By: Chris Claremont, John Byrne Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 184 Publication Date: April 19, 2006 Reading Level: Young Adult
Product Description: The best-selling storyline is back in print! The mutant terrorist Magneto again threatens the world, and only the X-Men can stop him! And should they survive this confrontation, the villainous Omega Red is waiting in the wings! Collects X-Men (1991) #1-7.
Jim Lee's X-men glory days Boy was this a nice trip down memory lane. It collects the first 7 issues of Jim Lee's classic X-men run. It made me very nostalgic and how I do long for the days when Jim Lee could get a comic out on time and I still followed the X-men. One of my favorite comic scenes of all-time is in issue four where Gambit, Wolverine, Jubilee, and Rogue are playing basketball. There was just something so simple and so fun about it. These were the issues that introduced Magneto's Acolytes in a story that was Chris Claremont's last work on X-men after 15 years on the title. This was also the first time, I believe, that we see flashbacks of Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Maverick working together in the Weapon X program. So many of the images from this run are burned into my brain whether it was simple two-page spread of the X-men gathered in a meeting or shots of the X-men leaping into action. I don't have my old X-men comics anymore but I'd definitely like to have this trade in my collection which presents those old comics like they should be, in all their modern glossy paper glory!
The Jim Lee era, part 2 Jim Lee made a name for himself in the late 80's with his legendary run on Marvel's Uncanny X-Men series, so it's no surprise that when given the chance to launch a brand new X-Men series in 1991 it broke all previous sales records and was the most talked-about comics event until the "death" of Superman. The Marvel Legends: X-Men - Mutant Genesis trade paperback collects the first seven issues of that new series (Lee's entire run prior to leaving to start Image Comics).
The stories collected here are pretty decent, but aren't the best from ether Claremont or Lee. Claremont's Magneto story is probably the better of the two, as it returns Magneto to villain status in a big way. Lee's story was more dynamic, and had some of the paramilitary flavor he would use as the backbone for his Wildstorm Universe.
The artwork is gorgeous during the first half and a bit of a mess for the remainder of the book. I think deadline issues were to blame, as Lee has a reputation for not being able to stick with a monthly title. He had a few months to get the first few issues done, so naturally they're amazing to look at. The remaining issues are obviously the work of someone who was in a hurry.
My only complaint with this volume is the binding. It seems way too flimsy and after a few readings my copy looks much worse for wear. Maybe Marvel will give this the Premiere Classic hardcover treatment some day.
If you were an X-Men fan in the 1990's, you don't need me to tell you why you should have this volume in your collection. IF you came to the X-Men later, trust me when I say that what Claremont and Lee did on this title definitely influenced today's X-Men.
Great Art, and 2 Great Stories This Tradepaperback collectes the first 7 issues of X-Men Volume 2. The first arc is a 3 parter with Magneto and nuclear weapons, the second is with a new villain named Omega Red and is linked to Wolverine's past. the best thing about this book is Jim Lee's art, when you open up a comic book, it should like this, bright colors, amazing art, and muscle-bound characters. A must-have for any X-Men fan.
A big, incoherent mess. I've always wondered what exactly people saw in Jim Lee. I never really cared for his artwork; to be honest, I found it rather stocky. Unforunately, as little as I cared for his art, his story telling is even worse, and it really shows in this book which features the first 7 issues of the 1991 X-Men title. Let's just say I'm honestly shocked it lasted as long as it did. Chris Claremont's final arc of X-Men is featured first, which sees Magento, in a very rushed, badly characterized move, returning to his old ways of anti-human after attempting to try and follow Xavier's methods with little explanation involved. Magento is also furious to learn that he was once experimented on, and as a result, captures half of the X-Men and has them brainwashed into joining his cause. The UN, fearing the worst, launches a bomb off to blow Magento's astroid base up, so it's up to the remaing X-Men to get there and save their teammates before things go boom. All this in the first two issues, and if it seems like a little too much to resolve in just another 20 pages, you're absolutely 100% right. Problems working both with Lee and the editorial staff led to Claremont leaving after the third issue, so what should have gone on for about 5 or 6 issues so everything could get fleshed out was cut short. As a result, everything comes off rushed, leading to anti-climactic ending.
As if that weren't bad enough, we're also treated to a 2nd arc, mainly scrippted by Lee but also co-written both by John Byrne and Scott Lobdell. It features not only one of the worst villains ever, Omega Red, but also Fenris, Sabretooh, Maverick, and more mindlessness among others. Simply put, it's a mashup that feels tired, dull, and uneven, with more and more baggage added in that results in little payoff. If you want an actually good X-Men story, check out the Dark Phoenix or Days of Future Past collections, or if you have the money, get either Omnibus, rather than this poor excuse for a story, which was actually created mainly to just make money and do nothing else. It's best to forget that this ever existed.
Not the best It's heroic, I'll givem that But it's boring. It's almost trivial in today's X-men the art is nothing amazing. It doesnt feel like today's x-men either, like they forgot what theyre fighting for. not very personal
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
