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Exiles (2001) (Collected Editions)
Exiles, Vol. 1: Down the Rabbit Hole
Meet the Exiles, a time-travelling mutant conglomerate dedicated to righting the wrongs of the Marvel Universe. Led by the teleporter Blink, this mutant team is guided by The Tallus, an instrument leading them from place to place in order to fulfill their missions of cosmic repair. Their early adventures lead them into confrontations with the Incredible Hulk, Wolverine and the X-Men. This trade paperback collects Exiles #1–4.
112 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2003
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331 people want to read
About the author
Judd Winick
795 books394 followersJudd Winick is an American cartoonist, comic book writer, screenwriter, and former reality television personality known for his diverse contributions to storytelling across multiple media. He first entered the public eye in 1994 as a cast member on The Real World: San Francisco, where he formed a close friendship with AIDS educator Pedro Zamora, an experience that deeply influenced his later work. Winick memorialized their bond in Pedro and Me, a critically acclaimed autobiographical graphic novel that earned several literary awards and became a staple in school curricula.
Winick's career in comics took off with The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius and continued with major runs at DC Comics, including Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Batman. His stories often explored socially relevant themes, such as HIV, homophobia, and identity. He was recognized for introducing gay characters and tackling difficult subjects with empathy and clarity. His work on Batman notably included resurrecting the character Jason Todd as the Red Hood, a storyline later adapted into the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, for which Winick wrote the screenplay.
Beyond comics, he created The Life and Times of Juniper Lee for Cartoon Network and served as head writer for Hulu's The Awesomes. In 2015, he launched the Hilo series, an all-ages sci-fi adventure inspired by his own children. The bestselling series has been widely praised and is expected to reach its eleventh volume in 2025.
Winick lives in San Francisco with his wife, Pam Ling, also a Real World alum, and their two children. He continues to create heartfelt and imaginative stories for audiences of all ages.
Winick's career in comics took off with The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius and continued with major runs at DC Comics, including Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Batman. His stories often explored socially relevant themes, such as HIV, homophobia, and identity. He was recognized for introducing gay characters and tackling difficult subjects with empathy and clarity. His work on Batman notably included resurrecting the character Jason Todd as the Red Hood, a storyline later adapted into the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, for which Winick wrote the screenplay.
Beyond comics, he created The Life and Times of Juniper Lee for Cartoon Network and served as head writer for Hulu's The Awesomes. In 2015, he launched the Hilo series, an all-ages sci-fi adventure inspired by his own children. The bestselling series has been widely praised and is expected to reach its eleventh volume in 2025.
Winick lives in San Francisco with his wife, Pam Ling, also a Real World alum, and their two children. He continues to create heartfelt and imaginative stories for audiences of all ages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
June 8, 2012
The first six trades of this series was written (and created, I assume) by Judd Winick: the orb of shimmering brilliance that brought us Barry Ween Boy Genius.
The premise is simple: heroes (mostly x-men) are pulled from their various timelines and sent to alternate dimentions in order to set things right.
It's sort of like quantum leap, but with superheros.
I really enjoyed the series. In fact, I dug it enough to buy all 16 trades, that by itself says something.
As an entity unto itself, I don't know if I'd *really* consider this a 5-star read. In all fairness, it's probably a four. A good solid four.
However, it does something pretty unique. This comic is very readable by someone who doesn't know hardly *anything* about the marvel/x-men universe.
The sad fact is that mainstream comics are kinda like n-dimentional soap operas these days. Some books are impossible to enjoy unless you've been tuning in for over 20 years and you have a flow chart explaining who Scarlet Witch's grand uncle is.
But since all these heroes are coming from different timelines, AND they're all going to different alternate universes to set things right, you don't have to know who fucked whom 35 years ago when Stan Lee was still writing these things. Instead, you're given what you need to know as the story progresses.
So for reasons of accessibility alone, I'm bumping the series up to 5 stars.
Fair warning: Stop reading at book 14. At book 15, Chris Claremont takes over the writing of the series.
The premise is simple: heroes (mostly x-men) are pulled from their various timelines and sent to alternate dimentions in order to set things right.
It's sort of like quantum leap, but with superheros.
I really enjoyed the series. In fact, I dug it enough to buy all 16 trades, that by itself says something.
As an entity unto itself, I don't know if I'd *really* consider this a 5-star read. In all fairness, it's probably a four. A good solid four.
However, it does something pretty unique. This comic is very readable by someone who doesn't know hardly *anything* about the marvel/x-men universe.
The sad fact is that mainstream comics are kinda like n-dimentional soap operas these days. Some books are impossible to enjoy unless you've been tuning in for over 20 years and you have a flow chart explaining who Scarlet Witch's grand uncle is.
