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X-Men Blue (Collected Editions)
X-Men Blue, Vol. 0: Reunion
The original X-Men are back together! An injured Cyclops heads to Alaska for some rest and recuperation with Jean - but when she once again dons the costume of Phoenix, that can't be good for Scott's health! And as Beast, Iceman and Angel join them for old time's sake, will an uncanny adventure have them all feeling blue - and questioning their future as X-Men? Meanwhile, Doctor Cecilia Reyes has her own fateful decision to make! Wolverine has a life-draining encounter as Sauron attacks! Rogue's powers lead her to a dramatic tipping point! Bishop and Deathbird are lost in space! And Sabretooth gets inside Logan's head! Plus: Peer into Cerebro's classified mutant files!
COLLECTING: UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) 351-359, X-MEN UNLIMITED (1993) 17, UNCANNY X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL 1998, CEREBRO'S GUIDE TO THE X-MEN
COLLECTING: UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) 351-359, X-MEN UNLIMITED (1993) 17, UNCANNY X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL 1998, CEREBRO'S GUIDE TO THE X-MEN
328 pages, Paperback
First published March 21, 2018
20 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Steven T. Seagle
498 books51 followersSteven T. Seagle is an American writer who works in the comic book, television, film, live theater, video game, and animation industries.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
August 8, 2018
This has nothing to do with the current X-Men: Blue comic. That's just a marketing ploy by Marvel to fool you into buying this book. What this is is the first year of Uncanny X-Men when Steven Seagle took the book over in 1998.
The book is ... decent. It's certainly better than X-Men Gold Vol. 0: Homecoming. It's almost an anthology series. There's no core teams in either X-Men Gold or X-Men Blue Vol. 0.
Most of the stories feature a couple of X-Men off doing their own thing. Seagle does do a good job of referencing what is going on over in X-Men each issue. Chris Bachalo provides most of the art. It is hit and miss. On same pages the art looks kinetic and full of life, on the next, Cannonball's head will look like IG-88's.
The book is ... decent. It's certainly better than X-Men Gold Vol. 0: Homecoming. It's almost an anthology series. There's no core teams in either X-Men Gold or X-Men Blue Vol. 0.
Most of the stories feature a couple of X-Men off doing their own thing. Seagle does do a good job of referencing what is going on over in X-Men each issue. Chris Bachalo provides most of the art. It is hit and miss. On same pages the art looks kinetic and full of life, on the next, Cannonball's head will look like IG-88's.
March 29, 2018
The X-Men enjoyed a remarkable run as an evolving comics property - a franchise with an enviable (for licensers) track record of breaking in new characters who became mainstays of the books. But all good things come to an end. Before the late-90s run collected here (and in similarly misnamed companion volume X-Men Gold vol 0), almost every character introduced as an X-Man stuck around for decades. After it, almost nobody did. What happened?
These storylines were promoted as one of the comic’s periodic refreshments, with covers paying direct homage to earlier overhauls of the cast. But while previous grafts Gambit, Psylocke and even Bishop went the distance as characters, this era’s new blood are either forgotten or - in the case of the hapless Maggott, he of the ‘mobile digestive system’ and randomly-shifting colouration - a punchline, everybody’s go-to example of a terrible X-Man. This collection is a grave marker for a lost, failed direction.
Which is a shame, as most of this is thoroughly entertaining stuff. Steven Seagle is a strong writer, good at the plot-juggling which had become an X-books staple, with a fine grasp of character and voice and a gently absurdist streak that makes some scenes a delight. Chris Bachalo gets regularly interrupted by ropey fill-in artists but when he’s around his energetic, rococo style is a great match. The central storyline here - the five original X-Men in an Alaska-set homage to both The Birds and The X-Files - is one of the oddest in the series’ history. It’s a story that feints at classic X-tropes before turning into a mix of character piece, supernatural horror, and wry meta commentary on the expectations of genre fiction.
But therein lies the problem. Other subplots involve Bishop in space and Rogue worrying about her powers (again) - thematically the book keeps presenting nostalgia as a problem, a sign of psychological instability and a refusal to mature; but practically it has almost no interest in its new characters and near total focus on its old ones. Cast shake-ups need commitment to work, this one doesn’t have it.
Is the problem the characters themselves? Kind of - there’s an almost trollish desire to push the boundary of how far the X-idea can cope. Cecilia Reyes is a great character whose fine spotlight issue establishes firmly that she doesn’t want to be a superhero and that making her one would be a betrayal. Marrow is a grunge-era iteration of the idea that would become X-23 - Wolverine but she’s a teenager who might be an irredeemable sociopath. Maggott is...well, I’ve no idea what they were aiming for with Maggott but at least he’s memorable. The one absolute stinker is teen Magneto clone Joseph.
