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Emma Frost #1-3
Emma Frost: Ultimate Collection
Learn the secret of how the New X-Men's diamond-sculpted seductress Emma Frost became the formidable woman she is today.
Witness the first time her mutant powers manifested, her difficulties at home and in school, and her early first love that explains how she blossomed from an innocent teenager into the wealthy, ruthless, feared and desired White Queen who has fought alongside and against the X-Men!
Collects Emma Frost #1-18.
Witness the first time her mutant powers manifested, her difficulties at home and in school, and her early first love that explains how she blossomed from an innocent teenager into the wealthy, ruthless, feared and desired White Queen who has fought alongside and against the X-Men!
Collects Emma Frost #1-18.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
13 people are currently reading
287 people want to read
About the author
Karl Bollers
191 books21 followersBad Idea Managing Editor, former Valiant Ent. Sr Editor, Eisner Award-nominated writer, former Marvel Comics writer, former Sonic the Hedgehog comic book writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
March 25, 2022
Chronicles the teenage years of the future White Queen of the Hellfire Club and later X-Man, Emma Frost, coupling teenage angst with the onset of telepathic powers, a rich and really unpleasant family and being a hostage to teenage hormones. A competent and interesting tale, really focussing on how the ostracised and isolated young woman's early life influenced, and paved the way for her decade of super villainy in later years, prior to her encompassing more humane ideals. This collects the entire Emma Frost series #1 - 18. 6 out of 12.
2015 read; 2011 read
2015 read; 2011 read
January 1, 2018
While this is a nice, decent collection, with a solid origin story, I'm sure now that I dislike Emma Frost. There's nothing to make me care for her. She gets pushed around a lot, and eventually retaliates, but it is unclear how she's really like. Yes, she's flawed, human, but everything happens to quickly for me to care.
Also, I felt like the art-style changed after she left for college. Emma looked better while in high-school. And she was a brunette. I still find that fascinating, as I always thought her to be a natural blonde.
The comic stops while she's still in college. She hasn't used her diamond form yet. That was unsatisfying as it's sort of her trademark.
All in all, it was an ok start for 2018.
April 29, 2025
Setting aside the unfortunate matter of the covers (ick. But I guess they still had to sell single issues back in the early '00s.) this collection came out of nowhere to really wow me. Emma's complicated family history, her discovery of her powers without the kind of support and guidance Jean Grey received, and a confrontation with another mutant psychic far less scrupulous than she... chef's kiss.
Emma Frost, the early teen runaway years.
Highly recommended and, yeah, I'll just come out and say it: this would make for a terrific film or TV adaptation.
While I personally think I'd prefer they cast a younger unknown you have to admit the idea has potential...
Emma Frost, the early teen runaway years.
Highly recommended and, yeah, I'll just come out and say it: this would make for a terrific film or TV adaptation.
While I personally think I'd prefer they cast a younger unknown you have to admit the idea has potential...
June 1, 2012
I was pleasantly surprised after reading this book, especially considering all the reviews on Amazon. If you are looking for an action-packed comic filled with Frosty goodness (or badness), this is not it. If you want to understand where she came from, or are interested in light romance and some philosophical questions, it might be more up your alley.
A bit about the book format: It's only in softcover. The pages are a little thin. And mine came a little bent. Boo. But the writing is great, the artwork is amazing, coloring done superbly- especially those in-between comic sections.
I liked this book because of Frost herself. Obviously I love her character to begin with (in her more villainous stages), but in this book she starts out totally innocent. She has a crappy, overbearing father, a not-exactly-present mother, a scheming and blackmailing sister, a rebellious druggie sister, and finally, a caring brother. So she's not exactly endowed with the world's greatest family. But she's not a bad person.
Now, to not give anything away I'm going to shorten it up a bit here. Power corrupts. It starts off slowly, not big uses of her newly-manifested powers. And for the most part she keeps it that way. But things happen, and she starts to use them more and more, and not in an entirely good way. The corruption is very gradual, which I love. You can't even really see the effect it has until it is happening- and by then it is just getting worse. This continues until we are more or less at the beginning of her career as a villainess, to the Emma Frost we all know and (hate/love).
What I love about this book is that it is very interesting in its portrayal of good/evil. It isn't clear-cut, just like in real life. You don't immediately know what side things are on. For example, she manipulates a person to get another person out of trouble. Now, is that bad? Maybe. But the accused guy was innocent, and the manipulated person was a liar. Does that change anything? While that is not the best example in the book, it demonstrates the idea. If you do something bad to try and do something good, is that evil? Is it the intent of the action or the action itself?
People aren't nice. The only thing you can control is yourself. I'm not saying her family and events were devoid of blame in creating the person she became, but she controlled her own actions.
Evil isn't always something that is from day one bent on power and destruction. Sometimes it starts out as a small thing and just grows and grows until it becomes what you are. That's why I loved this book - it showed that progression from innocence to darkness.
A bit about the book format: It's only in softcover. The pages are a little thin. And mine came a little bent. Boo. But the writing is great, the artwork is amazing, coloring done superbly- especially those in-between comic sections.
I liked this book because of Frost herself. Obviously I love her character to begin with (in her more villainous stages), but in this book she starts out totally innocent. She has a crappy, overbearing father, a not-exactly-present mother, a scheming and blackmailing sister, a rebellious druggie sister, and finally, a caring brother. So she's not exactly endowed with the world's greatest family. But she's not a bad person.
Now, to not give anything away I'm going to shorten it up a bit here. Power corrupts. It starts off slowly, not big uses of her newly-manifested powers. And for the most part she keeps it that way. But things happen, and she starts to use them more and more, and not in an entirely good way. The corruption is very gradual, which I love. You can't even really see the effect it has until it is happening- and by then it is just getting worse. This continues until we are more or less at the beginning of her career as a villainess, to the Emma Frost we all know and (hate/love).
