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Post by urrutiap on Nov 20, 2016 12:15:47 GMT -5
As Im reading through my copy of the Epic Collection Children of the Atom trade paperback for the original X Men.
I find that I was bored and got tired of Mastermind, Toad and Blob. Even Magneto was getting on my nerves too.
Now Im reading the issue of Unus the Untouchable. Hopefully he's better than Mastermind and Toad bickering all the darn time.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2016 12:32:16 GMT -5
I agree. X-Men did not become interesting until the era of Wolverine, Storm, etc...then they were good until they became a bloated mess in the 90's (IMO)
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
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Post by shaxper on Nov 20, 2016 13:07:33 GMT -5
That first Juggernaut story was pretty mind-blowing -- he's never again been that terrifying -- but otherwise the early run was rough.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2016 13:17:40 GMT -5
That first Juggernaut story was pretty mind-blowing -- he's never again been that terrifying -- but otherwise the early run was rough. X-Men #12 and #13 are the best examples of that ... I have X-Men #13 and looking for X-Men #12 and what I was told that #12 is more terrifying than #13. I also consider the early X-Men a classic and I rather have a small, but dedicated group and once they started to grow it's really made it a mess and lost it's nostalgic and it's bothers me a lot. I rather have the originals than the expanded version because of that nostalgic feeling of uniqueness. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,408
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Post by shaxper on Nov 20, 2016 13:22:23 GMT -5
That first Juggernaut story was pretty mind-blowing -- he's never again been that terrifying -- but otherwise the early run was rough. X-Men #12 and #13 are the best examples of that ... I have X-Men #13 and looking for X-Men #12 and what I was told that #12 is more terrifying than #13. Yes, there is absolutely a marked difference in tone from #12 to #13, as the first part is all terrifying anticipation. In any great horror story, once you see the monster, it can't possibly measure up to the reader's wildest and most terrifying imagined nemesis. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 20, 2016 13:24:34 GMT -5
The series picks up a bit after Unus, with Prof. X less prevalent. It's still very hit and miss; but, it is improved greatly. It hits its stride under Roy Thomas, especially when he teams up with Neal Adams. You can't beat that run from #56, with the Living Monolith, to #65, the return of Prof. X, from the dead). You get the whole Sentinels return, which is the first truly awesome Sentinels storyline (more than the original) and Sauron and the Savage Land, with Magneto, Angel's classic costume, and Adams' amazing art. That is when the X-Men became truly great and that is the thread that Len Wein picked up in Giant Size X-Men #2 and that Chris Claremont carried forward in the revived series.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2016 13:33:28 GMT -5
The series picks up a bit after Unus, with Prof. X less prevalent. It's still very hit and miss; but, it is improved greatly. It hits its stride under Roy Thomas, especially when he teams up with Neal Adams. You can't beat that run from #56, with the Living Monolith, to #65, the return of Prof. X, from the dead). You get the whole Sentinels return, which is the first truly awesome Sentinels storyline (more than the original) and Sauron and the Savage Land, with Magneto, Angel's classic costume, and Adams' amazing art. That is when the X-Men became truly great and that is the thread that Len Wein picked up in Giant Size X-Men #2 and that Chris Claremont carried forward in the revived series. Never read the Thomas/Adams run. I should try it. |
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Post by hondobrode on Nov 20, 2016 13:41:39 GMT -5
Like codystarbuck says, it's really the high point of the original series, by far.
Shockingly, it wasn't long after that the title went into reprint mode before getting cancelled.
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Post by urrutiap on Nov 20, 2016 13:52:02 GMT -5
Very first issue of original X Men was fibe with it just having Magneto by himself.
But then I was getting bored from the next issues where Mastermind and Toad kept bickering etc and Magneto ended up acting like a total goof. Major made it worse too.
