Uncanny X-Men Omnibus I

For those who are new to the X-Men, those who are too young to remember, or for those who simply forgot, you should know there was a time when Uncanny X-Men was the best comic book in the entire industry.  Much of the credit is given to writer Chris Claremont who chronicled the stories of the ever-changing mutant team for 17 uninterrupted years.  During this impressive stint, there is a specific era dear to my heart, and one that many consider the best incarnation of the children of the atom:  the Outback era.  The team consisting of  Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Psylocke, Havok, Dazzler, and Longshot started coming together during the "Mutant Massacre" and was fully assembled by Uncanny #218.  This team shared many adventures that included "Fall of the Mutants" and "Inferno", but their story reached its highest point during a period unofficialy called "Dissolution and Rebirth", which started with Uncanny #244 and concluded in #280.  The first volume of this omnibus tells the "dissolution" part of this period.

Most notorious in this oversized book are the debut of fan favorites Jubilee and Gambit, the transformations of Psylocke and Polaris, the resolution to the Rogue/Ms. Marvel conflict, and of course, the disbanding of the team.  Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee reached the status of stars during this time for their work on the title, and the road was being paved for what would eventually become the best selling comic book of all time.

This omnibus contains 28 issues and additional material like cover art and pin-ups -including the beauty you see below.  The price is quite steep, though, -almost $4.50 per issue if you think about it that way,- so it is a judgment call you'd have to make there.  You will enjoy this book, though; that cannot be questioned.

The Best X-Men poster to ever be printed

Storm, Forge, Polaris, Jubilee, Havok, Wolverine, Psylocke

Rogue, Banshee, Colossus, and ally Gateway

Art by Jim Lee