What I love about this book is that it is very interesting in its portrayal of good/evil. It isn't clear-cut, just like in real life. You don't immediately know what side things are on. For example, she manipulates a person to get another person out of trouble. Now, is that bad? Maybe. But the accused guy was innocent, and the manipulated person was a liar. Does that change anything? While that is not the best example in the book, it demonstrates the idea. If you do something bad to try and do something good, is that evil? Is it the intent of the action or the action itself?
People aren't nice. The only thing you can control is yourself. I'm not saying her family and events were devoid of blame in creating the person she became, but she controlled her own actions.
Evil isn't always something that is from day one bent on power and destruction. Sometimes it starts out as a small thing and just grows and grows until it becomes what you are. That's why I loved this book - it showed that progression from innocence to darkness.
April 25, 2021
i love emma frost all my homies love emma frost
January 11, 2023
A book that breaks down three different chapters of Emma Frost's life before becoming the White Queen etc., it explores her family, her life outside them, and, of course, the emergence of her telepathy. Whilst far from a pretty picket fence, it's at its best when focusing on her family life and the extreme drama that comes with it (sign me up for a whole series on this 5 star content). After that, it becomes slightly repetitive in nature, especially with the love interests, all of whom feel extremely bland and uninteresting. There are some smashing standout character moments for Emma amongst the less engaging independence & college segments, but the narrative and writing after the first third does feel overall disappointing. Still one of my favourite Marvel characters of all time, there's a lot to be enjoyed, especially for fans, if you're able to put up with the more tedious parts.
TRIGGERS attempted suicide, drug misuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, teacher-student romance
TRIGGERS attempted suicide, drug misuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, teacher-student romance
November 27, 2020
First of all: I don't know who thought it was a good idea to use this cover picture... Yikes. Anyway, this is not a porn series but Emma Frost's teenage backstory.
Emma Frost is a very interesting character and I liked finding out more about her background. This collection tells us some episodes of her life as a teenager, shows us how her powers manifested and how she learned more about them over time. No X-Men involved, just a girl from a pretty messed up family trying to figure out her powers and her place in the world.
The stories were pretty average: not bad, but I'd hoped for more. The art good average too. I only wish this series would have also told us about how Emma became associated with the Hellfire Club, but unfortunately, at the ending she was still in college. The ending was also rather aprupt.
Conclusion: not a bad series and an interesting backstory, but not outstanding. If you like backstories and/or you're a fan of Emma Frost, read it, otherwise you can skip this.
Emma Frost is a very interesting character and I liked finding out more about her background. This collection tells us some episodes of her life as a teenager, shows us how her powers manifested and how she learned more about them over time. No X-Men involved, just a girl from a pretty messed up family trying to figure out her powers and her place in the world.
The stories were pretty average: not bad, but I'd hoped for more. The art good average too. I only wish this series would have also told us about how Emma became associated with the Hellfire Club, but unfortunately, at the ending she was still in college. The ending was also rather aprupt.
Conclusion: not a bad series and an interesting backstory, but not outstanding. If you like backstories and/or you're a fan of Emma Frost, read it, otherwise you can skip this.
July 26, 2013
I remember reading about Emma Frost (aka the White Queen) and the Hellfire Club back in the 1980s when John Byrne was drawing The Uncanny X-Men. It was one of my favorite storylines, and she was one of my favorite villains because she was so outright evil. By day, she taught at a school (Massachusetts Academy) that rivaled Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. By night, she enjoyed torturing the X-Men.
Returning to comics in 2008, I discovered that there had been some MAJOR changes made to Emma Frost's character over the years. She was no longer a villain. She could turn herself into diamond. She had joined the X-Men. She replaced Charles Xavier (aka Professor X) as the X-Men's telepath. She was in a relationship with Scott Summers (aka Cyclops). She had her own 18-issue comic book series. And, last but not least, she had become this giant sex symbol.
The EMMA FROST ULTIMATE COLLECTION compiles all 18 issues of Emma Frost's solo series. The first several issues of the series (and the cover of this compilation) makes you feel like you're buying porn. It's a painted cover of Emma in a provocative pose. Ironically, the stories on the inside had nothing to do with the sexy portraits on the outside. In fact, they were about her as a young girl growing up, attending school and dealing with her wealthy family members. Something about that felt almost...pedophiliac. The covers were geared toward an older, horny, straight male audience. The interior stories were geared toward adolescent and teenage girls. I almost feel like that's where Marvel Comics went wrong. They could have used Emma Frost to try to attract a young female audience to the Emma Frost series. Instead, the series attracted the horny boy/guy by its sexy covers and then disappointed them by providing a Hannah Montana/teenage angst storyline. For this reason alone, I think the comic book failed after 18 issues.
The first sex...er, six...issues of the series takes place when Emma is a young girl in school. She gets picked on at school, she has a crush on her sympathetic teacher, and she's beginning to discover (and be frightened of) her mental abilities. We also see her in her homelife as one of the children of an affluent Massachusetts family. Her siblings have their own definite (and intriguing) personalities, her father is very controlling, and her mother is blissfully ignorant because of her prescription meds. All of this was fascinating and I was disappointed to see it end after six issues.
The next six issues were about Emma breaking free from the control of her father and living on the streets. During this period, she meets a man and they try to extort money from her father by her pretending to be kidnapped and held for ransom.
The final six, Emma has taken all of her ransom money and enrolled herself in college. She meets a fellow telepath who poses as her best friend but then secretly wants to destroy her.
