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X-Men Epic Collection
X-Men Epic Collection, Vol. 4: It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn
Continuing the saga of Marvel's original mutant team, we bring you the most unusual X-Men adventures ever! Pushed undercover by anti-mutant paranoia, Hank McCoy sets off on his own, taking a research job. But his scientific curiosity will curse him forever when an experiment gone wrong turns him into a fanged, furry, blue Beast. Meanwhile, the other X-Men fi nd themselves pursued by a secret adversary that seeks to pick them off one by one. They must join forces with Captain America to save the nation and rescue their mutant comrades. Also featuring the fi rst appearances of Wolverine, the top-secret Weapon X program and Madrox the Multiple Man, an X-Men/Avengers battle against Magneto, and a host of x-tra rare X-Men covers! COLLECTING: VOL. 4; X-MEN (1963) 67-93, ANNUAL (1970) 1-2; AMAZING ADVENTURES (1970) 11-17; AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) 92; INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) 150, 161, 172, 180-182; MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) 4, 23; AVENGERS (1963) 110-111; CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) 172-175; DEFENDERS (1972) 15-16; GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR (1974) 4
512 pages, Paperback
First published July 17, 2019
16 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Steve Englehart
1,395 books97 followersSee also John Harkness.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
Steve Englehart went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After a stint in the Army, he moved to New York and began to write for Marvel Comics. That led to long runs on Captain America, The Hulk, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and a dozen other titles. Midway through that period he moved to California (where he remains), and met and married his wife Terry.
He was finally hired away from Marvel by DC Comics, to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but he also wrote a solo Batman series (immediately dubbed the "definitive" version) that later became Warner Brothers' first Batman film (the good one).
After that he left comics for a time, traveled in Europe for a year, wrote a novel (The Point Man™), and came back to design video games for Atari (E.T., Garfield). But he still liked comics, so he created Coyote™, which within its first year was rated one of America's ten best series. Other projects he owned (Scorpio Rose™, The Djinn™) were mixed with company series (Green Lantern [with Joe Staton], Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four). Meanwhile, he continued his game design for Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, and Brøderbund.
And once he and Terry had their two sons, Alex and Eric, he naturally told them stories. Rustle's Christmas Adventure was first devised for them. He went on to add a run of mid-grade books to his bibliography, including the DNAgers™ adventure series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school curriculum on the invention of the airplane.
In 1992 Steve was asked to co-create a comics pantheon called the Ultraverse. One of his contributions, The Night Man, became not only a successful comics series, but also a television show. That led to more Hollywood work, including animated series such as Street Fighter, GI Joe, and Team Atlantis for Disney.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
February 5, 2020
The early 1970s weren’t a great time to be a mutant (nor any sort of minority, really, but that kind of goes without saying). With the core X-Men book floundering a bit, Marvel went into a few years of reruns, reprinting previously published stories over the course of issues 67-93 (issue 94, of course, would see the arrival of Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum and the beginning of the landmark run that set the stage for the multimedia property we know as Marvel’s Merry Mutants today). But, that didn’t mean the X-Men weren’t running around having adventures, mind you—they were just doing it in a random collection of other books, from Amazing Adventures to Amazing Spider-Man to Incredible Hulk to Captain America to the Defenders. This higgledy-piggledy grab bag collection pulls together all those appearances.
It’s sort of weird how that worked out. It would be like if, once Saved by the Bell had gone into reruns after high school, Zack, Slater, Jesse, and the gang started popping up as guest stars on other shows before finally getting back together for the underappreciated* college years. “Coming up on this week’s episode of Home Improvement, cool guy A.C. Slater takes over as the new wrestling coach at school, and Mark learns a thing or two about how to suplex his girl problems.” Or: “On a very special Seinfeld, Elizabeth Berkley guest stars as drug-addled overachiever Jesse Spano, whom Jerry and the gang proceed to mercilessly mock as she campaigns for caffeine pill awareness.” Or: “This week on the Fresh Prince, Screech Powers drops by to drop beats with the Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff, but will the peppy power trio persist when success threatens to tear them apart?”
As you might expect from a hodgepodge of stories drawn from books written and drawn by different teams over a roughly 5-year period, quality and tone varies considerably, but it’s a fascinating and impressive feat of continuity that Marvel managed to juggle character developments and storylines across books like this, keeping these characters in the comic book reading public’s collective consciousness until they could be properly relaunched.
No one other than X-Men obsessives and completists will want to read this. It does include the famed debut of Wolverine in the pages of The Incredible Hulk, but that story’s been reprinted ad nauseum elsewhere. Outside of that, perhaps the most notable event is Magneto being turned into a baby by a super mutant he himself created in the collection’s most bizarre story, an event that would have long-lasting repercussions and ultimately pave the way for a younger, buffer, hunkier Magneto to become leader of the X-Men. (Sort of like that time Zack Morris supplanted Sipowicz as the top draw on NYPD Blue.)
*I say underappreciated only because SBTB: The College Years is universally reviled dreck, and I think it should only be globally reviled dreck; there are some genuinely delightful moments, such as when a swooning Zack uses the full power of his eloquence to describe Kelly’s eyes as “brown” and Screech makes nice with a chimpanzee.
It’s sort of weird how that worked out. It would be like if, once Saved by the Bell had gone into reruns after high school, Zack, Slater, Jesse, and the gang started popping up as guest stars on other shows before finally getting back together for the underappreciated* college years. “Coming up on this week’s episode of Home Improvement, cool guy A.C. Slater takes over as the new wrestling coach at school, and Mark learns a thing or two about how to suplex his girl problems.” Or: “On a very special Seinfeld, Elizabeth Berkley guest stars as drug-addled overachiever Jesse Spano, whom Jerry and the gang proceed to mercilessly mock as she campaigns for caffeine pill awareness.” Or: “This week on the Fresh Prince, Screech Powers drops by to drop beats with the Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff, but will the peppy power trio persist when success threatens to tear them apart?”
As you might expect from a hodgepodge of stories drawn from books written and drawn by different teams over a roughly 5-year period, quality and tone varies considerably, but it’s a fascinating and impressive feat of continuity that Marvel managed to juggle character developments and storylines across books like this, keeping these characters in the comic book reading public’s collective consciousness until they could be properly relaunched.
No one other than X-Men obsessives and completists will want to read this. It does include the famed debut of Wolverine in the pages of The Incredible Hulk, but that story’s been reprinted ad nauseum elsewhere. Outside of that, perhaps the most notable event is Magneto being turned into a baby by a super mutant he himself created in the collection’s most bizarre story, an event that would have long-lasting repercussions and ultimately pave the way for a younger, buffer, hunkier Magneto to become leader of the X-Men. (Sort of like that time Zack Morris supplanted Sipowicz as the top draw on NYPD Blue.)
*I say underappreciated only because SBTB: The College Years is universally reviled dreck, and I think it should only be globally reviled dreck; there are some genuinely delightful moments, such as when a swooning Zack uses the full power of his eloquence to describe Kelly’s eyes as “brown” and Screech makes nice with a chimpanzee.
July 27, 2023
3.5 stars. So after issue #66, the X-Men series just ran reprints of those issues for 67-93. So this book collects all the random issues and mini series that showed what the X-Men were doing while their own title was doing reruns. For me, the two best stories were the Amazing Adventures 11-17 and the Captain America 172-175. These went long enough to build up a nice through narrative. The Amazing Adventures showed how Beast went from normal looking to a grey hair monster and then on to blue hair. Pretty tragic but also a pretty good story. The Captain America issues had Steve and Sam working together with Professor X and some of the X-Men. Steve Englehart wrote both of these and continues to make me like his old comics. The rest of these issues just show random stories where a mutant showed up. Like Hulk 180-181 have the first appearance of Wolverine and Giant-Size Fantastic Four having the first appearance of Jamie Madrox. Some stories better than others but all solid stuff. Now on to re-read Uncanny X-Men omnibus vol 1.
August 28, 2019
Great collection. Too bad about the art and stories.
Not gonna lie. Bronze age comics were made to a lower standard.
I did appreciate Tom Sutton's almost campy approach to the Beast more than when I first collected them. There is one Beast story here which actually features Len Wein, Gerry Conway, and Steve Englehart as characters, and secretly crossed over with an issue of JLA. Then there is some very early Jim Starlin art for the Beast's last solo story.
Gil Kane, who drew some of the Spider-Man/X-Men stories (and some great covers) was always a pro.
Then you get Sal Buscema, Herb Trimpe, and Don Heck.
