beorn_101's review
5.0
Probably one of my favorite graphics novels read to date, I have read this 3-4 times over the past years, and each time I like it.
The story is intense, filled with great dramatic moments between characters, excellent action sequences, and some amazing artwork. There is a wonderful blend of sad and uplifting moments, and while it doesn't fully tell the story, it tells enough to leave the reader satisfied (after all comic stories never truly seem to end).
There are some wonderfully written exchanges and arcs here, with one of my favorite being the tension between Xavier and Cyclops, with the professor frustrated by being pushed to the side, as Cyclops takes command of the X-men operation. This dramatic narrative has great pacing, and really helps solidify the overall story as moving this group of heroes away from the past, into something new.
Well worth a read for any fans of comics, this is still in my top 5 favorite graphic novels of all time.
The story is intense, filled with great dramatic moments between characters, excellent action sequences, and some amazing artwork. There is a wonderful blend of sad and uplifting moments, and while it doesn't fully tell the story, it tells enough to leave the reader satisfied (after all comic stories never truly seem to end).
There are some wonderfully written exchanges and arcs here, with one of my favorite being the tension between Xavier and Cyclops, with the professor frustrated by being pushed to the side, as Cyclops takes command of the X-men operation. This dramatic narrative has great pacing, and really helps solidify the overall story as moving this group of heroes away from the past, into something new.
Well worth a read for any fans of comics, this is still in my top 5 favorite graphic novels of all time.
sjj169's review
2.0
Meh. That's about it for this book. I'm giving a two star just for the pretty pictures and Wolferine..because he is the man.
The book tried to hard to cram all the X-men stuff into it. I got lost and didn't care to find my way out.
The book tried to hard to cram all the X-men stuff into it. I got lost and didn't care to find my way out.
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
4.0
This is, perhaps, the most successful X-Men crossover event ever. Combining the stories of Carey's X-Men, Brubaker's Uncanny X-Men, Kyle & Yost's Academy X, and David's X-Factor is no mean feat. Brubaker's run had been fairly dull, Carey's run felt hollow, Kyle & Yost's run was intense and complicated, and David's run had been flawless except when it involved crossovers, so this seemed designed to fall completely flat. And it nearly does.
What makes this book work is the pacing, and how tightly the writers must have worked together. This mostly feels like one story. And unlike previous crossovers where the X-Men issue focused on the X-Men's storyline, and X-Factor's focused on their characters, etc; in this collection every issue gives you glimpses of pretty much everyone so that you don't ever have to play catch-up or get bogged down in the friggen Saveage Land for an issue.
The premise, that after the Decimation there has finally been a new mutant birth, is a good one. And the way the Marauders (who were mostly boring in Carey's run) are folded in amongst the Purifiers (from the excellent Academy X storyline) and the O*N*E* Sentinels who've been in the background of every X-book except for X-Factor, oh, and X-Factor, is near flawless. The flaw? Preadtor X. It's one element too much. It makes no sense in this story. It doesn't add any tension. It doesn't really have a purpose other than to randomly show up and have people shout about how scary it is until Wolverine destroys it.
The only other real drawback to the crossover is the penultimate issue where much of the action takes place. It's not paced well, Ramos's art isn't suited for multi-character fight scenes, and the inclusion of the aforementioned Predator X turns the issue into mostly a clusterfight. But the final issue recovers nicely and resets the tone for both X-Factor and Uncanny X-Men, it leads into X-Men changing into X-Men Legacy, and Academy X becoming Young X-Men, and reignites the X-Force title, as well as wiping the somewhat silly Cable/Deadpool title off the map, to make room for a new solo Cable story. So it's an interesting reset for the whole universe.\
I recommend it for all X-fans except new ones (there is seriously a lot of continuity in here...it's not incomprehensible, but it's a way better story if you're already very famliar with the characters), but especially X-fans who tapped out at some point between 1991 and 2005 who were looking for a new entry point other than the Grant Morrison run.
What makes this book work is the pacing, and how tightly the writers must have worked together. This mostly feels like one story. And unlike previous crossovers where the X-Men issue focused on the X-Men's storyline, and X-Factor's focused on their characters, etc; in this collection every issue gives you glimpses of pretty much everyone so that you don't ever have to play catch-up or get bogged down in the friggen Saveage Land for an issue.
The premise, that after the Decimation there has finally been a new mutant birth, is a good one. And the way the Marauders (who were mostly boring in Carey's run) are folded in amongst the Purifiers (from the excellent Academy X storyline) and the O*N*E* Sentinels who've been in the background of every X-book except for X-Factor, oh, and X-Factor, is near flawless. The flaw? Preadtor X. It's one element too much. It makes no sense in this story. It doesn't add any tension. It doesn't really have a purpose other than to randomly show up and have people shout about how scary it is until Wolverine destroys it.