The series was all wonderfully written by Karl Bollers, and I would have loved to have seen him write about 100 issues of each of those three segments of her life, continuing on into her joining the Hellfire Club and apparently having "romantic" trysts with some of Marvel's prominent male superheroes like Iron Man and Namor. What I also especially loved about Bollers' storytelling was his use of supporting characters in Emma Frost. Her family members, teachers, schoolmates, friends, etc. all had their own definite, unique personalities and I wanted to know about them as much as I wanted to know about Emma. That's the sign of great writing.
I'm sad that Emma Frost was cancelled after 18 issues. However, I still believe that there is a market out there for her stories as Bollers told them, if the series was properly geared toward the right audience. Not every comic has to be about battles and good vs. evil. Emma Frost's brilliant first six issues demonstrated that (if not for the conflicting Penthouse covers). Sometimes the writer can transport the reader away into the world of their superhero characters with just their social interactions. It's sad that Marvel Comics dropped the ball on this one.
Returning to comics in 2008, I discovered that there had been some MAJOR changes made to Emma Frost's character over the years. She was no longer a villain. She could turn herself into diamond. She had joined the X-Men. She replaced Charles Xavier (aka Professor X) as the X-Men's telepath. She was in a relationship with Scott Summers (aka Cyclops). She had her own 18-issue comic book series. And, last but not least, she had become this giant sex symbol.
The EMMA FROST ULTIMATE COLLECTION compiles all 18 issues of Emma Frost's solo series. The first several issues of the series (and the cover of this compilation) makes you feel like you're buying porn. It's a painted cover of Emma in a provocative pose. Ironically, the stories on the inside had nothing to do with the sexy portraits on the outside. In fact, they were about her as a young girl growing up, attending school and dealing with her wealthy family members. Something about that felt almost...pedophiliac. The covers were geared toward an older, horny, straight male audience. The interior stories were geared toward adolescent and teenage girls. I almost feel like that's where Marvel Comics went wrong. They could have used Emma Frost to try to attract a young female audience to the Emma Frost series. Instead, the series attracted the horny boy/guy by its sexy covers and then disappointed them by providing a Hannah Montana/teenage angst storyline. For this reason alone, I think the comic book failed after 18 issues.
The first sex...er, six...issues of the series takes place when Emma is a young girl in school. She gets picked on at school, she has a crush on her sympathetic teacher, and she's beginning to discover (and be frightened of) her mental abilities. We also see her in her homelife as one of the children of an affluent Massachusetts family. Her siblings have their own definite (and intriguing) personalities, her father is very controlling, and her mother is blissfully ignorant because of her prescription meds. All of this was fascinating and I was disappointed to see it end after six issues.
The next six issues were about Emma breaking free from the control of her father and living on the streets. During this period, she meets a man and they try to extort money from her father by her pretending to be kidnapped and held for ransom.
The final six, Emma has taken all of her ransom money and enrolled herself in college. She meets a fellow telepath who poses as her best friend but then secretly wants to destroy her.
The series was all wonderfully written by Karl Bollers, and I would have loved to have seen him write about 100 issues of each of those three segments of her life, continuing on into her joining the Hellfire Club and apparently having "romantic" trysts with some of Marvel's prominent male superheroes like Iron Man and Namor. What I also especially loved about Bollers' storytelling was his use of supporting characters in Emma Frost. Her family members, teachers, schoolmates, friends, etc. all had their own definite, unique personalities and I wanted to know about them as much as I wanted to know about Emma. That's the sign of great writing.
I'm sad that Emma Frost was cancelled after 18 issues. However, I still believe that there is a market out there for her stories as Bollers told them, if the series was properly geared toward the right audience. Not every comic has to be about battles and good vs. evil. Emma Frost's brilliant first six issues demonstrated that (if not for the conflicting Penthouse covers). Sometimes the writer can transport the reader away into the world of their superhero characters with just their social interactions. It's sad that Marvel Comics dropped the ball on this one.
August 12, 2024
As a huge fan of Emma Frost, I had to give Bollers’ run a go. It’s much better than atrocious covers suggest, but not without shortcomings. Anyway, since I’m a sucker for origin stories and have a soft spot for supervillain-turned-hero characters, I got a copy and read it in one go.
I liked how Bollers showed Emma as a vulnerable, shy (I kid you not!) teenager, on the verge of discovering powers she couldn’t understand. The first arc showing Emma’s rebellious nature and her conflict with her overbearing father and scheming siblings entertained me.
The later part of the story, while still highly readable, overloaded me with teen drama, angst, love triangle, and all the cliched stuff. It also went longer than it needed to, really.
Anyway, the art is great, the story more than readable, so if you like Emma, and don’t mind some soapiness, I see no reason not to try it.
I liked how Bollers showed Emma as a vulnerable, shy (I kid you not!) teenager, on the verge of discovering powers she couldn’t understand. The first arc showing Emma’s rebellious nature and her conflict with her overbearing father and scheming siblings entertained me.
The later part of the story, while still highly readable, overloaded me with teen drama, angst, love triangle, and all the cliched stuff. It also went longer than it needed to, really.
Anyway, the art is great, the story more than readable, so if you like Emma, and don’t mind some soapiness, I see no reason not to try it.
April 11, 2024
What an unfortunate origin story for my girl, Emma Frost. This was just … really bad? I think the whole second volume could have been cut. I’m disappointed, but not surprised. We didn’t even really get to see her powers develop that much? And what is with the weird super sexualized covers when this is supposed to be about Emma as a teen? 🤔
July 2, 2021
this comic is for those who want to get a glimpse of emma frost’s backstory; why and how she became the way she is ❄️ ❄️
October 14, 2012
I think Emma Frost is a fascinating character: under the best writers, she's simultaneously beloved and reviled, a character who is going to be good in spite of herself. Full of contradictions, she's a complicated character who cares deeply (or pretends to) about the most vacuous things. In fact, I consider her one of the most fully-realized characters in the x-men universe, because she's so complicated. You would imagine such a character should have an extremely resonant, emotional back story, to fully explain the depths of her contradictions. Unfortunately, this book does not tell that story.