I love that Marvel collected every X-Men appearance between 66 and 94, and made that collection a part of the X-Men epic. Five stars for the concept, which I was on board for at 13, and kind of done with by 18.
Hey, if Magneto can get turned into a kid again (Defenders 16), so can I.
Not gonna lie. Bronze age comics were made to a lower standard.
I did appreciate Tom Sutton's almost campy approach to the Beast more than when I first collected them. There is one Beast story here which actually features Len Wein, Gerry Conway, and Steve Englehart as characters, and secretly crossed over with an issue of JLA. Then there is some very early Jim Starlin art for the Beast's last solo story.
Gil Kane, who drew some of the Spider-Man/X-Men stories (and some great covers) was always a pro.
Then you get Sal Buscema, Herb Trimpe, and Don Heck.
I love that Marvel collected every X-Men appearance between 66 and 94, and made that collection a part of the X-Men epic. Five stars for the concept, which I was on board for at 13, and kind of done with by 18.
Hey, if Magneto can get turned into a kid again (Defenders 16), so can I.
April 5, 2024
Solid 3, probably 3.5. Really good collection and a great example of the continuity of the Marvel universe at the time, with Englehart starting a story with the Beast issues on Amazing Adventures and finishing it years later on Captain America.
Overall the stories are pretty good for early 70s, but I especially liked the Beast issues. Sad that they didn't continued that series.
Overall the stories are pretty good for early 70s, but I especially liked the Beast issues. Sad that they didn't continued that series.
February 7, 2024
Este quarto número da Edição Definitiva dos X-Men traz os "Anos Perdidos" da equipe, em que, sem um título próprio, os mutantes faziam participações especiais em outros títulos da Marvel aqui e ali. Nessas mais de 500 páginas desse super encadernado temos diversos títulos, Amazing Adventures, Marvel Team-Up, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, The Defenders, etc. Para mim, o melhor foi poder ler as histórias inéditas dos Defensores aqui em que pude finalmente conhecer o tal mutante Alfa tão falado por supostamente aparecer na abertura do desenho dos X-Men dos anos 1990. A grande maioria dessas histórias eu já havia lido nas coleções da Salvat que trouxeram muito do material clássico dessa época pela primeira vez no Brasil. Mas diferente do pioneirismo das tramas dos anos 1960 e da vanguarda daquelas dos anos 1980, as dos anos 1970 são bastante medianas e parecem apenas cumprir as coisas no automático, sem causar muita comoção, infelizmente. Por isso, a avaliação dessa edição fica assim também, bem na média.
May 31, 2024
Okay, this doesn't get four stars because it's a quality read. It's not. There are some fun silver-age stories and there are some absolute garbage ones. It gets four stars because of how amazing a job the archivists and editors did here. Addressing the concept that the X-Men were only cameo characters for around 5 years, following the single "secret society" story that snaked throughout multiple titles and multiple years, restoring these old books and making them look beautiful... This collection is a brilliant example of curation and preservation.
Also, weirdly, the name "It's Always Darkest Before The Dawn" has triple relevance that was unintended in the 1970s. It's said in a caption in an Amazing Adventures story in the collection, then "It's Always Darkest..." and "...Before the Dawn" are the name of two of the Captain America stories in the collection, PLUS it has the symbolic meaning relevant to it being a collection of the "dark ages" of X-Men immediately before the "dawn" of the Claremont era. Whoever noticed that connection and named this book is brilliant.
Also, weirdly, the name "It's Always Darkest Before The Dawn" has triple relevance that was unintended in the 1970s. It's said in a caption in an Amazing Adventures story in the collection, then "It's Always Darkest..." and "...Before the Dawn" are the name of two of the Captain America stories in the collection, PLUS it has the symbolic meaning relevant to it being a collection of the "dark ages" of X-Men immediately before the "dawn" of the Claremont era. Whoever noticed that connection and named this book is brilliant.
August 21, 2025
2.5
The Beast Amazing Adventures issues and Incredible Hulk #180-182 are the only parts worth reading.
The Beast Amazing Adventures issues and Incredible Hulk #180-182 are the only parts worth reading.
August 29, 2019
The X-Men epic collection IT'S ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN is a hodge podge collection of issues from various series featuring the X-Men. The reason this collection exists is because after issue #66 of the original X-Men series, they stopped making new issues and used #67-93 to reprint older issues of the series (from #1-66). If you read the original series, you'll get an idea of why they stopped making new stories (the writing was getting quite stagnant and sales dropped significantly as a result). Now why they decided to just reprint issues, I'm not sure, but I imagine it was to boost interest in the title and gauge whether to keep it going (which it did 5 years later with the legendary Giant Sized X-Men #1). Regardless, this collection is basically every major appearance by an X-Man character in various Marvel series during that 5 year hiatus. It has comics from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, TEAM-UP, AVENGERS, DEFENDERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA, FANTASTIC FOUR, and issues 11-17 of the AMAZING ADVENTURES series (Beast's featured issues of that series). It also include the gorgeous covers from reprint issues (a highlight of this collection).
The first comic is AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #92 which features Iceman. A gangster is running for mayor or something of New York City (it's the final issue in story arc that we get no context for) and he's running on the platform of law & order. At the same time Spidey is trying to throw Gwen Stacy off her suspicions that Peter Parker is Spidey by acting like a villain or something towards her and Peter. I'm not entirely clear, but the crux of the issue is Iceman mistakenly thinking Spider-Man is a villain and trying to stop him while this gangster is trying to strong arm the Daily Bugle into supporting him. I actually like when the two heroes are working together, some great action sequences there.
Following this is THE INCREDIBLE HULK #150 which features Havok and Polaris (Lorna Dane). Like the issue before it, it's part of a larger story-arc that involves an organization trapping the Hulk to try and cure Banner. Hulk manages to escape the lab and afterwards encounters Polaris being persued by a biker gang, who attempt to attack her. She uses her mutant powers to escape and makes her way across the desert to where Havok is currently living in isolation because of some contrived attack he made on Iceman. It literally didn't happen in the X-Men comic before this (#66), Cyclops stopped the attack before it happened, but in this comic they just made it happen, I don't know. Polaris begs him to return, but as she's doing that Hulk shows up thinking Havok is attacking Polaris and it starts the Havok vs. Hulk battle. Not really, they don't battle...sort of just chase each other into a non-confrontational climax. It's a bad comic, I really hate the dialogue Havok has in it where he's talking out loud to himself, but it does serve as a tie-in to the Captain America comics later on (kind of).
AMAZING ADVENTURES was rebooted in the early 70 as a split title for Black Widow and the Inhumans. Starting with issue #11, the focus switched solely to Beast and all his issues are collected in this volume. #11 is basically an introduction to The Beast's life after the X-Men, explaining why Hank McCoy is suddenly hairy (he drinks an evolution potion made) and how he plans to hide this from everyone. #12 is him coming to blows with Iron Man while trying maintain his human facade for his girlfriend and ends with him being duped into join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Mastermind. #13 is him working with that villainous team and eventually fighting his way off it. It's interesting to not how different this iteration of Beast is compared to his later years. He's very violent and beastly, completely losing the charm of Hank McCoy (they kind of treat it like a Jekyll and Hyde situation). They're not great comics, but they aren't terrible, just more Marvel 70s nonsense full of (even for the time) dated slang, stupid narration that makes it seem like you're listening to a radio show from the 40s, and basic stories that don't actually suit any of characters abilities all that well.
MARVEL TEAM-UP #4 finds Spider-Man and the X-Men (including Beast in his Hank McCoy disguise) teaming up to fight Morbius, who has infected Peter Parker giving him only short time to live. If they beat up Morbius, they will save the doctor who can cure Peter. So it's not that big a team-up as Spidey is bed-ridden for most of the issue. This doesn't stop him from forcing a kiss on Jean Grey at the end of the issue before swinging off into the night after they save him. It's pretty decent, cool to see Morbius in action, but once again it's just kind of boring in the end because of the shaky premise.
The next four issues are the end of Beast's run in AMAZING ADVENTURE. #14 finds Hank McCoy still trying to maintain his double life while attempting to find a cure for his mutation. Upon returning to his lab he meets the human computer, Quasimodo (a sort of android created by the Mad Thinker in the early days of the Fantastic Four). #15 features The Secret Empire, a HYDRA affiliated villain team and Beast running into an old girlfriend of his who needs him to go North with her to help save the world. There's a lame moment at the end where Beast is meditating upon the book of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in relation to his own situation, as if we didn't get what the writers were going for by this point. #16 is a Halloween themed issue that finds Beast venturing to Rutland, Vermont (a place where a lot of weird things happened during the early 70s Marvel comics) where he encounters parodies of the current Marvel staff that are being harassed by Juggernaut before continuing to head North to Canada. This is effectively the end of Beast's run in AMAZING ADVENTURE, the two page framing device from #17 is included here, but the rest of the issue was just a condensed reprint of X-Men #49-52 (fun fact: the same month this issue came out, X-Men #85 came out which was a reprint of X-Men #37....Marvel must have really adored those early X-Men comics).