But since all these heroes are coming from different timelines, AND they're all going to different alternate universes to set things right, you don't have to know who fucked whom 35 years ago when Stan Lee was still writing these things. Instead, you're given what you need to know as the story progresses.
So for reasons of accessibility alone, I'm bumping the series up to 5 stars.
Fair warning: Stop reading at book 14. At book 15, Chris Claremont takes over the writing of the series.
May 27, 2020
When this popped up on a friend's wall I rated it 5 stars from memory (I first read it in floppies back when it was first published). Having now re-read it, I'm turning that rating down to 4 stars.
I still really enjoyed this; I LOVE the concept (hence my original 5 star rating) and I really like the characters and the scenarios they find themselves in. The reason I've docked a star is because the artwork, while still very good, wasn't quite as good as I remembered it being, and I found some of the characters not as well fleshed-out as they could have been; particularly Magnus and Sunfire.
Still, a really good book and a whole lotta fun. I'm going to tear my way through the entire run now, so I'll soon see how the rest of it hold up.
I still really enjoyed this; I LOVE the concept (hence my original 5 star rating) and I really like the characters and the scenarios they find themselves in. The reason I've docked a star is because the artwork, while still very good, wasn't quite as good as I remembered it being, and I found some of the characters not as well fleshed-out as they could have been; particularly Magnus and Sunfire.
Still, a really good book and a whole lotta fun. I'm going to tear my way through the entire run now, so I'll soon see how the rest of it hold up.
January 27, 2022
Exiles is a brand new team formed by mutants from different parts of the Marvel multiverse.
The plot features the group of Exiles jumping from one reality to another trying to save the realities and themselves. The characters are vivid and feel alive.
Overall, a fun and entertaining introduction.
The plot features the group of Exiles jumping from one reality to another trying to save the realities and themselves. The characters are vivid and feel alive.
Overall, a fun and entertaining introduction.
July 18, 2017
I've been holding off reading the Exiles for years now. I seem to forget to binge read the entire series whenever I get the opportunity to have a free month of Marvel Unlimited. I finally found a copy of the first trade at a second-hand bookstore. After reading it, I wondered why it took me so long to get started on it.
There have been several X-Men story tropes throughout its storied publishing history. Alternate timelines is probably one of the more famous ones. The recent X-Men: Days of Future Past movie is based loosely on the classic Claremont/Byrne two-parter which started it all. Another classic alternate reality, a more modern one in Age of Apocalypse, is an important precursor to Judd Winick's story.
After reading the first volume, this series biggest advantage laid in its ability to make the most of the entire multiverse of possibilities that stemmed from the classic X-Men stories. It also gave them an excellent pool of alternate characters from which to form its roster and helped made in-story character deaths stick.
Notwithstanding an Exile's sacrifice in the opening arc, the second story, a retelling of the seminal Dark Phoenix Saga is the best story of this volume, and perhaps the entire series. The original was a tragic story, and this one more so. It is made more poignant by the personal connection of two of the Exiles to this point of X-Men history. This is easily a must-read story.
The quality of the two story arcs in this volume made it an easy edition to look for more of them and give this a high recommendation. I hope the quality holds for the succeeding volumes.
There have been several X-Men story tropes throughout its storied publishing history. Alternate timelines is probably one of the more famous ones. The recent X-Men: Days of Future Past movie is based loosely on the classic Claremont/Byrne two-parter which started it all. Another classic alternate reality, a more modern one in Age of Apocalypse, is an important precursor to Judd Winick's story.
After reading the first volume, this series biggest advantage laid in its ability to make the most of the entire multiverse of possibilities that stemmed from the classic X-Men stories. It also gave them an excellent pool of alternate characters from which to form its roster and helped made in-story character deaths stick.
Notwithstanding an Exile's sacrifice in the opening arc, the second story, a retelling of the seminal Dark Phoenix Saga is the best story of this volume, and perhaps the entire series. The original was a tragic story, and this one more so. It is made more poignant by the personal connection of two of the Exiles to this point of X-Men history. This is easily a must-read story.
The quality of the two story arcs in this volume made it an easy edition to look for more of them and give this a high recommendation. I hope the quality holds for the succeeding volumes.
