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New X-Men (2001)
New X-Men, Vol. 1 : E Is for Extinction
Cassandra Nova has murdered 16 million mutants. Now she has her sights set on The X-Men! Xavier and his team of mutants have long dreamed of a time of peace. But the time for dreaming is over. Now it is time to fight.
Collecting: New X-Men (2001) 114-117, New X-Men (2001) Annual 1
Collecting: New X-Men (2001) 114-117, New X-Men (2001) Annual 1
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2001
89 people are currently reading
3348 people want to read
About the author
Grant Morrison
1,835books4,463followersGrant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 317 reviews
April 10, 2024
In the year 2000, appropriately enough, the first X-Men film had been released. And although the movie no longer looks very good compared to our slick modern superhero flicks, it did change the cinema landscape as audiences started to take the genre more seriously.
Not only that, it also changed the comics. The Ultimate line of Marvel comics had already taken way, in an attempt to update and simplify iconic characters like Spider-Man so that new readers could understand what the hell was going on. This went for the X-Men as well, but the less I say about Mark Millar’s leatherclad reboot experiment the better. (Ultimates on the other hand was great, but that’s another story.)
Over in the standard Marvel Universe, X-Men wasn’t doing well. Bogged down by the weight of years of continuity, the comics were incomprehensible to anyone but the most devoted of fans. This was a problem. They tried bringing back Chris Claremont. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the same as the old days and that didn’t work.
So in 2001, during that brief window when it was an optimistic new millennium and 9/11 hadn’t happened yet, Marvel Comics� new editor-in-chief Joe Quesada was pushing the medium forward and had poached DC’s brilliant writer Grant Morrison. The mad genius Scottish author was allowed to do whatever they wanted, and this was just what was needed.
Along with fellow Scotts brilliant illustrator Frank Quietly, New X-Men was born and completely changed everything. New, non-“superhero� black costumes that actually looked cool. Beast was now a cat. White Queen, with new powers, was a core member and this was a great idea that’s worked well since then.
The boldest move of all, was a genocide in that poor fictional nation of Genosha in the very first issue. This is probably an overly done plot point nowadays, and I wish comics didn’t have to be so dark anymore—note Fall of X happening right now—but the point was it was time to clean the slate and tell brand new stories.
New X-Men is still one of the best X-Men eras for novice readers to pick up and enjoy. It also had the standard soap opera stories, outer space, and Phoenix etc. It still felt like X-Men. It was smart, subversive science fiction. Almost cyberpunk aesthetically, still not dated.
I’d recommend a reread anytime. After that, there was Joss Whedon’s follow-up Astonishing X-Men which is mostly optional. Some people like the mid-2000s Messiah trilogy and I have a soft spot for the post-MCU era’s Avengers vs X-Men and other works by Jason Aaron. Overall, it’s okay to just skip ahead to 2019’s House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman as the only X-Men since that is truly required reading and lives up to that level of quality.
All in all, X-Men is a series that peaked in the 1980s. The 1990s were fun, somewhat, and then there was Grant Morrison’s New X-Men which officially ended what came before and ushered in the 21st century. Let's not even get into the corporate shenanigans of Fox and Disney and the movie universe(s). Mostly thanks to Hickman, X-Men today is still relevant and cutting edge as ever. That being said, equally true, it’s always worth remembering what came before�
Not only that, it also changed the comics. The Ultimate line of Marvel comics had already taken way, in an attempt to update and simplify iconic characters like Spider-Man so that new readers could understand what the hell was going on. This went for the X-Men as well, but the less I say about Mark Millar’s leatherclad reboot experiment the better. (Ultimates on the other hand was great, but that’s another story.)
Over in the standard Marvel Universe, X-Men wasn’t doing well. Bogged down by the weight of years of continuity, the comics were incomprehensible to anyone but the most devoted of fans. This was a problem. They tried bringing back Chris Claremont. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the same as the old days and that didn’t work.
So in 2001, during that brief window when it was an optimistic new millennium and 9/11 hadn’t happened yet, Marvel Comics� new editor-in-chief Joe Quesada was pushing the medium forward and had poached DC’s brilliant writer Grant Morrison. The mad genius Scottish author was allowed to do whatever they wanted, and this was just what was needed.
Along with fellow Scotts brilliant illustrator Frank Quietly, New X-Men was born and completely changed everything. New, non-“superhero� black costumes that actually looked cool. Beast was now a cat. White Queen, with new powers, was a core member and this was a great idea that’s worked well since then.
The boldest move of all, was a genocide in that poor fictional nation of Genosha in the very first issue. This is probably an overly done plot point nowadays, and I wish comics didn’t have to be so dark anymore—note Fall of X happening right now—but the point was it was time to clean the slate and tell brand new stories.
New X-Men is still one of the best X-Men eras for novice readers to pick up and enjoy. It also had the standard soap opera stories, outer space, and Phoenix etc. It still felt like X-Men. It was smart, subversive science fiction. Almost cyberpunk aesthetically, still not dated.
I’d recommend a reread anytime. After that, there was Joss Whedon’s follow-up Astonishing X-Men which is mostly optional. Some people like the mid-2000s Messiah trilogy and I have a soft spot for the post-MCU era’s Avengers vs X-Men and other works by Jason Aaron. Overall, it’s okay to just skip ahead to 2019’s House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman as the only X-Men since that is truly required reading and lives up to that level of quality.
All in all, X-Men is a series that peaked in the 1980s. The 1990s were fun, somewhat, and then there was Grant Morrison’s New X-Men which officially ended what came before and ushered in the 21st century. Let's not even get into the corporate shenanigans of Fox and Disney and the movie universe(s). Mostly thanks to Hickman, X-Men today is still relevant and cutting edge as ever. That being said, equally true, it’s always worth remembering what came before�
September 23, 2016
Morrison gets credit for three things: finally committing mutant genocide as X-Men plots are always threatening, in volume 1 no less; not using Magneto; giving Charles Xavier the balls to kill.