INCREDIBLE HULK #161 concludes the storyline started in AMAZING ADVENTURE with Beast and Vera Cantor meeting up with his former teammate Mimic. His powers are out of control and he's draining the Hulk's powers from afar, drawing him to the cabin as well to stop Mimic. By the end of it, Beast is still using his human disguise and there's no clear idea of what his character is going to do now that this crisis is over. It's a decent conclusion to a pretty flimsy storyline, but honestly I'd much rather see Beast not being treated like a Jekyll and Hyde character (which he does by the time he joins the Avengers a few years after this comic).
A two-part AVENGERS storyline (#110-111) finds the X-Men and the Avengers teaming up to be subdued by Magneto as part of a shortsighted, dumb plan to control them like puppets to take over the world (this happened ALL the time in early Marvel comics with various villains...it's like Marvel didn't want to make villains that were a real threat to their heroes, so they would make the heroes the villains). Daredevil and Black Widow team up with the Avengers who haven't had their minds controlled to fight back against Magento and his flunky Piper (a trash tier villain who didn't appear in anything for like decades after this and only appeared in one comic before this one). It's more of Marvel not knowing what to do with Magneto and making him just as generic and boring as possible. You do get to see one of the best Avengers lineups here and a nice treat is that by the end of these comics, Black Widow joins the Avengers!
More INCREDIBLE HULK (slight X-Men related) action is up next in issue #172. Hulk has been captured by the army and is sent to another dimension, but when that happens Juggernaut is released from that same alternate dimension. So they try to send him back and Hulk is released and they escape, eventually battling it out in the desert. There are a lot of problems I have with this, but the writing is the main thing. The constant '40s radio style narration combined with 60s slang (in a 70s comic) is just so obnoxious and insulting to us as readers. In one panel, when the Hulk throws Juggernaut at the side of a mountain, they literally do some stupid arrows pointing out what you're looking at, as if your mind couldn't process what they drew. In another panel they show Hulk screaming his emotions from the top of a mountain......literally it's him towering at the top of the mountain, his feet on two different peaks. It's nonsense. Oh the X-Men show up in last couple panels, securing this issue's place in this collection.
Most of these previous issues lead up to the CAPTAIN AMERICA story arc that follows them. It's issues #172-175 and they tell the story of Captain America and Falcon teaming up with the X-Men to take on the Secret Empire (briefly hinted at in the Amazing Adventure issues earlier in this collection). This is a pretty awesome story that has a lot of action and twists and turns with some awesome artwork. So many characters show up here, but I'm not sure including every issue referenced in this story line in that collection was necessary.
Iceman and Human Torch appear together in the next comic, MARVEL TEAM-UP #23 and a few other X-Men make appearances as well. It's a fairly decent quick comic about a new villain (who of course appears in only a few more comics later on) that can mimic their powers. There's a whole lot of lame "fire and ice" jokes tossed about, but the artwork in here is pretty cool.
THE DEFENDERS two issue story arc #15-16 concerns Dr. Strange's infamous "not a team" team and Professor X teaming up to battle, once again, Magneto. Also, once again, Magento is just underutilized here and they have him gathering a group of weak flunkies while creating what is dubbed "the most powerful mutant ever". As much as they don't want it to be, it's just a throwaway storyline that bridged the gap between the awesome Defenders/Avengers War and Steve Gerber's stellar run on the series.
A real treat for this collection is the inclusion of INCREDIBLE HULK #180-182, which many fans will recognize as the comics with the very first appearance of Wolverine. Hulk ends up in the Canadian wilderness trying to fight Wendigo, but unbeknownst to him a secret government lab activates Weapon X, a secruity measure in case the Hulk ever appeared on Canadian soil again. Weapon X is, of course, the code name for Wolverine and these two issues (#182 is only has a few pages featured to showcase Wolverine's exit) are really just a way to introduce his character (and Wendigo, I guess) and watch him and Hulk battle it out. I'll be honest, way too much of those two issues are dedicated to Wendigo and his cheesy, boring origins, but the Wolverine stuff is great. This is the high point of this collection.
Closing things out is GIANT SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #4, which has the team battling Multiple Man (Jamie Madrox) and Professor X comes to their aid. I love the Fantastic Four and I was surprised to see this included. It's a great fun action packed story to close the collection with. Interesting to note is that this is Jamie Madrox's first appearance.
So there's a clear line in this collection where we go from ho-hum standard late 60s/early 70s Marvel fair into more interesting, well plotted storylines that started to come around during the mid 70s for Marvel and helped them become really great. It's not to say the first half of the collection is bad or anything, it's just average really. I'm glad this collection exists though, it's very interesting to see what the company was doing with the X-Men after they were effectively cancelled. I recommend it for X-Men fans!
The first comic is AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #92 which features Iceman. A gangster is running for mayor or something of New York City (it's the final issue in story arc that we get no context for) and he's running on the platform of law & order. At the same time Spidey is trying to throw Gwen Stacy off her suspicions that Peter Parker is Spidey by acting like a villain or something towards her and Peter. I'm not entirely clear, but the crux of the issue is Iceman mistakenly thinking Spider-Man is a villain and trying to stop him while this gangster is trying to strong arm the Daily Bugle into supporting him. I actually like when the two heroes are working together, some great action sequences there.
Following this is THE INCREDIBLE HULK #150 which features Havok and Polaris (Lorna Dane). Like the issue before it, it's part of a larger story-arc that involves an organization trapping the Hulk to try and cure Banner. Hulk manages to escape the lab and afterwards encounters Polaris being persued by a biker gang, who attempt to attack her. She uses her mutant powers to escape and makes her way across the desert to where Havok is currently living in isolation because of some contrived attack he made on Iceman. It literally didn't happen in the X-Men comic before this (#66), Cyclops stopped the attack before it happened, but in this comic they just made it happen, I don't know. Polaris begs him to return, but as she's doing that Hulk shows up thinking Havok is attacking Polaris and it starts the Havok vs. Hulk battle. Not really, they don't battle...sort of just chase each other into a non-confrontational climax. It's a bad comic, I really hate the dialogue Havok has in it where he's talking out loud to himself, but it does serve as a tie-in to the Captain America comics later on (kind of).
AMAZING ADVENTURES was rebooted in the early 70 as a split title for Black Widow and the Inhumans. Starting with issue #11, the focus switched solely to Beast and all his issues are collected in this volume. #11 is basically an introduction to The Beast's life after the X-Men, explaining why Hank McCoy is suddenly hairy (he drinks an evolution potion made) and how he plans to hide this from everyone. #12 is him coming to blows with Iron Man while trying maintain his human facade for his girlfriend and ends with him being duped into join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Mastermind. #13 is him working with that villainous team and eventually fighting his way off it. It's interesting to not how different this iteration of Beast is compared to his later years. He's very violent and beastly, completely losing the charm of Hank McCoy (they kind of treat it like a Jekyll and Hyde situation). They're not great comics, but they aren't terrible, just more Marvel 70s nonsense full of (even for the time) dated slang, stupid narration that makes it seem like you're listening to a radio show from the 40s, and basic stories that don't actually suit any of characters abilities all that well.
MARVEL TEAM-UP #4 finds Spider-Man and the X-Men (including Beast in his Hank McCoy disguise) teaming up to fight Morbius, who has infected Peter Parker giving him only short time to live. If they beat up Morbius, they will save the doctor who can cure Peter. So it's not that big a team-up as Spidey is bed-ridden for most of the issue. This doesn't stop him from forcing a kiss on Jean Grey at the end of the issue before swinging off into the night after they save him. It's pretty decent, cool to see Morbius in action, but once again it's just kind of boring in the end because of the shaky premise.