June 28, 2019
I love this series so much
December 6, 2019
An exciting romp of mutant mayhem featuring characters many X-Men fans may not know. This was my first time reading an Exiles adventure. Volume 1 of the Exiles feels like a pilot of new tv series. There is much to take in and much to be explained in this series. Basically the concept of the Exiles is explained as a few mutants from alternated realities have been gather together to fix the timelines of other realities in order to save their own worlds. Judd Winick & artist Mike Mckone do a good job of keeping the action fast paced and each panel interesting. This book is colorful and the art style harkens back to the X-Men animated series that came out during the 90s. The Exiles first adventure sees them in a world where Charles Xavier is the enemy of mankind and in a twist the Exiles have to save Magneto. The final tale of this collection puts the Exiles in the X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga where they have to join the Shiar and stop the X-Men from saving the Jean Grey who is becoming the malevolent Dark Phoenix. I really enjoyed reading this book and getting to know mutants that I have only gotten glimpse of in other media. Some of my favorite characters in this series thus far are Morph. Mimic and of course Blink. It only makes since that a portal opening mutant should be extremely important to a team that will be jumping from dimension to dimension. I am definitely going to pick up the next volume.
November 22, 2012
To continue existing in their own realities, a motely crew of new and old second-rate X-Men characters must correct the troubled realities of a seemingly infinite array of alternate worlds.
As a concept the "Exiles" is an intriguing mix of "The Age of Apocalypse" alternate-reality X-Men cross-over event, which spanned that entire glorious summer of 1995, and Marvel's now long defunct "What If" series; which is to say, here you have a "what if" series of tales that promise to resonate beyond the sole conceptual premises and intellectual import of isolated stories, in that the events of the "Exiles" storylines will have permanent consequences for their main characters--even death. ***SPOILER***I have to say that I was genuinely jolted and impressed when the book killed off one of its more interesting and seemingly important characters early on in just this first TPB, which spans a mere four issues. ***SPOILER OVER***
Having said that, despite one or two genuine surprises along the way, the promise of true possibility soon gives way to the tedium of mere novelty. Indeed, based on this first volume, "Exiles" already feels predictable and stale right from the start. For starters, it's becoming increasingly clear that some of the characters in this fairly generic superhero team (the "comic relief" guy, the dangerously sexy "mysterious" character, the Captain America look-alike, the big strong fella etc;.) will not be sleeping the big sleep anytime soon (see: Blink). This lack of true depth and danger for its main characters, coupled with the formulaic framework being set-up for the storylines so far (see: "Quantum Leap" with mutants), then, deprives the book of the kind of urgency, epic scope, and visceral impact that made AoA--and some of the one-shot tales in the "What If" series, so haunting and memorable. Then again you can fault almost any other franchise title for suffering from the same flaws so...
Bottom line? "Down The Rabbit Hole" is mildly impressive and amusing in some of its plot reversals and concepual twists (see what they do to an alternate-timeline version of Xavier) but ultimately fairly dissapointing in its overall execution. Bummer. Given the potential to run wild with a concept this intriguing, the creative team plays it a bit safer than I expected, as the creators here seem content to merely give us an X-Men version of a show like "Quantum Leap", while also trying to profit from the emotional depth and genuine thematic shock-value of AoA. Perhaps as the series goes on, the book will deepen its character arcs and expand on its thematic scope into unforseen territory. Based on this TPB, though? Mildly amusing, but been there, done that.
As a concept the "Exiles" is an intriguing mix of "The Age of Apocalypse" alternate-reality X-Men cross-over event, which spanned that entire glorious summer of 1995, and Marvel's now long defunct "What If" series; which is to say, here you have a "what if" series of tales that promise to resonate beyond the sole conceptual premises and intellectual import of isolated stories, in that the events of the "Exiles" storylines will have permanent consequences for their main characters--even death. ***SPOILER***I have to say that I was genuinely jolted and impressed when the book killed off one of its more interesting and seemingly important characters early on in just this first TPB, which spans a mere four issues. ***SPOILER OVER***
Having said that, despite one or two genuine surprises along the way, the promise of true possibility soon gives way to the tedium of mere novelty. Indeed, based on this first volume, "Exiles" already feels predictable and stale right from the start. For starters, it's becoming increasingly clear that some of the characters in this fairly generic superhero team (the "comic relief" guy, the dangerously sexy "mysterious" character, the Captain America look-alike, the big strong fella etc;.) will not be sleeping the big sleep anytime soon (see: Blink). This lack of true depth and danger for its main characters, coupled with the formulaic framework being set-up for the storylines so far (see: "Quantum Leap" with mutants), then, deprives the book of the kind of urgency, epic scope, and visceral impact that made AoA--and some of the one-shot tales in the "What If" series, so haunting and memorable. Then again you can fault almost any other franchise title for suffering from the same flaws so...
Bottom line? "Down The Rabbit Hole" is mildly impressive and amusing in some of its plot reversals and concepual twists (see what they do to an alternate-timeline version of Xavier) but ultimately fairly dissapointing in its overall execution. Bummer. Given the potential to run wild with a concept this intriguing, the creative team plays it a bit safer than I expected, as the creators here seem content to merely give us an X-Men version of a show like "Quantum Leap", while also trying to profit from the emotional depth and genuine thematic shock-value of AoA. Perhaps as the series goes on, the book will deepen its character arcs and expand on its thematic scope into unforseen territory. Based on this TPB, though? Mildly amusing, but been there, done that.