Frank Quitely is awesome. I love his stuff, but why does everyone look Asian? Seriously. The character design is a bit...off. Wolverine is really husky. And Beast is very feline and Victorian. Basically Beauty and the Beast. Professor X looks like, I dunno, a Bond villain.
The plot revolves around Cassandra Nova, a mysterious telepath who's hellbent on killing all life, mutants and humans included. Like all telepaths she gets in people's heads, but there's a slight and much needed twist. There are also crazy evolutionary sentinels that look super creepy, like sentinel heads with pistols poking out of them. So an interesting if weird start to this series.
March 18, 2014
Originally reviewed at
The New X-Men: E is for Extinction was written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quitely with Leinil Francis Yu and Ethan Van Sciver helping out. When I picked this one up back in 2002, I was an old time X-Men fan; one who had cut his teeth on mutant madness during the twilight days of Claremont and Byrne’s famous run on the title, retained my fandom for years even with Claremont’s ever more convoluted plots and glorified in the tremendous artwork of people like Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee until the Age of Apocalypse in the mid-90s made me finally walk away. So when I read Morrison’s “take� on the X-Men, I wanted to be blown away by it and turned back into an X-fan. Unfortunately, I wasn’t. This graphic novel was okay but not much more than that.
The story setup here is that a new super villain has shown up; her name being Cassandra Nova. Not only is she some super telepath, but she is also an identical genetic clone of Charles Xavier and embodies a new type of evolutionary advance in the human race. Ms. Nova is quite frankly a dynamic leap in homo sapiens superior, a.k.a. as “mutants,� so in other words, she is a mojo bad ass. Add to this the fact that she wishes to annihilate every “mutant� on the planet, and it is clear that the X-men have got a major problem on their hands.
Like all good stories, Morrison has more than one plot line going on here, so “Super� Nova isn’t all the fun. We have lots of relationship issues among the team. Henry a.k.a. Beast is dealing with his continued mutations. Scott is acting withdrawn and a tad bit crazy after his recent possession by a villain. Naturally, he and Jean are having problems. Emma Frost comes on board the team after a huge cataclysm on Genosha, and she instantaneously begins seducing Scott. Wolverine is lurking around, and Professor Xavier is his normal self. Oh, and we have this crazed “New Age� cult leader who is preaching that mutant organs should be used to turn “regular� humans into super humans.
What?
Yeah. I don’t know how that would actually work either, but I’m not a scientist.
Anyway, the action begins in this one very earlier and just gets ratcheted up more and more as the tale goes along. We have sentinels killing mutants. Mutants killing mutants. Humans trying to kill mutants, so they can get their body parts to become mutants. And by the end, we have a major twist in the story that nicely sets up graphic novel number 2: Imperial.
As for the art, I cannot complain at all. It was top notch and told the story extremely well. Each panel was tailored to convey the mood of the characters as well as their inner struggles or tone of voice. Many times I found myself already knowing what type of encounter I was about to read just by viewing the art, which means that the artist is doing a great job in my world.
All in all, E is for Extinction had all the elements of an interesting graphic novel: great team, lots of action, and several plots going on. Like always, Morrison gives his readers a great villain; this time it is Cassandra Nova, who is powerful enough, devious enough and bloodthirsty enough to carry the story. Even the team dynamics and “Whoa is me, I’m a mutant� plots were somewhat interesting. As for the art, I can’t say anything bad about it. However, this graphic novel fell flat for me in 2002 and again in my 2014 re-read. Perhaps I am not a Morrison fan (though I have enjoyed other books he has written) or perhaps I treasure the “old� X-Men of my youth too much. Whatever it is, however, this graphic novel was a bit schizophrenic in its story telling for my taste, so much so that even the great ending can’t save it.
Like I always say though � don’t take my word for this graphic novel, read it and see what you think.
The New X-Men: E is for Extinction was written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quitely with Leinil Francis Yu and Ethan Van Sciver helping out. When I picked this one up back in 2002, I was an old time X-Men fan; one who had cut his teeth on mutant madness during the twilight days of Claremont and Byrne’s famous run on the title, retained my fandom for years even with Claremont’s ever more convoluted plots and glorified in the tremendous artwork of people like Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee until the Age of Apocalypse in the mid-90s made me finally walk away. So when I read Morrison’s “take� on the X-Men, I wanted to be blown away by it and turned back into an X-fan. Unfortunately, I wasn’t. This graphic novel was okay but not much more than that.
The story setup here is that a new super villain has shown up; her name being Cassandra Nova. Not only is she some super telepath, but she is also an identical genetic clone of Charles Xavier and embodies a new type of evolutionary advance in the human race. Ms. Nova is quite frankly a dynamic leap in homo sapiens superior, a.k.a. as “mutants,� so in other words, she is a mojo bad ass. Add to this the fact that she wishes to annihilate every “mutant� on the planet, and it is clear that the X-men have got a major problem on their hands.
Like all good stories, Morrison has more than one plot line going on here, so “Super� Nova isn’t all the fun. We have lots of relationship issues among the team. Henry a.k.a. Beast is dealing with his continued mutations. Scott is acting withdrawn and a tad bit crazy after his recent possession by a villain. Naturally, he and Jean are having problems. Emma Frost comes on board the team after a huge cataclysm on Genosha, and she instantaneously begins seducing Scott. Wolverine is lurking around, and Professor Xavier is his normal self. Oh, and we have this crazed “New Age� cult leader who is preaching that mutant organs should be used to turn “regular� humans into super humans.
What?
Yeah. I don’t know how that would actually work either, but I’m not a scientist.
Anyway, the action begins in this one very earlier and just gets ratcheted up more and more as the tale goes along. We have sentinels killing mutants. Mutants killing mutants. Humans trying to kill mutants, so they can get their body parts to become mutants. And by the end, we have a major twist in the story that nicely sets up graphic novel number 2: Imperial.