All these characters are disruptive - no bad thing - but all demand attention and long term plotting, which they didn’t get. Combine that with a collapsing market and a Marvel heading for bankruptcy and you have a recipe for failure. This is the really the last gasp of the Claremont dream for the X-Men, the moment at which the idea of a superhero soap with a changing cast who could grow and leave and be replaced finally ends. The fact that it's more than just a curiosity piece is a credit to the creators involved.
These storylines were promoted as one of the comic’s periodic refreshments, with covers paying direct homage to earlier overhauls of the cast. But while previous grafts Gambit, Psylocke and even Bishop went the distance as characters, this era’s new blood are either forgotten or - in the case of the hapless Maggott, he of the ‘mobile digestive system’ and randomly-shifting colouration - a punchline, everybody’s go-to example of a terrible X-Man. This collection is a grave marker for a lost, failed direction.
Which is a shame, as most of this is thoroughly entertaining stuff. Steven Seagle is a strong writer, good at the plot-juggling which had become an X-books staple, with a fine grasp of character and voice and a gently absurdist streak that makes some scenes a delight. Chris Bachalo gets regularly interrupted by ropey fill-in artists but when he’s around his energetic, rococo style is a great match. The central storyline here - the five original X-Men in an Alaska-set homage to both The Birds and The X-Files - is one of the oddest in the series’ history. It’s a story that feints at classic X-tropes before turning into a mix of character piece, supernatural horror, and wry meta commentary on the expectations of genre fiction.
But therein lies the problem. Other subplots involve Bishop in space and Rogue worrying about her powers (again) - thematically the book keeps presenting nostalgia as a problem, a sign of psychological instability and a refusal to mature; but practically it has almost no interest in its new characters and near total focus on its old ones. Cast shake-ups need commitment to work, this one doesn’t have it.
Is the problem the characters themselves? Kind of - there’s an almost trollish desire to push the boundary of how far the X-idea can cope. Cecilia Reyes is a great character whose fine spotlight issue establishes firmly that she doesn’t want to be a superhero and that making her one would be a betrayal. Marrow is a grunge-era iteration of the idea that would become X-23 - Wolverine but she’s a teenager who might be an irredeemable sociopath. Maggott is...well, I’ve no idea what they were aiming for with Maggott but at least he’s memorable. The one absolute stinker is teen Magneto clone Joseph.
All these characters are disruptive - no bad thing - but all demand attention and long term plotting, which they didn’t get. Combine that with a collapsing market and a Marvel heading for bankruptcy and you have a recipe for failure. This is the really the last gasp of the Claremont dream for the X-Men, the moment at which the idea of a superhero soap with a changing cast who could grow and leave and be replaced finally ends. The fact that it's more than just a curiosity piece is a credit to the creators involved.
February 29, 2020
3.5/5
October 11, 2018
This is a collection of issues from the '90s that tie-in to the new X-Men Blue titles. The storylines are pretty good, but the art is not a style that I like. I really enjoyed Wolverine playing poker with The Thing, and the Chicago font used in the titlecards of the Cerebro's Guide to the X-Men issue gave me some '90s Macintosh flashbacks.
October 2, 2018
This was a little memory-lane-ish for me, even though I didn't read comics in the 90's. But it reminded me of the 90's x-men cartoon, which I loved as a kid.
April 8, 2018
This is a weird book. It's branded like it's a new book—or at least is related to a new book.
But it's really filler, nadir X-Men. The whole book feels like it's on a break. It focuses in part on the original X-men who are on a break. It tries to hype up an Alpha Flight revival. It barely kind-of, sort-of plays a riff on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_th....
The mystery as to why this is republished and branded this way is the most interesting thing about it.
But it's really filler, nadir X-Men. The whole book feels like it's on a break. It focuses in part on the original X-men who are on a break. It tries to hype up an Alpha Flight revival. It barely kind-of, sort-of plays a riff on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_th....
The mystery as to why this is republished and branded this way is the most interesting thing about it.
April 5, 2019
As a zero issue for the X-Men Blue series, this really made no sense. Other than featuring some of the same characters, these stories have nothing to do with anything in the new series really. I'm not even sure how they chose these particular issues as they come across as run of the mill X-Men comics from the late 90s. That being said, if you read those without any notion of this serving as a prequel, it's not a bad read. Art isn't bad, stories are a little wordy such as they were then, but they weren't horrible. Then again, they weren't great either. I was really left more confused than anything, but don't really regret reading them. I would think if Marvel wanted to do a prequel to the series though, they could have done a much better job picking issues. I haven't read all of the X-Men Blue series yet, so maybe things happen that tie this into the series better, but if not, this was just odd.
