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Title: The X-Men: the Ultimate Guide by Peter Sanderson, Jon Richards, Alastair Dougall, Stan Lee ISBN: 0751346179 Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd Pub. Date: 03 April, 2003 Format: Hardcover |
Average Customer Rating: 4.13
Rating: 2
Summary: This book about the X-Men falls short
Comment: This book attempts to be informative, but contains too much information that is too diffuse to be of much use to either new or older fans. There are out-and-out mistakes (for example, Magneto is Jewish (as has been demonstrated in the comics as well as the movie) not a gypsy; i.e. the alias "Erik Lehnsherr" was the name of his false gypsy identity). There are serious omissions, such as the story of Illyana Rasputin or Magik -- reduced to a few sentences that hardly describe the history of this character. Also, the book tends to present bits and pieces of information about one character in the biography or notes about another; for example, the section on Charles Xavier doesn't mention his father, or step-brother Juggernaut, but if one reads the biography of Juggernaut, one finds some of the missing pieces from the Charles Xavier biography. If a reader is using this book as a reference, it is a clumsy and imprecise reference. On the other hand, there are flashy pictures and dynamic layouts to offset the confusing editorial organization and inaccuracies. Future X-Men books should strive for a more simple, straightforward approach that accurately presents each character's most basic history, as well as give readers the spectacular art and schematics and colorful trivia.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good Overview of the X-Men for New Fans
Comment: Those who have been reading the X-Men for only a year or two will find this volume an inexpensive, visually-exciting way to connect into the 37 year history of the various X-Men series. For those who have been following the X-Men all along, this book will fall short of their expectations for completeness, depth, and accuracy about the various characters.
The visuals are the most interesting part of the book. Marvel opened up its archives to make it possible to have a wide choice of art. You can compare the various ways the key characters were drawn over time. The design of the book is not nearly as good as the art itself. Many pages have the feeling of a scrapbook done by an 8 year old. Some images are way too small. Some sketches are included for no apparent reason.
The book is also improved by many cutaways such as of Xavier's estate, Xavier's mansion, the Danger Room, and Magneto's bases. A number of maps help keep everything in proper perspective.
I also enjoyed the foreword by Stan Lee in which he explained how he made his initial decisions about the sources and types of the various super-hero powers, and how the title of the series was selected. The afterword by Chris Claremont was interesting as well, but more as a perspective on his personality than on the series itself. New fans will be amazed to read that the original X-Men were a flop commercially, even though they are the top series now.
The character profiles would have benefited from more development and a standard format. You can use either the Contents or the Index to locate a character you want to read up on.
A book with this much color art on this quality paper in hardcover would normally cost much more. If this book had had a cover price of $55, I would have graded it as a three star effort. Because the price is so reasonable, I graded the content up one star to four star status.
On the other hand, if the publishers had created this item at a $70 price point, but made it more complete, accurate, and attractive, I suspect that they would have had a runaway best seller. That opportunity remains for a future edition.
In the meantime, many X-Men collectors and fans will find this edition to be a useful one to have . . . unless you already have virtually all the comic books.
After renewing your friendship with the X-Men, I suggest that you think about the basic message of the series -- that differences are important, and become more valuable when combined in teams. What differences do you have which could become strengths when combined with the right team mates? What do you have to do differently to create this potential?
Look out for the best interests of all!
Rating: 5
Summary: Awesome Book on the History of X-Men
Comment: This book and the series gives good in depeth look at the X-Men and all its characters, friends, enemies, homes, and everything else. Anything you wanted to know of the X-Men. Hopefully they'll make more books like these.
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Title: Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide by Tom Defalco, Stan Lee, Tom De Falco ISBN: 078947946X Publisher: DK Publishing Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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Title: Marvel Encyclopedia: X-Men by Marvel Staff, Marvel Comics ISBN: 0785111999 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
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Title: Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight by Scott Beatty ISBN: 078947865X Publisher: DK Publishing Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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Title: JLA:The Ultimate Guide to the Justice League of America by Scott Beatty, Roger Stewart, Dorling Kindersley Publishing ISBN: 0789488930 Publisher: DK Publishing Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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Title: Superman: The Ultimate Guide by Scott Beatty, Roger Stewart, Jeph Loeb ISBN: 0789488531 Publisher: DK Publishing Pub. Date: 01 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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