First, the book has some obvious flaws: inconsistent art. An EXTREME over-use of connecting phrases like "One hour later," "Two days later," and so on. Terribly outdated language. (I remember a gangster referring to her as "gams." So apparently Emma Frost is about 80 years old, because that's about how long ago that word was commonly used.) Some unbearably poorly-written dialogue ("I'd like to bury the hatchet--in your back!") Physical points that are poorly thought out: like, through the last fourth of the book, Emma and Astrid spend huge amounts of time standing around in busy hallways talking telepathically. I don't know what we're supposed to imagine people are thinking. I mean, if I saw two girls standing staring at each other without talking for hours, I would be more than a little worried. Also, I'm almost certain that this book contradicts some facts previously revealed about Emma's origin. I'm not a stickler, but the point I'm thinking of had a lot of explanatory power, but was apparently removed from this telling. Finally, the story stops well before anything really happens, in terms of her becoming an important character. We stop with her still in college, with no real direction. There's no sense she's going to become a hero, a villain, or that she's going to really BECOME anything.
But the real, big problem that makes this whole thing pointless is that there's no emotion in it. Emma gets victimized, fights back, terrible things happen, but nothing ever makes the reader CARE. There are two possible acceptable endings to this story: Emma becomes a villain, but we commiserate with her after seeing her emotionally abused by her family and friends for so long, that we view her as a villain because of what happened to her. OR: Emma increasingly becomes evil and we become disgusted and decide she's really just bad at heart. Even some sort of half-and-half mixture would be good--anything complicated enough to fit the character. But really, by the end of this story, we just don't care. Nothing in this whole book ever makes us care about her.
This whole thing should have vastly better.
First, the book has some obvious flaws: inconsistent art. An EXTREME over-use of connecting phrases like "One hour later," "Two days later," and so on. Terribly outdated language. (I remember a gangster referring to her as "gams." So apparently Emma Frost is about 80 years old, because that's about how long ago that word was commonly used.) Some unbearably poorly-written dialogue ("I'd like to bury the hatchet--in your back!") Physical points that are poorly thought out: like, through the last fourth of the book, Emma and Astrid spend huge amounts of time standing around in busy hallways talking telepathically. I don't know what we're supposed to imagine people are thinking. I mean, if I saw two girls standing staring at each other without talking for hours, I would be more than a little worried. Also, I'm almost certain that this book contradicts some facts previously revealed about Emma's origin. I'm not a stickler, but the point I'm thinking of had a lot of explanatory power, but was apparently removed from this telling. Finally, the story stops well before anything really happens, in terms of her becoming an important character. We stop with her still in college, with no real direction. There's no sense she's going to become a hero, a villain, or that she's going to really BECOME anything.
But the real, big problem that makes this whole thing pointless is that there's no emotion in it. Emma gets victimized, fights back, terrible things happen, but nothing ever makes the reader CARE. There are two possible acceptable endings to this story: Emma becomes a villain, but we commiserate with her after seeing her emotionally abused by her family and friends for so long, that we view her as a villain because of what happened to her. OR: Emma increasingly becomes evil and we become disgusted and decide she's really just bad at heart. Even some sort of half-and-half mixture would be good--anything complicated enough to fit the character. But really, by the end of this story, we just don't care. Nothing in this whole book ever makes us care about her.
This whole thing should have vastly better.
December 4, 2011
The early years of Emma Frost are here broken down into 3 x 6 issue arcs - one set in high school, one out in the world, and the third in college.
Overall, this collection is a mixed bag. When reading, one is hit by positives and negatives in quick succession: the art is nice, but the dialogue does not ring true to the ear... the ensemble is good, but the father is so much of a cookie cutter bad guy that he starts to feel contrived... the drama is well presented, but the pacing is sometimes poor. It's like this all the way through--dipping in one's estimation from 4 stars to 2 stars and back again as the pages turn.
When the collection is finished, I was left with the feeling that an opportunity had been missed here, or at least not fully taken advantage of. Fans of the character will be interested to see Emma's evolution over the course of the book, but the ending doesn't quite have the zing which makes you think "So that's how she got to be the way she is". In that sense, this was a missed opportunity. But as a character piece devoid of superhero antics, it succeeds fairly well.
Best recommended for sometimes comic readers who aren't in a particularly fussy mood.
Overall, this collection is a mixed bag. When reading, one is hit by positives and negatives in quick succession: the art is nice, but the dialogue does not ring true to the ear... the ensemble is good, but the father is so much of a cookie cutter bad guy that he starts to feel contrived... the drama is well presented, but the pacing is sometimes poor. It's like this all the way through--dipping in one's estimation from 4 stars to 2 stars and back again as the pages turn.
When the collection is finished, I was left with the feeling that an opportunity had been missed here, or at least not fully taken advantage of. Fans of the character will be interested to see Emma's evolution over the course of the book, but the ending doesn't quite have the zing which makes you think "So that's how she got to be the way she is". In that sense, this was a missed opportunity. But as a character piece devoid of superhero antics, it succeeds fairly well.
Best recommended for sometimes comic readers who aren't in a particularly fussy mood.
January 13, 2016
No idea what's up with the objectifying cover... But with that being said, this book was great! The drawings were beautiful, the story compelling, the characters deep. I loved it. The only negative thing I would say is that the authors should have asked a French speaker to proofread the French parts because almost 90% of those sentences were wrong. There even were phrases that simply do not exist in French. I have no idea where they saw that "so-so" translates into "tellement ainsi." It is basic French to know it translates into "comme ci, comme ça." And don't get me started on the use of "magasin" for "magazine"... Did they even look up the meanings of the words they used?
