Connect with us
Five takeaways from the 'Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle'
Marvel

Comic Books

Five takeaways from the ‘Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle’

The Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle features incredible X-Men commentary, Wolverine tales, and more.

If you love the X-Men, Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle is a no-brainer. The full list of features and details about this project also makes this a great purchase for collectors. As Marvel Made’s second project, it’s a collection that hopefully is the first of many prestige format books highlighting important eras in Marvel Comics history.

The Kickstarter-style project had only 2,180 made and featured a new prestige format faux-leather hardcover collection featuring Chris Claremont’s most important X-Men work. Each book is hand-numbered with 448 gilded pages, commentary from Claremont himself on iconic issues in the collection, and extra goodies outside of the hardcover. Running fans $199 plus tax, the collection may seem steep, but at the end of the day, it’s well worth the price and then some.

Listen to the latest episode of our weekly comics podcast!

Instead of reviewing the stories themselves, here are five takeaways after reading and taking in the entire package.

Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle

#1: Incredible packaging and materials

This bundle is very high quality. Everything comes in an oversized box that gives the entire package a study container to keep everything organized. Inside this box, the suede-like material adds to the quality and it’s sturdy enough to hold up for a long time. Inside you’ll find a collection certificate of authenticity signed by Marvel Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski and Chris Claremont. It’s not actually signed, but printed, although it is numbered.

The hardcover collection itself has a cushiony feel thanks to the faux-leather, and the gilded pages add a level of prestige that’s unparalleled. Added to the hardcover is a yellow ribbon page marker which adds a nice touch too. This isn’t just any comic or any comic reading experience, but one that’s up there with some of the best literature around. This packaging shows.

Rounding out the experience are a number of lithographs that are 7″ x 10.5″, but are presented as if printed on actual comics drawing paper which is much larger. It’s a style choice that gives it a higher-value feel. Joe Quesada, Philip Tan, Phil Noto, and Salvador Larocca are a few of the artists that contributed. These lithographs have a handy thin cardboard container to keep them safe.

Then finally, there are exclusive variant cover comics including X-Men #13 by John Tyler Christopher and Wolverine #6 by Olivier Coipel which are bagged with a thinner style board inside.

#2: A great and brand-new Wolverine 20-page story

Gear up for an action-packed 20-page story by Claremont and Tom Reilly with colors by Chris O’Halloran and letters by Clayton Cowles. This story opens with Sabretooth ripping Wolverine to shreds somewhere in Japan. Reilly’s art is excellent in this mostly fight-centric comic, keeping you on the edge of your seat with every slash and jab from these two characters. Soon though, the X-Men rush in to save Wolverine, and nearly every character Claremont is known for writing well shows up. In fact, Claremont gives each character a moment to shine in this tale and it’s a satisfying 20-page book. The tone of the story is darker for sure, much of it is cast in shadows at night, but O’Halloran makes the story really sing thanks to key usage of yellow, orange, and firelight to bring out the characters.

Aside from the great action, the biggest takeaway is Claremont’s focus on Kate Pryde eventually breaking bad. There’s a strong focus on the eventuality of her turning evil thanks to Sabretooth seeing the darkness within her. Given the fact he sees this even though she’s still just an innocent teenager gives the issue a haunting quality.

Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle

The Wolverine story is one of the best things in this bundle.
Credit: Marvel Comics

#3: Presentation is well done

The design of the hardcover is quite nice, with a yellow and black theme running through it. On the first page of the book, Claremont signs his name with a cute message — in mine, it says “Xavier is a jerk” — along with the number of the edition. Once past the table of contents, the book reprints all of the stories with only the cover breaking up each issue. The final story is brand-new to this edition “Prelude to a Future Past” written by Claremont with art by Salvador Larroca.

Wrapping up the book is the original script reprinted for the first time in 40 years for Uncanny X-Men #141. It’s presented with four pages per page, which makes it a touch hard to read since the print is so small, but it’s still very legible. Finally, the book ends with commentary by Chris Claremont which devotes a single page to specific issues in the run.

Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle

Attention to details like you see here are key to making this a great reading experience.
Credit: Marvel Comics

#4: Interesting Chris Claremont commentary

The Chris Claremont commentary that ends the book runs four pages long and features his thoughts on X-Men #94, X-Men #129-137, X-Men #141-142, Wolverine #1-4, Uncanny X-Men #268, X-Men #1, and Uncanny X-Men #140.5. The commentary is very casual, likely because it’s plucked from a conversation he had with Jess Harrold which gives it a candid, but never too thought out feel. For such a high-quality product as this bundle is it’s a bit of a letdown at how casual the commentary is though there are nuggets to mine.

