Tag Archives: Paul Smith

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Essential X-Men Vol. 11

xmen11First Published: January 2013

Contents: Uncanny X-Men #273 (February 1991) to #280 (September 1991); Uncanny X-Men Annual #15 (1991); X-Men #1 (October 1991) to #3 (December 1991); X-Factor #69 (August 1991) and #70 (September 1991); X-Factor Annual #6 (1991); New Mutants Annual #7 (1991); and New Warriors Annual #1 (1991)

Key Creator Credits: Chris Claremont, Jim Lee, Fabian Nicieza, Peter David, Paul Smith, Andy Kubert, Tom Raney, Whilce Portacio, and others

Key First Appearances: Acolytes (Fabian Cortez, Delgado, Anne-Marie Cortez, Chrome)

Story Continues From: Essential X-Men Vol. 10

Overview: This is the end, beautiful friends! Over the last 15 years of reprinted stories, we have seen X-Men come and go from the mansion in Westchester, New York. We have buried teammates, and seen many resurrected, as well as welcome new heroes to the family. The villains have gotten deadlier, whether they are shooting lasers or leading congressional sub-committees. But the goal remains the same, to find a way for humans and mutants to live together in the same world. This is Essential X-Men Vol. 11.

This collection starts out with the crazy adventures we have come to expect from the X-Men. We get Rogue, Magneto, and Nick Fury heading to the Savage Land. We’ve got the rest of the X-Men heading to deep space to stop the War Skrulls. Seriously, we knew the Skrulls were war-inclined for years, but now these War Skrulls take it to a new level!

Next up is the summer crossover event that went between the Annuals – Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, New Mutants, and New Warriors. A.I.M. is looking to resurrect Proteus, the mutant son of Moira MacTaggert. A rag-tag team of heroes (i.e., those not good enough to go on the mission into space) must ban together to stop A.I.M. and Proteus.

Upon their return to Earth, the X-Men find that the Shadow King, the ne’er-do-well that has been lurking around in their minds for years, has taken over all of the inhabitants of Muir Island. The X-Men give their all to stop the Shadow King, with Xavier making a final stand with his son Legion in a coma.

The book concludes with the first three issues of the adjectiveless X-Men title. With Jim Lee on art and with the benefit of five different covers, Chris Claremont pens the best-selling comic book in the modern era. Really, after all the ups and downs of the past 15 years, Claremont is bringing things back to how he found them when he first took over the X-Men scripting duties. The original X-Men have returned to the team, the mansion has been rebuilt (AGAIN!) and Magneto has returned to his evil ways. It’s been often said that a comic book writer should leave the title as they found it. Claremont found a way to make things right as he left the mansion…. for now.

What makes this Essential?: This is a great way to wrap up Chris Claremont’s 17-year run with the Marvel mutants. Picking up from their introduction in Giant-Size X-Men #1 back in 1975, Claremont helped turn around the X-Men from a doormat title into one of Marvel’s most important (and most profitable) franchises of all time.

By the time this Essential comes to an end, Claremont is ready to step away from the mutant books. Under his guidance, he turned the Uncanny X-Men comic around from a bi-monthly title into two different ongoing monthly titles, along with multiple spin-off titles (New Mutants/X-Force, X-Factor, Excalibur, Wolverine, and others). A new generation of comic book creators, who grew up reading Claremont’s books, were in place ready to take over the reigns of the books.

Footnotes: Uncanny X-Men #280, Uncanny X-Men Annual #15, and X-Factor #69 and #70 are also reprinted in Essential X-Factor Vol. 5.

If you like this volume, try: the Comic Geek Speak podcast look at the X-Men in the Chromium Age. Yes, I am part of my own podcast (Worst. Comic. Podcast. EVER!) and would love for you to check it out and follow me there. But the guys over at CGS have been doing the podcast thing for over 10 years now. They know what they are doing, and they do it well. CGS has been doing detailed looks at titles or characters over a period of time, such as the X-Men. With the podcast referenced above, they take a detailed look at the X-Men in the early 1990s. There is so much information in these podcasts. Bookmark their website and use it as a reference like I do.

