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X-Men Epic Collection
X-Men Epic Collection: Children of the Atom
The stunning 60s debut of the X-Men and their early adventures, crafted by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as no one else could!
Billed as “The Strangest Super-Heroes of All!,” the ever-uncanny X-Men blasted onto the comic-book scene in 1963. Now, in this massive Epic Collection, you can feast your eyes as Stan, Jack & Co. lay down the building blocks of comics’ most famous franchise! You’ll experience the beginning of Professor X’s teen team, and their mission for peace and brotherhood between man and mutant; their first battle with arch-foe Magneto; the dynamic debuts of Juggernaut, the Sentinels, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; and the Golden Age jungle man, Ka-Zar, reinvented for a new era! All this and more Epic X-Men adventures await within!
X-MEN (1963) #1-23
Billed as “The Strangest Super-Heroes of All!,” the ever-uncanny X-Men blasted onto the comic-book scene in 1963. Now, in this massive Epic Collection, you can feast your eyes as Stan, Jack & Co. lay down the building blocks of comics’ most famous franchise! You’ll experience the beginning of Professor X’s teen team, and their mission for peace and brotherhood between man and mutant; their first battle with arch-foe Magneto; the dynamic debuts of Juggernaut, the Sentinels, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; and the Golden Age jungle man, Ka-Zar, reinvented for a new era! All this and more Epic X-Men adventures await within!
X-MEN (1963) #1-23
520 pages, Paperback
First published January 6, 2015
52 people are currently reading
433 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,560 books2,333 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
January 15, 2024
I read the comic book reprints of The X-Men #1-23, the original Stan Lee and Jack Kirby masterclass in creativity brought the world Professor Xavier, Beast, Iceman, Angel, Marvel Girl, Cyclops, Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Toad, Mastermind, Blob, Unus Untouchable, Juggernaut, Mimic, Sentinels, Master Mold, Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants, Asteroid M, Cerebro, Kaz-zar, Zabu, Savage Land! It is just ridiculous how much was created in the 1960s by the Marvel Bullpen! The stories don't age that well, but you see the foundations of so many characters! 6 out of 12 Three Stars.
2014 read
2014 read
June 28, 2020
Look, X-Men was my gateway drug into comics more than 30 years ago (via the majesty of The Dark Phoenix Saga). And, I love me some Stan Lee—the guy is one of my real-life heroes, and Spider-Man is my all-time favorite superhero. So, I have nothing but love in my heart when I say the writing over the first 23 issues of X-Men is sometimes as awkward and clunky as me trying to ask a girl to dance in 7th grade (which, incidentally, I never once managed successfully, even when I deployed the then-popular means of asking a friend to do it on my behalf; oh, how I miss 1991).
Now, that notwithstanding, there’s much to love here: the original X-Men stand as one of the greatest superhero teams ever, and a lot of foundational cornerstones are laid here. And, at the end of this collection, the highly underrated Werner Roth jumps onboard as the artist. So, there’s more than enough here to make it worthwhile for X-aficionados.
But, oy. Some of that dialogue and exposition…case in point. Though this is my favorite example, wherein Professor X establishes Debate Me Bro culture by ringing up the good people at National Television Network.
Then again, much like autocorrect makes my texts like 17 times funnier, that stuff doesn’t necessarily detract from the entertainment value.
Now, that notwithstanding, there’s much to love here: the original X-Men stand as one of the greatest superhero teams ever, and a lot of foundational cornerstones are laid here. And, at the end of this collection, the highly underrated Werner Roth jumps onboard as the artist. So, there’s more than enough here to make it worthwhile for X-aficionados.
But, oy. Some of that dialogue and exposition…case in point. Though this is my favorite example, wherein Professor X establishes Debate Me Bro culture by ringing up the good people at National Television Network.
Then again, much like autocorrect makes my texts like 17 times funnier, that stuff doesn’t necessarily detract from the entertainment value.
June 25, 2020
Ive become a big fan of Stan Lees Spider-man so thought I'd check this out. Just didnt click for me. Its weird, this felt super out dated as compared to their Spider-man run.
April 19, 2020
I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading this. It has moments that have not aged well like a lot of silver age books, but it’s amazing to see how many things this early in the books run still exist in modern X-men comics. I was especially impressed with the first appearances of the Juggernaut. With an introduction like that it’s not surprising he’s became a regular part of X-men history. I also enjoyed seeing Jack Kirby’s dynamic artwork in the first half of this book. Not many do it better. Overall, I would recommend this book to any X-men fan. A lot of fun stories packed into this collection.