July 25, 2021
I'm sure there's a great reimagining of What If? in here somewhere, and maybe it gets better over time, but lemme tell you the dialog in this book is just awful, the plotting is destroyed with too much "narration", and the characters seem like something out of bad TV drama.
Is it possible to commit the sin of monologuing in one panel?
On a positive note, the art is clean and clear to tell you where the action is. Just wish Thunderbird didn't look like something out of a bad Shakespearean production.
Second re-read: good god are comics people talky. These characters still just stand around monologuing a lot. And in their underwear (if they’re female, camera focused on that frilly lace, natch) or shirtless (if they’re guys).
Not to mention the in-subtle perving our boy Morph does when Sunfire finally gets a costume that does look like something out of every second issue of Empowered. Boy does Judd like his male gaze.
Is it possible to commit the sin of monologuing in one panel?
On a positive note, the art is clean and clear to tell you where the action is. Just wish Thunderbird didn't look like something out of a bad Shakespearean production.
Second re-read: good god are comics people talky. These characters still just stand around monologuing a lot. And in their underwear (if they’re female, camera focused on that frilly lace, natch) or shirtless (if they’re guys).
Not to mention the in-subtle perving our boy Morph does when Sunfire finally gets a costume that does look like something out of every second issue of Empowered. Boy does Judd like his male gaze.
July 18, 2020
A++ concept... meh execution.
Ignoring the art (and my god does it annoy me when the women are barely clothed and all of the men need full body suits), this book was just not that interesting.
I love the idea of a comic made up of a team of misfits with a common goal. Even more interesting, this series involves throwing these characters into alternate realities where they don't know who to trust. In reading this summary, I'm thinking "how could anyone fuck that up?" Unfortunately, this just did not hold my attention.
The characters are all rather forgettable to me. I could really remember what anyone's powers (or names) were from issue to issue. One of them dies shortly in and I could not muster any fucks to give. The series made that familiar choice that never makes sense to me: a team full of experienced warriors but the bland white guy must lead because reasons. Thankfully, they rectify that towards the end there.
Mostly, this book seems like it would've been so much stronger if it had cut ties with Marvel canon completely. Aside from the similarities to X-Men the team has, the hardships they face on these missions are due to the team being unable to separate the versions they knew in their world from the versions they encounter in these alternate universes. It's meant to have some emotional conflict for the team but, I just thought it would be a much more interesting story if they just focused on the mission without those attachments. When the stories are tied so closely to canon, it just seems as though Winick wanted to rewrite his own versions of these arcs and it just felt like a needless rehash. I'm speaking specifically about the Dark Phoenix story in particular.
That may partly be due to the fact that I didn't find the Dark Phoenix arc all that interesting to read. Or it might be that + the fact that it's been rehashed in the comics a few times and 2 separate films have tried to rehash it, as well.
So, A++ concept, but the execution was not entertaining for me.
Ignoring the art (and my god does it annoy me when the women are barely clothed and all of the men need full body suits), this book was just not that interesting.
I love the idea of a comic made up of a team of misfits with a common goal. Even more interesting, this series involves throwing these characters into alternate realities where they don't know who to trust. In reading this summary, I'm thinking "how could anyone fuck that up?" Unfortunately, this just did not hold my attention.
The characters are all rather forgettable to me. I could really remember what anyone's powers (or names) were from issue to issue. One of them dies shortly in and I could not muster any fucks to give. The series made that familiar choice that never makes sense to me: a team full of experienced warriors but the bland white guy must lead because reasons. Thankfully, they rectify that towards the end there.
Mostly, this book seems like it would've been so much stronger if it had cut ties with Marvel canon completely. Aside from the similarities to X-Men the team has, the hardships they face on these missions are due to the team being unable to separate the versions they knew in their world from the versions they encounter in these alternate universes. It's meant to have some emotional conflict for the team but, I just thought it would be a much more interesting story if they just focused on the mission without those attachments. When the stories are tied so closely to canon, it just seems as though Winick wanted to rewrite his own versions of these arcs and it just felt like a needless rehash. I'm speaking specifically about the Dark Phoenix story in particular.
That may partly be due to the fact that I didn't find the Dark Phoenix arc all that interesting to read. Or it might be that + the fact that it's been rehashed in the comics a few times and 2 separate films have tried to rehash it, as well.
