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| House of M (Marvel Comics) | 
 enlarge | Author: Brian Michael Bendis
Creator: Olivier Coipel
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Category: Book
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $18.78
You Save: $11.21 (37%)
New (13) Used (3) from $18.78
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 129052
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 312
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 11 x 7.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0785124667
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9780785124665
ASIN: 0785124667
Publication Date: February 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Too much glossed over way too quickly July 14, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
UPDATE - After reading the other graphic novels in the house of M (Wolverine, Hulk, Fantastic Four/Iron Man, Spider Man) I'm more likely to give this 3 or even 4 stars... if and only if you buy the other titles I just mentioned (see below - stop reading house of M "main" book immediately after wolverine jumps off the helicarier (or whatever) to the ground, read the other graphic novels I just mentioned, then go back and finish this one)... I would NOT recommend the X-Men (Captain Britain) and New X-Men graphic novels however..
I guess everyone's entitled to their opinion ... I bought this based on the positive reviews it's been getting when I should have listened to the not-so-positive ones... mind you one person's trash is going to be another person's treasure, that goes without saying.. having said that... while I found the artwork to be absolutely gorgeous and the storyline POTENTIALLY fascinating it was just that, potentially... I have to disagree with the other reviewer who said enough is covered in this graphic novel to let it "stand alone" without reading the other related house of M titles (spider-man, wolverine, x-men et al) ... I became interested enough to go ahead and pick up the wolverine and iron man/avengers house of m tie ins after reading House of M but I have the distinct feeling the other titles will be a bit of a let down for me only because I already know how the whole meta-plot ends after finishing hosue of m...
I think a far better approach would have been to combine ALL the related house of M books into one entire whole - then break that whole down into several graphic novels that move sequentially, piece by piece, covering events as they occur in a chronological order... if you do want to give house of M a try, strange as this sounds I'd suggest the following.... stop reading house of M around the same time Professor X mysteriously vanishes and Wolverine "wakes up" wondering WHAT the hell just happened ... at that point read any other house of M titles you'd be interested in (apparently wolverine and iron man/avengers got good reviews though I have yet to read those two titles)... and after you're done with that THEN go back and finish house of M so you're not dealing with "plot spoilers" ahead of time and you don't feel like you're reading half a graphic novel instead of a whole one with several "chunks" and "gaps" missing. It's quite possible that after reading those two other graphic novels...maybe "spider man house of M" too (spidey is also featured prominently in house of m ) ... that the house of M will be worthy of the praise heaped upon it by other reviewers but to me, right now it just seems... well, incomplete, for lack of a better word. Yes I know Marvel wants to make money just like any other organization but seriously, I think the way they organized the graphic novels for this whole thing is (very) wrong.
UPDATE - After reading "House of M Wolverine" and "House of M Fantastic Four / Iron Man" I'm inclined to have a more favorable view of this graphic novel, enough to bump it up to 3 stars if amazon would let me , although my earlier criticisms still stand... definitely purchase House of M Wolverine, purchase House of M Fantastic Four / Iron Man if you can get it at a reasonable price say nine dollars or so (the alternate version of the "Fantastic Four" - really Doctor Doom and his imitation of the FF but a fascinating read, Iron Man part was okay but not great)... read one or both of those graphic novels that THEN finish reading House of M (after pausing halfway through House of M at the part I mentioned above to read the Wolverine and FF/Iron Man House of M graphic novels - sounds ridiculous I know but that's really the only way you're going to enjoy House of M, otherwise it just leaves you feeling like the story was incomplete)... I may end up adding Spider Man, Hulk, Uncanny X-Men and New X-Men House of M titles to the recommended reading list too - recently ordered them so they haven't arrived yet.
 Brian Michael Bendis turns the Marvel universe into the House of Magnus May 16, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Brian Michael Bendis' "House of M" is obvious an important event in the Marvel Universe, since virtually every comic book title has to deal with its consequences in some way or another. The eight-part crossover event is collected in this trade paperback volume is really just the beginning, so that the end is not so much the conclusion as it is setting the stage for what is to follow. So be forewarned, that if think picking up this book is going to get you totally up to speed on what is happening in all of the "House of M" titles, that is not going to happen. What is here, is prologue.
