A comics classic spoiled by re-coloration. Let's start with the obvious. This is one of the all-time classic series of comic books, reprinted in a beautiful new edition. The story is good (although Claremont's writing would improve in later issues) and the art, by Dave Cockrum, is simply stunning. And, of course, these stories served to introduce the most influential and popular Marvel characters since Spider-Man in the early 60s.
So why the three stars? I was comparing this book to my original comics and I realized that the coloration had been changed significantly. This may seem like a minor point -- the pencil work and inking is, obviously, exactly the same as it was in the originals -- but the choice of colors used in this book does a lot to determine the "atmosphere" of the stories, and in this reprint, the atmosphere is a lot brighter, featuring noticeably more primary colors than the original comic books.
In some cases -- e.g. the character Colossus -- a lot of subtle detail, created by the use of different shades of the same color, has been eliminated. The space-opera scenes are a lot more "cartoony" looking, with bright blue replacing the subtle blue-grey that was originally used for the exterior of the spaceships. Throughout the stories, panels that were previously colored in subtle earthy shades are now done in bright primary colors or some other high-contrast color scheme that completely changes the impression the artwork makes on one's eyes.
This may seem like a lot of nit-picking, and I realize that the re-coloring was probably a mechanical requirement for reprinting the stories in full-color (rather than four-color), but I don't feel like the changes are really insignificant. Compared to the original comics, this book looks like a Saturday morning cartoon show. Considering that this is an extremely expensive deluxe edition, it seems to me like Marvel could have spent a little more time to get it closer to the originals.
Uncanny X-Men, Volume 1 I love the X-Men. I always have and I always will. It's got the best characters of any comic I've ever read.
This volume doesn't cover a lot of ground with the X-Men comics, which is completely understandable, but it covers enough to be enjoyable.
It starts right off with Giant-Size X-Men Volume 1 which introduces a few new mutants: Storm, Wolverine, Sunfire, Thunderbird, Banshee, Colossus and Nightcrawler...the latter three being my favorites in the entire X-Men roster.
I really enjoyed the illustrations and the writing of these comics, this era probably being my favorite era for the stories.
I would recommend this to anyone who is an X-Men fan or a fan of 1970s Marvel.
Marvel Masterworks X-Men Volume 1 is a great read! Marvel Mastworks X-Men Volume 1 is a great read! This book reprints the ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT X-Men issues! Gaint-Size X-Men#1, Marvel comic's Uncanny X-Men#94-100 are reprinted with wonderful Hardcover and colorful glossy paper! The book is great becaue it is the depute of the most popular diverse X-Men characters like Banshee, Sunfire, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm, Thunderbird, and Colossus! It is also the first run of the creative team of writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Crockum! This book the great reprints of Unccany X-Men Giant-Size #1, Unccany X-Men #94-100! This X-Men creative team is responsible for re-energized the Unncany X-Men and made Chris Claremont, one of most respected comic book writers at Marvel Comics! Highly Recommended! A
Not the first in the X-Men series, but still a good read Note: the previous reviewer's comments apply to ''Marvel Masterworks: X-Men, Vol. 1''. This volume collects ''Giant-Size X-Men #1'' plus X-Men #94-100 from 1975-76, written by Chris Claremont and penciled by Dave Cockrum. It introduces a new set of X-Men, including Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Banshee, though Cyclops, Jean Grey, and of course Professor Xavier are also featured, and all the old X-Men appear.
I am not an X-Men X-pert or a comics connoisseur, so I'll just give my impressions. I found the plots a bit more sophisticated than the early issues, but only a bit (a madman is threatening to launch the entire US nuclear ICBM arsenal, and the Avengers ''can't handle it right now''?) Several stories are carried over across multiple issues, giving them more time to develop, and there are hints of an overarching plot. Some of the characters show signs of -- well, perhaps not depth, but conflicting motivations at least. Cyclops in particular appears to be evolving into an anti-hero.
The writing is generally pretty lame -- the supposedly humorous banter leaves me cold, and the editorial comments are tiresome, though there is an amusing inside reference in #98 where ''Stan'' (Lee) and ''Jack'' (Kirby) appear for a couple of panels, commenting on the current story. And there is an occasional high point -- Scottish housekeeper Moira MacTaggart: ''Well, if sonic blasts'll do nae guid, let's see how yon kelpie fares ... against close-range machine-gun fire!''