So, A++ concept, but the execution was not entertaining for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2018
Judd Winick's multiple dimensional X team is fun and pulls characters from alternate timelines into a series that is reminiscent of a 90s television show like Sliders. There are alternate histories and different versions of the X-men to encounter constantly including alternates of Professor X and different reality version of the Dark Pheonix. Enjoyable.
February 9, 2018
This was a great surprise. The art and writing are both strong and the characters fresh. Quick wastes no time beating up your emotions.
June 19, 2025
Updated Review From 2025 X-readthrough:
Apart from the Morph character, this dimension-hopping adventure book has aged better than a lot of the X-books from the same era. I recommend it to all fans of the X-books.
***
Original Review With 2022 addendum:
One of the more conceptually interesting spinoffs of the X-Men, Exiles brings together six mutants from various timelines and teams them up to piece reality together after "a ripple" seems to be pulling reality apart. If they succeed, they go back to their own timeline as if they never left, if they fail, they get sent to another world that's being torn apart, and if they die, they die. And if they die, they're immediately replaced by a new character from another reality.
The appeal of this series is that it allows the characters to go back to important parts of X-Men lore. In this volume, their second adventure takes them to X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga from Chris Claremont's run.
While I mostly enjoy this book, it's hampered by the Morph chracter, who's a happy go lucky misogynist and impressionist. His dialog wasn't good or funny when it was first written, and age hasn't made it any better.
Mike McKone's art is solid and cartoony.
I recommend this for serious X-fans looking for something different, particularly if you enjoy things that have serious consequences but sway more towards fun than drama.
**************************
Rereading this again a few years later, and I feel precisely the same.
Apart from the Morph character, this dimension-hopping adventure book has aged better than a lot of the X-books from the same era. I recommend it to all fans of the X-books.
***
Original Review With 2022 addendum:
One of the more conceptually interesting spinoffs of the X-Men, Exiles brings together six mutants from various timelines and teams them up to piece reality together after "a ripple" seems to be pulling reality apart. If they succeed, they go back to their own timeline as if they never left, if they fail, they get sent to another world that's being torn apart, and if they die, they die. And if they die, they're immediately replaced by a new character from another reality.
The appeal of this series is that it allows the characters to go back to important parts of X-Men lore. In this volume, their second adventure takes them to X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga from Chris Claremont's run.
While I mostly enjoy this book, it's hampered by the Morph chracter, who's a happy go lucky misogynist and impressionist. His dialog wasn't good or funny when it was first written, and age hasn't made it any better.
Mike McKone's art is solid and cartoony.
I recommend this for serious X-fans looking for something different, particularly if you enjoy things that have serious consequences but sway more towards fun than drama.
**************************
Rereading this again a few years later, and I feel precisely the same.
February 2, 2019
It took four issues to learn what Nocturne's powers were. 🙄
October 14, 2025
You might have to read some other X books to understand who some folks are,but still a nice read.
January 22, 2025
Questa serie mi ha fatto riflettere su come e quanto passa il tempo. Ma soprattutto, su quanto dimentichiamo e ci lasciamo indietro.
Si è conclusa da poco "Marvel's What If...?" e ho sempre pensato che gli sceneggiatori non abbiamo mai utilizzato le piene potenzialità del format, concentrandosi di più sul buttare nomi e varianti per assemblare il team multiversale che si crea alla fine con personaggi provenienti da varie realtà, solleticando in superficie la fanbase ma senza regalare delle effettive storie di qualità.
Ecco, se non vi è piaciuto "Marvel's What If...?", Exiles è tutto ciò che non avete ottenuto da quella serie e tutto quello che vorreste da storie di quel tipo.
Il team è composto da versione alternative di personaggi che gravitano nel sottobosco degli X-Men, prelevati da linee temporali in cui il loro destino è a rischio e assemblate dal misterioso Timebroker. Guidati dal Tallus - oggetto che informa loro sulle missioni e li teleporta nella dimensione in cui serve il loro intervento - gli Esiliati sono chiamati e sistemare il possibile fattaccio.
Già così, potete vedere quanto il recente utilizzo del multiverso nel MCU è incredibilmente debitore a questa serie. Tralasciando i disegni (semplici facente funzione della narrazione) le storie sono incredibilmente divertenti e drammatiche, non solo perché esplora diversi scenari/diversi What If, ma anche perché gli stessi protagonisti si scontrano con il loro dramma interiore, che vedono versioni alternative dei loro cari e li trattano come la versione che hanno conosciuto, creando conflitti interiori, malintesi e necessità di risolvere la situazione con soluzioni estreme. Già nel primo volume abbiamo morti e cambi di squadra e leadership. La loro è una lotta disperata dove le emozioni e l'arresa consapevolezza di essere una suicide squad del multiverso e resa chiara e limpida fin dall'inizio.
