X-Men Visionaries: Jim Lee TPB [Paperback]

Chris Claremont (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (October 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785109218
• ISBN-13: 978-0785109211
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,030,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Jim Lee era, part 1, July 27, 2008

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: X-Men Visionaries: Jim Lee TPB (Paperback)

In the early1990's the X-Men were the best selling comics around, and that had a lot to do with superstar artist Jim Lee. Lee's stylized and action-oriented artwork was the perfect counterpart to Chris Claremont's dynamic characters, and he soon became the definitive X-Men artist, as well as one of the decade's most imitated. The X-Men: Visionaries - Jim Lee trade paperback collects every single issue of Uncanny X-Men that Jim Lee worked on, including:

Uncanny X-Men #248 - This throwaway Nanny story was really only significant for being Lee's first issue on the title.

Uncanny X-Men #256-258 - This killer 3-part series, which was part of Marvel's Acts of Vengeance crossover, brought Wolverine back to Asia, completely overhauled the Psylocke character, and put our heroes up against the Hand and the Mandarin. This story, which drew inspiration from the best Asian cinema, was one of the most memorable Claremont/Lee collaborations.

Uncanny X-Men #268 - Still regarded as one of the best single-issue X-Men stories of all time, this issue chronicled the first meeting of Wolverine and Captain America, and brought their adventure full circle 50 years later. The Black Widow also plays a major role.

Uncanny X-Men #269 - This issue features Rogue in a solo adventure that takes her all the way to the Savage Land to encounter none other than Magneto. This one sets the bar pretty high for all future "hot chick in the jungle" stories!

Uncanny X-Men #273-277 - This storyline is focused on two major events. The first features Rogue, Magneto, Ka-Zar, and Nick Fury in the Savage Land against the new mistress of magnetism Zaladane. The second finds the rest of the X-Men sent to space to encounter the Shi'Ar, the Starjammers, and their mentor Professor X. The question is who are the good guys and who is really pulling the strings? These issues also brought new characters Gambit and Jubilee into the fold and set the stage for Jim Lee's best-selling X-Men relaunch.

Since the stories don't all interconnect, it's hard to look at this as a cohesive story, but most of the storylines here are very impressive. Claremont had his faults (try a drinking game where you have to take a drink every time Psylocke explains exactly what her psychic knife does), but he put together some wild tales here. Lee's artwork is nothing short of incredible. It's probably his best X-Men artwork overall, and looking at these pages it's easy to see how he became such a superstar.

My only real complaint with this collection is that given the very high cover price they should have made it a hardcover. The interior pages are sturdy and much glossier than the originals, so why not give it a more durable outer cover, especially if you're going to charge a hardcover price.

Still, that's a minor complaint. Overall this collection is still the most attractive, most affordable way to experience Jim Lee's entire Uncanny X-Men output in one hefty volume.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jim Lee draws the X-Men!, March 1, 2004

By 

Edmund Lau Kok Ming (Malaysia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: X-Men Visionaries: Jim Lee TPB (Paperback)

This book should be titled "How to draw the X-Men by Jim Lee". Seriously. The stories here are nothing to shout about though the Claremont wit is to be seen in many panels. The real draw of the book is Lee's art which is gloriously reproduced here. For those of us who grew up in the 1980s, we felt this revolution firsthand. Comic books would never be the same again after Lee. The impact of his hyper-detailed, solid-bodied art hit comic-readers the way Neal Adams did in the 1970s. Lee understands the iconism and sexiness of superhero comics and display his knack for capturing both with his pencils (aided by inker Scott Williams).

The highlights:
1) Lee draws the best one-page splash Captain America EVER!
2) Psylocke's transformation from English lady to sexy Asian assassin.
3) The Crossing storyline - see Jim Lee draw cosmic! Shiar, the Imperial Guard, the Starjammers, etc.
4) The Magneto/Rogue Savage Land storyline - Jim Lee's Magneto is unbelievable. Regal, majestic and sexy at the same time. This is a Magneto that a girl will fall in love with - and literally does - the girl in question, unlikely as it is, Rogue! See also Jim Lee's drawing of Nick Fury, the SHIELD helicarrier and Kazar.

Get this volume and the following volume, "X-Men: Mutant Genesis" for the greatest X-Men eye-candy in history.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but not an ideal intro, March 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: X-Men Visionaries: Jim Lee TPB (Paperback)

This is a really fun little graphic novel, loaded with great artwork and a decent storyline. I wouldn't recommend it as a first-time read for anyone unfamiliar with the X-Men - taken out of context from the overall series - it might be a somewhat confusing introduction. But for those who know the characters and have a general idea of what is going on, believe me, this one delivers the goods.

In the past, I have generally hated the X-Men's adventures in the Savage Land, or whenever they would go to outer space or get into really super sci-fi type situations. I always felt the X-Men stories worked much better when they were grounded in very normal, down-to-earth settings, because it made the X-Men themselves stand out and seem that much weirder. But this book is an exception to the rule. It's a big, crazy, larger-than-life adventure, part of which takes place in the prehistoric Savage Land, and part of which gets hyper technological, and it works out OK.

The artwork is tough and gritty. Jim Lee draws a mean, shadowy, ugly Wolverine who kills lots of villains and looks like he needs to take a shower very badly.

And Lee's women - whoa. This book contains more gratuitous cheescake shots than any X-Men graphic novel I've seen, but it's all very pleasing to the eye. Especially the scenes with Rogue, whose bare skin can kill anyone she touches and thus, understandably, was always the one major female character who kept herself completely covered at all times. This was the first storyline in the series where they finally drew her as a scantily-clad, sexy heroine. A real treat for male Rogue-fans who'd been reading the series patiently for years.

This storyline also chronicles the transformation of innocent young Psylocke into a mature woman trained in the art of Ninjitsu, and she becomes an ultra-violent, sexy bad girl. And then there are cameo appearances by other Marvel superheroes, namely Captain America (from the Avengers series) and The Black Widow (from the Daredevil series). All in all, it's a satisfying, action-packed, well-drawn, crowd-pleasing comic book in trade-paperback format.