X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 2 (Bk. 2) (Paperback)

by Fabian Nicieza (Author), John Francis Moore (Author), Scott Lobdell (Author), Jeph Loeb (Author), Larry Hama (Author), Chris Bachalo (Author), Warren Ellis (Author), Tony Daniel (Author), Salvador Larroca (Author), Steve Epting (Author), Terry Dodson (Author), Roger Cruz (Author), Andy Kubert (Author), Adam Kubert (Author), Mark Buckingham (Author), Ken Lashley (Author), Renato Arlem (Author), Ian Churchill (Author), Val Semeiks (Author), Tom Lyle (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
See your favorite through a dark glass as the epic that literally rebuilt the X-Men in eight miniseries and more continues! Apocalypse has conquered half of humankind and is ready to destroy them all! Magneto and his Amazing X-Men fight to protect humans and mutants alike, only to learn from Bishop that his world might need to be unmade! Plus: excerpts from Apocalypse's own files on the alternate-universe X-Men, and their friends and foes... but which is which? Featuring Blink and Sabretooth of the Exiles! Collects X-Men: Alpha, Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen, Generation Next #1, Astonishing X-Men Volume 1 #1, X-Calibre #1, Gambit and the X-Ternals #1-2, Weapon X Volume 1 #1-2, Amazing X-Men #1-2, Factor X #1-2, and X-Man #1.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics; Direct Ed edition (November 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785118748
• ISBN-13: 978-0785118749
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,054 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( R ) > Rogers, Mark
  #2 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > Loeb, Jeph
  #3 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( N ) > Nicieza, Fabian

• This is item 2 in The X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This should have been the first volume. Brilliant!, November 14, 2005

By	R. Hall "Dazed Genoshan" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First a plea to any new readers who might have been hoodwinked into purchasing the first volume of the AOA-Epic: PLEASE forget that cruel marketing trick and give this one a shot, this is the true (beginning of the) Age of Apocalypse, the crown jewel of the 1990s X-Men run that was so astounding that it took nearly a decade before another worth-while X-Men story would be written again.
In the Early '90s the X-Men reached their zenith of popularity, and although there were certainly low points in the early '90s run of the X-Universe (followed by an abysmally unreadable period of just under 10 years) it is unquestionably one of the time periods that justified the X-Men's place as the consistent top-seller, then and now. The Age of Apocalypse was the culmination, and the bristling climax, of one of the greatest eras in the X-Men's existence.

Synopsis: Forget volume one, everyone else but the marketing flunkies at Marvel did (or the poor saps who paid money for a collection of B-level story lines that leeched off of the glory of a truly well done comic book masterpiece). Here we are taken into a world that throws the importance of Xavier's dream right into our faces, a world where that dream was aborted and replaced with a blood-drenched nightmare. The Dark Lord Apocalypse threatens the globe, from his base from what was once America, with the aid of his Four Horsemen (Sinister, Holocaust, Abyss, and Mikhail Rasputin) and his mutant elite (including Cyclops, Havoc, and Beast). In Europe, humanity is meekly defended by a Human High Council (Brian Braddock, Emma Frost, Moria MacTaggart and Trask) that ratters a saber in the form of an army of Sentinels and nuclear missiles. The only true source of salvation lies with Magneto and the meager yet potent network of mutant resistance that he has thrown up against the genetic supremacist régime of Apocalypse that makes mass genocide and blasphemous dark science everyday occurrences. Despite their best efforts, Magneto, the X-Men and other heroes of this Dark Age are fighting a losing battle, and the hordes of the Dark Lord begin to crush even the most stalwart of spirits; and then one man, Bishop, delivers them the glimmer of hope needed to march on in their defiance of seemingly omnipotent armies of evil. In another world Xavier's dream was made real, and Apocalypse never rose to power.

This dark incarnation of the X-Men's' world is thoroughly explored in-depth, and the characterization is so well done that it even gives invaluable insight to the characters as they appear in the main-stream world of the X-Men. Some who were heroes break under the evil that has infected their world while others turn from their own paths of darkness when shown the extreme consequence of blind self-serving ambition. As death and horror flow in Apocalypse's wake and the leaders of humanity grow intent on mimicking his evil to feed their own thirst for revenge, Magneto and the X-Men will fight to the bitter end to save their world from this ultimate evil.

