All-New X-Men Vol. 2: Here To Stay

This book collects issues 6-10 of Brian Michael Bendis' All-New X-Men - where the original five mutants have come forward to the present to confront adult Cyclops as he foments a revolution.Having set the scene at a fairly stately pace in volume 1, Bendis starts to press a little on the accelerator here. The focus of these issues is very much on Jean. In a pretty much direct reversal of the first issues of X-Men in the 1960s, when she mostly juggled stuff around with her mind and fretted about being a girl, here she is a tempestuous and hot-headed young woman whose godlike power is coming into bloom way too early. The consequences are natural: she starts throwing her weight around in ways which immediately begin to remind the older X-Men of what happened when Jean went Dark Phoenix.One of her unwitting victims is Angel, who after a quiet first volume starts to spread his wings (sorry) here. He finally meets his older self, amnesiac thanks to the events of the Dark Angel Saga in Uncanny X-Force, and is horrified by the fact that he grows up to be so tortured that he loses all sense of self. Cyclops, meanwhile, struggles with who he will become, and falls foul of Mystique, who immediately starts stirring the pot, knowing that the X-Men are such a dysfunctional group that they will chase their tails and fight one another, leaving her new Brotherhood free to steal monumental amounts of cash.It's another well-plotted and brilliantly scripted set of issues by Bendis, who as well as nailing the trash talk delivers wonderful scenes like Kitty and Iceman roleplaying yet another angry conversation between Captain America and a condescending Beast - doing exposition in a very neat way. After having to illustrate a slower story, Stuart Immonen gets to cut loose a bit more here, too, with the two Angels battling Hydra at Avengers Tower, and a cool scrap between the original five and the Sentinels in the Danger Room.Then, at the end of the book, the kicker: Cyclops brings his Uncanny X-Men to the Jean Grey School for a direct confrontation with the people who think he murdered Charles Xavier. Here the narrative catches up to Uncanny X-Men vol. 1, "Revolution", with some clever direct overlap. What continues to develop here is one of the best X-Men runs of recent years, and certainly the most compelling story since "Messiah CompleX".

The hardcover versions of this series are an expanded version of the paperbacks, with more issues per volume and lineart at the back of the books.Immonen's art has improved massively over the years - it's very well complemented with Marte Gracia's lighting/colouring

Didn't really understand the concept when I first saw these books, but on giving them a try I am really enjoying them.Good to see the original five portrayed as the teenagers they were when first recruited by Professor X, and the modern-day Beast's part in this can not be understated.I will be buying Volume 3 today !

Bought this for the artwork by Stuart Immomen, which is ground breaking.

The story has been set up and there are questions to be asked . . . . . . promises to be interesting and it is. Not too much Logan and a good deal of Kitty makes the balance work well. A good investment if your a Marvel/X-men fan.

Interesting story and great drawings. As always a great Marvel comic with all the actions it requires, I Loved it.

Normally I am not one to pounce on a Marvel TPB as soon as it surfaces, I tend to stooge checking markets and reviews. However since I was very much taken up with the previous `Here Comes Yesterday, I took a great leap of faith and nabbed a copy as soon as possible to catch up and was not disappointed. Firstly Continuity; so strong are its links with the AVX series it manages to strengthen those in retrospect by appearing almost as precursors to this arc; I don't know if this was the intention but it certainly gives the effect as one long and turbulent saga.Secondly to summarise the main protagonists in this volume. There's the Jean Grey School establishment trying throughout most of the book to hold things together; Kitty Pryde is one tough lady and Wolverine is as close to `A Suit' as you'll see him. Ice-Man in both incarnations is still comic, but for fans Storm is not very prevalent in this issue. Then there are the `Young' X-Men; confused, distressed and fragmented, also portrayed as troubled teenagers; the very good touches are Young Scott storming out a lot, Jean Grey pouting and sulking when being told off by Kitty Pryde and Warren reduced to tears of anguish at the situation they are in. Later on appears `today's' Scott Summer who is now in old Magneto mode along with a strangely almost complaint Magneto himself a very background Emma Frost and Magik who is still appearing to have a lot of fun.There are villains and thank you Brian Michael Bendis we have a break from the bombastic `I'm gonna rule the world and you can't stop me (grin-grin) because I have felled you veterans in one go with my conveniently special powers or technical gizzmo' tedium of which there have been way too many of late. These are old favourites; Mystique, Sabertooth and Mastermind (she's dropped the `Lady' on Mystique's advice as being sexist) and at the moment they taking advantage of circumstances and are currently just on a plain ol' robbery with extreme violence spree.Also to add to the fun; The Avengers have turned up to say `We Got Our Eyes On You' and Maria Hill is not a bit amused at Mystique impersonating her to spring Mastermind from Ryker's Island.No more on the plot, let's leave out spoilers. Suffice it to say it ends on a cliff-hanger. But after you've read this you might think `but what sort of cliff-hanger??'Worth a mention for adding to this such a great read:The illustration of Jean's suffering at being fully telepathic, she is surrounded by speech balloons, the contents of which are not entirely legible and great at conveying the confusion and distraction she is suffering. (They are very distracting too)Kitty Pryde in full Training Sergeant mode with the Young X-men, if you thought Wolverine was tough...The two Warrens together in flight.Mystique being very oblique to both characters and the reader.The homage to Kingpin; playing someone for your own devious purpose is referred to as `A Fisk'.There have been some very wayward arcs of late across the Marvelverse; this one is just so compelling; let us just hope the Continuity stays; I think it just might with Mr Bendis at the helm.