September 26, 2019
X-Men Blue 0 is not what you might think it is. It is not tied in to the other X-Men Blue trades, which reprint the recent series, but instead reprints a run fo X-Men comics from the 90’s, primarily by Steve Seagle and Chris Bachalo. I know, I know, when I say “X-Men in the 90’s” visions of unreadable art, long complex stories that never seem to end, and convoluted stories that have to do with alternate futures, clones and “mysterious overloads” comes to mind, but this was an all too brief run where the X-Men settled into linear storytelling and tried to make it more accessible.
The book collects 9 issues of Uncanny X-Men, a one-shot and an annual, and contains 6 complete stories, all of which have clear endings, which was rare for comics during this era, which tended to have on-going soap-opera pacing. None of the stories are classics, but they do showcase why the X-Men are popular with a mix of old and new characters, interesting subplots that build to stories later on in the book, and enough super-hero action to qualify as “action packed.” The major flaw in the book is the problem with the run at the time: Editorial decided to switch creative teams, so the stories have an abrupt ending, with some on-going plot threads being tied up in unsatisfying ways.
This is not going to convert anyone to being an X-Men fan, but it is a nice collection of above average super-hero comics from the 90’s, and a showcase for the work of Chris Bachalo, whose work shines in this volume. The 90’s do show through in this book, with huge blocks of text, a long section in the back with fan service profiles of characters, and some poor panel placement in service to making the page more Poster-like. It’s a shame the ideas started in this book were dropped so quickly, and because of that, the book is just a bit above average in the end.
The book collects 9 issues of Uncanny X-Men, a one-shot and an annual, and contains 6 complete stories, all of which have clear endings, which was rare for comics during this era, which tended to have on-going soap-opera pacing. None of the stories are classics, but they do showcase why the X-Men are popular with a mix of old and new characters, interesting subplots that build to stories later on in the book, and enough super-hero action to qualify as “action packed.” The major flaw in the book is the problem with the run at the time: Editorial decided to switch creative teams, so the stories have an abrupt ending, with some on-going plot threads being tied up in unsatisfying ways.
This is not going to convert anyone to being an X-Men fan, but it is a nice collection of above average super-hero comics from the 90’s, and a showcase for the work of Chris Bachalo, whose work shines in this volume. The 90’s do show through in this book, with huge blocks of text, a long section in the back with fan service profiles of characters, and some poor panel placement in service to making the page more Poster-like. It’s a shame the ideas started in this book were dropped so quickly, and because of that, the book is just a bit above average in the end.
July 25, 2019
First up, calling this comic "X-Men Blue #0" was a misleading bit of marketing from Marvel. It has nothing to do with the modern-day X-Men Blue series, except for the fact that it regathers the original X-Men for a couple of issues in the middle.
Second, This comic is rather obviously missing its companion, the X-Men v2 comics that overlapped with these Uncanny X-Men. Oh, there aren't continuing stories exactly, but there are certainly plenty of references to events in those comics.
With all that said, this volume marks a pretty big status quo change for the X-Men, the first of several attempts to reboot the franchise in the '90s and '00s. Scott Lobdell was rather suddenly out, replaced by Steven T. Seagle (an issue previous in UXM #350, the finale to "The Trial of Gambit"). At the time, Seagle was also doing phenomenal work in House of Secrets and Sandman Mystery Theatre, but sadly that greatness didn't spread to his more mainstream work here on the X-Men.
Certainly, Seagle offers an interesting take, focusing on the X-Men as individuals, not a super team. So, we get a few different stories threading through the book: Cecilia wants to return to a normal life; Rogue wants to get rid of her powers; Scott and Jean want to retire; and Bishop wants to get away from that crazy Deathbird. The Cecilia story is actually quite good, as it really reveals who she is. But the rest: they're just OK, with a lot of attention given to brand-new opponents who don't make an impact.
So, I enjoyed the characterization, but otherwise Seagle's run on UXM (#350-365, most of which is contained here), just doesn't make an impact.
Second, This comic is rather obviously missing its companion, the X-Men v2 comics that overlapped with these Uncanny X-Men. Oh, there aren't continuing stories exactly, but there are certainly plenty of references to events in those comics.
With all that said, this volume marks a pretty big status quo change for the X-Men, the first of several attempts to reboot the franchise in the '90s and '00s. Scott Lobdell was rather suddenly out, replaced by Steven T. Seagle (an issue previous in UXM #350, the finale to "The Trial of Gambit"). At the time, Seagle was also doing phenomenal work in House of Secrets and Sandman Mystery Theatre, but sadly that greatness didn't spread to his more mainstream work here on the X-Men.
