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 # 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 # 181: "X-Men - Road to Onslaught Vol. 3"

Finally in part three of "Prelude to Onslaught" do we finally hit on some actually important pre-"Onslaught" moments as the "X-Men" franchise mainly under the direction of Scott Lobdell at this point continues to slowwwwwwwwly make its way to its next big event. Well, actually, in terms of time the proceedings are not that slow. There were so many annuals and special editions beyond the two main series themselves that you could find yourself with 3-to-4 X-Men comics coming out each month, and that doesn't even count the spinoffs.

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 # 176: "New Avengers Omnibus - Vol. 1"

After a mediocre run by Geoff Johns, the usual crap from Chuck Austen, and Mark Millar's "The Ultimates" showing off how cool the Avengers could be, it was time for a change. Cue Brian Michael Bendis, who had been kicking ass on "Ultimate Spider-Man," "Daredevil" and "Alias." But could he handle a team book?

The answer - at the time - was an emphatic "yes."

Review # 171: "Wolverine Epic Collection Vol. 1 - Madripoor Nights"

Great writers fuel great characters, and Wolverine has had quite a few. Larry Hama, Joss Whedon and Jason Aaron are among the many who have given Logan a great voice, but there is no one better than the man who gave Wolverine a great mind, Chris Claremont.

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."

Review # 154: "Uncanny Avengers - 'The Apocalypse Twins' and 'Ragnarok Now'"

The first volume of "Uncanny Avengers" played at having a mix between "Avengers" and Remender's previous "Uncanny X-Force." Now that mix is pretty much out the door: this is "Uncanny X-Force" with a new title.

And I am not complaining one bit.

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 # 135: "X-Men: Fall of the Mutants"

Regarded as the second major X-Men crossover, "Fall of the Mutants" takes a much better approach for its titles at the time than what had been done in its predecessor "Mutant Massacre." In essence, it's not a crossover at all - each series was slated to go through a significant change at exactly the same time under the same banner headline. This allowed the creators to do whatever they wanted and fail or succeed on their own merits.

Review # 133: "Age of Ultron"

"Age of Ultron" is a poorly-executed, confusing mess of an event comic with a misleading title that - for whatever reason - I found to be incredibly gripping from start to finish.

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.

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.