Besides that though, the book was awesome! I recommend it to any X-Men fan out there. : )
Besides that though, the book was awesome! I recommend it to any X-Men fan out there. : )
January 31, 2012
More of a teen drama then a standard superhero story, which was interesting for a change. Not really to my taste but not too bad I guess.
January 31, 2022
First off, yes, this cover and most of the covers on this series are borderline pornographic and honestly off-putting. The art inside is completely different, so ignoring that, this is a somewhat interesting origin that I wish took us closer to the incredibly complex character Emma Frost has become, or even the fun villain she was when first introduced.
January 17, 2023
Well, shoot, this was very readable and page-turny. A shame it was canceled early back in the day (though I wasn't buying the book at the time either, so I guess I'm partially to blame). At least it doesn't end on a cliffhanger and hit some important beats before it ended.
October 10, 2019
Let's get the obvious out of the way: the covers are awful and not indicative of the story within.
That being said, Emma Frost's origin is a filling and heavy tale, full of melodrama. There's a very "teen drama" vibe throughout the book, but since it's about a teenager I think some allowances can be given. This is not Emma as we know her-- this is before Emma became a woman made of agency and badassness. This Emma is meek, shy and allows people in her life to make her decisions for her. This is not a bad thing! We are given insight as to what led Emma to become the person she is, and just because she's not the Emma we know and love throughout this book should not be seen as a detriment.
Emma changes through the story, slowly coming more into her own in every way that entails: her powers, her body, her place in the world, and most importantly, her agency. Emma has a dynamic character arc and, while I can see some fans of her disliking how different she is from her usual incarnation, I think understanding her history is vital to understanding who she will end up becoming. Something I really appreciated was that Emma's morality isn't cleaned up to make her the tragic ingénue. The approach is more realistic: Emma sees horrible things, adapts and changes, and comes to her own conclusions regarding the ethical use of her abilities. It further demonstrates the difference between her and many of the regular X-Men, who adopted Xavier's (tenuous) ethical stance on using their abilities for personal gain. Emma is easy to root for, and I thought her writing was well done.
Less enjoyable is Emma's cartoonishly evil father. He's basically every rich white dude stereotype rolled into one, a Evil Daddy Warbucks who delights in how cruel he can be to his family. It can come off a little off putting, especially when other parts of the narrative are treated with more nuance, but there are people like Daddy Frost in the world so it doesn't entirely break my suspension of disbelief-- but it does stretch it at times.
This does not have the high-octane adventures some X-Men fans may crave, nor does it really delve into the deeper psychological aspects of the team, but it is an interesting, almost slice of life, read and mandatory for fans of Emma's character.
But, god. Those covers. I don't want anyone to see me walking around with them in public. Total marketing mishap.
That being said, Emma Frost's origin is a filling and heavy tale, full of melodrama. There's a very "teen drama" vibe throughout the book, but since it's about a teenager I think some allowances can be given. This is not Emma as we know her-- this is before Emma became a woman made of agency and badassness. This Emma is meek, shy and allows people in her life to make her decisions for her. This is not a bad thing! We are given insight as to what led Emma to become the person she is, and just because she's not the Emma we know and love throughout this book should not be seen as a detriment.
Emma changes through the story, slowly coming more into her own in every way that entails: her powers, her body, her place in the world, and most importantly, her agency. Emma has a dynamic character arc and, while I can see some fans of her disliking how different she is from her usual incarnation, I think understanding her history is vital to understanding who she will end up becoming. Something I really appreciated was that Emma's morality isn't cleaned up to make her the tragic ingénue. The approach is more realistic: Emma sees horrible things, adapts and changes, and comes to her own conclusions regarding the ethical use of her abilities. It further demonstrates the difference between her and many of the regular X-Men, who adopted Xavier's (tenuous) ethical stance on using their abilities for personal gain. Emma is easy to root for, and I thought her writing was well done.
Less enjoyable is Emma's cartoonishly evil father. He's basically every rich white dude stereotype rolled into one, a Evil Daddy Warbucks who delights in how cruel he can be to his family. It can come off a little off putting, especially when other parts of the narrative are treated with more nuance, but there are people like Daddy Frost in the world so it doesn't entirely break my suspension of disbelief-- but it does stretch it at times.
This does not have the high-octane adventures some X-Men fans may crave, nor does it really delve into the deeper psychological aspects of the team, but it is an interesting, almost slice of life, read and mandatory for fans of Emma's character.
But, god. Those covers. I don't want anyone to see me walking around with them in public. Total marketing mishap.
June 25, 2015
I love Emma Frost, I genuinely think she's one of the best characters in the X-Men Universe *but* WHAT IS UP WITH THIS COVER. A few things:
1. She's not remotely Hellfire White Queen Emma Frost in this edition so they have her in the pained-on outfit is beyond me (not really but it's stupid).
2. I was reading this at the airport and I was so so embarrassed to pull this out of my bag with this soft porn cover. What the hell Marvel. Seriously?! I sometimes wonder if they ever expected women read this comics. Or actually if they even acknowledge that women can read and look at pictures - at.the.same.time.
Anyway, the story itself was pretty good as I've not settled in with Emma's origin story before. Her family is pretty messed up and I'm slightly put out by the fact that Emma isn't naturally smart? Or is that something she learns too? It was a good read and I liked the artwork (for the most part) I tried to look past the big boobs and small waisted women because well, for men that have never touched women they can only draw their fantasies right? ;) ;)
1. She's not remotely Hellfire White Queen Emma Frost in this edition so they have her in the pained-on outfit is beyond me (not really but it's stupid).
