Marvel "Ultimate Graphic Novels" Collection (As seen on TV!!!)

[SmallBlueThing]

And on itv1 as we speak!

SBT

[Mattofthespurs]

The POW mug arrived this morning. Slightly smaller than I was expecting but for free I can hardly complain. 

[Chris Chopping]

So, Subscribers, how long did it take for you to recieve your welcome letters/first issues?

I subscribed shortly after buying the third issue and have yet to receive anything. I'm sure it's all fine and I just have to sit tight for a bit but it's hard not to get impatient when i can see issue 4 for sale in WH Smiths!

[Mardroid]

I forget, but it seemed a good while. I think it was a couple of weeks. I'm waiting for issue 2 & 3 (I understand they arrive together) but I'm sure that'll come in good time. Still half inclined to drop the subscription after this as I'm not all that keen on The Ultimates (Issue 4 I believe), and just keeping my eye open for others I fancy in W H Smiths. Thing is, last I checked there weren't any! The last issue I saw was 2. Of course they could have just moved them to a different section* or I happened to be there when they were moving stock. (The usual rack was completely empty.)

*My mother used to say I look as far as my nose.

[Satanist]

Was about a month before I got my first package (2&3) with a letter saying 1 was sold out but they would get me copy soon.

[James Stacey]

Was it just me who felt that Dark Phoenix was very dated and not actually that good. It might be partly down to the editors voice all the time, having a superhero called 'the disco dazzler' or just unfamiliarity with the source material but it just seemed to go nowhere, change focus dramatically at random and the threatened horror (Phoenix changing to Dark Phoenix) has little or no impact to anyone other than the 4 billion or so unseen aliens you have no empathy with. (and is promptly ret-conned according to wikipedia) I was quite looking forward to reading what was described in the intro blurb as 'possibly the best comic book story ever' but it was just all a bit shit. Enjoying Iron Man Extremis more although the art is occasionally stilted and pages and pages of 3 or 4 panel layouts with little or no dialogue is a shock to my 2000ad conditioned brain.

[Mattofthespurs]

Not just you. Dark Phoenix is very dated in my opinion, and far too over written.

Enjoyed the Iron Man one very much but thought the majority of the artwork was pants.

Subbed on the 31/12/11, got my letter on or around 10 days later, and got issues 2&3 about 20 days later.

[JamesC]

The thing is, 'Dark Phoenix' was written before the concept of the TPB or 'Graphic Novel'. The actual Phoenix, Dark Phoenix, Madeline Pryor thing went on for years and the times where Jean actually does anything bad are few and far between and read much better as part of the bigger story.
I'd be interested to know what issues are collected in this edition - my old copy of 'The Dark Phoenix Saga' certainly doesn't include any of the Dazzler issues and concentrates mainly on the emergence of Madeline Pryor.
If you want to read any more of this era of X Men you can pick up pocket books that collect loads of Chris Claremont's run for about 3 quid each.

[Dandontdare]

it probably does seem dated if you're approaching it new, as would any 30+ year old comic you don't have personal nostalgia for, but it was a HUGE event at the time. She may have died, come back, been cloned, replaced and resurected far too often in the intervening decades, but I remember this being pretty earthshattering 'cos the principal heroes of comics just didn't die (cue loads of pedantic examples of when they did - but it was still a big deal, okay?  ).

[Chris Chopping]

I also found Dark Phoenix pretty disappointing but a lot seems to hinge on the reader being invested in this Jean Gray character. Not being a big X-men reader it didn't mean much to me and knowing the character later comes back again doesn't help much either. Some of the stuff in the book, particularly the Kitty Pride stuff, was good but the alien stuff at the end seemed a bit silly. I felt like the thread i wanted to follow wasn't the one Chris Clairmont was pushing but I'd be interested to see more in these pocket books, what are they?

Also, is everyone else answering verification questions every single time they post or is it just me?

[Colin_YNWA]

I read the first 100 or so Claremont X-Men a couple of years ago in the Essential collections, or should say tried too. I really struggled to get through it as it was so over written. I absolutely loved those comics as a kid but they have aged well and one for me best consigned to fond memories. The Paul Smith issues while having glorious art were particularly bad.

[JamesC]

I also found Dark Phoenix pretty disappointing but a lot seems to hinge on the reader being invested in this Jean Gray character. Not being a big X-men reader it didn't mean much to me and knowing the character later comes back again doesn't help much either. Some of the stuff in the book, particularly the Kitty Pride stuff, was good but the alien stuff at the end seemed a bit silly. I felt like the thread i wanted to follow wasn't the one Chris Clairmont was pushing but I'd be interested to see more in these pocket books, what are they?

Here's the pocket book version of Dark Phoenix - I think it's about book 5 in the series. To get the whole story you really need to read a few books either side. I think the issues after Dark Phoenix, where Cyclops leaves the team, are some of the best.
There are also loads of Spider Man, some Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America stories in these editions - and they're all full colour. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Uncanny-X-Men-Dark-Phoenix/dp/1904419925/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329211269&sr=1-5

[Alski]

Enjoyed the Iron Man one very much but thought the majority of the artwork was pants.

Whaaaaa??????

Gorgeous art.

[Chris Chopping]

OK, so given the general disappointment here over Claremont's Dark Phoenix as collected in the UGN collection, can we expect a similar standard from his Wolverine stuff drawn by Frank Miller coming later in the series?

[Mattofthespurs]

Enjoyed the Iron Man one very much but thought the majority of the artwork was pants.

Whaaaaa??????

Gorgeous art.

Just not a fan of  photo realistic (traced) art. Probably the reason why I stopped my subscription to My Guy.