Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men Vol. 1 - The Strangest Super Heroes Of All

Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men #1

by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Illustrator)

The stories that built the Marvel Universe, from the brilliant minds of legendary creators — now available in an accessible new format the whole family can enjoy! See the X-Men from the very beginning with the debut of Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Iceman and Marvel Girl — Professor X’s original teen team with a mission to forge peace between man and mutantkind! Thrill to their first encounter with the Master of Magnetism, Magneto — and meet his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! Plus, the X-Men battle the immovable Blob and the untouchable Unus — and have run-ins with the Sub-Mariner, the Avengers and Ka-Zar, lord of the Savage Land! Written by Stan “The Man” Lee and illustrated by Jack “King” Kirby, it’s super hero adventure at its very best!

COLLECTING: X-Men (1963) 1-10

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1987

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five youths gifted with an extra power that set them apart from ordinary homo sapiens and charged to protect a world that feared and hated them because of their genetic gifts. They were the first class of X-Men.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were trying to create an entirely different comics formula in The X-Men to distinguish them from the other team book that debuted in the same year, The Avengers. In the Silver Age of Marvel Comics, the duo of Lee and Kirby were responsible for earlier hits like the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man and they were still experimenting with potential story ideas for another blockbuster to add to their nascent comic book line.

The first ten issues have everything Lee and Kirby could squeeze into twenty pages and though some of those were rehashed concepts like carnival freaks, diabolical villains, a spy plot and a jungle man, some of those ideas became part of the X-Men mythos that future writers would reuse like Magneto, mutant gang warfare with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, an Avengers crossover and a prehistoric adventure in the Savage Land. The duo tried out concepts fit for the nuclear age. The origin of the X-Men’s leader was an example of exploiting interest in nuclear power by making a son of nuclear scientists, whose exposure to atomic energy contributed to their son’s mutation.

This title was an antithesis of The Avengers, all American heroes adored by their public with the X-Men in contrast as outcasts. The Avengers were lead by the golden haired thunder god Thor, whereas Professor X was a quadriplegic whose disability hid a powerful mind. The Avengers were powerful individually and could overwhelm their foes with raw strength, but the X-Men performed better as a team, their reflexes and teamwork honed by simulated battles and deathtraps in their Danger Room.

The trim size of this collection is larger than the modern trade paper backs, the better to fit the larger pages of a Silver Age comic. My bargain copy has an obviously creased cover, but still durable enough to stand more than few more rereads. Like my earlier review my earlier review on the Silver Age Fantastic Four, these are classic stories that are worth your while to read and reread.

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've communicated in the past how 2018 was a very important year for me. After so much death (two siblings and my mom) in the family, moving to Puerto Rico to take care of my dad felt very nostalgic despite never having lived in his Puerto Rico home. It probably had to do with the fact that there were so many relics of having owned a family comic shop early on in life, where my mother and two brothers worked as well. Being confronted with volumes of graphic novel trade paperbacks had to affect me. Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 1 is the third in the Marvel Masterworks series and it collects the X-Men comic book issues #1-10. Stan Lee wrote every issue and Jack Kirby and Chic Stone illustrated them. Art Simek and Sam Rosen did the lettering. I loved reading those first issues where not only do we get introduced to the heroes: Cyclops, Angel, Iceman, Beast, and Marvel Girl, but also to the villains: Magneto, The Vanisher, The Blob, Unus the Untouchable, The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, and finally Kazar. I was a little thrown that Professor Xavier has a crush on a student. Gross! Also, Magneto has his own spaceship? Nation? Asteroid? Damn! So that's where Chris Claremont got those ideas. Hmm! Also, here we see the trope of the heroes misunderstanding each other and a huge ruckus occurs because superheroes engage in diplomacy only AFTER fighting for several pages.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men Vol. 1: The Strangest Super-Heroes of All collects X-Men #1-10.

I've been buying these new Masterworks with the Michael Cho covers so my wife bought this for me for my birthday or Father's day or some such occasion.

Nobody mentions X-Men #1-10 when great Silver Age Marvel books are brought up so I was surprised at how good this was. Lee and Kirby worked the bugs out of the Marvel Method and the bickering family-style team by this point so this stuff is pretty slick.

A lot of formative stuff appears here: first X-Men, first Professor X, first Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, first Ka-Zar, well, that last one isn't all that important.

Stan Lee does the words while Jack Kirby does the pencils with Paul Reinman and Chic Stone on inks. The usual put upon S. Rosen and A. Simek do the lettering. Speaking of, I noticed a couple instances of characters being called by the wrong name and a 'from' instead of a 'form.' I wonder if Sam Rosen or Artie Simek was tired of Stan Lee's crap that day and let those pass.

The stories hold up pretty well, full of action and the bickering team dynamic. I'd say this reads better than the first year of Avengers or Fantastic Four. Four out of five stars.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shallow Comics Readers Buddy Read, theme of: X-Men!!!!



