Read "The First X-Men" by Neal Adams (writer/penciler/inker [issue #5]), Christos Gage (writer), Andrew Currie (inker [#1-4]), and Matthew Wilson (colRead "The First X-Men" by Neal Adams (writer/penciler/inker [issue #5]), Christos Gage (writer), Andrew Currie (inker [#1-4]), and Matthew Wilson (colorist). Originally released in single issue format as "The First X-Men" #1-5.
Generally speaking, not bad. This is the third "newer work" (2011 onwards) that I've read over the past few years. The first, "Batman: Odyssey" (released cover date December 2011 through June 2012), had some pretty art by Adams (as always) but the story was confusing and the main characters (Batman, Robin, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon) were all depicted so out of character that that I had a hard time enjoying it). The second to come out was this one, "The First X-Men" (October 2012 through March 2013). And the third (most recent) was "Superman: The Coming of the Supermen" (April 2016 through September 2016), which I enjoyed more than the Batman story because the Superman tale was shorter and didn't feel as "padded" although it again felt like I was reading different versions of Superman and his supporting casts than I've ever read before, just as with the Batman story.
Of the three, I think I enjoyed "The First X-Men" more than I did "Batman: Odyssey", and probably about the same as I did "Superman: The Coming of the Supermen". The story is better in "The First X-Men" than the other two (perhaps because in this case Adams had a co-writer, Christos Gage.
Adams' art, again, is very nice in places. However, his storytelling seems to take second place at times to drawing a cool looking page. His facial expressions also don't always seem to match the tone of the dialogue. (In the case of Wolverine and Sabretooth, most of the time they appear to be growling their words--which is usually appropriate for these two characters--although Adams does show them smiling occasionally.)
And, again in the area of storytelling, there are abrupt jumps in the action between panels sometimes. For instance, in one panel they would all be sitting together, in the next Wolverine would be lunged across the panel attacking someone with only his dialogue explaining what was happening (rather than a close up shot of Wolverine reacting to whatever was just said, in between). "Traveling" transitions (when the characters are moving from one location to another are sometimes rushed or omitted, as well.
That said, again, I enjoyed the overall story well enough.
One thing that people need to realize in these three Neal Adams written books (originally published as comic book limited series) is that these have to be taking place in Adams' own specific universe, separate from the other X-Men, Batman, and Superman comics that were coming out at the time these were, and any that came prior to that. Adams' plot points do not fit in with any already existing lines of continuity, and the characters are given to acting quite differently than they usually do. (And, yes, I realize that all of these characters have been written by countless writers by this point over the years, and that there is not single way of portraying any of these characters anymore, but for DC and/or Marvel comic book geeks like me it still sticks out like a sore thumb when the characters act differently from existing stories without some clearly labeled reason why, which is why I am unofficially labeling these as all taking place in the "Adams-verse".)
"The First X-Men" is not an especially original story. Logan (Wolverine), prior to his becoming part of the Weapon X program and receiving his Adamantium claws and to his losing most of his memory, partnering with Victor Creed (Sabretooth) and bringing together a small group of other mutants (mostly newly created ones for this series) to defend themselves and other mutants from a federal government agency that's been hunting them down. Along the way, they cross paths with other established characters ("guest stars", which is always part of the fun part to reading a Neal Adams book, seeing them and how he will draw them) such as Charles Xavier (Professor X), Magneto, and Namor the Sub-Mariner.
The ending is a bit predictable as it has to set things up to "fit" (somewhat) within established X-Men continuity (Wolverine still has to undergo the Weapon X ordeal and Charles Xavier establish his School for Gifted Youngsters). That, however, does not lessen my enjoyment of the story, overall, as it is not an uncommon thing in superhero stories, that they follow well established "story beats" and that you can oftentimes tell where the story is going.
I would recommend this book to any Neal Adams fans, and to any X-Men and/or Wolverine fans who don't think Adams and Gage's liberties with established comic book continuity and characterizations will cause them too much irritation to be able to enjoy this. (And for anyone who read "Batman: Odyssey" first and who did not like that work, please don't let it prevent you from trying this and "Superman: The Coming of the Supermen". I think you will agree that they are at least a bit better, even if they do not recapture that Neal Adams magic of his 1960s and 70s comics that he is mostly famous for still today....more
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