Certainly, Seagle offers an interesting take, focusing on the X-Men as individuals, not a super team. So, we get a few different stories threading through the book: Cecilia wants to return to a normal life; Rogue wants to get rid of her powers; Scott and Jean want to retire; and Bishop wants to get away from that crazy Deathbird. The Cecilia story is actually quite good, as it really reveals who she is. But the rest: they're just OK, with a lot of attention given to brand-new opponents who don't make an impact.
So, I enjoyed the characterization, but otherwise Seagle's run on UXM (#350-365, most of which is contained here), just doesn't make an impact.
October 5, 2019
Love this period of X-Men.
August 4, 2024
*4.4 Stars
Notes: This comic features most of the main common X-Men characters I was expecting to find, as well as Scott Summers and Logan occasionally talking back and forth with one another, as is typically found in some comics. The plot starts out rather quickly and it is at first in a hospital setting with Cecelia Reyes as the focus character who I grew to be rather fond of. I quite liked the beginning as a good introduction to the rest of the story, however, I wouldn’t pick up this story if you are feeling more nauseous, since I’ll just add as a trigger warning automatically that there are graphic hospital scenes with surgeons in them (slightly) similar to what’s in the movie called the New Mutants. Now that didn’t really bother me (mostly because of the last book I just happened to finish), I would advise to please be emotionally entirely stable before going through and reading this. I’m already familiar with loads of various comic storylines that X-Men comics could have, from doing years of research on them previously, so I was prepared to read this, and I ended up finding enjoyment around 15% when I got accustomed to what was going on, since this is a prequel in a series. I’ll read the other sequels when I can find them.
While I like most X-Men stories that I can find, this is unfortunately heavier on the graphic violence side as well as multiple various scenes that could induce anxiety, so this was not something I read entirely for relaxation. No - this was more of an in-between comic I could page through, before reading other marvel comics (over twenty of them since I have a stack to go through), that I’ve had checked out for a few weeks. What I essentially read this for was a bridge-gap between some darker content books that I previously had to read through, which made this almost essentially perfect for that. I could sit down and focus reading this with minimal to no concentration, from said years of research on X-Men characters and separate teams themselves, so this didn’t take me much time to look through. However, there’s also some really scary villainous characters in here, some of which were absolutely terrifying, though with the amount of superheroes that had to show up, those fight scenes were worth it to read through. Honestly my favorite character has been Scott for years and years from how nice he appears to be, and he is featured more than several other superheroes in this storyline often.
This is one of the more text heavier comics that there is, so there will have to be a lot of reading done before the end of it. As someone who doesn’t mind that at all, it actually helped me understand the several plot lines occurring (not going to be anything with spoilers, however, this was very, very tense occasionally and I couldn’t stop reading scenes for hours). So, from that, I’m not going to be forgetting this anytime soon. I’d recommend this to those that already have an understanding of the X-Men, as this may unfortunately be slightly difficult to understand given all that happens, though if you would like to read this, it is most definitely worth it, from how vividly graphic the art style is shown to be in the comic panel scenes.
Notes: This comic features most of the main common X-Men characters I was expecting to find, as well as Scott Summers and Logan occasionally talking back and forth with one another, as is typically found in some comics. The plot starts out rather quickly and it is at first in a hospital setting with Cecelia Reyes as the focus character who I grew to be rather fond of. I quite liked the beginning as a good introduction to the rest of the story, however, I wouldn’t pick up this story if you are feeling more nauseous, since I’ll just add as a trigger warning automatically that there are graphic hospital scenes with surgeons in them (slightly) similar to what’s in the movie called the New Mutants. Now that didn’t really bother me (mostly because of the last book I just happened to finish), I would advise to please be emotionally entirely stable before going through and reading this. I’m already familiar with loads of various comic storylines that X-Men comics could have, from doing years of research on them previously, so I was prepared to read this, and I ended up finding enjoyment around 15% when I got accustomed to what was going on, since this is a prequel in a series. I’ll read the other sequels when I can find them.
While I like most X-Men stories that I can find, this is unfortunately heavier on the graphic violence side as well as multiple various scenes that could induce anxiety, so this was not something I read entirely for relaxation. No - this was more of an in-between comic I could page through, before reading other marvel comics (over twenty of them since I have a stack to go through), that I’ve had checked out for a few weeks. What I essentially read this for was a bridge-gap between some darker content books that I previously had to read through, which made this almost essentially perfect for that. I could sit down and focus reading this with minimal to no concentration, from said years of research on X-Men characters and separate teams themselves, so this didn’t take me much time to look through. However, there’s also some really scary villainous characters in here, some of which were absolutely terrifying, though with the amount of superheroes that had to show up, those fight scenes were worth it to read through. Honestly my favorite character has been Scott for years and years from how nice he appears to be, and he is featured more than several other superheroes in this storyline often.