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Essential X-Factor Vol. 3

xfactor3First Published: December 2009

Contents: X-Factor #36 (January 1989) to #50 (January 1990); X-Factor Annual #3 (1988); and Uncanny X-Men #242 (March 1989) and #243  (April 1989)

Key Creator Credits: Louise Simonson, Walt Simonson, Chris Claremont, Kieron Dwyer, Marc Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, Arthur Adams, Paul Smith, and others

Key First Appearances: Alchemy

Story Continues From: Essential X-Factor Vol. 2

Story Continues In: Essential X-Factor Vol. 4

Overview:  This book has a little bit of everything for the mutant fan in all of us. Sit back and enjoy the read of Essential X-Factor Vol. 3.

First up is the Evolutionary War crossover in X-Factor Annual #3. From a chronology point of view, this should have been collected in the prior Essential volume, but there was a lot going on in that book, so we get it here. In the main story, we see X-Factor trying to stop the High Evolutionary from exterminating the Moloids and others that are at the end of their evolutionary development. It’s part of the big storyline running through the annuals that year. The big take away from the annual is the back-up feature, which features the various kids in training with X-Factor, such as Skids, Boom Boom, Rusty, and others, taking off in their own adventures, which would be told in the X-Terminators mini-series – sadly not reprinted in Essential form.

Next up is Inferno, which we have talked about previously with Essential X-Men Vol. 8. The big takeaway for the X-Factor team is the resolution of the Jean Grey-Scott Summers-Madelyne Pryor love triangle. Madelyne is killed, leaving Scott and Jean to resume their lives together raising baby Nathan. As the team all catches their collective breath, the X-Terminator kids return, only to break up their band. Many of the older kids would transfer over to the New Mutants title, becoming key members for the years to come.

But I need to focus on X-Factor here, because we are quickly caught up in the Judgement War. The team is kidnapped and sent across the galaxy to a planet facing judgement by the Celestials. On this planet, everyone is ranked on a perfection scale. Jean Grey is viewed as being perfect, while some of the guys (Beast, Archangel) tend to fall at the bottom of that ranking. The team members work independently before reuniting and stopping the Celestials.

What makes this Essential?: This is a transitional volume. We see Walt Simonson’s run on the book come to an end with the Inferno storyline. The art is handled by committee, with most of the work done by the criminally-underrated Paul Smith. We do experience Rob Liefeld’s first work for Marvel – you decide what to make of that! Through all of this though, writer Louise Simonson continues to provide a steady direction for the title.

My biggest issue with this collection is that the book gets highjacked by events going on in the other X-Men or Marvel Universe books at the time. The first half of this book is given over to tie-ins with the Evolutionary War storyline or the Inferno storyline. Considering that the Inferno story has been reprinted already (see Footnotes), you almost feel cheated by paying full price for half of a volume of “new” material.

Footnotes: X-Factor #36 to #39 and Uncanny X-Men #242 and #243 are also reprinted in Essential X-Men Vol. 8.

If you like this volume, try: the Acts of Vengeance storyline. After multiple summer events which focused solely on the Marvel mutants, this event crossed over across the Marvel Universe. Secretly organized by Loki, the villains unite and agree to change up their normal foes, in an attempt to surprise the heroes. So you have the odd combinations of the Punisher facing Doctor Doom, or Daredevil vs. Ultron. In typical fashion, the villains plans unravel due to infighting and personal agendas. Loki is revealed as the organizer, which leads to yet another face-off with the Avengers. Now, this may be a harder storyline to track down. There was an omnibus released which collected the main issues of the storyline. However, this omnibus has gone out of print, and the prices have skyrocketed in the secondary market (eBay). A second omnibus was released featuring more of the crossover issues, but not the main storyline. This omnibus is still readily found for cover price or less. This may be a case where the thrill of the back issue hunt is more fun, to track down all of the numerous crossovers, which should be noted by a triangle window in the upper right corner of the covers.

