X-Men: From the Ashes [New Printing]

The main plot thread in the group of issues in particular focuses on the first appearance of Madelyne Pryor, a woman who bears more than a striking resemblence to the late Phoenix, aka Jean Grey, and the X-Men are left to wonder: could she somehow be Phoenix herself, miraculously reincarnated? Complicating matters further, Cyclops is starting to get attracted to her. Meanwhile, the mutant illusionist Mastermind has returned after being driven insane by Phoenix, and wants nothing more than to get revenge on the woman that stripped him of his sanity... and with her gone, Madelyne will be the next best thing! Highlights include the first appearance of the Morlocks, Rogue joining the team, a very well done two-parter in which Wolverine and Rogue join forces to save the life of the former's fiancee, and a double-sized issue which features Cyclops holding his own against the entire team, more than showcasing that, despite what fans think, particularly after his portrayal in the live action films, he's definitely not a lightweight. Scott's the X-Men team leader for a reason. Paul Smith, having a brief run on the title, does a pretty good job with the pencils, with ever-talented John "I've drawn every Marvel character to ever exist" Romita Jr. taking over at the end in the start of his first run on the title. And of course, there's Chris Claremont himself, the man who carried the title as writer for 15 years. The dialogue may feel a little dated being over 20 years old, but Claremont's charm he gives to the characters continues to shine through. This features some key moments that would go on to become a big part of the X-Men mythos, and is definitely worth a look (assuming you can find a copy).

Ask any comic reader who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s to name their favourite X-Men stories of all time and you usually get the usual "Dark Phoenix Saga" or "Days of Future Past". But if you really want to know the REAL reason why the X-Men were the hottest comic characters in those decades, you gotta check out this volume. It has everything that makes the X-Men what they are. Great character moments, milestones, multiple plotlines, fantastic action and camaraderie. This volume highlights creators Chris Claremont and Paul Smith at their best. We get Wolverine's wedding and rejection by Mariko, the Silver Samurai Saga, Rogue's entry into the X-Men, the first (and best) Marauders story with Storm winning the leadership from Callisto, Caliban's crush on Kitty Pryde, the first appearance of Lockheed, Kitty's pet dragon and finally, Madelyne Pryor's first appearance and wedding to Scott Summers. Is that enough for you or not? Read this again and see why the X-Men comics were the most potent "drug" on the newstands in the 1980s!

This novel shows one of the highlight eras of the X-Men. From Lockheed's debut, to Rogue's joining of the X-Men, to Cyclops' marriage to Madeline Pryor, to Ororo's personality change, so much is chronicled in this novel. Any X-men fan needs to collect this novel; his collection would simply not be complete.

I've been a fan of the X-Men for years and years now, and I have to say, this is one of my all time favorite X-Men graphic novels. It chronicles some truly great moments from X-Men history. The two chapters concerning the X-Men's visit to Japan, the tragic, failed wedding of Logan to Mariko, and Wolverine's ultimate battle with the Silver Samuraii, is the stuff that made X-Men one of the greatest dramatic-action comic book series of all time.The younger generation of comics fans who got hooked during the wacky 1990's/Jim Lee/Rob Liefield/Image years will probably overlook the simplistic beauty of Paul Smith's artwork. But his subtle handling of facial expressions, his accuracy with human anatomy, and his technique for panel-to-panel storytelling is flawless. As a kid of the 80's who is now a working professional artist, I learned more about the basic craft of drawing comics from looking at Paul Smith's work in these stories than I did from "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way." Claremont's writing here is also superb, with a good balance between the everyday, normal lives of the X-Men, to their crazy, violent adventures, to their mixed-up, emotionally turbulant personal relationships. And of course, his interweaving of many tangled subplots. X-Men books became unnecessarily talky in later years, with dialogue and captions crowding the art, but this volume presents stories from the classic era when Claremont preferred to keep the chatter to a minimum and occasionally even shut up altogether and let the artwork tell the story by itself.And finally, the fun front-and-back cover illustrations by Art Adams, are just the icing on the cake. This one is worth every nickel.

This book reprints Uncanny X-Men 168-176 (from 1983), featuring the introduction of Madelyne Pryor, the first appearance of the Morlocks, the story of how Rogue joined the X-Men, the almost-wedding of Wolverine and Mariko Yashida, and the ongoing subplot of Madelyne's uncanny resemblance to Jean Grey: is she the Phoenix reborn? The story, which is a sequel to the epic "Dark Phoenix" saga from 1980, draws to a conclusion in the double-length issue 175, featuring one of the most gripping X-Men battles ever, as one lone X-Man fights against his teammates and friends for a love that may never be. This is all masterfully told by Chris Claremont, with illustrations that are simultaneously simple and magnificent by Paul Smith and Bob Wiacek, with a little help from John Romita Jr. and Walt Simonson. This is X-Men adventures at their best.