Book Review: X-Men Marvel Epic Collection Vol. 12 by C. Claremont et al.

X-Men Marvel Epic Collection Volume 12: The Gift written by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, pencilled by John Romita, Jr., Steve Leialoha, Paul Smith, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Dave Cockrum

This omnibus edition covers X-Men publications mostly from 1985, including Uncanny X-Men 189 to 198, X-Men Annual 8, X-Men and Alpha Flight 1-2, and Nightcrawler 1-4. 

A lot of these are episodic one-offs, showcasing two or three of the X-Men on an adventure. Claremont is a good writer but has a lot of dialogue in his stories. Even Wolverine talks a lot. The highlight of the collection are a two-parter called "The Gift" featuring most of the X-Men and the Canadian superhero group Alpha Flight. They all wind up in a wintery, isolated Canadian location where an amazing city has sprung up in a bubble of warm weather. Unbelievable healing has happened in the city--Cyclops can control his eye-blasts without any tech, Rogue is free from her absorbing powers (so she can touch people), Wolverine no longer has berserker rage, etc. Loki has given this "gift" to them in hopes of appeasing some even higher-up gods, though things do not work out for him. The very promising cover image of Doctor Doom fighting the X-Men is a later story and a bit of a disappointment to me. 

Woven through the stories is Storm's tragic situation--she has lost her power and returns to Africa to find out what to do. Another ongoing plot is Colossus and Kitty having relationship problems. And 1985 was the year the Beyonder showed up and had an epic story line that involved all of the Marvel universe, so he shows up in a few stories.

The collection ends with a four-part adventure for Nightcrawler, who gets sucked into other dimensions where he encounters a lot of whimsical situations and action. He fights a shark-man who is also a magician bent on gaining Nightcrawler's teleportation powers. It is very silly but also very fun.

This set is a mixed bag. Some stories I liked, some I didn't. The cover promises more than the content delivers which was disappointing for me. Otherwise this is a fine if less famous bit of the Chris Claremont X-Men era.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: X-Men: From the Ashes by C. Claremont et al.

X-Men: From the Ashes written by Chris Claremont, penciled by Paul Smith, Walter Simonson, and John Romita Jr., and inked by Bob Wiacek

The volume of classic X-Men stories covers a lot of ground. Kitty Pryde is upset that she's been put on the New Mutants, the junior mutant team. She's mad at Professor Xavier and wants to upgrade. Meanwhile, Logan, aka Wolverine, has gone to Japan and is about to marry a woman who is inheriting leadership in a shady organization. If that wasn't bad enough, her half-brother wants control of the organization, which means offing her. Also meanwhile, Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, is in Alaska dating a woman who has a striking resemblance to Jean Grey, the former X-Men who died as Dark Phoenix, a powerful entity that nearly destroyed the universe. Additionally meanwhile, Storm and a handful of X-Men (by this point, Kitty has made the grade so she joins in) confront the underground mutants who call themselves Morlocks, led by the mutant female Callisto. Storm discovers her powers are getting out of control and she adopts a new look (the mohawk) to go with her newly discovered attitude. Finally meanwhile, Professor X is struggling with a new body that should be able to walk but something is wrong. His space princess girlfriend helps out.

Reading this volume out of context with the rest of Claremont's run will cause a lot of confusion. I knew about most things going on (except for Professor X's clone body) from other reading I've done. The story telling comes off choppy. Claremont also got a lot wordier in his later years, making the plots sound a bit like a soap opera (is Cyclops' girlfriend really Jean Grey reincarnated? The girlfriend did miraculously survive a plane crash just when Jean died...). I enjoyed this for the most part but it's not the best stories from the mutants' history.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Wolverine by C. Claremont et al.

Wolverine written by Chris Claremont, penciled by Frank Miller and Paul Smith, and inked by Josef Rubinstein and Bob Wiacek

This graphic novel collects the early 1980s limited series Wolverine (four issues) and two follow-up issues from Uncanny X-Men. The story follows Wolverine as he goes to Japan to find the love of his life, Mariko Yashida. She has mysteriously cut off contact with Wolverine and has returned to her family home. Turns out she's been given in marriage by her father, a wealthy and well-connect man who incurred some sort of debt, to some jerk who treats her poorly. Wolverine has more than a culture clash when he tries to find out why Mariko is choosing duty and honor over him.

The plot is more complicated than the average comic book. In the brief introduction, Chris Claremont  describes how he and artist Frank Miller discussed Wolverine as a character and how they'd like to see him develop from the berserker killer into something different--maybe better, maybe worse. They wanted him to have a character-altering experience. This book does a great job with that. Wolverine is more thoughtful and set in contrast to another character, Yukio, a female assassin who lives life to its fullest because she might die at any minute. She's vicious and feral like Wolverine. Wolverine realizes he needs to be more if he's going to be worthy enough to marry Mariko.

The story is very well-told, with good action and nice twists. Wolverine is given more depth and humanity without turning him into a sappy, angst-ridden hero. He becomes a more three-dimensional character and, if possible, more beloved by the fans.

Highly recommended.