The next four issues are the end of Beast's run in AMAZING ADVENTURE. #14 finds Hank McCoy still trying to maintain his double life while attempting to find a cure for his mutation. Upon returning to his lab he meets the human computer, Quasimodo (a sort of android created by the Mad Thinker in the early days of the Fantastic Four). #15 features The Secret Empire, a HYDRA affiliated villain team and Beast running into an old girlfriend of his who needs him to go North with her to help save the world. There's a lame moment at the end where Beast is meditating upon the book of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in relation to his own situation, as if we didn't get what the writers were going for by this point. #16 is a Halloween themed issue that finds Beast venturing to Rutland, Vermont (a place where a lot of weird things happened during the early 70s Marvel comics) where he encounters parodies of the current Marvel staff that are being harassed by Juggernaut before continuing to head North to Canada. This is effectively the end of Beast's run in AMAZING ADVENTURE, the two page framing device from #17 is included here, but the rest of the issue was just a condensed reprint of X-Men #49-52 (fun fact: the same month this issue came out, X-Men #85 came out which was a reprint of X-Men #37....Marvel must have really adored those early X-Men comics).
INCREDIBLE HULK #161 concludes the storyline started in AMAZING ADVENTURE with Beast and Vera Cantor meeting up with his former teammate Mimic. His powers are out of control and he's draining the Hulk's powers from afar, drawing him to the cabin as well to stop Mimic. By the end of it, Beast is still using his human disguise and there's no clear idea of what his character is going to do now that this crisis is over. It's a decent conclusion to a pretty flimsy storyline, but honestly I'd much rather see Beast not being treated like a Jekyll and Hyde character (which he does by the time he joins the Avengers a few years after this comic).
A two-part AVENGERS storyline (#110-111) finds the X-Men and the Avengers teaming up to be subdued by Magneto as part of a shortsighted, dumb plan to control them like puppets to take over the world (this happened ALL the time in early Marvel comics with various villains...it's like Marvel didn't want to make villains that were a real threat to their heroes, so they would make the heroes the villains). Daredevil and Black Widow team up with the Avengers who haven't had their minds controlled to fight back against Magento and his flunky Piper (a trash tier villain who didn't appear in anything for like decades after this and only appeared in one comic before this one). It's more of Marvel not knowing what to do with Magneto and making him just as generic and boring as possible. You do get to see one of the best Avengers lineups here and a nice treat is that by the end of these comics, Black Widow joins the Avengers!
More INCREDIBLE HULK (slight X-Men related) action is up next in issue #172. Hulk has been captured by the army and is sent to another dimension, but when that happens Juggernaut is released from that same alternate dimension. So they try to send him back and Hulk is released and they escape, eventually battling it out in the desert. There are a lot of problems I have with this, but the writing is the main thing. The constant '40s radio style narration combined with 60s slang (in a 70s comic) is just so obnoxious and insulting to us as readers. In one panel, when the Hulk throws Juggernaut at the side of a mountain, they literally do some stupid arrows pointing out what you're looking at, as if your mind couldn't process what they drew. In another panel they show Hulk screaming his emotions from the top of a mountain......literally it's him towering at the top of the mountain, his feet on two different peaks. It's nonsense. Oh the X-Men show up in last couple panels, securing this issue's place in this collection.
Most of these previous issues lead up to the CAPTAIN AMERICA story arc that follows them. It's issues #172-175 and they tell the story of Captain America and Falcon teaming up with the X-Men to take on the Secret Empire (briefly hinted at in the Amazing Adventure issues earlier in this collection). This is a pretty awesome story that has a lot of action and twists and turns with some awesome artwork. So many characters show up here, but I'm not sure including every issue referenced in this story line in that collection was necessary.
Iceman and Human Torch appear together in the next comic, MARVEL TEAM-UP #23 and a few other X-Men make appearances as well. It's a fairly decent quick comic about a new villain (who of course appears in only a few more comics later on) that can mimic their powers. There's a whole lot of lame "fire and ice" jokes tossed about, but the artwork in here is pretty cool.
THE DEFENDERS two issue story arc #15-16 concerns Dr. Strange's infamous "not a team" team and Professor X teaming up to battle, once again, Magneto. Also, once again, Magento is just underutilized here and they have him gathering a group of weak flunkies while creating what is dubbed "the most powerful mutant ever". As much as they don't want it to be, it's just a throwaway storyline that bridged the gap between the awesome Defenders/Avengers War and Steve Gerber's stellar run on the series.
A real treat for this collection is the inclusion of INCREDIBLE HULK #180-182, which many fans will recognize as the comics with the very first appearance of Wolverine. Hulk ends up in the Canadian wilderness trying to fight Wendigo, but unbeknownst to him a secret government lab activates Weapon X, a secruity measure in case the Hulk ever appeared on Canadian soil again. Weapon X is, of course, the code name for Wolverine and these two issues (#182 is only has a few pages featured to showcase Wolverine's exit) are really just a way to introduce his character (and Wendigo, I guess) and watch him and Hulk battle it out. I'll be honest, way too much of those two issues are dedicated to Wendigo and his cheesy, boring origins, but the Wolverine stuff is great. This is the high point of this collection.
Closing things out is GIANT SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #4, which has the team battling Multiple Man (Jamie Madrox) and Professor X comes to their aid. I love the Fantastic Four and I was surprised to see this included. It's a great fun action packed story to close the collection with. Interesting to note is that this is Jamie Madrox's first appearance.
So there's a clear line in this collection where we go from ho-hum standard late 60s/early 70s Marvel fair into more interesting, well plotted storylines that started to come around during the mid 70s for Marvel and helped them become really great. It's not to say the first half of the collection is bad or anything, it's just average really. I'm glad this collection exists though, it's very interesting to see what the company was doing with the X-Men after they were effectively cancelled. I recommend it for X-Men fans!
May 3, 2020
This volume isn't really a collection of the X-Men series, it's a collection of the X-Men's various adventures in other books while their own series is cancelled. These stories range from genuinely great, like the origin of Beast's "furry" appearance in Amazing Adventures and the original Secret Empire series in Captain America, to strange and silly dramas of Magneto as he takes on the Avengers and the Defenders, and the solid but sporadically released Incredible Hulk issues from a 5 year period. It's an interesting collection of stories, some of which are definitely worth reading, but as a whole it's very much a "collection" and not a satisfying story. As a single volume it's a rollercoaster of quality that I can't honestly recommend- but I can certainly recommend some of the stories in them.
August 22, 2021
2.5 Stars
This is a pretty plain and simple epic. You get to catch up on what the X-related characters are doing after their book got canceled. It's mainly a bunch of silly crossovers that just have the same formula. An X-related character has a mis-understanding with another hero, they fight a bit, then they both realize they could just talk to each other and then fight the real bad guy. It's all just meh to me. The one thing I did enjoy however was the "Amazing Adventures" part of the book. We get to see how beast turns into the blue fur ball we know and love today. After that the book falls very short for me.
This is a pretty plain and simple epic. You get to catch up on what the X-related characters are doing after their book got canceled. It's mainly a bunch of silly crossovers that just have the same formula. An X-related character has a mis-understanding with another hero, they fight a bit, then they both realize they could just talk to each other and then fight the real bad guy. It's all just meh to me. The one thing I did enjoy however was the "Amazing Adventures" part of the book. We get to see how beast turns into the blue fur ball we know and love today. After that the book falls very short for me.
March 18, 2024
The X-Men was canceled with its last issue released in 1970. Then, the team members were essentially guest stars for five years before they returned to become one of the most popular comics of all time. These stories are most of the appearances of the X-Men between those years. It includes Beast’s transformation into his blue fuzzy form and the X-Men’s involvement in The Secret Empire saga, which is potentially something you might want to read after the Beast Amazing Adventures issues, Captain America #169-176 appearances from the original X-Men, Havok, Polaris, Banshee, Wolverine, and Multiple Man.
Amazing Spider-Man #92 ⧫ 3 Stars “When Iceman Attacks!”
It’s fascinating what taking a series out of context can do. I gave this issue a slightly higher score when I read it in Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus #3 , but here, reading for Iceman, it doesn’t make a ton of sense. The Spider-Man stuff is good, but the idea of a mayor feeling like the endorsement hated mutant Iceman is good? That’s weird. Marvel really didn’t care about the X-Men in the early 70s.
Incredible Hulk #150 ⧫ 3 Stars “Cry Hulk, Cry Havok!”
I’m not a huge Hulk fan, and aside from some good Trimpe/Severin art, this issue is mostly about the Hulk’s love interests when he confuses the green-haired Lorna for a girl he met elsewhere, the microverse I think… It’s mostly interesting for sementing the long-running Alex Summers and Lorna Dane relationship that was more tenuous at the end of the actual X-Men run, though Bobby was with a different girl in the Spider-Man issue, so I guess she made her choice off-panel.
Amazing Adventures #11 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “The Beast!”
