(Strand)om Stories: X-Men Epic Collection: It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn Review
Not every issue carries the same narrative quality, but this volume shines a light on mutants in their patchiest moment
—by Nathan on August 17, 2026—
The title of the volume we're reviewing today takes its inspiration from a quote attributed to Thomas Fuller, a 17th century English theologian and historian. The aphorism is generally taken to mean circumstances tend to seem their worst right before they improve. In the case of this Epic Collection, the phrase is split between the title of two Captain America issues dealing with the "Secret Empire" arc, partially included here.
The maxim seems fittingly applied to this volume's title.
I last reviewed an X-Men Epic Collection nearly five years ago, that last trade amassing the final X-Men issues published before the series was relegated to reprints for almost as long as it's taken me to review this final pre-Claremont volume. Those darn sales just weren't chugging the way our merry Marvel mutants likely would have wanted them to. Though the original series was never cancelled outright, the "reprint" status seems to have left it on the cusp. Hence the darkness.
Naturally, a question needed to be asked: if new X-Men issues were actually just reprints of old material, then where the heck did those merry mutants abscond to?
I've been itching at the opportunity to review this volume for a while, though that "itch" has wavered between "a deep desire" and "annoying mosquito bite." "Deep desire," because I'd reviewed the material bookending these issues, this volume marking a bizarre blind spot in my library. "Annoying mosquito bite," because these weren't X-Men issues, making this collection seem like a random assortment of issues I assume were irritating to read just for a handful of cameo appearances. These are characters basically begging readers to remember who they are, that they belong to the Marvel Universe, shuffled around and split between other Marvel comics haphazardly.
Or so I thought.
We're sliding away from days of future...well, just from the future. Eras where the X-Men were top of the sales heap were a distant glimmer when these issues were published. As I've been knee-deep in X-land lately, and as a certain bouncing, blue buddy will be popping up again in an upcoming "Spider-view post," I wanted to provide a prelude.
Let's see if we and our mutant heroes can find some of that dawn creeping through the shadows.
X-Men Epic Collection: It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn
Writers: Steve Englehart, Len Wein, Gerry Conway, Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Mike Friedrich, Tony Isabella, and Chris Claremont
Pencilers: Sal Buscema, Tom Sutton, Herb Trimpe, Gil Kane, Don Heck, John Buscema, Bob Brown, and Jim Starlin
Inkers: Vince Colletta, Mike Esposito, Jack Abel, Frank Giacoia, John Romita, Syd Shores, Mike Ploog, Jim Mooney, John Tartaglione, Frank McLaughlin, Steve Mitchell, John Severin, Sal Trapani, Klaus Janson, Chic Stone, and Joe Sinnott
Colorists: Glynis Wein, George Roussos, Petra Goldberg, Dave Hunt, and Michelle Brand
Letterers: Art Simek, John Costanza, Charlotte Jetter, Sam Rosen, Jean Izzo, Shelly Leferman, and Alan Kupperberg
Issues Collected: Amazing Adventures #11-17, Amazing Spider-Man #92, Incredible Hulk #150, #161, #172, and #180-182, Marvel Team-Up #4 and #23, Avengers #110-111, Captain America #172-175, Defenders #15-16, and Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4
Volume Publication Date: July 2019
Issue Publication Dates: January 1971, March 1972-April 1972, July 1972, September 1972, November 1972, January 1973, March 1973-May 1973, February 1974, April 1974-July 1974, September 1974-December 1974, February 1975
Confession: this is a more entertaining read than I initially gave it credit.
When I first picked this Epic Collection up (heck, probably when I first even considered picking this up), I was somewhat hesitant, knowing this volume was a hodgepodge of various issues featuring the X-Men outside of their own series. I was worried the quality of these various issues, with different artists and writers, would fluctuate wildly in art and story, and with the lack of a central narrative, I initially assumed a rockier reading experience than I wanted.
I needn't have worried.
The "X-Men" aspect to this volume, though fluctuating in quantity depending on the narrative, is always present, serving as a decent theme tying these issues together. In places, the X-Men or members of their extended mutant cast feature into story arcs present across these pages; in others, appearances feel more like one-offs. The volume's divided nature doesn't take away from its quality overall, but don't expect all the pieces to bleed into each other. An opening issue featuring a team-up between Spider-Man and Iceman, for example, doesn't carry the same weight as a series of stories featuring Hank McCoy's the Beast or even the Hulk's interaction with multiple mutants.
Though X-Men had been slated to reprints, there seems to have been at least some interest among Marvel staffers to maintain a mutant presence within the Marvel Universe; the deeper you get into the volume, the more apparent that becomes. Some issues are just there to remind us that mutants exist–Incredible Hulk #180 and #181, though an important two-parter for introducing the reading world to Wolverine, isn't interested in commenting on the state of mutants within then-Marvel continuity. Logan's alter ego is identified as a mutant, but no mention is made of the X-Men. Maybe readers are meant to recognize the Canadian military's use of a mutant operative as a seemingly dangerous wrinkle in the broader story, but nothing directly points to such a concept simmering in the background.