As for the art, I cannot complain at all. It was top notch and told the story extremely well. Each panel was tailored to convey the mood of the characters as well as their inner struggles or tone of voice. Many times I found myself already knowing what type of encounter I was about to read just by viewing the art, which means that the artist is doing a great job in my world.
All in all, E is for Extinction had all the elements of an interesting graphic novel: great team, lots of action, and several plots going on. Like always, Morrison gives his readers a great villain; this time it is Cassandra Nova, who is powerful enough, devious enough and bloodthirsty enough to carry the story. Even the team dynamics and “Whoa is me, I’m a mutant� plots were somewhat interesting. As for the art, I can’t say anything bad about it. However, this graphic novel fell flat for me in 2002 and again in my 2014 re-read. Perhaps I am not a Morrison fan (though I have enjoyed other books he has written) or perhaps I treasure the “old� X-Men of my youth too much. Whatever it is, however, this graphic novel was a bit schizophrenic in its story telling for my taste, so much so that even the great ending can’t save it.
Like I always say though � don’t take my word for this graphic novel, read it and see what you think.
April 18, 2021
8.0/10
A great start to the series. A villain that you love to hate since page one. Cassandra Nova is smart, evil and doesn't waste any time to execute her plan.
Morrison's writing is on point and i really liked Quitely's art ( he is not the only artist ).
A great start to the series. A villain that you love to hate since page one. Cassandra Nova is smart, evil and doesn't waste any time to execute her plan.
Morrison's writing is on point and i really liked Quitely's art ( he is not the only artist ).
December 9, 2021
This was some heavy reading for sure as Morrison takes over the X-Men and in a way it was great.
A new enemy named Cassandra Nova along with some Trask targets Genosha killing so many mutants, millions of them and well Scott and his team go after her and team up with Emma to go after her and subdue her in the most brutal manner as the world is changed forever and we discover who she is and what her relation to charles is and what she does to Beast.
Elsewhere we see things changing for Emma and Scott and a new relationship maybe emerging and also some great future revelation for Cassandra as she has taken over the body of Charles and after revealing her identity and all, she goes to space pretending to be charles and the chaos there in both situations is gonna be interesting to see.
Plus a cool short story where the New X-Men recruit Xorn into their ranks and it was a high concept story involving John Sublime and some other chinese military and it was something to read but yeah Xorn is a X-Man now.
Its a volume with a lot of revelations and can feel overwhelming for a first time read but since its my second it was easy to go through but then again feels like a whole lot of concepts and ideas and changes like Hickman when he did hoxpox. The art was pretty cool and I like Quietlys art tbh so I didnt mind it that much.
A new enemy named Cassandra Nova along with some Trask targets Genosha killing so many mutants, millions of them and well Scott and his team go after her and team up with Emma to go after her and subdue her in the most brutal manner as the world is changed forever and we discover who she is and what her relation to charles is and what she does to Beast.
Elsewhere we see things changing for Emma and Scott and a new relationship maybe emerging and also some great future revelation for Cassandra as she has taken over the body of Charles and after revealing her identity and all, she goes to space pretending to be charles and the chaos there in both situations is gonna be interesting to see.
Plus a cool short story where the New X-Men recruit Xorn into their ranks and it was a high concept story involving John Sublime and some other chinese military and it was something to read but yeah Xorn is a X-Man now.
Its a volume with a lot of revelations and can feel overwhelming for a first time read but since its my second it was easy to go through but then again feels like a whole lot of concepts and ideas and changes like Hickman when he did hoxpox. The art was pretty cool and I like Quietlys art tbh so I didnt mind it that much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2020
Re-reading after so many years.. (more than 10 I think) and well, even though I still remember the awesome moments in it, it's still 10-plus more fun to read than any current X-Men storyline for the past couple of years (minus the House of X/Powers of X because I haven't read that yet, which is the reason I'm reading New X-Men again now, since a friend recommended to me to reread this one before HoX-PoX, dunno why, but we'll see)
Anyway, it's so much fun to read this, from the characters the plot the dialogues everything, right down to the artwork which I find awesome! Even though I get why some complain about, chars having different looks and whatnot, but Frank Quitely is an amazing artist and he pretty much made them his X-Men!
Highly Recommended for X-Men fans!
Anyway, it's so much fun to read this, from the characters the plot the dialogues everything, right down to the artwork which I find awesome! Even though I get why some complain about, chars having different looks and whatnot, but Frank Quitely is an amazing artist and he pretty much made them his X-Men!
Highly Recommended for X-Men fans!
June 30, 2024
I think that this was a solid start to an X-Men series that informs so much of what we are currently seeing with X-Men. I’m typically a fan of Grant Morrison as a whole so it shouldn’t have surprised me that I was intrigued by the storyline of this one. There are so many elements of this book that are applicable to our current world. I’ve always been intimidated by anything X-Men related but this feels like a good entry point to modern Marvel. I’ll definitely be looking forward to continuing the rest of the series.
December 1, 2014
I usually like Grant Morrison's writing, but I wasn't crazy about this. The story didn't flow well, a lot of the time it felt like events just happened haphazardly and randomly. The pacing was strange, too-- in the first chapter, Cassandra Nova monologues about her various evil schemes for like fifteen pages, and then the destruction of an entire country takes one page. Then everyone is kind of like, "well, that happened, let's do something else now."
It may very well be that story seems disjointed because it's a set up for later events, but it makes for tough reading. I didn't really care for his characterizations, either, the characters seemed sort of stilted, dull and mostly interchangeable. Even a strong personality like Wolverine felt toned down and in danger of fading into the background. I often had the feeling that Morrison was making characters do things for the sake of driving the plot down a certain path with no regard for whether that was something that the character would actually do.
Frank Quitely's art was interesting, but I found it distracting much of the time. It seemed overly baroque for an X-Men story. It sort of contributed to the off-kilter, fragmentary feel of the story. Perhaps that feel was intentional, as well. I plan to give this collection another read through in a few days, and will reevaluate then.
