X-MEN: INFERNO PROLOGUE

Hardcover, 2014. Collects 1988's X-FACTOR #27 - 32, X-FACTOR ANNUAL #3, UNCANNY X-MEN #228 - 238, UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #12, NEW MUTANTS #62 - 70, NEW MUTANTS ANNUAL #4, and material from MARVEL AGE ANNUAL #4 and MARVEL FANFARE #40.

As noted in December's THE UNBOXING, I recently acquired Marvel's newly released X-MEN: INFERNO PROLOGUE hardcover volume. This book fills a long-present gap in Marvel's collections of the UNCANNY X-MEN series and its related titles. The full details are on my X-MEN COLLECTED EDITIONS page, but the short of is that, thanks to this book bringing us issues 228 - 238, we now have the entirety of UNCANNY X-MEN, issues 220 through 306, collected in oversize hardcover format (and issues 220 - 337 collected in some format or another, between oversize and standard size hardcovers and trade paperbacks!).

But that's not all -- INFERNO PROLOGUE also brings us X-FACTOR issues 27 - 32, NEW MUTANTS issues 62 - 70, plus a few assorted annuals. That means, for those keeping track, via previous books plus this one, we now have X-FACTOR 19 - 40 in oversize hardcover and NEW MUTANTS 55 - 73 in the same format (in fact, thanks again to various trade paperbacks and other collections, most notably the NEW MUTANTS CLASSIC series, every issue of that title is collected save for issues 74 - 85 -- not bad!).

So for completists, the issues contained in this book are greatly appreciated. But what about the quality of the material and the volume itself?

THE UNBOXING - FEBRUARY 2014

My second box of the year is a big one. As I think I've mentioned before, I have a large blind spot in my comic book knowledge when it comes to DC stuff. I've read plenty of mini-series and one-shots, but barely any ongoing series. So, since DC has been making a surprising effort to get some of their classic material into print, I've been biting. Among this month's books are SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL volume 8, continuing a reprint series DC began several years ago, and GREEN LANTERN: SECTOR 2814 volume 3.

My understanding is that one more Superman volume will finish John Byrne's run from the eighties, and whenever that comes to pass, I'll probably finally open the books and read them through. I bought volumes 1 through 7 on sale last year, and I'm watiing eagerly to read the whole set. The Green Lantern series, I believe, completes the original pre-CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS run of that series under that title. It was re-titled as GREEN LANTERN CORPS for the remainder of its existence, and one volume of that run is already in print. I'm uncertain how I will proceed with these books, but I'll get to them eventually.