Rating: 
Summary: For all X-Philes!!!
Review: As the title suggests, this book is essential for any lover of the X-Men, specifically what is now known as "Uncanny X-Men". This book will give the reader insights to how the X-Men were started, the relationships between the different characters, and tells many good stories in the process. All for a price that just makes sense considering how much it would cost to pick up all of these back-issues these days.
Rating: 
Summary: AWESOME!!!!!!!
Review: Being an X-Men fan i have read more current issue and still follow the X-Men from issue to issue but i wanted to read the early Claremont issues. Sure they are in black and white but to me the art looks better. The only draw back is the quality but i am not going to take a star from this book cause of this. In this volume we got great tales from the !! Spoilers !!! Death of Warbird, Cyclops and that fight with the demon, the birth of Phoenix, the steven Lang sentinels, a journey to the savage land and Japan, a duel with Magneto and several other great tales. Just to let you know the other three volumes are great but I will write three other reviews for each one....
But if you are new or old x fan pick this up!!!!!
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Summary: Essential X-Men is essential! reprints X-Men#GS#1,94-119!
Review: Essential X-Men is essential! This book reprints the classic X-Men Marvel Comic books by Chris Claremont, Len Wein, Dave Crockum, and John Byrne. the book reprints Unncany X-Men, Giant Size#1,#94-119. This book introduces the All New, All Differnt X-Men featuring the new group of Cyclopes, Storm, Wolverine,Nightcrawler,Peter Rasputin as Collosus, and Banshee. The Essential X-Men book is awsome because these X-Men issues are some of best the series ever produced. the only problem is that the Essential X-Men#1 is produced in Black & White. Buy it! Highly Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: The Saga begins.
Review: First - a warning - there's a very specific reason why this book, which ordinarily would warrant 5 stars, only get 4, and that's because it's printed on very cheap paper, in black & white and with a very soft and fragile cover. There. Grumbles out of the way, this is THE place to start for those curious about the saga of the X-men, but can't be bothered to search out the original comic books in second hand stores and feel intimidated by the massive amount of other titles readily available. Another thing, this really should be called "The Complete X-Men, vol. 1", not the "Essential", because this is the entire "modern day" saga, starting with Professor Xavier assembling the "new" team of X-men. It's well deserved that this version of the X-Men became a leading force in modern comics, as Chris Claremonts writing, which was excellent throughout his entire spell with the series, for the first time brought focus to the STORY. Sure, there were good stories written within the field of super-hero comics (DC were better than Marvel, in my opinion), but this was the first time quality of writing became as much a tour de force as quality of drawing. Later on, Claremont drew upon the (then) formidable talents of John Byrne, more or less re-defining what super-hero comics were about. The fact that Claremont also managed to make all the characters, supporting cast included, come alive within the confines of the genre, rather than just including a card-board-cut-out supporting cast, stands as a testament to the quality of the series. Long live the X-Men.
Rating:
Summary: The Saga begins.
Review: First - a warning - there's a very specific reason why this book, which ordinarily would warrant 5 stars, only get 4, and that's because it's printed on very cheap paper, in black & white and with a very soft and fragile cover. There. Grumbles out of the way, this is THE place to start for those curious about the saga of the X-men, but can't be bothered to search out the original comic books in second hand stores and feel intimidated by the massive amount of other titles readily available. Another thing, this really should be called "The Complete X-Men, vol. 1", not the "Essential", because this is the entire "modern day" saga, starting with Professor Xavier assembling the "new" team of X-men. It's well deserved that this version of the X-Men became a leading force in modern comics, as Chris Claremonts writing, which was excellent throughout his entire spell with the series, for the first time brought focus to the STORY. Sure, there were good stories written within the field of super-hero comics (DC were better than Marvel, in my opinion), but this was the first time quality of writing became as much a tour de force as quality of drawing. Later on, Claremont drew upon the (then) formidable talents of John Byrne, more or less re-defining what super-hero comics were about. The fact that Claremont also managed to make all the characters, supporting cast included, come alive within the confines of the genre, rather than just including a card-board-cut-out supporting cast, stands as a testament to the quality of the series. Long live the X-Men.
Rating:
Summary: Classic issues yes, but not the best collection
Review: First off I will say that the issues collected here from Chris Claremont's early legendary run on the X-Men are essential reads for any X-Men fan, but Marvel should have really put more thought and money into this volume of Essential X-Men. The entire book is in black and white, no color at all except for the covers of the book. Also, the cover itself is made of poor quality material and scratches up and tears easily. All that aside, this TPB brings us the new team of X-Men which includes Wolverine and Banshee, and also introduces us to Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Storm. The new X-Men face off against Magneto, Juggernaut, the Shi'ar, and we also see the death of a fellow X-Man who actually managed to stay dead for quite some time (and in the Marvel universe, especially in the X-Men universe, that is a hard thing to do). All in all, this collection is a good pick up for any X-Men fan, just beware before you buy.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth Buying
Review: For the price you can't beat this book. If you had to search the back issue shelves of comic stores to track down these issues, it would take years and thousands of dollars to complete this collection. The stories in this Volume are enjoyable and, after some early growing pains (from Giant Size X-Men until about X-Men 103), this volume really takes off. Chris Claremont really gets a handle on the characters mid-way through this volume and the artwork of Dave Cockrum and John Byrne (inked by Terry Austin) shines throughout. Sure it would have been great if these issues were reproduced in color, but if they had been we would probably be paying over $60 for each volume. I, for one, appreciate the fact that these issues have been reproduced in a version that is easy on the wallet.