July 7, 2024
7.5/10 Good for its time but feels a bit dated nowadays.
July 25, 2025
3.5
Hank McCoy would call women ‘females’.
Hank McCoy would call women ‘females’.
June 29, 2023
I feel conflicted about writing a review for a collection of comic books from the '60s. First of all, I'm only reading this collection because I may be having a low-level mid-life crisis as I enter my 40s and instead of buying hot cars, guitars, or cheating on my wife, I'm reading comics that weren't so readily available when I wanted to read them as a teenager (and, for the sake of full disclosure, I do have my eye on a couple of guitars. I apologize for living the cliche).
I'm obviously not looking for highbrow literature or insightful history, so it feels weird to complain that the writing seems a little hackneyed (it does) or that the casual sexism feels surprising, even for the '60s (Jean is always making dinner while the X-Men and Professor Xavier take turns thinking about how desperately they wish they could get with her). I had a pretty good idea what I was getting when I picked it up, so I'm not going to stroke my ego by criticizing a '60s comic book for being a '60s comic book. Plus, as a 9th grade teacher, I enjoy seeing teenagers portrayed as well-groomed, deferential, and critical of pop music, men with long hair, and beat poetry.
It feels odd to have to actually say it, but there's a lot you have to overlook to get to the meat of stories about lazer-eyed, flying teenagers battling maniacal, conquest-consumed super villains. I came here because I loved X-Men comics as a kid and I was always trying to dig deeper into the backissues, and now that I'm an overworked, moderately depressed middle-aged man looking for fulfillment in reveling in some teenage nostalgia, I can afford it. And it worked! The Epic Collections are pretty cool and comprehensive and don't look too campy sitting on my bookshelf. So even though there's all kinds of suspension of judgement and disbelief that go into reading comic collections as a middle-aged man, I think this collection deserved a four-star review. I enjoyed looking back into the the weird origins of the X-Men comics.
I'm obviously not looking for highbrow literature or insightful history, so it feels weird to complain that the writing seems a little hackneyed (it does) or that the casual sexism feels surprising, even for the '60s (Jean is always making dinner while the X-Men and Professor Xavier take turns thinking about how desperately they wish they could get with her). I had a pretty good idea what I was getting when I picked it up, so I'm not going to stroke my ego by criticizing a '60s comic book for being a '60s comic book. Plus, as a 9th grade teacher, I enjoy seeing teenagers portrayed as well-groomed, deferential, and critical of pop music, men with long hair, and beat poetry.
It feels odd to have to actually say it, but there's a lot you have to overlook to get to the meat of stories about lazer-eyed, flying teenagers battling maniacal, conquest-consumed super villains. I came here because I loved X-Men comics as a kid and I was always trying to dig deeper into the backissues, and now that I'm an overworked, moderately depressed middle-aged man looking for fulfillment in reveling in some teenage nostalgia, I can afford it. And it worked! The Epic Collections are pretty cool and comprehensive and don't look too campy sitting on my bookshelf. So even though there's all kinds of suspension of judgement and disbelief that go into reading comic collections as a middle-aged man, I think this collection deserved a four-star review. I enjoyed looking back into the the weird origins of the X-Men comics.
September 13, 2019
Looking at the popularity of the X-Men now, it's hard to believe that the comic book was cancelled less than seven years after it began, resorting to reprints for the next five years. In spite of creating villain favourites such as Magneto and The Blob, these twenty-three issues are not the best and the series didn't really pick up until it tried out gimmicks later in the series like killing off Xavier. Still, I have a fondness for the Juggernaut story as it was among one of the first X-Men stories I remember reading. Plus, with the first appearance of The Sentinels and The Mimic, this is filled with some stories that have proven very important as the years have passed. They're worth definitely reading for any fan of the characters just to see how much has changed over the years.
April 24, 2020
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are an incredible creative team, whether it's their work together on titles like Fantastic Four or whether it's their individual work across numerous other titles, the two created some of the most influential comics of all time. The Silver Age was a time of transformation for comics, brimming with so many new and interesting characters. The Fantastic Four! The Amazing Spider-Man! The Mighty Thor! Despite their age, so many of these series still hold up as some of the characters' greatest stories. X-Men, however, is not one of those titles.
