X-men: Age of Apocalypse Prelude Paperback – January 1, 2011

The good news is, it does have ALL the stories there were prominent in the original 90s run. All the ones that made for the lead up to AOA. But, it is missing the Wolverine/Sabertooth fight that left the man a bit more touched in the head for a while, which I feel is needed just because it was mentioned in the story and even though it wasn't a real part of the prelude plot.For the most part the story and the art are great.But, Jan Duursema and Terry Dodson have always irritated me as artists, they always seemed like throwaways in their total lack of signature. But Kubert more than makes up for it and the story is a dynamic lead up, even if it does feel a bit rushed at times.

Great long story that still has me curious why it’s called “Age of Apocalypse”. I’m glad it’s featuring many of my favorites.

This is a good collected series...the paper is not as bad as people are saying. It's not glossy paper, but it's still thick quality paper and the artwork is great. The content is exactly what I was looking for. I would recommend this!!!

X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Prelude collects issues #108-109 of X-Factor, #319-321 of Uncanny X-Men, #38-41 of X-Men, #20 of Cable, and the X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Ashcan Edition, all originally published between 1994 and 1995. Production quality is, frankly, terrible. As a previous reviewer noted, Marvel chose to use cheap-quality newsprint here; the result is one of those rare instances in which the graphic novel reprint looks worse than the original comic books it collects (which, in this case, were originally printed on "deluxe," glossy paper). The editorial work is also sloppy--rather than collecting bonus material together at the end of the graphic novel, house ads and previous graphic novel covers (which are so bland as to barely warrant reprinting) are randomly strewn throughout the book.Story-wise, however, the issues collected here represent some of the best X-Men material of the mid-90s. Though this is technically a lead-up to the Age of Apocalypse universe, an alternate reality accidentally brought into existence by the crazed mutant Legion, the individual stories contain numerous sub-plots focusing on the emotional lives of various X-Men. Indeed, despite the many action sequences, the stories that make up Age of Apocalypse Prelude are primarily emotion- and character-driven. Iceman, Professor X, Rogue, Magneto, and even Mystique are here--in the hands of writers Fabian Nicieza, John Francis Moore, Todd Dezago, Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, and Jeph Loeb--at their most vulnerable and most human. While these stories lack some of the fast pacing and imaginative complexity of more recent X-Men tales, they nevertheless generally exhibit more heart. The art is also excellent throughout. Heavily influenced by Jim Lee's early-90s work on X-Men, Andy Kubert, Ron Garney, and Steve Epting's pencils feature strong lines, dynamic figures, and interesting layouts. The art here, in fact, represents a high point for Marvel's line of X-books in the 90s, which take a giant dive into the cartoony shortly after Age of Apocalypse ends.The final question then: Given its terrible paper quality, is this a graphic novel worth picking up? If you already have the original issues or are simply after a "re-mastered" edition of the original, the answer is a definite no. But if you have not read these issues or are a new reader looking for an introduction to X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 1, this book is a good buy. Indeed, though the paper quality could be better, this reviewer at least prefers the ultra-cheap newsprint to the ultra-cheap, distractingly reflective high-gloss paper Marvel has also recently begun using in its graphic novels (such as the hardcover version of Captain America: Operation Rebirth) in order to lower costs.

I missed this series in its fullness when it first came out and this was a great way to fill in all the missing bits!

This had everything you need to get ready to begin the age of Apocalypse, well done Marvel!! Can't wait to start the next chapter.

The set-up to the Age of Apocalypse books is pretty crazy. There where great character moments sprinkled threw out. Sometimes all the crazy X-Men lore can be overwhelming but there is nothing else like it.

This is a must if you are getting into the Age Of Apocalipse, nice bunch of stories that give you the idea of why everything started on that Time Line. The TPB offers a good script and pretty cool art, nevertheless some of the color seems too degraded for my taste. Beware that most of the stories are center on the emotional lives of the X-Men, which is pretty interesting because you can get a whole new scope of many characters that normally are portrait as action figures. Regarding the issues included on this book I will like to remark that the Cable # 20 issue is a great emotional tale, which should be read 4 pages before the conclusion of Legion Quest # 4 issue. And finally the way Legion is developed is so good that almost makes you forget his weird image. Enjoy!!!