5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Essential X-Men Volume 4, December 27, 2006
This review is from: Essential X-Men Vol. 4 (Paperback)
This tome contains Uncanny X-Men #s 162-179, plus the Annual #6--which means this collection represents when I joined the X-Men for regular thrills. Which means I missed some key stories, yes, wouldn't you say? Don't worry, though...I backtracked too, like crazy. Having acknowledged the greatness of what came before, I must say that these, here, are some of my favourite X-Stories ever. Let's face it--the Phoenix Saga was a big event in this series, but look at all the high-impact series-shaping plotlines that unfold in Essential X-Men Volume Four. It's quite stunning, really--and quite a masterful balancing act by author Chris Claremont.
Not perfect, alas. Claremont simply writes too many words, at times. Most of these mutants fall into a routine of analyzing the good and bad of their situations, their choices, their teammates' choices, the pros of the various cons, the cons of the various pros. This leads to a sameness in the way most X-Men ponder things, sorting and itemizing their angst, either in dialogue, or bloated thought-balloons ("If I choose this, I am no better than so-and-so, but if I fail to do this, I am guilty of such-and-such."; "I must do this to feel whole, but I cannot do it, or I betray whatsisname...oh dear, what shall I do? I'll mull it over for five issues...") Maybe when they were writing the Sphinx's dialogue for the superhero movie satire called Mystery Men, they were actually mocking the X-Men. I would believe it. Because almost all the X-Men come off as great philosophers, tireless ponderers of what is going on around them; it reveals the Claremont Overmind, the author resorting to one technique, too much.
The refreshing exception to this is Rogue. She's been rather a wicked villainess up til she arrives at Professor X's doorstep, pleading to be allowed a shot as a heroine--and the X-Men don't want her around. They don't trust her. And to maintain the readers' suspicions that Rogue may be pulling a trick, planning a betrayal as some kind of Brotherhood of Evil Mutants mole, Claremont is forced to keep us out of her head. We have to judge her by her actions, by her choices as they are made. This makes Rogue a delightful anomaly amongst all the chatty-mutant-Cathies infesting this team; she's an instant hit, as far as I'm concerned, precisely because of this subtle distinction; we don't see her mulling her morality too much. She just...does. She just...springs in to action. Slowly proving that she is there to stay, with the quiet determination to battle the distrust and cruel comments of her new teammates, as well as their foes, as they come charging over the horizon. And, incidentally, Rogue never looked sexier than when she was drawn by Paul Smith (Rogue, you had me at "Hello. Anybody home. Please don't kill me, Wolverine.".)
I guess, to be fair, there's a lot for the X-Men to ponder in these stories. Will Cyclops fly into space with his father, or stay and marry a woman who may be the greatest threat to the universe, reborn? Will Storm handle recent trauma, in space and in the series, well enough to retain her gentle essence? How does Wolverine cope with rejection by the love of his life? Is Kitty Pryde really to be demoted from X-Man down to the wimpy New Mutants? Why won't Charles Xavier's mind allow his legs to walk again? Okay, all this does require some deep thought while battling The Brood, Dracula, The Brotherhood of Evil You-Knows, the Morlocks (a couple times), Viper and Silver Samurai, a hidden villain who doesn't quite pull the grand-illusionist fake-out that Mysterio pulled on Spidey in his Amazing Comic (#'s 193-200) (but as master manipulator villain-types go, this guy is still pretty good), and a giant squid (the weakest villain of the bunch, this squid, and probably killed off by Scourge not long after, alongside the Grinder, the Pickler, and Mister Fish. But I digress.)
Final decision, after pondering and mulling like a Claremont character: I love these stories. I love Paul Smith drawing Rogue, even just for a little while. And if the X-Men think too much, well, at least they distinguish themselves, collectively as a team with a conscience. Thankfully, there are also a lot of terrific fights.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Have..., September 14, 2005
This review is from: Essential X-Men Vol. 4 (Paperback)
Do not be fooled or dismayed by other reviews - this is A-list comic book gold, this Essential X-Men vol.4. If you are reading these for "story" content, you are missing half the reason for the X-Men's overwhelming popularity since the early 80's - THE ART! Simply put, this collects one of the most beautifully delineated story arcs in the series, the Paul Smith/Bob Wiacek run (other notable runs include the Byrne/Austin, the Silvestri/Green, and the Lee/Williams). Simply put, the team has seldom looked better, and asthetically, I'd rank Smith's rendition of Wolverine above that of Joltin' Johnny Byrne - you heard me. And Kitty Pryde looks perfect. Not to be overlooked, this volume also opens up with one of the best Cockrum issues, a Wolvie solo story involving the Brood.
Don't kid yourself - this book is a required element of any once-or-future X-Fan's collection, although you must be warned - the Morlocks are introduced in this volume. If you are familiar with them, then you know what I mean, and if not, well, it makes for some painful reading, but with Smith on the pictures, it sure is some pretty stuff to look at.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a good read, April 10, 2003
This review is from: Essential X-Men Vol. 4 (Paperback)
i disagree w/ the other reviewer. yeah, the series started to lose steam, but this book included the brood war saga (in which the x-men get eggs implanted inside them) which introduces binary and which was quite good, and the first real storyline w/ the morlocks, inc. storm's duel with callisto. the book includes the the issues in the tpb "from the ashes" which involve "the return of the dark phoenix". also, rogue joins the xmen (whoo!), madelyne pryor and the new mutants make their debut, and the xmen go to japan for wolvie's aborted wedding. all in all, pretty essential reading.
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