X-Force Epic Collection: Under the Gun Paperback – 21 Mar. 2017

If you enjoyed these stories and art back when they were released then you will not be disappointed. As much flack as Rob gets his energy on the pages is still among the most dynamic in comics ever. He delivers action art for an action comic and those who expected more static art for the sake of anatomical accuracy go read Rex Morgan ;) Still I can't say this book will change the minds of any non fans (haters) of Liefeld. It does make a good archive of that era in comics for completist though.

There have been quite a few Epic Collections of nineties material so far, but none that capture the greatest excesses of the decade like this, the first Epic volume of X-Force. Sadly, this also makes it the first Epic where I have really struggled to find much to enjoy. Like previous books in the line, though, it's a thick and nicely complete collection, gathering material from 1991 and 1992 including the first 15 issues of the series, the first annual, and crossover issues of Spider-Man and Wolverine.X-Force was the successor to New Mutants, as gun-toting mystery man Cable replaced that team of teenage mutants with a rough, tough anti-terrorist strike force. In these first stories, they go up against enemies such as the Mutant Liberation Front (led by Cable's archnemesis Stryfe), the newest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Juggernaut and Black Tom, crime lord Tolliver and merc with the mouth Deadpool, amongst others.With art and plotting by Rob Liefeld and scripting by Fabian Nicieza, it is certainly energetic stuff, although the length of the collection exposes how repetitive the material is. There are only so many standoffs between weapon-toting superhumans with exaggerated physiques growling at each other between gritted teeth that you can read before it all becomes a bit tiresome. There are longer-running subplots (involving the mystery of Cable's past and a secretive group of immortal mutants), but this one is probably best read in small chunks over a long period of time.While I may be down on the material, the collection itself is, as usual, very well presented. As well as the many actual issues in the book, there is a Marvel Age article on the launch of the series, further related articles from Marvel: 1991 - The Year in Review, trading card art featuring the team (including the five cards that were randomly packed with the first issue), and covers from the various trades that have previously collected some of the stories here. Certainly for existing X-Force fans (and there are many; several of my friends have very fond memories of the series), this is a well-presented trade for the bookshelf; the stories here just weren't for me.

This is the lowpoint of the mutant saga from Marvel, Liefelds art is atrocious, the script is confusing and the stories are meh. I guess there was a collective sigh of relief when Liefeld left Marvel. Not recommended in any way :-(

2 stars for Fabien Nicieza did the best he could with the content provided.dont waste your money there's Thor by Walt Simonson and John Byrne's Fantastic Four and never forget Planet Hulk by Greg Pak creativity at its best. Money better spent.

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