The original idea for the X-Men was to create a cast of characters who were not created by science. No gamma bomb, no radioactive spider, no cosmic rays, just regular people who were born with a variety of powers. Professor Xavier, himself a mutant, gathers a team of teenage "mutants" and teaches them to hone their powers to fight against evil mutants and prove to the world that these so-called freaks and menaces can be a force for good in the world. Unfortunately, this is as far as the story goes, as most of these beginning stories are too caught up in the flair of having natural superpowers that they don't find anything entertaining to do with them. The cast of characters are all one-note characters defined by their powers and a singular personality trait - Iceman makes jokes, Beast uses big words, Cyclops broods, Marvel Girl is a girl, Angel is... there, I guess -and don't really undergo any significant change. The plot of each issue is them taking on an evil mutant and finding excuses to justify each of them using their powers.
The series itself is dated, as all comics half a century old are. Full of casual sexism, long-winded narration, soap opera cliche dialogue, and minimal art detail. Plenty of Silver Age comics have held up despite this, and are worth digging through, but X-Men offers very little besides that. Perhaps the only issues worth reading in this entire collection are the first issue - because it's the first issue - and X-Men #14-16, "Among Us Stalk the Sentinels". That arc is the first time that mutants being a metaphor for marginalized groups because more than subtext or background information but instead the entire focus of the story. It introduces important X-Men characters like Bolivar Trask and the Sentinels and is a genuinely interesting science-fiction story about a robot uprising. Even then, its brought down by its boring characters and feels more like a rejected Fantastic Four story than a shining star of 60s comics.
There is very little reason to visit the original 60s X-Men. There is no real point to recommending it to anyone. The only conditions under which I would recommend someone read this volume is if they have an academic interest in where X-Men began and are willing to slog their way through it. It's not worth reading for enjoyment. There are so many better Silver Age comics to discover and revisit. There's a reason why X-Men was cancelled and turned into a reprint book so quickly compared to its contemporaries. There's a reason why Chris Claremont is thought of as the "creator" of the X-Men when he took over and had to replace half the cast to make it work. X-Men is bad.
The original idea for the X-Men was to create a cast of characters who were not created by science. No gamma bomb, no radioactive spider, no cosmic rays, just regular people who were born with a variety of powers. Professor Xavier, himself a mutant, gathers a team of teenage "mutants" and teaches them to hone their powers to fight against evil mutants and prove to the world that these so-called freaks and menaces can be a force for good in the world. Unfortunately, this is as far as the story goes, as most of these beginning stories are too caught up in the flair of having natural superpowers that they don't find anything entertaining to do with them. The cast of characters are all one-note characters defined by their powers and a singular personality trait - Iceman makes jokes, Beast uses big words, Cyclops broods, Marvel Girl is a girl, Angel is... there, I guess -and don't really undergo any significant change. The plot of each issue is them taking on an evil mutant and finding excuses to justify each of them using their powers.
The series itself is dated, as all comics half a century old are. Full of casual sexism, long-winded narration, soap opera cliche dialogue, and minimal art detail. Plenty of Silver Age comics have held up despite this, and are worth digging through, but X-Men offers very little besides that. Perhaps the only issues worth reading in this entire collection are the first issue - because it's the first issue - and X-Men #14-16, "Among Us Stalk the Sentinels". That arc is the first time that mutants being a metaphor for marginalized groups because more than subtext or background information but instead the entire focus of the story. It introduces important X-Men characters like Bolivar Trask and the Sentinels and is a genuinely interesting science-fiction story about a robot uprising. Even then, its brought down by its boring characters and feels more like a rejected Fantastic Four story than a shining star of 60s comics.
There is very little reason to visit the original 60s X-Men. There is no real point to recommending it to anyone. The only conditions under which I would recommend someone read this volume is if they have an academic interest in where X-Men began and are willing to slog their way through it. It's not worth reading for enjoyment. There are so many better Silver Age comics to discover and revisit. There's a reason why X-Men was cancelled and turned into a reprint book so quickly compared to its contemporaries. There's a reason why Chris Claremont is thought of as the "creator" of the X-Men when he took over and had to replace half the cast to make it work. X-Men is bad.
February 19, 2024
Classic Marvel comic book stuff from Stan and Jack
WARNING! A spoiler approaches! Prepare to have information about this book spoiled!
(I have already reviewed the same comics from Marvel in omnibus format, so this should be relatively easy to review, now.)
