Review # 185: "X-Men - The Shattering"

Marvel made what SHOULD have been a good decision when it put Alan Davis in charge of the X-Men in the late 90s. With his quality work on "Excalibur," strong knowledge and dazzling art, along with the company's similar hiring philosophy propelling the "Avengers" to its all-time best run under Kurt Busiek and George Perez, this move should have turned the company's flagship franchise around. Unfortunately, things don't always work out that way as Davis offered up what is arguably the most disappointing story in X-Men history. "The Shattering" is NOT that story, but it sets it up.

Review # 168: "X-Men - Inferno Prologue"

Interesting technique being employed by Marvel with this omnibus, as "X-Men: Inferno Prologue" collects all material from "Uncanny X-Men," "New Mutants" and "X-Factor" between the crossovers "Fall of the Mutants" and "Inferno." If this is their model going forward - collecting the "big three" of the 80s in single collections - then I am all for it. Better to keep all of the setpieces in one place, even if it does create some unevenness in terms of quality.

Review # 165: "X-Men Vignettes"

Nothing beats finding rare collections at a comic convention. My latest trip from my favourite shelves at Ottawa Comiccon turned up two pieces of pure gold for an X-Men superfan like me: volumes one and two of "X-Men Vignettes."

Giant Size Review # 4: 90s X-Men ("Bishop's Crossing," "X-Cutioner's Song" and more)

I've gone on record before about how I'm not the biggest fan in the world of the writing during the Nicieza-Harras-Lobdell (NHL) era of the X-Men. While they had their flashes of brilliance, most of their work is far too wordy, is shallow (disguised as deep) and compromises a lot of the action on-page.

Review # 159: "X-Men - Dream's End"

The "X-Men" franchise was in a bad way at around the turn of the century. Bloated with content over the course of the 90's, the bottom had fallen out a few years earlier. Alan Davis couldn't save it, not even with the culmination of the Apocalypse "Twelve" story. So Marvel turned to the man who defined the title, Chris Claremont, bringing him back after creative differences drove him away about ten years prior.

And it didn't work.

Review # 150: "X-Men by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee Omnibus Vol. 2"

The second "X-Men by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee" omnibus is a piece of history as it redefines the series and sets it on the path to its greatest era of commercial success. Most of what happens here is an extended, gradual reset as Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman and Archangel are brought back into the fold and the team returns to the X-Mansion.

Review # 132: "X-Men: Mutant Massacre"

"Mutant Massacre" made X-Men history by being the first crossover between three X-family titles and is regarded by many as one of the greatest X-Men stories of all time. But while it has its share of memorable moments, I really can't say I agree.

Review # 129: "Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 2"

On the one hand, the second "Uncanny X-Men" omnibus by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Dave Cockrum isn't as fascinating as the first one.

Review # 128: "The Dark Phoenix Saga"

This is a write-up I have been looking forward to since I started this blog. With no reservations I can tell you that "The Dark Phoenix Saga" is my favourite comic book story of all time, one of my favourite stories of all time and my pick as the greatest in the history of its medium.

Review # 119: "Cable and X-Force - 'This Won't End Well' and 'Vendettas'"

When I bought the first collection of "Cable and X-Force" I noted that the series had potential with its character choices and was worth getting on the ground floor with. As Dennis Hopeless' run comes to a close, I feel like the elevator broke down.

Review # 103: "X-Men - Road to Onslaught Vol. 1"

A funny thing happened to the Lobdell/Nicieza/Harras-era X-Men franchise in the mid-90s: it got pretty darn good. While I personally find "The Age of Apocalypse" to be overrated, it's still excellent and I would argue as a counter that what immediately preceded and followed it was underrated as a whole.

Review # 89: "X-Men - A Skinning of Souls"

Partially out of completion, partially out of nostalgia and partially out of sadism, here I go again with some more 90s X-Men work from the Harras/Lobdell/Nicieza trio. Major credit to Marvel for continuing to fill the gaps between major events. This collects what happened in the pages of "X-Men" between what's been released in "X-Cutioner's Song" and "Fatal Attractions."

Review # 85: "Cable and X-Force: Dead or Alive"

"Cable and X-Force" is a great series provided you don't care about plot. The second volume is an entertaining read despite its lack of tension while character interaction continues to be a hoot.