Un Judd Winnick in grande spolvero, libero di fare letteralmente quello che vuole con un giocattolo tutto suo. Tutto il dramma e le caratteristiche che hanno reso grandi gli X-Men, più qualche dinamica di gruppo presa in prestito dai Teen Titans (impossibile non trovare somiglianze nella relazione Morph/Thunderbird con quella tra Beast Boy/Cyborg).
Se potete, recuperate questa serie.
Si è conclusa da poco "Marvel's What If...?" e ho sempre pensato che gli sceneggiatori non abbiamo mai utilizzato le piene potenzialità del format, concentrandosi di più sul buttare nomi e varianti per assemblare il team multiversale che si crea alla fine con personaggi provenienti da varie realtà, solleticando in superficie la fanbase ma senza regalare delle effettive storie di qualità.
Ecco, se non vi è piaciuto "Marvel's What If...?", Exiles è tutto ciò che non avete ottenuto da quella serie e tutto quello che vorreste da storie di quel tipo.
Il team è composto da versione alternative di personaggi che gravitano nel sottobosco degli X-Men, prelevati da linee temporali in cui il loro destino è a rischio e assemblate dal misterioso Timebroker. Guidati dal Tallus - oggetto che informa loro sulle missioni e li teleporta nella dimensione in cui serve il loro intervento - gli Esiliati sono chiamati e sistemare il possibile fattaccio.
Già così, potete vedere quanto il recente utilizzo del multiverso nel MCU è incredibilmente debitore a questa serie. Tralasciando i disegni (semplici facente funzione della narrazione) le storie sono incredibilmente divertenti e drammatiche, non solo perché esplora diversi scenari/diversi What If, ma anche perché gli stessi protagonisti si scontrano con il loro dramma interiore, che vedono versioni alternative dei loro cari e li trattano come la versione che hanno conosciuto, creando conflitti interiori, malintesi e necessità di risolvere la situazione con soluzioni estreme. Già nel primo volume abbiamo morti e cambi di squadra e leadership. La loro è una lotta disperata dove le emozioni e l'arresa consapevolezza di essere una suicide squad del multiverso e resa chiara e limpida fin dall'inizio.
Un Judd Winnick in grande spolvero, libero di fare letteralmente quello che vuole con un giocattolo tutto suo. Tutto il dramma e le caratteristiche che hanno reso grandi gli X-Men, più qualche dinamica di gruppo presa in prestito dai Teen Titans (impossibile non trovare somiglianze nella relazione Morph/Thunderbird con quella tra Beast Boy/Cyborg).
Se potete, recuperate questa serie.
February 23, 2022
Welcome to my Exiles reread! Some back story here - I first got into this version of the Exiles in my mid-teens. I had read Blink's mini-series before it and fell hard for her. So it was a real simple logic leap to get this series.
I now finally own all the vols so time to read!
Rereading this I understand why I enjoyed it; like Runaways it gave me recognizable characters, but not the whole invested history of said chars. The time guy states this when they all start blathering about "well that's not what I remember".
I just wish they had LISTENED to him.
Also I never trusted Xavier, so that was dumb to assume he'd be the same across realities. Thankfully Mimic realizes he's really not great at making non-emotional calls and drops out of leader position (in favor of Blink, who out of all of them has the least contact with overlapping histories).
This also explains why I thought Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch were together in canon - they are in some reality and they have a daughter (Nocturne) who'd really like them to stop being lovesick teenagers everywhere.
We follow two reality arcs here - one where mutants are almost completely eradicated (and where Xavier is a megalomaniac murderer) and another where its the Trial of Jean Grey (yeah the famous one) except its REALLY Jean Grey and in 9 days she gonna go full X-Men: the Last Stand on the galaxy.
And she kills Cyclops for being the biggest wet blanket in the Marvel Universe. A little more "sure Jean let's go marauding" and a little less "pillaging is evil!" please Scott.
I now finally own all the vols so time to read!
Rereading this I understand why I enjoyed it; like Runaways it gave me recognizable characters, but not the whole invested history of said chars. The time guy states this when they all start blathering about "well that's not what I remember".
I just wish they had LISTENED to him.
Also I never trusted Xavier, so that was dumb to assume he'd be the same across realities. Thankfully Mimic realizes he's really not great at making non-emotional calls and drops out of leader position (in favor of Blink, who out of all of them has the least contact with overlapping histories).
This also explains why I thought Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch were together in canon - they are in some reality and they have a daughter (Nocturne) who'd really like them to stop being lovesick teenagers everywhere.