What an interesting and enjoyable read! The action and drama move along at a brisk pace and you can see that the characters are very different than their cinematic counterparts…well, maybe in the case of Hank/Beast, not so much. I really enjoyed the characters of Charles Xavier and Jean Grey as well as Wanda and Pietro and how different they are from the movies. I kind of like Scott, but I know I can’t since we know what happens to him in later Marvel comic events, namely AvX, and what happens afterwards, as well. Warren and Bobby and Hank are mostly secondary characters who have yet to be fleshed out like their cinematic versions.
Okay, now the other downsides to this are:
- the depiction of Magneto as an outright villain and megalomaniac instead of the multi-faceted antihero portrayed by Michael Fassbender or the clever and cunning rogue played by Ian McKellen. Now, of course, I know that Chris Claremont created Erik’s entire backstory, but still, it’s hard to see Magneto be depicted as a villain who delights in pain and suffering.
- the constant monologuing by the characters and boasting about their superpowers. It’s not really smart to brag about your abilities in a fight since the opponent can do something about it.
Even though the depiction of Erik Lensharr/Magneto is ridiculous compared to his cinematic versions, the other villains are more interesting like Count Nefaria and the alien known as Lucifer, who crippled Xavier originally, as well as the Juggernaut, the Blob, and Unus the Untouchable. I did think that Nefaria recruiting a quintet of d-list villains to fight the X-men was a bit hilarious, but it worked, somewhat.
Anyway, it was a pretty enjoyable read. I liked it.
WARNING! A spoiler approaches! Prepare to have information about this book spoiled!
(I have already reviewed the same comics from Marvel in omnibus format, so this should be relatively easy to review, now.)
What an interesting and enjoyable read! The action and drama move along at a brisk pace and you can see that the characters are very different than their cinematic counterparts…well, maybe in the case of Hank/Beast, not so much. I really enjoyed the characters of Charles Xavier and Jean Grey as well as Wanda and Pietro and how different they are from the movies. I kind of like Scott, but I know I can’t since we know what happens to him in later Marvel comic events, namely AvX, and what happens afterwards, as well. Warren and Bobby and Hank are mostly secondary characters who have yet to be fleshed out like their cinematic versions.
Okay, now the other downsides to this are:
- the depiction of Magneto as an outright villain and megalomaniac instead of the multi-faceted antihero portrayed by Michael Fassbender or the clever and cunning rogue played by Ian McKellen. Now, of course, I know that Chris Claremont created Erik’s entire backstory, but still, it’s hard to see Magneto be depicted as a villain who delights in pain and suffering.
- the constant monologuing by the characters and boasting about their superpowers. It’s not really smart to brag about your abilities in a fight since the opponent can do something about it.
Even though the depiction of Erik Lensharr/Magneto is ridiculous compared to his cinematic versions, the other villains are more interesting like Count Nefaria and the alien known as Lucifer, who crippled Xavier originally, as well as the Juggernaut, the Blob, and Unus the Untouchable. I did think that Nefaria recruiting a quintet of d-list villains to fight the X-men was a bit hilarious, but it worked, somewhat.
Anyway, it was a pretty enjoyable read. I liked it.
April 21, 2025
So this is where it all began for our merry mutants and I found it a really interesting read.
On one hand, there is so much here that is and will be classic X-Men. The school, Magneto and his brotherhood, Cerebro, Sentinels. So many characters and concepts that will last a long time are introduced here. When it comes to 60's Marvel comics some show up mostly fully formed. Like Spider-Man, or X-Men. While, more interestingly some show up wildly different from what they will become and have go through messy, but entertaining growing pains to get there. Like Fantastic Four and Hulk. So there comes my first complaint. A real lack of entertainment.
Which brings us to the other hand, which is while so many things are there that are X-Men, tonally, this could almost not be further away from them. They hit the ground running and are treated as practically teen idols. The most interesting thing is watching that tone start to change over issues. As more "evil" mutants show up the public opinion seems to start to swing and mutants start to become feared and hated, culminating, of course, with the introduction of the Sentinels and the actual hunting of mutants. This was by far the most entertaining thing about this series.
Then in the last couple issues, Stan Lee hands the book over to Roy Thomas and it turns into pretty cliche superhero shlock really quickly. Mostly campy and fun, but sometimes nonsensical and boring.
I could really only recommend this for silver age comic enthusiasts or the most hardcore of X-Men fans.