Review # 76: "X-Men by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee Omnibus Vol. 1"

Even though I've gone through all the issues included here before, there's a bit of culture shock as the last Chris Claremont X-Men work I'd read was the omnibus collecting the start of his run up until the beginning of "The Dark Phoenix Saga." We're talking about a ten year gap and a definite shift in style as the X-Men storylines are darker and a lot more cruel to the characters. This is coming in at a key moment, as - after "Inferno" wrapped up years worth of stories in a single swoop - Claremont is spinning a trademark, complex web of narratives for the last time before his exit from the franchise he defined.

Review # 67: "Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1"

The re-launch of X-Men that began with "Giant Size X-Men # 1" is unlike anything else in comics. Under the pen of Chris Claremont, it revolutionized storytelling within the medium creating unrivaled, long-term, interwoven plots the likes of which had never been seen. He may not have created Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman and Angel. He may not have created Professor X and Magneto. He may not have created Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus. However, Claremont is without a doubt the father of the X-Men. He was on the book for nearly two straight decades, defining an entire sector of the Marvel Universe. Many of his plots have been adapted into major feature films and animated TV series. Some multiple times. The imprint he has left on his craft is massive.

Review # 64: "X-Infernus"

I love "Inferno." Well, the X-Men/X-Factor side of the story, to say. The crossover by Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri, Louise Simonson and Walt Simonson that rewrote the history of Jean Grey and Madelyne Pryor is the most well-executed retcon of all time with a breathtaking climax. Now, there was a third part involving the New Mutants that I never read, but it was the payoff to the years-long story of Illyana Rasputin - Colossus' sister - who had been abducted by Belasco - the ruler of Limbo - to become his successor.

Review # 63: "Uncanny X-Men - Lovelorn"

Matt Fraction is Marvel's golden boy right now with his acclaimed work on "Hawkeye" and "FF," but things weren't always rosy in the public eye. His run on "Uncanny X-Men" was not the most popular in the world and drove a few people away from the series. Frankly, I don't get the hate. Some criticize Fraction for making "Uncanny X-Men" the "Scott and Emma Show." But, really... who cares? They were the centre not only of the team at the time, but of mutantkind's place in the Marvel Universe. If you wanted Rogue and Gambit, there was "X-Men Legacy." If you wanted Nightcrawler and Colossus, there was "X-Infernus." Um... er... OK, maybe not. I'll get to that next time. If you wanted Wolverine, the man was EVERYWHERE, front-and-centre in his solo series and "X-Force," and it's not like he completely disappears while the X-Men are in San Francisco.

Review # 59: "Uncanny X-Men - Divided We Stand"

"Messiah Complex" went madly off in all directions, so it should be no surprise that its follow-up moves in a straight line. Well, two straight lines to be exact. The "Uncanny X-Men" portion of "Divided We Stand" focuses on two stories: Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Colossus taking a trip through Europe and Cyclops and Emma Frost taking some downtime of their own while simultaneously trying to locate team members who have disappeared.

Review # 20: "Cable and X-Force: Wanted"

"Cable and X-Force" is a sleeper hit in the making. Crawling from the ashes of Avengers vs. X-Men, it has Cable leading a new team that - at the start - seems to have committed a terrorist act. With recent members of Cyclops' X-Men as part of the group, it's not a situation that bodes well and has the Havok-led Uncanny Avengers at their door. In a Tarantino out-of-sequence style, "Wanted" outlines why the "attack" actually happened and how the new X-Force came to be. As you might expect, Cable's motivations weren't what they seemed. Sounds like fun. Unfortunately, at first, a lot of people didn't think so.

Review # 17: "X-Men: Fatal Attractions"

The X-Men of the Bob Harras/Scott Lobdell/Fabien Nicieza era can be best summed up in two words: "violent arguments." And I'm not talking about two people sitting across from the table furiously unleashing verbal barrages or each other. I'm talking about what 90s post-Chris Claremont X-Men comics had instead of fights. For every punch thrown, every claw snikt'd and every eye beam zakt'd there would be sentences upon sentences of philosophical posturing. While it's true that often there's too much conversation going on during superhero battles, under Harras' watch as editor (or "dictator" as implied by Claremont who quit over creative disputes,) the X-Men and their villains took it to another level.