This is one of the more text heavier comics that there is, so there will have to be a lot of reading done before the end of it. As someone who doesn’t mind that at all, it actually helped me understand the several plot lines occurring (not going to be anything with spoilers, however, this was very, very tense occasionally and I couldn’t stop reading scenes for hours). So, from that, I’m not going to be forgetting this anytime soon. I’d recommend this to those that already have an understanding of the X-Men, as this may unfortunately be slightly difficult to understand given all that happens, though if you would like to read this, it is most definitely worth it, from how vividly graphic the art style is shown to be in the comic panel scenes.
September 4, 2018
While the volume 0 of X-Men Gold was an interesting set of stories featuring the late 90s X-Men new recruits trying to find their place among the team elders, this volume 0 was about....ummm...it was about...uhhh...retelling the same tired stories from the 80s run?
The first issue was about Cecelia Reyes trying to balance her new life as a mutant hero, and her old life as a Doctor in Residence. It's well plotted, structured, and consistent with the late 90s art style.
But it's all downhill from there. Particularly, art-wise. One of the issues, ON THE COVER, mentions that it has the most artists on a single issue. It shows. If the comics industry wasn't so insular, I'd imagine the editor would have been fired for allowing the issue to go out. It looks so bad that I couldn't read it. Bouncing from mediocre art to bad art to differently mediocre art. Eeeesh. I don't blame the artists at all. The whole issue feels like the story came in two days before deadline, and everyone worked their damnedest just to get it out on time.
Eventually, the art settles down, and Chris Bachalo pencils a few issues. They look great but I absolutely couldn't be bothered to follow the story about bird gods, and something on an airplane, and Jean Grey being Phoenix again, and...uffff.
I enjoyed Steven Seagle's It's a Bird... so much that I, initially, ran out to buy his Superman books, and was disappointed. His run on X-Men is also Very Disappointing. Apart from that first issue, I don't get a single sense of any character during his entire run.
I don't reccomend it unless you're studying how Not to write comics, or you want to see what a book looks like when you chuck a bunch of artists together with no semblance of style.
The first issue was about Cecelia Reyes trying to balance her new life as a mutant hero, and her old life as a Doctor in Residence. It's well plotted, structured, and consistent with the late 90s art style.
But it's all downhill from there. Particularly, art-wise. One of the issues, ON THE COVER, mentions that it has the most artists on a single issue. It shows. If the comics industry wasn't so insular, I'd imagine the editor would have been fired for allowing the issue to go out. It looks so bad that I couldn't read it. Bouncing from mediocre art to bad art to differently mediocre art. Eeeesh. I don't blame the artists at all. The whole issue feels like the story came in two days before deadline, and everyone worked their damnedest just to get it out on time.
Eventually, the art settles down, and Chris Bachalo pencils a few issues. They look great but I absolutely couldn't be bothered to follow the story about bird gods, and something on an airplane, and Jean Grey being Phoenix again, and...uffff.
I enjoyed Steven Seagle's It's a Bird... so much that I, initially, ran out to buy his Superman books, and was disappointed. His run on X-Men is also Very Disappointing. Apart from that first issue, I don't get a single sense of any character during his entire run.
I don't reccomend it unless you're studying how Not to write comics, or you want to see what a book looks like when you chuck a bunch of artists together with no semblance of style.
June 29, 2023
I would really give this X-men collection about a 3.75 stars! The writing was not bad and the artwork consists of good to mediocre. A majority of the illustration work is carried by Chris Bachalo. His style is very unique and has a anime-like quality. There are times where the characters look amazing and others where you can almost not tell if they are human. Bachalo's style to me doesn't mesh well with the X-men. Jim Cheung would have worked better but I am guessing that when these issues were released Chris was more of celebrity artist. I had to chuckle a few times looking at all the ladies standing on their tippy toes like ballerinas. Seagle's writing was not bad and he feels like he has a great awareness of many of the characters unique voice. This is very important as the Xmen books often have quite a number of characters being showcased. These tales from 1998 are leaps better than what we are getting from the X-titles today. With that said I feel that many readers jumping into this collection may be lost and you will want to go and read many of the back issues that are referenced here. The best parts of this book are the reuniting of the original X-men: Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman & Jean Grey aka Marvel Girl. We pretty much join them on a small adventure up north in Anchorage. Meanwhile the issues with the X-men fighting the Savage Land pterodactyl man, Sauron were okay. There are some Seagle does lay down some interest plot threads I'm interested in reading further. Looking forward to seeing where Bishop and his relationship with Deathbird is going and of course Rogue's struggle with her life force absorption powers. It's hard to find great X-men books today but this collection was not bad.
April 8, 2018
"Is this couch leather? SWEET!"
