Collects tales of the X-Men by a longtime artist of the comic book series as they battle evil on Earth and in outer space while trying to make a place for themselves and other mutants in the world.
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, creator and publisher. After graduating from Princeton, he decided to attempt illustrating comic books, and met with success. Lee's distinctive, crisply hatched line art style and rigid, idealized anatomical forms established a new stylistic standard for superhero comic-book illustration and reinforced a popular trend away from brushed to penned inking in the late 20th and early 21st century. Lee is currently one of the most successful artists in American comics.
He has received a great deal of recognition for his work in the industry, including the Harvey Special Award for New Talent in 1990.
Mam mocno mieszane uczucia do tej pozycji. Z jednej strony nie mogę nie powinienem winić omawianej pozycji, za to że w hołdzie Jimowi Lee zebrano kilka pozycji z jego kreską do kupy w ramach jednej serii, w tym przypadku serii Uncanny X-men. Z drugiej zaś strony... co to było?
Powinienem być przecież wdzięczny Egmontowi, że wydaje już takie "starocie" na mój rodzimy rynek, ale z drugiej strony aż za dużo pachniało tutaj naftaliną. Bo jeżeli miałeś kontakt z jakimiś komiksami już z czasów dzieciństwa, a masz na karku około 35 lat, to... powinieneś być uradowany i upuszczać łezki z tzw. sentymentu. Z drugiej zaś strony młodszy czytelnik lub taki który się "nie bawił" w komiksy może zobaczyć jak to kiedyś wyglądało i albo się zakochać, albo...
No nie. O ile jeszcze rysunki miały coś w sobie uroku i można delektować się tym jak to kiedyś robiono, to fabuła była dla mnie tak archaiczna, tak zapychająca miejsce. Miejscami angażująca, ale z drugiej strony... to tzw. pulpa. Akcja dla samej akcji, bez głębszej fabuły. Rozwoju postaci. I do tego chaotyczna, bowiem nie ma tu zeszytów w odpowiedniej chronologii. Lee rysował bowiem tylko niektóre komiksy, w dodatku część z tych zeszytów co mogła być tu zawarta wchodzi w skład jednego eventu, gdzie w zabawę miesza się inny zespół X-men jak i Cable ze spółką.
I to czuć. Naprawdę frajdę zacząłem odczuwać dopiero pod koniec. Przy zeszytach #273-277, gdzie Magneto na spółę z Rudą i Nickiem Fury toczą walki w Savage landzie z niejaką Zaladane, kobietą posiadającą moce zbliżone do mistrza magnetyzmu. To jedna linia czasowa, bowiem w drugiej X-men udają się w kosmos, by toczyć boje z Starmjammers, imperium Shi'ar i samym... Profesorem X? Stawką tron imperium, więc gra jest warta świeczki. Oba te wątki mają zaskakujące fabularnie zakończenia, które przypadły mi do gustu. Reszta zaprezentowanych nam zeszytów już nie bardzo.
Od biedy można przetrawić historię z Wolverine'm, Kapitanem Ameryką i młodą Czarną Wdową w tle, ale już rozgrywki Mandaryna, który bawił się i Rosomakiem i Psylocke wydawały mi się czerstwe. Ale to ja. Reszta może odebrać je inaczej. Mi zwyczajnie wydawały się za archaiczne. Tym bardziej, że nawet uzupełnienie sobie materiału źródłowego o zeszyty w języku angielskim w obiorze całości wcale mi nie pomogły. Takie słabe 3/5. Wolałbym ,aby wydawca prezentował nam coś co ma jakąś ciągłość fabularną...
