X-Men: Omega #1 of 1

Scott Lobdell & Mark Waid // Roger Cruz
June 1995
****

Magneto sends a time-tossed hero into a cosmic crystal to restore the true X-universe. Waid’s tense, dramatic script masks Cruz’s errors (an unoriginal Ameri-manga artist, he’s the weak link here). Lobdell, the crossover’s mastermind, has done commendable work. Tho’ individual minis may’ve faltered, his cumulative plot & vision makes AoA  the pinnacle of mutant mags between Claremont and Morrison.

continued from The Amazing X-Men #4 of 4
continued from The Astonishing X-Men #4 of 4
continued from Factor X #4 of 4
continued from Gambit and the X-Ternals #4 of 4
continued from Generation Next #4 of 4
continued from Weapon X #4 of 4
continued from X-Calibre #4 of 4
continued from X-Man #4 of 4
continued from X-Universe #4 of 4
continued in X-Men Prime #1 of 1

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X-Men: Chronicles #2 of 2

Howard Mackie // Ian Churchill
June 1995
*

Generally, Age of Apocalypse is best when it implies a backstory as intricate as the actual X-books; X-M:C negates that feature by filling those gaps. #2 plays out the love triangle of Gambit, Rogue, & Magneto while their team fights a brute with ill-defined powers. The hammy script makes it impossible to care about these emotional adolescents; the era-standard art is awful settings and hypertrophied bodies with tribal tattoos & bad hair. This low point for the AoA doesn’t justify its existence.

last issue: X-Men: Chronicles #1 of 2

also indexed for Jun. ’95
The Amazing X-Men #4 of 4
The Astonishing X-Men #4 of 4
Factor X #4 of 4
Gambit and the X-Ternals #4 of 4
Generation Next #4 of 4
Weapon X #4 of 4
X-Calibre #4 of 4
X-Man #4
X-Men: Omega #1 of 1
X-Universe #2 of 2

X-Men: Chronicles #1 of 2

Howard Mackie // Terry Dodson
March 1995
**

Chronicles replaces the quarterly X-mag for the Age of Apocalypse, a sort of What If…? riff on Days of Future Past, w/ a remit to provide backstory. The first mission of Magneto’s team: to prevent an evil mutant, Apocalypse, from stealing US nukes. Mackie, a hack, writes flat characterization & generic bombast. He fumbles the death of Scarlet Witch, meant to be a pivotal sacrifice & the end of innocence. Dodson, however, draws in a buoyant style that owes a quite a bit to ‘good girl’ art.

next issue: X-Men: Chronicles #2 of 2

also indexed for Mar. ’95
The Amazing X-Men #1 of 4
The Astonishing X-Men #1 of 4
Factor X #1 of 4
Gambit and the X-Ternals #1 of 4
Generation Next #1 of 4
Weapon X #1 of 4
X-Calibre #1 of 4
X-Man #1

The Amazing X-Men #4 of 4

Fabian Nicieza // Andy Kubert
June 1995
**

Read all the other issues first: the penultimate issue of AoA ties the various minis’ plots together. The ish also takes the time to moot a few moral choices. Unlike last ish, however, the noble sacrifices (Banshee & Madrox both kamikaze) are over-melodramatic & executed by supporting characters.

continued in X-Men: Omega #1 of 1
last issue: The Amazing X-Men #3 of 4

also indexed for Jun. ’95
The Astonishing X-Men #4 of 4
Factor X #4 of 4
Gambit and the X-Ternals #4 of 4
Generation Next #4 of 4
Weapon X #4 of 4
X-Calibre #4 of 4
X-Man #4
X-Men: Chronicles #2 of 2
X-Men: Omega #1 of 1
X-Universe #2 of 2

The Astonishing X-Men #4 of 4

Scott Lobdell // Joe Maduriera
June 1995
**

Following its video game plot, AoA mini #1 ends w/ a defeat of its Boss, a generic nihilist baddie w/ undefined powers. A teen teleporter, on the other hand, shows chutzpah in facing him down. But Sabretooth shouldn’t be alive: his survival is a failure of nerve by Lobdell, too fond of his heroes.

continued in X-Men: Omega #1 of 1
last issue: The Astonishing X-Men #3 of 4

also indexed for Jun. ’95
The Amazing X-Men #4 of 4
Factor X #4 of 4
Gambit and the X-Ternals #4 of 4
Generation Next #4 of 4
Weapon X #4 of 4
X-Calibre #4 of 4
X-Man #4
X-Men: Chronicles #2 of 2
X-Men: Omega #1 of 1
X-Universe #2 of 2