The art is a little rough, but this is the kind of stuff that comes from being able to do whatever with a property that no one cares about. If the X-Men had some more character-focused changes like this, it might have been a better book. It builds tension and makes us concerned for Hank as he might legitimately be going crazy. Also, it contrasts again with the fear of mutants being in the forefront when X-Men were literally hanging out with a mayor and the army in the previous issues.
Amazing Adventures #12 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Iron Man: D.O.A.”
The human mask stuff and the spy stuff are somewhat silly, but I think they serve the paranoia and loss of control that the Beast is facing. I have no idea where this story is going, and that’s exciting.
Amazing Adventures #13 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Evil Is All in Your Mind!”
It’s a little silly that the Beast goes along with the Brotherhood for so long, but I’m still loving the Gothic atmosphere of the series way more than I expected to.
Marvel Team-Up #4 ⧫ 2 Stars “And Then -- the X-Men!”
Marvel Team-Up is mostly just mediocre to bad Spider-Man stories with guest stars, and this is no exception. This is a very standard Morbius story with an X-Men/Spidey misunderstanding in the middle. It has some good Gil Kane art, but the story’s so plain with a very weird ending with Spidey and Jean… What even were the 1970s?
Amazing Adventures #14 ⧫ 3 Stars “The Vampire Machine”
I still like the interpersonal turmoil, but Quasimodo is still rather lame. I might feel more if I’d read the Fantastic Four Annuals featuring him recently, but I do not even remember him in those.
Amazing Adventures #15 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Murder in Mid-Air!”
It’s really great seeing Warren’s independent nature return and seeing his friendship with Hank deepen. The Griffin is silly, and I’m not sure how I feel about this being part of the Secret Empire, but the start and end are also quite good, so I’m still a fan of this Jekyll and Hyde tale. It’s a shame this is the end of this storyline in this form…
Amazing Adventures #16 ⧫ 2 Stars “...And the Juggernaut Will Get You... If You Don't Watch Out!”
And then, it has a silly Juggernaut story that makes little sense and gets retconned… The art takes a dive too… This story overlaps with Justice League of America #103 [by Wein, Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano], and Thor #207 [by Conway and penciler John Buscema]. That’s probably the most interesting thing about it. Is that why it’s weird? A little. I wish these issues were better as I read them all and none of them are that great, but the exercise is kind of interesting.
Amazing Adventures #17 ⧫ “Birth of the Beast!”
This part contains the frame story portion for the reprints of the Beast backup story in X-Men #49-53, which isn’t a great story.
Incredible Hulk #161 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Beyond the Border Lurks Death!”
This continues the Vera story from the end of Amazing Adventures #15 and issue 16, and it’s pretty good. It requires a little knowledge of Silver Age X-Men, but the recap is pretty good. I even like how the Hulk is used, and I’m not really a Hulk guy.
Avengers #110 ⧫ 2.5 Stars “...And Now Magneto!”
This has a good setup with Quicksilver returning and being a hypocrite, Wanda causing the other Avengers to muse on love, and the dramatic message from a destroyed X-Mansion. Then, the twists start happening, and it’s so stupid.
Avengers #111 ⧫ 2 Stars “With Two Beside Them!”
Fights! Costume changes! De-aging! Molecular body possession! Wow, this issue is insane, but also incredibly dull. It’d be impressive if I wasn’t so bored.
Incredible Hulk #172 ⧫ 2 Stars “And Canst Thou Slay... The Juggernaut?”
Hulk army stuff is never my favorite, and this brings back the Amazing Adventures #16 Juggernaut story. Having read most of the Juggernaut arc, it’s basically nonsense at this point. Juggernaut appears because magic, fights, and then gets sucked into a portal or captured. The capture here is kind of funny, but overall, this issue is mediocre. It also sets up that the X-Men are looking to recruit Havoc and Polaris, calling more to Incredible Hulk #150 than any X-Men thing, as they search for Angel after the last couple Avengers issues.
Captain America #172 ⧫ 2.5 Stars “Believe It or Not: The Banshee!”
Finally, the most interesting narrative, the one with the Secret Empire is returned to, though in the book where it’s most prominent. You may want to find Captain America #169 as this arc starts there; this issue comes in at the end of a fight that leads to an accidental fight and an accidental meeting, but it picks up after this.
Captain America #173 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “The Sins of the Secret Empire”
This issue shows why Captain America and the Falcon are remembered as a great duo. They get a summary of the X-Story so far that makes it more coherent than it was, and they get a lead that connects to the Beast stories. They use it to earn the trust of the Secret Empire and make their way in. This is a basic issue, but it’s good. Sam and Steve are entertaining. The X-Men are kind of an afterthought, but Professor X, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl have been pretty boring for awhile anyway. I’d actually p
Captain America #174 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “It's Always Darkest...!”
It’s a bit of a goofy issue, but I rather liked it, more solid stuff from Captain America and the Falcon. I’m still rather sad that the Beast isn’t more involved as it would connect more to his Amazing Adventures series. That’s kind of my biggest issue with reading the story this way. It just feels so unsatisfying. I feel like the Gothic tone would go really well with this.
Captain America #175 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Before the Dawn!”
70s comics are wild, and I knew this ending going forward, but it’s still pretty impactful. I feel like the comics forget about the mutant stuff because I feel like Captain America wouldn’t be believed while he stands alongside a group that 30% or more of the country thinks is evil… What a simpler time. I still think the ending is impactful, and I know the X-Men aren’t involved, but I think they should have included the next issue where the fallout occurs.
Marvel Team-Up #23 ⧫ 1 Star “The Night of the Frozen Inferno”
The Human Torch and Iceman fight because Johnny is stupid, and then they fight a new villain who we find out nothing about… The only thing I will remember about this is Iceman’s ice scissors cutting Johnny’s flame lasso. It encapsulates the stupidity of the issue.
Defenders #15 ⧫ 3 Stars “Panic Beneath the Earth!”
It’s funny because I found myself much more interested in Valkyrie’s plight than the Professor X stuff.
Defenders #16 ⧫ 3 Stars “Alpha, the Ultimate Mutant!”
This issue has some serious consequences for Magneto’s return after the Claremont run begins. It’s funny because I’ve only seen it referenced there, and the actual issue is really random.
Incredible Hulk #180 ⧫ 3 Stars “And the Wind Howls... Wendigo!”
It’s funny how much of this is just Hulk and the military stuff. I like the idea of the Wendigo, but it’s all a little plain. It gets better next issue.
Incredible Hulk #181 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “And Now... the Wolverine!”
Wolverine could have been just a random military Hulk villain because that’s pretty much what he is here. That said, I like the ending as it elevates the story and characters.
Incredible Hulk #182 “Between Hammer and Anvil!”
There’s like two pages of this included here, so it’s more just Wolverine yelling, “I can beat him!,” as the military takes Hulk away.
Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 ⧫ 3 Stars “Madrox the Multiple Man”
This is essentially a long fight book with some framing. The mystery around Madrox is fine, but his origin isn’t all that inspiring. It’s good enough, and better things will come from this.
Other Comics Reviews
X-Men Omnibus #1
X-Men Omnibus #2
Champions Classic Complete Collection
Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #1
Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #2
X-Men Classic Omnibus
Amazing Spider-Man #92 ⧫ 3 Stars “When Iceman Attacks!”
It’s fascinating what taking a series out of context can do. I gave this issue a slightly higher score when I read it in Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus #3 , but here, reading for Iceman, it doesn’t make a ton of sense. The Spider-Man stuff is good, but the idea of a mayor feeling like the endorsement hated mutant Iceman is good? That’s weird. Marvel really didn’t care about the X-Men in the early 70s.
Incredible Hulk #150 ⧫ 3 Stars “Cry Hulk, Cry Havok!”
I’m not a huge Hulk fan, and aside from some good Trimpe/Severin art, this issue is mostly about the Hulk’s love interests when he confuses the green-haired Lorna for a girl he met elsewhere, the microverse I think… It’s mostly interesting for sementing the long-running Alex Summers and Lorna Dane relationship that was more tenuous at the end of the actual X-Men run, though Bobby was with a different girl in the Spider-Man issue, so I guess she made her choice off-panel.
Amazing Adventures #11 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “The Beast!”
The art is a little rough, but this is the kind of stuff that comes from being able to do whatever with a property that no one cares about. If the X-Men had some more character-focused changes like this, it might have been a better book. It builds tension and makes us concerned for Hank as he might legitimately be going crazy. Also, it contrasts again with the fear of mutants being in the forefront when X-Men were literally hanging out with a mayor and the army in the previous issues.