We follow two reality arcs here - one where mutants are almost completely eradicated (and where Xavier is a megalomaniac murderer) and another where its the Trial of Jean Grey (yeah the famous one) except its REALLY Jean Grey and in 9 days she gonna go full X-Men: the Last Stand on the galaxy.
And she kills Cyclops for being the biggest wet blanket in the Marvel Universe. A little more "sure Jean let's go marauding" and a little less "pillaging is evil!" please Scott.
May 1, 2022
I must assume one of two things: either my comic book peers back in the day managed to move past this first volume and truly love the series for its later stories, or this has simply aged atrociously.
The premise is interesting (if rather poorly presented, under the assumption that Marvel fans back in the day would buy anything featuring Age of Apocalypse Blink and a female Nightcrawler - well, his alternate reality daughter Nocturne), a blend of What If...? and Quantum Leap, as the creators play around with various varied iterations of the Marvel Universe. And indeed, I am one of those people who love the Age of Apocalypse Blink. As for Nocturne, she is the only other character with any personality to speak of.
And that is where the good stuff ends. This comic book is a disaster: terrible, stunningly lazy writing, sloppy art, horrible character design in anything that was not pre-existing (especially the abomination that is Thunderbird in this iteration, more like a mockery of Beta Ray Bill). The characters accept everything at face value, their narrated thoughts do not match their actions in the least, and their meddling in the Trial of Phoenix is one of the worst examples of using nostalgia to gloss over a completely nonsensical plot.
I sort of want to read further to see if the once-upon-a-hype had any basis, but this first volume REALLY put me off.
The premise is interesting (if rather poorly presented, under the assumption that Marvel fans back in the day would buy anything featuring Age of Apocalypse Blink and a female Nightcrawler - well, his alternate reality daughter Nocturne), a blend of What If...? and Quantum Leap, as the creators play around with various varied iterations of the Marvel Universe. And indeed, I am one of those people who love the Age of Apocalypse Blink. As for Nocturne, she is the only other character with any personality to speak of.
And that is where the good stuff ends. This comic book is a disaster: terrible, stunningly lazy writing, sloppy art, horrible character design in anything that was not pre-existing (especially the abomination that is Thunderbird in this iteration, more like a mockery of Beta Ray Bill). The characters accept everything at face value, their narrated thoughts do not match their actions in the least, and their meddling in the Trial of Phoenix is one of the worst examples of using nostalgia to gloss over a completely nonsensical plot.
I sort of want to read further to see if the once-upon-a-hype had any basis, but this first volume REALLY put me off.
May 17, 2021
This is a cool series with a very interesting concept. A team of X-Men is assembled from different dimensions and different points in history in order to save the universe by traveling to certain important periods of time in certain dimensions and performing specified missions. That's a mouthful, but the concept isn't as complex as it seems. Basically the keepers of time and space itself are assembling the teams and sending them on the missions. We end up with a huge "What If" concept that continues to be explored, presumably throughout the series. I've always been a fan of What If and Elseworlds type stories so I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this series.
In this first volume, we encounter a world where all superhumans are imprisoned and outlawed. Then we end up at the battle with the Shiar from the climax of the Dark Phoenix saga.
Note: This series probably won't appeal so much to newer fans, as knowledge of the Marvel Universe and its characters are needed in order to fully understand what's going on.
This series is a great concept that has nearly limitless potential. Not sure what took me so long to read this series, but now that I've started I'm really looking forward to it.
In this first volume, we encounter a world where all superhumans are imprisoned and outlawed. Then we end up at the battle with the Shiar from the climax of the Dark Phoenix saga.
Note: This series probably won't appeal so much to newer fans, as knowledge of the Marvel Universe and its characters are needed in order to fully understand what's going on.
This series is a great concept that has nearly limitless potential. Not sure what took me so long to read this series, but now that I've started I'm really looking forward to it.
August 25, 2018
Picked this up in a ComiXology sale: I really enjoyed some of the later issues back in the day but had never dug back into its origins.
What a disappointment.
The set up is still great: a team of heroes quantum-leaping around the Marvel multiverse, setting right what once went wrong and giving a narrative thread to a bunch of What-If? stories.
But within that there’s so much that is unsatisfying. The stories are self-referential to the point of ludicrousness, so you end up with whole scenes devoted to characters explaining continuity and working their way around previous retcons. There is a lot of emoting but very little that is effecting.
It’s all talk and little show, and both the stories collected here fall back on characters punching each other until the story reaches a resolution. Is there any more tiresome convention in superhero comics?
And let’s not even start on Morph’s joker bro gags. Laugh? I almost punched my iPad.
Ah well, it grew to be so much more.
What a disappointment.
The set up is still great: a team of heroes quantum-leaping around the Marvel multiverse, setting right what once went wrong and giving a narrative thread to a bunch of What-If? stories.
