craigmaxwell's review
4.0
This is how the X-Men universe should be.
This Cosmic element is next level - I hope the mcu bring in this time-line when they start introducing x-men into it.
Some of the stories in this were a bit of a let down though - fallen angels for example? What’s going on there?
This Cosmic element is next level - I hope the mcu bring in this time-line when they start introducing x-men into it.
Some of the stories in this were a bit of a let down though - fallen angels for example? What’s going on there?
jammasterjamie's review
4.0
I just want to say how happy I am that Marvel decided to publish the ongoing monthly X-Universe books in a collected format like this and I really hope that they keep it up. I loved Hickman's 'House of X / Powers of X', and keeping all of the story threads in cohesive volumes like this is a great way to keep me hooked, as well as giving me the chance to read parts of the epic I likely otherwise would have skipped like the Fallen Angels side of the storyline. Great marketing move by Marvel, and if they keep this up throughout Hickman's run, they'll keep me as a paying customer.
August 2021 update ---------------------------------------
I'm still buying these trades every month, so collecting Hickman's run over the X-Books like this clearly worked. Good job, Marvel!
August 2021 update ---------------------------------------
I'm still buying these trades every month, so collecting Hickman's run over the X-Books like this clearly worked. Good job, Marvel!
miles_morales's review
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This one was a tad too complicated for my taste. But to give credit to where credit is due the artwork is stellar. This is about X-men seeking refuge on an island called Krakoa and the political ramifications of that. All the stuff with Camelot felt out of place to me. Even still it was an interesting read.
matthewclan's review
adventurous
dark
funny
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? Yes
4.0
geofroggatt's review
3.0
After the foundations established in House of X/Powers of X, readers may find themselves intimidated by the amount of titles and where to go next. Dawn of X simplifies the suggested/preferred reading order by collecting the first entries in all six X-Men titles spinning out of the relaunch. The first title in this volume is the mainline X-Men title, and I thought it was satisfying and simple. I liked seeing Magneto grow to be loved by the children of Krakoa, and I loved seeing how characters were adjusting to the new normal. I liked seeing the Summer house, and I loved the tiny implication that Wolverine, Jean, and Cyclops are in a throuple, which is the best possible outcome of a love triangle storyline, especially one that has lasted for years. One thing that was jarring is that Scott’s extended family wasn’t really explained and the writers assumed most people would know them, but I didn’t. I didn’t realize Scott’s dad was alive and also a mutant. The ending showed the antagonists and their next move, and I liked how the writers are doing a good job at giving them a fleshed out characterization and not just making them cartoonishly evil just for the sake of it. Marauders was an interesting instalment, I liked the reintroduction of Kate Pryde and how she fits into the new normal. I loved how this volume showed off her cool phasing powers. Excalibur didn’t grip me as the other stories did. I thought the cast of characters was an interesting mix, and I liked the idea of a magic-based X-Men story, but the Camelot aspect didn’t grip me and I’m not a huge fan of that setting. New Mutants intrigued me as I’m beginning to love the “New Mutant” characters. Cypher has especially become my favourite ever since House of X/Powers of X, I love how he can speak every language and communicate with all living things, that’s such a cool power and I love his robotic arm. The characters were really colourful in this story, and I liked the artwork. The ending made me curious where the story would go from here. X-Force was a quick but effective read, the ending had a trope that we’ve seen before but I’m curious to see where it goes from here. One thing that I thought was strange was that Krakoa had so many defences and powerful mutants, but nobody thought to put a force field above the island? I thought that was an oversight or bad writing, but I guess they wouldn’t have much of a story if people couldn’t invade the island. I’m head canon is that building and maintaining an island nation is a lot of work and they’ve been too busy to truly finish everything. Fallen Angels had an interesting story, and it clarified some things from previous stories. For one thing, I’m not super familiar with Betsy Braddock and Psylocke’s body swapping storyline, so it was a little difficult for me to understand and keep clear in my head, and there are references to stories and events pre-House of X/Powers of X, so the weight of certain things didn’t hit as hard for me. Fallen Angels has potential, but I’m not a fan of the art style. Overall, all these stories have interesting premises and explore interesting ideas in the new world of X-Men.