The art is decent; there is somewhat more realism, especially regarding military hardware (the Air Force fighters are recognizably F-15's, for instance). The colors are as usual pretty garish -- I mean, if you were building a bunch of mutant-killing robots, what colors would you paint them? Ok, blue is not bad, but magenta? The layout occasionally departs from strictly rectangular frames, as in the awesome 2-page spread in the beginning of #97 depicting an alien space battle.
On the whole, I'd say this is solid entertainment, well worth the price. There are many references to earlier events, so if you're new to the series, you may want to start with the other ''X-Men Vol. 1'' and work your way up. Also, be warned -- the last story in the book ends on a cliffhanger, so you'll have to get ''Uncanny X-Men Vol. 2'' as well to find out what happens!
The prologue to the "Second Genesis" of the Uncanny X-Men I have to admit that I did not greet the new and improved "Uncanny X-Men" with open arms. I had been a big fan of the original X-Men, mainly because they had been teenage superheroes, a lot closer to Spider-Man than anybody else in the Marvel Universe at that time. The comic book had gone out in a blaze of glory with issues drawn by Jim Steranko and Neal Adams that were stunning. So when Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum revived the title in 1975, after "X-Men" had been reduced to a mere reprint comic book for several years, there was good news and bad news. The former was that the title was back and the latter was that in reviving the title the new creators had jettisoned most of the original group. The X-Men had never had the turnover of the Avengers, so this was rather disconcerting. Indeed, if Cyclops had not stayed I might have given up on the title right then and there. But you have to remember that these were the good old days, when you could still buy every title in the Marvel universe for about five bucks (gee, you could fill up your car and get change back on a $5 bill back then too). So I stuck around and saw how Claremont, Cockrum, and then John Byrne turned the "X-Men" into one of the premier comic books in the land.
The original strength of the X-Men was that their being hunted mutants served as a subtext for various issues involving social prejudice. Claremont and Cockrum put that in an international context by having Professor X go around the world to recruit his second generation of merry mutants recruiting from a city in Germany for Nightcrawler and the mountains of Kenya for Storm to the Arizona desert for John Proudstar to behind the Iron Curtain for Colossus. This time around we find not only that the X-Men are no longer all white, they are also not a bunch of teenagers anymore (Banshee qualifies more as a contemporary of Charles Xavier, which arguably makes him the odd man out in the new lineup). Also thrown into the mix is their disparate temperaments; early issues always have Wolverine and Thunderbird in a contest to see who can blow up first. It is a good thing Sunfire went back to Japan or each early issue of the X-Men Internationale would have been the rest of the new X-Men keeping these three from killing each other.
This first volume in the "Uncanny X-Men Masterworks" series "Giant Size X-Men" #1 and issues #94-100 of "X-Men." The new X-Men are put together to rescue the old X-Men, and once that mission is accomplished the question becomes: what do you do with thirteen X-Men? The answer is to get down to a half-dozen by having all of the original X-Men leave except for Cyclops, to have one of the new X-Men decide not to play, and then you are down to seven, one of whom is doomed to die (and if you pay attention to the group logo on the cover you can see that they telegraphed their choice right from the start on that one). The Sentinels pop up, so you do have one of the A-list X-Men villains showing up early and for "The Spectacular 100th Issue" of the comic book we have the old X-Men taking on the new X-Men. At least that is what the cover shows, but if you have been reading between the lines you are suspicious of such a conflict, especially when Professor X gets out of his wheelchair to pop Wolverine right in the kisser. Ultimately, what you have collected in this first volume is the prelude for the Uncanny X-Men, ending when Jean Grey's shielding gives way as she tries pilot a Space Shuttle back to earth with the rest of her teammates on board. You have to wait for Phoenix and the Juggernaut until Volume 2 of this hardcover collection, in what I think is clearly a marketing ploy on Marvel's part, and even then you will be up to the start of the John Bryne era but not quite up to Magento's first appearance.
All things considered, the new X-Men are an improvement over the original group, not only in terms of their powers but also in terms of their secret identities. I mean, all things considered all Angel could do was fly and the Beast was a muscular acrobat with lots of brains (the decision to make him blue and furry admits to the character's liabilities). Storm is an exotic elemental queen trying to fit in with regular folk and Colossus remains a man-child at heart, even in this brave new world. Most importantly, Wolverine makes the Thing look like a cuddly teddy bear, giving the group a dangerous edge. Claremont liked to skate as close to that edge as possible, and eventually he would send the series over the edge with his Dark Phoenix plotline. The comics collected in "Marvel Masterworks: Uncanny X-Men, Volume 1" are not great, but they are pretty good and they are the prologue to the glory days of the X-Men.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
