Rating: 
Summary: Great Sequel, with some flaws
Review: Actually it's probably misleading to call this a sequel; its not so much an all-new adventure as it is "Act II". The same trials and tribulations that took place in Earth X are still going on, its just now there are different players and goals. With Earth X, you probably thought every dark corner of Marvel Lore had been fully plumbed. You were wrong, as Ross and co, go even farther, bringing back lotsa characters the average Marvel zombie might have long forgotten (Gargoyle! The Micronauts!)
Like Earth X, Universe X (and this review applies to both volumes) is indispensible and you'll go back to it over and over again.
There are however two problems with the book: the big one being the artwork. It's not bad but a project like this deserves more majesty--something along the lines of what Ross did in Marvels. If painted pages would have been too costly, you would have liked to see some computer enhanced imagery as is so common today. You might have though Marvel would take a page from DC's books --when they've got a big deal story they get Ross the painter or George Perez or someone along those lines. But the art here is strictly run-of-the-mill; it's to the story's credit that it can rise above. I had the same complaint with Earth X, but at least there the drab, grim art complemented the story. Here, the art is too 'comic-booky'. The only part where this is good is in the Spider-Man 'flash-forward' scenes. (you'll see what I mean) The other problem is the lack of reference material. If you don't own the complete run of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, or havent been reading Marvel comics for at least 20 years you could be hopelessly lost trying to make heads or tales out of this story. I'm grateful that they didn't stick
90 mutants in this epic, and also for the many in-jokes and sight gags, but some of the more obscure people, places and things deserve a footnote of sort so that younger readers wouldn't be completely left out.
Those objections aside, this is a worthy buy.
s
Rating:
Summary: Great Sequel, with some flaws
Review: Actually it's probably misleading to call this a sequel; its not so much an all-new adventure as it is "Act II". The same trials and tribulations that took place in Earth X are still going on, its just now there are different players and goals. With Earth X, you probably thought every dark corner of Marvel Lore had been fully plumbed. You were wrong, as Ross and co, go even farther, bringing back lotsa characters the average Marvel zombie might have long forgotten (Gargoyle! The Micronauts!)
Like Earth X, Universe X (and this review applies to both volumes) is indispensible and you'll go back to it over and over again.
There are however two problems with the book: the big one being the artwork. It's not bad but a project like this deserves more majesty--something along the lines of what Ross did in Marvels. If painted pages would have been too costly, you would have liked to see some computer enhanced imagery as is so common today. You might have though Marvel would take a page from DC's books --when they've got a big deal story they get Ross the painter or George Perez or someone along those lines. But the art here is strictly run-of-the-mill; it's to the story's credit that it can rise above. I had the same complaint with Earth X, but at least there the drab, grim art complemented the story. Here, the art is too 'comic-booky'. The only part where this is good is in the Spider-Man 'flash-forward' scenes. (you'll see what I mean) The other problem is the lack of reference material. If you don't own the complete run of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, or havent been reading Marvel comics for at least 20 years you could be hopelessly lost trying to make heads or tales out of this story. I'm grateful that they didn't stick
90 mutants in this epic, and also for the many in-jokes and sight gags, but some of the more obscure people, places and things deserve a footnote of sort so that younger readers wouldn't be completely left out.
Those objections aside, this is a worthy buy.
s
Rating:
Summary: Great Sequel, with some flaws
Review: Actually it's probably misleading to call this a sequel; its not so much an all-new adventure as it is "Act II". The same trials and tribulations that took place in Earth X are still going on, its just now there are different players and goals. With Earth X, you probably thought every dark corner of Marvel Lore had been fully plumbed. You were wrong, as Ross and co, go even farther, bringing back lotsa characters the average Marvel zombie might have long forgotten (Gargoyle! The Micronauts!)
Like Earth X, Universe X (and this review applies to both volumes) is indispensible and you'll go back to it over and over again.
There are however two problems with the book: the big one being the artwork. It's not bad but a project like this deserves more majesty--something along the lines of what Ross did in Marvels. If painted pages would have been too costly, you would have liked to see some computer enhanced imagery as is so common today. You might have though Marvel would take a page from DC's books --when they've got a big deal story they get Ross the painter or George Perez or someone along those lines. But the art here is strictly run-of-the-mill; it's to the story's credit that it can rise above. I had the same complaint with Earth X, but at least there the drab, grim art complemented the story. Here, the art is too 'comic-booky'. The only part where this is good is in the Spider-Man 'flash-forward' scenes. (you'll see what I mean) The other problem is the lack of reference material. If you don't own the complete run of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, or havent been reading Marvel comics for at least 20 years you could be hopelessly lost trying to make heads or tales out of this story. I'm grateful that they didn't stick
90 mutants in this epic, and also for the many in-jokes and sight gags, but some of the more obscure people, places and things deserve a footnote of sort so that younger readers wouldn't be completely left out.