crookedtreehouse's review
4.0
[b:House of X / Powers of X|45032046|House of X / Powers of X|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575584673l/45032046._SY75_.jpg|69718791] was easily the best X-book in years, if not the best X-book since the turn of the millenium. It birthed some new ideas, gave a logical reason why the universe was, essentially being reset, brought back dead characters in a deliberate way that seemed more clever than forced, and thus opened up the X-world to a slew of new story ideas to shake off the stale constant retelling of classic X_books from the 80s and 90s (seriously, how many times did they need to go to The Age Of Apocalypse, or a dark future? how many times did they need to kill Jean Grey, or have the Phoenix return, how many times did Cyclops and Wolverine need to....you get the idea)
There are six new X-books that spin out of the HoX/PoX, and they're not all for the same readers. Hickman's flagship title, X-Men, is a series of one shots stories establishing the new status quo. Reading the first collection of his run, and some of the other first collections wasn't satisfying.
The idea to intercut all of the six titles so that you get one issue of each is genius For This Particular Series. It wouldn't work for a lot of titles, but I like it here, as it turns the other five books into extensions of the main run, and I think they need it.
The idea of Kate (formerly Kitty) Pryde running a group of pirates held no appeal for me. I assumed it would be an extension of the Excalibur storylines with Kitty, Nightcrawler, maybe Rachel Grey, and Storm having swashbuckling adventures. And while the book doesn't have my favorite premise (seriously, we're still doing Russian enemies in 2020?), it wasn't at all what I was expecting, and I enjoy the idea of occasionally checking in with these characters rather than having them be the focus of a book.
I hate the Otherworld/Excalibur/magic hoodoo/Captain Britain part of the mutant Marvel universe. There are parts of Claremont's run ([b:Excalibur Classic, Vol. 1: The Sword is Drawn|324398|Excalibur Classic, Vol. 1 The Sword is Drawn|Chris Claremont|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431861671l/324398._SY75_.jpg|1108484]) that were interesting, and when it was a brief detour in the [b:Exiles, Volume 1: Down the Rabbit Hole|620618|Exiles, Volume 1 Down the Rabbit Hole|Judd Winick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525110471l/620618._SY75_.jpg|606992] books, I liked it. But it can't hold my interest for long, even though I love Betsy Braddock (formerly Psylocke), and many of the characters that tend to show up in Excalibur books.
New Mutants is another book that Hickman is half-writing (switching every other issue), and while the art is not my favorite style, it's some of the best art I've seen in that style. Unlike many of the other titles, this one feels like the beginning of a story, not the middle massive continuity. And its first issue makes as much sense as an X-Men story as any of the actual X-Men issues collected in the first trade.
X-Force is always a potentially dangerous book. Its quality is all over the map. I don't think I would have enjoyed reading the X-Force trade, but I haven't read enough of the run to know. As a snippet of story where we get to check in with Domino, see how certain characters are already evolving in the post HoX/PoX world. The art is so gloomy and muddy that there's no way I would have picked up an entire trade of it. So, again, this format was perfect for only having it be a chapter in a larger story. Also, the ending of the issue is a garbage plot point that might be Hickman's fault, and I feel bad that this [a:Benjamin Percy|215907|Benjamin Percy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362111803p2/215907.jpg] got saddled with it.
I've not heard anything good about Fallen Angels. I think because it is completely New Reader Unfriendly. It focuses on Formerly Kwannon/once Psylocke's body but with her original personality. That story is a continuity slog. But I like seeing this part of the character that we didn't really ever encounter, even with the Two Betsy storylines from the 90s, or the times that story was rehashed in the inferior 2000s X-era. I'm more curious about this story than X-Force, Excalibur, or the Marauders.
