1787 ( )

This was some really dread-inspiring stuff but it was written by Grant Morrison so that was kind of expected. Loving all the art except Cyclops looks kind of ridiculous. ( )

With Grant Morrison's run these characters got blood on their veins. Many don't like what he did with so many changes and all, but I think it was a turn for the best. Besides the action he improved their peronalities and made the X-Men interresting again. The only drawback was having Frank Quitely as the artist, I really don't like his work, characters look ugly and unrealistic. The good thing is that the writing surpasses the ilustration flaws. ( )

Highlights:
-Jean Grey: Usually her character either bores or annoys me but I'm really loving her arc in this one. Can't wait to see more of Jean in the next volume. Emma was also pretty fun here.
-Cassandra Nova Plot: Really interesting plot going on here around Cassandra and her determination to wipe out mutants.

The annoying things:
-Emma Frost's costume: Because seriously, 99% of the time I have no idea what is holding the material onto her chest. Does she super-glue that stuff to her skin or what?
-So many plot threads: There are at least 3 major plots going on at once here (Cassandra Nova, Mutant Organ Harvesting, and a Rise in Mutant Hate/Mutant Births/Development of 2nd Mutations). Having so many major events happening at once, things things often felt rushed or got jumbled together. It was a little confusing trying to figure out which emergency the characters were attempting to deal with at certain points.

All in all, a really good read. I'll be picking up Book 2 soon.
( )

I had heard that Morrison's run on X-Men was the end-all, be-all of the series. I had heard that he had re-envisioned the team in unique and exciting ways. I had heard that this was an incredible collection and that every X-Men fan should read it.

Okay, I must have missed the train here, because I didn't find any of that in this collection. I don't know, maybe it gets better in the second and third trades, but I found this to be a rather tedious read with bad art. If this improved the X-Men franchise, then pre-Morrison X-Men must have been hideous. What am I missing here? I don't get the hype. ( )