Amazing Adventures #12 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Iron Man: D.O.A.”
The human mask stuff and the spy stuff are somewhat silly, but I think they serve the paranoia and loss of control that the Beast is facing. I have no idea where this story is going, and that’s exciting.
Amazing Adventures #13 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Evil Is All in Your Mind!”
It’s a little silly that the Beast goes along with the Brotherhood for so long, but I’m still loving the Gothic atmosphere of the series way more than I expected to.
Marvel Team-Up #4 ⧫ 2 Stars “And Then -- the X-Men!”
Marvel Team-Up is mostly just mediocre to bad Spider-Man stories with guest stars, and this is no exception. This is a very standard Morbius story with an X-Men/Spidey misunderstanding in the middle. It has some good Gil Kane art, but the story’s so plain with a very weird ending with Spidey and Jean… What even were the 1970s?
Amazing Adventures #14 ⧫ 3 Stars “The Vampire Machine”
I still like the interpersonal turmoil, but Quasimodo is still rather lame. I might feel more if I’d read the Fantastic Four Annuals featuring him recently, but I do not even remember him in those.
Amazing Adventures #15 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Murder in Mid-Air!”
It’s really great seeing Warren’s independent nature return and seeing his friendship with Hank deepen. The Griffin is silly, and I’m not sure how I feel about this being part of the Secret Empire, but the start and end are also quite good, so I’m still a fan of this Jekyll and Hyde tale. It’s a shame this is the end of this storyline in this form…
Amazing Adventures #16 ⧫ 2 Stars “...And the Juggernaut Will Get You... If You Don't Watch Out!”
And then, it has a silly Juggernaut story that makes little sense and gets retconned… The art takes a dive too… This story overlaps with Justice League of America #103 [by Wein, Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano], and Thor #207 [by Conway and penciler John Buscema]. That’s probably the most interesting thing about it. Is that why it’s weird? A little. I wish these issues were better as I read them all and none of them are that great, but the exercise is kind of interesting.
Amazing Adventures #17 ⧫ “Birth of the Beast!”
This part contains the frame story portion for the reprints of the Beast backup story in X-Men #49-53, which isn’t a great story.
Incredible Hulk #161 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Beyond the Border Lurks Death!”
This continues the Vera story from the end of Amazing Adventures #15 and issue 16, and it’s pretty good. It requires a little knowledge of Silver Age X-Men, but the recap is pretty good. I even like how the Hulk is used, and I’m not really a Hulk guy.
Avengers #110 ⧫ 2.5 Stars “...And Now Magneto!”
This has a good setup with Quicksilver returning and being a hypocrite, Wanda causing the other Avengers to muse on love, and the dramatic message from a destroyed X-Mansion. Then, the twists start happening, and it’s so stupid.
Avengers #111 ⧫ 2 Stars “With Two Beside Them!”
Fights! Costume changes! De-aging! Molecular body possession! Wow, this issue is insane, but also incredibly dull. It’d be impressive if I wasn’t so bored.
Incredible Hulk #172 ⧫ 2 Stars “And Canst Thou Slay... The Juggernaut?”
Hulk army stuff is never my favorite, and this brings back the Amazing Adventures #16 Juggernaut story. Having read most of the Juggernaut arc, it’s basically nonsense at this point. Juggernaut appears because magic, fights, and then gets sucked into a portal or captured. The capture here is kind of funny, but overall, this issue is mediocre. It also sets up that the X-Men are looking to recruit Havoc and Polaris, calling more to Incredible Hulk #150 than any X-Men thing, as they search for Angel after the last couple Avengers issues.
Captain America #172 ⧫ 2.5 Stars “Believe It or Not: The Banshee!”
Finally, the most interesting narrative, the one with the Secret Empire is returned to, though in the book where it’s most prominent. You may want to find Captain America #169 as this arc starts there; this issue comes in at the end of a fight that leads to an accidental fight and an accidental meeting, but it picks up after this.
Captain America #173 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “The Sins of the Secret Empire”
This issue shows why Captain America and the Falcon are remembered as a great duo. They get a summary of the X-Story so far that makes it more coherent than it was, and they get a lead that connects to the Beast stories. They use it to earn the trust of the Secret Empire and make their way in. This is a basic issue, but it’s good. Sam and Steve are entertaining. The X-Men are kind of an afterthought, but Professor X, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl have been pretty boring for awhile anyway. I’d actually p
Captain America #174 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “It's Always Darkest...!”
It’s a bit of a goofy issue, but I rather liked it, more solid stuff from Captain America and the Falcon. I’m still rather sad that the Beast isn’t more involved as it would connect more to his Amazing Adventures series. That’s kind of my biggest issue with reading the story this way. It just feels so unsatisfying. I feel like the Gothic tone would go really well with this.
Captain America #175 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Before the Dawn!”
70s comics are wild, and I knew this ending going forward, but it’s still pretty impactful. I feel like the comics forget about the mutant stuff because I feel like Captain America wouldn’t be believed while he stands alongside a group that 30% or more of the country thinks is evil… What a simpler time. I still think the ending is impactful, and I know the X-Men aren’t involved, but I think they should have included the next issue where the fallout occurs.
Marvel Team-Up #23 ⧫ 1 Star “The Night of the Frozen Inferno”
The Human Torch and Iceman fight because Johnny is stupid, and then they fight a new villain who we find out nothing about… The only thing I will remember about this is Iceman’s ice scissors cutting Johnny’s flame lasso. It encapsulates the stupidity of the issue.
Defenders #15 ⧫ 3 Stars “Panic Beneath the Earth!”
It’s funny because I found myself much more interested in Valkyrie’s plight than the Professor X stuff.
Defenders #16 ⧫ 3 Stars “Alpha, the Ultimate Mutant!”
This issue has some serious consequences for Magneto’s return after the Claremont run begins. It’s funny because I’ve only seen it referenced there, and the actual issue is really random.
Incredible Hulk #180 ⧫ 3 Stars “And the Wind Howls... Wendigo!”
It’s funny how much of this is just Hulk and the military stuff. I like the idea of the Wendigo, but it’s all a little plain. It gets better next issue.
Incredible Hulk #181 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “And Now... the Wolverine!”
Wolverine could have been just a random military Hulk villain because that’s pretty much what he is here. That said, I like the ending as it elevates the story and characters.
Incredible Hulk #182 “Between Hammer and Anvil!”
There’s like two pages of this included here, so it’s more just Wolverine yelling, “I can beat him!,” as the military takes Hulk away.
Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 ⧫ 3 Stars “Madrox the Multiple Man”
This is essentially a long fight book with some framing. The mystery around Madrox is fine, but his origin isn’t all that inspiring. It’s good enough, and better things will come from this.
Other Comics Reviews
X-Men Omnibus #1
X-Men Omnibus #2
Champions Classic Complete Collection
Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #1
Uncanny X-Men Omnibus #2
X-Men Classic Omnibus
March 14, 2021
Collects Amazing Adventures #11-17, Amazing Spider-Man #92, Incredible Hulk #150, 160, 172 and 180-182, Marvel Team-Up #4 and 23, Avengers #110-111, Captain America #172-175, Defenders #15-16, Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 and some supplemental material (basically covering December 1970 through June 1975).
A real mixed bag of stuff that is best only for the completist. All over the map with a few 2-4 issue story arcs making it feel a little less random but the material is a varied mess. Basically covers all the appearances of the X-Men while the title was languishing in reprints. Perhaps only interesting for the first appearances of Wolverine and the story of Beast's transformation.
Many years ago I thought I might want to go band read some of the old X-Men comics I collected as a kid. When I finally started this project in earnest in 2017, I started a little earlier than my own childhood collection with Giant Sized X-Men #1 (1975) in the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1. Thanks to finding some cheap graphic novels online, I eventually went past my own childhood collection (which ended in 1988) and on until the end of Chris Claremont's run (in 1991). Still not sated, I went a little further, up until the end of the world that ended Legion Quest and kicked off the Age of Apocalypse (basically ending my run in 1994), which I read last year. Not really having been happy with a lot of the 1990s material, I decided to stop there but decided to go back and read all the early X-Men material I had missed. Now that is done. After 4 years, I am done with the main X-Men title.
Along the way, I started reading some of the related X-books and am going to continue to fill those in within the time frame I have accidentally laid out (basically 1963 - 1995), but really I have very little left now but some solo Wolverine material, some early X-Factor and a few minor things. Still, it feels like some sort of major accomplishment to have read almost every X-men comic (the main book anyway) during that 32 years.