Those objections aside, this is a worthy buy.
s
Rating: 
Summary: Tiresome Exposition X
Review: As someone who grew up on Marvel comics and has a particular taste for dystopic alternate universe stories, I should be the ideal audience for this whole X series. But I'll tell ya - it isn't quite working for me. The first volume, Earth X, mostly suffered from muddy drawing - could anyone really tell the bedraggled bearded figures of Reed Richards, Tony Stark, and Steven Strange apart? - and an overly expository script. I went back and forth, but finally decided that I liked it OK. But this volume really wore on me and made me feel foolish for buying it. If Earth X suffered from too much exposition, this volume positively grinds to a halt and stays there most of the time. I can't remember any dialogue that isn't itself exposition. Yaaawn. And where Earth X was a little too complex in its winding and unwinding of forty years of Marvel continuity, what we've got here is positively byzantine. So what is this book? It's sumptuous covers by Alex Ross that are the best thing about it. It's clearer interior art by various artists, some borderline good, some pretty bad. It's older versions of your favorite characters acting out of character, plus new characters that you don't much care about. It's a plot-free prologue to whatever Paradise X is going to be. It's tiresome and frustrating. Like Earth X, it's an ode to the "What If?" comics that I loved, and because it is I'll probably even buy the next volume, god help me. But if you don't have my peculiar complex, don't bother.
Rating: 
Summary: This is like a Seinfeld episode.
Review: Earth X was an overblown story about nothing. This sequal to it, is also about nothing. Including very bad artwork.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I bought both volumes of Universe X without knowing Earth X was the first part of the story and proceeded to read them the second I got back from the store. I absolutely loved them. I imagine reading Earth X first would have illuminated certain areas of the story but everything was explained very well and I thought the story overall was great. I have always liked alternate reality comics, such as "What If".....Peter Parker hadn't gotten bitten by the spider?......Germany used the super soldier formula first?....etc.etc. So when I saw a huge graphic novel written and drawn by Ross and Krueger I had to get it. While Universe X mentions in passing what happened to some of the more mainstream hero's and villians in Earth X so you don't get lost, I have to go out tomorrow and buy it to get a more detailed account. I recommend this highly! This series is wonderfully drawn and extremely well told. I found it to be entertaining and very enlightening as Krueger's story was at times very philisophical. Also, since this story is very complex, a high level of knowledge of the Marvel Universe and it's characters is recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Bold and Exciting Story
Review: I felt moved to write this review after seeing a negative review about this book and hearing my local comic book propietor complain about this series as a "money-making scheme". Okay, I can't say much there because that is one thing that I do agree on, the comics and this trade paperback are woefully overpriced. Especially when you consider that this is only half of the Universe X series and you can expect to spend $50 for the entire collection. That having been said, I absolutely LOVE this series. I have read it so far in trade form and find that I cannot put the books down. I think it is fascinating to see how the characters I was so enthralled with growing up would fare in a possible abyssmal future. I believe the authors have done an amazing job of weaving the origin stories and practically all of the major events in these characters' evolution into a complex story in which each of these events serves a cosmic, karmic purpose. It is obvious that they did their homework. I admit that this volume is somewhat confusing but it makes more sense as it goes along which I believe makes it challenging rather than frustrating. Also, I found the three "one-shots" in this volume to be spectacular. The Spiderman one, "Spidey" was the best written comic I have read in a long time and reminded me why Spiderman is so appealing and why I still feel as affected by that character as I did when I was 5 and 15 years old (and now, for that matter). Obviously, I am with this series for the long haul. I look forward to the next volume. My advice: don't believe the (negative) hype!
Rating:
Summary: This is like a Seinfeld episode.
Review: I had stopped buying comics when I discovered Earth X #0. It looked like the nifty Marvels, which I had wanted but not badly enough to purchase. But I wasn't sure I wanted to buy it until I had read some others, and by then it was too late to find back issues. Eventually I found and bought the paperback. The same happened with Universe X (though I'm still trying to find the second volume--I don't know why the first one wasn't listed as such here). Both X-series take a long hard look at the basic assumptions that underlie the tales of favorite comic heroes and villians. The origin of their abilities, yes, but more importantly, why they should take on the roles they do. Though I have to admit I've read too many conspiracy stories to look kindly on them, the notion that the superpowered denizens of Marvel's Earth have been in the dark all along somehow works well. Unfortunately, the quality of the art in Universe X is uneven and lacks the consistent darkness that made Earth X feel as gritty as it did (and actually made me notice artwork quality for practically the first time). With the exception of the Spidey sideline, where the four-color art served an obvious purpose, I'd have preferred that the same artists have done this series in the same manner as Earth X.
Rating:
Summary: Story Good, Art Bad
Review: I had stopped buying comics when I discovered Earth X #0. It looked like the nifty Marvels, which I had wanted but not badly enough to purchase. But I wasn't sure I wanted to buy it until I had read some others, and by then it was too late to find back issues. Eventually I found and bought the paperback. The same happened with Universe X (though I'm still trying to find the second volume--I don't know why the first one wasn't listed as such here). Both X-series take a long hard look at the basic assumptions that underlie the tales of favorite comic heroes and villians. The origin of their abilities, yes, but more importantly, why they should take on the roles they do. Though I have to admit I've read too many conspiracy stories to look kindly on them, the notion that the superpowered denizens of Marvel's Earth have been in the dark all along somehow works well. Unfortunately, the quality of the art in Universe X is uneven and lacks the consistent darkness that made Earth X feel as gritty as it did (and actually made me notice artwork quality for practically the first time). With the exception of the Spidey sideline, where the four-color art served an obvious purpose, I'd have preferred that the same artists have done this series in the same manner as Earth X.
Rating:
Summary: a good read
Review: universe x has better art and is easier to follow than its predecessor, earth x. both are highly recommended though
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