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Essential X-Men Vol. 5

Essential X-Men Vol. 5

First Published: July 2004

Contents: First Edition: Uncanny X-Men #180 (April 1984) to #198 (October 1985), and Uncanny X-Men Annual #7 (1983) and #8 (1984); Second Edition: Uncanny X-Men #180 (April 1984) to #198 (October 1985), Uncanny X-Men Annual #8 (1984), and X-Men/Alpha Flight #1 (December 1985) and #2 (January 1986)

Key Creator Credits: Chris Claremont, John Romita, Jr., Paul Smith,  Barry Windsor-Smith, and Steve Leialoha

Key First Appearances: Amiko Kobayahsi, Forge, Adversary, Nimrod, Angelica Jones/Firestar, Fenris

Story Continues from: Essential X-Men Vol. 4

Story Continues In: Essential X-Men Vol. 6

Overview: The X-Men return from the Secret Wars to face new adversaries, including one by the name of Adversary, in this next Essential from Marvel Comics.

The team is going through some change. Storm loses her mutant abilities after being shot by a gun designed to take down Rogue. Rachel Summers travels from the future to join the team, only to discover that her future cannot be, as her mom no longer lives. Kitty Pryde and Wolverine take leaves from the team, but soon return back to the fold.

The X-Men cross paths with Selene, an energy vampire who craves their mutant blood. Selene puts herself in position to be named the new Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, longtime enemies of the X-Men. In a battle against Kulan Gath, first seen in the Conan the Barbarian comic, and his attempt to change reality, the X-Men, the Avengers, and Spider-Man are brought together to stop him.

Two issues stand out, both from Claremont and guest artist Barry Windsor-Smith. Lifedeath (Issue #186) and Lifedeath II (issue #198) deal with the powerless Storm looking to come to grips with the loss of her mutant abilities. Issue #186 finds her confronting the inventor of the gun used to strip her of her weather controlling abilities, Forge. As much as she wants to hate him for what he has done, she finds herself attracted to him and his story. In the sequel story, Storm has travelled back to her home lands in Africa, to reconnect with who she once was, and to explore who she could become.

What makes this Essential?: Not that there is ever any truly “normal” time for the residents at Xavier’s mansion, but this really seems like the calm before the storm – no pun intended. We get a lot of one-and-done stories. If they do spill over, it’s just for one more issue. A lot of going back-and-forth with the kids from New Mutants. Beginning with the next Essential volume, it becomes one event after the next, with hardly a moment of quiet time to be found in the books. Enjoy these moments while you can, because nothing is the same following issue #200. If you are a fan of the epic stories across multiple titles, skip this volume and move onto Essential X-Men Vol. 6.

Footnotes: In an ongoing move to include additional material, Marvel adjusts the content listings between the first edition and the second edition of this Essential volume. The first edition contains annuals #7 and #8, while the second edition contains annual #8, along with X-Men/Alpha Flight #1 and #2.

If you like this volume, try: the Kitty Pryde and Wolverine miniseries from 1985 by Chris Claremont and Al Milgrom. Following the X-Men’s return from the Secret Wars event, Colossus breaks things off with Kitty in Uncanny X-Men #183. She needs a break from her environment and takes a leave of the team to visit her parents. Returning to Chicago, Kitty finds that her dad is in Japan under mysterious circumstances. Following her father halfway around the world, she encounters a mysterious figure from Wolverine’s past, which provokes our favorite Canadian to join up with Kitty in Japan. During this series, Kitty matures into a young adult and settles on the codename of Shadowcat, which has been her costume name ever since. This is an excellent series and has remained in print for years in both trade paperbacks and hardcover collections.

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Essential X-Men Vol. 4

Essential X-Men Vol. 4 (second edition)

First Published: June 2001

Contents: First Edition: Uncanny X-Men #162 (October 1982) to #179 (March 1984), and Uncanny X-Men Annual #6 (1982); Second Edition: Uncanny X-Men #162 (October 1982) to #179 (March 1984), Uncanny X-Men Annual #7 (1983), and Marvel Graphic Novel #5 (1982);

Key Creator Credits: Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, Brent Anderson, Paul Smith, John Romita, Jr., Michael Golden

Key First Appearances: William Stryker, Binary, Brood Queen, Lockheed, Madelyne Pryor, Callisto, Masque, Sunder, Morlocks, Plague, Dr. Valerie Cooper,