Rating:
Summary: Contrary to popular opinion...
Review: I actually LIKE the fact that this book is in black & white. The art in this book is amazing--very representative of the period in which comic book art reached its zenith. Without the addition of color, one gets a better feel of the craftsmanship involved. As for the stories themselves, the title is correct--this IS essential for any X-Men fan. It tells how the New X-Men get formed. Also, the tone of comics darkened in this period, so we get X-Men fighting demons and the like. We see the New X-Men's first encounter with Magneto. We get to journey to the Savage Land, and we get the Phoenix Saga. Definitely worth the investment for X-Fans.
Rating:
Summary: The "Second Genesis" of the Uncanny X-Men
Review: I greeted the new and improved X-Men with less than open arms. I had been a big fan of the original Uncanny X-Men, which had gone out in a blaze of glory with comics drawn by Jim Steranko and Neal Adams. When Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum revived the title in 1975, after "X-Men" had been reduced to a reprint comic, I was not overly thrilled with the decision to jettison most of the original group. If Cyclops had not stayed then I might have given up on the title right then and there, but this was the old days when you could still buy every title in the Marvel universe for about five bucks (remember, this was when you could fill up your car and get change back on a $5 bill). So I stuck around and saw how Claremont, Cockrum, and John Byrne turned the "X-Men" into one of the premier comic books in the land. The original strength of the X-Men was that their being hunted mutants served as a subtext for various issues involving social prejudice. Claremont and Cockrum put that in an international context by having Professor X go around the world to recruit his second generation of merry mutants recruiting from the mountains of Kenya to behind the Iron Curtain. This time around we find not only that the X-Men are no longer all white, they are also not all as young as before (Banshee qualifies more as a contemporary of Charles Xavier). Also thrown into the mix is their disparate temperaments; early issues always have Wolverine and Thunderbird in a contest to see who can blow up first. This first volume in the "Essential X-Men" series (not to be confused with the single volume released of the "Essential Uncanny X-Men") contains "Giant Size X-Men" #1 and issues #94-119 of "X-Men." The new X-Men are put together to rescue the old X-Men, at which point the question becomes: what do you do with thirteen X-Men? The answer is to get down to a half-dozen by having all of the original X-Men leave except for Cyclops, to have one of the new X-Men decide not to play, and then you are down to seven, one of whom is doomed to die (and if you pay attention to the group logo on the cover you can see that they telegraphed their choice from the start). All things considered, the new X-Men are an improvement over the original group, not only in terms of their powers but also in terms of their secret identities. I mean, all things considered all Angel could do was fly and the Beast was a muscular acrobat with lots of brains (the decision to make him blue and furry admits to the character's liabilities). Storm is an exotic elemental queen trying to fit in with regular folk and Colossus remains a man-child at heart, even in this brave new world. Most importantly, Wolverine makes the Thing look like a cuddly teddy bear, giving the group a dangerous edge. Claremont liked to skate as close to that edge as possible, and eventually he would send the series over the edge with his Dark Phoenix plotline. Ultimately the idea of recreating the X-Men is more interesting than most of the particular stories being told in this collection. Far and away the best storyline is after Bryne comes on board as an artist when the new X-Men have to encounter the first and still greatest villain in the series, Magneto (#111-113). As Cyclops says when the bad guy finally emerges, "Lord, no! We're still nowhere near ready." What makes this work is that this is not an ultimate battle, but rather it is the first of many major conflicts between these characters. The aftermath in Ka-Zar's Hidden Land (#114-116) is also above average and the arrival of Lilandra holds the promise of taking the X-Men to the stars and beyond. Clearly Claremont and Byrne work best when they open up the scope of their stories to three issues or more. This first collection is devoted primarily for establishing the foundation for what is to come, but by the end Claremont and Byrne are clearly moving upward and onward.
Rating:
Summary: In the begining
Review: I have always loved the X-men. My cousin and I grew up reading these comics. These "Essential" series comics are great. they are a cheap way to catch up on all the ones I missed as well as reading those issues I fondly remember. I really like the fact that I can read them from the begining, and with out gaps (I hate getting a comic book that keeps refering to an issue I don't have.)
For many the fact that they are black and white, has been a problem, but I still have many of my old issues, and I found that in general the black and white "essential" was clearer.
I got over the lack of color quickly (However my ten year old nephew keeps telling me to get them in color, so maybe its just me.)
I plan on buying all of the Marvel Essentials books; I think they are great.
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