This collection of X-Men #s 1-10 feature many of the themes that will develop over the course of the history of the X-Men. The reader is introduced to the budding romance between Scott Summers and Jean Grey, Cerebro, the hostility of homo sapiens towards homo superior, the battle between Magneto and the X-Men, and the extended vocabulary of The Beast.

Stan Lee's scripts are a little better here than in the early volumes of Fantastic Four and Avengers. Although every issues seems to involve the X-Men working out in the Danger Room, thus showing off their powers and abilities, the battles themselves with Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Blob, and others, are filled with good action and some good solutions to the question of how to defeat their foes.

Jack Kirby's art here is ok in the first issues, but once Chic Stone comes on board as inker, it improves a great deal. Kirby still is in his ugly costume designing phase, but this is a minor quibble. His version of the Beast is kinetic, especially.

The weakest story is the last one, which introduces Ka-Zar, Marvel's version of Tarzan, in a rather silly story. Likewise, when the X-Men meet the Avengers, of course the costumes heroes start throwing punches instead of talking it over. Standard Marvel plot device.

Worth checking out if you're a Marvel or X-Men completist.

[Wren (fablesandwren) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was a great read... for when you want to jump back to the fifties (which I am not downing at all). This is where it all began! I was so excited to see where this started.

I'm not going to go into much detail on what happened in each issue, because we all know the drill: bad guy trying to take/take over something and then good guys appear and beat them and save the day. So I am going over some of the characters that made an appearance.

So the X-Men team starts with these characters:
Professor X: The man in the wheel chair with telepathic abilities
The Beast (Hank McCoy): Isn't blue but still very ape-like
Iceman (Bobby Drake): The youngest of the group, and becomes basically a walking snowman
Cyclops (Slim [Scott] Summers): Has to have his eyes covered all the time because laser eyes (sunglasses will do); does become the leader while Professor X is away
Angel (Warren Worthington III): Has big ole' angel wings
Marvel Girl (Jean Grey): Telepathic and told not to strain her powers.

So, few things:
01. Why do all the guys turn to mush about Marvel Girl? Have they never seen a girl before?
02. The language in this comic literally brings me back to the fifties.
03. They always explained what they were doing out loud (for the reader, I am assuming) and it was kind of like me "yah, I know you are doing that because I can see you doing it." MAYBE it was because it was the first X-Men so it was common sense? Or maybe comics weren't big back then so they had to spell it all out? I would have to do some research on it.



Some special features:
Thor Odinson: doesn't have an alter ego because he's a Asgardian and not from Earth. He has a hammer that only he can pick up.
Captain America (Steve Rogers): Oh Captain America, my favorite avenger. The leader of the group and the one with the morals to shoot for.
Giant-Man (Hank Pym): I'm pretty sure this is the same guy that does Ant-Man, but I don't think that has been made at this point? I would love for someone to tell me if I am right or not.
Wasp (Janet van Dyne): I have never even heard of this marvel character before. She is tiny and can lift really big things. I'm pretty sure she shrinks to that size though; I don't think she stays that size forever.
Ka-Zar: I'm not sure if they consider him an X-Men, but this caveman has a saber-toothed tiger. Shows up later in the volume, not in all of them like the rest of them.



And, of course, the villains:
Magneto (Max Eisenhardt): The ability to control metal! It was so perfect for the first villain to be Magneto, since he is the one that is at the core of a lot of the bag things that happen in the movie (sorry, I've watched all the movies before reading the comics. Let it go). His costume is purple and red and I think it looks kind of silly.
The Vanisher (Telford Porter): The ability to transport himself (hence, he vanishes). He robs banks and gets a bunch of thugs to be his lackeys. He looks like a clown in red. I was not a fan.
The Blob (Frederick J. "Fred" Dukes): He stands in one place and literally nothing can move him. He also can shoot things back at you that you shoot at him. They just bounce right off of him. He was invited to be an x-men, but then turned on them and now has it out to destroy them all.

Magneto then forms his own little group of mutants:
Toad (Mortimer Toynbee): He can hop real big like... lol. He is actually really disgusting looking and I was not a fan. He reminded me of Renfield from Dracula, except Toad is to Magneto. He will just do anything he says.
Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde): He can manipulate your mind. So he makes you see something that is not really there, or he can erase a memory or put a memory in your head. He was a complete jerk.
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff): I can honestly say I do not know the extent of her power. All I know is that she has trouble controlling it. Wikipedia says, "The Scarlet Witch can tap into mystic energy for reality-altering effects; this power was formerly limited to the creation of "hex-spheres" of reality-disrupting quasi-psionic force to cause molecular disturbances in a target's probability field, resulting in spontaneous combustion, deflection of objects in flight, and so on. She later became able to alter reality on a far greater scale, creating entire armies of enemies from nowhere. Although the Scarlet Witch has been trained in basic sorcery techniques, she lacks the specialized mystic training required to fully control her power."
QuickSilver (Pietro Maximoff): He runs like, really fast. He also can speak and think at supersonic speed. Wanda is his sister, if you didn't catch on to that.

