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Title: X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga (Dark Phoenix Saga) by Stan Lee, Marvel Comics Group, Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin ISBN: 0939766965 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: September, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.65
Rating: 5
Summary: Important Claremont/Byrne Story!
Comment: One of the finest stories from Claremont and Byrne before they broke up. A tense drama which introduces many concepts and plot threads which affect the book to this day. Rachel Summers is introduced here as well as Mystique, Destiny, and the witch hunting of the mutants. A clever story taking place in two time eras, one a frightening, yet familiar view of New York City twenty years into the future. This story and the Dark Phoenix saga should be required reading for all X-Men fans to get a better understanding of the comic and its popularity.
Rating: 4
Summary: Fond memories!
Comment: It's too bad that over the course of X-Men history, Jean Grey has died and been resurrected so many times that she's become something of a comic-industry in-joke. It's to the detriment of one's perception of the depth of the original story. She remains possibly the most complex of X-Men characters, and her dark history is chronicled in this well-written collection that tells what is considered the best storyline in X-Men's history.
My one gripe is with the artwork. Yes, it's dated, but there's a much more important issue here -- why is it that they used only one page to illustrated the climactic sacrifice? In this one scene is incorporated the fate of the whole team of X-Men (whether they will be killed by the Imperial Guard), the ultimate fate of the love between Phoenix and Cyclops, Phoenix' final decision (her humanity, or her power?), and the fate of the universe. Even the defeat of Colossus at the hands of Gladiator received more panels. The scant amount of space devoted to this devastating ending is a matter of storytelling, and the age of the comic doesn't excuse it from a fault on this level.
Other than that, it's one of the most effective orchestrations of the huge cast in the X-Men series. Most of the time, storylines in comic books like this revolve around the appearance of some anticipated character or another. Here it's driven by emotion and story development, and the Dark Phoenix/Phoenix character remains fascinating, driven less by malevolence than hunger and arrogance. One occasion where a lowbrow cultural form like the comic book has produced something worthy of deeper consideration beyond that of simple entertainment.
Rating: 5
Summary: Marvel's Greatest Story Ever Told - It Has It All!
Comment: In the Dark Phoenix Saga, Chris Claremont and John Byre, firing on all cylinders, create the greatest comics story ever. It is a story that fits logically in the greatest run by an artist/writer team in a comic series ever (chronicled in the Essential X-Men Vol.2 graphic novel), but one that also stands so well on its own.
In a story where so many things are done right, it stands out because it is a primarily a story about conflict. There is conflict on virtually every page. Not just shot-em up, video game violence, but internal, character-driven conflict.
There is conflict between Prof. X and Cyclops over leadership of the X-men; between the fiery Wolverine and the control-freak Prof. X; Jean Grey struggles to control her dark side; Cyclops tries to mold the fiercly independent members of the X-men into a tight-knit team; Jean & Scott try to maintain their relationship thru the mounting chaos....
The X-men, the ultimate ousiders, rely on each other time and again and yet, their most powerful member turns on them and then saves them - repeatedly.
The X-men have a truly worthy opponent in the Hellfire Culb.
Obstacle after obstacle is overcome before the truly life and death battle at the climax. The escalation of tension is evere bit as gripping as when I read the original comics as a kid. Its lost none of the magic or mystery. There is none of the letdown so often felt when we re-visit the source of our nostalgia.
There have been a half dozen stories that were much more revolutionary than the Dark Phoenix Saga - from the death of Gwen Stacey in Spider-Man, to The Dark Knight, the Watchmen and Crisis on Infinite Earths over at DC. Yet, for my money, Dark Phoenix is better - not for its novelty or originality or life-like art, but because its that good.
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Title: X-Tinction Agenda (X-Men)(STAR0364) by Chris Claremont, Jim Lee, Louise Simonson ISBN: 0871359227 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: November, 1992 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli ISBN: 0930289331 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: October, 1997 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, Dennis O'Neil ISBN: 0930289455 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: February, 1996 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Lynn Varley, Bob Kahan, John Costanza ISBN: 1563893428 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: May, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Watchmen by Alan Moore, Barry Marx, Dave Gibbons ISBN: 0930289234 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: April, 1995 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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