"House of M" follows up on a previous set of story arcs, most prominently "Avengers Disassembled," also written by Bendis, in which Jack of Hearts detonating killing Ant-Man and destroying half of the Avengers Mansion, She-Hulk tore the Vision in two and put Captain America, Captain Britain, and the Wasp in the hospital, and Hawkeye sacrificed his life to save his teammates from a Kree warship. The Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, turned out to be behind the attacks, having lost control of her reality-altering powers and suffered a total nervous breakdown over the loss of her children. Stopped by Dr. Strange, Wanda is taken away by her father, Magneto, to the devastated island-nation of Genohsa.
The story begins six months later with the New Avengers and the X-Men meeting to discuss the fate of Wanda. Professor Xavier has been working to aid Wanda in her recovery, but he has failed and Wanda is back to trying to alter her reality, now bringing back her children and her husband. So the superheroes have gathered to debate whether Wanda should live or die. Captain America, Wonder Man, and Spider-Man are against the idea, but Wolverine wants to know how many more people Wanda has to kill before they stop her. But when they get to Genosha, Wanda is gone, taken by somebody. Emma Frost finds Wanda, but when they approach the world goes white-and when it fades away Peter Parker is awaken from a sleep by the crying of a baby. When he gets up to take care of it we notice that the woman in the wedding picture and the one sleeping in the bed has blonde hair.
"House of M" stands for the House of Magnus and the world that Wanda has created is one in which mutants rule the world and it is now humans who are the oppressed minority. Everybody knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, who is married to Gwen Stacy, and has a son named Richie. Steve Rogers is an old man, retired from the U.S. Air Force living in the Bronx, Kitty Pride is teaching grade school in Cincinnati, and Stephen Strange is a psychiatrist. We see what has happened to many of the superheroes who attended the meeting, and then Wolverine wakes up and remembers-everything (including, apparently, his real name). Now all he has to do is convince the others that they are former superheroes that they are living in a world gone wrong that needs to be set back to rights.
All I have done here is sketch out what happens in the first of the eight issues, and touched on the first couple of pages of the second issue and the crux of what is to come. The importance of the story comes from the general idea, but the fun in reading the story comes in the details. Oliver Coipel did the pencils, with Tim Townsend with Rick Magyar, Scott Hanna & John Dell doing the inking. The cover art is by Esad Ribic, although you will find alternative covers by a variety of Marvel artists, from Joe Quesada to Chris Bachalo. As I indicated above, the fact that not everything is neatly tied up at the end of this one, which ends with a big question as to what happens next, will proven maddening to some readers.
On the side binding of this volume there is the "H" and the left side of the "O" of "House of M," which means if you get all of the "House of M" paperback collections up on the shelf in the right order it will spell out the title. That sort of marketing ploy could set you off as well, but having read "House of M: Spider-Man" (in the original comic books), I know that you do not need to move beyond this one unless you really want to. But at least from this one you get the set up for the brave new world Bendis has created in the Marvel Universe.
Surprisingly good! February 28, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm always a little wary of "Major Events" in the comic book industry. Batman getting his back broken, Superman dying, Age of Apocalypse, and other events that are going to "Change the ____ Universe forever" always worries me a little bit. It seems set up more by marketing than by the writers.
House of M seems to be of the later. Bendis delivers a great story that makes old characters seem brand new again, keeps you on the edge of the seats, and totally changes the mutant community forever! Wow! If you don't finish this book and just feel totally blown away by the ending then you aren't a Marvel fan. So go pick up Infinite Crisis and stop wasting our time...
Jump on Board July 14, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
As a proper background, I would recommend that you first read Avengers: Disassembled. This will bring you up to speed on the Scarlet Witch and her increasing inability to control her reality altering powers. If you've been away from comics or are just starting up, Avengers: Disassembled and House of M are a great way to jump into the current stories at Marvel. From there you can follow up with Decimation, and be caught up on the newer launches such as New Avengers and X-Factor. I only recommend all of these because they're all a buildup to Marvel's Civil War which involves nearly everyone in the Marvel Universe and is definitely worth picking up.
So emotional I almost cried August 26, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
House of M is what crossovers should be. This story line was gripping, well written and emotional. As to the other House of M books, you don't have to read them, they just tell what was going on with other charecters during the House of M time. Before reading this I would recomend you read New x-men vol. 1 E is for Extinction and Avengers Disassembled. Those two books shouldbring you up to speed enough to understand House of M, so enjoy.
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