So with this core group here, only two are really wanting to destroy people (Toad and Mastermind), from what I understand. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver owe Magneto something,so they do his bidding.

A few other villains that make an appearance:
Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie): He lives in the water, so I assume he can breath under water too. He also has tiny wings on his ankles, so he can fly too. They said something about him being from Fantastic Four Issue #27 and he's also associated with The Hulk from Avengers Issue #03. He has trust issues since The Hulk apparently... He teams up with magneto and wants to dominate all those who aren't mutants.
Lucifer: I didn't really gather a lot from him besides he is smart enough to link a bomb to his heart so if he dies, the bomb goes off. Seems pretty sinister to me.
Maa-Gor: He showed up with Ka-Zar. He was like half-ape-half-man. He's the leader of some caveman tribe.

In conclusion, it was kind of hard to get through since there were a lot of everything on one page. And when I say everything, I mean a lot of unneeded words and such. I do realize this was written forever ago and they had to describe things back then because Marvel Superheros weren't common sense yet like they are for us now. I liked it, but I am not sure I will ever read them again.

[Pinkerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Credo che il termine “vintage” non sia sufficiente ad esprimere la sensazione che provo leggendo queste pagine, erano proprio altri tempi. Tutto era concettualmente più semplice, forse pure troppo, eppure conservano il fascino della vecchia scuola. Senza contare i sorrisi che mi strappano l’uso di un linguaggio arcaico, o frasi tipo: “Lo Svanitore ha appena chiesto dieci milioni di dollari al governo, per non dare ai comunisti i nostri piani continentali di difesa!” oppure “Uno scarto di Bonanza vuole prenderti al lazo!”, ma potrei andare avanti all’infinito. Il serio Ciclope soprannominato “Ridolini”, Magneto che sull’elmetto porta un paio di corna da satanasso (come direbbe il buon Tex Willer) ha pure una Magno-nave! E una Magno-car!!! Frasi d’introduzione o chiusura alle storie sensazionalistiche come: ”Nel prossimo episodio: Gli X-Men affrontano il pericolo più grande di tutti. Lo vedrete… e non ve ne pentirete!” Riferito a… “Non avete mai visto un supercriminale come Blob!! E tra tutte le grandi epopee Marvel, forse questa è la più grande!”

Beh, a mio avviso avevano ragione, quel buzzurro di Blob è davvero fantastico :D
È rilassante poi assistere a racconti scevri da abitudini odierne non sempre così performanti, come il politically correct, eroi che giocano a fare gli antieroi, o gli hipster; una sorta di “genuina ingenuità” che a volte mi manca. Quanto è stato bello - e sorprendente - vedersi Charles Xavier mentre si accende la pipa (che c’ha pure una cotta per Jean Grey… come ogni membro della squadra originale :P). Oppure il suo atteggiamento da insegnante bacchettone con gli X-Men (coi cattivi è pure peggio, non esita a scombussolargli la mente) che spesso e volentieri si comportano da discoli scolari, con Scott capoclasse che cerca di tenerli in riga, mentre le donne sembrano tutte bamboline dal fare civettuolo.
Altisonanti sono poi le presentazioni di ogni singolo personaggio Marvel aggiuntivo che viene introdotto, sia esso buono, cattivo, mutante o non. Certe situazioni risultano poi, involontariamente, esilaranti. Tipo Namor il sub-mariner che per spostarsi sott’acqua usa un sottomarino XD

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the X-Men, it all began here (drumroll!) The Stan & Jack comics factory set to work onb yet another series, and yet another team book filled with chest-thumping, the burden of arcane power, and lashings of soap opera. The problem here is that Kirby was becoming seriously overworked, and Lee was pretty much at the saturation point himself -- the stories and characters were beginning to be very routine, very by the numbers, and the more Lee fell back on the tried-and-true, and the more he left to his artists to figure out, the more mediocrity crept into the books -- leaving The Uncanny X-Men to stagger rather sadly through 66 bi-monthly issues before Marvel put this sorry mutant out to pasture as a reprint book until Len Wein and Dave Cockrum shocked the shambling corpses back to life with Giant-Size X-Men #1...and we all know where that led, right?

Curiously enough, as a child I had a certain fondness for the X-Men, despite my being very much a DC type. I suspect it was due to the similarity some aspects of the X-Men had to the Legion of Super-Heroes. Given my extreme youth, my critical faculties were limited, and my enthusiasm much higher for these stories that it is now, even factoring in the time that the books were produced. The truth is that this particular comic was the product of two rather tired middle-aged men scrambling to make deadlines and keep the market share of the newly resurgent company high enough to keep the business alive. Who would have thought that any of this would still be around fifty years later? I certainly wouldn't have expected to be rereading this at this time.

[Tim The Enchanter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Journey Begins

I have never been a comic book reader. In fact, outside of some graphic novels, this is my first foray into the comic book realm. Despite having never made them part of my repertoire, I have always been fascinated by the characters and in particular the X-Men. The idea of Mutants living among us has always captured my imagination.