On one hand, there is so much here that is and will be classic X-Men. The school, Magneto and his brotherhood, Cerebro, Sentinels. So many characters and concepts that will last a long time are introduced here. When it comes to 60's Marvel comics some show up mostly fully formed. Like Spider-Man, or X-Men. While, more interestingly some show up wildly different from what they will become and have go through messy, but entertaining growing pains to get there. Like Fantastic Four and Hulk. So there comes my first complaint. A real lack of entertainment.
Which brings us to the other hand, which is while so many things are there that are X-Men, tonally, this could almost not be further away from them. They hit the ground running and are treated as practically teen idols. The most interesting thing is watching that tone start to change over issues. As more "evil" mutants show up the public opinion seems to start to swing and mutants start to become feared and hated, culminating, of course, with the introduction of the Sentinels and the actual hunting of mutants. This was by far the most entertaining thing about this series.
Then in the last couple issues, Stan Lee hands the book over to Roy Thomas and it turns into pretty cliche superhero shlock really quickly. Mostly campy and fun, but sometimes nonsensical and boring.
I could really only recommend this for silver age comic enthusiasts or the most hardcore of X-Men fans.
November 7, 2018
I'd already read a handful of these (see my review of FF Epic Collection), but overall these very old X-Men were new to my eyes. It's interesting to see the germination of storylines which persist in the X-Universe even today, despite so many changes in format & artist (or director), & also to watch the characters form into their more recognizable 'canon selves.' This is clearly a period of Stan, Jack, et al feeling out what our heroes can & can't do with their powers, though IMO these early plots are much better than the early FF series.
Despite an occasional hokey issue, the stories herein are still entertaining after 60-ish years. Personally, I prefer Old Skool comics; I don't enjoy the slick new graphic novels, & all their branches & spinoffs & alternate universes confuse my sense of linear series structure. Then there's the intimidatingly hardcore sophistication of their artwork & oft-confusing layouts of paneling & speech bubbles -- call me a traitor if you like, but post-1990s comics just frustrate me. Clearly I'm in a minority, as the graphic novel biz is booming today, so whatever. I leave the newer comics to those who enjoy them. These old Epic Collection omnibuses are much more to my taste, & I'm so glad Marvel is making the effort to reprint their classic 'golden era' into the 90s (X-Factor, Uncanny X-Men, etc).
The highlights for yours truly: Ka-Zar issue (sheer whackadoodle fun), Sentinals series (an interesting swerve into tragedy & morality), Jean's badassery (clearly Stan was listening when readers questioned Sue Storm's lackluster fighting input), & Pietro. 💕 I love me some Pietro -- always have, always will.
Less-than-highlights: The Stranger (yawn), The Blob (zzzz), & UNUS THE UNTOUCHABLE (seriously?).
Despite an occasional hokey issue, the stories herein are still entertaining after 60-ish years. Personally, I prefer Old Skool comics; I don't enjoy the slick new graphic novels, & all their branches & spinoffs & alternate universes confuse my sense of linear series structure. Then there's the intimidatingly hardcore sophistication of their artwork & oft-confusing layouts of paneling & speech bubbles -- call me a traitor if you like, but post-1990s comics just frustrate me. Clearly I'm in a minority, as the graphic novel biz is booming today, so whatever. I leave the newer comics to those who enjoy them. These old Epic Collection omnibuses are much more to my taste, & I'm so glad Marvel is making the effort to reprint their classic 'golden era' into the 90s (X-Factor, Uncanny X-Men, etc).
The highlights for yours truly: Ka-Zar issue (sheer whackadoodle fun), Sentinals series (an interesting swerve into tragedy & morality), Jean's badassery (clearly Stan was listening when readers questioned Sue Storm's lackluster fighting input), & Pietro. 💕 I love me some Pietro -- always have, always will.
Less-than-highlights: The Stranger (yawn), The Blob (zzzz), & UNUS THE UNTOUCHABLE (seriously?).
October 4, 2023
This is not only the third time that I have read these issues, but the third time that I have bought this material as well. Allow me to explain. I owned the first three hardcover Marvel Masterworks many moons ago but sold them when the hardcover Omnibus came out, as the Omnibus boasted vastly superior linework and color restoration. The Omnibus fell out of print, and when I saw how much it was going for I dumped it a year or so ago and picked this book up. As long as I have the material with the finest restoration I am fine. Plus, I honestly enjoy the paper stock in this Epic over the one found in the Omnibus.