This collection of boring X-men tales is a bingo game of cliches. Nearly every issue we get the classic over used catch phrases. All the plots have bee done before and done better. Have you ever wanted to read a story about how rogue wants to get rid of her powers, but changes her mind? How about a story about Jean Grey worrying about the Phoenix? Yes"new" ground like this is covered.
The most memorable thing about volume was the writing. Nearly every panel was filled with text. Occasionally the text would be filling more panel than the characters. It is telling that the the writer trusts the artist so little that everything must be monologued. In one transition I noted, a better writer would have chopped down the ten verbose words used to a simple "meanwhile..." The dialogue often becomes repetitive, even in the same panel.
Finally, I have to mention the nineties references. The pages are filled with the flotsam and jetsam of pop culture past. Remember when the Jerry Springer show was a thing? Or how hot Claudia on Party of Five was? How about the last time some one used the word "sweet" to mean "cool"? What a time capsule.
Lastly we learn that Jubillee's life goals include scoring a million points on Street Fighter and dating Keanu Reaves, proving that someone did not understand video games, nor who was attractive.
This collection of boring X-men tales is a bingo game of cliches. Nearly every issue we get the classic over used catch phrases. All the plots have bee done before and done better. Have you ever wanted to read a story about how rogue wants to get rid of her powers, but changes her mind? How about a story about Jean Grey worrying about the Phoenix? Yes"new" ground like this is covered.
The most memorable thing about volume was the writing. Nearly every panel was filled with text. Occasionally the text would be filling more panel than the characters. It is telling that the the writer trusts the artist so little that everything must be monologued. In one transition I noted, a better writer would have chopped down the ten verbose words used to a simple "meanwhile..." The dialogue often becomes repetitive, even in the same panel.
Finally, I have to mention the nineties references. The pages are filled with the flotsam and jetsam of pop culture past. Remember when the Jerry Springer show was a thing? Or how hot Claudia on Party of Five was? How about the last time some one used the word "sweet" to mean "cool"? What a time capsule.
Lastly we learn that Jubillee's life goals include scoring a million points on Street Fighter and dating Keanu Reaves, proving that someone did not understand video games, nor who was attractive.
December 29, 2018
A new creative team takes the helm of Marvel's main mutant titles after Scott Lobdell's departure. Steve Seagle begins work on Uncanny X-Men and Joe Kelly the X-Men. They change the line-up formally adding Maggott, Cecila Reyes, and Marrow which never really comes together. Add the standard (and very typical) comic book type plots, and you get a below average run.
We start with Dr. Cecilia Reyes ready to go back to her life as an ER doctor after the events of Operation Zero Tolerance. She immediately faces discrimination now that she has been outed as a mutant.
Cyclops and Jean Grey leave the X-Men to live a normal life in Alaska. Their retirement does not go well. Their flight is hijacked by agents of A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics). That is followed by unusual activity in their newly adopted town, so they call for help from their old classmates Beast, Angel, and Iceman.
Bishop agrees to help Deathbird in his attempt to find a way back home from deep space
Rogue feels her powers are becoming to big a risk to her teammates after a run in with Sauron, so she investigates Dr. Agee's new method of removing mutant powers.
I give Stevn Seagle credit of taking the series in a new direction, but while I recognize the attempt, I didn't like the results. The stories never really captured the essence or excitement of the X-Men that I grew up with.
We start with Dr. Cecilia Reyes ready to go back to her life as an ER doctor after the events of Operation Zero Tolerance. She immediately faces discrimination now that she has been outed as a mutant.
Cyclops and Jean Grey leave the X-Men to live a normal life in Alaska. Their retirement does not go well. Their flight is hijacked by agents of A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics). That is followed by unusual activity in their newly adopted town, so they call for help from their old classmates Beast, Angel, and Iceman.
Bishop agrees to help Deathbird in his attempt to find a way back home from deep space
Rogue feels her powers are becoming to big a risk to her teammates after a run in with Sauron, so she investigates Dr. Agee's new method of removing mutant powers.
I give Stevn Seagle credit of taking the series in a new direction, but while I recognize the attempt, I didn't like the results. The stories never really captured the essence or excitement of the X-Men that I grew up with.
June 14, 2020
Much like its companion, X-Men Gold Vol. 0, this comes from a strange time in X-Men history. At least this one thematically tie sin with the actual Blue series, as it focuses on the original 5 and their new place in a changing team.
Unlike Gold Vol. 0, I read most of these issues individually as they were coming out way back in the 90s. I remember them being okay, but not great. That assessment remains. The stories are weird, and the villains aren't very engaging. I appreciate what Seagle was trying to do with Phoenix and the O5, but, as with X-Men at the time, the storylines weren't allowed to really progress beyond these volumes.