I don’t know where these comic books fit into the pantheon of comic book legend and I don’t know what the general consensus on them. In reading, it is the depiction of women that is what stands out the most. Jean Gray is a strong character, in fact stronger than most every other character. Despite this, she is treated like the “little lady”. I’m not sure if compared to earlier works, this the better than or equal to previous depictions of women. In the age of MeToo, characters attempting to forcefully kiss a woman within minutes of meeting them would no pass muster. That said, you have to look at these comics as a product of their time. The fact is, I find this less troublesome than reading the defections of women in a Clive Cussler novel decades later.

Overall, for my first attempt at comics, these were interesting and entertaining. It is fun to see how these characters came to be and were developed.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 10 X-men stories are printed here and include some major players such as Magneto, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, The Blob, Sub-mariner, Unus, and Ka-Zar.
We see the constant training by Professor Xavier for his teenage charges while they battle with an assortment of characters including the Avengers themselves in issue #9.
I really enjoyed issue #10 when the team meets Ka-zar and experiences the Savage Land, an area they go back to many times.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ungezählte Male habe ich diese ersten Hefte der X-Men gelesen, und nie werde ich die ungeheure Faszination vergessen, die dieses Team für mich als 10-Jährigen hatte. Welche Magie ging von einem Mutanten mit Flügeln aus, der der Engel genannt wurde, welche Anziehungskraft von der nicht minder himmlischen Jean Grey, die der Traum eines jeden Teenagers sein musste? Eine so starke Faszination hatten die Hefte damals auf mich als Kind, dass sie beim Wiederlesen wie bei Proust die Madeleine eine ganze Welle längst vergessen geglaubter Kindheitserinnerungen wieder ins Bewußtsein rufen.
Der Band bereitet Staunen und Freude, hat darüber hinaus aber natürlich auch einen "geschichtlichen" Hintergund; denn auch wenn die X-Men nach gut 50 Heften fast eingestellt worden wären wegen mangelnder Verkaufszahlen, sind sie heute das heisseste Eisen, das Marvel im Feuer hat - und das schon seit Jahren. Die gebundende Masterworks-Ausgabe präsentiert die allerersten X-Men Abenteuer würdig in Qualität und Aufmachung, zumal der X-Men Omnibus Band 1 leider vergriffen und ein Nachdruck nicht angekündigt ist.

Zwei Trivia, die beim Wiederlesen ins Auge fielen:
In Heft 3 gesteht sich Charles Xavier ein, dass er in Jean Grey verliebt ist, gesteht ihr seine Zuneigung aus den bei Superhelden üblichen Gründen aber nicht ein.



In Heft 4 treten erstmals Scarlet Witch und ihr Bruder Quicksilver auf, Mitglieder der "Evil Mutants" (wie konnte Magneto seine Truppe nur freiwillig so nennen), beide wechseln später zu den Avengers.



Und das Trivia-Highlight dann in Heft 6: Konkurrenz belebt das Geschäft; vermutlich um mit der schönen Scarlet Witch zu konkurrieren, trägt Jean (leider nur in diesem einen Heft), vom Badekappenzwang freigestellt, ihr Haar einmal offen und hat dafür eine Catwoman-ähnliche Maske. Eine deutliche Verbesserung, die die Frage aufwirft, warum in den Folgeheften die tolle Haarpracht wieder verborgen wird.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the Silver Age as much as the next guy but there’s only so much I can see through nostalgic eyes and shed a tear. In their frenzy to create new characters and stories to face the competition Lee and Kirby went a bit too far, too fast.

To say the plots are naive is an understatement to say the least. Even contextualizing they're still confounding and didn’t age as well as other series from the same period. Some dialogues/monologues are quite painful to read. I’m currently reading the Spider-Man and Daredevil Masterworks and they are, though naive too, are much more enjoyable. After the FF, Hulk, Ant man, Thor, Spidey, Doc Strange, etc., the X-Men are thrown into the fire with a good starting point- outcasts fighting for the people who despise them- but mediocre execution. Both Lee and Kirby seem on auto-pilot and on their knees.

The first 5 issues are visually unentertaining; poor designs, bare settings if any, lazy compositions... The probably overworked Kirby is not helped by the terrible Paul Reinman.  It thankfully improves a lot afterwards when Chic Stone takes on the brush and inkpot.

Still, this is where the legend was born. The five original X-Men, Professor X, Magneto, Blob, even that Tarzan rip-off, Ka Zar... They’re still rough, their origins and powers unclearly defined- Magneto speaks and acts like a secondhand Doom while Beast literally walks on walls- but they are here. And rest assured, Scott is already the gloomy killjoy we all love.
It’ll take a few years and another creative revolution (namely Wein then Claremont/Cockrum then Byrne) to drag them up to real glory but they’re here, the legends to be.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

These first X-Men stories aren't as much fun as I remembered. Jack Kirby's art is generally enjoyable. The writing feels lazy, although the visit to a Village beatnik bar is a true classic. Also, I don't think Stan Lee understands what magnetic means.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this collection of the first ten issues of X-Men from 1963, Professor X and the original five X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman, and Angel) take on Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Mastermind, Toad, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and the Blob), meet Namor in issue 6 and the Avengers in issue 9, and travel to the Savage Land for their first meeting with Ka-Zar in issue 10.