12/1/14 - After re-reading, I bumped my rating from 2 to 3 stars. I still don't like the pacing, but the characterization and story seems better the second time. Not great, but better. Still didn't care for the art.
It may very well be that story seems disjointed because it's a set up for later events, but it makes for tough reading. I didn't really care for his characterizations, either, the characters seemed sort of stilted, dull and mostly interchangeable. Even a strong personality like Wolverine felt toned down and in danger of fading into the background. I often had the feeling that Morrison was making characters do things for the sake of driving the plot down a certain path with no regard for whether that was something that the character would actually do.
Frank Quitely's art was interesting, but I found it distracting much of the time. It seemed overly baroque for an X-Men story. It sort of contributed to the off-kilter, fragmentary feel of the story. Perhaps that feel was intentional, as well. I plan to give this collection another read through in a few days, and will reevaluate then.
12/1/14 - After re-reading, I bumped my rating from 2 to 3 stars. I still don't like the pacing, but the characterization and story seems better the second time. Not great, but better. Still didn't care for the art.
May 8, 2025
Grant Morrison takes over the X-Men and it's wonderful and weird like a book about mutants should be. He introduces so many cool things, Cassandra Nova, Xorn, Beak, John Sublime, wild sentinels, secondary mutations. That's all in the half dozen issues included here. Then you have Frank Quitely's quirky but detailed art. The X-Men hadn't been good for a decade before Morrison took over. I'll be ever thankful that he was able to turn this ship around.
June 10, 2023
*4.5/5
November 1, 2016
3,5 / 5
Este primer volumen de los 8 que componen el coleccionable de la etapa se trata una historia divida en tres números, a la que se suma el New X-Men Annual #1 USA acompañados por una interesante introducción de Julián M.Clemente y rematando con el Manifiesto Morrison sobre donde quería llevar a la franquicia, la cual al parecer venia de una época con malas ventas.El volumen nos narra como una bióloga y un dentista viajan a Sudamérica para hacerse con una nueva tecnología con la que causar un holocausto mutante, deshaciéndose de 16 millones de mutantes que habitan en Genosha de una tacada. El profesor X junto a su pequeño equipo formado por Jean Grey, Bestia, Ciclope, Lobezno y Emma Frost tendrán que enfrentarse a una temible villana que amenaza con destruir a todos los mutantes de la tierra.
Por fin he comenzado a leer a los mutantes tras el arrebato que me dio al ver X-Men Apocalipsis, y creo que he escogido una buena etapa.Un comienzo impactante e interesante, sobre todo por ese genocidio mastodóntico que hace un reinicio en el universo mutante, por lo que tengo entendido. Morrison centra su atención en sus personajes, sus motivaciones, sus relaciones y como conforman un grupo. El cambio de look de los personajes más adaptado a su inserción en el mundo cinematográfico y ese dibujo quizá algo tosco de Quitely le vienen muy bien a la historia. Quizás tiene algunos puntos abierto o precipitados que no me han convencido del todo (sobre todo ese Anual que no encaja en la linea temporal), pero ha sido un buen comienzo.
Este primer volumen de los 8 que componen el coleccionable de la etapa se trata una historia divida en tres números, a la que se suma el New X-Men Annual #1 USA acompañados por una interesante introducción de Julián M.Clemente y rematando con el Manifiesto Morrison sobre donde quería llevar a la franquicia, la cual al parecer venia de una época con malas ventas.El volumen nos narra como una bióloga y un dentista viajan a Sudamérica para hacerse con una nueva tecnología con la que causar un holocausto mutante, deshaciéndose de 16 millones de mutantes que habitan en Genosha de una tacada. El profesor X junto a su pequeño equipo formado por Jean Grey, Bestia, Ciclope, Lobezno y Emma Frost tendrán que enfrentarse a una temible villana que amenaza con destruir a todos los mutantes de la tierra.
Por fin he comenzado a leer a los mutantes tras el arrebato que me dio al ver X-Men Apocalipsis, y creo que he escogido una buena etapa.Un comienzo impactante e interesante, sobre todo por ese genocidio mastodóntico que hace un reinicio en el universo mutante, por lo que tengo entendido. Morrison centra su atención en sus personajes, sus motivaciones, sus relaciones y como conforman un grupo. El cambio de look de los personajes más adaptado a su inserción en el mundo cinematográfico y ese dibujo quizá algo tosco de Quitely le vienen muy bien a la historia. Quizás tiene algunos puntos abierto o precipitados que no me han convencido del todo (sobre todo ese Anual que no encaja en la linea temporal), pero ha sido un buen comienzo.
September 2, 2015
Pretty good! So I have had this for a while but kept putting it down because of Morrison; don't get me wrong the guy writes good stuff but some of his other stuff can give you a serious mental health injury I like to call Morrisoneitas! But luckily this one was Morrisoneitas free! So this one's plot is pretty straight forward there's some really powerful old lady who's causing havoc and the X-men have to stop her, this old lady is trying to rebirth The Sentinel's. The story was short and sweet, this volume only collects 4 issues, 3 being the first story and 4 being groundwork for vol 2! I preferred the last issue the most, in that one there's no huge threat and The X-men have time to themselves and you see the various subplots between characters which i loved! But overall a great Morrisoneitas free read!
August 10, 2021
Явно любимият на мнозина комиксов мутант � Върколак � пак има зъб някому. Поне така изглежда от корицата на „Новит� Х-Мен: „И� като „Изчезнали“� � том 24 от Върховната колекция графични романи на Marvel. Макар събраните тук броеве да са от различна поредица, те всъщност са свързани със (и предхождат) събитията от „Изумителнит� Х-Мен� (която вече видяхме два пъти в колекцията). Именно тук ще разберете как Ема Фрост се е присъединила към екипа, какво е станало с Магнито и какво, в крайна сметка, е довело до пълното унищожение на островната мутантска нация Геноша. Коя е тайнствената Касандра Нова и каква е връзката ѝ с Професор Х? Как ще понесе Звяр своята вторична мутация? Ще се стърпи ли Върколак да не изкорми някого? Знам, на пръв поглед много въпроси, на които да се отговори в сравнително скромния обем на настоящия том. Но пък ни е обещано и продължение (за което ще трябва да почакаме до том 33). Прочетете ревюто на „Книжн� Криле�:
November 27, 2021
Grant Morrison brings us a brand new series starring the X-Men, and within the first volume ventures where no other X-Men writers have before.
