Review # 188: "New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection Vol. 1"

After the X-Men died a slow death through "The Twelve" and "Ages of Apocalypse," it wandered like an undead zombie shambling through stories involving the High Evolutionary and the intergalactic community. Alan Davis was trying, bless him, but the series was in such dire need of rehab it seemed like there was nothing Marvel could do to fix things.

Review # 187: "X-Men - Ages of Apocalypse"

Upon reading "Ages of Apocalypse" and "The Search For Cyclops" (also included here,) I have no doubt you will agree that at this time the X-Men franchise needed to be taken out back and shot.

Review # 186: "X-Men - The Twelve"

With the X-Men franchise sagging, "The Twelve" is like a Hail Mary pass. It's presented as the be all/end all story for the villain Apocalypse. Unfortunately, the Hail Mary plunks on the 12 yard line with everyone waiting in the endzone.

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 # 184: "X-Men - Operation Zero Tolerance"

"Operation Zero Tolerance" is the practical endpoint for the X-Men under Scott Lobdell. While he lingers for another few issues, this is the last major story of his seven years on the title, not counting a brief return at the start of the millennium. As far as swan songs go, it's not bad. But it's not great either.

Review # 180: "Age of Apocalypse" - Sidestories

These sidestories are collected in an unusual way sequentially. Most of these stories were included in "Age of Apocalypse: The Complete Epic Vol. 1" due to chronology as the majority take place before where AoA truly began, "X-Men Alpha." If the Complete Epic volumes are what you've come across, I recommend reading this after Vol. 2. Even then, I might avoid reading "X-Man '96" before you see Sugar Man for the first time in "Generation Next." That happens towards the end of volume 3. It's optimal to discover the AoA universe as originally presented, then dive into the background before story matters truly escalate.

It should also be noted that all of these are included in the AoA companion omnibus that was released far more recently.

So, let's get to it:

Review # 179: "Age of Apocalypse"

I think what I like the most about "Age of Apocalypse" is its organization. Melding so many titles together into one story is difficult at the best of times, let alone one in which you've just created an entirely new universe where the patriarch of the X-Men was killed before the team could be formed. Each series can be divided into one of two categories: it either furthers the plot of restoring shattered history, or explores the crises this world is facing.

Review # 178: "Age of Apocalypse Prelude"

I feel pretty comfortable calling "Age of Apocalypse" the best comic book crossover of the 90's, for whatever that's worth. For my money it is the only "X-Men" story arc from the Nicieza-Harras-Lobdell trinity that stacks up with anything that came before or has come since. It was a project birthed from wild ambition, sequenced perfectly and executed soundly. All to examine what the world of the X-Men would be like if Charles Xavier had not been around to form them.

Ah, but in the lead-in lies a flaw.

Giant Size Review # 5: X-Men by Bendis

Brian Michael Bendis' X-Men run is starting to show promise on the other side of "Battle of the Atom." Moving the All-New X-Men to the Cyclops camp allows the time-displaced original team to confront some of its issues without ongoing distractions, while Scott's newly-discovered charges are beginning to come into their own as characters. But there are still some bumps in the road, including one of the most befuddling crossovers in recent memory.

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 # 161: "X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 1 - 'Children of the Atom'"

Stan Lee is one hell of a creator. But I don't need to tell you that. His mark on popular culture grows by the day as franchises attached to his name have become multimedia phenomena, shattering records worldwide. Lee deserves all the praise he receives.

However, he is not perfect.

Review # 160: "The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix"

As far as characters go, Cable is pretty ridiculous. Nathan Christopher Summers is this grizzled, battle-hardened half-metal dude with a cybernetic eye who carries ridiculously-sized guns to shoot things. Oh, and he's possibly the most powerful mutant of all-time. Oh, and that's because of genetic engineering by way of fraud. Oh, and he's the son of Cyclops and a clone of Jean Grey. Oh, and he's also this messianic figure for a religious cult. Oh, and he's from the future. Oh, and he's not really from the future. Oh, and he has a psychotic clone who was raised by Apocalypse.

Get all that?

Giant Size Review # 3: "Civil War" Tie-Ins

I think "Civil War" is a great story on its own, despite a lot of its character motives requiring a level of explanation. Fortunately, some of that exists in its supplemental material. There is some truly great work outside of the main series, be it with added background, added drama or angles you hadn't thought of. Unfortunately, some of the tie-ins are pure rot. You're about to get examples of all.

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 # 145: "X-Men - X-Tinction Agenda"

Welcome to the 90s, X-Men.

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.

Giant Size Review # 2: The State of the X-Men ("Amazing X-Men," "No More Humans," and more)

Another Giant Size review! This time, the central topic is the current state of the X-Men where the question of the day is: Why does Brian Michael Bendis have to be in charge? Come to think of it: who is in charge at all?

Review # 130: "X-Men - Days of Future Past"

"Days of Future Past" is one of the greatest X-Men stories ever. The concept of a time-traveler from a bleak future venturing to the past was a fresh idea at the time, as beaten into the ground as it's become now. Still, there's a reason why pop culture keeps going back to it: when done correctly, it works. Look no further than the X-Men film based on this very title.