This time around, though, something really bothered me. Bishop gets separated from the rest of the team right before this as he is left behind in space. He believes the team dead and hooks up with Deathbird, launching his own mini-series. Back on Earth, the team never mourns him, wonders where he went, or tries to rescue him. It's very strange, especially as Bishop was a major player in the team at the time. It's indicative of the sloppy story-telling and continuity of the time.
It does have some of that great Bachalo art, though, and you can't go wrong there! Otherwise, quite forgettable.
Unlike Gold Vol. 0, I read most of these issues individually as they were coming out way back in the 90s. I remember them being okay, but not great. That assessment remains. The stories are weird, and the villains aren't very engaging. I appreciate what Seagle was trying to do with Phoenix and the O5, but, as with X-Men at the time, the storylines weren't allowed to really progress beyond these volumes.
This time around, though, something really bothered me. Bishop gets separated from the rest of the team right before this as he is left behind in space. He believes the team dead and hooks up with Deathbird, launching his own mini-series. Back on Earth, the team never mourns him, wonders where he went, or tries to rescue him. It's very strange, especially as Bishop was a major player in the team at the time. It's indicative of the sloppy story-telling and continuity of the time.
It does have some of that great Bachalo art, though, and you can't go wrong there! Otherwise, quite forgettable.
June 21, 2021
This late 90s era X-book picks up after Lobdell's run and it's generally all pretty good. The X-books in this stretch become less crossover heavy and while there are threads that are dependant on the other X-book - I thought it weird that the Cyclops/ Jean break wasn't addressed here (as they are more involved here), it more or less can be read on it's own. But yes I know it's an X-book, so there are never ending plot threads, like having to try to resolve Bishop in Uncanny #358 - but this book more or less has a core cast and Seagle plays up the soap elements well.
The cast is mostly Scott/ Jean, with the original 5 X-Men reuniting in Alaska. There's also a heavy Rogue and Wolverine plot. And we get classic villains like . Overall this stretch of issues is a nice respite from all the never-ending plot lines (Onslaught, Graydon Creed, Legacy Virus, Operatin Zero Tolerance) from previous - it feels more grounded as the original 5 try to reunite their friendship bonds and Rogue wrestles her internal demons.
Seagle's writing is great, it definitely feels fresher. He also writes 2 issues which feature Alpha Flight, the other book he was writing at this time. This era of Alpha Flight didn't connect with fans and even in these issues you can see why. They aren't that interesting a team: a mindless Sasquatch; 2 brothers - one annoying and one rather useless, a no-personality big robot, and; a female who has some type of charming ability but is rather charmless.
But anyway, I think Seagle did a great job in Uncanny here and he's mostly supported on art by the idiosyncratic Chris Bachalo - who's firing on all cylinders here. Some really great art and I'd say this and Gen X are peak Bachalo before his art gets more abstract and I hate to say rushed but it looks more muddled, especially storytelling-wise, later on. Joe Casey also does a really great Annual at the end featuring the Fantastic Four. Reading this issue, I think it's a shame that he didn't get the chance to write Fantastic Four later on at some stage.
Ignore the branding of this collection also. This has no links to the mid-late 2010's X-Men Blue relaunch, featuring the original 5 time-displaced X-Men. Marvel probably just figured they could get a few more eyeballs on this collection. But for a 90s self-contained X-Men book, it is one of the better ones.
The cast is mostly Scott/ Jean, with the original 5 X-Men reuniting in Alaska. There's also a heavy Rogue and Wolverine plot. And we get classic villains like . Overall this stretch of issues is a nice respite from all the never-ending plot lines (Onslaught, Graydon Creed, Legacy Virus, Operatin Zero Tolerance) from previous - it feels more grounded as the original 5 try to reunite their friendship bonds and Rogue wrestles her internal demons.
Seagle's writing is great, it definitely feels fresher. He also writes 2 issues which feature Alpha Flight, the other book he was writing at this time. This era of Alpha Flight didn't connect with fans and even in these issues you can see why. They aren't that interesting a team: a mindless Sasquatch; 2 brothers - one annoying and one rather useless, a no-personality big robot, and; a female who has some type of charming ability but is rather charmless.
But anyway, I think Seagle did a great job in Uncanny here and he's mostly supported on art by the idiosyncratic Chris Bachalo - who's firing on all cylinders here. Some really great art and I'd say this and Gen X are peak Bachalo before his art gets more abstract and I hate to say rushed but it looks more muddled, especially storytelling-wise, later on. Joe Casey also does a really great Annual at the end featuring the Fantastic Four. Reading this issue, I think it's a shame that he didn't get the chance to write Fantastic Four later on at some stage.
Ignore the branding of this collection also. This has no links to the mid-late 2010's X-Men Blue relaunch, featuring the original 5 time-displaced X-Men. Marvel probably just figured they could get a few more eyeballs on this collection. But for a 90s self-contained X-Men book, it is one of the better ones.