The story is very intriguing, including a mutant genocide and introducing a brand new villain Cassandra Nova. She is every bit loathsome as a villain must be. Although, the X-Men are, scientifically speaking, Homo Sapiens Superior , Morrison hasn't left out the Homo Sapiens part, and shows the main characters' humanity and vulnerability in full glory.
Frank Quitely's art left me with mixed feelings. Some of the panels are phenomenal to look at, but some characters' faces look super awkward at times. Plus, I personally did not like Emma Frost's design.
E is for Extinction is a solid start to a new series.
The story is very intriguing, including a mutant genocide and introducing a brand new villain Cassandra Nova. She is every bit loathsome as a villain must be. Although, the X-Men are, scientifically speaking, Homo Sapiens Superior , Morrison hasn't left out the Homo Sapiens part, and shows the main characters' humanity and vulnerability in full glory.
Frank Quitely's art left me with mixed feelings. Some of the panels are phenomenal to look at, but some characters' faces look super awkward at times. Plus, I personally did not like Emma Frost's design.
E is for Extinction is a solid start to a new series.
August 4, 2019
Hey, that was really good! I actually have read Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men before this, so many events in this volume weren't as shocking to me as they should have been, but I still enjoyed reading this volume. My only complaint is that the annual didn't make much sense to me. And what is up with Emma Frost's costume? It looks absolutely ridiculous!
Anyway, I wanted to read another good X-Men book ever since I finished Whedon's stellar run, and it looks like I have a winner here. Hope the next one will be even better!
Anyway, I wanted to read another good X-Men book ever since I finished Whedon's stellar run, and it looks like I have a winner here. Hope the next one will be even better!
January 21, 2018
Book Info: This collection contains issues #114-117.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {3/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
I'm sure most serious comic book fans will view E is for Extinction as at least a decent X-Men story for a few pretty obvious reasons. Most notably, it sets the groundwork for certain defining moments that will shape the face of the X-Men and all of mutantkind well into the future. (I know this because most of the X-Men I've read was written after this, and what happens here is referenced later.) Just to give you some kind of idea of what we're dealing with here, have you heard the X-Men refer to some really important event that happened in Genosha involving Cassandra Nova? That happens here, and it's a doozie. Trust me on that one.
But as big a deal as all that was, and as laudable as Morrison's vision was to conceive it, I seriously think it could have been handled better. Normally, I'd say that under the direction of a mind such as Warren Ellis � a writer who can actually combine good writing with his big ideas � this could have been *legendary*. But after seeing what he did for Ghost Box , I'm somewhat convinced he could have been channeling Morrison a little bit too much there (at least in terms of the style of dialogue), and would have been much better off going down a different path. Aside from that though, I'm sure he'd be the perfect man for the job.
Anyways, I really think the emotional fallout of what transpired here should have been more pronounced; think Schism multiplied by ten � and if you're aware of what transpired there, you'd know that's saying a lot. But based on the Morrison books I've read, it seems to me that good characterization is not one of the writer's strong suits, so this may have been impossible. Any of the brief moments where genuine feeling would be expressed were almost instantly quashed by attempts at humor; almost every member of the team consistently cracked jokes or acted glib during conversations and situations that were meant to be serious, and that made those segments fail to capture what I'm sure Morrison was going for. Still, this could have worked a little better, if only I got the impression the characters were relying on levity to reduce tension. In reality, they spoke this way no matter the circumstance. So while this did allow for some clever dialogue at times, it ultimately did more harm than good.
And as for that pacing... What's the damn rush? If, at the time, Morrison felt he had to get this story out of the way before tackling more pressing concerns, it shows. And honestly, I don't think this issue is confined to only a few of his stories. I haven't read too much of his stuff, but I did feel like JLA: Earth 2 and both suffered from this as well. What are the odds that three of his top ten comic series (according to ŷ) would share the same flaw? I had my doubts going into this about whether Morrison was a writer I could get into, but now I'm pretty sure he's just not.
The second thing this book does well � and related to the first � is that Morrison puts this team through a meat grinder; you'd be surprised what the X-Men go through in these four short issues, and the future ramifications that are implied after the volume's conclusion. It's all very dark and vast in scope (in a promising way). It's X-Men like you may not have seen it before, and that by itself is very commendable. And Nova has proven herself to be an exceedingly formidable villain, and I would have liked to see what part she might have played later on during this run.
Since the volume was too short to make it both action-packed and exciting, while still packing that emotional punch, it almost seems like Morrison had to choose one. Looks like he went with the former. To strike a balance between the two, I'm pretty sure an additional two issues (and dropping that shitty annual) would have done the trick. I could understand if, because of publishing constraints, he had to work with what he'd been instructed to do, and did the best he could given the circumstances. But one shouldn't actively choose to box themselves in like that unless there was no other choice.
Also, too casually does Morrison pull out all the stops and just move along like nothing happened. It seems like many people might find that cool, but I think it demonstrates either laziness or flippancy on the part of the writer. Of particular note were Morrison's treatment of the Genosha incident and Professor X's cold-blooded, last resort methods; while there were arguably legitimate circumstances precipitating the latter event, Morrison didn't do such a great job of exploring the psychological implications for either one.
But, in terms of writing, Morrison does get something right; I found Emma, Nova, and Professor X to be pretty well-written. I guess it must have something to do with the hubris that comes with being a telepath that lends itself nicely to Morrison's style.
