X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 1: Destiny (Xtreme) [Paperback]

Chris Claremont (Author), Salvador Larroca (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

Trade paperback.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785108416
• ISBN-13: 978-0785108412
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Claremont, May 29, 2002

By 

Za'chary Westbrook "Jericho" (Salem, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 1: Destiny (Xtreme) (Paperback)

If you aren't familiar with the evolution, history and norms of X-men over the last decade, this book just looks like a particularly good looking set of cliches with a somewhat confusing story. However, X-men folowers will recognize that there's almost no such thing as clighes with Claremont as he created all of them. Back in the eighties and early nineties, Claremont reinvented the X-men from the nerdy, high school rejects that Stan Lee created, into snazzy looking heroes that were feared by a non-mutant familiar society. Claremont is also credited with the creation of Rogue. In this series, the southern belle with voices in her head has gone from sassy tomboy with a streaked mane of teased hair, to a quiet loner with a cropped look that betrays a certain feeling of repentance. This reinvention of Rogue isn't 100% though, as Rogue smiles when she and Gambit are kicking Triad [behind] in Australia. The plot is a little hard to follow, and Claremont has a proclivity towards 'down-time' issues. 'Dreamtime seranade' is one of these issues, and while it gives artist Salvador Larrocca a chance to stretch his legs (an incredible visual pay-off), Claremont lays back and the plot starts to disappear. One thing that's interesting about Claremont's style is how he multi-tasks. In Australia, the team investigates charges that Gambit killed veteran X-men badguy Viceroy. To accomplish this Storm and Thunderbird go in search of Viceroy's rumored children as (if they exist) would be targets for whoever killed Viceroy. Bishop looks into the killing, pretending to be an Australian federal investigator. Bishop manages to offend Rogue who runs off, finds Gambit and the two of them search for Viceroy's real killer. Sage all the while gets into a fight with Lady Mastermind and the Hellfire Club. The stories are interesting, but can be confusing at times since they don't tie together. My real complaints, though, lie in the formatting. Claremont takes into consideration that his book may be the first X-men story ever read by someone, so he takes precautions not to lose the virgins, but the constant message boxes reiderating stuff you read two pages ago (though on original release was a month ago) can get annoying. But between Claremont's classic storytelling and Larroca's gorgeous artwork (one of the book's gimicks is a lack of an inker), the book is really a terrific read.
Something to note is that this book runs parrallel to New X-men, so buying this alongside one of 'X-men: E is for Extinction' is recommended.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars X-Treme X-Men - one of the best out there, June 7, 2002

By 

Nicholas DiSabatino (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 1: Destiny (Xtreme) (Paperback)

If you're an X-Men fan like myself, then you'll love this backpack collection of X-Treme X-Men #1-9. Christopher Claremont and Salvadora Lacorra deliver a jam packed adventure featuring some of Marvel's most popular characters on the quest for Irene Adler (Destiny's) diaries, which predict the future of the world. IF put into the wrong hands the world is doomed. Rogue, Storm, Bishop, Thunderbird, Psylocke, Beast, Sage,Gambit, and new recruits Slipstream, Lifeguard, and Red Lotus face off against the assasin Vargas. In an around the world adventure the team travels from Spain to Australia. But what price will they pay? Will they be willing to sacrifice their own for the sake of the cause? For the sake of the dream? Join the X-Treme X-Men in a tale filled with awesome writing and beautifully detailed art work by Claremont and Lacorra. X-Treme X-Men is the one for any true X-Men fan!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Claremont for Today, March 4, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 1: Destiny (Xtreme) (Paperback)

Chris Claremont, as you may have heard, is known in the comic-reading circle as "Mr. X-Men". That's not difficult to understand seeing how the man has been involved with the X-books for close to 30 years or so (his very public exit in the 1992 notwithstanding). Here in the "X-treme X-Men" title is Claremont Updated for Today. And here, he teams with his art-partner from his run on Fantastic Four, the hyper-talented Salvador Larroca, to give us a very modern, very hip and very sexy X-Men team.

The premise of the story is this: the X-Treme team gets away from the rest of the X-Men to embark on a mission of their own. Their objective: to obtain the diaries of the late mutant precog, Irene Adler/Destiny, who supposedly records the future of the world. The main reason they are the "away" team is because they are also trying their best to prevent the diaries from falling into the hands of their mentor, Charles Xavier! Claremont does some fine explanation that in some way Xavier is as dangerous as Magneto (Magneto is a fanatic and Xavier is an idealist). Along the way, they meet a new villain called Vargas who did major damage to the team (even killing one of them).

As usual, Claremont's writing is very, very wordy and expositional. But for long time readers like me, that is exactly why we love the man. Today's readers seem to like the "wide-screen" storytelling of writers like Mark Millar and Warren Ellis. Claremont is old-school compared to them, having served under the editorships of men like Len Wein and Jim Shooter. And that's why he works for me - I always feel like having READ something after one of his issues. Furthermore, his scripts have this mesmerizing quality in them that can get pretty addictive after a while - you'll know what I mean if you talk to any 1970s/80s comic reader.

Salvador Larroca's pencils are beautiful. I especially like how he draws facial expressions. He is equally adept at large-scale action scenes as he is with the quieter, more introspective moments. As a bonus, his pencils are un-INKED in X-treme X-Men. The overall effect is a somewhat dream-like comic experience. The only downside is that some panels come off rather blur in this first volume. But rest assured, his pencils are more legible in the second and third volume of this series.