A few include the time he pitched the Wolverine story collected here to Frank Miller when they were driving back from San Diego Comic-Con to Los Angeles, or in another case, he speaks candidly about how in his canon Sabretooth is Wolverine’s dad a fallen angel named Seraph is his mother. This commentary eventually leads to Claremont pitching the idea of an MCU Wolverine movie with Captain America with Scarlett Johansson playing Black Widow’s mom. In another anecdote about the Dark Phoenix Saga, Claremont points Jim Shooter, the Editor in the Chief at the time, did not want Jean Grey to die. In fact, John Byrne didn’t either, according to Claremont, but editor Louise Simonson thought it was brilliant.

Five takeaways after reading the 'Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle'

#5: Uncanny X-Men #140.5 “Prelude to a Future Past” adds new layers to the story

Wrapping up the hardcover is one of the biggest draws to this collection: Uncanny X-Men #140.5. Created and printed in this collection for the first time ever, Claremont and artist Salvador Larroca detail the events that occurred right before the Days of Future Past event started. It opens with Roderick Campbell aka Ahab discovering Rachel Summers, his lead Hound, who has been taken offline. Soon, we discover Bloody Bess and Nightcrawler — who are now an item — Bishop, Sage, and Iron Man were able to knock out and then analyze Rachel. It’s a story that involves nanites and the recovery of Rachel, which Claremont goes into a bit in the final commentary in the book.

Colored by Guru-eFX with letters by Clayton Cowles, the book looks sharp and very modern. Larroca manages to display a journey through nanites and super technology well enough, as if the shrunken-down characters are colorful programs zipping about. Twisting skyscrapers and an epic double-page splash of a very important X-Men character highlight the story. There’s plenty of dialogue and lots of character developments that make it read like Claremont hasn’t stopped writing the characters. It’s a story that probably didn’t need to be created, but it finds a place within the canon in interesting ways.

In conclusion

Running $199, I had high expectations for the Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle, and this book surpassed them with ease. I’d argue the packaging and quality, mixed with the cool extras, make this book well worth $300 dollars or more. As someone who didn’t previously own these X-Men comics, it’s a great presentation all around to highlight the era on any bookshelf, and for those who have read these tales, it’s a fantastic way to revisit them.

Five takeaways from the 'Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle'

Five takeaways from the 'Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle'
Five takeaways from the ‘Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle’
Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle
Running $199, I had high expectations for the Marvel Made Paragon Collection: Chris Claremont Premiere Bundle, and this book surpassed them with ease. I'd argue the packaging and quality, mixed with the cool extras, make this book well worth $300 dollars or more. As someone who didn't previously own these X-Men comics, it's a great presentation all around to highlight the era on any bookshelf, and for those who have read these tales, it's a fantastic way to revisit them.
Reader Rating0 Votes
0
Excellent quality that lives up to the high standards of a prestige format
Plenty of extras including two new stories
Great lithographs
The commentary exclusive to this collection is a bit too casual and light on facts
9.5
Great

Join the AIPT Patreon

Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:

  • ❌ Remove all ads on the website
  • 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
  • 📗 Access to our monthly book club
  • 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
  • 💥 And more!
Sign up today
Comments

In Case You Missed It

WWE SmackDown preview, full card: March 1, 2024 WWE SmackDown preview, full card: March 1, 2024

WWE SmackDown preview, full card: March 1, 2024

Pro Wrestling

AEW Dynamite preview, full card: February 28, 2024 AEW Dynamite preview, full card: February 28, 2024

AEW Dynamite preview, full card: February 28, 2024

Pro Wrestling

AEW Rampage preview, full card: March 1, 2024 AEW Rampage preview, full card: March 1, 2024

AEW Rampage preview, full card: March 1, 2024

Pro Wrestling

Marvel unveils the new villains Bloodcoven appearing in 'Blood Hunt' Marvel unveils the new villains Bloodcoven appearing in 'Blood Hunt'

Marvel unveils the new villains Bloodcoven appearing in ‘Blood Hunt’

Comic Books

Connect
Newsletter Signup