OCD upgradeitis/ eBay flipping exploits aside, I enjoyed this material more the third time through. The X-Men were always the red-headed stepchild of Marvel's Silver Age. Neither Stan Lee nor Jack Kirby seemed to give this series much thought out of the gate. Compare these issues to anything else that these two were doing during the same cover month and you will see what I mean.
Kirby's successor was Werner Roth. I disliked Werner Roth's artwork until a couple of years ago, when I read his 1950's Atlas output. I still feel like his style is not as energetic as Kirby's, nor as nuanced as Ditko's, because he draws superheroes that look like regular people. If you read this as a book about normal teenagers who happen to be mutant superheroes his artwork makes more sense. He is a solid artist that was ill-suited to Silver Age superhero comics.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby lay down the entire foundation for the series here. Professor Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters. Cerebro, Professor X's mutant-detecting device. Magneto as well as the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants. Future Avengers Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. The Blob. The Juggernaut. The Sentinels and the first wave of anti-mutant hysteria that Roy Thomas and later Chris Claremont would use to great dramatic effect. It's all here, even if it isn't spit-shined or ready for prime time yet. Like I said, neither Lee nor Kirby nor Thomas nor Roth made this series seem like it was their priority. It falls short of every other book that Marvel was publishing during this time. Reading this for the third time was the charm, though, as I finally got what made it special to a small group of fans back then. It was those fans who would become the creators who would go on to make this one of Marvel's most popular titles a decade or so later.
OCD upgradeitis/ eBay flipping exploits aside, I enjoyed this material more the third time through. The X-Men were always the red-headed stepchild of Marvel's Silver Age. Neither Stan Lee nor Jack Kirby seemed to give this series much thought out of the gate. Compare these issues to anything else that these two were doing during the same cover month and you will see what I mean.
Kirby's successor was Werner Roth. I disliked Werner Roth's artwork until a couple of years ago, when I read his 1950's Atlas output. I still feel like his style is not as energetic as Kirby's, nor as nuanced as Ditko's, because he draws superheroes that look like regular people. If you read this as a book about normal teenagers who happen to be mutant superheroes his artwork makes more sense. He is a solid artist that was ill-suited to Silver Age superhero comics.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby lay down the entire foundation for the series here. Professor Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters. Cerebro, Professor X's mutant-detecting device. Magneto as well as the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants. Future Avengers Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. The Blob. The Juggernaut. The Sentinels and the first wave of anti-mutant hysteria that Roy Thomas and later Chris Claremont would use to great dramatic effect. It's all here, even if it isn't spit-shined or ready for prime time yet. Like I said, neither Lee nor Kirby nor Thomas nor Roth made this series seem like it was their priority. It falls short of every other book that Marvel was publishing during this time. Reading this for the third time was the charm, though, as I finally got what made it special to a small group of fans back then. It was those fans who would become the creators who would go on to make this one of Marvel's most popular titles a decade or so later.
September 4, 2021
It was interesting to read through the early issues of my favorite comic, but other than a bit of historical interest, this was a pretty tough read. Most of the characters don't resemble the ones I remember, people have powers and abilities that make no sense, and of course there's the low-level sexism.
The stories were pretty bad in general, and everything takes forever to get going, and then concludes super quickly. Problems are solved with ridiculous machines that amplify powers and then are never seen again. Magneto has telepathy that is never explained, and everyone talks out their actions. I'm pretty sure that out of 23 issues, Angel reminded us that he's glad Prof X trained him to dodge things in the air about 18 times.
Also, it's really obvious in these issues how completely useless Angel and Beast are. They're powers just aren't that powerful, and they're never really necessary to fighting the villain. I'm not surprised they made Hank super smart, just to give him something else to do.
The stories were pretty bad in general, and everything takes forever to get going, and then concludes super quickly. Problems are solved with ridiculous machines that amplify powers and then are never seen again. Magneto has telepathy that is never explained, and everyone talks out their actions. I'm pretty sure that out of 23 issues, Angel reminded us that he's glad Prof X trained him to dodge things in the air about 18 times.
Also, it's really obvious in these issues how completely useless Angel and Beast are. They're powers just aren't that powerful, and they're never really necessary to fighting the villain. I'm not surprised they made Hank super smart, just to give him something else to do.
May 7, 2023
The introduction of the X-Men is a bit flat. Many of the key characters and elements of the series are introduced here. Unfortunately the stories in these first 23 issues are pretty flat villain of the month variety, and the character development is not only flat but frankly grating.