Other issues, however, work existing mutant characters into their very DNA, and it's these tales which provide a better, more consistent reminder that the X-Men are still pertinent to Marvel's development. Steve Englehart is the writer who should be credited with the lion's share of offering engaging content here…or perhaps that should be "Beast's share"? This volume's most character-centric arc features Hank McCoy, separate from the X-Men and employed by the Brand Corporation, becoming involved with a grander conspiracy surrounding the Secret Empire that would eventually culminate in that aforementioned Captain America arc (more on that, hopefully, in a future review). After an opening chapter by Gerry Conway, Englehart takes the reins for several more Amazing Adventures installments, turning the Beast from a former X-Man into his own individual character.
The seven Amazing Adventures chapters present, for me, the first time an X-Man has been allowed genuine agency. Past writers had given some of the original five members backstories and had split the team into smaller factions to more easily comment on members individually, but here, Conway and Engelhart really make Hank his own character. Artist Tom Sutton injects an appreciable amount of horror into the mix once Hank ingests the serum which causes his transformation into his furry, blue self, with Englehart inserting some animalistic tendencies. The X-Men's smartest member lives up to his name more than ever in a change which makes sense for the character. Backed by a narrative that sees Hank fall in love and hold down a job while failing to resist the siren call back to superhuman adventures and worrying over how to pass as normal after his transformation, these issues take the Beast in a different and welcome direction. You could read these issues on their own, and though some threads may be left unwound, the experience would ultimately be rewarding.
Other issues, though not as interested in telling as complete a tale as Amazing Adventures, help deliver the X-Men's ongoing presence. Maybe it's the team popping up at the end of a Hulk/Juggernaut smackdown while searching for Angel, which comes up again during the "Secret Empire" arc. Maybe it's that very Hulk/Juggy jaunt serving as a continuation of Cain Marko's previous battle against the Beast. Maybe it's Magneto battling the Avengers before moving on to confront the Defenders, the master of magnetism's last real appearances prior to Wein, Claremont, and Cockrum's relaunch of the X-Men. There are threads here, character appearances and cameos, and though most of these don't feel intentional (especially if anyone not named Steve Englehart is writing the issues), they help give the volume a sense of coherence.
Not all appearances are given the same weight. I referenced this above in noting that some issues don't exactly join together in an overarching plot, which is fine. Yet some characters are used even more haphazardly than others. Iceman is provided two team-up tales, fine enough stories, which is more than Professor X can often say. In a few issues, he pops up sporadically and conveniently, mainly used to temper some conflict in a way which feels thematically appropriate yet frustrating for the particular stories. The writers have some mutant-centric menace a certain hero or team cannot seem to overcome? Let's call in the most powerful telepath on the planet to tidy it all up!
I don't have the same resistance to cameo appearances, of which there are plenty, as cameos don't necessarily equal convenience. When characters don't quite take central stage or are roped in merely to resolve a conflict, I'm all for these broader references. The Hulk mistakes Lorna Dane for Jarella because of her green hair ad tries to "save" her from Alex Summers. A different Hulk issue sees the Green Goliath's energy sapped momentarily by one-time-X-Man the Mimic, which also features Hank and his old beau Vera, who pops up in Amazing Adventures to give the Beast a hand. They're fun connections to past continuity, showing how writers even turn to minor characters and villains to create engaging moments that recall the past and point towards the future.
Integral as several mutant characters are to the plots herein, some readers may find those plots a bit too varied. As I noted above, I didn't find the jumps between issues and series all that distracting, engaged as I was with the ever-present mutants. Other folks may feel differently. Certainly, a one-off issue featuring the FF battling Jamie Madrox's Multiple Man, a Marvel Team-Up tale where Spidey and the X-Men fight Morbius, or a couple appearances by Iceman don't provide the same integrated reading experience as other issues. You're not given full stories or the complete context or certain situations. Why is the Hulk in this desert at this time? Or why don't we get the full "Secret Empire" saga? you may ask yourself, knowing this volume won't provide the answers. That may bother a few readers, is all I'm saying. But perhaps, like me, you won't find yourself distracted by such a reading experience.
In one of the volume's later issues, featuring Iceman and the Human Torch fighting Equinox, Bobby Drake is beckoned by his teammates at Xavier's behest. He has a "top-secret mission" for them, Cyclops explains. The (un)canny reader will catch on: Scott Summers means Krakoa. Several months after that fateful declaration, fans were introduced to the next generation of mutant heroes. You can see some of those seeds planted here, characters who'd pop up more significantly during Claremont's acclaimed tenure on the team. If you like Peter David's original X-Factor run and want to see Multiple Man's roots, check back here. If you want to know where the increasingly-complex Wolverine was born (from a publication standpoint), pick this up. This volume may be like an errant strand of DNA, mutating in every which direction, but it nicely carries a flame for a team on the verge of extinction, bearing them through the rough patches before that fire was given greater reason to burn bright.