But within that there’s so much that is unsatisfying. The stories are self-referential to the point of ludicrousness, so you end up with whole scenes devoted to characters explaining continuity and working their way around previous retcons. There is a lot of emoting but very little that is effecting.
It’s all talk and little show, and both the stories collected here fall back on characters punching each other until the story reaches a resolution. Is there any more tiresome convention in superhero comics?
And let’s not even start on Morph’s joker bro gags. Laugh? I almost punched my iPad.
Ah well, it grew to be so much more.
June 4, 2019
Conceptually, this is unlike any other Marvel comic. It’s completely original. And, it’s fucking awesome.
This volume compiles the first four issues of Exiles, and boy is it a doozy.
We meet our team in some random, time separated, extra-dimensional desert. From there, it’s a wild ride while they spend the remaining pages defeating evil Professor X and Jean Grey, the Dark Phoenix.
The entire team is interesting and fun, but the star is Blink. The same exact Blink who battled Holocaust in Age of Apocalypse. Each one of our heroes is from a different alternate universe. They’ve been assembled by an inter dimensional cosmic entity called “The Time Broker” to correct inter dimensional wrongs.
Mind. Blown.
Judd Winick’s writing is smart, clever and entertaining. Mike McKone’s pencilwork is inspired. This series is a must read for anyone, but it’s an extra special treat for X-Men fanatics.
This volume compiles the first four issues of Exiles, and boy is it a doozy.
We meet our team in some random, time separated, extra-dimensional desert. From there, it’s a wild ride while they spend the remaining pages defeating evil Professor X and Jean Grey, the Dark Phoenix.
The entire team is interesting and fun, but the star is Blink. The same exact Blink who battled Holocaust in Age of Apocalypse. Each one of our heroes is from a different alternate universe. They’ve been assembled by an inter dimensional cosmic entity called “The Time Broker” to correct inter dimensional wrongs.
Mind. Blown.
Judd Winick’s writing is smart, clever and entertaining. Mike McKone’s pencilwork is inspired. This series is a must read for anyone, but it’s an extra special treat for X-Men fanatics.
January 6, 2018
Look, this is a book that was clearly written for me. It's effectively Sliders meets Quantum Leap meets What If... meets The Twilight Zone.
Dimension hopping from Sliders.
Righting wrongs from Quantum Leap.
Fun concept twists from What If...
Twist endings from The Twilight Zone.
I am going to love reading the rest of this series.
Should this maybe be a 4-star rating? Maybe. But This book got me excited about a Marvel comic, again. And for that, I give it 5 stars.
Dimension hopping from Sliders.
Righting wrongs from Quantum Leap.
Fun concept twists from What If...
Twist endings from The Twilight Zone.
I am going to love reading the rest of this series.
Should this maybe be a 4-star rating? Maybe. But This book got me excited about a Marvel comic, again. And for that, I give it 5 stars.
May 27, 2020
I have wanted to read this comic series for years and it did not disappoint
I love alternate reality stories and the first 4 issues were great
The characters and background are so unique and exciting
Was sad and shocked that one member of exiles had died. Did not think that would happen so quickly
I love alternate reality stories and the first 4 issues were great
The characters and background are so unique and exciting
Was sad and shocked that one member of exiles had died. Did not think that would happen so quickly
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2021
This series helps make narrative soup out of Marvel's "What Ifs" stories. To be honest, I think DC is generally the company that has done a better job of their multiverse, with their Elseworlds and crossover events, however this series does a good job.
It's essentially a proto-Multiversity.
It's essentially a proto-Multiversity.
September 20, 2024
3.5.
This was an amazing concept, and very fun! I liked how they used more obscure characters such as Mimic, Nocturne, and Blink (also Magnus's powers were pretty sick). Would recommend for hardcore X-Men fans.
This was an amazing concept, and very fun! I liked how they used more obscure characters such as Mimic, Nocturne, and Blink (also Magnus's powers were pretty sick). Would recommend for hardcore X-Men fans.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2017
Interesting bit of comic-bookery, but I didn't like it enough to buy any more in the series. Plot was kinda cool, but I guess the characters just didn't grab me.
April 12, 2018
An incredible idea for a series: random characters are thrown into worlds with at least one difference and they have to "fix" the world, all the while there's a deeper secret under the main plot.
October 29, 2018
I'm liking it so far. I think the concept is super interesting and I like the characters.
March 1, 2020
Love this series. So many alternate realities. Beautiful story, wonderful artwork.
August 15, 2021
I'm a big sucker for alternate universes, timey wimey crap. This is a good intro trade. Can't wait to read more.
December 4, 2021
Don't get attached :(
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