2. I was reading this at the airport and I was so so embarrassed to pull this out of my bag with this soft porn cover. What the hell Marvel. Seriously?! I sometimes wonder if they ever expected women read this comics. Or actually if they even acknowledge that women can read and look at pictures - at.the.same.time.
Anyway, the story itself was pretty good as I've not settled in with Emma's origin story before. Her family is pretty messed up and I'm slightly put out by the fact that Emma isn't naturally smart? Or is that something she learns too? It was a good read and I liked the artwork (for the most part) I tried to look past the big boobs and small waisted women because well, for men that have never touched women they can only draw their fantasies right? ;) ;)
April 13, 2019
I really liked this.
It has a very teen soap vibe, and was probably not written for cis het males like myself... but fuck it! I was thoroughly entertained!
It felt like the Craft mixed with Carrie mixed with Cruel Intentions. It was just so... juicy. A large part of it was just sordid, rich family drama. The action was minimal, but when it did happen, it was dramatic. The climax was satisfying and had some muscle to it.
It was really good. It’s a thick volume comprised of 18 issues and I devoured it.
One problem:
The cover art was stupid. It was obviously drawn by someone who wasn’t actually reading the book. These issues are about a young Emma discovering herself and facing these struggles... and the cover art was all 90s/2000s porn star Emma Frost 😂. It just didn’t fit.
That’s a small gripe though. I recommend this to anyone.
I wish there was a sequel that detailed her first encountering and joining The Hellfire Club. That’s a part I really wanted to see. Oh well. Never say never.
It has a very teen soap vibe, and was probably not written for cis het males like myself... but fuck it! I was thoroughly entertained!
It felt like the Craft mixed with Carrie mixed with Cruel Intentions. It was just so... juicy. A large part of it was just sordid, rich family drama. The action was minimal, but when it did happen, it was dramatic. The climax was satisfying and had some muscle to it.
It was really good. It’s a thick volume comprised of 18 issues and I devoured it.
One problem:
The cover art was stupid. It was obviously drawn by someone who wasn’t actually reading the book. These issues are about a young Emma discovering herself and facing these struggles... and the cover art was all 90s/2000s porn star Emma Frost 😂. It just didn’t fit.
That’s a small gripe though. I recommend this to anyone.
I wish there was a sequel that detailed her first encountering and joining The Hellfire Club. That’s a part I really wanted to see. Oh well. Never say never.
March 25, 2016
I loved it! Emma Frost is one of my favorite X-Men so it was fun to see how she got her start. Emma wasn't always the cool and collected heart breaker we all love. She was once the daughter of the richest man and once...a lost high school girl. Emma struggled to be herself in a repressive family with an evil father. It was actually heart-breaking at moments to read and see her struggle. Follows her into her college years where she really develops her powers and chooses the darker side. I was disappointed that it didn't show how she found the X-Men and such...it just stopped after things fell apart for her again. There was one message of Professor X and that was it for the X-Men connection. However, the roots of the Emma we all know and love were evident. Art work was awesome and the story was solid. Would have been 5 if it had a stronger ending.
November 13, 2022
After Logan’s strange Origin we now turn to Ms Emma Frost. Wealthy heiress with a controlling bully of a father, Emma slowly gains control and social standing at her boarding school as her mutant powers manifest. As she taps into the minds of people around her she is able to use the wisdom of the crowd to pass her exams, taking her from a middle-of-the-road student to top of the class. Along the way she manages to get around her long-term bully too, a girl from a less wealthy family who nonetheless seems academically gifted and seeking approval in a similar way to Emma.
The story moves quickly, following Emma as she rebels against her horrible family, moves to Boston to make her way, and eventually escapes to a university in New York with her own ransom money. There she meets another psychic and has to come to terms with her own identity as a mutant and what she’s willing to do to the people around her to stay ahead.
So, a lot to explore in this title, but let’s start with the basics. The overall plot is solid and moves fast. A lot of what happens here really sets up Emma for the ice queen we know-and-love/hate in later books: her aptitude as a teacher in Morrison’s X-school, her inherent distrust of the human population, even her somewhat ruthless tactics. Emma has an interesting arc: going from a powerless girl desperate to please her father to an empowered, somewhat arrogant blonde powerhouse (Is it canon that she dyes her hair btw? Or is it a metaphor for how her ice-queen nature is contrived and masking her vulnerability?).
Despite the rich setting and a wealth of themes being touched upon my main gripe with the series is that it never digs deep enough. Where Emma's contemplation for the ethical line-in-sand? What makes her actions better or worse than Astrid? Astrid manipulates the men in Emma’s life to attack her and destroys them to keep Emma to herself, but Emma does the same to Ingrid to protect her and Ian, destroying that girl's life in the process.
Some of the writing I found strange too. What drives Emma’s two sisters in the first third of the story? Both seems sociopathic in their inability to fend for their siblings, especially during the kidnapping plot. The father is also almost too evil to be real.
Art wise this is good. The inking is basic, not too messy, and tells the story well. I much preferred the art in the first two arcs (Randy Green) than at college (Carlo Pagulayan) but the latter didn't get in the way of the story. The colorist is excellent, panels are vibrant and well shaded. The cover art is incredible, I love the 90's teen vibe aesthetic they went for and I kind of wish it was more present in the actual panels.
One minor thing: we never find out about the white outfit, despite it being featured in 8 out of 18 covers in this collection. That was a letdown.
So overall this is a solid 3.5 for me. If they’d spent a bit more time fleshing out the interesting ethical discussions brought up in the story it could have been a 4.
==========
Why X-Men, why now?
I was really into X-Men during my teens.
