Marvel’s Epic Collections are one of the best collection series from the House of Ideas. These are such a fantastic, uniform set of comics that you can count on being around for a while and helping you to complete a collection of comics. As a fan of Cyclops, I collect the Marvel Masterworks and am very lucky to have a complete set of Cyclops’ comic appearances, from his first appearance to his leaving with Maddie to raise a family. At the same time, Masterworks are beautiful collections, but the price point is a bit hefty. Luckily, Epic Collections can help continue the adventures (with X-Factor and more!) at a better price point and still look amazing on the comic shelf.
Marvel Comics
This edition of Modern Era Epic Collections, Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, will feature the first two story arcs, Gifted and Dangerous, by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday; the first 12 issues, a cover gallery, and a Marvel Spotlight interview with John Cassaday for a price point of $39.99. I recommend this collection for a new fan, as it is strong enough on its own, yet it invites learning more about the X-Men and their continuity. You are covered if you have previous trade paperback or hardcover collections, and everything will be present. Despite the elephant in the room – Whedon – these stories are fun, exciting, and nostalgic; they are now 20 years old. What a year for comics 2004 was; we had Astonishing X-Men starting in May, Identity Crisis in June, Avengers Disassembled in July, and Green Lantern Rebirth in October—lots of hits and game-changing events that year.
Marvel Comics
The stories within this collection survive and age well, and they are a great period piece in which the X-Men try to push themselves to be public superheroes. There are some great jokes about changing costumes from the Jim Lee-inspired suits to the black leather of the X-Men movies and Grant Morrison’s run. Despite Joss Whedon’s personality, he does write some excellent dialogue; the best moments are exchanges between Kitty Pride and Emma Frost. All of that is taken to higher levels of entertainment with John Cassady’s art. His pages are cinematic in their appearance and are very timeless moments that will stay with the X-Men’s history. Cassady’s fight scenes are dynamic, whether they are having the X-Men fight a villain or each other; they move across the panels, dancing on the page.
Marvel Comics
Their legacy continues as we first get S.W.O.R.D., Danger, and Armor (Hisako Ichiki) from this period, and we still see them impact stories in these modern times. Some characters don’t cut, like Ord, who is there to progress the story as a simple device; granted, as the next two arcs continue, Ord returns, but it was simply just background for advancing the story of Kitty Pryde and Colossus. Speaking of which, the return of Colossus was terrific when it happened as we saw the body, so you know he was gone. Yet, his return was welcomed as it didn’t matter if it made sense, but this much-loved character was back on the team. In all, this is a great collection to bring back some astonishing nostalgia to an era that would revitalize the X-Men and can also be a welcoming gift to a newer fan to show them that change is always with the X-Men.
This is a top-notch Epic Collection that takes us to a time before “No More Mutants,” when the X-Men were trying to be public heroes after the devastating conclusion to Morrison’s run. Cassaday and Whedon created the X-Men with historical characters and elements that have ingrained themselves into the legacy. Revisit or discover a time when the X-Men were fighting a cure and the danger room while trying to survive and astonish!
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