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Rating: 
Summary: Classic X-Stories in an affordable and attractive format
Review: Give credit to Marvel Comics for their aggressive and wide-ranging program of re-printing classic comics: in formats for all ages and budgets, Marvel has released reissues of their groundbreaking comic books in hardcover (Marvel Masterworks), softcover (graphic novel reprints and the b/w "Essentials" collections), comic book format, and now the new "Backpack Marvels": digest-sized collection of 7-8 comic book classics. This book reprints Uncanny X-Men #167-173, featuring top X-Men scribe Chris Claremont's writing and artwork on the book by Paul Smith and a fill-in issue by the great Walt Simonson. Fans of the recent X-Men movie will find this collection easier to get into than the current comic book (most of the characters in this collection appear in the movie: Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, and Storm). This truly is classic, almost 'primal' X-Men: originally published in the years before there were ten or twelve X-books with complicated and conflicting storylines, month after month Claremont told some of the most entertaining and eloquent tales in the four-color medium. There's such a good range of stories in here: the X-Men's return from battling the Brood, the introduction of the Morlocks and Madeleine Pryor, Rogue's admission into the X-Men--much different than the movie version!--and best of all, a Wolverine/Rogue team-up story that's so well-written, so powerfully drawn (check out the amazing, Frank Miller-inspired silent fight sequence) that the ending leaves a tear in your eye and you hardly notice Wolverine is absent for the first half of this collection. Smith's artwork is clean and crisp and reproduces well in black and white at this slightly reduced size, and even with today's computerized lettering companies, for my money there's still no better letterer in the business than Tom Orzechowski. Only one complaint: I would have liked to see a "story so far" introduction. The collection starts abruptly, dropping the X-Men into a conflict with the New Mutants after an adventure in outer space (the ramifications of which drastically affect Professor X). A summary of what had gone on before and a brief introduction to the characters would have been useful to the first-time reader. That said, I'm hoping there *are* plenty of new readers for this book and this format: one of Marvel's challenges in the 21st century is to find a wider and new audience for comic books as a whole. This attractive package, affordable price, and classic collection of stories may be what the industry needs to sell comics outside the traditional comic book store market. I can easily see this attractive little volume being sold at newsstands, airport gift shops, bookstores, and more.
Rating:
Summary: "extended reading" for the lost soul
Review: if you are like me, you read all three of the "essential x-men" books cover to cover. Sure, the third installment was a little weak, but i still enjoyed it. I was pretty sure that an essential x-men 4 was an impossibility due to marvels tight budget so i thought i was doomed at a fate of never reading an issue past issue #161. A month later, i saw "the brood saga" available at amazon.com. I knew that that title directly followed the essentiel x-men 3. But its sole review was a bad one, telling me it was a no-buy. So i didnt buy it. I then saw "x-men from the ashes", which recounted issues about #167 to #173. i ordered it only to find it not available. I then truly thought i was doomed until i found this book, which succesfully reprints 167- 173 in chapter book size. these are good stories that can fit in you pocket. Buy this.
Rating:
Summary: "extended reading" for the lost soul
Review: if you are like me, you read all three of the "essential x-men" books cover to cover. Sure, the third installment was a little weak, but i still enjoyed it. I was pretty sure that an essential x-men 4 was an impossibility due to marvels tight budget so i thought i was doomed at a fate of never reading an issue past issue #161. A month later, i saw "the brood saga" available at amazon.com. I knew that that title directly followed the essentiel x-men 3. But its sole review was a bad one, telling me it was a no-buy. So i didnt buy it. I then saw "x-men from the ashes", which recounted issues about #167 to #173. i ordered it only to find it not available. I then truly thought i was doomed until i found this book, which succesfully reprints 167- 173 in chapter book size. these are good stories that can fit in you pocket. Buy this.
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