Jim Lee is one of the most popular artists currently working in the comic book industry. These days he is exclusive to DC, and recently helped redesign the look of several of their characters. The stories reprinted here are some of Lee's early work on X-Men, as he was about to hit superstardom. The stories themselves are difficult to rate as a stand alone book, as the X-Men stories during this run were densely plotted, and the author would insert subplots that would take years to resolve (if they did at all). That said, most of the stories in this volume are worth reading. Enjoy the art from the first issue, but don't bother trying to read it. The Lady Mandarin three part storyline is mostly self-contained, but the conclusion is a bit weak. The next chapter presents Wolverine meeting Captain America and Black Widow for the first time, and is a fun story. The next chapter can probably be skipped except for the last few pages where the X-Men learn Professor X is in danger. The rest of the chapters are the strongest of the volume featuring two major stories taking place more or less simultaneously. The first story features Rogue and Magneto teaming up with Ka-Zar (Marvel's answer to Tarzan) and Nick Fury in the Savage Land (a part of Antarctica that is tropical and has dinosaurs roaming around). The other story has the rest of the X-Men on a space opera adventure to save Professor X. Both of these stories are a lot of fun and worth reading. Just don't let some of the unresolved subplots bother you.
The last couple volumes featuring the X-Men had the team split up into solo adventures. Here, they are brought together, along with X-Factor to set up Chris Claremont's grand finale on the title, which is also the beginning of Jim Lee's tenure on the book.
It is fun to see Claremont's hand gently nudged by Jim Lee's ideas, as we still get the intense continuity Claremont built over a decade but the stories feel more focused than they have since The X-Men: Mutant Massacre
Ignoring the issues mentioned in the first sentence, this volume sees Rogue battle her inner-demons (who happens to be Carol Danvers) before being shunted off to The Savage Land to help Magneto and Nick Fury battle the same ol' Savage Land shenanigans that always seem to be taking place.
The rest of the X-Men, X-Factor, and New Mutants are trying to work out how to share the mansion, and maybe set themselves up as a functional military unit (Cable's idea) when Lila Cheney shows up and tosses the somewhat reunited, somewhat new X-Men team off into space where they are either saving Professor X from Deathbird or vice-versa.
It's fun to see the new characters: Jubilee, Gambit, and Forge, have zero loyalty to Professor X, whom they've never met before, and thus help the rest of the team figure out the twists and turns of this plot.
I would totally make this headcanon but I've had this trade paperback forever, and the few editions available online start used at over $50. But if you're an X-Men fan, and you can find this trade or the issues it contains, it's a treat that you deserve to read. Hopefully, it will pop up in an Epic Collection soon.
Il voto va più che altro a Chris Claremont e per i numeri #268-269 contenuti in questa raccolta. Quei sono i due rappresentanti di due momenti altissimi degli X-Men e indubbiamente tra i miei preferiti. Per il resto, Jim Lee disegnava decisamente meglio su queste pagine. E in più, lo reputo un disegnatore estremamente sopravvalutato.
#248: I don't care for it. #256-258: I don't know what's going on in #256. #257-258 are good. The character Ruth Wu mysteriously is out of the story in #258. #268: This issue is collected in other books. not only is this book great, but there isn't prior reading to read this issue. tr5 \] #269: Starts great. I don't know what's with that ending. and Ms. Marvel don't reappear in this collection. I want to see more Rogue vs Ms. Marvel. 273-277: Big finally. #275 is necessary read for X-Men #1 (1991). Classic X-Men #39: I hope Classic X-Men #40 concludes this story or some comic does, because I'm invested.
Comics not included: I own issue #261. it's a fun issue, but it's what I would define as a filler. It's not necessary for this book. I just wanted to mention it, because I like it.
also if the book collected #247, that would been cool.
In the early1990's the X-Men were the best selling comics around, and that had a lot to do with superstar artist Jim Lee. Lee's stylized and action-oriented artwork was the perfect counterpart to Chris Claremont's dynamic characters, and he soon became the definitive X-Men artist, as well as one of the decade's most imitated. The X-Men: Visionaries - Jim Lee trade paperback collects every single issue of Uncanny X-Men that Jim Lee worked on, including:
Uncanny X-Men #248 - This throwaway Nanny story was really only significant for being Lee's first issue on the title.