January 3, 2025
This has nothing to do with the X-Men Blue series. It's a collection of Uncanny X-Men issues, post-Scott Lobdell. I was collecting this monthly when it came out, and at the time I preferred the (adjectiveless) X-Men book because I was pre-sold on Joe Kelly and Carlos Pacheco and was interested in the characters of Marrow and Maggot. However, rereading this now, I find that Steven Seagle's issues are much better written, and I prefer Rogue's story to anything else.
The X-Men are finding their new normal post-Operation Zero Tolerance. Rogue is feeling particularly vulnerable about her inability to touch anyone. Scott and Jean try to get away to Alaska, but trouble finds them anywhere. And Bishop is travelling in space with Deathbird.
Chris Bachalo's art is entering it's super cartoony phase here, which is not my thing.
The X-Men are finding their new normal post-Operation Zero Tolerance. Rogue is feeling particularly vulnerable about her inability to touch anyone. Scott and Jean try to get away to Alaska, but trouble finds them anywhere. And Bishop is travelling in space with Deathbird.
Chris Bachalo's art is entering it's super cartoony phase here, which is not my thing.
March 4, 2019
I’ve read a lot of the reviews on this collection and disagree with them tremendously.
The bad: no resolution to most of the stories and mildly undeferentiad characterization. Seagle is a long form writer and editorial is rumored to have killed the arcs and changed directions.
The good: dialogue is very strong between characters and not dated. Iceman (Bobbie drake). Got some excellent character development- probably the best he ever had. The original X-men get some outstanding moments together. Bachalo did some of the best work of his career (huge Bachalo fan so I will say this for the next time I see his art too).
Joe Kelly’s companionship collection is stronger on character.
The bad: no resolution to most of the stories and mildly undeferentiad characterization. Seagle is a long form writer and editorial is rumored to have killed the arcs and changed directions.
The good: dialogue is very strong between characters and not dated. Iceman (Bobbie drake). Got some excellent character development- probably the best he ever had. The original X-men get some outstanding moments together. Bachalo did some of the best work of his career (huge Bachalo fan so I will say this for the next time I see his art too).
Joe Kelly’s companionship collection is stronger on character.
August 13, 2018
This does not really have anything to do with the current X-Men Blue title, but is a collection of issues from the 80's and 90's that give background on some of the current team Blue characters.
Just because it might be a money-grab doesn't make it bad. I liked it, thought the stories were interesting and that it was put-together well. Bishop's story was a little unnecessary (IMO) but that was about it.
I definitely liked that it had a lot more issues and was thicker than most of the trade volumes that have been coming out lately.
Just because it might be a money-grab doesn't make it bad. I liked it, thought the stories were interesting and that it was put-together well. Bishop's story was a little unnecessary (IMO) but that was about it.
I definitely liked that it had a lot more issues and was thicker than most of the trade volumes that have been coming out lately.
July 29, 2022
Much more uneven and unfocused than the companion volume (X-Men Gold: Homecoming), this book is nevertheless a fun trip to an era of X-Men that is very different from what we're seeing now. I still have no idea why these runs were marketed as if they were tied into the X-Men: Blue and Gold Series, but I'm glad they were published because the Kelly and Seagle runs had been largely ignored until these books came out.
October 28, 2021
Gems include a day in the life of Cecilia, 3part return of Sauron & Alpha Flight, the original 5 X-Men reliving *The Birds* in Anchorage, Bishop & Deathbird reenact *Terminator* on an alien world, Rogue & Mystique reenact *Terminator* in an mutant-cure clinic, & Logan & Sam return to Ben Grimm's poker game while Cecilia & Hank go to the opera
October 19, 2019
Two stars because the artwork is really good, but the stories are all over the place, not much continuity throughout the book. The first plotline with Dr Reyes was promising, but really never goes anywhere after the first story. Same for the Rogue storyline...
April 18, 2018
This was a weird mix of old issues. Not sure what they were trying to accomplish.
May 7, 2018
I mean, not the best era of the X-Men but GOODNESS was it fun to go through all the bonus materials in the back.
March 29, 2019
Very enjoyable art, but other that not much going for it. The issues combined here really didn't read as one story and often featured to much exposition.
July 5, 2019
Wow, was this a reminder why I gave up reading X-men comics in the mid90s...
February 9, 2023
Very misleading as it is really anthology from the nineties and is not part of the actual X-Men Blue stuff from what I found out. The artwork is not my thing as it has that 90's style artwork.
February 22, 2024
Lot of fun here. Moving along with new teammates and after Operation Zero Tolerance. Don't care for Maggot and Cecilia is a handful, it's a quick read and some nice art.
December 14, 2024
4/10 90s comics are so boring I’m sorry they are just not good
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