At the end of the day, it doesn't surprise me at all to see how popular this run is, and I don't hold that against those who really enjoy it. But for me � and aside from (which I now suspect I may have been wrong about) � I've yet to find the Morrison book that speaks to me. And at this point, I'm in no hurry to actively hunt it down.
Postscript:
I know that the whole point of gallows humor is to lighten the mood in the face of hopelessness or trauma, but I think there's a point at which things are grave enough that the attempt to use it only demonstrates very poor taste. And beyond that, it can seem unrealistic if not handled well.
[If you only knew the specific circumstances surrounding this scene, you'd see that it's even more inappropriate that it looks here. Beast's lucky Professor X didn't hear that shit, cuz he would have kicked his blue ass to the curb � and rightly so.]
ABSOLUTE RATING: {3/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>
I'm sure most serious comic book fans will view E is for Extinction as at least a decent X-Men story for a few pretty obvious reasons. Most notably, it sets the groundwork for certain defining moments that will shape the face of the X-Men and all of mutantkind well into the future. (I know this because most of the X-Men I've read was written after this, and what happens here is referenced later.) Just to give you some kind of idea of what we're dealing with here, have you heard the X-Men refer to some really important event that happened in Genosha involving Cassandra Nova? That happens here, and it's a doozie. Trust me on that one.
But as big a deal as all that was, and as laudable as Morrison's vision was to conceive it, I seriously think it could have been handled better. Normally, I'd say that under the direction of a mind such as Warren Ellis � a writer who can actually combine good writing with his big ideas � this could have been *legendary*. But after seeing what he did for Ghost Box , I'm somewhat convinced he could have been channeling Morrison a little bit too much there (at least in terms of the style of dialogue), and would have been much better off going down a different path. Aside from that though, I'm sure he'd be the perfect man for the job.
Anyways, I really think the emotional fallout of what transpired here should have been more pronounced; think Schism multiplied by ten � and if you're aware of what transpired there, you'd know that's saying a lot. But based on the Morrison books I've read, it seems to me that good characterization is not one of the writer's strong suits, so this may have been impossible. Any of the brief moments where genuine feeling would be expressed were almost instantly quashed by attempts at humor; almost every member of the team consistently cracked jokes or acted glib during conversations and situations that were meant to be serious, and that made those segments fail to capture what I'm sure Morrison was going for. Still, this could have worked a little better, if only I got the impression the characters were relying on levity to reduce tension. In reality, they spoke this way no matter the circumstance. So while this did allow for some clever dialogue at times, it ultimately did more harm than good.
And as for that pacing... What's the damn rush? If, at the time, Morrison felt he had to get this story out of the way before tackling more pressing concerns, it shows. And honestly, I don't think this issue is confined to only a few of his stories. I haven't read too much of his stuff, but I did feel like JLA: Earth 2 and both suffered from this as well. What are the odds that three of his top ten comic series (according to ŷ) would share the same flaw? I had my doubts going into this about whether Morrison was a writer I could get into, but now I'm pretty sure he's just not.
The second thing this book does well � and related to the first � is that Morrison puts this team through a meat grinder; you'd be surprised what the X-Men go through in these four short issues, and the future ramifications that are implied after the volume's conclusion. It's all very dark and vast in scope (in a promising way). It's X-Men like you may not have seen it before, and that by itself is very commendable. And Nova has proven herself to be an exceedingly formidable villain, and I would have liked to see what part she might have played later on during this run.
Since the volume was too short to make it both action-packed and exciting, while still packing that emotional punch, it almost seems like Morrison had to choose one. Looks like he went with the former. To strike a balance between the two, I'm pretty sure an additional two issues (and dropping that shitty annual) would have done the trick. I could understand if, because of publishing constraints, he had to work with what he'd been instructed to do, and did the best he could given the circumstances. But one shouldn't actively choose to box themselves in like that unless there was no other choice.
Also, too casually does Morrison pull out all the stops and just move along like nothing happened. It seems like many people might find that cool, but I think it demonstrates either laziness or flippancy on the part of the writer. Of particular note were Morrison's treatment of the Genosha incident and Professor X's cold-blooded, last resort methods; while there were arguably legitimate circumstances precipitating the latter event, Morrison didn't do such a great job of exploring the psychological implications for either one.
But, in terms of writing, Morrison does get something right; I found Emma, Nova, and Professor X to be pretty well-written. I guess it must have something to do with the hubris that comes with being a telepath that lends itself nicely to Morrison's style.
At the end of the day, it doesn't surprise me at all to see how popular this run is, and I don't hold that against those who really enjoy it. But for me � and aside from (which I now suspect I may have been wrong about) � I've yet to find the Morrison book that speaks to me. And at this point, I'm in no hurry to actively hunt it down.
Postscript:
I know that the whole point of gallows humor is to lighten the mood in the face of hopelessness or trauma, but I think there's a point at which things are grave enough that the attempt to use it only demonstrates very poor taste. And beyond that, it can seem unrealistic if not handled well.
[If you only knew the specific circumstances surrounding this scene, you'd see that it's even more inappropriate that it looks here. Beast's lucky Professor X didn't hear that shit, cuz he would have kicked his blue ass to the curb � and rightly so.]
July 26, 2019
Wow. That shakes things up, but I don't know how to feel about it. I picked up the entire run of Morrison's New X-Men on a sale at my local comic shop and am jumping in about a decade after my knowledge of X-Men ends (and when I finish reading it, will be about 8 years shy of when my knowledge of X-Men picks back up). This volume contains an earth-shattering change for mutant-kind, and introduces a new villain that I have mixed feelings about whether they are a good villain to hate, or lazy writing. Time will tell.
The art is hit and miss for me - sometimes it feels a bit "ugly", and sometimes that fits, sometimes it doesn't. I do love the new design for Beast, and the detail work in some of the environmental shots makes me smile.
The art is hit and miss for me - sometimes it feels a bit "ugly", and sometimes that fits, sometimes it doesn't. I do love the new design for Beast, and the detail work in some of the environmental shots makes me smile.
