Customer Reviews
Superb plotting by Chris Claremont and great artwork. - By: I. R. Kerr, 26 Nov 2007 
This issue comprises the first series of the X-Men issues I missed due to a parental banning order on comicsin the late 1970's & what a pleasure it is to catch up on what I missed.
Being a fan of the old X-Men this new series has been a refreshing treat. There are some great story-lines, fantastic artwork & fleshing out old characters, especially the extra background on Nightcrawler & Wolverine. You can clearly read the roots of much of the first X-Men movie here.
Starting off with the X-Men being detainedin Canada as Alpha Flight try to get Wolverine back into their fold & it gets better from there.
Old villains return, Mastermindin a new identity which provides a fantastic twist throughout this book, Arkon & Jean's alter-ego Dark Phoenix.
New villains for the X-Men the assassin Arcade, Proteus, the Hellfire Club, Mystique & a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Wendigo & D'Spayre with the Man-Thing guest starring.
To top that off two new mutant heroines are introduced, first the phasing teenager Kitty Pryde who joins the X-Men as Sprite & the Dazzler.
The way the storylines intertwine is first rate, from Mutant X's escape from Muir Island, to the mysterious Jason Wyngarde, the Death of one X-Manin the Dark Phoenix saga & the brilliant Days of Future Past where the future counterpart of newest X-Men returns to the present to try & prevent a future where the Sentinels have taken over, the final twist at the end connecting the Hellfire club to the creation of a new breed of Sentinels. Not forgetting Dr, Strange appearing as Nightcrawler is taken through Dante's version of Hell with the X-Menin tow & Kitty Pryde's first solo outing as an X-Man as the school is attached by a demon.
Chris Claremont has to be congratulated for skilfully keeping so many plot threadsin the air here & I look forward to reading the next batch of tales. This is absolutely outstanding.
Xceptionally Marvellous - By: , 28 May 2004 Covering Uncanny X-Men #120 to 144, published between 1979 & 1981, there are some very, very good stories here. We go from Banshee's departure to Sprite's arrival with X-Men alumni & some interesting new mutants (such as Dazzle) guesting fairly regularly. We meet the Hellfire Club, Arcade & lots of other problem foes for our heroes. The Dark Phoenix series is classic stuff right through to Jean Grey's sad death. Scott Summers'/Cyclops Elegyin issue #138 is a fantastic retrospective. We also see Storm succeed Cyclops as the leader of the team. Despite their powers, the characters are portrayed with human feelings & frailties. The story & character development is exceptional. Allin all, a highly recommended read.
Essential X-Men Vol.2 - By: , 27 Oct 2002 This is the best of volume of the Essential X-Men books. It hs the Dark Phoenix Story, Days of Future Past & the first issues of Shadowcat as an X-Person. Addin the Hellfire Club & the Brood & you have a great book - all X-Fans should have this bookin their collection.
If Only The Films Were Like This... - By: , 12 Oct 2002 This graphic novel is excellent - the Dark Pheonix issues are awesome. They treat the reader to an analysis of how a human can comprehend grasping absolute power whilst retaining their sanity, a novel couldn't have done a better job. Totally Worth Buying, even if its tthe only comic series you'll ever buy. Spiderman seems dullin comparison.
The classic years... - By: Ann Van Huffel, 25 Feb 2002 This volume contains the complete "Dark Phoenix Saga" as well as the "Days of Future Past" stories & for those alone is worth the price of admission.Both Byrne & Claremont were at the height of their creative powers & , frankly , these stories have never been equaled or bettered. I have been an avid X-men reader for 20 years now & these are the stories & characters I keep coming back to. My only gripe with this volume is that it'sin black & white & while it shows of Byrne's clear line work of to great effect I miss the colors of the costumes, especially Wolverine's!
Anyway, for an afternoon of classic comicbook reading this volume is hard to beat... highly recommended.
