Ultimate X-Men is a book every X-Men fan will want. It's practically a necessity for the newcomer drawn to the comics by the movie, because Marvel's mutants multiplied like superpowered rabbits in the 1990s. Art-oriented fans, however, may be disappointed by Ultimate X-Men. While it contains a hefty amount of art, the original artwork (the preliminary character sketches, a lovely Dave Cockrum sketch of Nightcrawler and Ororo, etc.) is outnumbered by panel and cover reproductions. And if you're less than enamored with the nature of endless comic-book series, Ultimate X-Men will prove that the more things change, the more they stay the same. --Cynthia Ward

Product Description
This revised edition of DK's comprehensive guide includes the best of the X-Men films and animated series, as well as exciting new characters and plotlines from the comics.

The visuals are the most interesting part of the book. Marvel opened up its archives to make it possible to have a wide choice of art. You can compare the various ways the key characters were drawn over time. The design of the book is not nearly as good as the art itself. Many pages have the feeling of a scrapbook done by an 8 year old. Some images are way too small. Some sketches are included for no apparent reason.

The book is also improved by many cutaways such as of Xavier's estate, Xavier's mansion, the Danger Room, and Magneto's bases. A number of maps help keep everything in proper perspective.

I also enjoyed the foreword by Stan Lee in which he explained how he made his initial decisions about the sources and types of the various super-hero powers, and how the title of the series was selected. The afterword by Chris Claremont was interesting as well, but more as a perspective on his personality than on the series itself. New fans will be amazed to read that the original X-Men were a flop commercially, even though they are the top series now.

The character profiles would have benefited from more development and a standard format. You can use either the Contents or the Index to locate a character you want to read up on.

A book with this much color art on this quality paper in hardcover would normally cost much more. If this book had had a cover price of $55, I would have graded it as a three star effort. Because the price is so reasonable, I graded the content up one star to four star status.

On the other hand, if the publishers had created this item at a $70 price point, but made it more complete, accurate, and attractive, I suspect that they would have had a runaway best seller. That opportunity remains for a future edition.

In the meantime, many X-Men collectors and fans will find this edition to be a useful one to have . . . unless you already have virtually all the comic books.

After renewing your friendship with the X-Men, I suggest that you think about the basic message of the series -- that differences are important, and become more valuable when combined in teams. What differences do you have which could become strengths when combined with the right team mates? What do you have to do differently to create this potential?

Look out for the best interests of all!


X-TRAORDINARY EFFORT   November 27, 2002
 12 out of 13 found this review helpful

ULTIMATE X-MEN by DK Publishing gathers all the information and trivia one might need to understand the X-Men and Marvel Universe. The depth and scope of the information is sufficient to pique the curiosity of an early to intermediate X-Men fan, and is concise and helpful at minimizing pedantry.

The artwork and book design make this a fun and easy read, akthough some diagrams seem sketchy and overly simplified, such as the designs for the Danger Room and the Blackbird. Topics that every fan is aware about, such as the Weapon X project or Cyclops powers are covered in depth, while subjects that I really wanted to see more of, such as the Age of Apocalypse and Onslaught are given two pages respectively! More discretion and sensiblity on the part of the editors would have been helpful.

The Marvel Universe is byzantine to say the least, drenched in overly convoluted stories, mishmashing mutants with cyborgs, aliens, gods, magical powers, time travel; along with conspiracies, twisted romances, deaths and resurrections: only a bureaucrat at IRS would be able to follow them through. But if anyone else has managed to make sense out of it all, it's DK in this book, ULTIMATE X-MEN.


The Ultimate Book for X-Fans!   May 27, 2006
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Ever since Giant-Sized X-Men #1 hit the stands back in 1975, the X-Men have gone on to become a comic and pop culture phenomena with no signs of slowing down. Toys, video games, TV Shows, and now three major Hollywood films have cemented the X-Men as still the reigning kings of the comic book universe. Adding to the mega-blitz of promotion is the newly revised and expanded edition of DK's X-Men, The Ultimate Guide now in its third edition, updated right through the latest feature film, "X-Men: The Last Stand".

The book begins by taking a decade -by-decade look at the team including its very inauspicious start in the 1960's. Stan Lee's introduction provides some insight on how the team and name was developed but in the early days it was a rough go. The book was near cancellation throughout the 60's, bolstered only by the now legendary issues drawn by Jim Steranko and Neal Adams. Bios of the major heroes and villains are including describing their powers and histories and their changing looks throughout the years. One of the most interesting features are the diagrams of Xavier's mansion and the danger room. An entire two page spread is dedicated to the Sentinels, showing the different series' of the robotic villains.

The 1970's started the X-Men boom when writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum took over the title on issue #94. But it was the new team that excited fans, made up of various ethnic groups from all over the world: Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Banshee, Sunfire, Thunderbird, etc...The X-Men craze was on! This chapter again covers all of these new heroes as well as allies such as Alpha Flight, the Imperial Guard, and the Starjammers.

The 80's saw the X-Men continue to gain in popularity, becoming the best-selling comic title. Knowing they had a good thing Marvel decided more was better so this decade brought us X-Factor, The New Mutants, Alpha Flight, and Excalibur, as well as Wolverine getting his own solo title. The Ultimate Guide covers all of these spin-offs in great detail as well as even more new characters like Rogue, Mystique, Psylocke, Sabretooth, Dazzler, and Longshot.

By the 1990's the X-Men excess was at an all-time high. Marvel gave fans even more new group and solo titles such as X-Force, Generation X, Cable, Bishop, Gambit, and Deadpool. The guide concludes its look at the comics with the years 2000 - 2005 with such titles as Wolverine Origin and Ultimate X-Men series.

Finally the book covers the animated X-Men TV show (alas, no episode guide) and a look at all three of the feature films including pictures from X-Men: The Last Stand. While I am a long time fan, even I learned quite a few things from the book, particularly about the silver age period. It's very well-written, not the least bit fannish or self-promoting. The images in the book are fantastic and reprinted beautifully in this large, overs-sized hardcover edition. At $25 it's also a great deal, considering the book's quality. This is the Ultimate guide for any X-men fan!

Reviewed by Tim Janson