Hopefully after reading the Unus issue the other issues will get better and back at being fun to enjoy.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 20, 2016 14:01:43 GMT -5
Like codystarbuck says, it's really the high point of the original series, by far. Shockingly, it wasn't long after that the title went into reprint mode before getting cancelled. Yeah, I don't know if Roy got tied up with other books or what. Adams was busy with other things and it was a couple of years before they did the Kree-Skrull War together. The first X-Men I saw was Giant Size X-Men #2, in August of 1975, which reprints the Sentinels story, minus the Living Monolith story (which leads into it) and the Sauron story, which acts as an epilogue, then moves to the new story. At the time, I though Cyclop's eye-beams were generated by his visor, as it looked like Quicksilver was using them. i had to reread the story to realize that the X-Men change places with Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Toad, and that Cyclops' eye-beams were self-generated. It didn't help that he used to have to press a button on the visor to open it up, to fire the beams. The early stories are definitely run-of-the-mill team stories. it could have been The Champions, for all of the personality there. Roy was a bit more in sync with the younger voices and gave them personality. Prior to Adams, though, the Steranko issues (50 and 51) are visual treats. I have them in a turtleback edition (library-oriented format, where a tradepaperback is bound into a hardcover, with the original cover laminated to the new hardcover) of Steranko's non-Nick Fury stories, that was deleted from a library. I wanted to scream "What is the matter with you people?" at the library; this is classic stuff. It features those issues, the three Captain America issues, the Tower of Shadows story, and his romance comic story, from Our Love Story. Yeah, man, Steranko did a romance comic! Heck Kirby (and Joe Simon) the King of Action (and Comics), created the romance comic genre. He was married to Roz for over 50 years, so he knew a thing or two about romance. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2016 14:19:26 GMT -5
I never understood why the X-Men went into reprint mode with issues #67-93? If sales were so poor, why keep it alive with reprints? Were the reprints selling well enough to keep it afloat? I can't remember, was there a big gap between issues #93 & 94?
I remember reading those very early Lee/Kirby issues and thought they were just ok & later the Thomas/Adams run (which was/is awesome!), but nothing inbetween. One of these days I will have to read the inbetween/mid stories.
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Post by urrutiap on Nov 20, 2016 16:07:10 GMT -5
I hear that the X Men Hidden Years make up for the poor reprints anyway. The Hidden Years have some decent stories such as an earlier appearance if Storm
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 20, 2016 16:38:08 GMT -5
I never understood why the X-Men went into reprint mode with issues #67-93? If sales were so poor, why keep it alive with reprints? Were the reprints selling well enough to keep it afloat? I can't remember, was there a big gap between issues #93 & 94? I remember reading those very early Lee/Kirby issues and thought they were just ok & later the Thomas/Adams run (which was/is awesome!), but nothing inbetween. One of these days I will have to read the inbetween/mid stories. I suspect that Roy wanted or needed to move on, nobody wanted to take it over; but, it did well enough that they thought they could continue it as a reprint, at a far lower cost. There is a gap of 5 months between X-Men #93 and 94. 93 was published in January of 1975 and 94 in June of 1975. Giant-Size X-Men #1 came out in April of '75, and #2, reprinting the Thomas/Adams Sentinel story, is in August, and features an ad for X-Men #95, touting the death of a character. #66 is the last new issue, then there is a gap of 8 months before the reprints start, interrupted only by an annual (#1, featuring reprints) in June. The reprints are run bi-monthly and the comic remains a bi-monthly, until 1979, when it started becoming red hot. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 20, 2016 16:40:28 GMT -5
I hear that the X Men Hidden Years make up for the poor reprints anyway. The Hidden Years have some decent stories such as an earlier appearance if Storm Yeah, there's some pretty good stuff there. Nothing earthshattering; just good, entertaining stories. Better developed than Marvel, The Hidden Years. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2016 16:42:16 GMT -5
I won't call the original X-Men entirely boring...Neal Adams gave them a shot up the arse when he stepped in with issues #56-65 I think.
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