Fan outrage when Claremont took over?

[ExodusCloak]

So people should just be happy a title is back even if its nothing like what they loved before? I dont get that logic. The Silver age book was rough but there were those that loved it and what Claremont wrote with the All New team was jarring as it was a radical change. The book may have been cancelled but the team was still around, making appearances all across the MU. They were dismantled and Jean was killed off in the issue that prompted this letter. I really dont see how its hard to imagine why he would be upset.

As I said above the book was cancelled in 1970 and relaunched in 1975. Thats five years. They should be even grateful they got the book back given how juvenile the writing was before Claremont. He did not like the darker tone.

[Ambaryerno]

It is kind of funny how people want to cling to the status quo and the iconic/main X-Men who themselves were absolutely "All New All Different" compared to the original squad. It's (forgive this analogy lol) almost like white people in the USA being "against immigrants".

That's kind of the irony (and the annoyance) of it.

[SerCo]

Claremont *radically* changed the X-Men from what they were. Like almost completely. I would compare it to X-FOrce turning into X-Statix. That change also got enormous pushback in the letters/email columns of like 2001/2002.

It is kind of funny how people want to cling to the status quo and the iconic/main X-Men who themselves were absolutely "All New All Different" compared to the original squad. It's (forgive this analogy lol) almost like white people in the USA being "against immigrants".

It has more to do with nostalgia, I think. People who started reading the book and became fans during the Silver age (like Busiek) didn't feel the ANAD team was "their x-men". Just like many people today won't accept anything that isn't a Claremont throwback.

[WebLurker]

Anyway I came across this little gem and thought I would share for those who haven't seen it. Sounds on par to a message you'd see on the internet these days.

Yeah, that's pretty much par for the course.

[Ulfhammer]

I have always heard there were a lot of people upset when Chris Claremont took over the X-Men and brought in the All New and Different X-Men and diversified the X-Men but I had only seen one or two letters in the pages. And assumed it was a minority. However, people have told me that there was an enormous amount of anger when the O5 was sidelined and I always found that hard to believe given that Claremont saved the franchise.

Anyway I came across this little gem and thought I would share for those who haven't seen it. Sounds on par to a message you'd see on the internet these days.

How were the o5 sidelined? They ruled the roost for decades after the ANAD team was introduced.

[WheelchairX]

Which one, there’ve been a few.

The original one: 'If the Phoenix took a portion of her consciousness and became her - then all the bad she did can't be blamed on Jean since she was really still at the bottom of Jamaica Bay'

[Digifiend]

Colossus and Kitty are still getting married. Bendis is at DC, and it appears Jason Aaron is following him. Soon you can complain about Billy Batson and Star Girl getting back together. I will say, DC is a great company. Have fun.

WHAT!?! Haven't heard any thing about Aaron leaving Marvel - as far as I knew, he was staying on Thor and is rumoured to be taking over Avengers?

[Panic]

I miss the days when Big Two publishers would actually print and address negative feedback, instead of all the cheerleading they do these days. And ESPECIALLY didn't lie about not receiving any at all (lookin' at you, Gugs).

This. So much this.

That was one of the things that made Marvel better than DC.

[Panic]

How were the o5 sidelined? They ruled the roost for decades after the ANAD team was introduced.

No they didn't. Cyclops led the X-Men, but Jean, Iceman, Angel, and Beast left, though Jean returned as Phoenix (only to turn bad and be killed-off). The "New" X-Men did break up the family. I didn't care because I generally found the "old" X-Men rather dull, but it was a valid complaint. I imagine if you weren't alive at the time and reading the comic you might get a distorted view of things, but the New X-Men really did break up the band.

[Panic]

As I said above the book was cancelled in 1970 and relaunched in 1975. Thats five years. They should be even grateful they got the book back given how juvenile the writing was before Claremont. He did not like the darker tone.

You've got a very biased view. The Neal Adams run is still a great run, and though it got cancelled, the sales figures were on the rise and Roy Thomas has gone on record as saying that had publisher Martin Goodman not jumped the gun and cancelled the comic before seeing the new sales figures the Adams issues had brought in, he probably wouldn't have cancelled the comic at all; as it was he didn't let it die completely but kept it in print, only reprinting old X-Men stories with new covers.

[wano]

The O5 really did have fans, and it seems they still do since they have survived two relaunches with no signs of slowing down. Haters gonna hate

[Captain Nash]

I'm so torn on this letter! Normally I would have just said that the reader didn't know a good comic when he read one, but, man..it's Kurt Busiek! My favorite Avengers's writer! He CLEARLY has good taste and knows a good comic when he sees one because he wrote so many of them! It's like Star Wars characters saying bad things about Lord of The Rings! Augh. My head is exploding.....

[RLAAMJR.]

Claremont: “Well if you don’t like it then write your OWN damn comics!”

Busiek: “FINE!”

Busiek got the last laugh.

[Hellinoze]

Kurt hated the golden age of the X-Men ?

[Innocent Bystander]

I'm so torn on this letter! Normally I would have just said that the reader didn't know a good comic when he read one, but, man..it's Kurt Busiek! My favorite Avengers's writer! He CLEARLY has good taste and knows a good comic when he sees one because he wrote so many of them! It's like Star Wars characters saying bad things about Lord of The Rings! Augh. My head is exploding.....

He was a 20 year old kid. But clearly he must be punished by being forced to write the X-men for a couple years.

(OK, I understand he probably wouldn't be able to , but dammit if a Busiek run on the title wouldn't be a dream of mine.)