Carey is taking a gamble by giving no background to this story in terms of how it got this way versus the normal Marvel Universe. He promises a payoff at the end, but what he's giving the reader here is enough of a start to make an interesting comic book and a fun read. Thirty plus pages of story for four bucks is a decent deal for the content here. I definitely recommend this comic book. Read Full Review

All in all, this is a solid start to Age of X. Alpha does leave readers a bit unnecessarily in the dark as to what real conflict will drive this event forward, as well as what is intended to separate this crossover from Age of Apocalypse. There's still plenty of work to do as the main thrust of the story picks up next month. Read Full Review

If you don't want to be mired in tons of X-continuity or have to invest in a bunch of titles just to keep up...this seems a great story to dip your toes in and visit an X-universe that probably won't draw too many of your dollars away, as this should be roughly 11-12 issues in total, across several months. Read Full Review

The main story of "Age of X" doesn't get going in "Alpha," but this different world is established, as are some of the different takes on familiar characters. The first and final stories are the most effective, and the framing sequence packs in a lot of information. Think of this issue as a primer for when the story kicks off next month in "X-Men Legacy" #245 and a good one at that. Read Full Review