The best story here is issue 12, “The Origin of Professor X,” which doesn’t tell a full origin story but does give us an outline of Charles Xavier’s backstory. The interesting bit here is the way the story frames Xavier’s origin as the story Professor X relates his origin as the Juggernaut mysteriously approaches the mansion overcoming the obstacles that the X-Men have put up to stop him. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby smartly use a couple of techniques to build suspense here: 1. Using the flashback story of Xavier as the bulk of the story and 2. Meanwhile not actually showing the Juggernaut until the final panel of the story. While not that original, it is used effectively here.
Unfortunately not much of the rest of this book rises to the level of that story, and that story was far from perfect.
The best story here is issue 12, “The Origin of Professor X,” which doesn’t tell a full origin story but does give us an outline of Charles Xavier’s backstory. The interesting bit here is the way the story frames Xavier’s origin as the story Professor X relates his origin as the Juggernaut mysteriously approaches the mansion overcoming the obstacles that the X-Men have put up to stop him. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby smartly use a couple of techniques to build suspense here: 1. Using the flashback story of Xavier as the bulk of the story and 2. Meanwhile not actually showing the Juggernaut until the final panel of the story. While not that original, it is used effectively here.
Unfortunately not much of the rest of this book rises to the level of that story, and that story was far from perfect.
September 7, 2017
via NYPL - I must admit that I only read the first 16 (of 23) issues in this book. My attention petered out by that point. At its best, however, this is a fun book, with strong Jack Kirby/Chic Stone artwork, playful banter among the characters, and fun plots. At its worst, you have a haphazard plotting like Ka-Zar's meandering introduction and the unsatisfying alien abduction of Magneto, dodgy inking in the early chapters, and Werner Roth's artwork not rising to Kirby's standard. What surprised me is how much of the X-Men lore is established here - Magneto, Sentinels, mutant persecution, Juggernaut, Blob, and more. Overall, the stories are entertaining, but they're uneven and not particularly essential.
August 24, 2020
Sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them. The early days of the X-Men are a little rough, suffering from being released after the Fantastic Four and Avengers. In this volume you can start to see Jack Kirby and Stan Lee experiment with what would later be known as the 'mutant metaphor'; the vague statements regarding prejudice.
We meet a lot of the mainstays of the X-Men universe and a few of the near misses of characters such as Lucifer. Out of the older era, this is pretty much all you need as the Roy Thomas issues are pretty forgettable. Or you might want to check out X-Men Season One by Dennis 'Hopeless' Hallum and Jamie McKelvie which tells the story of the early issues through Jean Grey's eyes.
We meet a lot of the mainstays of the X-Men universe and a few of the near misses of characters such as Lucifer. Out of the older era, this is pretty much all you need as the Roy Thomas issues are pretty forgettable. Or you might want to check out X-Men Season One by Dennis 'Hopeless' Hallum and Jamie McKelvie which tells the story of the early issues through Jean Grey's eyes.
September 18, 2023
A foundational book for the X-Men with so many first appearances and important character introductions but overall a huge slog to get through. I normally don’t complain too much about wordiness but I have to when Kirby art is covered up with so much text and pointless exposition. I have read enough 1960’s Marvel comics to know that this is definitely on the higher end of wordiness and just over expiation to the point where I was being pulled out of stories sometimes. That being said, I still enjoyed the pluckiness of this team and knowing everything that comes after this, it’s interesting to see the building blocks of characters like Jean and Scott and their will-they-won’t-they relationship.
March 7, 2024
Honestly, this did not age well at all. It's interesting to see where the X-Men came from, of course, but at the same time...it's lacking all of the nuance that we know from the later entries in the X-verse -- the Civil Rights and LGBTQ+ parallels, the intersection with eugenics, the cosmic elements. The soap opera is there, but it seems so primitive. The series also suffers from a mix of Jack Kirby pretty much dashing off the assignment (and eventually just doing layouts, then leaving the book altogether) and Stan Lee at his least interesting -- Roy Thomas takes over as writer just as the book went from bi-monthly to monthly, but it doesn't improve things much. The art, fortunately, does improve, especially when Werner Roth takes over.
July 22, 2020
Over the last couple of months, I’ve been digging into some classic Marvel via the ever-reliable Epic collections.
Children Of The Atom collects the first 23 issues from 1963-65, all of Stan Lee’s original run on the Merry Mutants. As we know, good things were to follow and these are certainly not the best silver age comics Marvel or Stan had to offer, but they have a certain charm. A lot of groundwork is laid here: themes around alienation, persecution, race, and gender, but they wouldn’t be dug up and played with until the mid 70s.
