Customer Reviews

The New Age: First Foursaken (Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 5) (v. 4)

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collects issues #472-474 and annual #1. the uncanny x-men new age series has been pretty disappointing overall, so it was nice to see this book which while not outstanding has some solid artwork and writing (perhaps helped by the fact that claremont had a co-writer). the main arc concerns psylocke's brother jamie and although it's supposedly a battle on the scale of the phoenix stories (and introduces a brand-new antagonist) it doesn't reach nearly the same epic scope. but it's still pretty enjoyable, mostly b/c it's nice to see psylocke in the spotlight. the annual is actually the main draw here, which focuses on storm and her conflicts about what to do about the black panther's marriage proposal in the midst of being attacked on all sides by a power-hungry dictator. there are some nice dream sequences here and a surprising revelation about storm's past at the end, which unlike some of the other recently revealed x-men histories is actually believable and interesting and should lead to some interesting storylines in the future. all in all not the best but def. not the worst, and although the rest of the team doesn't get much attention this is still worth reading if you like psylocke and storm.

I am very pleased with my purchase. It came faster than I thought it would and in very good condition. I am happy with the the writers bringing my favorite X-Man, Psylocke, back to the team. Both the art and the writing is fantastic. I'm glad they are giving Betsy more action this time around than before they killed her off. She is a warrior and deserves it.

I really wanted to enjoy this story, but it never quite came together. I found myself more amazed by the artwork on the page. The colors were vivid and each frame really draws you in. Don't expect to be blown away by the storytelling. It's a good TPB for the collector, but if you're a new reader...I'd suggest another from this series.

Chris Claremont scripted the golden age of X-Men stories, and as any fanboy knows, just about anything he's done since his return to Marvel's merry mutants has ranged from average to just plain bad. First Foursaken, the fifth collected volume of his return to Uncanny X-Men helps from the fact that Claremont has a co-writer here, and it's a pretty all around solid yarn. The majority of this TPB focuses around Psylocke, who has recently returned from the dead (only a few years after Claremont killed her off during his yawnable run on X-Treme X-Men), as well as her insane brother Jamie Braddock. Storm plays a pivotal role here as well, pondering her marriage proposal to the Black Panther while she, Psylocke, and the rest of Claremont's lineup of X-Men are in the heat of battle. There's nothing here we haven't seen before from Claremont or any other X-Men writer or title, but that's not necessarily bad here as things are pretty much kept entertaining. The only downside for me is the artwork from veteran X-Men artist Chris Bachalo, whose character models have never been much to write home about for me personally. I'm not saying I can do any better, but I've never been a fan of his work since his Generation X days, and he hasn't done much to win me over in the years since. Regardless, First Foursaken isn't bad one bit, and if you are a fan of Bachalo's work and are looking for a solid X-Men story from the man responsible for the way they are today and have been for years, look no further.