Uncanny X-Men #256-258 - This killer 3-part series, which was part of Marvel's Acts of Vengeance crossover, brought Wolverine back to Asia, completely overhauled the Psylocke character, and put our heroes up against the Hand and the Mandarin. This story, which drew inspiration from the best Asian cinema, was one of the most memorable Claremont/Lee collaborations.
Uncanny X-Men #268 - Still regarded as one of the best single-issue X-Men stories of all time, this issue chronicled the first meeting of Wolverine and Captain America, and brought their adventure full circle 50 years later. The Black Widow also plays a major role.
Uncanny X-Men #269 - This issue features Rogue in a solo adventure that takes her all the way to the Savage Land to encounter none other than Magneto. This one sets the bar pretty high for all future "hot chick in the jungle" stories!
Uncanny X-Men #273-277 - This storyline is focused on two major events. The first features Rogue, Magneto, Ka-Zar, and Nick Fury in the Savage Land against the new mistress of magnetism Zaladane. The second finds the rest of the X-Men sent to space to encounter the Shi'Ar, the Starjammers, and their mentor Professor X. The question is who are the good guys and who is really pulling the strings? These issues also brought new characters Gambit and Jubilee into the fold and set the stage for Jim Lee's best-selling X-Men relaunch.
Since the stories don't all interconnect, it's hard to look at this as a cohesive story, but most of the storylines here are very impressive. Claremont had his faults (try a drinking game where you have to take a drink every time Psylocke explains exactly what her psychic knife does), but he put together some wild tales here. Lee's artwork is nothing short of incredible. It's probably his best X-Men artwork overall, and looking at these pages it's easy to see how he became such a superstar.
My only real complaint with this collection is that given the very high cover price they should have made it a hardcover. The interior pages are sturdy and much glossier than the originals, so why not give it a more durable outer cover, especially if you're going to charge a hardcover price.
Still, that's a minor complaint. Overall this collection is still the most attractive, most affordable way to experience Jim Lee's entire Uncanny X-Men output in one hefty volume.
Kupiłem w ciemno, gdy zobaczyłem zapowiedź i super okładkę. Jednak tylko połowicznie dostałem to, czego oczekiwałem.
Zależało mi na historiach opublikowanych w latach 90-tych przez TM-SEMIC, no i dostałem przygody w Savage Land i Imperium Shiar. Z historii nieznanych wcześniej ucieszyła mnie historia z Psylocke, Wolvie’m i Jubilee VS The Hand - zawsze chciałem ją przeczytać.
Album miał zawierać rysunki Jima Lee, więc naturalnie nie znalazły się w nim wszystkie historie z Uncanny X-Men z tego okresu jako że pominięte tu crossovery były mieszanką kilku serii i wielu twórców. Jednak takie poszatkowanie narracyjne nie wpłynęło dobrze na lekturę albumu i można drapać się po głowie, czemu lokacje i składy tak diametralnie się od siebie różnią. Nie pojawiły się tu X-Tinction Agenda czy wspomniany tylko wątek z Shadow King’iem, które były kluczowe dla zrozumienia przedstawionych tu późniejszych wydarzeń.
Rozczarowaniem jest także brak jakiegokolwiek z zeszytów 1-11 z drugiej serii X-Men run’u Chrisa Claremonta i Jima Lee. Brakujące historie pozwolił mi uzupełnić X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 19 (wyd. oryg. kupione na AtomComics.pl) oraz ostatni zakup z Mucha Comics - Legendy X-Men Jim Lee (wydanie z 22.12.2023).
Jeszcze jeden minus tego wydania? Kolory - nie wiem czy to kwestia papieru czy samego reprintu, ale mam poczucie, że kolory są przesycone, zwłaszcza w drugiej połowie albumu. Zeszyty z TM-SEMIC tak nie uderzały po oczach.
Jeśli kupicie ten album wraz z Legendami X-Men Mucha Comics, to będzie to miało większy sens. Dla fanów Jima Lee będzie to pozycja obowiązkowa.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.