August 13, 2021
Въпреки суперлативите по адрес Грант Морисън, окултист и маг на хаоса (както сам се титулувал), в биографичните бележки след края на графичната новела, сценарият му не се оказа нищо особено. Артът на Франк Куайтли също беше средна хубост.
March 10, 2013
Meh. I really like the X-men, but I'm afraid this story just didn't do it for me.
For one it didn't make a lot of sense with the main protagonist having been around for as long as Professor X, and being as powerful, but never having been heard of before. This is especially true considering the Cerebro and Cerebra mutant detection machines that the X-Men have been using ever since the beginning to detect mutants.
There were also a few cheap gimmicks which I thought cheapened the story such as the character who was introduced just so that he could die with Cyclops subverting a cliched line concerning his eyes. If the character had been more important to the story it would have been acceptable, but in reality he was just a walking, talking, thinly disguised plot device.
The artwork was okay, but I thought the depictions of Jean Grey, Cyclops and especially Emma Frost was far too young-looking for characters that are supposed to be very experienced.
Recommendation: One for the collection, but not a great one.
For one it didn't make a lot of sense with the main protagonist having been around for as long as Professor X, and being as powerful, but never having been heard of before. This is especially true considering the Cerebro and Cerebra mutant detection machines that the X-Men have been using ever since the beginning to detect mutants.
There were also a few cheap gimmicks which I thought cheapened the story such as the character who was introduced just so that he could die with Cyclops subverting a cliched line concerning his eyes. If the character had been more important to the story it would have been acceptable, but in reality he was just a walking, talking, thinly disguised plot device.
The artwork was okay, but I thought the depictions of Jean Grey, Cyclops and especially Emma Frost was far too young-looking for characters that are supposed to be very experienced.
Recommendation: One for the collection, but not a great one.
March 1, 2021
This book was the start of Morrison redefining the X-Men. This was my first reread in years, and I think it holds up fairly well. There’s a few bizarre moments and the annual isn’t the most exciting, in my opinion, but overall it’s an interesting story. I’ve read a lot of Morrison’s Batman recently, and I think this is way more character focused than their Batman run. Their Emma Frost in particular is STUNNING, and I loved the insecurities we see Beast explore. This book is just full of extremely important new things like Genosha being destroyed, Charles outing the X-Men, the start of Scott/Emma, Xorn, Cassandra Nova, Emma’s diamond form, etc. While this isn’t my favorite X-book, it’s solid and extremely important. 4/5 stars.
July 30, 2017
Good but...
The cosmic vision of Grant Morrison and the X-men, and Morrison does not pull his normal meta-narrative tricks, so why the low rating. Conceptually,Morrison is doing a lot with X-men but his characterization seems, well, off in ways even Whedon or Bendis or even some of the 90s edgier-than-thou X-books don't feel. Morrison doesn't seem to fully inhabit the characters although he does interesting things with them. We will see where he takes this.
The cosmic vision of Grant Morrison and the X-men, and Morrison does not pull his normal meta-narrative tricks, so why the low rating. Conceptually,Morrison is doing a lot with X-men but his characterization seems, well, off in ways even Whedon or Bendis or even some of the 90s edgier-than-thou X-books don't feel. Morrison doesn't seem to fully inhabit the characters although he does interesting things with them. We will see where he takes this.
November 20, 2020
It’s hard to say this is a “slow start�, considering that this is when the genocide of Genosha occurs. And I’d imagine reading this as it came out would have been insane. But 20 years removed it reads quick and then it’s off to the next trade paperback.
June 5, 2016
The story was pretty good! I didn't really like the art style though...
March 29, 2024
Re-read, inspired by the X-men fever spawned by a show I haven't seen. Still great, although a certain twist that is set up in this still makes no sense to me.
November 12, 2024
Morrison débarque et transforme les X-Men en ceinture noire de l’angoisse existentielle. C'est bien beau de sauver le monde, mais est-ce que le monde vaut vraiment le coup d’être sauvé ?
Déjà, parlons de l'infâme Cassandra Nova. Un pur cauchemar en mode calculatrice, prête à détruire les mutants avec un sourire sinistre et une détermination inébranlable. Le genre de tante éloignée qu'on espère ne jamais croiser aux repas de famille.
Pour les X-Men, panique à bord. Scott vient de découvrir que le stress est son super-pouvoir, Emma est toujours impeccablement glaciale, Logan passe son temps à se battre et à râler (comme d'hab), Hank est en pleine crise d’identité avec son côté animal, Jean jongle entre son rôle de mentor, sa relation avec Scott, et cette petite voix intérieure qui pourrait la pousser à tout casser... Mais on a surtout un Charles plus sombre, moins sûr de lui, qui se rapproche de l’humanité autant que des failles de son rêve.
Bon, les dessins, parlons-en. Un peu étranges par rapport à mes habitudes, pas vraiment mon style, mais on s'y fait assez vite. C'est un peu comme si les X-Men avaient rejoint un groupe de rock alternatif. Ça change.
Bref, E comme Extinction c'est des rebondissements, du trauma mutant, et de l'existentialisme, qui nous rappellent que même les super-héros peuvent se retrouver en pleine crise de la trentaine (ou de la centaine, pour Wolverine).
Et on dit merci pour le duo Scott / Logan qui fait plaisir !!
Déjà, parlons de l'infâme Cassandra Nova. Un pur cauchemar en mode calculatrice, prête à détruire les mutants avec un sourire sinistre et une détermination inébranlable. Le genre de tante éloignée qu'on espère ne jamais croiser aux repas de famille.
Pour les X-Men, panique à bord. Scott vient de découvrir que le stress est son super-pouvoir, Emma est toujours impeccablement glaciale, Logan passe son temps à se battre et à râler (comme d'hab), Hank est en pleine crise d’identité avec son côté animal, Jean jongle entre son rôle de mentor, sa relation avec Scott, et cette petite voix intérieure qui pourrait la pousser à tout casser... Mais on a surtout un Charles plus sombre, moins sûr de lui, qui se rapproche de l’humanité autant que des failles de son rêve.