Yet if the gripping story is not enough to sell you, the art work is mouthwatering at best and breathtaking at worst.

Enjoy!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much better than the first volume, January 18, 2006

By	N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

With the tenth (that's right, tenth!) anniversary of Marvel's epic X-Men storyline, the Age of Apocalypse, Marvel has released three massive volumes of the various issues released in that time. Volume 1 featured various one-shots, mini-series, and the X-Men Chronicles issues, and wasn't worth your time unless you're an AoA completist. Volume two however finally gets some things right by featuring the first couple issues of the various series' as well as the jump off point X-Men: Alpha (Vol. 3 will contain the concluding issues and the ending X-Men: Omega) that introduces the readers to this dark, alternate world where Charles Xavier never lived long enough to form the X-Men, and the evil Apocalypse rose to power and conquered most of the world. X-Men: Alpha introduces us to Magneto's team of X-Men: his wife Rogue, son Quicksilver, as well as Sabretooth, Wild Child, Storm, Nightcrawler, Sunfire, Banshee, Morph, Iceman, and Blink. The team is split up in the issues of Astonishing X-Men and Amazing X-Men as they take on various forces of Apocalypse. Weapon X introduces us to the one handed Logan and his lover Jean Grey as they unite with the Human High Council to save the world. Factor X gives us a glance at Apocalypse's main mutants; Sinister, Cyclops, Beast, and Havok. Gambit & the X-Ternals introduces us to the heroic thief and his team of mutants (including Jubilee, Lila Chaney, and Strong Guy) as they begin their quest into space to retrieve a piece of the M'Krann Crystal. Generation Next finds Colossus and Shadowcat training a group of young mutants and leading them on a mission to save Colossus' lost sister. X-Man (written by Jeph Loeb) introduces us to Nate Grey (this universe's version of Cable); the genetic offspring of Cyclops and Jean Grey, and he's the most powerful mutant on the planet. X-Calibre finds Nightcrawler going solo to find the msyterious mutant Destiny. All the storylines are great, and Generation Next, Astonishing X-Men, and X-Man are the absolute best. The only downside is that if you've never read any of the AoA material before, you are going to be left hanging a lot, and you'll be salivating to see how it all ends. The art throughout is excellent, and the stories are surprisingly gripping; something that is shocking to say the least considering that this is 90's X-Men we're talking about. All in all, the AoA storyline was a masterwork, and while how this TPB is collected isn't perfect, it's certainly better than Volume 1.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nothing like a good alternate-reality storyline, November 18, 2007

By	Thomas Awad (Montreal, QC, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Age of Apocalypse satisfies the inherent "What-If?" cravings that most readers are prey to: what is professor Xavier had died and his dream along with him? The Age of Apocalypse answers this questions in the most dramatic way possible.

First off, the technical issues: as mentioned, although this is labeled Book 2 by Marvel, it is in fact "Book 1", with the actual Book 1 containing one-off or self-contained stories that are not continuous in the main storyline. You may pick up this book without the previous one and not feel like you just jumped in midway.

... assuming you are already familiar with the X-Universe. There are at least 50 Characters in this Graphic Novel, almost all of whom are modified versions of existing characters in the mainstream Marvel Universe. As a casual comics reader (I'm 30, so my comics peak was in the late 80s) I could follow the connections between most of the characters, but Wikipedia came in handy on more than one occasion. True X-book readers will get more out of this one than I did, as I'm sure there are a ton of Easter Eggs lovingly planted for the long-time fans.

You're certainly getting good bang for your buck with this comic: it's almost 400 pages, about twice the length of ordinary graphic novels that retail for about the same price, and the art is beautiful. The story is also engrossing and not for the faint of heart: a genocide being perpetrated on non-mutant humanity is not a tale for small children, and the relationships between the characters are complex, even more so because they often subtly refer to the relationships between their mainstream counterparts.

Readers uninterested in the Marvel Universe should stay away: there are much more accessible superhero comics out there that are more unified, such as Alan Moore's Watchmen. But for anyone who enjoys Mutants and world-shattering storylines, it's hard to beat the Age of Apocalypse. On to Book 3!