Lai, Ray Lai.
Colours: Dave Stewart. Letters: Chris Eliopoulos. Editor: Ralph Macchio.

Reprinting: Ultimate X-Men #26-33

Rating: * * * 1/2 out of five

Number of readings: 1

Marvel Comics' "Ultimate" line (which includes an Ultimate Spider-Man and more) is basically a separate reality. The X-Men in Ultimate X- Men are very similar to the X-Men in regular Marvel Comics comic books -- Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, etc., working for the wheelchair bound Professor X -- but it's not quite the same reality. The Ultimate lines basically re-boot popular Marvel characters from Day One, allowing new readers who might be intimidated by the forty some years of continuity fueling the regular comics to feel that they're getting in on the ground floor.

Another impetous was undoubtedly the recent success of Marvel Comics-based motion pictures, and the desire to fashion a comic for readers who might have come to the comics from the movies (the characters wear black body suits rather than colourful costumes and the back cover of this TPB even advertises it as featuring "all the characters you met in the movie").

Those familiar with the regular X-Men will have little trouble settling in to this alternate interpretation, as long as you're prepared for some minor divergences from regular Marvel continuity (super spy Nick Fury is black, for instance). But, theoretically, a novice reader will find it an even easier fit.

Set within the familiar terrain of mutant-superheroes-as-persecuted- minority, the story here -- the sixth consecutive Ultimate X-Men TPB collection -- has arch villain Magneto planning to desttroy the human race to make the world better for mutantkind. The X-Men, of course, want to stop him, even as they're being hunted by the very human authorities they're trying to protect...and with Professor X a prisoner of the U.S. government in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Already we can see some clear parallels to current world issues. The X-Men, long used as a metaphor for ethnic minorities, here seem to be treading into even more controversial territory, with the story having hints of the current War on Terrorism, with the government -- in the comic that is - - making little diistinction between hardcore terrorists like Magneto and his followers, and good guy mutants like the X-Men.

The collection begins with a handy recap of some of what's gone before. Then the first chapter details the early days of Professor Xavier and Magneto's friendship, and their becoming enemies. When the main story begins, the first thing you notice is that writer Mark Millar almost seems to be approaching it less as a comicbook action series, and more like a political thriller, with emphasis on cutting between the various character and groups plotting their machinations. It's talky...but quite effective, with good dialogue and brisk pacing that means it feels just as exciting as any five page dust up. Part of the fun, for old time readers, is trying to adjust to this new continuity, orienting yourself as to the character nuances. Married with David Finch's beautiful, brooding, meticulously cross-hatched art, the story generates a certain aspect of sophistication...rather than just being a four colour free-for-all.

The story climaxes in the middle of this collection and here some weaknesses in Millar's style become evident. The early stuff was intriguing precisely because he seemed to be laying the groundwork for a complex adventure-thriller. But that never quite happens. The X-Men basically sit around for a few issues, wondering how they're going to stop Magneto...then, out of the blue, they learn where his secret base is and the fight is on -- an extended fight that puts us smack dab back in superhero/action territory. It's not even that interestingly staged a fight scene.

Magneto also succeeds in detonating a nuclear reactor, requiring some of the X-Men to intervene there.

It's not that there's anything wrong here. It's perfectly O.K. and entertaining. But it's hardly that original, sophisticated, complex, or any of the other adjectives that the early issues seemed to promise.

The final two chapters -- two whole issues -- amount to an extended epilogue. No fighting, no heroics, just a lot of talking and interacting. Mildly diverting stuff, sometimes amusing, but maybe longer than it needs to be.

Finch also only draws three of the eight issues collected here. Ben and Ray Lai do competent work on the opening chapter, and Adam Kubert brings a nice, kinetic style to his issues, but his style is of a more cartoony nature. One begins to realize that a big part of the appeal here, the edge of grown up sophistication the series seemed to have, derived from Finch's brooding, realist style.

The Ultimate line is, I think, also meant to appear more sophisticated than regular comics. Not only is it a new take on the characters, but it wants to be an edgier take. Although the characters are still basically good guys, there are aspects of self-interest motivating their actions too. It's a grittier, slightly more sullied view of the X-Men and the Marvel Universe. But much of that air of "sophistication" is more surface than substance. I don't mean that in an especially critical way, but for all that I mentioned a lot of the story entails people sitting around and talking...the character development isn't always that detailed. There are some nice character scenes...but for an eight issue run of issues, there's not as much as you might expect even from, say, a regular run of X-Men comics.

Of course, part of the nature of the "new" take is that the characters are reinvented as younger, brasher, with results that can actually rob the characters of their individuality. A lot of them talk the same tough talk, using the same idioms, and are drawn in an achingly "hip" way with Johnny Depp-like van dykes or five o'clock stubble (how the naturally hirsute Beast can also support stubble is unexplained). Ironically, in a comic whose underlining metaphor is all about accepting differences, the Ultimate X-Men are a surprisingly homogenous, exclusive bunch.

The impetous here was to allow new readers to jump on board. But three years into their run, already the Ultimate X-Men are getting mired in continuity references and on-going plot threads. Even this story isn't as self-contained as it should be. Although titled Return of the King, the story begins with Magneto already back on the scene, wreaking havoc, as if the story had begun, if only as a sub-plot, an issue or two earlier. At one point, Magneto refers to having issued a deadline...but nowhere in these pages do I recall him doing such a thing. If Marvel, or any comics company, really wants to create a series that is accessible to new readers, they need to think more in terms of crafting stand alone stories, or story arcs. Sure, there can be on-going relationship plot threads, and villains like Magneto can recur, but people need to read an issue -- or at least a TPB collection -- and feel that that's all they need to read.

I can't help thinking that the main audience for Ultimate X-Men isn't some "new" readership, but the same old X-Men fans who pick it up as a novelty along with their regular X-Men comics. I found the book reasonably comprehensible, but that may have had something to do with my passing familiarity with mainstream X-Men mythos since The Ultimate X-Men has clearly paralleled events from the regular title (the Cyclops-Marvel Girl-Wolverine triangle; the Marvel Girl as Phoenix story, etc.).

So what's the verdict on this TPB collection? It's briskly paced, with good dialogue. But it does trod familiar ground for an X-Men saga, without an especially complex or clever plot -- all the talk and large ensemble cast notwithstanding. Finch's art is especially striking...but he draws less than half the issues. In the end, it's enjoyable...without being special.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $16.99 USA

Ultimate X-Men: The Tempest
   For my review at www.ugo.com, go here.

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