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Title: The Essential X-Men Volume 2 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Dave Cockrum ISBN: 0-7851-0298-1 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.52 (31 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The fateful Dark Phoenix saga of Claremont and Byrne
Comment: It was nice to see that inker Terry Austin was credited on the cover of "The Essential X-Men Volume 2" along with writer Chris Claremont and pencilers John Byrne and Brent Anderson. Of course, Byrne is also the co-plotter for most of these issues and Anderson only draws one of them, so it is not like all names are created equal when it comes to such things. But Austin was always the best inker of Byrne's pencils and deserves some of the credit for making "X-Men" the premier comic book of its day during this particular run of issues from #120-144.
As the cover shot indicates, this particular collection of stories is highlighted by the Dark Phoenix saga and the "death " of Jean Grey. It was the controversy over the latter that was partially responsible for Byrne's decision to leave the book, which came from Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter's dictum that superheroes never kill anybody. In issue #135 "Dark Phoenix," Jean Grey's alter ego goes over to the dark side and jets off into space to find something to eat, which ends up being a G-Type star. The problem is that of the eleven planets in that system the fourth is inhabited by an ancient, peace-loving civilization hitherto known as "the Asparagus people." The bottom line was that in the super nova that resulted 5 billion beings died; at which point Dark Phoenix took out a Shi'ar warship as well. The consequence of this was a trial in the count of Lilandra; originally Claremont and Byrne intended for Jean to have the Dark Phoenix entity psychically removed, leaving her a mere mortal who had to live with the great guilt of what she had done. The idea was that down the road Magneto would offer her the chance to regain her power and in a moment of great triumph she would refuse. But Shooter decreed otherwise and the new ending was that issue #137 "Phoenix Must Die" now became a literal fate.
I have always been of the mind that Shooter was not just wrong but stupid; following the simplistic rules of 1940s superhero comic books is shortsighted. Eventually Marvel comics would deal with a superhero forced by circumstances to kill: Captain America, without his shield, gunned down a guy with a machine gun who was shooting a crowd of civilians. Even Superman had to take some lives and live with the consequences. Claremont and Byrne had come up with a serious storyline and Shooter threw it away on a simplistic principle.
This Volume 2 collection represents the high point of the "X-Men" comic book, not just because of the Dark Phoenix saga, which is still pretty good even with the altered ending, but because we have the Canadian government's attempt to bring back Weapon X (a.k.a. Wolverine), an encounter with Arcade's Murder World, a showdown with Proteus, and a lengthy fight with the Hellfire Club. Kitty Pride also joins the X-Men at this point in their history and one of my all-time favorite stories is issue #141 "Days of Future Past"/#142 "Mind Out of Time" when the Kitty Pride of a dystopian future ruled by the Sentinels sends her mind back in time to her younger body to try and change the future. This two-parter is a great time travel story and ends up being Byrne and Austin's swan song for the "X-Men," even though they did one more issue.
I am well aware that there are those who disparage the Marvel Essentials collections because they reprint the original comics in black & white. Getting these same comics reprinted in color in the Marvel Masterworks series would cost you four times as much. From an economic standpoint this is the way to go. But I would also argue that the artwork of Byrne and Austin, as with that of Steve Ditko, actually looks better in black & white. You might not want to go beyond this collection of 'X-Men' comics, but picking up the first two Essential volumes does give you almost four years worth of issues representing one of the celebrated runs of a particular title in the history of the field.
Rating: 5
Summary: excellent collection
Comment: the good: picking up from where vol. 1 left off, this offers another 20+ issues of continuity. And what a collection of stories!! chronicled within are x-men battles with Alpha flight, Arcade, Proteus, Hellfire Club, Wendigo, Sentinels. This collection is significant because it includes epics such as the "dark phoenix saga" and "days of future past". IMHO, the most moving story was "Elegy" in which Cyclops recounts his memories in the aftermath of Jean Grey's death. A bonus is the introduction of Kitty Pryde - who eventually proves her mettle in her encounter with the Ngarai demon. FYI, you can purchase the "dark phoenix saga" and "days of future past" stories separately (F/C graphic novels) but you should still also buy this volume. Claremont's writing and Byrne's artwork is outstanding!
the bad: wish it was in colour!!!
Rating: 5
Summary: Best X-Men stories...and not the ones you'd think.
Comment: Everyone loves the Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. So do I, but that's not why I love this book. The Proteus story arc ("There's Something Awful On Muir Island!"), though poorly titled, shows some of the best X-Men ever using teamwork at its best to beat an enemy who defined predatory evil long before the likes of Vargas, Bogan, and even Sabretooth came along. John Byrne's representation of such mutants as Jean Grey, Ororo Munroe, Kitty Pryde, and Piotr Rasputin (AKA Phoenix, Storm, Shadowcat, and Colossus for the uninitiated) is human and heroic at the same time, something that was forgotten in the later days of the likes of Jim Lee.
But the best story, in my humble opinion, is one that takes place shortly after Kitty Pryde joins the X-Men...her "trial by fire," if you will. Kitty spends Christmas (Chanukah) at the mansion, and a demonic creature, one of the N'Garai from an earlier story arc, manages to get into the mansion and come after her. Without the X-Men to protect her, the mutant then known as Sprite manages to survive the demon on her own until she comes up with a brilliant solution to win the day.
These comics are nigh-impossible to find on their own, but in this format, they make for a wonderful glimpse into the world of our favorite mutant team at its finest.
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Title: The Essential X-Men Volume 3 by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum ISBN: 0785106618 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Essential X-Men Vol. 4 by Chris Claremont, Paul Smith, John, Sr. Romita ISBN: 0785107754 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Essential Uncanny X-Men by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Jack Kirby ISBN: 0785109919 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Essential Wolverine, Vol. 1 by Archie Goodwin, John Byrne, Idelson Matt, Chris Claremont, Peter David ISBN: 0785102574 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Essential Spider-Man: Amazing Spider-Man 21-43, Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2&3 by Stan Lee, J. Michael Stracynski, John, Jr. Romita ISBN: 0785109897 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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