Bon, les dessins, parlons-en. Un peu étranges par rapport à mes habitudes, pas vraiment mon style, mais on s'y fait assez vite. C'est un peu comme si les X-Men avaient rejoint un groupe de rock alternatif. Ça change.
Bref, E comme Extinction c'est des rebondissements, du trauma mutant, et de l'existentialisme, qui nous rappellent que même les super-héros peuvent se retrouver en pleine crise de la trentaine (ou de la centaine, pour Wolverine).
Et on dit merci pour le duo Scott / Logan qui fait plaisir !!
October 2, 2021
Новите хиксмени успяха да отмият помията от предишния брой от поредицата. Не знам дали поради това, но съм доста доволен - мисля, че е достатъчно комплексен и мрачен, за да се вслади на зрели читатели.
Вероятно леко завишено 4,5*
Вероятно леко завишено 4,5*
January 14, 2022
Really great and interesting take on the idea of mutants. Only reason it's not a 5 star is because of the annual issue (it was so annoying to read in the sideways format) AND Eth*n v*n sci**r art...
May 14, 2016
2 Stars.
Aw, man. I really didn't like this story.
Interesting ideas with a really bad execution, strange pacing and scenes that felt disjointed and confusing.
This volume is the first one in Grant Morrison's reboot. Published in 2001, E is for Extinction collects New X-Men #114-#117 and New X-men Annual.
This trade introduces Cassandra Nova, the main powerful villain. At the beginning of the volume, we have her parallel story where she talks about humanity's evolution and how the way to assure the domination of the superior species is, for them, to annihilate the weaker one. So, surprise surprise, Nova's actually the next stage in mutant evolution and she won't stop until every mutant is destroyed. To do that, she'll use the help of the better and improved Sentinels.
There are also other minor plotlines. Humans wanting ''to be more'' are killing mutants so they can harvest their organs and body parts and as always, humans wanting to kill mutants just because they're mutants. There are character moments that focus especially on the troubles of Jean's and Scott's marriage and Beast trying to accept his recent changes.
There were interesting ideas that at the end didn't deliver because the story doesn't flow right. The pace is off, the scenes didn't feel cohesive, the dialogues are sometimes out of place, most of the characters are dull, boring version of themselves. The jokes felt forced and I honestly was so bored, and sometimes confused, reading this. I can't understand why this has such a high rating.
I'm in the minority with the artwork too, I didn't like it. I found it quite dull to be honest. I didn't like the character designs and I actually don't find anything special or outstanding, except for the fact that the Annual reads different. That issue is oriented sideways, which doesn't really add anything to the story or art.
I really wanted to like this, but aside from issue #117 and the twist in the ending, I didn't enjoy anything from this comic. So I'm not sure I'll continue reading this.
Aw, man. I really didn't like this story.
Interesting ideas with a really bad execution, strange pacing and scenes that felt disjointed and confusing.
This volume is the first one in Grant Morrison's reboot. Published in 2001, E is for Extinction collects New X-Men #114-#117 and New X-men Annual.
This trade introduces Cassandra Nova, the main powerful villain. At the beginning of the volume, we have her parallel story where she talks about humanity's evolution and how the way to assure the domination of the superior species is, for them, to annihilate the weaker one. So, surprise surprise, Nova's actually the next stage in mutant evolution and she won't stop until every mutant is destroyed. To do that, she'll use the help of the better and improved Sentinels.
There are also other minor plotlines. Humans wanting ''to be more'' are killing mutants so they can harvest their organs and body parts and as always, humans wanting to kill mutants just because they're mutants. There are character moments that focus especially on the troubles of Jean's and Scott's marriage and Beast trying to accept his recent changes.
There were interesting ideas that at the end didn't deliver because the story doesn't flow right. The pace is off, the scenes didn't feel cohesive, the dialogues are sometimes out of place, most of the characters are dull, boring version of themselves. The jokes felt forced and I honestly was so bored, and sometimes confused, reading this. I can't understand why this has such a high rating.
I'm in the minority with the artwork too, I didn't like it. I found it quite dull to be honest. I didn't like the character designs and I actually don't find anything special or outstanding, except for the fact that the Annual reads different. That issue is oriented sideways, which doesn't really add anything to the story or art.
I really wanted to like this, but aside from issue #117 and the twist in the ending, I didn't enjoy anything from this comic. So I'm not sure I'll continue reading this.
November 25, 2019
E is for Extinction (#114-116). Morrison's debut on the New X-Men turns out to be one of his weaker arcs. Oh, there's delightful storytelling here, great characterization, and the wonderful intro of Emma to the main team (and the similarly wonderful introduction of Casandra Nova, though she doesn't really come into her own until later arcs). And of course we get the rather shocking destruction of Genosha, so critical in the era, just tossed away now. But, this story also feels a bit too plot-driven, not really giving Morrison's SF concepts and superb characters enough chance to shine [4/5].
The Man from Room X (Annual '01). I hate, hate, hate the sideways art in this issue. It was hard to read in the comics, harder to read in the trades, and even harder to read in the Omnibus. There's just no point. As for the intro of Xorn: that's intriguing, although at some point one must go back and ask how much of this story is a lie (and how much has been retconned by less competent authors) [3/5].
Danger Rooms (#117). This is mostly the ramp-up of the Cassandra Nova story, and it's shocking (while also nicely highlighting some of the new kids at the institute) [5/5].
The Man from Room X (Annual '01). I hate, hate, hate the sideways art in this issue. It was hard to read in the comics, harder to read in the trades, and even harder to read in the Omnibus. There's just no point. As for the intro of Xorn: that's intriguing, although at some point one must go back and ask how much of this story is a lie (and how much has been retconned by less competent authors) [3/5].
Danger Rooms (#117). This is mostly the ramp-up of the Cassandra Nova story, and it's shocking (while also nicely highlighting some of the new kids at the institute) [5/5].
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