A real mixed bag of stuff that is best only for the completist. All over the map with a few 2-4 issue story arcs making it feel a little less random but the material is a varied mess. Basically covers all the appearances of the X-Men while the title was languishing in reprints. Perhaps only interesting for the first appearances of Wolverine and the story of Beast's transformation.
Many years ago I thought I might want to go band read some of the old X-Men comics I collected as a kid. When I finally started this project in earnest in 2017, I started a little earlier than my own childhood collection with Giant Sized X-Men #1 (1975) in the Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1. Thanks to finding some cheap graphic novels online, I eventually went past my own childhood collection (which ended in 1988) and on until the end of Chris Claremont's run (in 1991). Still not sated, I went a little further, up until the end of the world that ended Legion Quest and kicked off the Age of Apocalypse (basically ending my run in 1994), which I read last year. Not really having been happy with a lot of the 1990s material, I decided to stop there but decided to go back and read all the early X-Men material I had missed. Now that is done. After 4 years, I am done with the main X-Men title.
Along the way, I started reading some of the related X-books and am going to continue to fill those in within the time frame I have accidentally laid out (basically 1963 - 1995), but really I have very little left now but some solo Wolverine material, some early X-Factor and a few minor things. Still, it feels like some sort of major accomplishment to have read almost every X-men comic (the main book anyway) during that 32 years.
January 24, 2022
This volume in the X-Men Epic Collection covers the years between the end of original stories featuring the original X-Men and the debut of the new X-Men. It is comprised of the short-lived Beast feature from "Amazing Adventures", as well as significant guest appearances of X-Men characters in other titles.
By its nature, this volume is of mixed quality and suggests a general lack of care in the handling of the characters. The most consistent tales are the ones written by Steve Englehart, writer of the solo Beast feature, who continued developments with the Beast and the X-Men into titles such as the Avengers, the Hulk, and Captain America. Even then, though, it was clear at times that he needed to use the script to explain away inconsistencies in the X-Men characters and their appearances. Still. I enjoyed reading the Beast solo feature and it was good to see the writer able to wrap up unresolved stories from it in his other titles.
The non-Englehart stories felt disposable for the most part, with the exception of the Hulk issues which introduced Wolverine. The evolution of Besst and introduction of Wolverine are really what make this volume of value, but the inconsistency in the writing and art are really what keep my rating down to 3 stars, with even that being a little generous.
By its nature, this volume is of mixed quality and suggests a general lack of care in the handling of the characters. The most consistent tales are the ones written by Steve Englehart, writer of the solo Beast feature, who continued developments with the Beast and the X-Men into titles such as the Avengers, the Hulk, and Captain America. Even then, though, it was clear at times that he needed to use the script to explain away inconsistencies in the X-Men characters and their appearances. Still. I enjoyed reading the Beast solo feature and it was good to see the writer able to wrap up unresolved stories from it in his other titles.
The non-Englehart stories felt disposable for the most part, with the exception of the Hulk issues which introduced Wolverine. The evolution of Besst and introduction of Wolverine are really what make this volume of value, but the inconsistency in the writing and art are really what keep my rating down to 3 stars, with even that being a little generous.
December 1, 2022
Well, well, well. What have we here? Only the worst bunch of X-Men (or “X-Men”) stories to see print thus far (not including modern Marvel drivel with bad everything.)
The main problem with this collection of X-Men appearances during their pre-1975/Giant Size is that the X-Men are barely present. There’s lots of Hulk, though, if you like him. And even when they are present they’re mostly not together. I guess we should be happy that Marvel kept the characters alive and on the back burner at all but it doesn’t make this a good read.
The Amazing Adventures stuff with Beast is tough to read, and swallow, and it doesn’t get much better from there. The Iceman/Spidey story is probably the best, while the Wolverine debut the most “important.” I’d say if you’re a fan it is worth reading once. On subsequent re-reads, though, just turn to your good friends at supermeganonkey. (Also worth checking that site out, period.)
And, no, Marvel, I don’t want this in omnibus form. Unless you were going to include the early appearance in Iron Fist, Giant Size FF 4, and all the other orphaned X-Men stories.
The main problem with this collection of X-Men appearances during their pre-1975/Giant Size is that the X-Men are barely present. There’s lots of Hulk, though, if you like him. And even when they are present they’re mostly not together. I guess we should be happy that Marvel kept the characters alive and on the back burner at all but it doesn’t make this a good read.
The Amazing Adventures stuff with Beast is tough to read, and swallow, and it doesn’t get much better from there. The Iceman/Spidey story is probably the best, while the Wolverine debut the most “important.” I’d say if you’re a fan it is worth reading once. On subsequent re-reads, though, just turn to your good friends at supermeganonkey. (Also worth checking that site out, period.)
And, no, Marvel, I don’t want this in omnibus form. Unless you were going to include the early appearance in Iron Fist, Giant Size FF 4, and all the other orphaned X-Men stories.
March 16, 2020
My continuing effort to add comics to my reading material as that is part of my work.
This was an effort. 513 pages of comic book stories to read! The most I've ever done in a month. Heck, probably a year! I did it!
I remember seeing many of these while growing up and not liking any of them. I have always been a DC guy of non-super heroes. I have never cared for the Marvel super heroes. Super heroes are science fiction and I don't like science fiction.
But, I got through this. Most of the art stunk. The stories were little better. There is good writing in parts of the 500+ pages.
Thing is 500+ pages is a lot of material by a lot of artists and writers. I expected good and bad. Thing is,it's mostly bad. The characters are neither consistently drawn or written. The settings are almost entirely poorly drawn and written. There is no overall story. Just a few characters linking this and that. All not worth a bother.
Thought I'd give this massive volume a try. Maybe I'll try another one.
Bottom line: i don't recommend this book. 3 out of 10 points.
This was an effort. 513 pages of comic book stories to read! The most I've ever done in a month. Heck, probably a year! I did it!
I remember seeing many of these while growing up and not liking any of them. I have always been a DC guy of non-super heroes. I have never cared for the Marvel super heroes. Super heroes are science fiction and I don't like science fiction.
But, I got through this. Most of the art stunk. The stories were little better. There is good writing in parts of the 500+ pages.
Thing is 500+ pages is a lot of material by a lot of artists and writers. I expected good and bad. Thing is,it's mostly bad. The characters are neither consistently drawn or written. The settings are almost entirely poorly drawn and written. There is no overall story. Just a few characters linking this and that. All not worth a bother.
Thought I'd give this massive volume a try. Maybe I'll try another one.
Bottom line: i don't recommend this book. 3 out of 10 points.
November 29, 2021
This collection documents that strange, inbetween period in 1970 when X-Men was just a reprint comic and the only new mutant stories were when the X-Men guest starred in other series and concludes right before the publication of Giant Size X-Men #1 which would relaunch the X-Men as maybe the most popular comic title ever. It really was darkest before the dawn in this all over the place collection where Marvel struggled to keep its IP alive. It mostly works. The Amazing Adventures stories featuring Beast are mostly excellent and ripe with body horror as Hank McCoy transforms from a dude with big hands and feet to the furry monster he has been for almost 50 years of comics. The other main highlights are a Captain America story arch where he teams up with the X-Men to clear his name and beat up Nazis, the first apearances of Wolverine reprinted for the milionth time, the first apearance of Jamie Madrox and a few other random stories. The only consistancy in this collection is the effort to keep the X-Men, as characters and as an idea, alive and that's enough for me.
March 18, 2024
"CURSES! XAVIER AND HIS CRONIES HAVE SOMEHOW ESCAPED MY MAGNETIC PRISON!"
- Magneto... unfortunately, the stereotypical 70's supervillain.
Honestly, this wasn't as bad as I expected. Most stories ran together. True, half the stories are about Beast, but those (among others) tie in to a Captain America event. But we also got the first appearances of Wolverine, Sunfire, and Madrox. Magneto is still a raving sociopath, which I never cared for. I prefer the calm, calculating sociopath from the nineties. And, WHY is Robbie Robertson so loyal to a douche like Jameson? Sure, he's the boss but Jonah treats everyone like crap, Robbie included.
CRINGE WARNING! At one point, Beast has to render his date unconscious so he can fight evil without revealing his alter-ego to her. Very "it's cold outside."
Still, this collection was (in my opinion) better than most of the preceding sixty-six issues of X-Men. A nice buffer before Claremont resurrects and reassembles the team into the one we know and love.
Three stars.
- Magneto... unfortunately, the stereotypical 70's supervillain.