My prep work for Avengers: Age of Ultron continues by checking out the origins of Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (aka Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch), who will be featured in the upcoming movie. Here, they're reluctant villains following the ruthless Magneto, who once saved Wanda's life. Pietro won't leave her, so the two of them are part of the Brotherhood though their consciences bother them. They both leave Magneto in issue 11.

Of course, this is also the origin of the X-Men, which is unique in that they are a fully formed team at the outset as opposed to a group (like the Avengers) that's made up of heroes who have already had runs of their own. The X-Men aren't truly given an origin as such other than attending Professor X's secret school for gifted youngsters together (from which they graduate in issue 7), though they are introduced to the public for the first time in issue 1 as a team of pro-human mutants. A notable volume introducing many popular characters that are still around today and also the mutant population of the Marvel universe as a whole, though it does still contain a large amount of early '60's Silver Age cheese.

[Evan Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This contains the original 10 issues that started it all. I really enjoyed these as a kid, and decided to revisit them. The original X-Men consisted of Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Marvel Girl (Jean Grey). As ever, the team is lead by Professor Charles Xavier and his superhuman brain. Among other evildoers, the X-Men confront Magneto, Lucifer, and The Blob.

These first issues were published between 1963-65, and I regret to say they are a bit...dated. Despite (or perhaps because of) covers promising Action!! Surprises! Suspense! All in the Magnificent Marvel Manner!!, the stories are pretty cheesy and fairly predictable. Nobody (good or evil) is going to get seriously injured, and the villains are rarely permanently dispatched, so for the most part you've got 10 issues where the X-Men hear about a threat/race to meet the threat/bludgeon the threat while getting bludgeoned in turn/the threat & X-Men go their separate ways. Sunrise, sunset.

Still, it's good nostalgic fun, and the ads are priceless. If you like the X-Men, you can't really go wrong by going back to the beginning. 3 stars.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The classic X-Men! I loved reading the first adventures of this team and see how it was before it became the way it is now! The characters were slightly different in the first couple of issues but they settled into the way that we know them today soon enough! I loved the dynamic between the members and how well they work together! It was interesting how they kind of hinted at the professors past and made us crave to know more (even though I know it changes, it still made the story interesting!). I loved reading the first time the Avengers and the X-Men met, that was really cool and we got to see a little fight between them - although, of course, it was broken up before there was a clear winner! Overall, this is definitely worth a read if you are interested in reading the older adventures of one of the most famous teams in Marvel history!

[Trevor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The X-Men does not start off particularly well. Of Stan Lee's initial 10 issues, only a couple of them are particularly interesting or enjoyable: both "Blob" issues, which are early examples of the darker side of Charles Xavier, and "Unus the Untouchable," which provides the first instance of mutants being feared and hated by the people they try to protect.

It's still enjoyable as an example of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's work and has good characterization of some of my favourite X-Men characters, such as Jean Grey and Scott Summers, but overall this first volume is pretty weak.

[gradedog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated, goofy, cheesy, but fun. Classic Kirby art is great. But wait, Dr. X had the hots for Jean?

[Dang Ole' Dan Can Dangle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, the very first issues of the good ole' X-Men. Back when the line-up was Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Jean Grey, and Angel. Back when they called Jean Grey Marvel Girl and when Iceman looked like Frosty the Snowman. Where one of the most recognized superhero teams started--with the words of Stan Lee and the drawings of Jack Kirby, the two greats of the Silver Age.

In the first ten issues the quality varies a bit from issue to issue, but I can't say there are any really bad issues. An obvious favorite of mine would probably have to be issue #4, where we are introduced to The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, led by none other than Magneto, or issue #7 where Cyclops shows off some fabulous leadership. In these early issues we're also introduced to the likes of The Blob, The Vanisher, Toad, Mastermind, Unus, and the wonderfully mysterious Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Plus there's guest appearances from Namor the Submariner, The Avengers, and Ka-Zar.

The plots of each issue are, as so many comics of the time were, a bit simple. Silver Age comics are rarely praised for their complex plots. X-Men isn't an exception. Many of the issues boil down to an enemy with a crazy power or plan being presented, them showing off that power, you wondering to yourself how the X-Men could possible defeat such a power, and then the X-Men doing just that. Not to say that's a bad thing; it can be quite fun, interesting, and suspenseful. And for the most part that type of story is done pretty well in these early X-Men issues. Granted there are a few disappointing conclusions and Professor Xavier serves as a bit of a deus ex machina all too often, but for the most part it's pretty good; whether the X-Men be fighting against a master of magnetism, someone who can vanish into thin air, or someone who literally can't be touched.