It's such a classic story about acceptance and finding your place in the world that it feels catered to teens. Plus there's enough diversity in the cast's backgrounds and personalities to keep it interesting.
And look at the epic storylines back then: the dark Phoenix saga, Age of Apocalypse, House of M, Civil War - so much great stuff!
I grew tired of them at some point and moved on to other pastures (Runaways, then mostly Image) mostly because the big Marvel collections were huge, a long time coming, and they were so expensive! I didn't have a way to get single issues (this was pre-digital comics) so I ordered them from the USA.
But recently.. someone talked about how great the Hickman run is... And I wanted to get back in. Because let's face it: when Marvel is done well it's like being a kid again.
So with the help of comicbook herald I put together a little reading list. Books so far:
New X-Men, Volume 1 by Grant Morrison
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 2
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 3
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 2
X-Statix, Volume 4: X-Statix vs. the Avengers
Wolverine: Origin by Paul Jenkins
The story moves quickly, following Emma as she rebels against her horrible family, moves to Boston to make her way, and eventually escapes to a university in New York with her own ransom money. There she meets another psychic and has to come to terms with her own identity as a mutant and what she’s willing to do to the people around her to stay ahead.
So, a lot to explore in this title, but let’s start with the basics. The overall plot is solid and moves fast. A lot of what happens here really sets up Emma for the ice queen we know-and-love/hate in later books: her aptitude as a teacher in Morrison’s X-school, her inherent distrust of the human population, even her somewhat ruthless tactics. Emma has an interesting arc: going from a powerless girl desperate to please her father to an empowered, somewhat arrogant blonde powerhouse (Is it canon that she dyes her hair btw? Or is it a metaphor for how her ice-queen nature is contrived and masking her vulnerability?).
Despite the rich setting and a wealth of themes being touched upon my main gripe with the series is that it never digs deep enough. Where Emma's contemplation for the ethical line-in-sand? What makes her actions better or worse than Astrid? Astrid manipulates the men in Emma’s life to attack her and destroys them to keep Emma to herself, but Emma does the same to Ingrid to protect her and Ian, destroying that girl's life in the process.
Some of the writing I found strange too. What drives Emma’s two sisters in the first third of the story? Both seems sociopathic in their inability to fend for their siblings, especially during the kidnapping plot. The father is also almost too evil to be real.
Art wise this is good. The inking is basic, not too messy, and tells the story well. I much preferred the art in the first two arcs (Randy Green) than at college (Carlo Pagulayan) but the latter didn't get in the way of the story. The colorist is excellent, panels are vibrant and well shaded. The cover art is incredible, I love the 90's teen vibe aesthetic they went for and I kind of wish it was more present in the actual panels.
One minor thing: we never find out about the white outfit, despite it being featured in 8 out of 18 covers in this collection. That was a letdown.
So overall this is a solid 3.5 for me. If they’d spent a bit more time fleshing out the interesting ethical discussions brought up in the story it could have been a 4.
==========
Why X-Men, why now?
I was really into X-Men during my teens.
It's such a classic story about acceptance and finding your place in the world that it feels catered to teens. Plus there's enough diversity in the cast's backgrounds and personalities to keep it interesting.
And look at the epic storylines back then: the dark Phoenix saga, Age of Apocalypse, House of M, Civil War - so much great stuff!
I grew tired of them at some point and moved on to other pastures (Runaways, then mostly Image) mostly because the big Marvel collections were huge, a long time coming, and they were so expensive! I didn't have a way to get single issues (this was pre-digital comics) so I ordered them from the USA.
But recently.. someone talked about how great the Hickman run is... And I wanted to get back in. Because let's face it: when Marvel is done well it's like being a kid again.
So with the help of comicbook herald I put together a little reading list. Books so far:
New X-Men, Volume 1 by Grant Morrison
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 2
New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection, Book 3
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
X-Statix: The Complete Collection Vol. 2
X-Statix, Volume 4: X-Statix vs. the Avengers
Wolverine: Origin by Paul Jenkins
March 2, 2019
Just read this. It's a backstory of her younger life. Usually you get stories of Xavier coming to the rescue and telling a mutant about their powers and how there's a school available for them. But this is a coming of age story of a mutant girl trying to figure it out all on her own. Not as action packed but this is hitting you with lots of drama. I also liked that they explain why Emma is so dry and hard (what folks would describe as a ‘bitch’). By her basically knowing what people think of her already anyway, so she’s just going to be right back truthful with them. I enjoyed it for the most part but my only complaint is -that they turn Ashtrid into a misandrist and double-crosses her in the end. It would have been nice to have a woman of color actually helping out another fellow mutant with her powers since we need more representation going that way anyway especially in terms of powerful telepaths (we all know that's lacking because the x-universe only seems to have a surplus of gorgeous white girls telepaths really). It’s a nice change from Xavier always saving the day for young mutants. Seeing a powerful black woman telepath for once was interesting. It’s okay for Emma to have a little bit of happiness in her journey. It would have been a more realistic approach than what we're given. Not everyone is always out to sucker you. There's tons of trauma thrown at poor Emma. Letting her have one friend wouldn't have been too much but kudos to the story for showing how sexy & intimate it is to have a conversation in the mind.
November 17, 2020
This graphic novel might have the greatest disparity between its cover and its content than anything I have ever encountered. The book's cover is a grown up Emma Frost in peak, early 2000's leather bondage and sartorially impossible bra. The fan boy fever dream that launched a thousand terrible alt fictions stories. The book itself is something else entirely. Emma Frost is a coming of age/origin story about a girl raised in a wealthy and abusive household who is forced to strike out on her own while discovering her mutant telepathic powers. The 18 issues collected here cover Frost from about age 15 through maybe 20. It's a solid, slow builder of a story whose art reflects its subject rather than the S&M pin up covers of many of the individual issues. On the whole I liked what I found in this collection but felt like where it ends left me with more questions than an origin should. Emma Frost made her first appearance as the White Queen of the Hellfire Club in Uncanny X-Men issue 129 in January of 1980 as fully formed villain that would be a key figure in the Marvel universe for 40 plus years. There is an ocean of story that isn't even hinted at in this collection that lead her down that path.
