AGE OF APOCALYPSE #1

I used to read, buy, & collect comic books back in the heyday of comic books; the early 90's. That's when I started and that's the last time comics were mega-big (when Jim Lee's X-Men #1 apparently sold a million copies). It was a great time to be a comic book fan because a lot happened (namely, Image Comics...but also The Death of Superman...Todd McFarlane still drawing Spider-Man...the holographic, foil, embossed, ridiculous cover craze...okay, that last one sucked). Comics from that era are worth shit, though, so that sucks. But after that era came Marvel's Age of Apocalypse saga. It ran through a billion books; 48 main books and over 20 assorted prequels, sequels, and tie-ins. It ran in '95 and '96, featured artists like Steve Epting, Joe Madureira, and Chris Bachalo. It also featured the temporary change of the title names; Uncanny X-Men became Astonishing X-Men, Cable became X-Man, etc. So, yeah, it was a big deal. The thing is; I never heard of it until last week when I searched for it read up on it. I started high school in '95 and started drinking and going to parties in '96...so I guess I was preoccupied. But The Age of Apocalypse is back thanks to writer Rick Remender who brought it back in his Uncanny X-Force book. Now it's back as a regular, ongoing series with writer David Lapham and artist Roberto De La Torre (who did amazing work with Brubaker on that epic Daredevil run). The premise of the original story had a mutant, Legion, going back in time to kill Prof. Charles Xavier. This created an alternative time where Apocalypse took over the world and killed all the humans so mutants could rule. So this new book takes place in this alternate world, a world where chaos reigns (sorry, Antichrist). Wolverine is a bad guy and Sabretooth, Jean Grey, and a cast of B-characters are taking up the fight for the little man. It's basically a scorched Earth, post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian future tale...which may have been fresh in '94 but is so been-there-done-that these days (see The Hunger Games). This issue is pretty basic; but it does make you interested in the original series, which I've never read. I'm not one for sequels or re-boots so I'm not sure what the point of this is. It's semi-enjoyable but mostly forgettable. Feels like a What-If? book. **1/2 (out of ****)