As I mentioned there are some differences in quality between the issues. I think the main problem may have been that, even within a mere ten issues, there becomes a bit of a repetition...or perhaps better put: routine. Marvel had been so successful in the 60s thanks to the premiere of comics that still carry the company to this day like Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Avengers (which launched alongside X-Men), Daredevil, and the then popular Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. So many successful new series that Marvel's head writers and artists, such as Stan & Jack, were not only very probably over-worked but they also fell into a sort of formula (not to mention all that success probably made Stan a bit cocky), making their work seem, at times, very routine, both in writing and penciling. They knew the successful formula and they followed it, which, unfortunately, occasionally led to some pretty mediocre comics. This is evidenced even more when, after issue #21 of X-Men, Roy Thomas took over writing for Stan Lee (and then later Steve Englehart for Roy), and for a good while the X-Men series was pretty mediocre (until, of course, it was saved, and indeed reinvented, by the likes of Chris Claremont).

Luckily though these early issues still maintain much freshness and Stan Lee's writing, though somewhat formulaic (and arguably even sexist and soap opera like at times), still has its charm. The early Stan Lee X-Men comics may not be the best the X-Men have to offer and they may have been done better by the likes of Claremont or Whedon, but they're certainly far from the worst (see

Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart; not that they're bad writers, mind you, they just didn't write very interesting X-Men) and for having the disadvantage of being the very first in the series they do a damn fine job. Not to mention the added enjoyability to be had from the comics' historical significance and getting to glimpse back to a bygone age and see where a famous series found its start.

In many ways X-Men took the best aspects of Marvel's other comics. The coming-of-age element from Spider-Man, the team and family aspect from Fantastic Four, threw in some cool new villains (I find it very likely that X-Men as a series would have failed had it not been for Magneto, who himself is probably inspired by Doctor Doom from Fantastic Four the year prior) and, just as Fantastic Four reflected the Cold War psychology of the era and broke many comic conventions for the time (and created many as well), X-Men served as a metaphor for civil rights and racism and, above all, alienation in general. X-Men are also sort of the opposites of Avengers; whereas Avengers are beloved heroes to society, X-Men are outcasted heroes generally looked down upon by society. Where Avengers are composed of experienced men that possess incredible strength the X-Men are young kids who must rely on teamwork. Avengers are led by the gleaming blonde-haired god of thunder Thor, whose greatest asset is his strength, and the X-Men by a bald cripple whose mind is his strongest power.

Of course by today's standards the comics of the Golden and Silver age seem a bit silly and primitive, and indeed they were (they, after all, didn't have the advantage newer comics have of learning from the past). But for its time it was quite good and for us modern readers it's quite interesting.

Favorite issues: The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! (#4), The Return of the Blob (#7)
Best Cover Art: The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! (#4)
Rating: 3.00 out of 5

My other X-Men reviews:
The X-Men, Vol. 1
The X-Men, Vol. 2
The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1
X-Men: Proteus
The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 2
X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga
X-Men: Days of Future Past
X-Men: From the Ashes

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume collects the very first X-men 1-10 that were originally published as comics back in (I think) 1963. As such the 232 pages, plus original artwork at the back constitute some really original and historic comic work, iconic to what is called 'The Silver Age' of comics. Also let us not forget that without these comics there would be no modern movie franchise either. This is something I did have to keep reminding myself as I read, because this style of comic is really, really dated and for me, who was not wild about them even back in the day, it was hard to read.

I do appreciate many things about this type of original artwork and I am totally on board with Jack Kirby as a legend among comic book artists. The dynamic action poses that Kirby did for the X-man are very characteristic of early comics, a style that has had such a massive influence on how the comic/trade paperback genera have evolved. But I think that Kirby, as well as being prolific, gave a dimension to characters that a lot of the early comic artists didn't, extending the emotive ability of the original, limited square frames. Kirby had a genius for expressions, not content with a brilliant action pose he would add dimension to characters faces with tiny details that are often unmatched today. We have no excuse not to match it either - most modern comics are computer graphics, Kirby hand drew everything in his. One examples is pg 87; Angel is flying toward the reader, (In a brilliant action post where the fore-shortening clues us as to the speed he is flying at), but in addition Kirby draws chagrin on to his face: he is disappointed Quicksilver is faster than him. This is pretty amazing, because Angel is wearing a mask so that Kirby only had the tilt of the head, a mouth and nose to work with. yet the sheepish look on Angel's face is classic. All done within 5 x 4 mm mind you. More amazing than the X-men themselves.

So the main artist, Kirby was amazing, the inking and lettering of the day are.... what they are. It is a style that I personally do not love, with too many block colours and not enough subtlety. Again, I remind myself, all done by hand.

The writing *embarrassed face* . Well, I appreciate what Stan Lee did for the genera. It is kind of ironic that the thing I dislike most about the era comics is the expositional, bombastic, unnatural, over the top writing because Stan Lee himself did more toward changing it perhaps than anyone. But it was the way of the times to write things like "The X-Men must find out...How do you beat a mutant who is UNBEATABLE?!!" and Stan Lee did it for Marvel like a pro, which he was. I really don't like the style but I am glad I took the time to read these early comics.