Still, a load of fun and a hell of a time capsule. I do love these Epic collections.
Children Of The Atom collects the first 23 issues from 1963-65, all of Stan Lee’s original run on the Merry Mutants. As we know, good things were to follow and these are certainly not the best silver age comics Marvel or Stan had to offer, but they have a certain charm. A lot of groundwork is laid here: themes around alienation, persecution, race, and gender, but they wouldn’t be dug up and played with until the mid 70s.
Still, a load of fun and a hell of a time capsule. I do love these Epic collections.
October 19, 2018
I'm a big X-Men fan, and I wanted to see where it all started. Boy howdy was it bad. I could've just read a summary of each issue and not missed out on anything useful or interesting. And obviously I don't know how comics usually were written in the 60s but there was so much unnecessary dialogue. The X-Men and the villains were constantly saying what they were doing as they were doing it. It got boring really fast.
September 18, 2024
The second time reading this one, this time to my son. It really holds up for its sometimes goofy 60s off the wall writing and dialogue. It also has moments of light hearted coming of age drama in the form of smurfette Jean grey getting tangled in a bittersweet unrequited love triangle. The hank and Bobby double dates at Greenwich Village are so rad. Just remove expectations of the xmen being raw badass political action and go with the experiments on offer here
April 5, 2020
It's a cool since it's the start of the amazing characters we know today but this book illustrates the shortcomings of Stan Lee as a writer. Repetitive, redundant and sometimes unnecessarily wordy. If you're curious, give it a try just to enjoy Kirby's art. The coloring is simple and beautiful. A pretty amazing restoration.
March 20, 2022
Starting to read the whole series and I love the Sentinel trio issues along with Magneto and Sub-Mariner. The other issues are ok but you hardly see Locust, The Stranger, Nefaria & the Maggia around. Blob, Unus & Mimic are some good issues. Nice to see Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver leave the Brotherhood of Mutants way from the beginning. So much is coming.
August 4, 2022
Turns out the original X-Men adventures are simply not very good.
There are a few fun discoveries as a fan of what the series becomes, like Asteroid M showing up within the first five issues. But for the most part these are the most predictable kind of superhero tripe.
Gets three stars for some beautiful Jack Kirby panels alone.
There are a few fun discoveries as a fan of what the series becomes, like Asteroid M showing up within the first five issues. But for the most part these are the most predictable kind of superhero tripe.
Gets three stars for some beautiful Jack Kirby panels alone.
July 8, 2024
I’ve always been a fan but now
I’m an even bigger X-men fan then before! The value in this super book is incredible and reading more about the OG X-men team is amazing. I’ve shared bits of this with my cousins kiddo and hopefully she grows up to be an X-men fan as well. Love this series I’m cracking open the next in the series as soon as I finish this review! X-men forever!!! ❤️
I’m an even bigger X-men fan then before! The value in this super book is incredible and reading more about the OG X-men team is amazing. I’ve shared bits of this with my cousins kiddo and hopefully she grows up to be an X-men fan as well. Love this series I’m cracking open the next in the series as soon as I finish this review! X-men forever!!! ❤️
Read
April 3, 2020A great collection of the first 23 X-Men comics. Even though there is no Wolverine, it is a great book for learning about the beginning of the X-Men. There were lots of great villains who I had never heard about so I definitely recommend it!
November 8, 2020
Collects X-Men #1-23 (September 1963 - August 1966).
It's all pretty schlocky, as were most comics of the time, but it's fun to finally see the origins of so many things that became cannon: Magneto, The Sentinels, Juggernaut, The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, etc.
It's all pretty schlocky, as were most comics of the time, but it's fun to finally see the origins of so many things that became cannon: Magneto, The Sentinels, Juggernaut, The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, etc.
Want to read
November 18, 2021Silver Age X-Men is Lee and Kirby's weakest work by a large margin. Read issues #12-17 (the original Juggernaut and Sentinel stories), but otherwise, you're better off with more recent modernizations of the era, like X-MEN: SEASON ONE or X-MEN: FIRST CLASS.
May 1, 2023
Got a wild hair to re- read.....I don't think I've gone through the Silver age x-men in 25 years.
There are glimmers of what can be. But man, reading silver age stuff 60 years later is rough on me....
There are glimmers of what can be. But man, reading silver age stuff 60 years later is rough on me....
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