The Astonishing X-Men #3 of 4

Scott Lobdell & Jeph Loeb // Joe Maduriera
May 1995
***

As Lobdell labors over emo melodrama, Madureira gives this ish its juice. The supervillain, a ranter, is all visual: Kirby krackle in plastic orange armor, he looks like a toy! Then there’s Morph, a Plastic Man type who smuggles the X-Men into a base via its aqueduct—in the form of a talking whale!

last issue: The Astonishing X-Men #2 of 4
next issue: The Astonishing X-Men #4 of 4

also indexed for May ’95
The Amazing X-Men #3 of 4
Factor X #3 of 4
Gambit and the X-Ternals #3 of 4
Generation Next #3 of 4
Weapon X #3 of 4
X-Calibre #3 of 4
X-Man #3
X-Universe #1 of 2

The Astonishing X-Men #2 of 4

Scott Lobdell // Joe Maduriera
April 1995
**

In a mirror universe, Sabretooth stands in for the X-Men’s Wolverine; he’s even mentoring a teen gal, Kitty Pryde style. A suggestive beat here, a fine expression or gesture there, hint at creativity squandered by clichéd thinking. W/ carte blanche, why write a strike force punching generic cyborgs?

last issue: The Astonishing X-Men #1 of 4
next issue: The Astonishing X-Men #3 of 4

also indexed for Apr. ’95
The Amazing X-Men #2 of 4
Factor X #2 of 4
Gambit and the X-Ternals #2 of 4
Generation Next #2 of 4
Weapon X #2 of 4
X-Calibre #2 of 4
X-Man #2

The Astonishing X-Men #1 of 4

Scott Lobdell // Joe Maduriera
March 1995
***

In a clever editorial fillip, this mini replaces Uncanny for a few months. A mutant has altered history; now Prof Xavier’s premat death sparked a eugenics war, w/ the X-Men as an underdog guerrilla force led by Magneto. Lobdell adroitly implies a rich backstory for his revised characters.

continued from X-Men: Alpha #1 of 1
next issue: The Astonishing X-Men #2 of 4

also indexed for Mar. ’95
The Amazing X-Men #1 of 4
Factor X #1 of 4
Gambit and the X-Ternals #1 of 4
Generation Next #1 of 4
Weapon X #1 of 4
X-Calibre #1 of 4
X-Man #1
X-Men: Chronicles #1 of 2

X-Men: Alpha #1 of 1

Scott Lobdell & Mark Waid // Roger Cruz & Steve Epting
February 1995
****

Think What If… Magneto formed the X-Men? The dystopian alt timeline is fun, & the era’s portentous prose & posturing panels lend themselves well to the sturm und drang (even if the project labors in Claremont’s shadow). Magneto, a glowering man of action, looks unhappy to be stuck into the Rogue/Gambit soap opera; Cyclops is a mutant princeling who awakens to the genocide & misery under Apocalypse.

continued from X-Men #41
continued from Cable #20
continued in The Amazing X-Men #1 of 4
continued in The Astonishing X-Men #1 of 4
continued in Factor X #1 of 4
continued in Gambit and the X-Ternals #1 of 4
continued in Generation Next #1 of 4
continued in Weapon X #1 of 4
continued in X-Calibre #1 of 4
continued in X-Man #1 of 4
continued in X-Men: Chronicles #1 of 2

also indexed for Feb. ’95
Cable #20
The Uncanny X-Men #321
X-Men #41

X-Men #40

Fabian Nicieza // Andy Kubert
January 1995
**

Time-traveling amnesiac X-Men putz around post-war Israel as their modern comrades learn that mission failure means universal collapse. Nicieza artificially inflates the stakes via a chorus of Watchers, while the better Kubert son does mainline ’90s X-art (his Legion is unrecognizably off-model).

continued from The Uncanny X-Men #320
continued in The Uncanny X-Men #321
last issue: X-Men #39
next issue: X-Men #41

also indexed for Jan. ’95
The Uncanny X-Men #320

New X-Men #142

Grant Morrison // Chris Bachalo
early August 2003
****
Gloomy Scott Summers gets drunk w/ Wolverine at the Hellfire Club (now a mutants-only gentleman’s club). Tho’ Bachalo’s nose-heavy toons, strong outlines, & sense of pace are great, fine acting is his short suit. GM doesn’t give Wolvie the Zen wisdom that he’s had previously, but his Cyke is strong.
[last issue: New X-Men #141]
[next issue: New X-Men #143]