Now, on to the actual comics. They set up the original X-Men, professor Xavier, the 'exclusive private school' the 'danger room' and many other things that have become embedded as pop icons in our world, to the extent that we don't even notice them or wonder where they came from. The X-Men movie franchise is part of our culture in many ways by now, so going back to it's origins (pardon the pun comic fans) was interesting.

It was impossible not to compare it at least a little bit with the movies.

Professor Xavier seems a little pompous and flat because, while an excellent character when he was devised, this character has aged a bit poorly and Patrick Stewart as professor Xavier was too brilliant not to overshadow the original. On the other hand, Jean Grey as Marvel girl? I had forgotten what a fantastic character the original was! She was smart, sassy took no shite from anyone and was a full team member on every mission with a confident handle on her powers. She was fully feminine, a girl who liked admiring the effect the consume had on her figure, dressed like one hell of a lady out of costume and had a confident outlook to match any of the other team. For some reason every movie, remake, comic reboot or whatever has portrayed her with all the charisma of limp lettuce. It is very sad, and go to hell Marvel for that powerless, lackluster emo portrayed by Famke Janssen.

I feel like the comics created a much better team, a much better background and a much better introduction to the mutants than the 2000's moves did. They are stronger, much more individual characters, allowing for the over dramatisations, with stronger interactions between the characters which were far more meaningful than the movies 'we must always have a romance and dramatic conflict' stereotypes.

We also are introduced to Magneto, Quicksilver and the Red Witch and this was all to the credit of Kirby and Lee that they are quite decent characters despite the one dimensional 60's method of dealing with villains. We have further suits of characters, including a battle with The Avengers in the last comic. Oh, the darling cuteness of the original Thor and Captain America...

Now, what again was that last comic? "The Coming of Ka-Zar!" this was eye wateringly weird. A tribute to Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes mixed in with a great deal of Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne it even started from a glacier in the arctic... I would love to know the story behind that episode.

Well, it was good to read this classic, but honestly I appreciate this style more for it's history than the actual reading experience, which was slow.

[dennis]

Just #1

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed but there was so many wordssssss and so many pages, for comic books it was hefty, 10 or not.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is where it all began !! The X-Men, The Brotherhood of Mutants, Asteroid M, everything. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought something else in the world by introducing the X-Men which not only provided entertainment, but also put different political issues in a certain way that had never been dealt before in mainstream comic books. The book brought a group of mutant teenagers in the world that changed the way people perceive comic books . The characters in the book are very unique, each with their different power set and personalities. The art gets better with every issue and the designs, though dated, are still something to be admired. Despite of everything mentioned till now, the book also has some major issues, for example, the dialogues are dated and the way every character has to explain everything by speaking felt very absurd to me. There are decisions made in the story that are downright questionable and ridiculous.

But overall, it is an entertaining comic book and one cannot help, but accept the fact that this book holds a great significance in comic book history.

[Carian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never been that interested in the X-Men but I read this for the issues that introduce the Scarlet Witch. These comics are goofy and corny. The dialogue is overly explanatory. Overall, they were pretty much what I would expect for the time they were created.

[Tawfek]

3 stars

[Eddie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. Jack Kirby was probably at his finest here. First five issues were inked by Paul Reinman, whose sharp lines somehow succeeded to make Kirby's art even more beautiful. The last five issues (inked by Chic Stone) were still good though. Loved his bold lines that occasionally gave a depth of field. The coloring (or let's say: the recoloring) was simply an eye candy. As for the writing, let me say that I found it to be a huge improvement compared to the first issues of Fantastic Four. Magneto is definitely one of the greatest Marvel villains. His issues here (many, luckily) were a pleasure. But even the issues that were assumed to be "lesser" (The Blob, Ka-Zar) have exceeded my expectations (especially: The Return of the Blob!). Long live King Kirby!

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - half star deducted for extremely cringey, racist depiction of Indigenous people.

[David Nix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the writing was odd but for the time I get it. Anything x-men I have a feeling is going to be important to read in this current global climate. We can’t let fear consume our choices and should treat our fellow beings with respect. Hoping this is a consistent theme that continues through the rest of the X-Men outside of what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created.

[Alex Andrasik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time through this collection; countless times having read many of the individual issues in it. It's obviously very entertaining to me, but despite general 60s comics kookiness, this more offbeat Marvel offering holds up surprisingly well. As much as I love the likes of the Avengers, Stan Lee's peppy "teenager" dialogue, while of dubious authenticity, certainly pops. Jack Kirby's seems to be phoning it in slightly here, an impression heightened by the X-Men's uninspiring "school uniform" character design and the less-than-amazing design on the likes of the Vanisher, Blob, Unus, and Ka-Zar--but he's drawing so much, and this was such a down-the-ticket title for the Marvel Universe of the day, that you can't really blame him.