If you loved the HoX/PoX run, I would definitely check this out. If you're a long time X-fan, looking for an interesting way to read the entire universe, one that's more true to reading comic issues and than trades, this is fantastic. Perfect? No. Could it completely fall apart in the second volume? Of course. But I really do think this is a better way to read the new era of X-books than investing in buying volume one of each of the individual titles.
There are six new X-books that spin out of the HoX/PoX, and they're not all for the same readers. Hickman's flagship title, X-Men, is a series of one shots stories establishing the new status quo. Reading the first collection of his run, and some of the other first collections wasn't satisfying.
The idea to intercut all of the six titles so that you get one issue of each is genius For This Particular Series. It wouldn't work for a lot of titles, but I like it here, as it turns the other five books into extensions of the main run, and I think they need it.
The idea of Kate (formerly Kitty) Pryde running a group of pirates held no appeal for me. I assumed it would be an extension of the Excalibur storylines with Kitty, Nightcrawler, maybe Rachel Grey, and Storm having swashbuckling adventures. And while the book doesn't have my favorite premise (seriously, we're still doing Russian enemies in 2020?), it wasn't at all what I was expecting, and I enjoy the idea of occasionally checking in with these characters rather than having them be the focus of a book.
I hate the Otherworld/Excalibur/magic hoodoo/Captain Britain part of the mutant Marvel universe. There are parts of Claremont's run ([b:Excalibur Classic, Vol. 1: The Sword is Drawn|324398|Excalibur Classic, Vol. 1 The Sword is Drawn|Chris Claremont|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431861671l/324398._SY75_.jpg|1108484]) that were interesting, and when it was a brief detour in the [b:Exiles, Volume 1: Down the Rabbit Hole|620618|Exiles, Volume 1 Down the Rabbit Hole|Judd Winick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525110471l/620618._SY75_.jpg|606992] books, I liked it. But it can't hold my interest for long, even though I love Betsy Braddock (formerly Psylocke), and many of the characters that tend to show up in Excalibur books.
New Mutants is another book that Hickman is half-writing (switching every other issue), and while the art is not my favorite style, it's some of the best art I've seen in that style. Unlike many of the other titles, this one feels like the beginning of a story, not the middle massive continuity. And its first issue makes as much sense as an X-Men story as any of the actual X-Men issues collected in the first trade.
X-Force is always a potentially dangerous book. Its quality is all over the map. I don't think I would have enjoyed reading the X-Force trade, but I haven't read enough of the run to know. As a snippet of story where we get to check in with Domino, see how certain characters are already evolving in the post HoX/PoX world. The art is so gloomy and muddy that there's no way I would have picked up an entire trade of it. So, again, this format was perfect for only having it be a chapter in a larger story. Also, the ending of the issue is a garbage plot point that might be Hickman's fault, and I feel bad that this [a:Benjamin Percy|215907|Benjamin Percy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362111803p2/215907.jpg] got saddled with it.
I've not heard anything good about Fallen Angels. I think because it is completely New Reader Unfriendly. It focuses on Formerly Kwannon/once Psylocke's body but with her original personality. That story is a continuity slog. But I like seeing this part of the character that we didn't really ever encounter, even with the Two Betsy storylines from the 90s, or the times that story was rehashed in the inferior 2000s X-era. I'm more curious about this story than X-Force, Excalibur, or the Marauders.
If you loved the HoX/PoX run, I would definitely check this out. If you're a long time X-fan, looking for an interesting way to read the entire universe, one that's more true to reading comic issues and than trades, this is fantastic. Perfect? No. Could it completely fall apart in the second volume? Of course. But I really do think this is a better way to read the new era of X-books than investing in buying volume one of each of the individual titles.
morgcxn's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
candles_and_shadow's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.75