Story Continues from: Essential X-Men Vol. 3

Story Continues In: Essential X-Men Vol. 5

Overview: Marvel revisits the X-Men after a nearly three-year span between Essential volumes. What a rough time it is to be a member of the X-Men! The story starts out with the first Brood war, and introduces us to the second costumed identity for Carol Danvers, as Binary. A new member of sorts joins the team as Lockheed the Dragon is paired with Kitty Pryde. Following this battle with the Brood, which nearly claimed the life of Charles Xavier, we see the X-Men return to Earth to literally find New Mutants living in Xavier’s Mansion, forever changing the dynamic in the X-books.

A new group of mutants, the Morlocks, are found living in the tunnels of New York City. To save her teammates, Storm must fight for control of the Morlocks with Callisto. At this same time, the X-Men face a moral challenge as a reformed Rogue comes to Xavier asking for help in controlling her mutant power. Not only is she welcomed into the mansion, she is placed on the team despite the objections from many of the active X-Men.

A new romantic interest is presented to Cyclops in the form of Madelyne Pryor, who bears a sinister resemblance to Scott’s former love and fellow X-Man Jean Grey. In a whirlwind romance being manipulated by Mastermind, it culminates in the wedding of Scott and Madelyne and the retirement of Cyclops from the team.

For anyone reading the second edition of this Essential, Annual #7 is a fun romp as the Impossible Man sends the X-Men on a scavenger hunt.  Every now and then, the writers throw in an issue like this, where things are not grim and gritty for the mutant team. You get to see them unwind, whether playing baseball on the lawn of the mansion or watching a movie together. There is a lot of humor in this particular issue, and this is one of the first times we’ve seen the Impossible Man used in a book other than the Fantastic Four.

What makes this Essential?: This is a must-have volume in anyone’s collection. Between the Brood war, the introduction of the Morlocks, an apparent wedding for Wolverine (left at the altar) and a wedding for Cyclops (preceded by a drag-out fight with Mastermind). In particular, the famous “God Loves, Man Kills” story is one of the most-important X-Men stories of the 1980s. For years, writers have used the X-Men and the subject of mutants as a soft allegory for race and ethnic relations in America. Beginning here, Claremont and others make this an ongoing discussion point in the books.

John Romita, Jr., starts a three-year run on the title in this volume, taking over from Paul Smith’s beautiful run. These are some of my personal favorite stories, as I started collecting the title off the rack in this era. Uncanny X-Men #171, with Rogue joining the team, was my first purchase in this corner of the Marvel Universe, and I was hooked for life.

Footnotes: In an ongoing move to include additional material, Marvel adjusts the content listings between the first edition and the second edition of this Essential volume. The first edition contains annual #6, while the second edition contains annual #7, along with Marvel Graphic Novel #5.

The inclusion of Marvel Graphic Novel #5 causes some issues with the look of the reprint. The Marvel Graphic Novel line was a deluxe book printed on a heavier paper stock. The dimensions of these books were just a smudge smaller than an 8 1/2″ by 11″ sheet of paper. In comparison, a standard modern-size comic comes in at approximately  6 1/2″ by 10″. As a result, it was necessary to reduce the size of the Marvel Graphic Novel reprint in order to fit the Essential format. While it is still readable, having a pair of magnifying glasses handy might be helpful when re-reading this story.

If you like this volume, try: the Leave It To Chance series by James Robinson and Paul Smith. This incredible series from Image Comics in the late 1990s told the story of a teenage girl, Chance Falconer, and her pet dragon, St. George – a nod of the hat to Kitty Pryde and Lockheed, perhaps. Chance is the daughter of Lucas Falconer, a paranormal investigator in the city of Devil’s Echo, a world where magic is common. Chance finds herself getting into trouble as she tries to assist her father in solving cases. This all-too-short series started very strong, but was plagued with publishing delays towards the end. Smith’s art follows the 1990s animated style, with smooth, clean drawings that look to have been taken from a TV screen. Nearly the entire series has been reprinted in a series of hard cover collections from Image. This is a great all-ages storyline that should be in all collections.