Bring on the bad guys: MAGNETO! Nuff said. Well, maybe not quite 'nuff. I've always known about the comparisons between Xavier/Magneto and King/Malcolm X, but until this readthrough I never carefully considered the implications of Lee's depiction of Magneto on that comparison. Magneto is much more ruthless here that he will be at later stages of his existence (though, admittedly, less ruthless than at others). Did Stan Lee see Malcolm X and his followers as capable of the kinds of actions Magneto tries to take here--stealing missiles and destroying an entire small nation, in particular? Did he see Malcolm X's followers in the way he depicts the Brotherhood of *Evil* mutants--some lackey lickspittles like the Toad, some opportunistic cynics like Mastermind, and a few misguided, ambivalent wildcards like Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch? Am I over-thinking it, and Lee had none of this in mind at all?

Ladywatch: Jean Grey makes her debut! I'm impressed with this depiction of a female character. In most instances, she's self-possessed and confident, and I can only think of one instance in which she's used as a damsel in distress (in issue #10). She is used in a will-they-or-won't-they romance with Cyclops that's already kinda tiresome, and there's that one-panel-and-almost-never-again indication of Professor X's, ah, inappropriate interest in his female student. But by and large, she stands as an equal member of the team with the rest of the X-Men. Scarlet Witch doesn't fare as well, the constant object of Mastermind's creepy leering and brother Quicksilver's over-protectiveness. I do appreciate that Wanda is always the one to protest Magneto's various terrible and murderous ideas, though her sense of honor and obligation prevents her from abandoning his cause.

Superhero Teamup/Continuity Notes: The X-Men meet the Avengers in issue 9; it's not clear which comes first--this issue, or the Tales of Suspense that saw Iron Man teaming up with Angel--but either way, it's a continuity fail, as neither meeting is referenced in either issue.

[Mr. Stick · Rating 2 out of 5]

"'DON'T WORRY!' AS THOUGH I COULD HELP WORRYING ABOUT THE ONE I LOVE! BUT I CAN NEVER TELL HER!"
- Professor X inner-monologue about Jean Grey in X-Men #3. Yeah, the early X-Men stories weren't sketchy AT ALL.

This hurt my brain and soul! Though it improved (very slowly), this was misery (minus Kathy Bates). I know a new title has a honeymoon period where it's all energtic enthusiasm with very little finesse, but this was rough. For example:
-Prof. Xavier was weird and creepy for the first half. And, he's in love with Jean. Like, eww.
-Beast's just a brutish moron until issue #4.
-Bobby's the only one I recognized. Sure, they adapted his appearance from a snowman to and actual ICE man, but he's consistently the insufferable twerp I know and love.
-Cyclops was a total wimp until Xavier put him in charge. Then he and Jean make googly eyes at each other for the rest of the book.
-Angel's more-or-less useless. Standard flight with feathered wings would be cool in reality, but has very little application on a seven-cell page. The rich and handsome part came around issue #5.
-Jean's power was either over-used, under-used or mis-used. And on a more modern note, she's initially just eye candy until Jack and Stan figure out how to really exploit her power set.
-Magneto is a straight-up genocidal maniac. Zero f@#$s given. Hell, he'll even throw his own guys out an airlock. I like him later on as a more thoughtful, rational, calculated psycho.

The first six issues proved a major challenge to my ADD.
By issue #7 it was damn near readable.
Issue #10, featuring Ka-Zar, was rather good. Not just readable, but actually good.

I want to give it three stars, because I know it's foundational and all that, but I just can't. I struggled through this for a week (easily distracted slow reader). How this book didn't get canceled after the first four issues, I'll never know. Stan forgive me... Two stars.

[James Mourgos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncanny X-Men, first issue by Stan and Jack, could cost you thousands. Why not get a reprint instead? I got the Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 trade paperback [The Uncanny X-Men Masterworks (The Uncanny X-Men, Nos 1-5)]of the first issues of X-Men stories and though I'm not a fan of the characters, I can see why the series would be so popular among the many characters that Stan and Jack pumped out in the early Sixties.

The X-Men are teenagers at the start. It was interesting to see the development of The Beast, Hank McCoy, who was not talking the high intellectual jargon in the first few issues, "For the love of Pete!". The first and most threatening villain is the evil mutant Magneto, whose power of magnetism are more than a match for the X-Men and they have a hard time putting him down.

Later stories involved the Scarlet Witch and her brother Quicksilver as they team up with Magneto, the Toad and the illusionist Mastermind. My favorite stories in this set include the fight with The Blob, the evil mutants and each other!

Bottom Line: The intro is written by Stan Lee as he relays what he went through and why the X-Men are one of the more popular teams coming out of the Marvel bullpen. The Kirby art and the fun, witty dialogue (and yes at times cheesy) make for some fun and incredibly entertaining stories.

Other Marvel Adventures:
X-Men, Vol. 1 (Marvel Masterworks)
The X-Men, Vol. 2 (Marvel Masterworks)
The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 3 (Marvel Masterworks)