The only other real drawback to the crossover is the penultimate issue where much of the action takes place. It's not paced well, Ramos's art isn't suited for multi-character fight scenes, and the inclusion of the aforementioned Predator X turns the issue into mostly a clusterfight. But the final issue recovers nicely and resets the tone for both X-Factor and Uncanny X-Men, it leads into X-Men changing into X-Men Legacy, and Academy X becoming Young X-Men, and reignites the X-Force title, as well as wiping the somewhat silly Cable/Deadpool title off the map, to make room for a new solo Cable story. So it's an interesting reset for the whole universe.\
I recommend it for all X-fans except new ones (there is seriously a lot of continuity in here...it's not incomprehensible, but it's a way better story if you're already very famliar with the characters), but especially X-fans who tapped out at some point between 1991 and 2005 who were looking for a new entry point other than the Grant Morrison run.
lincolncreadsbooks's review
5.0
Of course, by the time of this writing only the first eleven chapters have been released, but so far this is good X-Men... I haven't read a good X-Men crossover since Age of Apocalypse.
This reminds me of X-Cutioner's Song, my first X-Men x-over, with all the characters involved with each other across team boundaries and everyone against a common threat. And the plot is good and believable, too.
This reminds me of X-Cutioner's Song, my first X-Men x-over, with all the characters involved with each other across team boundaries and everyone against a common threat. And the plot is good and believable, too.
cam14147's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
dkmode's review
4.0
If you haven't read the X-Men stuff leading up to this, you'll be totally lost under a pile of unfamiliar mutants.
But if you have, this is a pretty excellent "season finale" to stories that began way back in House of M. It's very rare that this happens in superhero comics - too often, following these things feels like one unending stream of events, which is both the fun and frustration of doing so. Messiah Complex dodges this by being the culmination of a self-contained pocket of the Marvel Universe. It's a stake in the ground that feels like the end of a nicely focused phase for these characters.
Still pretty upset about there being no more New X-Men after this though.
But if you have, this is a pretty excellent "season finale" to stories that began way back in House of M. It's very rare that this happens in superhero comics - too often, following these things feels like one unending stream of events, which is both the fun and frustration of doing so. Messiah Complex dodges this by being the culmination of a self-contained pocket of the Marvel Universe. It's a stake in the ground that feels like the end of a nicely focused phase for these characters.
Still pretty upset about there being no more New X-Men after this though.
tom_pietra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
catra121's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. The artwork...stunning. I love this style (with the exception of one artist for a few volumes included here...but even those are stunning...just not my favorite style). The story was great and action packed. Not my FAVORITE X-Men collection but a great read that I would read again some time. I just wish the book wasn't so darn HEAVY...got the hardcover from the library and my hands and arms hurt just from trying to hold it...haha...but its gorgeous so it was worth it.
carroq's review
3.0
I haven't kept up with X-Men comics over the year, but I had a basic idea of what was going on leading up to this event. No more mutants until one is born in the Alaskan wilderness. This leads to a scramble as various groups try to track down this new mutant to kill it, control it, or protect it.
This book collects all thirteen issues of the event in one place. There is a one shot and issues from four separate series. This leads to a mixed bag on writing and art because there are different teams for each of the series collected here. I shifted between enjoying the more realistic art style that dominates these stories and the cartoony style that is used to break it up. The shift is welcome, but could throw some people off because it doesn't remain consistent throughout the event.
The story went on way too long though. By the end it felt like things were being rehashed just to keep the story going. Plus, it seemed a bit odd that all these different groups discover the birth of this new mutant immediately and almost simultaneously. There are a few other moments that didn't work for me in a similar way.
That being said, there are some great moments in this book. I came to appreciate some characters much more than I had in the past, particularly Cable and Bishop. This is contrasted by the sheer number of characters involved, most of whom I was at best mildly familiar with because I haven't been keeping up with X-Men stories. Ultimately, I walked away from this feeling like a bunch of it could have been cut to create a much stronger story. I like what it does for mutants in the Marvel universe, especially having seen a little of what results from the birth of Hope.
This book collects all thirteen issues of the event in one place. There is a one shot and issues from four separate series. This leads to a mixed bag on writing and art because there are different teams for each of the series collected here. I shifted between enjoying the more realistic art style that dominates these stories and the cartoony style that is used to break it up. The shift is welcome, but could throw some people off because it doesn't remain consistent throughout the event.
The story went on way too long though. By the end it felt like things were being rehashed just to keep the story going. Plus, it seemed a bit odd that all these different groups discover the birth of this new mutant immediately and almost simultaneously. There are a few other moments that didn't work for me in a similar way.
That being said, there are some great moments in this book. I came to appreciate some characters much more than I had in the past, particularly Cable and Bishop. This is contrasted by the sheer number of characters involved, most of whom I was at best mildly familiar with because I haven't been keeping up with X-Men stories. Ultimately, I walked away from this feeling like a bunch of it could have been cut to create a much stronger story. I like what it does for mutants in the Marvel universe, especially having seen a little of what results from the birth of Hope.