Honestly, this wasn't as bad as I expected. Most stories ran together. True, half the stories are about Beast, but those (among others) tie in to a Captain America event. But we also got the first appearances of Wolverine, Sunfire, and Madrox. Magneto is still a raving sociopath, which I never cared for. I prefer the calm, calculating sociopath from the nineties. And, WHY is Robbie Robertson so loyal to a douche like Jameson? Sure, he's the boss but Jonah treats everyone like crap, Robbie included.
CRINGE WARNING! At one point, Beast has to render his date unconscious so he can fight evil without revealing his alter-ego to her. Very "it's cold outside."
Still, this collection was (in my opinion) better than most of the preceding sixty-six issues of X-Men. A nice buffer before Claremont resurrects and reassembles the team into the one we know and love.
Three stars.
Read
February 28, 2020Every X-Men Appearance Including Cameos (1970-1975):
Ka-Zar #2 (Dec 1970)
Amazing Spider-Man #92 (Jan 1971)
Ka-Zar #3 (Mar 1971)
Marvel Tales #30 (Apr 1971)
Avengers #88 (May 1971)
Incredible Hulk #150 (Apr 1972)
Amazing Adventures #11 (Mar 1972)
Amazing Adventures #12 (May 1972)
Amazing Adventures #13 (Jul 1972)
Amazing Adventures #14 (Sep 1972)
Marvel Team-Up #4 (Sep 1972)
Amazing Adventures #15 (Nov 1972)
Amazing Adventures #16 (Jan 1973)
Amazing Adventures #17 (Mar 1973)
Incredible Hulk #161 (Mar 1973)
Avengers #110 (Apr 1973)
Avengers #111 (May 1973)
Shanna the She-Devil #5 (Aug 1973)
Adventure into Fear #20 (Feb 1974)
Incredible Hulk #172 (Feb 1974)
Captain America #172 (Apr 1974)
Captain America #173 (May 1974)
Captain America #174 (Jun 1974)
Captain America #175 (Jul 1974)
Marvel Team-Up #23 (Jul 1974)
Defenders #15 (Sep 1974)
Defenders #16 (Oct 1974)
Giant Size Fantastic Four #4 (Feb 1975)
Ka-Zar #2 (Dec 1970)
Amazing Spider-Man #92 (Jan 1971)
Ka-Zar #3 (Mar 1971)
Marvel Tales #30 (Apr 1971)
Avengers #88 (May 1971)
Incredible Hulk #150 (Apr 1972)
Amazing Adventures #11 (Mar 1972)
Amazing Adventures #12 (May 1972)
Amazing Adventures #13 (Jul 1972)
Amazing Adventures #14 (Sep 1972)
Marvel Team-Up #4 (Sep 1972)
Amazing Adventures #15 (Nov 1972)
Amazing Adventures #16 (Jan 1973)
Amazing Adventures #17 (Mar 1973)
Incredible Hulk #161 (Mar 1973)
Avengers #110 (Apr 1973)
Avengers #111 (May 1973)
Shanna the She-Devil #5 (Aug 1973)
Adventure into Fear #20 (Feb 1974)
Incredible Hulk #172 (Feb 1974)
Captain America #172 (Apr 1974)
Captain America #173 (May 1974)
Captain America #174 (Jun 1974)
Captain America #175 (Jul 1974)
Marvel Team-Up #23 (Jul 1974)
Defenders #15 (Sep 1974)
Defenders #16 (Oct 1974)
Giant Size Fantastic Four #4 (Feb 1975)
August 21, 2023
The inter-cancellation period, the X-Men characters are in the editorial limbo where they jump from various books. But there are some fun bits here.
The Beast grows his fur. And gets cancelled. So he finishes up in Hulk.
Captain America learns the president is trying to overthrow the government and will enslave mutants to do so.
Magneto shows up a bunch and has weirder powers every time (some appearances are not collected here).
Oh and some Canadian Superhero named The Badger or The Wolfy One or something like that shows up and gets slapped around by the Hulk a bunch.
But really the most important thing… they collect the introduction of one Jamie Madrox. Or several Jamie… oh, never mind.
This is a book for completionists like me.
I like the subtext of the title of the collection, which actually references titles of stories in its pages… but is also saying something about the X-Status.
The Beast grows his fur. And gets cancelled. So he finishes up in Hulk.
Captain America learns the president is trying to overthrow the government and will enslave mutants to do so.
Magneto shows up a bunch and has weirder powers every time (some appearances are not collected here).
Oh and some Canadian Superhero named The Badger or The Wolfy One or something like that shows up and gets slapped around by the Hulk a bunch.
But really the most important thing… they collect the introduction of one Jamie Madrox. Or several Jamie… oh, never mind.
This is a book for completionists like me.
I like the subtext of the title of the collection, which actually references titles of stories in its pages… but is also saying something about the X-Status.
October 27, 2021
Only read the Beast features since I'll encounter everything else in other collections - Hulk, Cap, the FF. And wowsers, it's not great :-p I don't know if this was Englehart's first pro comics gig, but it's definitely rough - very much a throwback to 60s style drama. It put me in mind of early Captain Marvel - just slapdash stuff. I mean, Hank goes extra-beastie, then immediately crafts a rubber mask of himself to go back to normal? Maybe you should have thought about more interesting ways to handle an alter-ego before you painted yourself into that blue and furry corner, brah.
The art is kind of rough and ready in a way I don't hate.
The art is kind of rough and ready in a way I don't hate.
January 2, 2024
There’s a hilarious amount of double-dipping here, given that more than half the book consists of entries from other series that have been reprinted in Masterworks, Epics, and omnibuses. The volume does serve to pull together the post-cancelation appearances of various X-Men prior to the relaunch that happened in the mid-1970s, and it features the wildest continuity feat in comics (a story over give years and multiple different books, mostly written by Steve Englehart, culminating in the notorious climax of the Secret Empire story.)
January 24, 2025
This is definitely a mixed bag of quality stories versus some cheesy 70s style storytelling with no actual impact. The only things of big note for this volume is the fact that you get Hank McCoy transforming into the Beast (as we know him now) for the first time, the deaging of Magneto, the introduction of Wolverine and the introduction of Madrox. I was glad to see that the X-Men actually stayed relevant from the time when their series was canceled to Giant Size X-Men #1. Seeing them pop up all over the Marvel universe was fun. Overall, this was more enjoyable than I expected.
October 27, 2020
If you were curious what happened to the original five X-Men and their supporting cast in the missing years before Giant Size X-Men #1, this volume covers it. You have Beast turning blue and furry, several X-Men being kidnapped and a few failed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants plots. It's impressive how much continuity they managed to keep between several books, noneof which were the cancelled X-Men. I'm fonder of this than I thought I'd be.
October 22, 2024
I was expecting this one to be a boring read or just too weird but I actually really enjoyed it. There is not a single actual x men comic here as it is mostly just a bunch of guest appearances but it really worked for me. I really enjoyed the storyline where beast transforms into the actual beast, and the introduction of wolverine was cool. Genuinely a solid read even if there isn't a single x men comic here.
December 31, 2024
This a nice little collection that spans the few years between X-Men #65 and Giant Size X-Men #1. At that time, the main x-men title had been reprinting old stories, as sales lagged. The stories here are those where the x-men appeared in other titles as guest stars or in limited runs. It’s nice that these have been brought together so we can see what they were up to while their own book was being overhauled. Definitely worth reading!
September 2, 2019
An odd collection to say the least. Notable for including the first appearances of Wolverine, Beast in his blue, furry form, and Jamie Madrox, but not much else. A stopgap collection of comics that appeared between the last original tales of the first X-Men and the new team that eventually appeared in Giant Size X-Men #1.
October 9, 2023
A collection of those stories in the time between the ostensible cancelation and Rebirth. Stories by this many creators not really treating the characters as the priority, you have a lot of varying quality. I do dig the underlying buildup to something in the second half of the Volume.... and I appreciate the attempt made with Beast in giving him an extra dimension.....
April 20, 2025
definitely a more adult xmen collection of tales, though very uneven. it has issues from everywhere, beast gets his own mag, avengers and cap and the falcon issues show up also. not much xmen action as you might expect. this is a cross over mess that gets jumbled up. interesting read, but you can see why the series gets a much needed reboot
November 14, 2020
A truly random smattering of appearances that were intended to keep the X-Men fresh while their core series was stuck in horrible reprints.
November 27, 2020
There were a fair few stories in here that I hadn’t read before, some that filled in the gaps between X-Men 66 and 94 quite nicely.
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