X-Men Omnibus Vol. 1 (Uncanny X-Men

by Stan Lee, Alex Ross (Cover Art), Jack Kirby (Artist)

Collects Uncanny X-Men (1963) #1-31. In 1963 the slow boil of the Marvel super-hero revolution exploded in a full eruption with a slate of new heroic adventurers that redefined comic-book adventure forever. Joining the Fantastic Four, the Amazing Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and Dr. Strange came the Avengers and an odd sister book featuring a weird assortment of brand new Cyclops, the Beast, Iceman, the Angel, Marvel Girl, and the mysteriously-named Professor X. They were the X-Men, and little did anyone know that they would come to take the comic book business by storm. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby billed their new creations "The Strangest Super-Heroes of All!" and while their mutant powers were certainly weird, the binding concept of this band of heroes, a group feared, hunted and hated because the of prejudice of their fellow man was pure Marvel relevance, striking at the heart of Civil Rights battles of the time. So join us as we collect in this massive, painstakingly restored, archival volume as we recount the earliest adventures of the world's most-famous super-hero team as they encounter for the very first time their nemesis Magneto, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Juggernaut, Ka-Zar and the Savage Land, Master Mold and the Sentinels, and many more of Marvel's greatest heroes and villains. Supplemented with a bevy of behind-the-scenes bonus material, critical and historical essays, and original artwork, this volume is a bona fide must-have for each and every X-addict!

770 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 9, 2022

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

[Joel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing hasn’t aged well at all. The stories are around 18 pages long and take the villain of the week approach. The story pacing is quite off, taking over 12 pages on average to build up and then within the space of 2-3 pages, the writers with a heavy hand brings the story to a very clunky close. Also some readers might find some of the story beats and themes a bit old fashioned. But I didn’t mind it too much.

To my surprise I actually enjoyed the art style. Obviously very dated but it was interesting to see how comics were made and drawn back in the day!

Story 1 star.
Art 3 stars.
Overall 2 stars.

[Kyle Hendricksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these books. You can see the story development progress issue to issue. Other people have complained stating the stories haven't aged well; you need to go into this knowing the era it was written. This was still the beginning of comic books, and the 60's. These were quite progressive at the time.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Beginning of the X-Men, Up and Downs

The Stan Lee era of X-Men had some points. Cyclops dealing with his insecurities to opening up is one practically tied to his Mutant powers. Beast is a good foil, self-conscious about his appearance that he hides with his hands and feet but complemented with sounding and being smart to impress people. But he's got heart in the right places, a bit of a flirt too. That naturally makes Iceman's comic relief and Angel's pretty boy soft-talk redundant. Especially with how everybody flirts with Jean. Which I gotta say, she was surprisingly the most unique girl character of her day; not a doting girlfriend like Sue Storm, or a flirt like the Wasp, but an everywoman who complimented everyone as the group's main heart who loves expressing herself as a superhero, learning as she goes with the others making her feel like their equal.

Meanwhile, don't expect most villains to be interesting, especially Magneto, the guy's just another megalomaniac. But at least the Juggernaut can give you chills with his intro. Plus, there's potential that didn't go places like how mutants could've been another problem for superheroes as a whole. The whole Mutant menace thing got old quickly. Would've been nice to see these compared to and with Spider-Man. But let's face it, web head would've stole the spotlight.