June 19, 2025
So...many of the covers were just gross. I will acknowledge that there is some small value derived from the contrast between the hypersexualized cover depictions of adult Emma and the brooding, insecure adolescent shown within the pages of the book. But...there would have been other ways to achieve the same effect that didn't involve drawing her naked and then going back in to pencil on scraps of painted on clothing with impossible to engineer cutouts.
The story is fine, but not especially innovative. Bollers pulls from a variety of classic coming-of-age and X-universe tropes. You have a imperious father; a scheming, unscrupulous sister; adolescent bullying; betrayals by best friends; a backdrop of anti-mutant hysteria; human nature at its worst; and death of or rejection by the only decent, trustworthy men Emma meets. Basically, Emma gets lesson after lesson that teaches her people suck, literally no one is trustworthy, and they're going to hate you no matter what. As the reader, we're meant to take all of this and understand/forgive Emma for her years as a villain. I think the book accomplishes this goal, just not in a way that's exciting or new.
The story is fine, but not especially innovative. Bollers pulls from a variety of classic coming-of-age and X-universe tropes. You have a imperious father; a scheming, unscrupulous sister; adolescent bullying; betrayals by best friends; a backdrop of anti-mutant hysteria; human nature at its worst; and death of or rejection by the only decent, trustworthy men Emma meets. Basically, Emma gets lesson after lesson that teaches her people suck, literally no one is trustworthy, and they're going to hate you no matter what. As the reader, we're meant to take all of this and understand/forgive Emma for her years as a villain. I think the book accomplishes this goal, just not in a way that's exciting or new.
December 6, 2025
3.5/5
probably the first comic that ever peaked my interest, by no means is it perfect but it holds a special place in my heart!
I was on a roll and managed to finish these in one sitting but was left wanting more.. Astrid's character was introduced too late imo, was not a fan of Ian's return, would've loved to have seen more of her siblings (especially Adrienne) and I was so dissapointed with Troy's departure but I guess it made sense as a way to further push her into leaving home and exploring elsewhere - plus further exploration of her powers would've been lovely but alas.. we can't have everything
overall I enjoyed them and I'm glad I picked up the full series, it's a fun edition to her origins - and definitely an unpopular opinion but I love the covers! probably would've been better off leaving the more seductive ones for when she was in college, however Greg Horn's art just hits the spot for me
probably the first comic that ever peaked my interest, by no means is it perfect but it holds a special place in my heart!
I was on a roll and managed to finish these in one sitting but was left wanting more.. Astrid's character was introduced too late imo, was not a fan of Ian's return, would've loved to have seen more of her siblings (especially Adrienne) and I was so dissapointed with Troy's departure but I guess it made sense as a way to further push her into leaving home and exploring elsewhere - plus further exploration of her powers would've been lovely but alas.. we can't have everything
overall I enjoyed them and I'm glad I picked up the full series, it's a fun edition to her origins - and definitely an unpopular opinion but I love the covers! probably would've been better off leaving the more seductive ones for when she was in college, however Greg Horn's art just hits the spot for me
Read
May 7, 2024In my quest to read everything 2000s onwards of xmen, I decided to pick this up and. Phew. This was, at times, not awful. Which is more than I expected going into it. While a good exploration of the character, it was really rushed at the end to justify how she ends up the way she's portrayed in comics previously. The relationship with Astrid could have been a great exploration, but instead, the writer was too concerned with weird relationship drama with a former teacher of Emma's, and also really rushed to turn Astrid into a villain. I have so many issues with that alone. Also, there's so much attention at the beginning between Emma and her brother, and we never get to see the outcome of that? Disappointing. I don't regret reading it, it just could've been infinitely better.
December 31, 2024
Helvetintulen klubin entisen Valkoisen kuningattaren ja Kykloopin uuden tyttökaverin (tämän suhteen olen jo mennyt sekaisin laskuissa) alkuperätarina yksissä kansissa. Tässä sarjakuvassa Ryhmä-X.n maailma kohtaa Gilmore Girlsin ja lukemattomien teinidraamasarjojen maailmat. Juoni ei ole maailmoja mullistava tai millään tavalla unohtumaton, ja piirrosjälki on alan keskitasoa. Koska syntisenä salaisuutenani on em. sarjojen saladiggailu, en kuitenkaan voi väittää, ettenkö olisi tästäkin vähän tykännyt. Siksi kolme tähteä.
November 3, 2025
The disconnect fundamental to this trilogy of Frost backstories is evident in the pairing of the almost pornagraphic pin-up covers with the girl's coming of age story within. The three stories are also a big discontinuous themselves, given we have two school life stories (1+3), then a crime story in NYC (2).
But with all that said, I love the fact that we get backstory and background for Emma, including family who we've seen since. A foundational story, even if one that's not particularly challenging.
But with all that said, I love the fact that we get backstory and background for Emma, including family who we've seen since. A foundational story, even if one that's not particularly challenging.
January 2, 2017
I absolutely loved the first few issues in this book. Emma's school and family issues were incredibly interesting, and you really feel for her. However, around issue 8 I started to get bored. The plot changed and it just wasn't as entertaining for me. Towards the end the book picked back up, but I still feel the beginning was the strongest part. Definitely worth a read though if you're an Emma/X-Men fan.
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